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NL Notes: Toussaint, Phils, Pirates, Billingsley, Cards, Marlins, Nats

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Here’s the latest out of the National League …

  • The Diamondbacks are close to reaching agreement with first-round pick Touki Toussaint, reports MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. “Touki I think is very close right now,” said GM Kevin Towers. “… Pretty optimistic we’ll get something done here shortly.” Toussaint, who was taken 16th overall (with a $2,338,200 slot bonus), was rated between the eighth (MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo) and thirteenth (ESPN.com’s Keith Law) best player available, with Law saying he could have the most upside of any of the draft-eligible high school righties.
  • Even if the Phillies decide to sell, it may prove difficult, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. In particular, many of the team’s veteran players have not only no-trade protection but also vesting options (some of which appear more achievable than others) at the back ends of their already-sizeable contracts. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has indicated, however, that those contracts should not be a major hindrance if the team shops its best players. “[W]e have taken money back on deals before and will do it again if we have to,” says Amaro.
  • The Pirates rotation is looking increasingly thin, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Injuries have accumulated on top of an already poor start to the year, and unlike last year the club lacks obvious internal replacements to step in and provide a boost. Though some attractive arms figure to be made available at the trade deadline, Biertempfel indicates that Pittsburgh seems unlikely to pay the price (in dollars and in prospects) to add an impact starter.
  • Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley says he is exceedingly unlikely to throw again this year, as Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times reports. Billingsley has been diagnosed with a partially torn flexor tendon. “If I do the rehab I would have a chance,” he said, “but the risk would be … tendon fails, that’s a six-month rehab after surgery. Doing three years’ rehab would be a grind.” As that quote indicates, it has already been a long road for Billingsley and his troubled right arm. He is in the last year of a three-year, $35MM pact that includes a $14MM club option for 2015. It seems highly likely at this point, of course, that Los Angeles will instead pay a $3MM buyout and let Billingsley hit the open market.
  • The Cardinals are currently hesitant to go shopping for a starter, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link). St. Louis still has internal options for the rotation (such as Joe Kelly and Carlos Martinez) and probably will not meet the asking price for top-end arms. One team that could be in the market for rotation help is the Marlins, Rosenthal adds.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo says that the club is not looking to deal Denard Span or Adam LaRoche to allow Ryan Zimmerman to stay in left field when Bryce Harper returns, Rosenthal reports. Span remains an interesting name to watch, however, as Rosenthal notes. The outstanding defensive center fielder has failed to reach base reliably from the top of the lineup, but is under control through next season with a fairly reasonable $9MM team option.

Quick Hits: Cubs, Rollins, Yankees, Suarez

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The Cubs can look forward to a bright future, writes Peter Gammons of Gammons Daily. Top prospect Kris Bryant is busy hammering Double-A pitching (.358/.462/.713 in 286 plate appearances), fourth overall pick Kyle Schwarber homered in his professional debut, and high profile Cuban Jorge Soler is back on the field. Gammons points to Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro as two useful building blocks, and he credits recent trades as another reason for optimism. The Cubs acquired much of their current bullpen, along with Mike Olt and Jake Arrieta, at the 2013 trade deadline. This season, Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel headline the list of Cubbies potentially on the trade block.

  • Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins hit a single today for his 2,235th base knock with the club, moving him past Mike Schmidt for the franchise lead in hits. As Ken Rosenthal speculated last weekend, Rollins may be more willing to waive his ten and five rights now that he holds that club record. Rollins himself said today that he would consider accepting a trade if the Phillies end up pursuing a full rebuild, reports Jim Salisbury of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia. Of course, even if Rollins does waive his no-trade clause, the club may need to eat some salary in order to receive a valuable player in return. His $11MM vesting option for 2015 will vest with another 156 plate apperances.
  • Pending the results of tonight’s matchup against the Athletics, the Yankees have played to a healthy 35-31 record. Much of the club’s success can be attributed to rotation depth, says Jorge Castillo of The Star Ledger. With Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, and C.C. Sabathia missing substantial time, it has fallen to David Phelps, Vidal Nuno, and Chase Whitley to keep the staff afloat. Whitley has been the most surprising story for the Yankees with a 2.41 ERA (backed up by a 2.58 FIP) in six starts. Of course, steady production from Hiroki Kuroda and a Cy Young quality performance from Masahiro Tanaka have also helped to stabilize the rotation.
  • Recent Tigers call-up Eugenio Suarez fell just a single short of the cycle today in Detroit’s 12-9 victory over the Twins. Despite a rough spring training, the Venezuelan shortstop hit well in the minors this season before earning his promotion. In a post earlier this week on MLB.com, Phil Rogers discussed Suarez’s work with former defensive wizard Omar Vizquel.  It appears Vizquel also believes in Suarez’s bat, citing a shorter swing and improved discipline against breaking balls for his success in the upper minors. The shortstop position has been a problem area all year for the AL Central leading Tigers. If the 22-year-old Suarez continues to perform, the club may be able to focus more attention at the trade deadline on its bullpen.

NL East Notes: Scouts, Phillies, Mets

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Most scouts live unglamorous, travel-heavy lifestyles and are unknown to fans, but they play vital roles in the draft in particular and player evaluation in general. Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post profiles Nationals assistant GM Kris Kline as he travels to watch players in preparation for the draft. The story follows Kline through the Nationals’ selection of UNLV pitcher Erick Fedde in the first round. It’s a difficult story to summarize here, but a fascinating read. Here’s more from the NL East.

  • The Phillies haven’t yet decided to be sellers at the trade deadline, but they’re preparing for that possibility, GM Ruben Amaro says in an interview with Philly.com’s Ryan Lawrence. “We’re making sure we know which players we like the most in certain organizations and preparing for that,” Amaro says. “At the same time, we’re continuing to assess what our needs are.” It may be tricky for the Phillies to tear down, of course — Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins have 10-and-5 protection, and Cliff Lee is hurt and has a contract that will be tough to deal. Amaro says he is hopeful that Lee will return soon, however, and he suggests that the Phillies may be willing to eat salary in trades.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson says the team will determine whether to have a higher payroll next year after this season is over, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York writes. Alderson adds that if the Mets are contending in July, they should have the resources to make a trade.

Minor Moves: Clark, Hoffman, Sanchez, Fox, Yankees

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Orioles right-hander Zach Clark has been released, tweets Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. Clark, a knuckleballer by trade, tweeted a thank you to the organization today. The 30-year-old made a brief cameo with Baltimore last season — his only Major League experience to date. The University of Maryland alum has spent eight years in Baltimore’s system after signing as an undrafted free agent. He owns a career 4.21 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 869 1/3 innings in the minors.
  • Twins Triple-A lefty Matt Hoffman has opted out of his deal with the club, the team announced via press release (hat tip: Phil Miller of the Star Tribune, who tweeted the news of the release, and the Pioneer Press’ Brandon Warne, who noted the Triple-A press release indicated it was an opt-out). The 25-year-old Hoffman pitched well at Triple-A, posting a 3.80 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 21 1/3 innings of work.
  • Infielder Angel Sanchez has inked a minor league deal with the Dodgers and will report to Double-A Chattanooga, according to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post (Twitter link). Sanchez, 30, has a career .254/.303/.307 batting line between the Astros, Royals, Red Sox and White Sox. He has experience at shortstop, second base and third base.
  • The Phillies have acquired catcher/outfielder/corner infielder Jake Fox from the Mexican League, according to the team’s transactions page. The 31-year-old Fox had been destroying pitching in Mexico, slashing .307/.397/.605 with 16 home runs in 247 plate appearances. Fox hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2011 with Baltimore, but he’s a career .237/.288/.425 hitter with 20 homers in 534 PAs.
  • The Yankees inked three undrafted college players following the 2014 draft, Baseball America’s Josh Norris tweeted earlier in the week: Liberty University right-hander Matt Marsh, USC catcher Jake Hernandez and Wright State right-hander Travis Hissong. The YES Network’s Lou DiPietro has more on each of the three players.

Minor Moves: Hewitt, Lutz, Tuiasosopo, Piazza

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We’ll keep tabs on today’s minor moves in this post …

  • The Phillies have released former first-round pick Anthony Hewitt, the team’s Class-A affiliate announced. The third-baseman-turned-outfielder was selected 24th overall in 2008 but failed to progress beyond the Double-A level and has authored a .223/.264/.370 slash line in his minor league career.
  • The Mets have granted infielder Zach Lutz his release so that he may sign with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reported yesterday. In a followup tweet, he added that Lutz’s rights were sold to the Golden Eagles, so there will be some monetary compensation for the Mets. The 28-year-old Lutz was in the midst of a solid season with Triple-A Las Vegas, batting .291/.386/.449 with seven home runs (albeit in a very hitter-friendly environment). He appeared with the Mets’ big league club in 2013, slashing .300/.462/.400 in 26 trips to the plate.
  • The White Sox have acquired outfielder Matt Tuiasosopo from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations, the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate (Buffalo Bisons) announced on Twitter (h/t to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star). Toronto claimed the out-of-options Tuiasosopo off waivers late in the spring and then outrighted him to Triple-A. The 28-year-old has a .206/.289/.271 slash in 242 plate appearances on the year for Buffalo.
  • The Rockies have signed free agent righty Mike Piazza to a minor league deal, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Not to be confused with the catcher by the same name, Piazza is a 27-year-old righty who spent his entire career in the Angels organization, never moving past the Double-A level, before joining the independent Laredo Lemurs this year.
  • Buddy Carlyle has accepted a minor league assignment from the Mets, reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter). The 36-year-old righty was designated for assignment on June 4.
  • The Blue Jays have acquired outfielder Adron Chambers from the Astros in exchange for two young minor leaguers, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (via Twitter). Chambers, 27, saw limited action with the Cardinals over 2011-13 before signing a minor league deal with Houston. He has posted a .281/.356/.416 line in 102 plate appearances at Triple-A. Heading back to the Astros in the deal are youngsters Alejandro Solarte, a left-handed pitcher, and Will Dupont, an infielder.
  • The Marlins have released right-handed reliever Henry Rodriguez, according to the PCL transactions page. Rodriguez signed a minor league deal with the Fish over the offseason, but lasted only 1 2/3 frames at the big league level when he issued five free passes in that span. He had worked to a 4.26 ERA in 25 1/3 minor league innings, though that mark came with 14 wild pitches and an interesting strikeout-to-walk ratio of 14.6 K/9 against 13.5 BB/9. Rodriguez possesses a huge arm with a devastating slider and change, but has simply never been able to control his stuff consistently.
  • After today’s moves, MLBTR DFA Tracker shows the following names in limbo: Jason Kubel (Twins), Wilton Lopez (Rockies), Wade LeBlanc (Yankees), and Nick Evans (Diamondbacks).

Trade Deadline Notes: D’Backs, Price, Zobrist, Lee, Cubs

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With the draft in the rear-view mirror, the league’s attention will increasingly turn to the coming summer trade market — though, with so many teams still in the hunt and so much money owed to many possible trade candidates, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if it will be a sluggish market.

Here’s the latest on some teams and players who could be discussed:

  • The Diamondbacks, who feature a roster with several attractive veteran pieces, have also been widely noted for their abundance of quality young middle infielders. As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links), current Triple-A shortstop Nick Ahmed has sparked interest from multiple other clubs. Ahmed, 24, is known as an outstanding defensive player and has enjoyed his most productive season at the plate this year with a .304/.385/.401 line in 250 plate appearances in his first run at Triple-A.
  • The Rays should consider putting ace David Price on the market now rather than waiting for the deadline to approach, opines MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince. Tampa may not achieve the return it hopes for if it waits, says Castrovince, citing a variety of reasons — including the current proliferation of teams still in the hunt, the possibility that Cubs hurler Jeff Samardzija may approach or even surpass him in value, and the potential introduction of Royals’ ace James Shields into the discussion.
  • Price may be the Rays’ most valuable trade chip, but the versatile Ben Zobrist would draw the widest interest if he is put on the block, tweets Rosenthal. The 33-year-old jack of all trades is owed just $7MM this year and comes with an attractive $7.5MM club option for 2015.
  • Indeed, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com writes that Zobrist is “the perfect acquisition for a team like the Tigers, Giants, or Dodgers.” As I noted a few days ago, he would also make sense for a team like the Nationals if they decide to add an impact veteran, and there are surely many others with possible interest.
  • Gammons goes on to cite a few other possibly overlooked trade possibilities. He lists Bartolo Colon of the Mets and Steve Cishek of the Marlins in addition to some more commonly mentioned names like Jason Hammel of the Cubs, and Chase Headley of the Padres.
  • Cliff Lee of the Phillies, a hypothetically intriguing trade candidate, finally threw a baseball yesterday for the first time since May 18, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. After what he described as a “light throwing session,” Lee said that his elbow was feeling “better.” Of course, he would need to make it back for at least a few starts to allow Philadelphia to recoup anything close to maximum value were they to shop him.
  • In today’s Baseball Tonight podcast (audio link), ESPN’s Buster Olney says that hears the Cubs will approach this year’s deadline as they did in 2013, dealing one pitcher early as they did with Scott Feldman last year and waiting until later to move a second, as they did with Matt Garza. Presumably, that’d mean Jason Hammel would be moved first, with Jeff Samardzija being moved later. His colleague, Keith Law, feels the strategy can work, as there will never be enough starting pitchers for all the teams looking to buy, and the price for Hammel isn’t as difficult to agree upon. Moving Hammel early on forces interested clubs to force on the bigger target later in the deadline as the need becomes greater.
  • Olney lists the Blue Jays, the Orioles and the Athletics as teams that could have early interest in Hammel, and he wonders if the recent injuries to the Pirates’ rotation would cause them to jump into the mix. Law feels the Angels could be added to that mix, as their weak farm system would prevent them from adding a big-name starter.

Draft Signings: White, Oliver, LaValley, Greiner

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Hundreds of draft-pick signings will be reported over the coming weeks, and we’ll run down today’s most notable agreements in this post…

  • Junior righty Chad Sobotka, the fourth round choice of the Braves, has agreed to an above-slot deal, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. He will receive $400K, slightly more than the 133rd pick’s $381.3K allotment.
  • The Marlins have given a $350K bonus to 11th round choice Nick White, a high school righty, tweets Callis. That is the largest bonus for a post-tenth-rounder thus far, says Callis. $250K of White’s bonus will be charged to Miami’s $14.2MM total pool.
  • The Phillies have agreed to a $550K bonus with fourth-rounder Chris Oliver, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). That represents a $83K overage as against the $467K pool assigned to the 112th pick. MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo pegged Oliver as the 48th-rated draft prospect, while Baseball America rated the University of Arkansas righty as the 66th best player available.
  • Gavin LaValley, the Reds’ fourth-rounder who was reported to have agreed to terms yesterday, will receive $525K, tweets Jim Callis of MLB.com. That is a good bit over the $411.9K slot assignment that came with the 125th overall choice.
  • The Tigers and third-rounder (No. 99 overall) Grayson Greiner have agreed to terms at the full slot value of $529,400, reports MLB.com’s Jim Callis (on Twitter). Callis notes that the South Carolina catcher draws more praise for his defense than his bat. Greiner was a Top 100 prospect per MLB.com, Baseball America and ESPN.
  • The Diamondbacks  saved $202K on their sixth-round selection, as MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets that they inked Middle Tennessee State left-hander Zac Curtis for just $40K. Arizona’s savings on Curtis will come in handy, as they inked Comp Round B pick Marcus Wilson earlier today to a deal that was $179K over slot. Baseball America ranked Curtis 373rd among draft prospects.
  • Cotillo also tweets that Reds third-rounder Wyatt Strahan received the full slot value of $588,700. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reported last night that the two sides had agreed to terms.

Phillies Sign Aaron Nola

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4:08pm: Nola will receive the full slot bonus of $3.3MM and change, tweets Jim Callis of MLB.com.

1:08pm: The Phillies announced that they have agreed to terms with right-hander Aaron Nola, whom they selected out of Louisiana State with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 draft. Terms of the deal have yet to be reported, but the assigned pick value is $3,300,900, according to Baseball America. Nola was advised by and is now represented by Paragon Sports International.

Aaron Nola

Nola, considered by some to be the most polished collegiate pitcher in the 2014 draft class, was a consensus Top 10 talent and generated some buzz within the Top 5 leading up to the draft as well. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked Nola sixth among draft prospects, while Baseball America pegged him seventh and Keith Law of ESPN.com ranked him ninth.

In his Junior season at LSU, Nola completely dominated the competition, pitching to an 11-1 record with a 1.47 ERA and a 134-to-27 K/BB ratio in 116 1/3 innings of work. He surrendered just 12 extra-base hits this season (eight doubles, four homers) and held opponents to a minuscule .172 batting average.

Mayo and Callis noted that Nola has “exquisite command” of a three-pitch mix and “effortlessly” sits at 91 to 93 mph with his fastball, also featuring a sometimes-plus changeup and a breaking ball that can both be thrown for strikes. BA has Nola sitting 93 to 94 mph with his fastball and touching 95 while commanding both sides of the plate with some of the best command in the college class. BA also calls Nola “one of the safest bets in the class.” Law’s early scouting report expressed some concern about Nola’s three-quarter arm slot but noted that it does “give right-handed hitters fits” and generate a good deal of ground-balls.

Nola is the first college player selected by the Phillies in the first round since Joe Savery back in 2007. MLBTR’s Zach Links spoke with Nola for our Draft Prospect Q&A series.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Notes: Polanco, Sellers, CarGo, Cuddyer, Matzek, Draft

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The rise of Pirates call-up Gregory Polanco from a virtually unknown international signee to a top prospect has been quite rare in recent history, writes Alex Speier in an ESPN Insider piece. Slowly but surely, the 22-year-old tightened his skills to match his raw tools, and his now-obvious upside emerged.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • While Polanco is undoubtedly an exciting addition for the Pirates, the team should nevertheless be prepared to sell over the summer, opines Paul Swydan of ESPN.com (Insider link). Russell Martin and Francisco Liriano are among the pieces that the team could consider moving, he says. Meanwhile, the Mets and Padres are other NL clubs that Swydan says should look to move pieces.
  • While Swydan does not discuss their situation, the Phillies also seem like possible sellers, though it is hard to know the club’s thinking. Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com discusses the trade-worthiness of several of the team’s possible deadline chips.
  • The Mets’ struggles this year are bad enough that they have shifted the team’s seemingly promising trajectory, writes Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. The team’s key cog, third baseman David Wright, says that he remains committed to the Mets and has no desire to be dealt. (Of course, that seems a rather unlikely outcome regardless.) “I knew that when I signed my extension, I knew that things were not going to be easy,” he said. “If I wanted the easy way out, I would have signed somewhere else. The challenge of it, the loyalty to the organization, the direction I think we’re going, yes, we’ve gone through some rough stretches … but that is the process.”
  • The Rockies, who dropped their ninth of ten games tonight, are now dealing with another spate of bad injury news. In addition to placing recent top prospect call-up Eddie Butler on the 15-day DL after his first big league start, the team learned today that it will be without two key veterans for some time. Star outfielder Carlos Gonzalez will undergo exploratory surgery on the left index finger that has bothered him this year, reports Nick Groke of the Denver Post (via Twitter). And right fielder Michael Cuddyer has suffered a fracture of the glenoid socket in his right shoulder, which will keep him out for at least six to eight weeks, as Cody Ulm of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Now well off the pace in the NL West, the Rockies would need a quick turnaround to position themselves as contenders as the trade deadline approaches.
  • In need of arms, the Rockies will call up 23-year-old lefty Tyler Matzek to start on Wednesday against the Braves, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. Once a top-25 prospect league-wide and the 11th overall choice in the 2009 draft, Matzek has climbed through the minors even as his prospect shine has dimmed somewhat. After opening the year rated 12th among Colorado prospects by Baseball America, which noted that struggles with consistency and command could push him to the bullpen, Matzek has worked to a 4.05 ERA in his first 66 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. More importantly, perhaps, he has worked to a career-best 4.2 BB/9 at Colorado Springs while also racking up 8.2 K/9.
  • ESPN.com’s Keith Law has posted his round-up (Insider link) of the draft haul from National League clubs. He says that the Diamondbacks brought back an impressive haul across the board, and casts some doubt on some of the Cubs’ early-round selections while noting that the team went after high-upside arms further down.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Wieters, Scherzer, Rollins, Delmon

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has been plenty busy over the past few days, digging up rumors from all around the league. Here are some highlights from his latest work…

  • Two sources tell Rosenthal that Matt Wieters’ throwing program is going poorly and surgery is looking more likely (Twitter links). A third source, however, cautions that it’s too soon to make that judgment, adding that Wieters has good days and also bad days at this time.
  • In this weekend’s Full Count video, he notes that while many were shocked by Max Scherzer’s decision to turn down $144MM in an attempt to secure more on next year’s free agent market, Scherzer has an insurance policy on his right arm that Scherzer says “takes the injury risk out of it.” While the policy likely doesn’t cover the full amount of that offer, it sounds to be a substantial amount. Rosenthal adds that Jon Lester has a similar policy, though not for nearly as much money as Scherzer’s policy.
  • Some friends of Jimmy Rollins feel that he’ll be willing to waive his 10-and-5 rights to approve a trade once he passes Mike Schmidt for the franchise lead in hits. Others feel he and his wife, a Philadelphia native, prefer to stay no matter what. Of course, Rollins’ $11MM vesting option damages his trade value as well, as he will easily reach the required plate appearances if he stays healthy.
  • The Giants are looking to upgrade at second base this summer. While they could use a starting pitcher, they aren’t likely to make an addition that would turn Tim Lincecum into a $17MM bullpen arm. The Athletics, on the other hand, could use a starting pitching upgrade and have the necessary catching depth to make a move.
  • The Orioles are willing to move Delmon Young, who is batting .286/.318/.369 and has lost most of his plate appearances to Steve Pearce. While Young isn’t the hitter than Kendrys Morales is, Rosenthal lists him as a low-cost alternative to teams that missed out on Morales; Young is set to earn about $600K over the rest of the season.

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