Brett Lawrie

Update On The Timing Of Top Prospects’ Debuts

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 19, 2011 at 8:24pm CDT

Teams like saving money and extending their control over top young players. Why wouldn't they? Having impact players on affordable contracts simplifies a GM's job. As a result, teams call top young players up strategically every season to control their service time and, in doing so, delay their free agency and/or limit their earnings.

Though service time is a consideration all season long, it's most evident at two times: in April and again midseason, around early June. If teams wait until a few weeks after the season has begun to call a prospect up for his MLB debut, the player doesn't collect a full year of service time, which delays his free agency by a year.

The precise date until which teams must wait before calling prospects up varies each year and according to whether players are on the 40-man roster. Now that we're nearly three weeks into the season, even prospects on the 40-man roster can be called up, since they have spent the requisite 20-day period in the minor leagues.

None of the following prospects have big league service time, which means that their teams can call them up at any point and keep them through the 2017 season, if not longer: Dustin Ackley, Lonnie Chisenhall, Brett Lawrie, Mike Moustakas, Jesus Montero, Eric Hosmer, Julio Teheran, Manny Banuelos, Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles.

On the other hand, Michael Pineda, Zach Britton and Brandon Belt are now in the majors, picking up service time. Because those players are now on MLB rosters, they're currently on track to hit free agency after the 2016 season. However, if their respective teams option them to the minors for 20 days or more, their path to free agency could be slowed as well (that's an immediate possibility for Belt and a long-term one for the pair of impressive rookie hurlers).

That may sounds complicated, but it's the easy part. Later this spring, in late May and early June, the guessing game begins. Teams do not (and can not) know exactly when future cutoffs for super two status will be, so if they want to play it safe and ensure that prospects like Montero and Ackley only go to arbitration three times, they'll want to wait until at least the middle of June before calling them up.

Rosenthal On Tigers, Castillo, Astros

By Zachary Links | March 20, 2011 at 8:47am CDT

Blue Jays' rookie third baseman Brett Lawrie has been raking this spring but the 21-year-old might not start the year in the majors, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The club might send him to the minors to work on his defense – and to prevent him from becoming eligible for a fourth year of arbitration. Here's more from Rosenthal..

One scout following the Tigers says the team is deep enough in young outfielders to possibly move one for a starting pitcher. Right now, Brennan Boesch, Clete Thomas, Casper Wells, and Andy Dirks are all vying for reserve spots. Wells appears to be a lock to make the big league roster as he is the only right-handed hitter of the bunch and plays all three outfield positions.
The Marlins are talking about signing second baseman Luis Castillo once he clears waivers, but they also have in-house options. The club could decide to go with Emilio Bonifacio at second and Omar Infante at third if they choose to demote rookie third baseman Matt Dominguez.
If the Astros go with Carlos Lee over Brett Wallace at first base they would like to add a left-handed hitting outfielder to platoon with Jason Michaels. However, the club is at the payroll limit and the team's greater need is a replacement for catcher Jason Castro.

Quick Hits: Shields, Cardinals, Lawrie, Montero

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 18, 2011 at 4:02pm CDT

Links for Friday, as Ichiro donates over $1.2MM to victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan…

Scot Shields, who announced his retirement today, said on a conference call that he drew interest this offseason before calling it a career. "There were some teams interested, but nothing seemed like the right fit," Shields said.
A longtime GM tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that he has heard "less trade talk this spring than in any other year [he has] been on the job" (Twitter link).
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Cardinals are excited about their rotation despite Adam Wainwright's elbow injury. The Cards will go with Chris Carpenter Jaime Garcia, Jake Westbrook, Kyle Lohse and Kyle McClellan.
Blue Jays prospect Brett Lawrie joined CAA, according to the agency (on Twitter). As MLBTR's newly launched Agency Database shows, CAA also represents Blue Jays J.P. Arencibia and Travis Snider.
Scouts tell Joel Sherman of the New York Post that they aren't enthusiastic about Jesus Montero's ability to catch in the major leagues.

Quick Hits: Choice, Royals, Feliz, Posey, Lawrie

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 7, 2011 at 9:40pm CDT

If you're a fan of top prospects and rookies, then this Quick Hits post is for you. Here are today's links…

Oakland's 2010 first rounder, Michael Choice, is wowing scouts in Arizona, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Peter Gammons of MLB Network hears from a trusted scout that Choice has the bat speed, strength and athleticism to become a "monster" (Twitter link). Baseball America ranked the 21-year-old third among Oakland's prospects heading into the season.
One GM says the Royals are so deep in talent that they can still be in it in 2013 if a couple of their top prospects miss, according to Gammons (on Twitter).
Neftali Feliz has said he's most comfortable closing games, but Rangers GM Jon Daniels says he'll continue stretching the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year out to see if he can make it as a starter, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort-Worth Star Telegram (on Twitter).
The Giants and last year's NL Rookie of the Year, Buster Posey, agreed to a one-year deal, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. He tweets that the deal is worth $575K. That's about $150K more than the Giants had to give him.
Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos tells Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi that Brett Lawrie has looked “very good.” The Blue Jays, who acquired Lawrie for Shaun Marcum over the winter, like the infielder’s work ethic, tools and drive.

East Notes: Jones, Buchholz, Papelbon, Rizzo, Jays

By Mark Polishuk | January 19, 2011 at 9:27pm CDT

Some news about the various beasts of the eastern baseball world…

Adam Jones doesn't believe the Orioles discussed a multi-year extension with his CAA representation before the two sides agreed to a 2011 contract, the outfielder tells MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli.
The Red Sox haven't discussed a long-term extension with Clay Buchholz this offseason, reports Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Last September, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith explored what a Buchholz extension might cost Boston.
Also from MacPherson, he points out that the Red Sox could wind up letting Jonathan Papelbon leave for nothing next winter. Papelbon would have to turn down an arbitration offer from Boston in order for the Sox to receive compensatory draft picks if he signed elsewhere as a free agent. However, by offering arbitration, the Red Sox would be making "a $14-$15MM gamble" that Papelbon wouldn't accept, since he's unlikely to find that much salary elsewhere.
GM Mike Rizzo discussed several Nationals-related topics during a conference call with reporters today. Mark Zuckerman of the Nats Insider blog has a partial transcript.
Alex Anthopoulos tells MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm his philosophy about not publicly disclosing whether or not the Jays are negotiating multi-year contracts, be they with Jose Bautista or any player.
Brett Lawrie tells MinorLeagueBaseball.com's Robert Emrich that he has been working out at third base and believes he will play the position during Spring Training. When Toronto acquired Lawrie in the Shaun Marcum deal, there was speculation to whether Lawrie would stay at second base or be moved to third or even a corner outfield spot. The Jays are, obviously, set at second (at least in the short term) with Aaron Hill.
In an interview with Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link), Phillies assistant GM Scott Proefrock says his club does not have to deal Joe Blanton or Kyle Kendrick. Proefrock also said the Phillies will look within the organization for right-handed hitting help.
The Orioles are lacking in Major League third base depth, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.

Odds & Ends: Pavano, Red Sox, McCarthy, Lawrie

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 13, 2010 at 8:42pm CDT

More links for Monday night, as we wonder when and where Cliff Lee will sign…

Lee's not the only player nearing a decision. Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com hears that Edgar Renteria is close to a decision and leaning toward retuning to the Giants (Twitter link). The World Series MVP has a $1MM offer to return to San Francisco.
The Brewers have not offered Carl Pavano a formal contract yet, GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Bill James told the Red Sox he expects Carl Crawford to age well, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com. James found that players like Crawford, who can play the outfield, get on base and hit for some power, often produce late in their careers.
Brandon McCarthy, who agreed to a deal with the A's today, says the Mariners expressed interest in him until they signed Erik Bedard, according to MLB.com's Greg Johns (on Twitter).
The Royals had interest in infield prospect Brett Lawrie before the Blue Jays acquired him from the Brewers, according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter).
MLB executives told Jayson Stark of ESPN.com that the Phillies could trade Joe Blanton if they agree to eat half of the $17MM remaining on his contract through 2012 (Twitter link). The Phillies are considering moving Blanton to create space for Lee.

Brewers Acquire Shaun Marcum

By Zachary Links | December 6, 2010 at 5:01pm CDT

The Brewers and Blue Jays officially announced a trade that will send two players a little closer to home. The Blue Jays will send Kansas City native Shaun Marcum to Milwaukee in exchange for Canadian prospect Brett Lawrie. It's the second deal the teams have made within the past week, after Toronto acquired Carlos Villanueva for a player to be named later on Friday.

Marcum, who turns 29 next Tuesday, turned in a 3.39 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 across 25 starts in 2008 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. After missing the 2009 major league season, he came back strong in 2010, posting a 3.64 ERA with 7.6 K/0 and 2.0 BB/9. The hurler is entering his second year of arbitration eligibility, so he's under the Brewers' control through 2012. Last year, the hurler avoided arbitration with the Blue Jays when he agreed to a one-year, $850K deal.

Lawrie, 21, turned in a strong 2010 in Double-A Huntsville, hitting .285/.346/.451 with eight homers in 135 games. Baseball America ranked Brett Lawrie as Milwaukee's second-best prospect in their 2010 handbook. The 16th pick in the 2008 draft, Lawrie is said to be an aggressive hitter with good pop. While he was praised for his strong hands and quick bat, Baseball America writes that he needs to dedicate himself to defense if he wants to become a second baseman in the mold of Jeff Kent. Some scouts believe the soon-to-be 21-year-old is destined for an outfield corner.

The Brewers were long known to be prioritizing starting pitching this winter, after their rotation posted a 4.65 ERA (15th in NL) in 2010. With their acquisition of Marcum, they were able to improve the rotation without moving Prince Fielder, who will likely still be available in the right deal. In a pair of tweets, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains that part of the reason the Brewers were willing to part with a top prospect for Marcum is their belief that a long-term deal with the right-hander is a possibility.

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel was the first to report that the two sides had agreed to a deal. The Brewers have announced the trade (on Twitter).

Rosenthal On Brewers, Doubront, Marlins, Barmes

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 15, 2010 at 8:39am CDT

In case there was any doubt, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Brewers aren't going to trade Ryan Braun. However, the Brewers are open to trading any of their other top hitters for rotation help. That means Rickie Weeks, Casey McGehee and, of course, Prince Fielder would be available in the right deal. Here are the details and the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:

The Brewers don't want to trade top players for back-of-the-rotation starters, but teams are reluctant to include top young pitchers in potential deals.
The Padres have spoken repeatedly to the Brewers about minor league infielder Brett Lawrie, who could be obtained for young pitching.
Adrian Gonzalez is still drawing trade interest, even though he won't be ready to swing a bat until the end of Spring Training.
Two GMs tell Rosenthal that the Red Sox are open to trading Felix Doubront. One says Boston would part with the left-hander "in a heartbeat" and the other guaranteed the Red Sox will trade him by mid-summer. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told Rosenthal that the Red Sox "value Felix tremendously" and that the report "couldn't be further from the truth."
Every young Orioles pitcher "could be in play for the right bat," Rosenthal reports.
If the Marlins trade Dan Uggla, they would use the savings to sign at least one free agent. John Buck is a target for the Marlins regardless of whether they trade or extend Uggla.
The A's don't have interest in Mark Reynolds.
The Rockies are drawing lots of interest in Clint Barmes. They could trade or non-tender the infielder if they aren't able to sign him to a multi-year contract.
Cody Ross and Javier Lopez are strong candidates to receive extensions from the Giants.

What The Mariners Wanted For Cliff Lee

By Tim Dierkes | July 12, 2010 at 8:27am CDT

Annoyed your favorite team didn't strike a deal with the Mariners for Cliff Lee? At least consider the details of Jack Zduriencik's high asking price, as reported by Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

According to Sherman, the Mariners general manager set out to acquire "an interested organization's best position prospect with less than one year of service." He was offered none better than the Rangers' Justin Smoak. The Yankees' Jesus Montero was apparently the next-best position prospect offered. Zduriencik also targeted players such as Ike Davis of the Mets, Desmond Jennings of the Rays, Domonic Brown of the Phillies, Gordon Beckham of the White Sox, and Brett Lawrie (who would've had to have come from the Brewers in a three-way deal). Sherman notes that the Mets never offered a player better than Fernando Martinez; Jenrry Mejia and Wilmer Flores "were never part of discussions."

Sherman also gets into the failed Yankees-Lee deal like only he can. He gathered that the Yankees and Mariners had a deal in principle, at which point teams expect you to stop talking to other clubs. Sherman expects the bad blood to linger, making the Yanks unwilling to deal with the Mariners in the future. The Yankees were also apparently "rankled" by Seattle's confusingly high asking price for Jarrod Washburn last summer. Another thought: an executive recently wondered aloud to me how Kevin Towers was involved in the Lee trade talks. Towers has a close relationship with both Brian Cashman and Zduriencik.

From the Rangers' point of view, GM Jon Daniels indicated today to The Ticket's Norm Hitzges that he continually had an open dialogue with the Mariners. Daniels felt that the Rangers were in second place Friday morning, until he adjusted his offer.

Cliff Lee Rumors: Sunday

By Luke Adams 2 | July 4, 2010 at 9:17pm CDT

9:17pm: The Cardinals had a scout at today's Tigers-Mariners game as well, tweets Morosi.

2:45pm: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says that both the Dodgers and Yankees had scouts in attendance for Lee's brilliant start against the Tigers today (8 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K). For the Yankees, this is the second consecutive start of Lee's which they've scouted.

According to Morosi, some clubs feel the Yankees are scouting Lee for a potential acquisition prior to the July 31 deadline, while others feel they're scouting with an eye toward this year's free agent market.

2:39pm: Jamey Newberg takes a lengthy, but interesting look at some reports guessing what it might take for the Rangers to acquire Lee from Seattle. Ultimately, due to the elite prospects required and the difficulty of working out the payroll (Newberg suggests adding Rich Harden and including an extra prospect to offset the salary), he feels he'd say no to Zduriencik were he in Ranger GM Jon Daniels' shoes.

Newberg also makes the point that while Lee projects as a Type A free agent, it shouldn't be assumed that he'll net his new team two first-round draft picks. Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford both project as fellow Type A free agents. With all three on the Yankees' radar, it's possible that Werth and/or Crawford end up outranking Lee, though Lee currently leads the three. If that happens, and the Yankees sign Lee and one of the two outfielders, Lee's new team would receive a supplemental round pick and a second-round pick instead of a first.

12:28pm: Citing rival executives, ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider link) says that Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik is searching for a "difference-making hitter" in any Cliff Lee negotiations. Expanding upon a tweet he made yesterday, Olney takes a look at the type of young hitter the Mariners may ask for in return for Cliff Lee.

One scenario that Olney suggests involves bringing the Brewers into a potential three-way trade. During Zduriencik's time in Milwaukee, he drafted Brett Lawrie, who Baseball America ranked as the 59th-best prospect in baseball coming into this season. The 20-year-old has only improved his stock this year, hitting .297/.362/.476 with 22 steals for Milwaukee's Double-A affiliate. While trading for Lee makes little sense for the Brewers, they could hypothetically add talent and depth to their farm system by sending Lawrie to Seattle and receiving prospects from the team acquiring Lee. This is speculation on Olney's part, but it's something Zduriencik could very well consider in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Frank Fitzpatrick of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Cliff Lee checks in on his former teammates in Philadelphia every now and then. Within the piece, Lee says he'd be happy to stay in Seattle for the rest of the year, and touches on how the season may have played out if he'd remained a Phillie.

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