Bryce Harper

Heyman On Strasburg, Harper, Piniella

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 19, 2009 at 11:37am CDT

Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Nationals made the "acquisition of the year" when they signed Stephen Strasburg 77 seconds before Monday night's deadline to sign draft picks. Nats president Stan Kasten says he's proud to have signed Strasburg even if he's not proud to have agreed to a record-setting deal. Like many others, Scott Boras believes the agreement was good for both sides. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:

Bryce Harper shouldn't come close to Strasburg's $15MM-plus if he signs next year.
The Rays offered first rounder LeVon Washington $1.1MM. It wasn't enough and Scott Boras was very disappointed not to reach a deal.
Heyman says there's no way the Cubs fire Lou Piniella after picking up his $4MM option for next year.
Jerry Manuel shouldn't have picked on Ryan Church, Heyman says.

Odds & Ends: Escobar, Peavy, Mets, Cardinals

By Mike Axisa | July 16, 2009 at 9:18pm CDT

A gaggle of links for your Thursday evening reading pleasure…

In response to someone mentioning the Yunel Escobar–Matt Holliday rumors, MLB.com's Mark Bowman says "There is zero truth to those Escobar rumors. The Braves have NO and I repeat no intention to move him. Believe me, if they move him, it will simply be a deal that they simply can't refuse and that wouldn't include anything involving Holliday."
Tom Krasovic notes that Jake Peavy is out of his walking boot, and is ready to begin "ramping it up."
David Lennon of Newsday says that earlier today Mets GM Omar Minaya twice mentioned "that he talked with five or six teams today."
Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that the Cardinals may search for starting pitching if Todd Wellemeyer doesn't show more consistency over his next 2-3 starts.
Scott Lauber of The News Journal notes that the Phillies promoted one of their best prospects, outfielder Michael Taylor, to Triple-A. He speculates that Taylor may best serve the club as trade bait, considering all three of their regular outfielders were All Stars.
When asked who the best prospect was if matched up head to head, Baseball America's Jim Callis said he'd go with Bryce Harper over Justin Upton, citing Harper's advantage in power.
MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that the Reds gave Venezuelan shortstop Humberto Valor a $690k bonus. Valor signed with Cincinnati earlier this month.
David Villavicencio of MLB.com mentions that the Marlins have signed eight of their first ten draft picks. First rounder Chad James remains unsigned, however.

Odds And Ends: Rockies, Spilborghs, Harper

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 24, 2009 at 4:55pm CDT

Odds And Ends: Crisp, Benitez, Webb

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 24, 2009 at 10:26am CDT

On this day in MLBTR history, the Padres hadn't decided whether to be buyers or sellers. A lot's changed since last year, but many teams face a similar dilemma now. Here are some links for the morning…

Coco Crisp will miss the rest of the season with a torn labrum, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports that former MLB closer Armando Benitez is pitching for the Newark Bears, hoping for another shot in the big leagues.
Prospect Bryce Harper knows he's "not LeBron yet," according to the AP.
Mark Teixeira says he loved playing in Atlanta and still considers it a "home" of his, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
D'Backs first rounder A.J. Pollock will begin his pro career in Class A South Bend, according to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.
Jeff Wilson of the Dallas Morning News says the Rangers want to improve their 'pen.
A pair of starters may not pitch again this season. Nick Piecoro says Brandon Webb may need shoulder surgery and Mike DiGiovanna says Kelvim Escobar has a "deep ache" in his shoulder.
Click here to listen to my discussion with the Benchwarmers on 590 KFNS in St. Louis last night.

Prospect Updates: Strasburg, Harper, Sanchez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 22, 2009 at 10:11am CDT

Updates on some of baseball's best prospects;

It's fair to expect intense negotiations between Stephen Strasburg, Scott Boras and the Washington Nationals this summer. In this Philadephia Inquirer article by Don McKee, Jered Weaver says his negotiations were too "frantic" back when he was a top college pitcher like Strasburg.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D'Backs are creating so many new ways to lose that they could end up with a worse record than the Nationals and the chance to take Bryce Harper first overall next June.
Dave Mackall of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Pirates first rounder Tony Sanchez is "not oblivious" to the critics who say the Pirates drafted him too early.
Pedro Alvarez has been promoted to AA, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Steve Melewski of MASN.com reports that Mychal Givens was surprised when the Orioles drafted him. O's scouting director Joe Jordan says he'd be surprised if Givens signs soon.

Odds & Ends: Pedro, Ordonez, Holliday

By Eddie Schmid | June 20, 2009 at 9:17pm CDT

On this day in MLBTR history: Last year, the Blue Jays fired manager John Gibbons and Matt Holliday talks were still swirling. In '07, we actually cared who was on Eric Gagne's team veto list and saw Michael Barrett get traded to the Padres.

Bill Ladson at MLBlogs got word that reports that a Nationals rep saw Pedro Martinez pitch Friday are untrue.
Joe Pawlikowski at River Ave. Blues takes issue with CERA, the stat that tries to determine "catchers' ERA."
Jason Beck at MLB.com has more clarification on Jim Leyland's comments on Magglio Ordonez and Scott Boras. Says Leyland: "It was total nonsense on the agent's part that I blindsided Magglio Ordonez."
John Shea at the San Francisco Chronicle outlines a scenario where 16-year-old super-prospect Bryce Harper might fall to the A's in next year's draft.
Bill Shaikin at the L.A. Times wonders if Holliday could end up with the Angels.
Clark Spencer at the Miami Herald wonders where Josh Johnson will end up after 2012.
Joel Sherman at the New York Post proposes an idea where the Commissoner's Office swallows one bad contract on each MLB team, and which he believes should go.

Odds And Ends: Cuban, Harper, Sano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 19, 2009 at 12:57pm CDT

Odds And Ends: Pedro, Padres, Sano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 18, 2009 at 3:57pm CDT

Edes On Tejada, Nationals, Shapiro

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 17, 2009 at 4:28pm CDT

Yahoo's Gordon Edes updates us on the Cardinals' search for a bat and more in his most recent column. Here are the details:

The Cardinals aren't interested in Miguel Tejada, but they are looking to add offensive help at third or in the outfield.
Some have criticized the Pirates for taking Tony Sanchez fourth overall, but Edes hears they chose him because they like his tools and believe he's polished enough to reach the majors before most players in the draft.
The Nationals would move Elijah Dukes or Lastings Milledge. Ryan Zimmerman is their only untouchable player.
The Rangers have interest in Nick Johnson.
There is speculation that Indians GM Mark Shaprio could be promoted to club president, with Chris Antonetti becoming GM. Edes hears that we won't see an in-season shake-up.
Bill Lajoie, one of the decision-makers behind the deal that sent Hanley Ramirez to Florida, doesn't second guess the move.
Edes heard from one scouting director who believes Bryce Harper is stronger than Chipper Jones, Alex Rodriguez or Manny Ramirez when they were in high school. However, some scouts wonder whether Harper would be better if he didn't rush to the majors.

Odds And Ends: Sosa, Harper, Pedro, Ibanez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 16, 2009 at 3:57pm CDT

Links for Tuesday evening…

Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times reports that lawyers with knowledge of MLB's 2003 drug tests say Sammy Sosa tested positive for PEDs that year. Not our domain here at MLBTR, but easily the biggest baseball story of the day.
Tom Verducci of SI.com reports that Bryce Harper has been flooded with interview requests since being profiled on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star believes the Jays should pursue Pedro Martinez.
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark profiles Raul Ibanez and the hot start to the 37-year-old's season.
Not only did the Rockies agree to terms with Tim Wheeler, they made progress with Rex Brothers and signed 27 players in total, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.

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