Gammons On Peavy, Greene, Holliday
More rumors from ESPN.com's Peter Gammons in his latest column:
- Gammons says it made sense for Kenny Williams to try to deal for Jake Peavy because the AL Central is winnable and Gordon Beckham wasn't part of the deal.
- Gammons expects teams to be wary of no-trade clauses after seeing Peavy thwart the Padres' plans to deal him.
- Nats GM Mike Rizzo wants to deal now, while more teams are in the pennant race and remain possible buyers.
- Rizzo would like to improve his bullpen, which has an ERA nearing 7.00.
- The Red Sox want to wait on David Ortiz and plan on giving him the chance to start hitting. He finally homered this week, but has struck out in seven of his last 20 plate appearances.
- Gammons believes it makes sense for the Cardinals to see if the Red Sox have interest in Khalil Greene.
- Billy Beane may face a limited market for Matt Holliday if he decides to trade the left fielder in July.
Odds & Ends: Beckham, Taschner, Red Sox
Links for Wednesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- The White Sox sent last year's first-round pick Gordon Beckham to Double A to play shortstop, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
- Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle talked to Astros GM Ed Wade about the difference between guaranteed and non-guaranteed contracts.
- El Lefty Malo expects the Giants to trade lefty Jack Taschner and go after free agent Will Ohman. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News dismissed an internet rumor about Taschner and the Tigers. Not sure where that came from.
- Alex Speier of WEEI projects Boston's Opening Day payroll to be under $120MM, its lowest since '03. Speier suggests this could allow midseason financial flexibility.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post asks whether the Nationals will try to avoid an eventual Super Two status for Jordan Zimmermann.
- Bart Given says Shawn Hill made the right decision in signing with San Diego.
- Oil Can Boyd hopes to pitch in Ottawa in the Cam-Am Baseball League.
- The Royals Authority 2009 Annual is on sale now – check it out.
Guillen Offers Updates at SoxFest
8:30pm: Gonzales has another story up on the Tribune’s site with regard to Guillen and the Chicago White Sox.
Guillen said catcher A.J. Pierzynski will remain the No. 2 hitter in the lineup, according to Gonzales. Guillen also said Pierzynski will remain the primary catcher, which curbs suggestions that the Sox will go after free agent Ivan Rodriguez.
Guillen also reiterated what pitching coach Don Cooper has stated: Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd, John Danks and Bartolo Colon (if healthy) will man the first four rotation spots.
Indications are that prized left-hander Aaron Poreda has an excellent shot at making the Opening Day roster, even if he doesn’t beat out Clayton Richard or Jeff Marquez for the fifth starter’s spot, Gonzales writes.
Guillen told Gonzales that he expects Wilson Betemit to be capable of playing all four infield positions. That, and outside Jim Thome, the White Sox do not have a true backup first baseman for Paul Konerko.
Scott Merkin of MLB.com was also there. He notes that minor league director Buddy Bell said Beckham has the ability to play any position.
5:30pm: Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that 2008 No. 1 pick Gordon Beckham will likely need to change positions.
Guillen expects Alexei Ramirez to be the team’s shortstop for the foreseeable future.
Ramirez, 27, hit .290/.317/.475 with 21 home runs and 77 RBI in 136 games in 2008 — his first year in the Major Leagues.
Of those 136 games, Ramirez spent time at second base (121 games) and at shortstop (16).
White Sox Announce Spring Invitees
The Chicago White Sox have announced their Spring Training invitees.
The White Sox invited 18 players: Left-handed pitching prospect Aaron Poreda and infield prospect Gordon Beckham; catchers Tyler Flowers and Donny Lucey; right-handed reliever Mike MacDougal joins fellow White Sox minor leaguers Poreda and Beckham as non-roster invitees.
These 13 signed minor-league deals with the White Sox: Infielders Javier Castillo, Bryan Myrow, Sergio Santos and Eider Torres; catchers Corky Miller and Chris Stewart; outfielders Josh Kroeger and Michael Restovich; right-handed pitchers Ryan Braun, Franklyn German, Brad Salmon and Jon Van Benschoten ; left-handed pitcher Randy Williams.
White Sox Sign First Round Pick Beckham
THURSDAY: Beckham signed for $2.6MM.
WEDNESDAY: According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the White Sox have signed first round pick Gordon Beckham. Here’s the MLB.com link. The signing was first reported by 670 The Score, I believe. Beckham is expected to join with Alexei Ramirez to form Chicago’s middle infield of the future.
Draft Day Roundup
The draft is just four hours away. We’ll be live-blogging it here at MLBTR. Here are today’s draft links.
- Baseball America’s brand new top 30 projections.
- According to Keith Law, Mariners doctors gave the thumbs up on Tanner Scheppers and the team could take him at #20.
- Law says the Nationals seem to be debating between Kyle Skipworth and Aaron Crow at #9.
- Law adds that first baseman Yonder Alonso has an $8MM rumored asking price, which could cause him to drop. Alonso is roughly the 11th-best player in the draft, combining various expert rankings.
- Speaking of huge demands, Buster Posey‘s people are floating $12MM. Perhaps for that reason, the Rays will go with Tim Beckham.
- The Pirates seem a near-lock to take Pedro Alvarez at #2.
- Jonathan Mayo is "fairly certain" the Reds will take Gordon Beckham at #7.
- Nick Piecoro tosses out some possibilities for the D’Backs at #26.
- Tom Haudricourt has three names for the Brewers at #16.
Draft Roundup
Today’s draft links.
- Rany Jazayerli looks at possibilities for the Royals at #3. He hopes they don’t take Eric Hosmer.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has new projections for the top 30. He’s switched the Orioles from Brian Matusz to Aaron Crow at #4, among other changes.
- Keith Law has tons of good stuff…the Giants are eyeing Gordon Beckham, the Reds are considering Brett Lawrie, Jason Castro could go to the White Sox, the Dodgers like Zach Collier, and much more.
- Ken Davidoff is hearing that the Padres are in on Brett Wallace and the Twins like Christian Friedrich.
- Pedro Alvarez would be honored to be picked by the Pirates. Dejan Kovacevic continues to say they’re leaning that way.
- I am considering live-blogging Thursday’s draft, posting each pick here as soon as it’s announced (you would not have to refresh). Would that be helpful?
Considerations For A’s With 12th Pick
As you know, the A’s have the 12th overall pick in the June draft. Jim Callis’ always-informative Ask BA segment in the latest Baseball America print magazine (issue 0809) discusses some possibilities.
Callis suggests shortstop Gordon Beckham would make sense if available – he’s likely to wind up somewhere in the infield long-term. Callis also rattles off a couple of catchers (Kyle Skipworth and Buster Posey), pitcher Christian Friedrich, and outfielder Aaron Hicks. Friedrich may be a consideration for the Giants at #5, however.