Draft Signings: Mader, Strahan, LaValley, Johnson
Here are today’s draft signings, with a tip of the hat to Baseball America for providing the assigned bonus values for every pick in the first 10 rounds…
- Marlins supplemental third-round choice Michael Mader has agreed to sign for the slot bonus of $499.5K (plus a college scholarship), tweets Cotillo. The JuCo lefty, who landed at 185th on Baseball America’s list of the draft’s top prospects and 186th on MLB.com’s version, had been ticketed to throw for FSU.
- The Reds have announced the signing of thirteen picks, including third-rounder Wyatt Strahan and fourth-rounder Gavin LaValley, tweets Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. That pair were taken with choices carrying $558.7K and $411.9K slot values, respectively, though signing terms are not yet known. Strahan, a junior righty from USC, cracked the top 100 prospects in the view of Baseball America. LaValley, a Canadian high-school first bagger, landed at 118th on MLB.com’s ranking.
- High school righty Cobi Johnson, the 71st overall prospect in the draft according to Baseball America, has tweeted that he will honor his commitment to Florida State rather than agreeing to terms with the Padres. Johnson was obviously viewed as a hard-sign player, as San Diego chose him in the 35th round (seven rounds after taking Jonny Manziel).
- J.D. Davis, the first player taken on the draft’s second day (75th overall), has agreed to an at-slot, $758.6K bonus with the Astros, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. A two-way player for Cal State-Fullerton, Davis will start his career at third base for the Houston organization.
- The Brewers have agreed to terms with their third round selection, right-hander Cy Sneed, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Contract details aren’t known, though the slot price for the 85th overall pick is $641.8K.
- The Brewers signed their sixth-rounder, high school right-hander David Burkhalter, Tabby Soignier of the Monroe News Star reports. Burkhalter’s bonus was worth $200K, a below-slot signing for Milwaukee given that the 176th overall pick has a $251.9K assigned value.
- White Sox tenth-rounder Jake Jarvis confirmed via his Twitter account that he had signed with the club. MLB.com’s Joe Popely notes that there was a perception that Jarvis was possibly unsignable due to the high school second baseman’s commitment to Texas A&M. Terms of Jarvis’ deal are unknown, though the 288th overall pick has a $141.3K slot value.
Padres Designate Jason Lane For Assignment
The Padres have designated lefty Jason Lane for assignment, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. His roster spot will be taken by Andrew Cashner, who is set to come off the DL to start tonight.
A veteran of six MLB seasons as an outfielder, Lane received his first big league action as a pitcher at age 37. While it took quite an effort for Lane to return to the bigs, his stay was short. He tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit with four strikeouts and no free passes.
Of course, Lane could well find his way back to San Diego this year. He currently owns a 4.36 ERA through 11 starts at Triple-A, and even remains a threat at the plate with a .407/.484/.667 triple-slash in 31 plate appearances.
Quick Hits: Athletics, Phillies, Red Sox, Denorfia
The Athletics have been successful recently because they excel at finding role players, and because manager Bob Melvin helps keep them happy, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News writes in a piece contrasting the A’s with the Yankees and Mets. “(Melvin) has a good feel of the heartbeat of the clubhouse. You can look around and see when a guy is unhappy, and he calls him in the office. The rest of us might not even know he is doing it,” says Nick Punto. The A’s also get lots of mileage out of players acquired from outside their organization, like Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss and Jesse Chavez. Being in a lower-pressure environment may also help the A’s, who managed to keep their GM in place and take the time to build a top team despite not having a winning season from 2007 through 2011. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.
- The Phillies deny that they make a mistake in including prospect Domingo Santana on a list of potential players to be named in the 2011 Hunter Pence trade with the Astros, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports. A story in the Houston Chronicle last week stated that Santana had been placed on the list of potential PTBNLs by accident. “There was no mistake,” says Phillies GM Ruben Amaro. “If someone said that, they are misinformed because it’s absolutely, unequivocally wrong. It’s false.” Then-Astros GM Ed Wade requested that Santana be placed on the list, Amaro says. Santana, 21, is now a top prospect with the Astros, hitting .292/.368/.485 so far this season with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
- The biggest problem in the Red Sox‘ disappointing season has been its outfield, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes. Britton suggests that the team’s decision to allow Jacoby Ellsbury to leave appears defensible, but there weren’t many good backup plans available if Jackie Bradley Jr. struggled, which he has. In addition, Daniel Nava has played poorly, and Shane Victorino has had injury trouble. In hindsight, Britton suggests, the best reasonable move might have been to acquire an outfielder like Chris Denorfia of the Padres in a trade.
- Denorfia could be a hot name on the trade market this summer, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports predicts (scroll down). Denorfia can play all over the outfield and hit lefties, and he’ll be a free agent after the season. The Padres, meanwhile, have struggled, going 27-34 so far. Denorfia is hitting .265/.313/.368 in 167 plate appearances so far this season, although he’s hit better than that in four straight seasons before this one.
NL Notes: Dodgers, Brewers, Morales, Zimmerman, Welker
Tyler Stubblefield was stuck at low-A ball last year for the Padres at age 25. This year, writes MLB.com’s Corey Brock, he played a key role in recommending the team’s first-round draft choice, N.C. State shortstop Trea Turner, as San Diego’s area scout for eastern George and North and South Carolina.
Here’s the latest from the National League:
- It is time for the Dodgers to initiate a shake-up, opines Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider link). While the team undeniably has talented pieces, they have not fit together well, says Olney, who recommends that the team consider bringing up top prospect Joc Pederson to play center and installing the defense-first Erisbel Arruebarrena at short. Of course, those moves would have repercussions involving key veterans Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez, among others, but Olney says that dramatic action may be necessary with the club still sitting well back of the Giants in the NL West.
- The Brewers do not seem like a good fit for Kendrys Morales, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes on Twitter. McCalvy says that two key questions — Morales’s ability to handle first and the team’s ability to fit him in the payroll — make a signing unlikely.
- Ryan Zimmerman says that he is not sure that he will ever return full-time to third base for the Nationals, as Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports. “I don’t know if I’m the best option over there anymore,” he said. “I’ve always said I’ll play until someone is better than me, or I’m not the best option at that position.” It will be fascinating to see how the Nats proceed when Bryce Harper returns, which is expected to occur around the turn of the month. While the team would have several options heading into 2015 — Zimmerman could stay in left and the team could deal Denard Span, or he could move to first if Adam LaRoche leaves town — the mid-season calculus is even more complicated. It seems hard to imagine that the team would leave second base in the hands of Danny Espinosa while taking away significant at-bats from any of the other players just mentioned. It seems at least possible that the Nationals could explore some creative trade possibilities to right-size the everyday lineup.
- Pirates righty Duke Welker underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, reports Tom Singer of MLB.com (via Twitter). The towering 28-year-old was the player to be named later in last year’s Justin Morneau deal, but later returned to Pittsburgh in exchange for lefty Kris Johnson.
Post-Draft Links: Aiken, Schwarber, Davidson, Verdugo
The first day of the 2014 draft is complete, and as many expected, the Astros selected high school left-hander Brady Aiken with the No. 1 overall pick. The team is in no hurry to sign Aiken, however, the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich reports (Twitter links). Still,the Astros are understandably excited about the player they drafted. “This is the most advanced high school pitcher I’ve ever seen in my entire career,” says GM Jeff Luhnow. “He has command like I’ve never seen before.”
Here’s more from the draft’s first day…
- The Cubs turned some heads by selecting Indiana catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber with the fourth overall pick, but scouting director Jason McLeod told reporters that Schwarber was No. 2 on the team’s draft board all along. ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers quotes McLeod (on Twitter) as saying that Schwarber trailed only Aiken on their board, though as the Chicago Sun Times’ Gordon Wittenmyer tweets, McLeod did acknowledge that the pick will save them some money. The Cubs are expecting him to sign quickly.
- Braves top pick Braxton Davidson says he will sign rather than attending UNC, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Davidson’s slot — No. 32 overall — carries a $1.7054MM value, per Baseball America. I spoke with Davidson as part of MLBTR’s Draft Prospect Q&A series.
- Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish hears that the Dodgers and No. 62 overall pick Alex Verdugo already have an agreement in place, and the ASU commit will not be attending college (Twitter link). VP of amateur scouting Logan White tells MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick that Verdugo, a two-way prospect, will start as a center fielder and convert to pitching if he doesn’t hit well (Twitter link).
- MLB.com’s Corey Brock spoke with Padres scouting director Billy Gasparino and got the impression that the team will shift its focus on jump on some arms tomorrow (Twitter link). San Diego drafted a pair of bats today in UNC shortstop Trea Turner and prep outfielder Michael Gettys.
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Negotiations, Mocks, Wall, White Sox, Twins, Padres
As noted last night, the exchange of information between teams and draftee advisers is a widespread, critical component of the MLB amateur draft process. It is also, of course, one that takes place in something of a gray area, owing largely to the NCAA rules that threaten the amateur status of players who retain advisers. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports has obtained and published an interesting memorandum sent by MLB to its member clubs, which was later forwarded by the MLBPA to certified agents, setting forth the rules by which parties are expected to engage one another. According to the memo, clubs cannot enter into pre-draft agreements or understandings. Teams are permitted to ask what a player would sign for, but cannot condition a selection on a promise that the player will accept a certain bonus. Likewise, advisers are forbidden from saying that a player has a deal with another club or threaten to do so if demands are not met. Passan calls the document “a farce,” writing that “both parties drawing up these rules ignore them fundamentally.”
Here’s the latest as the hours tick down to the draft, which is set to begin at 6:00 central time (with the Astros’ first overall pick expected to be made at 6:12 CST):
- The MLB.com prospect team has published its latest mock draft, with both Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis agreeing that Brady Aiken, Carlos Rodon, and Tyler Kolek will go 1-2-3. They disagree on the next choice, with Mayo tabbing catcher Kyle Schwarber to the Cubs and Callis predicting that Chicago will instead go with outfielder Michael Conforto. (Each prognosticator predicts just the opposite result with the Rockies‘ in the eighth slot.)
- In its latest iteration, the Baseball America mock largely concurs with MLB.com through pick eight, but begins to differ at that point.The biggest disconnect occurs at the tenth slot, where BA expects the Mets to take high school second baseman Forrest Wall. MLB.com sees Wall lasting until the Rangers select 30th overall, while noting that he could be nabbed by New York.
- White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper says that he likes all four of the arms rated most highly by the team, including the three mentioned above along with Aaron Nola, but prefers Aiken, reports Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com. “I liked them all,” said Cooper. “I liked the kid Aiken maybe the best. But a high school kid, that’s going to be a little longer. The closest to the big leagues Rodon and the second closest was Nola. It’s hard not to like the stuff coming out of the hand of Kolek. Those high school kids, there’s work to be done there.”
- Expectation is building that the Twins will go with shortstop Nick Gordon at fifth overall, with Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reporting (Twitter links) that the team has seen him more than any other. Indeed, two key team executives have watched him in action more than ten times apiece, says Wolfson.
- The Padres are eyeing a position player with the 13th overall pick, likely from the college ranks, reports MLB.com’s Corey Brock. “We’ve tried to go back and get to know and see these college players more,” said scouting director Billy Gasparino. “We have been really aggressive with high school guys, but this year feels like a good college crop.” Of course, as Brock notes, the team’s ultimate direction remains very much dependent upon who goes before they are on the clock, and it would not be surprising to see the club add an arm.
- If you haven’t already, remember to check out MLBTR’s Q&A sessions with top draft prospects Braxton Davidson, Aaron Nola, Jacob Gatewood, Michael Chavis, Nick Gordon, Nick Burdi, and Bradley Zimmer.
Draft Links: Padres, Ryan, Phillies, Jays
The 2014 amateur draft is only three days away, so here’s the first batch of what will surely be a ton of draft-related items this week…
- The Padres won’t draft Jeff Hoffman or Erick Fedde with the 13th overall pick, sources tell Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Both college right-handers recently underwent Tommy John surgery and though the team “briefly kicked the idea around” of taking one of the highly-touted pitchers in hopes of a full recovery, the risk seemed too high at that point in the first round. “We want to take someone who is healthy. There are too many good options on the board,” assistant GM Chad MacDonald said.
- The Twins are likely to again focus on pitching in this draft, general manager Terry Ryan tells Jim Crikket of the Knuckleballs blog. “We’ll draft a lot of pitching just because of the attrition. We need to make sure we have numbers and competition,” Ryan said. “Actually the depth and some of the talent in our organization is starting to lean toward pitching….But we won’t have enough, so we’ll take a bunch more.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that Minnesota will draft a pitcher with the fifth overall pick, as Ryan says the team is just focused on drafting the best possible player. I’d recommend reading the entire interview, as Ryan also touches on such topics as his health and the Twins’ performance this season.
- The Phillies could be altering their draft strategy of taking good athletes with high ceilings by instead opting for more proven players who are closer to making the majors, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury writes as part of an interview with Phillies scouting director Marti Wolever.
- Recent comments from Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos hint that his team could also be taking a somewhat more cautious approach to their draft process, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reports. “I’d say a big part of refining our process is maybe we’re starting to examine the level of risk we’re willing to take….It doesn’t mean we’ll be risk-averse, but maybe not take the same level of risk,” Anthopoulos told Sportsnet Magazine. “We’re just trying to balance it out a little bit more as we’re going through it. That’s not to say we’re not looking for talent, upside, all that kind of stuff. We’re trying to balance it.”
Quick Hits: Lane, Francoeur, Rays, Astros
Jason Lane is a former outfielder who’s now a pitcher, and Jeff Francoeur is an outfielder who occasionally pitches. Both of them are with the Padres‘ Triple-A affiliate in El Paso, trying to get back to the Majors, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times reports. Lane, the former Astros outfielder, converted to pitching two years ago and is still working on it as a 37-year-old, posting a 4.36 ERA with 3.9 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 64 innings so far this season. He also pinch-hits. Francoeur, who played for the Royals and Giants last season, is hitting .278/.309/.450 for the Chihuahuas and occasionally taking his turn as a reliever, appearing in six games on the mound so far this season. Kepner notes that Francoeur is “pitching for fun,” so presumably he won’t be looking for a similar role in the Majors. Also, he still has hope as an offensive player. “If I keep hitting like this, I’ve got a chance to go to the Futures Game!” he says. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.
- At 23-34, the Rays‘ season hasn’t gone as planned, but owner Stuart Sternberg isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet, Bill Chastain of MLB.com writes. Sternberg certainly isn’t ready to commit to selling at the trade deadline — not that there’s much urgency on that front at this point. “[I]f you think you’re in striking distance, and more importantly, if you have confidence in the guys here that they’ve got a good stretch of baseball in them, in a week or two, you look back and you could be in a different position,” he says.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow is pleased with the results of a recent trip to Japan with pro scouting coordinator Kevin Goldstein, writes MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Luhnow and Goldstein met with Japanese teams and interviewed candidates for a scouting position in Japan. “[W]e really felt like this is an important first step for us in re-engaging our activity in Japan and hopefully, eventually signing some good Japanese players,” says Luhnow, who says one motivation for the trip was that the Yankees had a scout watching all of Masahiro Tanaka‘s starts in Tanaka’s last two years in Japan.
Minor Moves: Korecky, Simunic, Reineke, Overbeck
Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:
- Pitcher Bobby Korecky has cleared optional waivers and remains on the Blue Jays‘ 40-man roster, Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star tweets. The Blue Jays designated Korecky for assignment on Friday. He is headed to Triple-A Buffalo. Korecky appeared in just one game for Toronto this year and has spent most of the year with Buffalo, posting an 0.29 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 31 innings there.
- Outfielder Andy Simunic has been released from the Astros‘ Triple-A affiliate, per the Pacific Coast League’s transaction page. The 28-year-old, Houston’s 17th-round selection in 2008, batted .263/.333/.347 in 106 plate appearances (30 games) for Oklahoma City. Simunic, who tore the ligament in his right elbow pitching in a blowout loss last year (his recovery was chronicled recently by Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle), slashed .276/.358/.340 during his seven-year minor league career, all spent in the Astros’ organization.
- Right-hander Chad Reineke has been released from the Reds‘ Triple-A affiliate, per the International League transactions page. The 32-year-old made 11 appearances (four starts) for Louisville compiling a 9.20 ERA, 5.6 K/9, and 4.2 BB/9 in 30 1/3 innings of work. Reineke last pitched in a MLB game in 2011 for Cincinnati.
- The Padres have announced they have signed first baseman Cody Overbeck to a minor league deal. Overbeck, a 2009 ninth-round selection of the Phillies, was playing for the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League where he posted a slash of .276/.326/.528 in 132 plate appearances through 32 games.
- Per MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, there are four players in DFA limbo: Vin Mazzaro (Pirates), Blake Wood (Indians), Jeremy Horst (Phillies) and Wade LeBlanc (Angels).
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.
Minor Moves: Ramirez, Ayala, Adams, Simmons
Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball.
- The Orioles have agreed to terms with pitcher Ramon Ramirez, MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski tweets. Ramirez will report to Sarasota before heading to Triple-A Norfolk. Ramirez had previously made four appearances this year for the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma. He played sparingly for the Giants last season and spent most of the year at Triple-A Fresno, where he had a 3.46 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9. In addition to that of the Giants, the righty has also pitched out of the Rockies, Royals, Red Sox and Mets bullpens.
- Reliever Luis Ayala is opting out of his minor-league deal with the Orioles, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Ayala pitched 5 1/3 innings for Double-A Bowie, striking out five and walking two while allowing three runs. He pitched for the Braves and Orioles in 2013, posting a 2.90 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 31 innings.
- Outfielder Brian Adams, the Padres‘ eighth-round pick in the 2012 draft, has retired, MLB.com’s Corey Brock tweets. In 410 career plate appearances at the Class A level, Adams hit .219/.262/.356. Brock notes that Adams will go back to the University of Kentucky to finish his degree.
- The Braves have announced that they’ve purchased the contract of pitcher Shae Simmons from Double-A Mississippi and optioned pitcher Ian Thomas to Triple-A Gwinnett. Simmons, 23, shined at Double-A, posting an ERA of 0.78 to go with 11.7 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.
- The Marlins have signed 18-year-old Colombian pitcher Cristian Olmos, Joe Frisaro and Maria Torres of MLB.com write. Olmos is 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, and he throws as hard as 94 MPH and has the makings of a good curveball. He will start the season in the Dominican Summer League.