Draft Reactions
If the owners have their way, we won't see the heavy over slot spending we did in yesterday's draft for a long time: ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that a draft slotting system is the top priority of MLB in the current labor talks. However, Olney's colleague Keith Law notes that the majority of scouts and directors he's spoken to are opposed to hard slotting. That's a major issue for the near future, but for now let's focus on yesterday's signings…
- Baseball America's John Manuel provides a nice summary of the major events of yesterday's deadline. He praises the big-spending Pirates, Royals, and Nationals, but expressed surprise at the dollar amounts the Nats committed to Brian Goodwin and Matt Purke. Manuel notes that other clubs must be surprised the Pirates managed to sign Josh Bell for $5MM. Overall, Manuel opines that baseball's August 15th deadline is not suppressing bonuses as intended, and should be moved earlier. He also advocates dropping the idea of a slotting system, trusting teams to evaluate and price talent.
- Law looks at Tyler Beede's decision to turn down Toronto's offer, and also examines strong drafts from the Cubs, Pirates, Nationals, and Padres. Like Manuel, Law questions Washington's Purke deal.
- Beede was one of six players not to sign within the first three rounds; BA's Jim Callis has details on the compensation picks the Jays, Padres, Yankees, Mariners, Marlins, and Rockies will receive next year.
- Law wrote that he's "surprised by how little [Dylan Bundy and Archie Bradley] got relative to their talent levels." It may have had no bearing on the contracts of those two players, but I confirmed today that their agency BBI Sports Group is dealing with some turmoil, having recently fired Jeff Frye and another agent.
- Speaking of agencies, I've updated our database to include pretty much all major draft picks from this year.
- ESPN's Jim Bowden has an interesting article showing how the D'Backs, Padres, Rays, and Nationals re-allocated money from unsigned draft picks, and also discusses his Jeremy Sowers situation from '01 with the Reds.
Padres Sign Austin Hedges
The Padres announced that they have signed catcher Austin Hedges. They selected the 18-year-old in the second round of the draft after Baseball America named him the 12th-best position player prospect available and praised his defense. Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres, who first reported the deal, says the agreement is worth $3MM (Twitter link).
You can keep track of which top picks have signed with MLBTR's list.
Padres Sign Joe Ross
The Padres signed first rounder Joe Ross for $2.75MM according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). Wasserman Media Group represents the high school right-hander, the 25th overall pick in this year's draft. The California native had committed to UCLA, which produced two 2011 first rounders, top pick Gerrit Cole and third overall selection Trevor Bauer.
You can keep track of which top picks have signed with MLBTR's list.
Supplemental Draft Pick Signings
When teams lose ranked free agents after offering arbitration, they obtain supplemental first round picks in the following year's amateur draft. The teams then have until August 15th to sign the picks. Today is the last day for teams to sign this year's draft picks and we'll keep track of the latest deals for supplemental first rounders right here:
- The Rays signed Tyler Goedell, according to the team. The third baseman obtains $1.5MM, according to Callis. The Rays also signed Grayson Garvin, according to Conor Glassey of Baseball America (on Twitter). It's a $370K deal, according to Callis (on Twitter). Tampa Bay obtained the 59th overall pick for the loss of Brad Hawpe.
- The Padres signed Michael Kelly, according to Callis (Twitter links). It's a $718K deal.
- The Red Sox signed 36th overall pick Henry Owens for $1.55MM, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (on Twitter). They also signed Jackie Bradley Jr. for $1.1MM, according to John Manuel of Baseball America (on Twitter).
- The Nationals agreed to terms with Brian Goodwin, the 34th overall pick, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The outfielder's bonus is believed to be $3MM.
- The Twins will sign supplemental first rounder Travis Harrison to a deal worth $1.05MM, according Zoodig, an athlete digital media platform, on Twitter. The Twins also signed supplemental first rounder Hudson Boyd for $1MM, according to Callis (onTwitter). The Twins obtained the 55th overall pick for losing Orlando Hudson.
- The Diamondbacks agreed to sign Andrew Chafin for $875K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. The D'Backs obtained the 43rd overall pick as compensation for Adam LaRoche.
NL West Notes: Romero, Dodgers, Giants, Padres
Here's the latest from the NL West…
- Lefty reliever J.C. Romero is with the Rockies today according to ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter), but he has not signed. Troy Renck of The Denver Post says (on Twitter) that Romero will see a doctor and throw a bullpen tomorrow, and if all goes well, he could be added to the roster as soon as Monday. The Yankees released Romero earlier this week.
- Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times reports that the Dodgers are currently on pace to lose more than $42MM in annual revenue since 2009, their last playoff appearance. Shaikin also has a breakdown of some payments the team made in recent years, including more than $5K for Red Sox tickets.
- A source told Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle that the Astros asked the Giants for one of their untouchable prospects "plus plus" in exchange for Hunter Pence before the trade deadline (Twitter link).
- Tyler Kepner of The New York Times wrote about the Padres and their knack for finding relievers in uncommon places, including Josh Spence. The left-hander from Australia has a 1.61 ERA in 22 1/3 innings since being called up, and lefties have hit just .140/.159/.279 off him.
- Despite a 38-56 record in their lasts 94 games, SI.com's Jon Heyman says (on Twitter) that the job of Rockies manager Jim Tracy is not in jeopardy.
Hoyer Talks Adams, Bell, Draft, Petco Park
Padres GM Jed Hoyer appeared on XX1090 Sports Radio with Darren Smith yesterday, and you can listen to the interview right here. Let's recap the important stuff…
- "No one liked watching Mike Adams pitch the eight inning more than I did," said Hoyer, who added that trading the setup man was about getting better in the long-term and maintaining payroll flexibility. "You can't have the back end of your bullpen taking up a third of your payroll space."
- Hoyer has spoken to Heath Bell's agent a number of times since the trade deadline, but said the nature of those talks will remain private. He did acknowledge that he cleared the air with Bell.
- "We're going to be aggressive and make them good offers, but we're not going to do anything ridiculous," said the GM in reference to the team's unsigned draft picks. "I think we'll get all these guys signed, I hope we do." The Padres have already signed top pick Cory Spangenberg.
- Hoyer spoke about Petco Park, and how his team is third is scoring on the road but 15th at home. "[Moving in the fences is] something that's always under consideration. I don't think it's imminent. I think it's something … we need to get over the Petco hurdle without moving the fences in."
Gaslamp Ball recapped the rest of the interview, in which Hoyer discussed injuries, the surging Jesus Guzman, and more.
Padres To Sign Pedro Feliz
The Padres have agreed to sign Pedro Feliz to a minor league deal, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. Feliz joined the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League after the Royals released him in Spring Training and will report to the Padres' Triple-A affiliate on Friday.
Feliz hit .218/.240/.293 in 429 plate appearances for the Astros and Cardinals last year before signing with the Royals last offseason. The 11-year veteran has a .298 average with 11 homers and 15 doubles in 275 at bats since joining the Riversharks in May, according to Rojas.
Padres To Raise Payroll
The Padres will raise their payroll over $50MM next year with the expectation that it will rise to a “resting place” of $70MM within five years, CEO Jeff Moorad told Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. That’s a significant boost for the Padres, who have operated on payrolls in the $38-45MM range since 2009.
“Our long-term goal is to operate at $70 million,” Moorad said. “When we get there, we’ll be properly balanced.”
Moorad also noted that his ownership group is not close to completing its purchase of the Padres from owner John Moores, though they hope to finalize the deal sooner rather than later. The Padres are looking forward to a new TV deal, since their current agreement expires after the season. However, Moorad says the Padres don’t expect to be major spenders on the free agent market.
“The team is going to be homegrown,” he said. “I’m consistent. We’re not going to be shifting our priorities from year [to year]. The plan won’t change.”
Moorad explained that he intends to break even every year, without pocketing profits or sustaining losses.
Quick Hits: Astros, Bell, Tigers, Angels, Rays
On this date last year, the Brewers sent Jim Edmonds to the Reds. Tonight, Milwaukee starter Shaun Marcum will look to extend his club's division lead against Edwin Jackson and the Cardinals. Here's the latest from around MLB…
- Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle reports that the official transfer of ownership of the Astros from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane is likely to take place on August 22nd if the other 29 owners approve the sale at next week's owners' meetings.
- Executives believe Wandy Rodriguez will clear waivers, but not Heath Bell, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Neither player had been sent through waivers yet as of this morning.
- The Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies are in one tier and the rest of MLB is in another, Tom Verducci writes at SI.com.
- The Tigers’ deep rotation and strong attendance led to extensions for GM Dave Dombrowski, John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press writes.
- Yahoo's Tim Brown suggests Mike Scioscia deserves credit for keeping the light-hitting Angels in the race (they trail the Rangers by 1.5 games).
- It's unlikely that the Rays will make any moves this month, ESPN.com's Buster Olney writes.
Stark On Reyes, Bell, Astros, Slowey
Jose Reyes’ injuries have hurt his free agent stock, as we saw earlier today. ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark surveys people around MLB to determine what kind of contract the shortstop will obtain in free agency. Here are the details and the rest of Stark’s rumors:
- There’s buzz that the Mets were prepared to offer Reyes $100MM over five years earlier in the summer, Stark reports. It’s not hard to imagine the Mets scaling back their offer or replacing guaranteed years with vesting options now.
- One of Stark’s sources estimates that each day on the disabled list costs Reyes $500K. However, there's no doubt that Reyes will see some substantial offers this winter.
- Rival teams expect the Padres to trade Heath Bell this month, Stark reports. The Cardinals and Diamondbacks are the serious NL contenders with the worst record (62-53), which makes them prime candidates to make a claim on Bell. Assuming he does get claimed, the Padres will only be able to trade with the claiming team, so they’ll want to time his placement on waivers carefully.
- The Astros’ sale is just a week away, Stark writes. Other clubs are hearing that incoming owner Jim Crane may drive payroll down to $50MM or below from $71MM.
- One executive expressed his surprise at the Twins’ decision to keep Kevin Slowey, a non-tender candidate who’s currently earning $2.7MM at Triple-A. “If they'd traded him, at least they would have gotten something,” the person said. At least they would have gotten rid of the money. So I'm just not sure why he's still there."