Brandon Medders Clears Waivers
Brandon Medders cleared outright waivers and will head to Triple A Fresno, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). The Giants had to make room on the 40-man roster for Pat Burrell, who will join the big league club. Medders posted a 7.20 ERA in 14 games this year, with 4.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9.
A year ago, Medders was a regular contributor out of Bruce Bochy's 'pen, appearing in 61 games and posting a 3.01 ERA. Only closer Brian Wilson appeared in more games than Medders, who finished the 2009 season with a 5-1 record.
Medders has never started a major league game, but he and his band once opened for country singer Billy Currington, according to the team's media guide. Not only that, Medders, who is an "accomplished singer and guitarist," opened the show right after pitching against the Braves.
Odds & Ends: Sizemore, Lewis, Red Sox, Haren
Some links for Friday before Roy Halladay tries to restore order for the slumping Phillies…
- Grady Sizemore will miss the rest of the season as he recovers from today's operation on his left knee, according to the team. He is expected to be ready for spring training next year.
- Rogers Sportsnet reported last weekend that the Blue Jays finalized their Fred Lewis acquisition for cash, according to John Lott of the National Post.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Yankees will likely seek a bat with a high on base percentage and wonders if David DeJesus could fit (Twitter link).
- Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe speculates that Mike Lowell and Boof Bonser could be trade bait.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says it's a "long shot" that the D'Backs deal Dan Haren.
- Cuban player Yadil Mujica could sign soon, according to Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald (Twitter link).
- Ebro reports (via Twitter) that the Phillies are eyeing Dominican pitcher Yunesky Maya.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun presents 12 possible replacements for Dave Trembley, including Eric Wedge, Bobby Valentine and Bob Melvin.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says firing Dave Trembley won't be enough for the Orioles. He says the club needs to hire a "high-profile, kick-ass manager."
- David Ortiz told John Tomase of the Boston Herald that he "definitely" hopes to see Lowell traded, since it would be "a wonderful thing" for Lowell's sake.
- As Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports, the Red Sox have more high picks than usual this year, partly because Type A free agents Jason Bay and Billy Wagner signed elsewhere last winter.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer wouldn't give up more than one 'B' prospect to acquire Derrek Lee if he were running the Angels.
- Freddy Sanchez, who will play in Pittsburgh for the first time since the Pirates traded him last summer, tells Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he loved playing in Pittsburgh and can't wait to return.
Odds & Ends: Nationals, Chapman, Duffy, Veal
Not even one no-hitter, perfect game or near-perfect game in the majors today? How unusual. These news items will have to do in the meantime…
- Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com looks at who the Nationals could acquire to solve their ongoing problems in right field. Goessling notes, of course, that Washington might not stay in the NL East race long enough that they'll need to make a trade deadline deal.
- Walt Jocketty tells John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that Aroldis Chapman will not be called up as a reliever to help the Reds' beleaguered bullpen.
- Royals prospect Danny Duffy is back at K.C.'s extended spring training camp, reports The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton and Terez A. Paylor. The 21-year-old left-hander appeared to have abruptly retired back in March.
- Left-handed Pirates prospect Donald Veal will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Veal, who came to Pittsburgh from the Cubs in the 2008 Rule 5 draft, posted a 7.19 ERA in 19 appearances for the Bucs last season.
- The Giants sent John Bowker down to Triple-A Fresno today, a move that Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com says (via Twitter) is the first step in bringing Pat Burrell up to the major league roster. Urban says the club is still figuring out another move in order to get Burrell on the 40-man roster, but tweeted that Mark DeRosa might be moved to the 60-day DL. Burrell signed a minor league deal with San Francisco last week and has made just 19 plate appearances for Fresno thus far, but has an 1.064 OPS in that short span.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America has a rundown of the week's minor league transactions. One of the notable names on the move is veteran Scott Elarton, who was released by the White Sox after signing a minor league deal with the club last March.
The David DeJesus Trade Market
We heard from ESPN.com's Jayson Stark back on May 20 that the Royals were telling teams interested in making a trade to "get back to them in a month." There's still a couple of weeks to go before that supposed deadline, but really, it should never be too early for Kansas City to continue their rebuilding process by trying to move some of their veterans. Scott Podsednik has had a solid year but is somewhat of a one-dimensional speed threat, and Jose Guillen, as Stark noted, is hard to move given his big contract.
The most attractive overall bit of trade bait seems to be David DeJesus. The career Royal is having another solid season, posting an .846 OPS over 228 plate appearances going into today's play. That OPS would be a career-best mark over a full season for DeJesus if he can keep it up. Defensively, he has been above average in right field this year but could be a real asset in left field given his 18.9 lifetime UZR/150 rating at the position.
Contract-wise, DeJesus has about $3.14MM left on the $4.7MM salary he's slated to earn in 2010. The final year of his current deal is a club option worth $6MM for 2011, with a $500K buyout. For a team in need of outfield help, a $3.64MM minimum for two-plus months of DeJesus is pretty reasonable, and that $6MM option might not be a bad pickup either given the circumstance.
With his good play in 2010, DeJesus might have generated the trade market for himself that the Royals hoped would be there last winter. What contenders could be possible destinations for DeJesus?
- San Diego. It's still odd to think of the Padres adding salary at the deadline, but if they're still near first place in July, DeJesus could fill holes at either corner outfield spot.
- San Francisco. Pat Burrell has been signed but he's a major defensive liability in the outfield and may be also be used at first base and as a pinch-hitter. The Giants may not have the money for DeJesus and have a lot of options in LF and RF already, but DeJesus is certainly a more proven contributor than the likes of Andres Torres and Nate Schierholtz. San Fran's need could grow if Mark DeRosa ends up spending more time on the disabled list.
- Tampa Bay. Adding DeJesus would allow the Rays to move Ben Zobrist out of right and back to second base if Sean Rodriguez continues to struggle. DeJesus' contract is modest enough for the Rays to absorb and they certainly have enough good prospects to spare in a swap with K.C.
- Texas. Nelson Cruz's hamstring problems, plus the hitting woes of Julio Borbon and David Murphy, leave the Rangers in need of some outfield reinforcements. With the uncertainty surrounding the club's ownership situation, though, the Rangers might not be able to afford any decently-priced help at the trade deadline.
- Washington. It might be a stretch to consider the Nationals as contenders given their 6-14 mark over their last 20 games, but if the Nats can ride the Stephen Strasburg momentum and get back in the race, DeJesus would be a big help to their right field problems. DeJesus' presence would eliminate the need to put Cristian Guzman in right as a defensive replacement, thus preventing critical errors like the one that cost Washington this afternoon.
Odds & Ends: Griffey, Padres, Suzuki, Pedroia, Haren
Hard to believe that Ken Griffey Jr.'s retirement will only be the second biggest story of the day. Here are some more links to check out…
- Speaking of Griffey, Bob Nightengale of USA Today says (via Twitter) that he will remain with the Mariners in a front office role.
- Big League Stew lists ten players who could be traded before the deadline, headlined by Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee.
- Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse grades the Padres' offseason pickups.
- The Red Sox almost drafted Kurt Suzuki instead of Dustin Pedroia in the second round of the 2004 draft, according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
- D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes did not deny that Dan Haren may be dealt this summer, according to Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link).
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick presents the nine most-hyped draft picks of all time.
- Ben Goessling of MASN.com imagines what a Roy Oswalt-Nationals swap might look like, just as MLBTR's Howard Megdal did. Last night we heard that Oswalt would consider a deal to Washington.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports that Randy Wells switched agents "a while ago," leaving the Beverly Hills Sports Council for ACES (Twitter link).
- Lynn Henning of the Detroit News believes Oswalt and Cliff Lee would cost more than the Tigers can afford to give up.
- Scott Boras told Scott Miller of CBS Sports that Tony Gwynn was an "extraordinary" coach for Stephen Strasburg at San Diego State University.
- Boras doesn't want Bryce Harper to catch, but ESPN.com's Keith Law points out that Harper's bat is worth much more behind the plate than anywhere else.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle predicts that Pat Burrell may make his Giants debut as soon as this weekend.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan describes the journey Colby Lewis took from the majors to Japan and back.
- The Rangers need a reliable catcher more than anything else, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
- The Indians had no interest in Dontrelle Willis, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- But other teams are eyeing an Indians starter. One executive told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Jake Westbrook is "everything you look for if you want to add an arm down the stretch."
Several Teams Interested In Luis Heredia
Seven teams are interested in Mexican right-hander Luis Heredia, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 6'4'' teenager is part of this year's July 2 class, so he will be able to sign exactly one month from today if the Mexican team that controls Heredia's rights makes him available. The Pirates, Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays, Rangers and Mariners are interested, but acquiring the 15-year-old pitcher could cost as much as $2MM.
The Pirates have pursued international free agents aggressively under GM Neal Huntington. The club nearly signed Miguel Sano last summer, before the Dominican signed with the Twins. Alex Anthopoulos has also pursued international talent aggressively since taking over as Blue Jays GM last fall.
2006 Draft Throwdown
There is little that is more dismaying than looking back at old draft lists, with the benefit of hindsight, and seeing which players your favorite team missed out on while settling for players who either failed to make much of an impact, or who never even reached the major leagues. Think Reggie Jackson and Steve Chilcott, Robin Yount and David Clyde, Dwight Gooden and Bryan Oelkers. Often, this is driven less by player talent, and more by positional need.
But even more fascinating is to look at some recent draft picks and some of their immediate counterparts, to see how teams fared picking players, one over another, who played the same position. In other words, straight-up scouting choices led to these decisions. Let's take a look at how those worked out in 2006.
- LHP Andrew Miller (Tigers) vs. Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers): This one is more complicated than it might seem at first. Clearly, Miller, drafted sixth overall, has not been nearly as effective as Kershaw, drafted seventh overall. Miller has a 5.50 ERA in 261 2/3 major league innings, and is currently having trouble throwing strikes in the minor leagues, with an astonishing 30 walks in 28 innings. Kershaw has a 3.28 ERA in 342 major league innings, and shows signs of being a good deal better than that moving forward. But Miller isn't with the Tigers; Detroit dealt him in the move that brought Miguel Cabrera to Detroit. Still, advantage has to go to Kershaw on this one, and the Dodgers as well.
- RHP Tim Lincecum (Giants) vs. Max Scherzer (Diamondbacks): Is this one about to turn? Obviously, as of this date, Lincecum, drafted tenth, has worked out as well as one could hope any draft pick could, while Scherzer, drafted eleventh, is still a work-in-progress who has already been traded once. But Lincecum has had uncharacteristic struggles with his control lately, even though his season ERA (3.14) and strikeout rate (10.4/9 innings) are not far off of his career marks. And Scherzer is coming off of a 14-strikeout performance, though four walks meant that he did so in just 5 2/3 innings. For now, though, a big edge to Lincecum, the two-time Cy Young Award winner.
- OF Tyler Colvin (Cubs) vs. Travis Snider (Blue Jays): Based on 2010 season line alone, this battle of the lefty-hitting outfielders would have to go to Colvin, drafted thirteenth, over Snider, drafted fourteenth. After all, Colvin has an OPS of .991 in 83 plate appearances this season, while Snider's stands at .806. But overall, it seems clear that the Blue Jays did better here. Snider came out of high school, while Colvin was a collegiate player. Yet Snider posted significantly better offensive numbers than Colvin as each player climbed their respective system ladders- a .916 to .785 edge in minor league OPS. Snider was holding down a regular job at age 22 before he hit the DL, while Colvin is struggling for a regular spot as his 25th birthday approaches. This one is debatable, but the smart money gives Toronto and Snider the edge.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Jon Garland
Padres righty Jon Garland is currently tied for fifth in MLB with a 2.15 ERA through his first eleven starts. Let's take a closer look Garland's work and see if he's improved his stock in the upcoming free agent market.
Garland's rate of 5.6 strikeouts per nine innings is hardly inspiring, yet it'd mark a career high. His 4.0 walks per nine rate would be his worst since 2001. So what exactly is he doing well?
Garland is getting lots of groundballs; his 53.3% rate is a career best. On a related note, he's allowed just five home runs in 67 innings. Despite his low strikeout rate, Garland is preventing hits so far. His 7.5 hits per nine, .258 batting average on balls in play, and 80% left on base rates are not sustainable. Garland has particularly taken advantage of PETCO Park by preventing hits, stranding tons of baserunners, and getting extra grounders. Garland figures to allow hits at a higher rate from here on out, though he could balance that by cutting walks.
Assuming the walk rate comes down, Garland has made positive strides that may carry over to future seasons. More strikeouts and grounders always help. He's improved his stock at least slightly, and will get a $300K buyout if he declines his end of a $6.75MM mutual option for 2011. Represented by LSW Baseball, Garland could seek the two-year, $15MM deal Jason Marquis received. LSW's 2011 free agent group includes several other resurgent players, such as Paul Konerko, Brett Myers, and J.J. Putz.
Odds & Ends: Burrell, Diamondbacks, Oswalt
Some links to check out following Roy Halladay's perfect night..
- MLB.com's Cash Kruth passes along a quote from Giants' manager Bruce Bochy regarding the signing of Pat Burrell: "The thought of signing him to help us off the bench, give us a right-handed bat, some power, a good threat coming off the bench and help us late in games and maybe play against certain pitchers. Right now he needs some at-bats in the Minor Leagues, and we'll see where he's at in the next ten days or so."
- The Diamondbacks are leaning towards taking a pitcher with the 6th overall pick in next month's draft, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Scouting director Tom Allison has seen Ole Miss lefty Drew Pomeranz and Georgia Tech righty Deck McGuire in the last few days.
- The Astros and Roy Oswalt are in an uncertain state of limbo, writes Tyler Kepner of The New York times.
- The A's knew about Justin Duchscherer's hip troubles before signing him to a one-year deal this offseason, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The righty will earn the base pay of $2MM but now will not have the opportunity to earn up to $3.5MM in incentives.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle speculates as to why the Giants are calling up Buster Posey today.
- Roberto Alomar is looking for a front office job and would like for it to be with Toronto, writes MLB.com's James Hall.
Giants Sign Pat Burrell
The Giants have signed free agent outfielder Pat Burrell to a minor league deal, reports Mychael Urban of CSNBayarea.com. If the former first overall pick were to reach the majors, San Francisco would pay him the pro-rated portion of the major league minimum, or around $300K.
We learned that the two sides were discussing a deal just two days ago, though Burrell was reportedly mulling over some other options. Burrell was designated for assignment by the Rays before clearing waivers last week, unsurprising given his $9MM price tag. Since joining Tampa prior to the 2009 season, Burrell has hit just .218/.311/.361 in 572 plate appearances, and has been even worse against lefthanders, which was supposed to be his niche.
FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal reported yesterday that if Burrell were to sign with the Giants, his contract would allow him to opt out after two weeks.