Draft Notes: Cubs, Giants, Indians, Capps, Winkler, O’s
For the latest on which top picks have signed, check out this post on MLBTR's sidebar. Here's the latest on this year's draftees…
- The Cubs have signed fifth rounder Tayler Scott for just under $280K, tweets Callis. The high school right-hander from Arizona was committed to attend the University of Arizona, and is said to throw in the low-90's with a good breaking ball. MLB's slot recommendation was approximately $158K.
- Callis reports (on Twitter) that the Giants have signed fifth rounder Chris Marlowe for $145K, just above MLB's slot recommendation of $134K. He's a righty reliever from Oklahoma State with a big fastball.
- The Indians signed 43rd round pick Geoff Davenport for $100K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). The left-hander is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
- Mariners draft pick Carter Capps, who signed yesterday, obtained a $500K bonus, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). The recommended bonus for the third rounder was $243K.
- The D'Backs have agreed to terms with tenth rounder Kyle Winkler, according to Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game USA (on Twitter).
- The Orioles agreed to terms with 42nd round right-hander Jason McCracken, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The O's continue talking with their top picks, but nothing has changed regarding their status, according to scouting director Joe Jordan.
Heyman On Reyes, Ortiz, Cole, Twins
The market for Jose Reyes should still be strong after the season, Jon Heyman writes at SI.com. MLB executives tell Heyman that the Giants, Cardinals, Tigers, Angels, Nationals, Braves, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees and Mets could be fits for the shortstop in terms of finances and positional need. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors…
- Yankees people suggest they’re unlikely to pursue Reyes and Red Sox people say they don’t expect to spend big on a position player this winter.
- The Red Sox haven’t discussed a new deal with David Ortiz, though they’re confident that they’ll be able to re-sign him after the season. Ortiz has expressed interest in a multiyear deal for a while, but the Red Sox don’t want to guarantee more than one year.
- First overall draft pick Gerrit Cole is looking to approach Stephen Strasburg’s $15.1MM bonus and top Mariners pick Danny Hultzen is looking for $13MM plus money for school, Heyman reports. Keep track of which top picks have signed here.
- The Twins appear to want to keep Joe Nathan when he hits free agency after the season, but they’ll probably let Matt Capps sign elsewhere.
Draft Notes: Mariners, D’Backs, Jays, Marlins, Tigers
We're less than a week away from the draft signing deadline, so here's the latest news on that front…
- The Mariners have signed third rounder Carter Capps according to Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times (on Twitter). Capps, a right-hander from Mount Olive, was taken with the compensation pick the Mariners received for failing to sign 2010 third rounder Ryne Stanek, and MLB's slot recommendation for the 121st overall pick is $243K.
- The Mariners have also signed 19th rounder Luke Guarnaccia, reports Baker (Twitter links). Baker notes that Seattle has not yet signed their first, second, third, or fifth round picks.
- MLBTR's Tim Dierkes reports (on Twitter) that the Diamondbacks and seventh rounder Ben Roberts are currently "miles apart" in negotiations. Roberts is a high school outfielder from the baseball hotbed known as Missoula, Montana.
- The Blue Jays have signed fourth rounder Tom Robson for $325K accoridng to ESPN's Keith Law (on Twitter). Baseball America's Jim Callis says he received a $325K bonus (on Twitter). Robson is a high school right-hander from British Columbia, and MLB's slot recommendation for the 139th pick is $189K.
- Aaron Fitt and Jim Callis of Baseball America report that the Marlins have agreed to terms with seventh rounder Ryan Rieger on a $200K bonus (Twitter links). Rieger, a first baseman, was committed to Long Beach State after attending the Junior College of the Sequoias.
- The Tigers announced on their Twitter feed that they have agreed to terms with second round pick James McCann. The catcher from the University of Arkansas was Detroit's top selection after they surrendered their first rounder to sign Victor Martinez. MLB's slot recommendation for the 76th overall pick is about $478K, but Baseball America's Jim Callis says he signed for approximately $558K (Twitter link).
- The Yankees have agreed to terms on a $157K bonus with 25th rounder Adam Smith reports Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game USA (on Twitter). Smith played third base and pitched at Texas A&M, and Rogers describes him as "hard-throwing, but raw." He will sign tomorrow.
- The Indians have signed 41st rounder Brian Ruiz, they announced in a press release. Ruiz is a hometown kid, a high school outfielder from Cleveland.
- The Nationals are not expected to sign 15th round pick Zach Houchins according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Houchins, a junior college shortstop from North Carolina, says the team has not contacted him since June, after he posted what were considered racist and homophobic remarks on Twitter.
New York Notes: Jimenez, Nova, Collins, Wade
The Yankees enter today's action tied for the American League's best record, while the Mets sit at just .500. But it was the team from Queens that enjoyed the better Saturday, slugging four home runs en route to an 11-7 win against the Braves, while C.C. Sabathia and the Yankees were beat up by the Red Sox. As the Mets and Yanks prepare for the rubber matches of their respective series, let's round up the latest links on the two clubs:
- Speaking to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Gordon Blakeley, a special assistant to GM Brian Cashman, defended the Yankees' inactivity at the trade deadline: "We were ready to do something if there was someone who could make a big impact. If the kid in Seattle (Felix Hernandez) is available, that is different. But we didn’t see huge impact, and now we think we may get huge impact from kids we didn’t trade in August and September."
- Within the same piece, Blakeley goes on to discuss the Yankees' July pursuit of Ubaldo Jimenez, saying that the organization feels Ivan Nova "is as good as this version of Jimenez."
- The starting rotation won't be a priority for the Mets this offseason, as GM Sandy Alderson will focus instead on re-signing Jose Reyes and bolstering the bullpen, writes Newsday's David Lennon.
- While Alderson praised the performance of Terry Collins, the GM said the club wouldn't even think about extending the skipper's contract until after the season, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Collins is currently signed through 2012.
- Cory Wade, who has recorded a 1.86 ERA in 17 relief appearances for the Yankees this year, told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the Rangers were also interested in signing him after he was released by the Rays, but the Yankees "made a stronger push."
Minors Notes: Buck, Lawrie, Robinson, Ruettiger
A few items of note regarding MiLB comings and goings …
- Indians outfielder Travis Buck has accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus, according to the Indians (via Twitter). Buck was outrighted yesterday. It's been a relatively disappointing big league career thus far for Buck, who was once a fairly well-regarded prospect with the A's but has battled a slew of injuries. He signed a minor league deal with the Tribe in December and was DFA'd upon the acquisition of Kosuke Fukudome.
- The Blue Jays have called up infielder Brett Lawrie, one of their top prospects, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Lawrie, a native of British Columbia, was acquired in the deal that sent Shaun Marcum to Milwaukee last offseason. If his stay in the big leagues is permanent, Lawrie will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after the 2014 season, and he projects to hit free agency after 2017, per Ben Nicholson-Smith (via Twitter).
- Similarly, the Mariners will promote recently acquired outfield prospect Trayvon Robinson from Triple-A Tacoma, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). Robinson, too, is a touted prospect, and his arbitration clock projects similarly to Lawrie's, barring further time spent in the minors. The M's landed Robinson from the Dodgers in the three-way deal that sent Erik Bedard to the Red Sox prior to the deadline.
- The Orioles have signed outfielder Johnny Ruettiger, an eighth-round draft pick out of Arizona State, for $160K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (via Twitter). Ruettiger is the nephew of Rudy Ruettiger, the former Notre Dame football player whose career was chronicled in the popular movie Rudy. Callis notes that Johnny has good speed and a line-drive bat, and, naturally, "grittiness."
- The Phillies have signed former first-round pick Chris Lubanski and assigned him to Double-A Reading, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). The Royals made Lubanski the No. 5 overall pick in 2003, but the left-handed-hitting left fielder has yet to reach the Majors. He's posted a line of .280/.346/.474 in parts of eight minor league seasons.
Mariners Release Jack Cust
The Mariners announced that they have released Jack Cust, who was designated for assignment last week. Seattle's 40-man roster now has 39 players and the Mariners have an empty 25-man roster spot after optioning Greg Halman to Triple-A.
Cust, 32, posted a .213/.344/.329 line with three homers in 270 plate appearances this year. After averaging 28 homers and 103 walks with the A's from 2007-09, Cust's power numbers have fallen off. The left-handed hitter signed a $2.5MM deal with Seattle in December after the A's non-tendered him.
Latest On Doug Fister Trade
WEDNESDAY: Churchill says he doesn't know "for [a] fact" that Ruffin is the player to be named (Twitter link).
TUESDAY: The Mariners will receive right-hander Chance Ruffin from the Tigers as the final piece of the Doug Fister trade, reports Jason A. Churchill of Prospect Insider (Twitter link). Since Ruffin was selected in the 2010 draft, he cannot officially be part of any trade until August 15 and thus will be considered just as a player to be named later until that date. This finalizes Seattle's package for Fister and David Pauley as Ruffin, Charlie Furbush, Casper Wells and Francisco Martinez.
Ruffin, a University of Texas product who turns 23 in September, was a supplemental first round pick (48th overall) in the 2010 amateur draft. The Tigers drafted him with the pick they received as compensation for the Angels' signing of Fernando Rodney as a free agent.
In 40 career minor league relief appearances (31 at Double-A, nine at Triple-A), Ruffin has a 2.00 ERA and an impressive 11.4 K/9 rate. He made his Major League debut on July 25 and has thus far allowed two earned runs and recorded three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings of work with Detroit. Churchill describes Ruffin as being a late-inning reliever, but he is "not sure [Ruffin] has true closer stuff."
Quick Hits: Mets, Overbay, Springer, Storen, Stewart
Thanks to our loyal readers, MLBTR generated 3.1 million pageviews over the weekend! We appreciate you making MLBTR a regular stop, and have a lot of cool things planned in the coming months. On to today's links…
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson told ESPN New York's Adam Rubin that he tried to acquire a reliever before the deadline, but to no avail (Twitter link). He would not rule out a trade before August 31st.
- The Red Sox will not have interest in Lyle Overbay, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The Pirates designated Overbay for assignment today, and as Cafardo notes, he has great numbers in Fenway Park: .323/.395/.500 in 177 plate appearances.
- Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter) doesn't envision Jason Isringhausen re-signing with the Mets this offseason.
- The Astros are very confident that they'll sign first-round pick George Springer, but it may come down to the last week, tweets MLB.com's Alyson Footer. Last week we learned that Springer's father met with the independent league Long Island Ducks.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick names a bunch of waiver trade candidates in his latest article.
- The Twins wanted closer Drew Storen and minor league second baseman Stephen Lombardozzi for center fielder Denard Span, and the Nationals declined, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. I think that would have been a solid deal for Washington.
- The Indians announced they signed infielder Argenis Reyes to a minor league deal; he'd been playing independent ball. In slightly more important news, Ubaldo Jimenez will debut for the Tribe Friday in Texas.
- The extent of Boston's interest in Ubaldo? Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald says exec Allard Baird put in a call on Thursday and the Red Sox weren't in touch after that.
- Both sides have denounced the $30MM figure that was floated for Dylan Bundy, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. Talks are expected to start this week for the Orioles' fourth overall pick. Ghiroli has more on the topic here. Bundy is advised by Jay Franklin at BBI Sports Group; the company also employs his father.
- The Rockies were close to trading third baseman Ian Stewart to an undisclosed National League team yesterday, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, but the deal fell apart with a half hour to go.
- The Mariners and Red Sox are sharing the costs of Erik Bedard's incentives, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
- Newly-acquired players Zack Wheeler and Jonathan Singelton head updated top ten prospects lists for the Mets and Astros, courtesy of Baseball America's Jim Callis.
AL East Notes: Rays, Bedard, Hairston, Jimenez
The deadline has passed and the Yankees are the only team in the AL East that didn't make a deal. The Rays were pretty quiet, too, but there may have been a reason for that…
- Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman underwent an appendectomy last night, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. However, that didn't stop Friedman from conducting business from his hospital room this afternoon.
- The Red Sox and Mariners will each cover some of the incentives on Erik Bedard's contract, GM Jack Zduriencik told Larry Stone of the Seattle Times (Twitter link).
- The Red Sox had interest in Scott Hairston, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). However, the Mets weren't interested in minor salary relief or a marginal prospect.
- Boston wasn’t the only interested team, by the way. The Braves talked to the Mets about acquiring Hairston as a bench bat, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- Jack Curry of the YES Network hears that the Yankees wanted a shoulder MRI for Ubaldo Jimenez, but the Rockies declined (Twitter link).
Trade Reaction: Ubaldo, Rangers, Furcal, Mariners
We've seen dozens of deals completed this month. To help you make sense of it all, here are some reactions to the moves from around MLB…
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan breaks down the deadline for all 30 teams. The Astros might receive Passan's harshest criticism. Passan's response to this morning's Michael Bourn trade: "To send him to Atlanta without getting at least Mike Minor or Randall Delgado, let alone Julio Teheran or Arodys Vizcaino, shows a deep misunderstanding by GM Ed Wade of the proper way to rebuild." Ouch.
- The Rangers, Phillies, Braves, Giants and Mets are winners for ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The Yankees, Angels, Reds and Cubs are losers, Stark writes. The Astros face harsh criticism once again: "They're basically starting to shape themselves for 2015," one NL executive told Stark. "It's almost like they're doing an expansion team."
- Brian Sabean (Giants), Jon Daniels (Rangers), Dan O'Dowd (Rockies) and Jed Hoyer (Padres) are among the general managers on Jim Bowden's list of top deadline deal-makers at ESPN.com.
- In a separate piece, Passan looks back at flameout rates for pitching prospects and concludes that the Indians made a great deal in acquiring Ubaldo Jimenez for a package of players including Drew Pomeranz and Alex White.
- One front office polled its members about winners and losers and the Rangers were the unanimous top choice, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says Rafael Furcal is an upgrade for the Cardinals at short because St. Louis didn't have any legitimate alternatives. Furcal, Law writes, is an average defender with a plus arm.
- The Mariners did well to acquire Charlie Furbush, Francisco Martinez, Casper Wells and one of the Tigers' top three picks from the 2010 draft for David Pauley and Doug Fister, who benefit from spacious Safeco Field, Law writes.
- Law says the Mariners did well to obtain Trayvon Robinson for two months of Erik Bedard and Josh Fields ("a throw-in"), but he isn't sure what the Dodgers were doing in this deal.
- The Rangers' bullpen will be substantially better with Mike Adams and Koji Uehara, Law writes at ESPN.com. San Diego gets Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland from the Rangers, two pitchers who "make up in probability for what they might lack in upside."