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Smoltz To Sign With Cardinals

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10:59pm: From Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Smoltz will accept the Cardinals' offer to join the club as its fifth starter after clearing waivers at noon CST [Wednesday], barring an unforeseen waiver claim."  The Cards will be on the hook for only about $100K.  Smoltz will work as the team's fifth starter, at least initially.

8:18pm: Jayson Stark of ESPN is reporting that Smoltz is "strongly leaning" toward signing with the Cardinals. He has told friends that he is planning to make a decision on Wednesday.

Stark writes that the Dodgers, Marlins, and Rangers were also in pursuit of Smoltz. He adds that the Cards will use Smoltz as a set-up man for Ryan Franklin.

5:10pm: MLB.com's Todd Zolecki confirmed the Cardinals' interest in Smoltz on Twitter and added that the Phillies "aren't interested."

9:04am: Cardinals GM John Mozeliak confirmed to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he has "legitimate interest" in John Smoltz. Another official described the team's interest as "very serious." The Red Sox released the righty yesterday, and he's set to become a free agent tomorrow, at which point any team can sign him for the pro-rated major league minimum.

Smoltz has a history of success out of the 'pen, but Strauss suggests via his Twitter that the future Hall of Famer could become the Cardinals' fifth starter. We could hear about Smoltz's decision as soon as today. 

Miller Agrees To $2.9MM Deal With Cards

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MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo hears that Shelby Miller has agreed to sign with the Cardinals for $2.9MM. They selected him 19th overall in the June draft. Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that Miller receives the biggest bonus of any first rounder to sign so far this year. It's the second-biggest bonus in Cardinals history.

Law On Miller, Purke, Jays

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ESPN.com's Keith Law wrote last night that the Cardinals seem to be on their way to signing top pick Shelby Miller, who could receive top-ten money. Signing the righty would be "a huge coup" for the Cards, Law says. Here are the rest of his rumors:

  • The Rangers and Matt Purke are still over $1MM apart so the club isn't optimistic about signing the first rounder.
  • The Blue Jays have a good shot at signing third rounder Jake Marisnick, a high schooler who had first round potential heading into the spring.
  • The Jays aren't likely to sign Canadian lefty Jake Eliopoulos. 

Odds And Ends: Reds, Alvarez, Holliday

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Some links for Monday morning…

  • John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer believes the Reds should be quiet on the free agent market after the season because they have many needs and very little money. And why don't they have enough money? They've spent too much on big contracts already.
  • But Scott Miller of CBS Sports says small-market teams can still contend. He points to recent winners such as the Twins, Indians, Rays and Rockies to show that low-budget teams can succeed.
  • A year ago this time, Pedro Alvarez was the center of attention as he signed with the Pirates. Now, he's heating up in the minors, but he won't make his MLB debut this year, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  • Erik Manning of FanGraphs says he was wrong to assume the Cards gave up too much to acquire Matt Holliday, who's been on an extended tear since joining his new club.

Draft Updates: Miller, Yankees, Jays

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More updates on the final day to sign draft picks…

  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that top Cardinals pick Shelby Miller is in St. Louis for a physical. GM John Mozeliak says talks are "moving in a positive direction" and one official says the sides could end up agreeing on a deal worth about $3.25MM.
  • MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo hears that the Cards are making progress with Miller, but doubts they'll hand out $3.25MM.
  • Mayo reports that first rounders Tyler Matzek (Rockies) and Matt Purke (Rangers) all have substantial gaps to overcome if they're going to sign today.
  • Zack Wheeler and the Giants are now less than $1MM apart, Mayo reports. 
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that the Yankees signed righty Caleb Cotham for $675k, which is more than four times the recommended limit for a fifth rounder.  
  • Callis reports that the Blue Jays signed 18th rounder Daniel Webb for $450k, triple the recommended ceiling for late round picks.

Draft Updates: Ackley, Cards, Tigers, Rangers

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Here's a few looks at some clubs who are still working to sign their top picks…

  • Ryan Divish reports that the Mariners have requested that first-round pick Dustin Ackley take a physical. Divish speculates that this could signal the two sides becoming closer to a deal.
  • The Cardinals are still optimistic that they'll reach a deal with first-rounder Shelby Miller, according to Matthew Leach from MLB.com. The commissioner's recommended slot is $1.386MM for the 19th overall pick, but it's clear that Miller will receive more than that, Leach says. Miller himself was quoted, saying: "Right now, I'm definitely looking to sign a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. It feels good." Sounds like good reason to be optimistic to me. UPDATE: B.J. Rains tweets that Miller is on his way to St. Louis for a physical as well.
  • Jason Beck writes that the Tigers have 21 picks that remain unsigned, including first-rounder Jacob Turner and second-rounder Andrew Oliver. Both Turner and Oliver are being advised by Scott Boras, which could complicate the signings. Turner was rumored to be seeking a deal similar to Rick Porcello's $7.285MM deal before even being drafted by the Tigers. Oliver is coming off a rough season which dropped him to the second round. Beck writes that he could raise his stock by returning to Oklahoma State for another season.
  • The Rangers are "doing everything they can" to sign first-rounder Matthew Purke, says T.R. Sullivan. Purke passed his physical, and has met with club president Nolan Ryan. According to Sullivan though: "all indications from both sides are there is still a substantial gap to bridge before a deal gets done."

Gammons’ Latest: Greene, Angels, Strasburg

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Peter Gammons has a new blog post up at ESPN, in which he writes about the wildcard races and what they mean for baseball. Bud Selig takes a lot of heat, but I don't think there's any arguing that the wildcard is one of his greatest achievements.

Anyway, Gammons drops a few rumor nuggets at the end of the piece, so let's round 'em up…

  • The Red Sox did not pursue Cardinals shortstop Khalil Greene when he cleared waivers. Remember to check out out handy dandy list of players who have already cleared waivers.
  • The Angels are reportedly interested in Heath Bell, who was put on waivers yesterday. Several GMs "expressed doubt that the Padres would be able trade him." I, for one, think the Pads would have no problem moving him if they really wanted to.
  • One GM says the Angels "should take Francisco Cordero. The Reds will move him."
  • Gammons says that most baseball people think the Nationals will sign Stephen Strasburg "if negotiations with Scott Boras do not get contentious." He guesstimates that Strasburg could get $22MM for three years, which would allow him to go to arbitration for three years and land another big payday. Or three. 

Odds & Ends: Shelby Miller, Astros, Strasburg

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… you've gotta ask yourself a question: "Do I feel linky?" Well, do ya, punk?

  • According to MLB.com's Matthew Leach, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said "I would say there's optimism on both sides," when asked about negotiations with top pick Shelby Miller.
  • Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle reports that the Astros have signed 18-yr old Ruben Alaniz for $160K as an undrafted free agent. A Texas high schooler, Alaniz "slipped through the cracks as teams prepared for the draft," but the Astros found him in a tryout camp recently and outbid at least two other teams for his services.
  • Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball takes a look at Stephen Strasburg's value by comparing him to last year's crop of arbitration eligible pitchers.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Nationals, Padres, Hardy, Smoltz

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FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's dig in for some rumory goodness…

  • This coming week may the biggest week in Nationals' history. In addition to Monday's midnight deadline to sign first overall pick Stephen Strasburg, the Nats could pick their next general manager as early as Tuesday.
  • "The buzz in scouting circles" is that Diamondbacks executive Jerry DiPoto is the frontrunner for the job, but the team has given "absolutely no indication of its plans." Acting GM Mike Rizzo has "generally gotten good reviews."
  • The Padres put both Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell on trade waivers Friday. Both are likely to be claimed, but don't count on either getting traded. The team says that the Jake Peavy trade has greatly reduced the pressure on them to move either Gonzalez or Bell.
  • If either player is going to be moved, it would most likely happen in the offseason when the Padres could negotiate will all 29 other teams.
  • If shortstop J.J. Hardy stays in Triple-A for more than 20 days, he'll remain under the Brewers control for two more years instead of one. Such a move would enhance Hardy's trade value, and it would be tough for him to argue it's unfair given his lack of production this year. However, if service time was an issue, the club should have demoted him a lot sooner.
  • Marlins righty Anibal Sanchez was throwing 90-94 in his most recent rehab start, and his return would lessen the pressure on some of the team's other young starters.
  • The Marlins and Cardinals are among the teams looking at John Smoltz as a reliever. The Cards are also looking at a number of other righthanded options for their bullpen.

Talkin’ John Smoltz

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As Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com notes, 42-year-old right-hander John Smoltz has not considered retirement and is hoping to join a new team soon, either as a starter or reliever.  Here's what we know so far:

Smoltz was designated for assignment by the Red Sox on August 7 after posting an 8.33 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP over eight starts.  He refused an assignment to Triple-A Pawtucket earlier this week, and the Sox now have only two days to find a trade partner before they must grant him his release.  The Marlins, Cardinals, Dodgers, Rangers and Astros are thought to have some level of interest.  SI.com's Jon Heyman has spoken with MLB executives who believe the veteran is likely to end up back in the National League.

There's a chance an interested club will jump in and make a deal for Smoltz before he's released, but it would make more sense for teams to sit tight until Monday, and leave Boston with the remainder of his one-year, $5.5 million contract.  A release will also negate all bonuses and incentives tied to that deal.

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