AL East Notes: Murphy, Blue Jays, Price, Rays
Recently demoted Yankees catcher J.R. Murphy is garnering a lot of trade interest, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). The 23-year-old Murphy batted .286/.308/.365 in 65 plate appearances for the Yanks this season and enjoyed a solid minor league season in 2013, hitting .269/.347/.426 between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wikes-Barre. However, the Yankees’ offseason signing of Brian McCann to a five-year deal makes it unlikely that he’ll have an everyday spot with the club in the long-term.
Here’s more from the AL East…
- Though there’s been a great deal of focus on the the Blue Jays‘ search for pitching upgrades, GM Alex Anthopoulos tells Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker of 590 The Fan in Toronto that he has had active discussions to bring in an everyday infielder as well (via Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith). Anthopoulos spoke candidly about the fact that eliminating the current infield platoon would free up some bench flexibility. He added that carrying three catchers, as the club is currently doing, is far from an ideal scenario.
- In his latest Fangraphs On FOX article, Dave Cameron examines the trade market for David Price and wonders if the Rays‘ ace might end up being traded twice in the next year. Cameron notes that a number of big-spending clubs aren’t ideal fits due to sharing a division with Tampa, a poor farm system or a poor rank within the standings. As such, he speculates that a lower budget team (listing the A’s as an example) could acquire Price to fuel their 2014 World Series chances, then look to flip him in the offseason to recoup some of the prospect value lost in acquiring Price and his likely $18-20MM salary in 2015.
- ESPN’s Jim Bowden speculates on the five most likely teams to trade for Price, listing the Angels, Blue Jays, White Sox, Yankees and Braves. Bowden runs down trade scenarios for each team within his Insider-only piece. From my point of view, the Halos don’t have the prospects to land Price, while the White Sox are a long-shot because the required prospect package goes against GM Rick Hahn’s long-term plan for the team.
- In attempting to paint an accurate picture of what next year’s Rays roster could look like, Cork Gaines of RaysIndex lists Price, Desmond Jennings, Ben Zobrist, Matt Joyce and Jeremy Hellickson as potential trade chips either at this summer’s deadline or in the offseason. Jennings will see his price tag go up in arbitration, Gaines explains, and the potential emergence of Kevin Kiermaier could make him expendable. Of course, that would likely only be the case were Kiermaier to prove himself over a larger sample than 74 big league PAs.
AL Notes: Durrett, Rios, Moreland, Jackson, Kubel, Jays
ESPN Dallas writer and reporter Richard Durrett, whose work was often referenced in MLBTR’s pages, passed away suddenly today. In one of his final pieces, Durrett wrote an excellent assessment of Alex Rios and his value to the Rangers as a trade candidate or member of next year’s club. As we commend his work one last time, MLBTR offers its deepest condolences to Durrett’s young family, friends, and colleagues in the press box.
Here is the latest news out of the American League:
- Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland is “leaning toward” season-ending ankle surgery, GM Jon Daniels tells Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. Moreland had struggled thus far in 2014, but his absence will still tell for a Texas club that has had more than its fair share of injuries. As Fraley notes, the 28-year-old could be a non-tender candidate.
- The Mariners are in position to begin full-on negotiations with first-round (sixth overall) selection Alex Jackson, writes Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. As Dutton explains, both sides have strong incentives to get a deal done. Jackson’s spot in the draft comes with a $3,575,900 slot allocation, but at present Seattle can dedicate as much as $3,882,900 to the high schooler before incurring penalties, Dutton notes.
- Despite their obvious need for outfield help, the Red Sox appear to have little interest in the recently-released Jason Kubel, reports Sean McAdam of Comcast SportsNet New England (via Twitter). Kubel, 32, scuffled to a .224/.313/.295 line in 176 plate appearances in his return to the Twins.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos took on a range of topics in a press appearance today, and MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm has a transcript. Addressing the team’s still-unsigned first-round choices (injured righty Jeff Hoffman and catcher Max Pentecost), Anthopoulos said that he “feel[s] very confident that [deals] will get done.”
- Turning to the upcoming trade deadline, Anthopoulos said that talks are still in a preliminary stage, with teams “calling to see what everyone’s needs are.” Strongly implying that Toronto expects to be a buyer, as one would expect, Anthopoulos continued: “I think the stage that everyone is at is, where do we have fits, what teams do we line up with and then the next step is, teams are out seeing our affiliates, or are going to see our affiliates.”
- Toronto is not necessarily just focused on adding a starter, Anthopoulos said. “[W]e’ve talked about every spot,” he said. “I was just on the phone with someone that, if they have a player available [and] we have a good player at that spot but that player’s an upgrade, we’d look to do it.” At this point, said the GM, “we’re just basically canvassing the clubs to see who’s available. In some of the conversations, players we didn’t think were available are, and we’ll see where the dialogue goes.”
- All that being said, the Blue Jays still seem likely to pursue rotation help. Indeed, the club sent a scout to watch Cubs‘ righties Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija in their most recent starts, reports Bob Elliott of the Canadian Baseball Network. On the other side of the coin, scouts from the Cubs and Rays were present to watch last Thursday’s outing for Jays’ minor league lefty Daniel Norris, along with the rest of the Class-A Dunedin squad.
Draft Signings: Hentges, Padlo, Loehr, Kelliher, Montgomery
Here are Tuesday’s notable mid- to late-round draft signings, with all slot information coming courtesy of Baseball America…
- The Indians have signed fourth-round pick Sam Hentges to a $700K deal, reports MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). That is nearly $300K higher than the 128th selection’s $400.2K slot allocation; he’ll also get a $160K scholarship. As noted below, Cleveland had already spent much of its existing padding on third-rounder Bobby Bradley. The high school lefty out of Minnesota was rated the 213th available player by Baseball America.
- Rockies fifth-rounder Kevin Padlo has signed for $650K, tweets Callis. Padlo was taken with the 143rd overall choice, which came with a $346.3K allocation. The high school third baseman, who was rated the 129th-best player available by Callis and fellow MLB.com writer Jonathan Mayo, was said to be a late mover up draft boards.
- The Athletics have gone above-slot for two choices, sixth-rounder Trace Loehr and eighth-rounder Branden Kelliher, reports Callis (Twitter link). Loehr will get a $600K bonus (against a $215.9K slot allocation), while Kelliher will get $450K ($215.9K slot). Those overages will take a decent chunk out of the savings that Oakland secured by agreeing with five other top-ten-round choices last Thursday.
- Yankees fourth-round choice Jordan Montgomery has signed for the slot value of $424K, tweets Callis. Montgomery, a junior lefty for the University of South Carolina, was the 120th-best player in the draft, according to Baseball America.
Earlier Updates
- The Indians have inked third-round selection Bobby Bradley, a high school first baseman, the club announced today. Bradley lands an above-slot $912.5K bonus, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter). Bradley was taken with the 97th overall selection, which comes with a $539.6K slot allocation. Running the math on MLB.com’s draft bonus tracker, Cleveland had a cumulative under-slot tally of $501.3K prior to inking Bradley. The team has yet to sign two other high school draftees from its first ten rounds: Simeon Lucas (seventh round) and Micah Miniard (eighth). MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, who rated Bradley the 68th-best available player, said that Bradley offers an unusually advanced left-handed bat with good power. He had been committed to LSU.
- Jim Callis of MLB.com reports (via Twitter) that the Rays have agreed to terms with fourth-rounder Blake Bivens on an over-slot, $465K bonus. Bivens, a high school right-hander out of Virginia, was slotted to receive $404K. Callis notes that he has a chance for a plus fastball and curveball. BA ranked Bivens 124th among draft prospects.
- Marlins fourth-round pick Brian Schales agreed to the full slot value of $490K for the 107th overall selection, reports Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (on Twitter). A shortstop out of Edison High School in California, Schales didn’t rank on Keith Law’s Top 100, MLB.com’s Top 200 or BA’s Top 500 prior to the draft.
- Cotillo tweets that the Marlins also agreed with their fifth-round selection, Casey Soltis, on an over-slot $450K bonus (slot was $366,900). Soltis was a consensus top draft prospect among major media outlets, placing 97th on Law’s list, 100th on BA’s and 113th on MLB.com’s. Law feels he can stick in center due to his athleticism, while the other two think he may be ticketed for right field. There are questions about his power as well, but his speed draws praise.
- The Twins and fifth-rounder Jake Reed agreed to a $350K bonus that saves Minnesota about $6,400, Cotillo tweets. After starting for his first two seasons with Oregon, Reed was moved to the bullpen and settled in as the Ducks’ closer. With a sinking fastball touching 97 mph and a hard slider, he ranked 123rd on MLB.com’s list and 155th on BA’s. He is one of many power relievers selected by Minnesota.
- The Indians went nearly $200K over slot on eighth-round pick Micah Miniard, Cotillo reports. BA, who ranked Miniard 393rd among prospects, noted that the Kentucky high school right-hander’s velocity touched 94 mph last fall but dipped into the mid-80s this season.
Rays Sign Second-Rounder Brent Honeywell
3:10pm: Honeywell receives $800K, which is $16K over his slot allocation, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter).
2:21pm: The Rays have announced the signing of Honeywell.
12:41pm: The Rays are nearing a deal with Competitive Balance Round B selection Brent Honeywell, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Terms aren’t yet known, but Honeywell’s No. 72 overall draft slot comes with a $784K pick value.
A righty out of Walters State Junior College in Tennessee, Honeywell was a surprising pick to some given the lack of national fanfare he received prior to the draft and the fact that he went undrafted out of high school. Baseball America ranked him 195th among draft prospects, and his name didn’t appear on MLB.com’s Top 200 or ESPN’s Top 100. BA praised his 89-93 mph fastball (that touches 95 mph at times) but noted that his slider is below-average. He has the makings of an average changeup and also features a screwball that is tough to judge because he uses it infrequently, per BA’s report. In his recap of each AL team’s draft, Law called the selection of Honeywell “a clear money-saver” for the Rays, opining that Honeywell is almost certain to end up a reliever.
Tampa has agreed to a number of under-slot deals to this point, as can be seen in Baseball America’s draft database. Those picks could help offset over-slot deals for second-rounder Cameron Varga and fourth-rounder Blake Bivens. Varga’s $1.1MM was $167K over slot, while Bivens’ reported $465K is about $61K over slot. The Rays have a few players drafted after the 10th round that could require over-slot deals as well, such as 11th-rounder Spencer Moran.
AL East Notes: Norris, Rays, Markakis, Wieters
Notable talent evaluators from the Rays and Cubs were recently on hand to watch Blue Jays prospect Daniel Norris throw five scoreless innings in a high-A ball start, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reports. Norris, 21, was a second round draft pick for the Jays in 2011 and was ranked as the franchise’s sixth-best prospect by the 2014 Baseball America Prospect Handbook. The southpaw has a 1.22 ERA, 4.22 K/BB rate and 10.3 K/9 in 13 starts this season, and Elliott wonders if Norris or outfielder Dalton Pompey could be targeted by the Rays or Cubs as part of a trade package for David Price or Jeff Samardzija this summer. Both Elliott and two scouts feel the Jays (who are known to be looking for a pitching upgrade) need a power arm to be legitimate postseason contenders.
Here’s some more from around the AL East…
- Also from Elliott, he hears that the Cubs are asking for four players in return for Samardzjia. The Blue Jays had two evaluators present for Samardzija’s start against the Marlins on June 7th.
- The Rays are “looking like the strong favorites” to sign 15-year-old Dominican shortstop Adrian Rondon, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports, though Rondon cannot sign until he turns 16 on July 7. Rondon, who is 6’2″ and 180 pounds, is expected to sign for around a $3MM bonus. Several scouts consider Rondon to be the best prospect available on the international market, with one scout even telling Badler that Rondon’s upside could make him “a Hanley Ramirez-type of offensive shortstop.”
- Nick Markakis “wants to play here for the rest of his life,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko). The O’s have a $17.5MM club option on Markakis for 2015 that will very likely be bought out for $2MM, though Markakis’ strong play this season is putting him in good shape for a new multiyear contract.
- The Orioles expect Dr. James Andrews to recommend that Matt Wieters‘ right elbow will require Tommy John surgery when the catcher is examined later today, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports. Losing Wieters would obviously be a major blow to the O’s this season, and it would further complicate any plans they might have to sign Wieters to a contract extension (Wieters is under control through 2015).
- Two-thirds of the Red Sox roster could be trade candidates if the team decides to rebuild for 2015, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe writes. Abraham’s list includes several relievers (including Koji Uehara), A.J. Pierzynski, David Ross, Stephen Drew, Jake Peavy and Jonny Gomes. While you could make a case for the likes of Jon Lester, Shane Victorino, Will Middlebrooks or Clay Buchholz to be dealt as well, Abraham feels these players are much longer shots to be traded.
- Red Sox GM Ben Cherington needs to make a move for a quality outfield bat before the season is lost, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe opines.
Rays Claim Angel Sanchez From Marlins
The Rays have claimed right-hander Angel Sanchez off waivers from the Marlins, tweets Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Marlins have announced that the move will clear a 40-man roster spot for Rafael Furcal to be activated from the DL and reinstated to the big league roster. Sanchez will head to Double-A Montgomery for the Rays.
Sanchez, not to be confused with the infielder of the same name who inked a minor league deal with the Dodgers earlier today, is a 24-year-old right-hander out of the Dominican Republic. He is one of three pitchers that the Marlins acquired from the Dodgers in exchange for Ricky Nolasco and cash last season (the roughly $6MM of salary relief was the bigger concern for Miami in that transaction). In 12 starts at Double-A Jacksonville this season, Sanchez posted a 6.88 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 52 1/3 innings.
Furcal, who signed a one-year Major League deal with the Fish this offseason, will bat leadoff in tonight’s game for the Marlins — his first big league action since 2012 with the Cardinals. He batted .264/.325/.346 in 531 plate appearances for St. Louis that season. A three-time All-Star and former NL Rookie of the Year (2000), Furcal is a career .281/.346/.403 hitter in parts of 13 Major League seasons with the Braves, Dodgers and Cardinals.
Rays Sign Second-Rounder Cameron Varga
5:03pm: The Rays have officially announced Varga’s signing.
4:49pm: The Rays have reached an agreement with second-round selection Cameron Varga on an over-slot $1.1MM bonus plus $200K in scholarship money, reports Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (on Twitter). The assigned value for Varga’s No. 60 slot had been $943K, according to Baseball America.
Varga ranked 47th among draft prospects according MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, and Baseball America had him ranked 60th overall on their pre-draft Top 500. ESPN’s Keith Law has been semi-critical of the Varga pick to this point and didn’t include the high school right-hander from Ohio in his Top 100. (Law expressed concerns over his shoulder and velocity, calling him a “lottery ticket” that gives the Rays a chance at “stealing” a first-round talent in his review of each AL team’s draft.)
Callis and Mayo praised the UNC commit’s easy 90-95 mph fastball and said that his power curveball has a chance to be a plus pitch in the future. Varga also shows some feel for a changeup, per the MLB.com duo, though he battled biceps tendinitis last year and is among the oldest players in the high school class (he’ll turn 20 this summer and is behind due to transferring schools across the country). BA notes that while his fastball and curveball are both enticing, he struggles to maintain his velocity in the middle innings of starts and will at times settle in at 89-91 mph. He was originally a shortstop — one of the “top underclass shortstops in the country” according to BA — but has gravitated toward pitching.
The Rays have already agreed to terms with their top pick — Wichita State first baseman Casey Gillaspie (younger brother of the White Sox’ Conor Gillaspie). Gillaspie received the full slot bonus, but Tampa can recoup some of the excess spending on Varga due to the fact that they selected and signed three college seniors toward the back end of the first 10 rounds, none of whom should command full slot value. The Rays were allotted $5.8484MM to spend on the draft this season, according to BA’s J.J. Cooper.
Trade Deadline Notes: D’Backs, Price, Zobrist, Lee, Cubs
With the draft in the rear-view mirror, the league’s attention will increasingly turn to the coming summer trade market — though, with so many teams still in the hunt and so much money owed to many possible trade candidates, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if it will be a sluggish market.
Here’s the latest on some teams and players who could be discussed:
- The Diamondbacks, who feature a roster with several attractive veteran pieces, have also been widely noted for their abundance of quality young middle infielders. As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links), current Triple-A shortstop Nick Ahmed has sparked interest from multiple other clubs. Ahmed, 24, is known as an outstanding defensive player and has enjoyed his most productive season at the plate this year with a .304/.385/.401 line in 250 plate appearances in his first run at Triple-A.
- The Rays should consider putting ace David Price on the market now rather than waiting for the deadline to approach, opines MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince. Tampa may not achieve the return it hopes for if it waits, says Castrovince, citing a variety of reasons — including the current proliferation of teams still in the hunt, the possibility that Cubs hurler Jeff Samardzija may approach or even surpass him in value, and the potential introduction of Royals’ ace James Shields into the discussion.
- Price may be the Rays‘ most valuable trade chip, but the versatile Ben Zobrist would draw the widest interest if he is put on the block, tweets Rosenthal. The 33-year-old jack of all trades is owed just $7MM this year and comes with an attractive $7.5MM club option for 2015.
- Indeed, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com writes that Zobrist is “the perfect acquisition for a team like the Tigers, Giants, or Dodgers.” As I noted a few days ago, he would also make sense for a team like the Nationals if they decide to add an impact veteran, and there are surely many others with possible interest.
- Gammons goes on to cite a few other possibly overlooked trade possibilities. He lists Bartolo Colon of the Mets and Steve Cishek of the Marlins in addition to some more commonly mentioned names like Jason Hammel of the Cubs, and Chase Headley of the Padres.
- Cliff Lee of the Phillies, a hypothetically intriguing trade candidate, finally threw a baseball yesterday for the first time since May 18, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. After what he described as a “light throwing session,” Lee said that his elbow was feeling “better.” Of course, he would need to make it back for at least a few starts to allow Philadelphia to recoup anything close to maximum value were they to shop him.
- In today’s Baseball Tonight podcast (audio link), ESPN’s Buster Olney says that hears the Cubs will approach this year’s deadline as they did in 2013, dealing one pitcher early as they did with Scott Feldman last year and waiting until later to move a second, as they did with Matt Garza. Presumably, that’d mean Jason Hammel would be moved first, with Jeff Samardzija being moved later. His colleague, Keith Law, feels the strategy can work, as there will never be enough starting pitchers for all the teams looking to buy, and the price for Hammel isn’t as difficult to agree upon. Moving Hammel early on forces interested clubs to force on the bigger target later in the deadline as the need becomes greater.
- Olney lists the Blue Jays, the Orioles and the Athletics as teams that could have early interest in Hammel, and he wonders if the recent injuries to the Pirates‘ rotation would cause them to jump into the mix. Law feels the Angels could be added to that mix, as their weak farm system would prevent them from adding a big-name starter.
Rays Sign Casey Gillaspie
6:19pm: The Rays have announced the signing, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter).
2:40pm: The Rays are closing in on a deal with first-rounder Casey Gillaspie, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). Gillaspie will earn the full $2.035MM slot bonus associated with the 20th overall choice.
Gillaspie, a first baseman with Wichita State, is the younger brother of White Sox infielder Conor Gillaspie. Rating him as the 25th-best player available, MLB.com wrote that the younger Gillaspie offers pop and patience from both sides of the plate. He is regarded as a solid defender, but is not expected to move off first base. Baseball America rated the former Shocker at #29, while ESPN.com’s Keith Law had him much further down on his board (52nd).
Tampa came into the draft with a relatively meager $5.85MM total pool. None of Tampa’s other choices (it next picked at 60th overall) came with a seven-figure allotment. The Rays chose three high-schoolers and one first-year JuCo player with their next four picks, and ended the draft’s second day with four straight college seniors.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Josh Lueke, Kent Matthes
Here are today’s outright assignments…
- Rays righty Josh Lueke cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Durham, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Tampa designated Lueke for assignment two days ago in order to clear roster space for fellow righty Kirby Yates.
- The Athletics have outrighted outfielder Kent Matthes to Double-A Midland, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Matthes was originally designated for assignment on Friday. The 27-year-old outfielder has a .217/.275/.370 slash line and five homers in a combined 200 PA for the Athletics’ Triple-A and Double-A squads this season.