Rangers Sign Alex Cora
The Rangers signed infielder Alex Cora and assigned him to Triple A, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported yesterday that the Rangers were considering Cora.
The Mets released Cora ten days ago, after the 34-year-old posted a .207/.265/.278 line in 187 plate appearances. At the time of his release, he needed just 18 more games for his $2MM 2011 option to vest. Cora has mostly played second base this year, but the Mets also used him at first and at short. Ian Kinsler is on the DL, so the Rangers are presumably interested in Cora as a second baseman.
Pirates Remain Favorites To Sign Heredia
The Pirates are the “strong favorite” to sign Mexican pitching prospect Luis Heredia, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Pirates have been scouting the 16-year-old right-hander more aggressively than any other MLB club and have close ties to Veracruz, Heredia’s team. Not only do the Pirates have connections to Veracruz, which controls Heredia’s rights, Pittsburgh’s Mexican scouting suprevisor, Jesus Valdez, has known Heredia since the pitcher was five.
Veracruz cannot entertain formal offers until Thursday, but many teams other than the Pirates appear to have interest. The Yankees, Blue Jays, Rangers, A’s, Giants and Braves all scouted Heredia in Mexico last week, according to Kovacevic.
Why Didn’t Colby Lewis Get More Money?
It's clear now that the Rangers made a great free agent signing with Colby Lewis. The 31-year-old righty ranks 15th in the American League with a 3.28 ERA and sixth with 150 strikeouts. He was signed for just $5MM over two years, with a chance for $8MM over three years if the Rangers exercise their 2012 club option.
In February, Lewis told ESPN's Tim Kurkjian of his multiyear deal, "Things like that don't happen very often." Kurkjian explained the rarity of a player going to Japan, returning to MLB, and thriving. Even so, I'm still surprised Lewis didn't get a bigger contract. A $5MM commitment – teams will spend that much on a couple of draft picks despite a lower probability of success. Low-upside free agents like Miguel Tejada, Ivan Rodriguez, Jason Kendall, and Jason Marquis received more money last winter. Heck, the Rangers guaranteed $7.5MM to Rich Harden for one year. The Athletics gave Ben Sheets $10MM.
Interest was heavy – Kurkjian said 12 or 13 clubs were in on Lewis and the Twins and A's also offered two-year deals. MLB teams had two years to scout the new-and-improved Lewis in Japan. Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Kurkjian, "[Lewis] was throwing 90-to-95 with a hard cutter. Other teams saw the same thing." Lewis' numbers in Japan were ridiculously good, too. Why didn't anyone outbid the Rangers? Perhaps teams took the approach of, "better the devil you know than the devil you don't" and allocated free agent money toward players they were able to scout in MLB games.
Draft Pick Signings
Today's draft pick signing deadline passed at 11pm central time. This post contains notable signings outside of the first round, with the latest up top.
- The Padres signed sixth-rounder John Barbato for $1.4MM, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (on Twitter).
- The Blue Jays signed fourth-rounder Sam Dyson for $600K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter).
- The Tigers signed second-rounder Drew Smyly for $1.1MM, according to Kendall Rogers of Yahoo (on Twitter).
- The D'Backs signed 14th-rounder Ty Linton for $1.25MM, according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo.
- The A's signed second-rounder Yordy Cabrera for $1.25MM, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (via Twitter). The team has since confirmed the deal, but not its value.
- The Pirates have signed second-rounder Stetson Allie, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). The 19-year-old, who plays third and pitches, had committed to the University of North Carolina. He gets a $2.25MM bonus, according to Hoynes (on Twitter).
- The D'Backs signed eighth-rounder Tyler Green for $750K, according to Aaron Fitt of Baseball America. The prep righty can hit 95 mph with his fastball.
- The Reds signed sixth-rounder Drew Cisco for $975K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America.
- The Cardinals signed second-round right-hander Jordan Swagerty for $600-650K, according to Kendall Rogers of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- The Giants signed second-rounder Jarrett Parker for $700K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. The 21-year-old outfielder set multiple single-season records at Virginia last year.
- The Mariners signed second-rounder Marcus Littlewood for $900K, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (on Twitter). Here's Law's scouting report on the prep shortstop.
- The D'Backs agreed to sign sixth-round right-hander Blake Perry for $500K, according to Aaron Fitt of Baseball America.
- The Nationals agreed to sign 12th-round left-hander Robbie Ray for $799K, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- The Red Sox will sign Garin Cecchini, according to Kendall Rogers of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The fourth-round pick was looking for about $1.35MM and Jim Callis of Baseball America reports (on Twitter) that he'll get $1.31MM.
- Eighth-rounder Alex Lavisky agreed to terms with the Indians on a $1MM bonus, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). The prep catcher is "a good athlete with arm strength," according to Baseball America.
- The Red Sox signed second-rounder Brandon Workman for $800K, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
- The Red Sox agreed to sign third-rounder Sean Coyle, a 5'8" shortstop, for $1.3MM, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. That's more than $1MM more than MLB recommends for the 110 slot.
- The Dodgers signed 11th-rounder Joc Pederson, a prep outfielder, for $600K according to Baseball America's Jim Callis. That quadruples MLB's recommended maximum. BA ranked Pederson #154 in their draft preview.
- The Rangers signed fifth-rounder Justin Grimm, a righty out of Georgia, for $825K plus incentives ($677K over slot), reports Baseball America's Aaron Fitt. BA ranked Grimm at #109 in their draft preiew.
- The Indians signed fourth-round pick Kyle Blair for $580K ($334K over slot), reports Baseball America's Jim Callis. Blair is a righty drafted out of the University of San Diego; BA ranked him 84th overall in their draft preview.
- The Royals signed second-round pick Brett Eibner and fifth-rounder Jason Adam, according to a press release. Baseball America's Jim Callis tweets that Eibner gets $1.25MM (almost $600K over slot), while Adam gets $800K ($629K over slot). Eibner is a center fielder and pitcher out of the University of Arkansas, and Adam is a righty drafted out of high school. Baseball America rated Eibner the 23rd-best player in the draft, calling him the "best two-way prospect" in the class. The Royals instead plan to use him as a center fielder.
Rangers To Sign Sandwich Pick Jackson
MONDAY, 9:09pm: The Rangers agreed to sign Jackson for $1.545MM, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
SUNDAY, 9:34pm: The Rangers have signed Jackson and are set to announce the deal tomorrow, according to ESPN's Keith Law (via Twitter).
THURSDAY, 4:27pm: Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the sides have not reached an agreement (Twitter links).
1:27pm: The Rangers agreed to sign supplemental first-rounder Luke Jackson for $1.557MM, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. The high school right-hander has a low-90s fastball that can reach 96 mph. Jackson, who had committed to playing for the University of Miami, turns 19 later this month.
MLB recommends a $764K bonus for the 45th overall selection, but Jackson doubled that. He obtains as much as Jake Skole, the player the Rangers drafted 15th overall. Here is the complete list of top 2010 draft picks to sign or agree to deals.
The Rangers, now under new ownership, missed out on first rounder Matt Purke last summer. According to Callis, Purke had a handshake agreement with the Rangers for a $6MM bonus, but MLB didn't allow the deal due to the team's then-uncertain ownership.
Odds & Ends: Mariners, Cora, Lee, Chacon
Links for Monday, with just a couple hours remaining for teams to sign their 2010 draft picks…
- Bobby Valentine told Jack Curry of the YES Network that he doesn't think the Mariners are "a fit" for him (Twitter link). Seattle has a managerial opening and some have suggested that Valentine could be a target for the Mariners.
- Orioles manager Buck Showalter told Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that he would be shocked if former Mariners skipper Don Wakamatsu had trouble finding a job.
- The Mariners signed former big leaguer Tug Hulett and assigned him to Triple A, according to the transactions page for the Pacific Coast League. Hulett, now 27, appeared in 15 games for the Royals last year.
- The Rangers are considering free agent Alex Cora, though they have not offered the infielder a deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
- The Brockton Rox of the independent Can-Am League signed former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee, according to the AP (via CBSSports.com). Lee, who last faced a major league hitter in 1982, is now 63 years old!
- The Astros announced that an arbitration panel decided that the team was within its rights to terminate Shawn Chacon’s contract without pay after the pitcher's physical confrontation with GM Ed Wade in 2008.
Rangers Sign Pair Of Draft Picks
The Rangers signed 14th round pick Nick Tepesch as well as 32nd rounder Steve McKinnon for $400K and $150K, respectively.
The Tepesch signing was originally tweeted by Jamey Newberg, with Yahoo's Kendall Rogers adding the dollar amount (via Twitter). While the $400K is over slot for the 14th round, Keith Law tweets that the Mizzou right-hander has first-round potential but never matched that talent with his performance. Tepesch posted a 4.07 ERA with 51 strikeouts and 17 walks through 66.1 innings during his junior season at Missouri. Baseball America's Jim Callis provides a scouting report saying Tepesch features a 90-94mph fastball and would've gone in the first three rounds out of high school had it not been for his signing demands.
McKinnon is a high school right-hander out of British Columbia. Law tweets that the righty was signed for $150K in spite of having a partial tear in the UCL of his throwing arm.
Rangers Sign Willy Taveras
The Rangers signed Willy Taveras to a minor league deal to provide outfield depth at the Triple-A level, tweets MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
Taveras, 28, has bounced around quite a bit this season, having split time between the Majors and Triple-A with the Nationals, Phillies, and Braves. It seems like much longer ago than just two years that Taveras led the National League with 68 stolen bases for Colorado, likely due to the speedster's struggles.
Always known more for his speed and glove than his bat, Taveras' offense has fallen off the table even more over the past two years. Since his time with Colorado he's hit .237/.272/.282 over 474 plate appearances with the Reds and Nationals. He's managed an OPS+ of just 47 over that stretch.
Odds & Ends: Tigers, Harper, Rockies, Thomas
Let's round up a few more leftover Saturday links….
- Johnny Damon doesn't know whether he'll be back in Detroit next year, but he thinks the club might make a run at Carl Crawford, according to Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.
- The Nationals are "working hard" to lock up Bryce Harper, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com talked about Harper with several executives and scouting directors, all of whom expect the Nats to get a deal done with their first overall pick.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post fielded followers' questions on Twitter this evening, providing his opinion on a few Rockies-related subjects. Renck expects the Rox to pursue a first baseman and corner outfielder this winter, focusing on players with power. Renck also feels that failing to sign first-rounder Kyle Parker wouldn't be a disaster, given the strength of next year's draft (all Twitter links).
- Michael Thomas, the player to be named later in the Jarrod Saltalamacchia trade, will be converted to a pitcher by the Rangers, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Thomas has spent his minor league career to date as a catcher, but his primary strength is his throwing arm rather than his bat.
Greenberg Comments On Cliff Lee, Future Payroll
As if being in first place with the third best record in the league didn't appeal enough to Rangers fans, new owners Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan have announced price rollbacks on everything from tickets to parking to concessions. That's all well and good, but I don't think anything would satisfy fans more than an extended run of success, and Greenberg told the AP (via The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) that they plan on pulling out all the stops to retain Cliff Lee after the season to help continue the good times.
"We're fully prepared to bear the cost of [re-signing Lee] — and do it with a smile because we're here to win," said Greenberg. "Right now, the terms are secondary … What matters most now is demonstrating that this is a family."
"We feel like we have a pretty good handle on how to keep this team together with Cliff as a part of it," he added. "It's nothing that frightens us, and we'd be real happy to go into next season with that group and the cost that we project."
Lee remained diplomatic, saying that it's good for the organization to have some stability without ever indicating whether or not he'd like to return. With the possibility of a nine-figure payday just months away, it doesn't make sense for the lefty to do anything but remain completely neutral and keep all of his options open.
Because of all the young, cost controlled players on the roster, the Rangers' payroll this year is just shy of $65MM according to Cot's, one of the lowest in the game. Several players, most notably Josh Hamilton, C.J. Wilson, and Nelson Cruz will be due sizable raises in arbitration next year, but Texas has plenty of young players to fill out their roster on the cheap.
Greenberg indicated that the team will raise payroll in the future, something that's unavoidable if they plan on keeping Lee. He did not give a specific number unsurprisingly, saying it "would be a foolish thing to do because it would be an artificial number." Retaining Lee would put the team on the hook for upwards of $35MM in annual obligation for just two players when you consider Michael Young's salary, so a future payroll of $80-90MM or so isn't out of the question.