Rangers Sign Tanner Scheppers
Add another name to the Rangers' huge stock of impressive young pitchers. They signed 44th overall draft pick Tanner Scheppers today, according to SI's Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Baseball America's John Manuel says Scheppers received a signing bonus of $1.25MM, a record for the supplemental first round. Scheppers, like Aaron Crow, was not subject to the August 17th signing deadline since he was drafted from an independent club. Scheppers was drafted 48th overall by the Pirates in 2008, but did not sign. His shoulder injury was a likely factor. Click here for MLB.com's scouting report on Scheppers.
The Rangers were unable to sign their first-round draft pick, high school lefty Matt Purke. He reportedly rejected a $4MM offer at the signing deadline, though Jim Reeves wrote on Saturday that MLB forced the team to lowball him.
Odds & Ends: Morneau, Nats, Pirates
Some links for Tuesday…
- Justin Morneau will miss the rest of the season because of a stress fracture in his lower back, according to ESPN.com's Jim Caple.
- Ian Desmond, who could figure into the Nationals' middle infield plans next year, has taken some good-natured heat from his teammates for wearing these around, writes Chico Harlan of the Washington Post. Desmond has reached base in nine of his 14 major league plate appearances, but the Nats may look for a free agent shortstop after the season.
- Doug Mientkiewicz tells Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Pirates have made the right decisions this year, as difficult as some of them have been for the fans.
- Neither Kevin Millwood nor Rangers manager Ron Washington is expressing concern over Millwood's 2010 option, according to Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News. Millwood, who is less than 5.0 innings away from guaranteeing himself a $12MM payday next year, could start as soon as Friday.
Maggs, Millwood Inching Toward Vesting Options
7:07pm: For what it's worth, manager Jim Leyland said "He's going to get it," referring to Ordonez's option. "He's swinging the bat good. I need him in the lineup. I'm hoping he can be more of a force for us down the stretch. That would really be a boost to our offense." The quote comes courtesy of MLive.com's Chris Iott. Magglio is in the Tigers' lineup tonight, and has already come to the plate twice.
2:08pm: Big-money vesting options are at stake this month for a pair of Scott Boras clients. Right fielder Magglio Ordonez's $18MM option for 2010 vests with just eight more plate appearances. And pitcher Kevin Millwood is just 13 outs away from locking in a $12MM salary for next year.
The Ordonez situation is simple. He's been hitting well since the beginning of August, and the Tigers are not inclined to mess around trying to avoid the vesting option. Maggs figures to be removed from the potential 2010 free agents list Tuesday night against the Royals.
Millwood is more complicated. Evan Grant of D Magazine questions the pitcher's health and declining velocity, and suggests benching him may be the Rangers' best chance at winning. If so, the Rangers would have to play it off as a coincidence that the option came remarkably close to vesting. To be fair, Millwood has been knocked around in four of his last five starts. Perhaps Boras' grievance would point out that Millwood remained in the rotation after posting a 6.75 ERA in July, and how there hasn't been talk of him switching to a mop-up relief role for the rest of the season.
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan grilled Rangers president Nolan Ryan and GM Jon Daniels about Millwood on Thursday (before the pitcher's Saturday stinker), and both execs insisted the vesting option is not a factor in the manager's decision-making. Ryan went as far to say, "I would never do that to him."
Odds & Ends: Johnson, Dontrelle, Millwood
Some links for the evening…
- Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hears that there's "some sentiment" within the Marlins organization toward offering Josh Johnson a long-term deal.
- Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune wonders if the Tigers might decide to eat the $12MM they owe Dontrelle Willis.
- The Rangers may skip Kevin Millwood's next start, according to MLB.com's Todd Wills. The 34-year-old is only 13 outs away from seeing his 2010 option kick in for $12MM. Millwood says he feels fine, so his option will likely vest whether he skips a start or not.
- The Reds aren't making the playoffs this year, but, as manager Dusty Baker tells Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News, there's still "the personal stuff on the back of your bubblegum card" to play for.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Pitching, Rays, Padres, DeRosa
Let's see what Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has for us in his latest Full Count video…
- The free agent market for starting pitching doesn't look very enticing, but the trade market could be intriguing. Toronto will almost certainly field offers for Roy Halladay again, the Cubs could trade Carlos Zambrano, and the Braves could deal Javier Vazquez if they decide to keep Tim Hudson.
- The Astros might finally be ready to move ace Roy Oswalt. While he does have a full no-trade clause, Oswalt has told the club in the past that he'd be willing to consider moves to St. Louis, both Chicago teams, Texas, and Atlanta.
- Tampa Bay moved Scott Kazmir when his value was high, so perhaps it's unlikely they'd move B.J. Upton when his value is low. Regardless, many teams covet the elder Upton brother because at his best he's a righty slugger with superior defense in center field. In his place, the Rays could go in-house with Fernando Perez or Desmond Jennings.
- Keep in mind that if Tampa were to trade an outfielder, they might prefer to deal Carl Crawford. Upton is three years away from free agency; Crawford just one.
- The Padres' recent surge has GM Kevin Towers thinking the team could be a surprise contender next year. The question is this: how low will the team's payroll go? The subtraction of Brian Giles would leave the payroll in the mid-$30MM range, but there are some that believe the team will move either Adrian Gonzalez or Heath Bell and get down into the mid-$20MM range. Ownership has yet to give the front office a firm payroll number for 2010.
- The Cardinals want to re-sign Mark DeRosa, but his offseason wrist surgery changes the equation. DeRosa is fully expected to be ready by the start of Spring Training, but he'll come with some risk. If he was fully healthy, he would be nearly as coveted as Chone Figgins, but supply and demand will work in DeRosa's favor because there are very few quality third baseman available. Plus, he can also play a ton of other positions.
Odds & Ends: Ryno, Young, Johnson, Rangers
A fresh batch of links as Saturday afternoon baseball gets underway…
- Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune believes Ryne Sandberg has "added to his managerial portfolio by guiding Double-A Tennessee into the Southern League playoffs." Could "Ryno" eventually replace Cubs skipper Lou Piniella?
- Mark Zuckerman of The Washington Times spoke Friday with Dmitri Young, who isn't sure if he's ready to retire. "Right now, I'm not even thinking about it," said the 35-year-old Young. "I'm just here right now just to heal up and clear my head on everything. And then [in the] offseason, we'll see."
- According to Andrew Simon of MLB.com, impending free agent Reed Johnson isn't likely to return this season due to lingering pain in his left foot. If he's unable to make it back, the outfielder will finish the 2009 season with a .252/.327/.395 batting line, four home runs and 20 RBI in 147 at-bats.
- As T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com notes, Rangers' owner Tom Hicks continues to downplay his club's financial troubles. "The Rangers," Hicks said Saturday, "will continue to operate under the normal course of business operations."
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Rangers, Cubbies
The first round of links for today…
- The Ronnie Belliard pickup is costing Orlando Hudson some major bucks, as Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times points out. Hudson entered the week with 577 plate appearances, and he'll earn $10K for every PA between 576 and 632 according to his contract. However, Hudson has sat in favor of Belliard four times in the last 11 games.
- Jim Reeves of The Star Telegram writes that the Rangers' financial plight will probably hamstring the team, with no immediate relief in sight. Club president Nolan Ryan said he can't see the team being sold before April or May at the earliest.
- Toni Ginnetti of The Chicago Sun Times says that acquiring a "true leadoff hitter with speed and base-stealing ability" should be on the shopping list for Cubs GM Jim Hendry this winter.
- Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports posted his All-Overachiever and All-Underachiever teams. Is it fair to consider Pablo Sandoval and Aaron Hill overachievers?
- Tyler Kepner of The NY Times has an amusing story about Sean Henn and what he went through when he was traded from Minnesota to Baltimore earlier this month.
Odds & Ends: Scheppers, Mets
A pair of stray links on a slow night…
- In today's mailbag, Jeff Wilson of The Dallas Morning News reports that there has been no progress in negotiations between the Rangers and 44th overall pick Tanner Scheppers. Because he played in an independent league last year, the signing deadline did not apply to Scheppers and he is free to sign at any point until next June.
- Former Mets GM Joe McIlvaine reflected on the deal that sent Lee Mazzilli to Texas in exchange for youngsters Ron Darling and Walt Terrell back in 1982, courtesy of MLB.com's Marty Noble. I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for these old trade stories.
- MLBTR on Twitter. The best thing to hit the internet since MLBTR on Facebook.
Odds & Ends: Vazquez, Millwood, Red Sox
Some more links to check out as you wait for America's other pastime to kick off it's season…
- Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the Braves may be forced to trade Javier Vazquez this offseason because it might not make sense financially to keep him and Tim Hudson around next year.
- T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that the Rangers will not sit starter Kevin Millwood just to keep his 2010 option from vesting. Texas GM Jon Daniels said "We don't let clauses in contracts determine who is in the starting lineup or in the rotation." Millwood needs to throw just eight more innings this season to lock in his $12MM option for next year.
- MLB.com's Ian Browne answered a bunch of Red Sox related questions in his mailbag today. He thinks Tim Wakefield will return next year, and said that he'd "be surprised" if the club exercised Jason Varitek's $5MM option now that Victor Martinez is on board. Varitek holds a $3MM option of his own, however.
- Remember Ezequiel Astacio? The Cubs signed him out of San Angelo if the independent United League according to Baseball America's minor league transactions.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Reds, Byrd
We link, you decide…
- Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Mets might try to trade the incumbent Luis Castillo this offseason, and look at free agent-to-be Orlando Hudson. I feel like we've heard this before. Castillo still has two years and $12MM left on his deal, so good luck trying to move him.
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon has some quotes from Reds manager Dusty Baker about wanting "dudes that drive in some runs and hopefully don't strikeout so much." Scott Rolen, the Reds big trade deadline pickup, has hit just .278/.360/.380 for Cincy.
- Jeff Wilson of The Dallas Morning News writes that outfielder Marlon Byrd is healthy and hitting again. It comes at a good time for Byrd, who will be a free agent after the season.