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Brewers Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Garrett Mitchell

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The Brewers have reached a deal with first-round pick Garrett Mitchell, who posted earlier today that he’s headed to Milwaukee to finalize things. The bonus lands in the realm of the slot value of $3,242,900, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets.

Mitchell drew strong grades from several draft pundits. MLB.com and Baseball America each ranked him the sixth-best available player eligible for selection. This signing completes the Brewers’ draft business.

While Mitchell was already a highly productive collegiate player at UCLA. And he’s said to possess a slate of skills that give him even more room to grow. Mitchell is an exceptional baserunner and defender, giving him a great starting point for launching a hopeful MLB career. If he can tap into his natural power in games, he could become an offensive force.

Red Sox Sign First-Rounder Nick Yorke

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The Red Sox have inked first-round pick Nick Yorke, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). He’ll receive a $2.7MM bonus.

That’s well shy of the $3,609,700 slot value allocated to the 17th overall selection with which York was taken. That was the expectation when the Sox surprisingly nabbed the high-school second baseman, who wasn’t widely seen as a first-round talent entering the draft.

The Boston organization obviously had a lot of faith in Yorke. Signing him to an under-slot deal also allowed the team to make more noise in the later rounds.

[RELATED: American League Draft Signings Picks & Bonus Info]

Yorke did draw one top-100 pre-draft ranking, from Baseball America. The calling card here is his hitting ability, which the Sox obviously feel bullish about. It’s not clear how much pop Yorke will develop, and there are varying views on where he’ll end up defensively, but the bat is compelling enough — in the Boston org’s view, anyway — to warrant the lofty selction.

Dodgers Sign 2nd-Rounder Clayton Beeter

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The Dodgers have signed supplemental second-round pick Clayton Beeter to an over-slot bonus worth $1,196,500, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. As the 66th overall pick, the right-hander’s selection came with a recommended value of $1,003,300. The Dodgers added Beeter to their 60-man player pool after signing him.

Los Angeles acquired the pick it used on on Beeter from Minnesota in the teams’ offseason trade centering on righty Kenta Maeda. The 21-year-old Beeter’s a past Tommy John surgery patient (2017), but he rebounded to post effective numbers at Texas Tech from 2019-20. While Beeter only threw 41 2/3 innings as a Red Raider, he notched a 2.81 ERA with a jaw-dropping K/9 of 15.8. Beeter did walk almost a batter per inning (8.7 BB/9) during his first college season, but that number shrunk to a far more palatable 1.7 this year. He possesses a 93 to 98 mph fastball and a “wipeout” curveball-slider combination, according to Callis, and entered the draft as MLB.com’s 51st-ranked prospect.

Now that Beeter’s under wraps, the Dodgers have secured all six of their picks from this year’s class. Here’s a refresher on their other five choices:

Brandon Guyer Announces Retirement

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Veteran outfielder Brandon Guyer announced his retirement as a player on Monday. In a statement to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link), Guyer wrote:

As I sit here and think about my baseball journey, I am so grateful for the life baseball has given me. I met my wife and raised three children in the game, made friendships that will last a lifetime, played on some amazing teams, and traveled the world making memories. None of it would have been possible without all my former teammates, coaches, trainers, friends, and family. Thank you all for being by my side during this amazing ride.

Guyer goes on to make clear that he isn’t walking away from the game entirely — just his time as a player. He’s launched an online training platform, FullyEquippedAthlete.com, and now strives to help shape the careers of a new generation of baseball players with that venture.

A veteran of seven Major League seasons, the now-34-year-old Guyer hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2018. He spent the 2019 season in the White Sox organization but was on the Triple-A injured list for most of the year, and he was cut loose by the Giants right around the time the league initially shut down. He’d signed a minor league pact with San Francisco over the winter.

Guyer split his career between the Rays and the Indians, tallying 517 games and 1487 plate appearances while hitting .250/.339/.388 with 32 home runs, 72 doubles, five triples and 22 stolen bases. While he was never a full-time outfielder, the right-handed-hitting Guyer was a constant thorn in the side for opposing lefties, as evidenced by a career .274/.376/.449 slash against them. Guyer was particularly adept at getting on base when holding the platoon advantage, in no small part due to his league-leading penchant for getting hit by pitches (as explored at great length by FanGraphs’ August Fagerstrom back in 2016). He was also a notable contributor in the Indians’ 2016 World Series run, going 6-for-18 with three RBIs, a double, four walks and, yes, a pair of hit-by-pitches that postseason.

The former fifth-round pick banked more than $7MM in his career (prior to agent fees, taxes, etc.) and will now step into a hands-on role in developing younger talents. Best wishes to Guyer in whatever the game has in store for him next.

David Price Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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Dodgers left-hander David Price announced that he will not play during the 2020 season via a post on his Instagram page, as first reported by Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe. Price becomes the highest-profile player to opt out of this year’s campaign, joining the likes of Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman, with others likely yet to come.

The Dodgers acquired Price, 34, in the February blockbuster trade that also sent Mookie Betts to Los Angeles. He was set to embark on his first year in Los Angeles after a stint with the Red Sox that included a memorable postseason run culminating in a World Series title. However, with Price choosing not to play this year, the trade certainly looks a bit bleaker from the Dodgers’ point of view. Whereas the team thought it would get at least a whole year with Betts in the lineup and Price in the rotation, it’s looking increasingly likely that the pair will not play a game together in Los Angeles, with Betts set to reach free agency at season’s end.

By choosing not to play this year, Price will forfeit his prorated 2020 salary, which would have been roughly $11.9MM for a 60-game season. He will remain under contract with the Dodgers for two more years, valued at $64MM total. It’s worth mentioning that, with the Red Sox agreeing to shoulder half of Price’s $32MM salary for this year, Boston will also save nearly $6MM this season.

From a baseball perspective, Price’s absence will certainly be detrimental to the Dodgers’ title aspirations in 2020. With no Price in the rotation, expect to see Ross Stripling or Dustin May bumped into a regular starting role. The Dodgers have enviable depth in their starting pitching core, so they’re uniquely well-positioned to work around decisions like Price’s: Between Stripling, May, and Tony Gonsolin, the Dodgers have a host of young starters who can share the load in the rotation.

In the statement Price posted to social media, he says that he’s “decided it is in the best interest of my heath and my family’s health for me to not play this season.” His concerns are no doubt shared by plenty of players across baseball, with the Angels’ Mike Trout expressing a similar sentiment yesterday. We’ll see just how many players choose to forego the season out of concern over the coronavirus, but it’s almost certain the Price won’t be the last big name to do so.

The Dodgers, for their part, had the following to say regarding Price’s decision:

The Dodgers fully support David’s decision to sit out the 2020 season. We have been in constant contact with David and we understand how much this deliberation weighed on him and his family. We know he’ll be rooting hard for the club every day and look forward to having him back with us in 2021.

Rockies Sign Matt Kemp

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July 4: The club has announced the move, which is now official. Kemp has been added to the Rockies’ 60-man player pool.

June 30: The Rockies have struck a deal with veteran outfielder Matt Kemp, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). It’s a minor-league pact.

Kemp had spent the spring with the Marlins, but was left out of the Miami organization’s 60-man player pool. The Fish evidently cut him loose to pursue other opportunities, opening the door to Kemp joining his third NL West outfit.

This move simply wouldn’t have happened in late March, but intervening developments made it possible. We learned last night that right-handed-hitting Rockies veteran Ian Desmond would opt out of the 2020 season, leaving a potential roster spot. And the Rockies are newly in need of designated hitter options, given the expansion of the hitter-only spot to the National League for 2020.

The 35-year-old Kemp is coming off of a rough 2019 season in which he struggled with injuries and hit poorly in a 20-game run with the Reds. He wasn’t exactly tearing the cover off the ball in Grapefruit League action, with a .143/.200/.143 slash and 11 strikeouts in thirty plate appearances.

That said, it wasn’t long ago that the former superstar was mashing MLB pitching. In 506 trips to the plate with the Dodgers in 2018, he launched 25 home runs and carried a .290/.338/.481 batting line.

It’ll be interesting to see whether and how Kemp is utilized by the Rox. The club presumably won’t find it hard to carry him on the expanded early-season roster, having found space even last year for Mark Reynolds. The question is whether Kemp will be given a shot to take on a bigger role than that previously occupied by Reynolds. At present, the Colorado roster skews heavily towards lefty bats in the outfield mix, but Kemp’s defensive abilities have waned notably over the years.

Red Sox Sign RHP Caleb Simpson

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The Red Sox have signed right-handed reliever Caleb Simpson and added him to their 60-man player pool, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. His addition comes not long after the Red Sox revealed that two relievers, Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor, have tested positive for COVID-19.

Simpson, 28, had spent his entire career in the Giants’ minor-league system before earning a chance with the Cubs as a non-roster invite during this year’s Spring Training.

Last season, Simpson reached Double-A with the Giants’ affiliate, pitching 29 1/3 innings and posting a solid 2.45 ERA. Evidently, he’s got impressive stuff in his arsenal, striking out 41 batters—good for a 12.6 K/9 rate.

However, as is the case with many pitchers of Simpson’s ilk, control and precision has been an issue at times: those 41 strikeouts were accompanied by 18 walks. In Spring Training this year, Simpson walked 8 batters in 4 2/3 innings of work. To be sure, there’s some potential here, and the Red Sox will hope they can hone in Simpson’s mechanics and consistency as he strives to break into the Majors.

2020 Amateur Draft Signings: 7/3/20

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Here are the latest draft deals …

  • The Dodgers have agreed to a $1,622,500 bonus with third-rounder Jake Vogel, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. That’s over a million north of the slot value of the 100th overall pick, so clearly the high-school outfielder represented a draft priority for his home-state club. Vogel had been ticketed for UCLA. Keith Law of The Athletic was most bullish on his outlook, rating him the 77th overall prospect. Law emphasized Vogel’s speed, defense, and quality hitting outlook while noting that he’ll likely always be limited by a lack of power.
  • Likewise, the Indians struck a big deal with a California outfielder plucked in the third round. Petey Halpin inked for $1.525MM, well north of the $610,800 pool allocation. He had been slated to play at the University of Texas. Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs placed Halpin as the 59th-best prospect in the draft class while Law ranked him 50th. While there’s obviously a good deal of talent, it seems scouts are still a bit unsure exactly how Halpin will develop in the long run. Law calls him a “high school outfielder who might move to a corner but doesn’t have clear corner-outfielder power.”
  • A true two-way prospect, second-round draft choice Casey Schmitt has agreed to a $1,147,500 bonus with the Giants, Callis reports on Twitter. The San Diego State product is said to have possible routes to the majors as a power-hitting third baseman and/or solid relief arm. Baseball America ranked him 76th overall on its board. Also landing with the Giants is supplemental second-rounder Nick Swiney. Callis tweets that he’s set to earn $1.2MM ($976,700 slot value). Law was the high man by Swiney by a fair sight, grading him the 22nd overall talent in the draft pool. It’s all a question whether you believe in the strides Swiney showed before the 2020 collegiate campaign was cut short.

Padres To Add Cole Wilcox To 60-Man Player Pool

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The Padres will add recently signed third-round pick Cole Wilcox to their 60-man player pool today, tweets Dennis Lin of The Athletic. The former University of Georgia right-hander was considered a potential first-round talent but, as a draft-eligible sophomore, came with some signability concerns. The Friars paid him a $3.3MM bonus that stands as a record for a third-round pick. That bonus falls roughly in line with the slot value for the No. 20 overall selection, so Wilcox ultimately did get paid at a mid-first-round level.

Wilcox will join top Padres pick Robert Hassell III in the organization’s 60-player pool, although neither is likely to be viewed as a big league option in 2020. Still, with no minor league season this year, the Padres are understandably interested in getting the top two talents they secured in this year’s draft some additional development reps — even if they’re only in a simulated game setting. There’s obvious benefit to getting the pair some in-person time with minor league coaches and player development staff as well.

Wilcox, who’ll turn 21 next week, got out to a ridiculous start to his 2020 season, pitching to a 1.57 ERA with a 32-to-2 K/BB ratio in 23 2/3 frames for the Bulldogs before the NCAA season was halted. The lack of walks was a particularly notable development for Wilcox, who’d issued 38 free passes in 59 2/3 frames as a freshman. The Athletic’s Keith Law was must bullish on Wilcox prior to the draft, ranking him 14th in the class and noting the 6’5″, 232-pound righty’s No. 1 or 2 starter upside while cautioning that there’s considerable development needed to reach that ceiling.

San Diego is now up to 53 players in its initial player pool.

Indians Sign David Hernandez, Jake Elmore, Steven Baron

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The Indians announced this morning that they’ve signed veteran right-hander David Hernandez, utilityman Jake Elmore and catcher Steven Baron to minor league contracts. Hernandez and Elmore will report to Summer Camp in Cleveland, while Baron will head to the team’s alternate training site in Eastlake, at their Class-A affiliate’s facility. All three have been added to Cleveland’s player pool, bringing their total to 58 players.

Hernandez, 35, wrapped up a two-year deal with the Reds in 2019. He was brilliant in the first season of that contract, pitching to a pristine 2.53 ERA and 3.38 FIP with 9.1 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 over the course of 64 innings. Unfortunately, the second season of the deal was as ugly as the first was impressive; in 42 2/3 innings, Hernandez was clobbered for an 8.02 ERA.

That’s an alarming number, of course, but it should be pointed out that Hernandez was plagued by a sky-high .393 average on balls in play — more than 100 points higher than his career mark. As was the case with many pitchers during last year’s juiced-ball campaign, Hernandez also saw his home-run rate soar (0.76 HR/9 in 2017-18; 1.48 HR/9 in 2019). He’d been in the original Spring Training with the Nationals but was cut loose.

The 32-year-old Elmore has appeared in 217 games and logged 527 plate appearances at the MLB level. Elmore is just a .215/.292/.275 hitter in that time, but he’s demonstrated substantial versatility; in 2013, the Astros used him at every position on the diamond — including catcher and pitcher. Elmore has at least 106 innings at all four infield spots, 234 innings in the outfield (including 14 in center) and has also caught 4 1/3 innings and pitched two frames (one run allowed) in the Majors.

Baron, 29, was the No. 33 overall pick by the Mariners back in 2009 but has never gotten much of a look in the big leagues. In 26 plate appearances, he’s batted .115/.115/.154. Baron is a veteran of 11 minor league seasons, though, and is widely regarded as a strong defensive backstop. He routinely posts strong framing marks in the minors and boasts a huge 39 percent caught-stealing rate in those 11 seasons. In 678 Triple-A plate appearances, Baron is a .237/.299/.313 hitter.

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