Quick Hits: Abreu, Dodgers, Padres, Harper
Friday Night Links..
- There doesn't seem to be any natural fit for Bobby Abreu now that the Indians have Johnny Damon, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Scouts don't think that the veteran can play in the outfield anymore and might have to start out in Triple-A.
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) says that Abreu would not fit with the Dodgers or any other National League team except as a pinch hitter and he can't play defense regularly.
- The O’Malley group has signed documents to gain access to the Padres' financial information and apparently has raised sufficient equity to buy the club, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It appears that the group values the club at less than half of the Dodgers’ $2.15 billion sale price, and perhaps significantly less.
- The Nationals' promotion of Bryce Harper looks like a panic move to Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) rather than a well thought-out developmental plan.
Quick Hits: Cardinals, Seager, Harper
Hank Aaron joined Babe Ruth and Willie Mays in the 600 home run club with a round tripper against the Giants on this date in 1971. Here are today's links…
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak joined Todd Hollandsworth and Jim Memolo on MLB Network Radio and said his team's starting pitching has been better than expected. Kyle Lohse, Jake Westbrook and Lance Lynn have pitched well for the Cardinals in the early going, so the team hasn't had to seek external reinforcements even with Chris Carpenter sidelined.
- High school shortstop Corey Seager, the younger brother of Mariners infielder Kyle Seager, is now seen as a likely first round pick in the upcoming amateur draft, ESPN.com's Keith Law reports. Law won't be surprised if Seager's a top-20 pick this year, though he may have to change positions eventually.
- J.J. Cooper of Baseball America points out that Bryce Harper will be more than two years younger than the next youngest Major Leaguer when he debuts tomorrow. The Nationals are calling up the 19-year-old Harper, who's considerably younger than Erasmo Ramirez of the Mariners and Jose Altuve of the Astros.
Nationals To Recall Bryce Harper
The Nationals have announced that they're promoting outfielder Bryce Harper to the Major Leagues tomorrow (Twitter link). Harper will take Ryan Zimmerman's place on the active roster and the third baseman will be placed on the 15-day disabled list.
Harper's service clock begins now, but the Nationals delayed his debut long enough to postpone his free agency by a full year. Even if Harper sticks in the Major Leagues — a big 'if' for any 19-year-old — the Nationals will control his rights through 2018.
As I explained earlier this week, teams can now call up players, even those on 40-man rosters, without losing their rights for the 2018 season. Harper's service clock could stop and start many times over the course of the next few years, but at the moment he projects to become arbitration eligible as a super two following the 2014 season. He projects to go to arbitration four times and hit free agency following the 2018 campaign.
The Nationals selected Harper first overall in the 2010 draft, but he signed late and his pro career didn't begin in earnest until 2011. Harper posted a .297/.392/.501 line with 17 home runs and 26 stolen bases across three levels last year and has a .250/.333/.375 line at Triple-A Syracuse this year.
Harper joins Jayson Werth, Rick Ankiel, Roger Bernadina and Xavier Nady in the Nationals' outfield. Washington's offense currently ranks 23rd in MLB, but the team is off to an impressive 14-5 start.
Photo courtesy of US Presswire.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Lopez, Carroll
Here are the latest outright assignments from around MLB…
- Rodrigo Lopez cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Iowa, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com tweets. The Cubs designated the veteran right-hander for assignment yesterday.
- The Nationals announced that they outrighted outfielder Brett Carroll to Triple-A (Twitter link). Carroll, who was designated for assignment earlier this month, has accepted the assignment to Syracuse. The 29-year-old has a .201/.280/.319 line in 324 MLB plate appearances and experience at all three outfield positions.
Minor Moves: Negrych, Haughian
We'll keep track of the minor transactions around the league this Sunday in this post…
- The Nationals have signed infielder Jim Negrych to a minor league contract, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has appeared primarily at second and third base in the minors, but didn't reach Triple-A until he was 25 years old in 2010. A sixth round pick by Pittsburgh in 2006, Negrych is a career .302/.377/.402 hitter in six minor league seasons.
- Orioles minor league lefty Nicholas Haughian asked for his release and was granted it, tweets Steve Melewski of MASNsports. The 25-year-old Haughian was Baltimore's ninth round pick in 2008, but has yet to advance past High-A Frederick. He has a career 3.76 ERA, 7.1 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9.
Stark On Nationals, Trumbo, Abreu, Orioles
Earlier today, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported that MLB and the MLBPA have agreed to stop including personal services deals and milestone bonus clauses in player contracts. He offers some reaction and detail in today’s column to go along with more rumors from around the league. Here are the highlights:
- One prominent agent says the aforementioned changes more make it more difficult to add dollars to contracts without counting them against the luxury tax.
- The Nationals still want to move John Lannan, but his slow start at Triple-A (7.50 ERA in three starts) is limiting his trade value.
- The Nationals aren’t trying to trade Roger Bernadina, Stark reports. Right now Washington is thin on outfield depth, so they’re probably not in a position to trade outfielders away.
- Some teams wonder if the Angels should shop Mark Trumbo for a controllable reliever. There’s no indication the Angels are looking to trade Trumbo, but they’re “trying feverishly” to move Bobby Abreu, Stark reports.
- Scouts say the Orioles would “do anything” to trade third baseman Mark Reynolds and right-handed reliever Kevin Gregg.
No More Personal Service Deals & Milestone Bonuses
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have agreed to put an end to personal service deals and milestone bonus clauses, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports. Existing contracts with these deals or bonuses won’t be affected by the changes, which were agreed to this month.
Albert Pujols and Ryan Zimmerman recently signed long-term contracts which include personal services provisions and Alex Rodriguez has milestone bonuses associated with his contract. However, MLB and the union say these bonuses violate baseball’s collective bargaining agreement. The sides have agreed that the CBA doesn’t allow players to agree to deals that include obligations beyond their playing careers.
MLB is trying to prevent teams from finding loopholes that enable them to evade the luxury tax, Stark reports. Personal service deals and milestone bonuses aren’t considered guaranteed money and therefore don’t count against the luxury tax.
Quick Hits: Marlins, Galarraga, Rays, Rodriguez
Here's the latest from around the majors as the Rangers and Tigers start a four-game set in Detroit..
- The agent of right-hander Armando Galarraga recently reached out to Marlins skipper Ozzie Guillen to see if the club might have interest in signing him, writes Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald. "I've passed [the request] up the ladder," Guillen said. "We'll see what happens." Galarraga, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Orioles this spring, but was released after just four appearances.
- Rays skipper Joe Maddon is excited about the club's additon of outfielder/first baseman Brandon Allen, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Allen, 26, was claimed off of waivers from the A's earlier today.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo doesn't have any openings for Ivan Rodriguez to join the club as a coach but gave the retired catcher a ringing endorsement, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter) that a roster move may be necessary due to Jon Jay's shoulder injury.
Quick Hits: Lannan, Martin, Nationals, Orioles
Giants closer Brian Wilson will undergo his second Tommy John surgery tomorrow. Over the weekend we heard that his season was over and that another elbow procedure was likely. Make sure you follow @CloserNews on Twitter for all your fantasy bullpen needs. Meanwhile, here's the latest from around the league…
- Nationals southpaw John Lannan is still not drawing trade interest according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. His $5MM salary continues to be a problem, with one executive saying "teams would rather use a low-paid Minor Leaguer for the fifth spot before dealing with Lannan's money."
- The Yankees have no plans to talk to Russell Martin about a contract extension soon, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Martin will become a free agent after this season, and the two sides briefly discussed a multi-year deal this past offseason.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that a panel of baseball officials will help resolve a local television revenue dispute between the Nationals and Orioles. The two clubs share ownership of MASN, but the O's hold a substantially larger stake. The current deal was hammered out when the Nats moved to Washington in 2005.
Nats Considering Extension For Jordan Zimmermann
The Nationals have "dabbled in preliminary conversations" with SFX, the representatives for Jordan Zimmermann according to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post. The team has not yet reached out to the right-hander about a long-term deal, but he would be open to one.
“I haven’t talked to the Nationals about it,” Zimmermann said. “I’d be interested. I’ll just play it out and see what happens. I’m just going to go out and pitch the way I can pitch. Everything will take care of itself.”
Zimmerman, 25, can not become a free agent until after the 2015 season. He was arbitration-eligible for the first time as a Super Two this offseason, and will make $2.3MM this year. Zimmerman missed most of 2010 with Tommy John surgery, but he returned to post a 3.18 ERA in 161 1/3 innings last season. Back in February I suggested that a four-year deal worth $22-25MM could work for both sides.
The Nationals signed Gio Gonzalez (five years, $42MM) and Ryan Zimmerman (eight years, $126MM) to long-term deals this winter.