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Quick Hits: Pettitte, Harper, Gordon

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The MLB draft continues today and many of the top remaining players have been selected. High school outfielder Josh Bell went to the Pirates, TCU lefty Matt Purke went to the Nationals and high school righty Dillon Howard went to the Indians. Baseball America has the details and we have some non-draft-related links from around the Major Leagues… 

  • Andy Pettitte said on the Michael Kay Show on ESPN New York 1050 that he is "loving" being home and that he doesn't expect to play ever again. "If I missed it so much and I felt in my heart like that was the thing I need to do, I would try to start thinking about it and start considering it again," he said. "But I'm just telling you right now, I don't think I will ever pitch again." Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork has the quotes from Pettitte.
  • Bryce Harper's arrogance is exactly what baseball needs, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan. Harper is someone "who permeates popular culture by his actions and achievements," and he's fun to watch, even if you don't always like what he does.
  • Though Dodgers prospect Dee Gordon could have used some more minor league seasoning, Rafael Furcal's health issues prompted GM Ned Colletti to call Gordon up earlier than expected, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com looks back at some of the most productive drafts in recent history, including the 2005 class that produced Justin Upton, Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitzki and many others.

Olney On Nationals, Mariners, Brewers, A’s

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Rival executives have wondered whether the Nationals will eventually shift top pick Anthony Rendon to second base, so ESPN.com’s Buster Olney constructs an impressive-looking 2013 Nationals lineup with Rendon at second and prospective free agent Prince Fielder at first base. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors:

  • The Mariners wondered whether Safeco Field would limit Rendon’s offense, but they’re confident that their second overall selection, left-hander Danny Hultzen, will be a good fit in their home ballpark.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin confirmed to Olney that it’s possible (though not likely) that top pick Taylor Jungmann could help them this year.
  • Some executives tell Olney that top Orioles pick Dylan Bundy is the greatest pure talent in the draft. He's certainly looking to get paid like an elite talent.
  • Olney wonders if Grant Balfour could be dealt to the Rangers, who could use relief help.
  • Teams like the Braves and Phillies are looking for offense, so Josh Willingham could become a target if the 27-34 Athletics do become sellers.

Draft Notes: Nationals, Bundy, Cardinals, Astros

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Be sure to catch up on the results from the first and supplemental rounds of the draft. As we await day two of the big event, here's what you need to know:

  • ESPN.com's Keith Law lists the Rays, Twins and D'Backs among his day one winners while questioning moves by the Braves, Rockies and others. High school outfielder Josh Bell heads Law's list of best remaining players.
  • Bell, Daniel Norris and Dillon Howard are the best players remaining according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
  • Anthony Rendon, Alex Meyer and Brian Goodwin, Washington's first three picks, are all Scott Boras clients, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. The Nationals have a history of selecting Boras clients, going back to first overall picks Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper.
  • Rendon plays the same position as Nationals cornerstone Ryan Zimmerman, but "the point of the draft is to take the best player available" regardless of the big league roster, Zimmerman told Ladson.
  • Top Orioles pick Dylan Bundy may be an especially difficult player to sign, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. “The numbers that were thrown out were true," Bundy said, without saying explicitly that he's looking for a $30MM bonus.
  • Cardinals scouting director Jeff Luhnow sounds confident that he'll be able to sign first rounder Kolten Wong before the August deadline for deals, according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach.
  • Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and scouting director Amiel Sawdaye broke down Boston's top four picks and Alex Speier of WEEI.com has the details. Epstein says he thought some things broke Boston's way.
  • Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner gets the sense that Astros' amateur scouting director Bobby Heck will take a pitcher with the 69th overall selection (Twitter link).

Draft Links: Rendon, Bauer, Cole, Mock Drafts

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We've already learned that right-hander Gerrit Cole will be the Pirates' choice with the first overall pick in today's amateur draft, and it seems that the next two picks are also starting to crystalize.  "Barring huge late surprises," tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, the top three look to be Cole, Anthony Rendon (to the Mariners) and Trevor Bauer (to the Diamondbacks).  Here's the latest as we're just hours away from the 2011 draft…

  • Cole, Rendon and Bauer are the first three picks for Baseball America's Jim Callis in his final mock draft.  This represents a reversal for Callis, who said on Friday that "[Danny] Hultzen to Arizona was the biggest lock in the first six picks."  Instead, Callis has Hultzen falling to the Nationals at No. 6.
  • Francisco Lindor had a great workout with the Mariners and there were rumors Seattle could take the high school shortstop with the No. 2 pick, reports Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  Still, Goldstein predicts Seattle to draft Rendon in his latest mock since Jack Zduriencik didn't see much of Lindor in game action and, if the M's did branch out to take a high school player, they might prefer Bubba Starling.
  • Marc Hulet of Fangraphs and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo also have Cole, Rendon and Bauer as the first three picks in their last mock drafts. 
  • Also from Mayo, he names the ten best draft picks in history according to their placement in the draft order.  For instance, Alex Rodriguez is the best first overall pick ever, Reggie Jackson is the best second overall pick ever, etc.
  • Now that it appears Cole will be Pittsburgh's pick at No. 1, the second-guessing has already begun.  "I think history suggests that the Pirates may be making a mistake here," writes Dave Cameron of Fangraphs, who cites the surprisingly weak crop of pitchers taken with the first overall pick.  (The jury is still out, of course, on David Price and Stephen Strasburg.)
  • Meanwhile, Tom Krasovic of West Coast Bias asks five scouts and an executive who they would rather draft between Cole and Bauer.  Cole won the informal poll, but only by a 4-2 margin.
  • Nationals owner Mark Lerner says his team won't hesitate to spend to get the draft picks they want, reports James Wagner of the Washington Post (via the Post's Adam Kilgore).  "Last year we had great luck in going after kids with signability issues like A.J. Cole and Robbie Ray, and hopefully we’ll have the same opportunity again this year if the opportunity presents itself," Lerner said.
  • The Rockies are looking at Hawaii second baseman Kolten Wong or UNC shortstop Levi Michael with the 20th overall pick in the first round, tweets ESPN's Keith Law.  Colorado apparently won't be selecting Utah first baseman C.J. Cron.
  • The Tigers have had success finding Major League players in the late rounds of recent drafts, reports MLive.com's Matt Sussman.  Detroit won't have a pick until the 76th overall selection after losing its first round pick to Boston as compensation for signing Victor Martinez.
  • MLBTR's Dan Mennella already posted a set of draft links earlier today, so click here for even more draft news on this busy day in baseball.

Rosenthal On Rangers, Upton, Marlins, Indians

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With only five teams more than seven games out of first place, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports thinks this year's trade market could play out differently than your usual scenario of struggling teams selling to contenders.  An unnamed general manager tells Rosenthal “It might be more of a reallocation of pieces than classic buying or selling…Parity also means that teams that aren’t close are saying, ‘Next year, it can be us.’ Maybe they buy a two- to three-year asset that they wouldn’t otherwise.”

Here's the latest from Rosenthal on a number of teams looking to fill needs as the pennant races begin to heat up…

  • The Rangers are looking for right-handed relievers and have a number of trade chips to offer other teams.  Rosenthal speculates Texas could offer Taylor Teagarden to the Giants for a righty arm, or possibly Chris Davis to the Padres or another team that is looking for offensive help. 
  • Todd Coffey is drawing interest from the Rangers, and Rosenthal thinks Coffey could be part of a package for Julio Borbon since the Nationals need a center fielder/leadoff hitter type.
  • Of course, Washington is also looking at B.J. Upton to fill that hole in center.  Rosenthal thinks it's unlikely the Rays move Upton, though they could change their minds if the Nats offer Tyler Clippard and a young positional prospect.
  • The Marlins are interested in acquiring veteran bullpen help in exchange for one of their minor league relievers.  Right-handers Jose Ceda, Jhan Marinez and Sandy Rosario have all attracted some attention from other clubs.
  • While "the Indians’ most obvious need remains a quality starting pitcher," Rosenthal also thinks the Tribe could be in the market for right-handed hitting help.  One of Rosenthal's Twitter followers asked if Cleveland could make a move for Hunter Pence, but Rosenthal doesn't think Houston will move Pence and the Indians already have Shin-Soo Choo in right field.
  • The Brewers "would love to add another power arm to their 'pen," as Milwaukee relievers rank 13th in the league in K/9. 
  • The Diamondbacks had an interest in David Purcey before the A's dealt the left-hander to the Tigers on May 27.
  • Bruce Bochy thinks rookie shortstop Brandon Crawford can be a productive Major League hitter, which would seem to lessen the Giants' chances of acquiring Jose Reyes before the deadline or trying to sign Reyes this winter in free agency.
  • Rosenthal "can't see" Jim Hendry returning as the Cubs' general manager given the team's current state.  "Forget about signing a free agent such as the Cardinals' Albert Pujols or the Brewers' Prince Fielder," Rosenthal writes.  "The Cubs are so far gone, they are much more than one player away."  Carlos Pena, John Grabow, Kosuke Fukudome, Kerry Wood and Jeff Baker are all trade candidates this summer; MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently looked at the values of these players and others on the struggling Cubbies. 

Cafardo’s Latest: Beltran, Guerrero, Marquis, Soria

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe discusses Buster Posey and Scott Cousins, examines what went wrong with Daisuke Matsuzaka, and lists 25 of baseball's most passionate people. Here are the other highlights from Cafardo's piece:

  • A National League talent evaluator on Carlos Beltran: "A contending team is going to get Beltran at the trading deadline, and they’re going to be very happy with him. He can still hit. He can be an emotional guy, but put him in a place where it counts, and he’ll produce for you."
  • At least a couple National League teams are eyeing Vladimir Guerrero as a potential trade deadline pickup. As Cafardo notes, the primary concern for NL clubs is how significant a defensive liability Guerrero would be.
  • Jason Marquis could be had in a trade if the Nationals received young talent in return. Cafardo speculates that Josh Reddick would be enough to acquire Marquis, but the Red Sox appear to be content with Tim Wakefield at the back of their rotation for now.
  • Joakim Soria's demotion from the closer's role doesn't make him any more available via trade. Cafardo spoke to Royals people who said the team still wasn't considering dealing Soria.

Nationals Have Interest In B.J. Upton

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The Nationals' search for a center fielder has the team eyeing B.J. Upton, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. According to Ladson's source, Nats GM Mike Rizzo believes that a change of scenery could help the Rays outfielder, whose 2011 slash line of .228/.324/.389 ranks below his career rates.

We heard in April that the Nationals were scouting Upton, but weren't considering a trade at the time. Since then, center field has become a more glaring need for the club. For the season, their internal options have combined to post a .591 OPS in 253 plate appearances at the position.

With the Rays in the thick of the AL East race, it's not known whether Upton will be available this summer. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote that the Rays could consider an Upton trade even if they're contending, while Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports said the team would have to fall out of the playoff hunt before exploring deals involving the 26-year-old. Ladson reported last week that the Nationals are "willing to overpay" to acquire a center fielder, in which case the Rays would at least have to listen.

Nine Teams In Violation Of Debt Service Rules

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The Dodgers and Mets are among the nine MLB teams in violation of MLB’s debt service rules, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. The regulations came into being in 2002 and are intended to limit a team’s debt to ten times its yearly earnings and ensure that each team can pay its bills. The Orioles, Cubs, Tigers, Marlins, Phillies, Rangers and Nationals are also in violation of the rules, according to Shaikin.

MLB executive VP of labor relations Rob Manfred says he isn’t “concerned about the overall economic condition of the industry" and a National League executive called the high number of teams out of compliance a “hiccup” for an otherwise healthy league.

Along with the competitive balance tax and revenue sharing, the debt service rule figures to be a major financial issue in the negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players and the owners. The Phillies have confirmed that they are not currently compliant with the debt-service rule, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Nationals Notes: Harper, Riggleman, Bubba Starling

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Last year's top pick, Bryce Harper, hit his first professional walk-off home run last night and now has 13 homers, 11 stolen bases and a .346/.432/.623 line at Class A. Still just 18 years old, Harper provides lots of hope for Nationals fans, though the big league club is in last place with a 25-31 record. Here's the latest out of Washington:

  • Nationals manager Jim Riggleman told Bill Ladson of MLB.com that he isn’t worried about his job security, though he’s in the last year of his contract.
  • Frankie Piliere of FOX Sports hears that the Nationals have zoned in on high school outfielder Bubba Starling with the sixth overall pick (Twitter link).
  • In case you haven't heard about the toolsy two-sport star, check out my piece on Starling from a couple weeks ago.

Draft Notes: Stilson, Rays, Astros, Nationals, Bundy

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This year’s draft is deep, particularly in terms of power pitchers. Here are the details on some draft-eligible players and the teams that are eyeing them…

  • Texas A&M righty Josh Stilson received a second opinion on his injured shoulder from Dr. James Andrews, who believes surgery can be avoided with a six-week rehab program according to Baseball America's Jim Callis. Stilson, a projected first round pick, suffered a SLAP tear in his throwing shoulder and will miss the rest of the season.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick wrote about Rocco Baldelli's front office job with the Rays, which involves evaluating amateur position players for the draft.
  • Astros assistant GM and scouting director Bobby Heck told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that he has been impressed with the crop of power arms in this year's draft.
  • Odds are the Astros will take a pitcher with the 11th overall pick, according to Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner (Twitter links). High school pitcher Archie Bradley told Goff that "the Astros have been in pretty good contact" with him.
  • High school right-hander Dylan Bundy is a fitness freak who is mature beyond his years, as Nick Piecoro shows at the Arizona Republic. Bundy's pre-season goals? "To hit 100 mph, have a zero ERA and not walk anybody." His fastball touched 100 and he posted a 0.25 ERA with a 158K/5BB ratio.
  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson hears that the Nationals, who select sixth overall, are looking at Bundy, Danny Hultzen, Bubba Starling, Jed Bradley, Trevor Bauer and Alex Meyer.
  • The Royals entered the season with the best farm system in the game, yet GM Dayton Moore told MLB.com's Dick Kaegel that there are many areas in which the organization's prospect depth can improve.
  • The Rays have 12 of the first 89 selections this year and executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says those selections boost the team's odds of finding elite talent. "The more arrows you have, the more likely you are to hit the bulls-eye," Friedman told Bill Chastain of MLB.com.
  • The Padres, who have five of the first 58 picks in the draft, are looking forward to their selections with equal enthusiasm, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock. GM Jed Hoyer says the Padres need to get their picks right.
  • The Red Sox, Hoyer's former team, also have extra picks, something that GM Theo Epstein is looking forward to. “I think it energizes the scouting staff the whole year because they know going in and seeing players, there’s a much better chance you can actually get a guy," he told Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com.
  • The Twins will look to add pitching early on, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger.
  • Mets executives Paul DePodesta and Sandy Alderson agree with the consensus that the draft is deep in pitching, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.
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