The Nationals designated Jamie Burke for assignment to make room for Ivan Rodriguez, according to Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington (via Twitter). Burke appeared in just one inning as a defensive replacement for the Nationals this year, but he did not bat.
Nationals Rumors
Nationals Select Bryce Harper
It's a good week to be a Nationals fan. Just a day before Stephen Strasburg is expected to make his MLB debut, the Nationals selected their next top prospect with the first overall pick of the Rule 4 draft. As expected, GM Mike Rizzo and scouting director Kris Kline decided on Bryce Harper, a power-hitting teenager from Nevada.
Last year, the Nationals drafted Strasburg first overall and added Drew Storen later in the first round. Those two pitchers provide Harper with a tough act to follow, but the scouting reports suggest his play will justify the hype. The buzz started last year, when Harper appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a 16-year-old, and it hasn't stopped. But Harper played so well that draft experts and scouts continued raving about the Southern Nevada Junior College product.
Harper, a 17-year-old who plays catcher, outfield and third, won't be catching for long if adviser Scott Boras has his way. However, Kline told MASN.com's Ben Goessling that "there's a chance [Harper] stays behind the plate." In their official press release, the Nationals referred to Harper as an outfielder.
Despite questions about Harper's character, Kline says it's important to consider everything Harper has had to manage at such a young age.
"I think he's handled it tremendously," Kline said. "I think he's a good kid."
The Nationals have until August 16th to negotiate a deal with Harper and Boras. Since Harper's deal will presumably be worth close to $10MM and could exceed the record Mark Teixeira set for position players ($9.5MM), the Nationals may face pressure from MLB not to announce the terms of the agreement even if they reach one before August.
Harper's older brother Bryan is also draft-eligible this year, so a second Harper could be selected before long.
Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Cubs, Whitesell
Baseball's draft begins at 6pm CST today. I'll be hosting a live chat here at MLBTR. Beyond the draft, your afternoon linkage…
- Murray Chass got Nationals president Stan Kasten to admit service time was "one of the factors" in deciding when to call up Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg debuts tomorrow night against Jeff Karstens and the Pirates.
- Lou Piniella is trying rookie Andrew Cashner in a setup role, but the Cubs manager told the Chicago Sun-Times the team is still looking to add a right-handed reliever. Also, Piniella hasn't heard any trade talk about his players.
- NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman tweets Tokyo's Yakult Swallows have acquired first baseman Josh Whitesell and will pay him $300K for the rest of the season. Whitesell had signed a minor league deal with the Nationals in December.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports notes that the Mets are "so high on rookie infielder Ruben Tejada that they'd be reluctant to include him in a trade for a pitcher such as Astros right-hander Roy Oswalt."
Nationals Release Chris Coste
The Nationals have unconditionally released catcher Chris Coste, according to a team press release. The 37-year-old recently underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery.
The backstop was placed on waivers by the Mets in late March and was quickly claimed by the Nats. Coste made a combined 230 plate appearances for the Astros and Phillies last season, hitting .224/.301/.317.
Draft Notes: Harper, Taillon, Royals
Some more links in anticipation of Monday's draft…
- The Scott Boras camp envisions Bryce Harper as a five-tool corner outfielder not unlike Larry Walker, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Harper's teammates told Crasnick that they enjoy playing with the presumptive first overall pick because he's a hard worker.
- EPSN.com's Keith Law has the Pirates selecting Jameson Taillon, not Manny Machado, in his latest mock draft.
- Law hears that the Royals would love to see Machado to fall to them.
- The Royals and Reds are leaning towards college players.
- The Blue Jays and A's are eyeing Michael Choice, Christian Colon and Justin O'Conner, according to Law.
- Nats GM Mike Rizzo told MLB.com's Bill Ladson that the draft is his "Super Bowl."
Odds & Ends: Nationals, Chapman, Duffy, Veal
Not even one no-hitter, perfect game or near-perfect game in the majors today? How unusual. These news items will have to do in the meantime…
- Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com looks at who the Nationals could acquire to solve their ongoing problems in right field. Goessling notes, of course, that Washington might not stay in the NL East race long enough that they'll need to make a trade deadline deal.
- Walt Jocketty tells John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that Aroldis Chapman will not be called up as a reliever to help the Reds' beleaguered bullpen.
- Royals prospect Danny Duffy is back at K.C.'s extended spring training camp, reports The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton and Terez A. Paylor. The 21-year-old left-hander appeared to have abruptly retired back in March.
- Left-handed Pirates prospect Donald Veal will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Veal, who came to Pittsburgh from the Cubs in the 2008 Rule 5 draft, posted a 7.19 ERA in 19 appearances for the Bucs last season.
- The Giants sent John Bowker down to Triple-A Fresno today, a move that Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com says (via Twitter) is the first step in bringing Pat Burrell up to the major league roster. Urban says the club is still figuring out another move in order to get Burrell on the 40-man roster, but tweeted that Mark DeRosa might be moved to the 60-day DL. Burrell signed a minor league deal with San Francisco last week and has made just 19 plate appearances for Fresno thus far, but has an 1.064 OPS in that short span.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America has a rundown of the week's minor league transactions. One of the notable names on the move is veteran Scott Elarton, who was released by the White Sox after signing a minor league deal with the club last March.
The David DeJesus Trade Market
We heard from ESPN.com's Jayson Stark back on May 20 that the Royals were telling teams interested in making a trade to "get back to them in a month." There's still a couple of weeks to go before that supposed deadline, but really, it should never be too early for Kansas City to continue their rebuilding process by trying to move some of their veterans. Scott Podsednik has had a solid year but is somewhat of a one-dimensional speed threat, and Jose Guillen, as Stark noted, is hard to move given his big contract.
The most attractive overall bit of trade bait seems to be David DeJesus. The career Royal is having another solid season, posting an .846 OPS over 228 plate appearances going into today's play. That OPS would be a career-best mark over a full season for DeJesus if he can keep it up. Defensively, he has been above average in right field this year but could be a real asset in left field given his 18.9 lifetime UZR/150 rating at the position.
Contract-wise, DeJesus has about $3.14MM left on the $4.7MM salary he's slated to earn in 2010. The final year of his current deal is a club option worth $6MM for 2011, with a $500K buyout. For a team in need of outfield help, a $3.64MM minimum for two-plus months of DeJesus is pretty reasonable, and that $6MM option might not be a bad pickup either given the circumstance.
With his good play in 2010, DeJesus might have generated the trade market for himself that the Royals hoped would be there last winter. What contenders could be possible destinations for DeJesus?
- San Diego. It's still odd to think of the Padres adding salary at the deadline, but if they're still near first place in July, DeJesus could fill holes at either corner outfield spot.
- San Francisco. Pat Burrell has been signed but he's a major defensive liability in the outfield and may be also be used at first base and as a pinch-hitter. The Giants may not have the money for DeJesus and have a lot of options in LF and RF already, but DeJesus is certainly a more proven contributor than the likes of Andres Torres and Nate Schierholtz. San Fran's need could grow if Mark DeRosa ends up spending more time on the disabled list.
- Tampa Bay. Adding DeJesus would allow the Rays to move Ben Zobrist out of right and back to second base if Sean Rodriguez continues to struggle. DeJesus' contract is modest enough for the Rays to absorb and they certainly have enough good prospects to spare in a swap with K.C.
- Texas. Nelson Cruz's hamstring problems, plus the hitting woes of Julio Borbon and David Murphy, leave the Rangers in need of some outfield reinforcements. With the uncertainty surrounding the club's ownership situation, though, the Rangers might not be able to afford any decently-priced help at the trade deadline.
- Washington. It might be a stretch to consider the Nationals as contenders given their 6-14 mark over their last 20 games, but if the Nats can ride the Stephen Strasburg momentum and get back in the race, DeJesus would be a big help to their right field problems. DeJesus' presence would eliminate the need to put Cristian Guzman in right as a defensive replacement, thus preventing critical errors like the one that cost Washington this afternoon.
Odds & Ends: Cordero, Murphy, Red Sox, Griffey
Links for Thursday, as Armando Galarraga receives a new Corvette (but no perfect game)…
- Reliever Chad Cordero has been called up to the Mariners roster, according to a team news release. Cordero hasn't pitched in the majors since undergoing labrum surgery in July 2008. He signed a minor league deal with Seattle last winter and has a 4.12 ERA and 5.50 K-BB ratio in 17 appearances for Triple-A Tacoma this season. In six seasons with the Expos/Nationals organization, Cordero posted a 2.78 ERA and racked up 128 saves, including a league-best 47 in 2005.
- 2009 first rounder Jared Mitchell told reporters that he is recovering well from his ankle injury. The White Sox prospect, who will represent the team at this year's draft, does underwater drills and is progressing towards baseball activities.
- Daniel Murphy will miss four to six months with an MCL tear, so the Mets have reduced infield depth, according to Newsday's David Lennon (via Twitter). Murphy, who has not played in the majors this year, has missed significant time because of his right knee.
- MLB.com's Ian Browne wonders if the Red Sox will have to trade Boof Bonser.
- The A's claimed Triple A infielder Adam Heether off of waivers from the Brewers, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). Heether, 28, was hitting .245/.343/.440 in Nashville.
- J.D. Drew and Jason Varitek told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that agent Scott Boras does not pressure them to return from injuries any earlier or later than they want to. Boras says he does not draw medical conclusions for any of his clients, including Jacoby Ellsbury.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if Ken Griffey Jr. felt pressure from Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu to retire. Wakamatsu says it was "Ken's decision."
- Stephen Strasburg, who debuts against the Pirates next week, pitched five shutout innings at Triple A and even got a hit, writes MASN.com's Ben Goessling.
- Strasburg's a star now, but college coach Tony Gwynn says the phenom was "sweating like a hostage" before his San Diego State debut, according to Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse. The entire piece is worth reading.
Odds & Ends: Griffey, Padres, Suzuki, Pedroia, Haren
Hard to believe that Ken Griffey Jr.'s retirement will only be the second biggest story of the day. Here are some more links to check out…
- Speaking of Griffey, Bob Nightengale of USA Today says (via Twitter) that he will remain with the Mariners in a front office role.
- Big League Stew lists ten players who could be traded before the deadline, headlined by Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee.
- Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse grades the Padres' offseason pickups.
- The Red Sox almost drafted Kurt Suzuki instead of Dustin Pedroia in the second round of the 2004 draft, according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
- D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes did not deny that Dan Haren may be dealt this summer, according to Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link).
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick presents the nine most-hyped draft picks of all time.
- Ben Goessling of MASN.com imagines what a Roy Oswalt-Nationals swap might look like, just as MLBTR's Howard Megdal did. Last night we heard that Oswalt would consider a deal to Washington.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports that Randy Wells switched agents "a while ago," leaving the Beverly Hills Sports Council for ACES (Twitter link).
- Lynn Henning of the Detroit News believes Oswalt and Cliff Lee would cost more than the Tigers can afford to give up.
- Scott Boras told Scott Miller of CBS Sports that Tony Gwynn was an "extraordinary" coach for Stephen Strasburg at San Diego State University.
- Boras doesn't want Bryce Harper to catch, but ESPN.com's Keith Law points out that Harper's bat is worth much more behind the plate than anywhere else.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle predicts that Pat Burrell may make his Giants debut as soon as this weekend.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan describes the journey Colby Lewis took from the majors to Japan and back.
- The Rangers need a reliable catcher more than anything else, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
- The Indians had no interest in Dontrelle Willis, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- But other teams are eyeing an Indians starter. One executive told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Jake Westbrook is "everything you look for if you want to add an arm down the stretch."
Draft Notes: Pirates, Blue Jays, Reds, Harper
Some links from around the majors with less than a week to go before the MLB draft:
- Pirates' president Frank Coonelly chatted with fans at the team's official site, with most of the questions involving prospects and the team's plans for Monday's draft.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian spoke to Blue Jays' director of amateur scouting Andrew Tinnish about the upcoming draft. Among other things, they discussed what the team's strategy will be with all of their extra picks. The Jays own ten of the first 126 picks.
- Reds scouting director Chris Buckley told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that the Reds are considering Christian Colon, Alex Wimmers, Deck McGuire, Gary Brown and Kolbin Vitek.
- In 2009, the Reds drafted Mike Leake in the first round. One year later, Bob Nightengale of USA Today shows that the 22-year-old is fitting in with older, more experienced teammates and impressing the opposition.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that Bryce Harper and Scott Boras will seek a record bonus this year. However, Heyman says most people expect the Nationals to sign Harper for more than Mark Teixeira's $9.5MM bonus and less than Stephen Strasburg's $15.1MM bonus (if they draft him, as expected).
- The Mets won't pick Yasmani Grandal seventh overall, according to Heyman (via Twitter).
- Heyman has the Mets taking right-hander Matt Harvey in his mock draft.
