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Odds & Ends: Shelby Miller, Astros, Strasburg

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… you've gotta ask yourself a question: "Do I feel linky?" Well, do ya, punk?

  • According to MLB.com's Matthew Leach, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said "I would say there's optimism on both sides," when asked about negotiations with top pick Shelby Miller.
  • Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle reports that the Astros have signed 18-yr old Ruben Alaniz for $160K as an undrafted free agent. A Texas high schooler, Alaniz "slipped through the cracks as teams prepared for the draft," but the Astros found him in a tryout camp recently and outbid at least two other teams for his services.
  • Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball takes a look at Stephen Strasburg's value by comparing him to last year's crop of arbitration eligible pitchers.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Nationals, Padres, Hardy, Smoltz

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FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's dig in for some rumory goodness…

  • This coming week may the biggest week in Nationals' history. In addition to Monday's midnight deadline to sign first overall pick Stephen Strasburg, the Nats could pick their next general manager as early as Tuesday.
  • "The buzz in scouting circles" is that Diamondbacks executive Jerry DiPoto is the frontrunner for the job, but the team has given "absolutely no indication of its plans." Acting GM Mike Rizzo has "generally gotten good reviews."
  • The Padres put both Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell on trade waivers Friday. Both are likely to be claimed, but don't count on either getting traded. The team says that the Jake Peavy trade has greatly reduced the pressure on them to move either Gonzalez or Bell.
  • If either player is going to be moved, it would most likely happen in the offseason when the Padres could negotiate will all 29 other teams.
  • If shortstop J.J. Hardy stays in Triple-A for more than 20 days, he'll remain under the Brewers control for two more years instead of one. Such a move would enhance Hardy's trade value, and it would be tough for him to argue it's unfair given his lack of production this year. However, if service time was an issue, the club should have demoted him a lot sooner.
  • Marlins righty Anibal Sanchez was throwing 90-94 in his most recent rehab start, and his return would lessen the pressure on some of the team's other young starters.
  • The Marlins and Cardinals are among the teams looking at John Smoltz as a reliever. The Cards are also looking at a number of other righthanded options for their bullpen.

Nationals Make Offer To Strasburg

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According to Thomas Boswell at the Washington Post, the Nationals have formally made their offer to no. 1 pick Stephen Strasburg, and it's been on the table for some time. As expected, the offer is "record-setting" in that it surpasses Mark Prior's $10.5MM bonus from 2001, and a source seems to indicate to Boswell that the offer is at least "twice as much" as the top bonus awarded last year, which was $6MM.

This is the first official word that the Nationals have a contract on the table, but it's all but certain negotiations will still last until the final minutes of the August 17 deadline. After examining the pattern of offers that the Nationals made to top free agent Mark Teixeira last year, Boswell projects that the current figures are somewhere between $14MM and $16MM. It's likely going to take much more to sway Strasburg and Scott Boras. Stay tuned to MLBTR as the saga continues to unfold before Monday.

Odds & Ends: Bedard, Rays, Hall, Brewers

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A few more loose links I rounded up…

  • Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times that he "has not ruled out offering some type of extension deal to injured pitcher Erik Bedard." Of course, the club will monitor Bedard's recovery from shoulder surgery before doing anything.
  • The Rays have signed fourth rounder Luke Bailey for $750K according to Baseball America's Jim Callis. Bailey was arguably the top high school catcher in the draft, but he blew out his elbow in the spring and needed Tommy John surgery.
  • The Cincinnati Enquirer's Tom Groeschen mentions that the Reds have interest in infielder Bill Hall, who was DFA'd by the Brewers earlier this week.
  • According to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, the Brewers "appear headed toward a deal with their highest remaining unsigned selection, University of Tennessee outfielder Kentrail Davis." A month ago we heard that negotiations between the two sides had "gotten ugly." McCalvy also mentions that the Crew signed 5th rounder D'Vontrey Richardson and 15th rounder Del Howell.
  • Larry LaRue of The News Tribune says the Mariners "may be on the brink of agreement with high school outfielder Nick Franklin." Seattle selected Frankin 27th overall, and LaRue notes that he'll take a physical tomorrow.
  • Jack Etkin of Inside The Rockies reports that the team has released veteran reliever Mike Timlin. Timlin preferred to be home with his wife and children rather than go out on a road trip with the Triple-A Colorado Springs. The move was not performance related and there were no hard feelings on either side.
  • The Nationals have signed eighth rounder Roberto Perez, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladsen. The Nats have now signed 10 of their top 12 picks, but they're still waiting on the big guy at the top.

Odds & Ends: Strasburg, White Sox, Rangers

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Here's a few links to the get night started right…

  • Ben Goessling of The Washington Times reports that a "club source said managing principal owner Ted Lerner, team president Stan Kasten and acting general manager Mike Rizzo all flew to California last week to visit with (Stephen) Strasburg." It is unknown if Scott Boras was part of the meeting, or if Strasburg took the physical necessary to sign a Major League contract.
  • Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse tweets that Erik Bedard had his "bursa debrided & labrum repaired" when he underwent shoulder surgery. He can resume baseball activity in 4-6 months, right in the middle of his impending free agency.
  • Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune writes about the payroll challenges facing White Sox GM Kenny Williams in 2010. The team has $68.3MM tied up in ten players next year - including the recently acquired Jake Peavy and Alex Rios – and will owe considerable raises to Carlos Quentin and John Danks, both of whom are arbitration eligible for the first time. Gonzales says that "probably means the Sox will listen to offers for closer Bobby Jenks." 
  • MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that Rangers first round pick Matt Purke is in town for a physical, but no deal is imminent. The club just wants to get that part of signing process out of the way because negotiations might go down to the wire. GM Jon Daniels said "They are where you would expect them to be. We still have a gap, a divide, to bridge. That's not unusual three days before the deadline. They have been amicable discussions. He agreed to submit to the physical and get that completed just to get it behind us so we can focus on negotiations. We don't want any hurdles if we negotiate late."
  • In news that involves players who have actually signed, Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that the Rangers have inked 14th rounder Chad Bell to a $450K bonus. He's the third player Texas has signed for more than MLB's recommended $150K maximum after the fifth round.
  • Chad Jennings of The Times Tribune mentions that Josh Towers is expected to return to the Triple-A Scranton rotation next week. The Yankees DFA'd Towers last weekend, but he apparently declined to become a free agent in favor of having a job.

Nats Missed Chance To Shed Kearns’ Salary

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By placing Austin Kearns on the DL earlier in the month, the Nats missed the chance to shed the $3.4MM remaining on his salary, according to Tom Verducci of SI.com. An unknown team claimed Kearns when the Nats placed him on waivers, so Washington was in a position to shed the remaining $2.4MM on his 2009 contract and avoid the $1MM buyout for next year. However, they placed him on the DL, meaning he could no longer be claimed.

Verducci hears that the $3.4MM won't be the difference between signing Stephen Strasburg and failing to, but as one source says, saving the money "couldn't have hurt."

Heyman On Strasburg, Boras, Rizzo

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Jon Heyman of SI.com hears from people around the league who guess that Stephen Strasburg is in line for a bonus worth $12-30MM – if he signs, that is. Here are the rest of Heyman's Strasburg-related rumors:

  • Agent Scott Boras says teams dictate a slow negotiating pace and he and his clients merely follow along. 
  • Boras doesn't see why Strasburg should get less than Daisuke Matsuzaka, who signed for $52MM. 
  • Boras says the draft currently penalizes Americans, who, unlike international players, are limited to the team that drafts them. 
  • The Nationals visited Southern California to make a presentation to Strasburg, but there's no evidence they made him an impressive offer. Ben Goessling of the Washington Times also reports that the Nats paid Strasburg a visit last week.
  • Strasburg doesn't seem likely to play in Japan if he doesn't sign. 
  • Boras says Strasburg will ultimately decide whether to accept the Nats' offer. 
  • Some people around the Nationals believe that acting GM Mike Rizzo will get the permanent GM job. He's got a busy few days coming up. 

Odds And Ends: Draft, Wagner, Pirates

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Some more links as we near the deadline for signing draft picks…

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Strasburg, O’s

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Some more links on a slow night in Rumorville:

  • A reader points us to a report out of Korea that says two amateurs have been signed out of Korea. CF Kyung-min Na was signed by the Cubs for 725k and is called "the fastest player in Korean high school baseball," while IF Chan-jong Moon was signed by the Astros for 350k.
  • According to MASN Sports' Steve Melewski, Orioles head of scouting Joe Jordan sees recent 22nd-round signee Cameron Coffey as "top two rounds" talent and expects him to pitch next season despite recent surgery.
  • Count in Ryan Zimmerman as a fan of Stephen Strasburg. He hopes the Nationals sign the fireballer, says Bill Ladson at MLB.com.
  • Roch Kubatko at MASN Sports says that Orioles president Andy MacPhail doesn't have much interest in the recently DFA'd Bill Hall.
  • Kubatko also reports that the Orioles are set to determine the player to be named from the Rays in the Gregg Zaun deal this coming Monday.

Stark On Smoltz, Reds, Strasburg, Thome

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ESPN.com's Jayson Stark adds the Astros to the list of teams interested in John Smoltz. Here are the rest of his rumors:

  • The Cubs could look for another bat and another starter, but it depends on how healthy Aramis Ramirez, Ted Lilly and Carlos Zambrano are.
  • Stark points out that Aaron Harang's 2011 club option becomes a more expensive $14MM mutual option if he's traded. The Reds haven't seemed willing to take on cash in a trade involving Harang or rotation-mate Bronson Arroyo. 
  • The Yanks don't appear to have interest in either Reds starter, or John Smoltz, for that matter. 
  • Don't expect any serious negotiating to occur between the Nationals, Scott Boras and Stephen Strasburg before the last minute. Most execs who Stark surveyed expect Strasburg to sign in the end.
  • The Braves could re-sign Adam LaRoche after the season, when the first baseman will hit free agency. 
  • Jim Thome still impresses scouts and should be able to find work as a DH after the season. 
  • Some teams doubt Vicente Padilla's character because the Rangers are ready to part with him even though they need pitching.
  • Some of Alex Rios' former teammates question the outfielder's work ethic and desire.  
  • Stark hears that Andy Sonnanstine and Jeff Niemann were claimed on waivers and quickly pulled back by the Rays. 
  • The Braves made a quick run at Victor Martinez before the Red Sox acquired him, but didn't get very far. 
  • Though their negotiations with Aaron Crow could theoretically continue into late spring, the Royals may impose a deadline of their own to sign their top pick.  
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