Odds And Ends: Lane, Taveras, Cubs, Reyes
Round three from the MLBiverse…
- The Red Sox have signed former Astros outfielder Jason Lane to a minor league deal.
- Troy E. Renck says that Willy Taveras could be moved this winter and speculates that the Nationals might be a good fit if Lastings Milledge is moved from center field.
- Paul Sullivan says the Cubs are not likely to make many changes this winter with only four key free agents. One of those free agents, Ryan Dempster, said that he would prefer to stay with the Cubs.
- Omar Minaya says Al Reyes turned down a major league job with another organization to take the minor league deal with the Mets.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Post-Draft Roundup: Hosmer, Smoak, Strasburg
Below I’ve collected more interesting remaining links regarding the amateur draft.
- The Royals bumped their offer from $5MM to $6MM and signed top pick Eric Hosmer. Rany Jazayerli was surprised to see Hosmer effectively get more than #1 pick Tim Beckham. The Royals joined the Red Sox and Pirates as teams spending around $10MM on draft picks this year.
- The Rangers resisted a Major League deal for Justin Smoak, and ultimately signed him to a $3.5MM minor league deal. Owner Tom Hicks pined for a hard slot system.
- The story of pitcher Chris Gruler, picked third overall by the Reds in ’02, reminds us to temper our enthusiasm for these kids. Many will bust.
- Tim Lincecum says Buster Posey can expect other minor leaguers to treat him differently because of the bonus he received.
- The race is on for Stephen Strasburg, who is separating himself from the pack as the top talent in the ’09 draft. The Mariners, Padres, and Nationals all have a shot at him, with the Nats in the "lead." Would the Nats avoid Strasburg due to signability concerns?
Rosenthal’s Latest: Holliday, Fuentes, Kotsay
Ken Rosenthal posted a new Full Count video this weekend.
- Rosenthal believes the Rockies are "almost certain to trade Matt Holliday this offseason." Should be a hot topic at the Winter Meetings in December. Rosenthal says to watch out for smaller-revenue sleepers on Holliday like the Nationals, Royals, and Blue Jays. Holliday, a Boras client, is set to earn $13.5MM in ’09 before he hits free agency.
- Rockies closer Brian Fuentes has yet to hit the waiver wire, but he will soon. Rosenthal wonders if the Dodgers would win the claim if their record is worse than Arizona’s when Fuentes hits the wire. The Marlins, Astros, and the NL non-contenders would have to pass first. I could see the salary-shy Dodgers passing on Fuentes, but the Phillies probably wouldn’t let him get to the Mets. At any rate, a team would have to beat two draft picks to pry Fuentes loose in a trade.
- Somewhat surprising new addition to our cleared waivers list – Braves center fielder Mark Kotsay. Apparently a number of teams are interested in the resurgent Kotsay, though not enough to take on his remaining salary.
- The Braves nearly acquired Jason Bay in July, and will be in the market for a slugging outfielder this winter. They’ll also be looking for a quality starter, likely in the Ryan Dempster/A.J. Burnett/Jon Garland range. Click here to browse the free agent market.
Draft Reactions: Nationals
The dust has settled on the 2008 amateur draft. The Nationals, Pirates, and Royals had storylines worthy of a closer look.
The Nationals failed to sign their first round pick, college righty Aaron Crow. Crow might’ve completely skipped the minors had he signed. ESPN’s Keith Law considers the Crow situation a major blunder for the organization. The Washington Post learned the details via a lengthy Q&A with GM Jim Bowden. Here are some highlights:
- Crow is represented by Randy and Alan Hendricks, and much of the discussion occurred over email. Last Tuesday the Nats were told it’d take a $9MM big league deal. Bowden wanted the Hendricks brothers to explain the rationale behind that figure, but the Hendricks brothers did not provide it.
- Law blames the Nationals for not properly gauging Crow’s signability before the draft. That point comes up in the Q&A but Bowden does not provide a clear answer on how he gauges signability. He mentions that they knew they couldn’t afford Rick Porcello last year, but doesn’t explain why they thought they could afford Crow.
- The Nats were offering $2.25MM on a minor league deal until Brian Matusz signed Friday, six hours before the deadline. Matusz got a $3.5MM Major League deal. Bowden called and said he’d do a deal within that framework, but the Hendricks were not interested.
- At one point Bowden gave in and offered a Major League deal, but this offer was by the boards at 6:30pm on deadline day. That’s because the Nats would not have had enough time to give Crow a physical, and a big league contract can’t be voided. Both sides seemed to understand this.
- 15 minutes before the deadline, Crow’s agents dropped their demand to $4.4MM on a minor league deal. In the last few minutes the Nats offered $3.3MM, and then went to $3.5MM over the phone at the buzzer. Needless to say the offer was not accepted, and the Nats lost Crow over $900K.
- I agree with Bowden’s implication that the Hendricks brothers didn’t do a great job here – their client now has to play for the Fort Worth Cats for a year when he could’ve been in the Major Leagues. This looks ugly for both sides, and neither agents nor teams seem happy with the idea of a midnight deadline.
- It’s fair to consider Bowden on thin ice. The FBI investigation, public mention of his plan to non-tender Chad Cordero, and many of his contract extensions form a poor resume coupled with the Crow situation.
Mets Acquire Luis Ayala
The Washington Times is reporting that the Nationals have traded relief pitcher Luis Ayala to the Mets for Anderson Hernandez.
Ayala, who will be a eligible for free agency for the first time this offseason, has a 5.77 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 22 walks in 57.2 innings this season. He is making $1.7MM. The Mets will have to try to fix him quickly; his control worsened this year. The Phillies and Marlins chose not to make a claim on Ayala, apparently. The reliever had been requesting a trade throughout the year.
Hernandez, a middle infielder, is hitting .203/.262/.307 in Triple A. He has limited big league experience, having appeared in 35 games for the Mets.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here .
Nationals Fail To Sign Aaron Crow
FRIDAY: Baseball America’s Jim Callis says the Nationals failed to sign Crow. The Nats were at $3.3MM and Crow’s agents at $4MM. So, the Nats missed out on a quality pitching prospect over a matter of $700K.
The Nationals signed 15th rounder J.P. Ramirez to an above-slot deal as a consolation prize.
THURSDAY: According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Nationals top draft pick Aaron Crow signed a contract with the Fort Worth Cats yesterday. Crow’s agent says he and Jim Bowden don’t have anything more to discuss.
As Ricky Treon points out, this could still go either way. As of right now it seems like Crow still wants a Major League contract and the Nats won’t do it.
Dodgers Win Claim On Ron Belliard?
9:15pm: MLB.com’s Bill Ladson thinks the Nats will keep Belliard, because they’re in a bind at shortstop due to injuries.
FRIDAY, 7:57am: MLB.com’s Bill Ladson says Jim Bowden and Ned Colletti have not spoken this week. Ken Rosenthal believes the Dodgers are interested in Belliard, and says he did not clear waivers. Dylan Hernandez says the Dodgers made the claim on Belliard to block the D’Backs, but Rosenthal does not agree.
THURSDAY, 11:26pm: According to Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News, the Dodgers won a waiver claim on Nationals infielder Ron Belliard. The two teams are discussing a trade.
Belliard, 33, is hitting .237/.340/.442 in 259 plate appearances. He’s played first, second, and third base this year for the Nats. Belliard is owed another $395K this year plus $1.9MM in ’09. With Casey Blake in the fold and Nomar Garciaparra off the DL, Belliard makes less sense for the Dodgers than he did in July. Still, he could be a cheap second baseman for ’09 if Jeff Kent retires.
Draft Roundup: Crow, Matusz, Alvarez
The deadline to sign ’08 draft picks is 11pm CST on Friday. Here are the latest rumors.
- MLB.com’s Kevin Czerwinski has a new summary of the unsigned first rounders.
- The Nationals and Aaron Crow are not close. It’s been said Crow wants a Major League deal in the $8-10MM range.
- The Orioles are reluctant to give a big league deal to Brian Matusz.
- John Perrotto expects Pedro Alvarez to sign at the last minute. Dejan Kovacevic dismisses the notion that it would be OK for the Pirates to shrug off signing Alvarez and take next year’s #3 pick.
- The August 15th deadline doesn’t apply to Mariners top pick Joshua Fields, since he was a college senior.
Week In Review: 8/3 – 8/9
Here’s a quick look back at some of the bigger stories on MLBTR over the past week:
- D’Backs ace Dan Haren signed a very affordable extension with the team, which would keep him in Arizona through 2012 with an option for 2013. Great deal for the D’Backs and their fans.
- Brian Giles was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox, which is now believed to have been an effort to block the Rays from acquiring him. Giles blocked the trade to Boston with his no-trade clause.
- The Rockies acquired Livan Hernandez from the Twins. Minnesota won’t receive a player in return, but unloads Hernandez’s remaining $1.5MM on his contract, as well as his 5.48 ERA. Seems fine to me.
- Fifteen teams watched a throwing session from Freddy Garcia. Here are a few reactions.
- Relievers on the move: The Cubs DFA’ed Scott Eyre, and traded him to the Phillies the next day. The Rays acquired Chad Bradford from the Orioles, and DFA’ed Al Reyes in order to make room for him. In a rare inter-division trade, the Royals traded Horacio Ramirez to the White Sox. Huston Street was claimed, but is staying put.
- Position players on the move: Felipe Lopez signed with the Cardinals, the Mariners released Jose Vidro, and the Marlins signed Paul Lo Duca in addition to claiming Brad Ausmus off waivers. No word on whether or not a deal will be worked out for Ausmus yet.
- A few glimpses into 2009? Rafael Furcal hopes to re-sign with the Dodgers. Bobby Abreu hopes to be wearing Yankee pinstripes again, and the Nationals hope Willie Harris is a part of the organization again as well.
- Tim made a list of waiver trade candidates for both the American League and National League and compiled a list of players who were known to have cleared waivers in 2007. Remember, these are just players who would likely clear waivers, whether because of their talent level or contractual status. Teams often place big-name players on waivers that they have no intention of trading.
Odds and Ends: Manny, McDonald, Bradford, Bowden
Collection o’ links…
- Craig Monroe has cleared waivers and become a free agent.
- ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick talks to Pirates GM Neal Huntington about his deadline deals.
- Pirates players Chris Duffy and Franquelis Osoria cleared waivers and will head to Triple A.
- Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi says manager Cito Gaston will be back next year.
- Yesterday Dan Shaughnessy wrote a few sentences about the commissioner’s office investigating Manny Ramirez‘s final hours with the Red Sox. It’s become a national story. More on the situation from the L.A. Times.
- Sean McAdam wonders if the Red Sox could acquire Toronto shortstop John McDonald. He’d have to get past ten other AL teams first.
- In regards to the Chad Bradford deal, Andy MacPhail said, "I can use the dough." MacPhail said the Orioles will receive a prospect, to be determined in the offseason.
- Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News believes Rockies reliever Kip Wells is expendable.
- Tracy Ringolsby heard speculation that Nationals VP of baseball operations Mike Rizzo could replace GM Jim Bowden.