Odds & Ends: Dunn, Phillies, Crisp, Molina, Fielder
Saturday linkage..
- Adam Dunn had hoped to hammer out an extension before the All-Star break to avoid trade talk, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Rays' director of scouting in the Dominican Republic believes that Yoel Araujo can develop into a "five-tool type player", writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
- The Phillies initially called up Brian Bocock over Cody Ransom because Ransom was experiencing knee trouble, writes MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Earlier today, the club DFA'd Bocock and promoted Ransom.
- ESPN's Buster Olney speculates that Coco Crisp and the Padres could be a great potential trade match (Twitter links). San Diego tried to sign Crisp this past offseason.
- Bengie Molina didn't find out he was traded to the Rangers until his teammates told him, according to Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle.
- Andrew Baggarly of The San Jose Mercury News spoke to Barry Zito, who indicated that the team's rift with Prince Fielder following last year's elaborate walk-off homerun celebration wouldn't be an issue if they acquired the slugger. Olney tweets that there has been no recent discussion between the two teams about Fielder.
- Brayan Pena told Jeffrey Flanagan of FSKansasCity.com that he hopes to retire as a Royal.
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic spoke to Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick about the dismissal of Josh Byrnes, who said he consulted "respected baseball people" from around the league and heard that the team's farm system is devoid of top-shelf talent.
Rays Sign Dominican Outfielder Araujo
The Rays have signed 16-year-old Dominican center fielder Yoel Araujo, an international source told Ben Badler of Baseball America. He'll receive an $800K bonus, which is the largest bonus Tampa Bay has ever given to an amateur player from the Dominican Republic.
Araujo, who stands at 6'2" and weighs 180 pounds, demonstrated his raw power and plus speed this spring in the Dominican Prospect League. Frankie Piliere of MLB Fanhouse writes that while Araujo is more green than other MLB-eligible prospects in the Dominican Republic, scouts believe that he has a high ceiling.