Something is wrong with Arrieta all kinds of control problems
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Melvin Upton Jr with another walk off homer
guy is quietly having a nice season in San DiegoComment -
way to go BJ!Comment -
Cubs are in serious trouble.Comment -
Surprisingly, Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia has revived his career to the point that he might actually have value in a trade, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The soon-to-be 36-year-old has bounced back from multiple underwhelming seasons in a row to post an excellent 3.17 ERA in 76 2/3 innings in 2016, through his strikeout and walk ratios per nine innings (7.16 and 3.52) are each below average and he’s on a $25MM salary through 2017. In addition to Sabathia, hot-hitting 39-year-old right fielder/designated hitter Carlos Beltran, left fielder Brett Gardner, catcher Brian McCann, third baseman Chase Headley, and starters Michael Pineda and Nathan Eovaldi are Yankees who could have value around the deadline (not to mention their much-ballyhooed relievers, of course). The only member of that group who’s set to become a free agent at season’s end is Beltran. As Cafardo points out, it’s currently up in the air whether the playoff hopeful Yankees would move any of these players, though he wonders if clinging to postseason dreams is the right course for the 39-41 club.
More inside stuff from Cafardo:
- Led by former Rays general manager and current president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers are in pursuit of Tampa Bay right-hander Chris Archer. The Rays aren’t planning on moving the 27-year-old as of now, though, which backs up FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal’s report from Saturday.
- The presence of senior vice president of baseball operations Frank Wren, formerly the Braves’ GM, could lead the Red Sox to go after Atlanta right-hander Julio Teheran. Wren – who’s high on Teheran – is Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski’s right-hand man, Cafardo notes, and could push him toward putting together a package for the 25-year-old.
- If they’re unable to swing a deal for Teheran, the Red Sox might turn their attention to Rays southpaw Matt Moore – in whom they’re interested. Moore, who has three more years of team control left via club options, also intrigues the Astros, Dodgers, Orioles, Royals, Yankees and previously reported Rangers.
- With the possible exception of right-handed reliever Zach McAllister, the Indians aren’t going to give up pitching to augment their offense. Further, the organization has a reputation for keeping its payroll low and avoiding big-money acquisitions, which could take it out of the running to pick up a well-compensated trade chip. Athletics third baseman Danny Valencia, who’s on an affordable $3.15MM salary this season and has another trip through arbitration scheduled, is a potential target for Cleveland.
- Hard-throwing Diamondbacks lefty Robbie Ray, who’s eighth in the majors in K/9 (10.42), is drawing interest from teams looking for starters. The 24-year-old has thrown 214 innings of 4.00 ERA ball dating to 2015 and won’t even become eligible for arbitration until after 2017, meaning he has four full seasons of club control remaining.
- The Marlins are aggressively pursuing pitching, as evidenced already by their acquisition of reliever Fernando Rodney and reported interest in starters Drew Pomeranz and Jake Odorizzi. However, the Fish might not have the prospects to land a significant arm for their rotation, writes Cafardo.
- Blue Jays scouts are keeping a close watch over the Astros’ system, so the two AL playoff contenders could have some kind of deal in the works.
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Strasburg takes no-hitter into seventh
Making his first start since coming off the DL, Stephen Strasburg left the game with a no-hitter in the seventh inning as his pitch count reached 109.
My Reds like to make others feel better...Comment -
Here are some facts and stats about the great TONY GWYNN....RIP
• Gwynn's rookie season, in which he played in 54 games, is the only year of his career that he didn't hit .300. He hit .289. His 19 consecutive .300 seasons are second to only Ty Cobb, who had 23.
• Gwynn's career .338 batting average is of a different era. As Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan notes, every other hitter with an average of .338 or above started his career before 1940.
• From 1995, the year he turned 35, to 2001, the final year of his career, Gwynn hit .350, with 937 hits. He never stopped being productive at the plate.
• For his career batting average to slip below .300, Gwynn would have needed to add 1,183 hitless at-bats to his total — roughly the equivalent of two full seasons. (Via @AceballStats)
• Of the 12 top batting seasons since the expansion era began in 1961, Gwynn owns four of them. Those are: .368 in 1995, .370 in 1987, .372 in 1997 and .394 in the strike-shortened 1994 season. (via Baseball Reference)
• In 1994, Jeff Bagwell hit .368, the 13th best season since 1961, but didn't even win the NL batting title because Gwynn was nearly 30 points better.
• Gwynn had nine five-hit games in his career. Only Pete Rose had more, with 10. Gwynn also had 45 games with at least four hits. That puts him 10th on the all-time list.
• In 2,440 career games, Gwynn had only 34 multi-strikeout games. So, the odds were better that Gwynn would get four hits than striking out twice. Let that sink in.
• Gwynn's 434 career strikeouts are an amazing mark for a player who had 10,232 career plate appearances. Paul Waner is the only member of the 3,000 hit club to do better. He struck out 376 times in 10,766 plate appearances from 1926-1945. (Via ESPN Stats & Info)
• In 1995, Gwynn struck out only 15 times in 535 at-bats. That's insane. As Aceball Stats points out, 27 current MLB players have already struck out than more than 15 times in June.
• Eleven times in his career Gwynn managed to not strikeout for 20 consecutive games. The longest streak, 39 games, came in 1995.
• Only once in his career did Gwynn have a three-stikeout game. Eerily, it came against Bob Welch on April 14, 1986. Welch died last week at age 57. That was quite a game. Welch pitched 9 2/3 innings, striking out 12, but the Padres won 4-3. Gwynn had a hit earlier in the game, then reached on an error in the 10th inning and scored to tie the game at 3. The next inning, the Padres won on a walk-off homer.
• More on Gwynn's lack of strikeouts: He faced some great pitchers, but even the cream of the crop had trouble getting him out. Neither Pedro Martinez nor Greg Maddux ever struck him out. Maddux faced Gwynn 107 times and Gwynn hit .415 off Maddux.
• As Yahoo Sports' Eric Edholm dug up: Gwynn had 323 career at-bats against Maddux, Martinez, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz and struck out only three times. Glavine got him twice. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe notes that Curt Schilling managed to strike out Gwynn twice in 43 at-bats.
• Gwynn never hit for .400 in one season, though he came close to matching Ted Williams. In that strike-shortened 1994 season, Gwynn finished at .394 through 110 games. He was hitting .423 in the second half of the season, so it was very much a possibility.
• Gwynn did top .400 for a 179-game span between July 3, 1993 and May 9, 1995. He hit .403 in 697 at-bats.
• In two-strike counts, Gwynn hit .302. That's a statistic that's only been measured since 1988, and since then, Gwynn's mark is easily the best. Wade Boggs, next on the list, hit .260 in two-strike counts.
• From 1984-1999, there was only one season that Tony Gwynn wasn't named an All-Star. That was 1988. But he won the NL batting title that year, hitting .313, so he got the last laugh.Comment -
We’ve been focusing of late on the upper echelon of the summer trade market with our Top Trade Candidate Series — which weighs both availability and value in ranking the top players who might be available. But contenders aren’t only looking for impact; they’re also hunting for reasonably-priced depth pieces that can help shore up areas of need and provide roster flexibility.
As teams comb over the rosters of likely sellers for useful players, these are some under-the-radar names they could consider pursuing:
Pitchers
Brandon Kintzler, RP, Twins — Moving into the closer’s role has raised Kintzler’s profile somewhat, but he still isn’t a name you hear much. But perhaps that should change. He is not and never has been a high-K pitcher, but his impeccable control (0.8 BB/9 this year) and worm-burning tendencies (65.3% groundball rate in 2016) explain why he has managed a 2.28 ERA in 23 2/3 innings. Thing is, this isn’t totally out of the blue: Kintzler owns a 3.25 ERA in over 200 big league frames. He’s dirt cheap and comes with another year of control.
Marc Rzepczynski, RP, Athletics — Scrabble is a pending free agent who should be quite available. He has dominated lefties throughout his career — they own a .223/.289/.300 batting line against him — though this year he has actually been somewhat better against righties, who generally knock him around. That improvement against opposite-handed hitters has helped drive a 2.96 ERA, though Rzepczynski is also coughing up 5.3 free passes per nine to go with his 9.2 K/9 strikeout rate. More importantly, though, he’s still delivering the same velo and nearly the same swinging-strike rate as he has in recent years.
Carlos Torres, RP, Brewers — Torres has been a sturdy reliever in the past, but pitched beneath his peripherals last year for the Mets. He’s now doing something of the opposite, with ERA estimators lagging his 3.29 ERA, but Torres is punching out more than a batter an inning with a career-best 12.0% swinging-strike rate. Organizations looking to add depth to a bullpen will certainly consider the 33-year-old.
Jorge De La Rosa, SP, Rockies — The veteran Colorado lefty was off to an abysmal start and is owed a hefty $12.5MM before hitting the open market. But he has been quite effective since returning to the rotation in mid June: over his last five outings, including a four-inning relief appearance, De La Rosa has allowed just six earned runs on 19 hits over 28 frames. He has surrendered 13 free passes against only 19 punch-outs, but De La Rosa has drawn plenty of trade interest in the past and the Rox may be ready to move on. Teams in need of rotation depth could take a look.
Brad Hand, RP/SP, Padres — After functioning in a swingman role for the Marlins, Hand has been a pure reliever in San Diego, where he’s now running up double-digit K/9 tallies and swinging strike rates (10.8%) for the first time in his career. He’s also walking nearly five batters per nine, but the southpaw is getting solid results (3.38 ERA) with estimators generally viewing him a sturdy option. He’s not going to draw any kind of huge return, but could be a useful piece for the right team, particularly given his background in a multi-inning role.
Position Players
Eduardo Nunez, INF, Twins — The 29-year-old had never really lived up to his former billing, but he’s carrying a .305/.338/.464 batting line over his last 510 plate appearances in Minnesota dating to the start of 2015. Nunez has hit 15 long balls and added 27 stolen bases in that span. Even after accounting for some ball-in-play luck, both in terms of BABIP (.339 this year) and perhaps HR/FB (12.9%), that’s quite a useful offensive profile for a player who can line up all over the infield and even the corner outfield. With another year of arb eligibility remaining, he’s an interesting target for contenders to mull.
Coco Crisp, OF, Athletics — Now 36 years of age, Crisp is finally healthy and has been putting up league-average offensive numbers. Teams could consider him as a fourth outfielder who is at least plenty experienced in center field, even if he really shouldn’t spend much time there at this stage. Crisp hasn’t been as dynamic on the bases as he once was, so there are some real limits to his function, but he’s the kind of veteran presence that many organizations like to plug in for a stretch run. And in a reduced role, there’d be no concern that he’d trigger a vesting option for next season.
Peter Bourjos, OF, Phillies — As bad as he was in the first two months of the year, Bourjos has been on fire of late — running at about a 1.000 OPS clip for June and early July. The truth, as ever, is somewhere in between, but Bourjos could be a useful bench piece down the stretch given his history of good glovework and wheels on the bases. Plus, he’s playing on an affordable $2MM salary this year and is a pure rental — meaning that the Phils should be plenty motivated to deal.
Yangervis Solarte, IF, Padres — Though he isn’t the kind of utility option that Hernandez is, Solarte is capable of manning second or third and brings more with the bat. He has missed a good bit of time, but owns an excellent .301/.387/.483 batting line over 163 plate appearances and has been a consistently above-average hitter as a big leaguer. He only has two years of control on his ticker, so there’s no rush for San Diego to deal, but this might represent an opportune time to get some value with other trade pieces sidelined by injury.
Robbie Grossman, OF, Twins — The switch-hitting, 26-year-old outfielder has been a breakout, feel-good story for the scuffling Twins after previously failing to make good on his prospect billing. Over 170 trips to the plate, he’s putting up a monster .279/.406/.479 batting line while recording 30 walks against 38 strikeouts. With just over one year of service time entering the year, Grossman could be kept for next to nothing if Minnesota prefers. But he could be an interesting target for teams in need of a patient hitter with a bit of pop who can be held into the future.Comment -
Good to see Gross,an figuring it outComment -
Indians' 10-game win streak against the Tigers is the second-longest active streak by one team against another (Mets 11 straight vs Reds)Comment -
This guy has a number of guys IN there that I don't agree with
Picking the 68 All-Stars is a thankless process, but here goes anyway
Wayne Kryduba
By Ken Rosenthal @ken_rosenthal Jul 5, 2016 at 8:00a ET
Every season, I relish the challenge of picking my 68 All-Stars, knowing that pretty much all of my readers will be spoiling for a fight.
The process gives me insight into how difficult it is for the managers to complete their rosters after the fan and player vote. And of course, it also triggers the usual hysterical responses from readers who insist I hate their teams.
(I do).
My favorite protests are from fans who object when I not only leave a player off my team, but also fail to include him on my list of exclusions.
"Not even a notable omission?" the fans will ask, incredulously.
NO. NOT EVEN A NOTABLE OMISSION! WHY DOES THIS BOTHER YOU?!?!
(Ah, that feels better).
Seriously, I'm employing the same system that baseball does, picking 13 pitchers and 21 position players for both the American and National Leagues, making sure that, good golly, all 30 clubs are represented.
As always, do not worry about your favorites getting snubbed, by me or anyone else. By the time the injured players and ineligible starting pitchers are replaced, nearly everyone will get a trophy, just like in Little League.
Anyway, here goes. Starters denoted by asterisks.
MPX
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Starting pitchers
L Cole Hamels, Rangers
R Corey Kluber, Indians
R Danny Salazar, Indians
L *Chris Sale, White Sox
R Aaron Sanchez, Blue Jays
R Steven Wright, Red Sox
Notable omissions: Trevor Bauer, Indians; Marco Estrada, Blue Jays; Michael Fulmer, Tigers; Matt Shoemaker, Angels; Jose Quintana, White Sox; Masahiro Tanaka, Yankees; Chris Tillman, Orioles; Justin Verlander, Tigers.
Quintana is the worst omission, but I'm going with only six starters to accommodate the ridiculous number of quality relievers in the AL.
Weird random note: Both the Orioles' Ubaldo Jimenez and Red Sox's Clay Buchholz made my list of omissions a year ago.
Jimenez's ERA this season is 6.95. Buchholz's is 5.91.
Relievers
G Fiume
R Dellin Betances, Yankees
L Zach Britton, Orioles
R Wade Davis, Royals
R Will Harris, Astros
R Kelvin Herrera, Royals
L Andrew Miller, Yankees
R Francisco Rodriguez, Tigers
Notable omissions: Brad Brach, Orioles; Aroldis Chapman, Yankees; Alex Colome, Rays (DL); Craig Kimbrel, Red Sox; David Robertson, White Sox.
Can't argue with those who might say Quintana as a starter is more deserving than K-Rod as a reliever, or that Brach's numbers are too ridiculous to ignore.
Problem is, Harris’ numbers this season are even better than Brach’s, and he’s closing now. K-Rod, the active leader with 409 saves, is still a star after all these years.
Chapman?
Sorry, I'm not about to reward a player who was suspended for the first 30 games for violating baseball's domestic-violence policy.
Catchers
WPPROD
*Salvador Perez, Royals
Brian McCann, Yankees
Matt Wieters, Orioles
Notable omission: Stephen Vogt, Athletics
I'd be comfortable ditching either McCann or Wieters to squeeze in someone at another position, but three catchers generally are a must.
Infielders
Darren Hartwell / NESN.com / Yardbarker
* DH David Ortiz, Red Sox
* 1B Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
1B Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays
* 2B Jose Altuve, Astros
2B Robinson Cano, Mariners
SS Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox
* SS Francisco Lindor, Indians
*3B Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays
3B Manny Machado, Orioles
3B Evan Longoria, Rays
UT Eduardo Nunez, Twins
Notable omissions: Adrian Beltre, Rangers; Nick Castellanos, Tigers; Chris Davis, Orioles; Ian Kinsler, Tigers; Eric Hosmer, Royals; Victor Martinez, Tigers; Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox; Kyle Seager, Mariners; Danny Valencia, Athletics.
How strong is the AL at third? I've got three third basemen on the team, and four in my omissions!
Donaldson vs. Machado as the starter is absurdly close; I'm fine with either.
If you don't want to live in a world where Eduardo Nunez is an All-Star, I understand.
Outfield
Joe Robbins
Carlos Beltran, Yankees
Mookie Betts, Red Sox
*Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox
Nelson Cruz, Mariners
Khris Davis, Athletics
*Ian Desmond, Rangers
*Mike Trout, Angels
Notable omissions: Adam Eaton, White Sox; Michael Saunders, Blue Jays; George Springer, Astros; Nomar Mazara, Rangers; Mark Trumbo, Orioles.
My apologies to Trumbo, who is tied for the AL lead with 23 homers.
As for the rest of the list, I'm not sure which selection is a bigger surprise, Desmond or Bradley. Both are great stories.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Starting pitchers
Ryan Neu / The Sports Quotient / Yardbarker
R Jake Arrieta, Cubs
L *Madison Bumgarner, Giants
R Johnny Cueto, Giants
R Jose Fernandez, Marlins
L Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
L Jon Lester, Cubs
R Stephen Strasburg, Nationals
R Noah Syndergaard, Mets
R Julio Teheran, Braves
Notable omissions: Jacob deGrom, Mets; Kenta Maeda, Dodgers; Carlos Martinez, Cardinals; Drew Pomeranz, Padres; Tanner Roark, Nationals; Max Scherzer, Nationals.
What a crazy list, even knowing that Kershaw will be unavailable.
I love starting Bumgarner, but Syndergaard and Lester also warrant strong consideration (Arrieta, meanwhile, has a relatively mortal 4.05 ERA in his past six starts).
Martinez would be my replacement for Kershaw; I'm tempted to go with Scherzer, but it's difficult to select a pitcher who leads the NL with 21 homers allowed.
Relievers
Jayne Kamin-Oncea
R Jeurys Familia, Mets
R Kenley Jansen, Dodgers
R Seung Hwan Oh, Cardinals
R Mark Melancon, Pirates
Notable omissions: Adam Liberatore, Dodgers; David Phelps, Marlins; A.J. Ramos, Marlins; Fernando Rodney, Padres/Marlins; Hector Rondon, Cubs; Brad Ziegler, Diamondbacks.
Yeah, I know I'm all-right-handed, but I'm not taking Liberatore over Melancon and lefties don't touch Oh and Jansen.
Catchers
Chris Szagola / AP
Buster Posey, Giants
Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers
*Wilson Ramos, Nationals
Notable omissions: None.
Yadier Molina winning the fan vote would cost a deserving player a spot; Molina's name recognition should not be enough to overcome his .657 OPS.
Infield
John Minchillo / AP
*DH Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks
1B Wil Myers, Padres
*1B Anthony Rizzo, Cubs
*2B Daniel Murphy, Nationals
2B Ben Zobrist, Cubs
SS Brandon Crawford, Giants
*SS Corey Seager, Dodgers
3B Nolan Arenado, Rockies
*3B Kris Bryant, Cubs
3B Matt Carpenter, Cardinals
3B Jake Lamb, Diamondbacks
Notable omissions: Brandon Belt, Giants; Aledmys Diaz, Cardinals; Derek Dietrich, Marlins; Danny Espinosa, Nationals; Jean Segura, Diamondbacks; Trevor Story, Rockies.
Addison Russell likely will win the fan vote, but he doesn't even make my list of omissions, not when his OPS as a shortstop ranks 10th in the NL.
Lamb, you ask?
He's second in the NL in OPS, behind only Carpenter.
Outfielders
Greg Fiume/Getty Images
Jay Bruce, Reds
*Yoenis Cespedes, Mets
*Bryce Harper, Nationals
Odubel Herrera, Phillies
Dexter Fowler, Cubs
Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies
*Marcell Ozuna, Marlins
Notable omissions: Charlie Blackmon, Rockies; Ryan Braun, Brewers; Adam Duvall, Reds; Gregory Polanco, Pirates; Christian Yelich, Marlins.
Polanco would be my first choice to replace the injured Fowler; I understand that Braun apologized and served his penalty for PED use, but the sport does not owe him any favors.
Duvall is second in the NL with 22 homers, but I prefer Bruce as my Reds representative; he has 17 homers and a higher on-base percentage.Comment -
The Royals have placed closer Wade Davis on the 15-day disabled list with a right forearm strain and selected the contract of right-hander Brooks Pounders to take his spot in the 25-man roster. In order to clear room for Pounders on the 40-man roster, Kansas City has designated left-hander Tyler Olson for assignment.
Davis, 29, has once again been one of baseball’s most dominant relievers this season, firing 29 1/3 innings of 1.23 ERA ball, though he’s seen his strikeout and walk ratios trend in the wrong direction, averaging 8.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. The Royals are fairly well equipped when it comes to replacing Davis, as fellow righty Kelvin Herrera has arguably been more dominant, hurling 38 2/3 innings with a 1.40 ERA with 11.4 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9. However, the overall relief corps will be thinned out by the loss of Davis. Joakim Soria, who has righted the ship since an ugly April, will presumably become the club’s top eighth-inning arm with Davis on the shelf, while Luke Hochevar seems likely to take on a larger role as well.
Pounders, 25, was a second-round pick of the Pirates back in 2009 and was acquired by the Royals in a seemingly minor 2011 trade that sent Yamaico Navarro to Pittsburgh. He’s steadily raised his stock in the Royals’ farm system and is having one of the best seasons of his career in 2016, having logged a 2.80 ERA with a 78-to-28 K/BB ratio in 64 1/3 innings. Pounders currently ranks 28th on MLB.com’s list of top 30 Royals prospects; Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis write that Pounders has a 91-94 mph fastball that can touch 97 mph in shorter relief stints as well as an inconsistent slider that looks like a plus pitch at times.
Olson, 26, has ridden the DFA carousel from the Mariners to the Dodgers to the Yankees to the Royals in the past calendar year. He owns a 4.81 ERA with a 23-to-10 K/BB ratio in 33 2/3 innings in Triple-A this season and a 4.60 ERA in 88 career innings at that level. While he’s yet to have much in the way of success at the MLB level or even in the upper-levels of the minors, Olson has yet to make it through waivers, as clubs continue to be intrigued enough by his arm to dedicate a 40-man roster spot. It’s possible, then, that he’ll soon land with his fifth organization since December.Comment -
The Rangers are nearing a minor league deal with free agent Alexei Bell, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). The 32-year-old outfielder hit the open market after leaving his native Cuba in search of a big league opportunity.
Bell owns an impressive track record in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, where he played for 14 seasons. In 3,441 career plate appearances, he owns a .319/.417/.547 batting line with 138 home runs. He was still running up those kinds of numbers in his final year of action there in 2014, and has top-notch plate discipline with a lifetime tally of 431 walks against just 439 strikeouts.
Since that time, Bell has spent time playing in Canada and, more recently, Mexico. He wasn’t doing much at the plate in a nine-game run with Quintana Roo earlier this year, though it’s hard to read too much into the results in such a short sample for a player who hadn’t played competitively in some time.
Despite his previous success, Bell hasn’t generated much buzz as a free agent. As Ben Badler of Baseball America explains, Bell owns a big arm that ought to work in right. But he doesn’t deliver premium power and isn’t a good runner. While he would have made for a really interesting prospect earlier in his career, Badler says that scouts aren’t optimistic about his potential to be a major contributor at this stage.Comment -
Bell to oldComment -
How does Marte not make the All Star team?
terribleComment -
Indians' ownage of Tigers hits record level
By losing their 10th straight to the Indians on Monday, the Tigers have matched their longest single-season losing streak against a division opponent (moved to AL Central in 1998), per the Elias Sports Bureau.
- 2016 Indians - 10 straight wins vs. DET
- 2001 White Sox - 10
- 1996 Red Sox - 10
- 1975 Red Sox - 10
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You have to feel bad for Marco Estrada. Yesterday he was named to his first All-Star game on his 33rd birthday. Today he goes on the DL and will miss the game.Comment -
Four of the five prospects the #RedSox lost for signing violations have reached deals with new organizations
TODAY: The Marlins have agreed to terms with Albert Guaimaro for an unreported sum, Badler reports. He is considered the best of this bunch of players, per Badler, who says that the youngster sprays a lot of line drives with an aggressive approach. Miami will move him behind the plate from the outfield.
Meanwhile, Badler reported earlier today that shortstop Eduardo Torrealba is going to the Yankees for $300K. That leaves only righty Cesar Gonzalez unsigned among the five prospects who were turned into free agents.
YESTERDAY, 1:48pm: Sanchez also reports that shortstop Antonio Pinero has agreed to a new deal with the Brewers that will pay him $375K (links to Twitter). Of that sum, just $75K will count against Milwaukee’s bonus pool. Badler wrote earlier this spring that Pinero made a name for himself due to his defensive skills, and while he’s a below-average runner he has a quick first step, good hands and a strong throwing arm.
10:21am: The Phillies have reached an agreement with Venezuelan outfielder Simon Muzziotti that will pay the 17-year-old prospect $750K, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). Baseball America’s Ben Badler reported last night (Twitter link) that the Phils were the favorites to sign Muzziotti, who just one week ago was under the Red Sox’ control. However, Major League Baseball declared him a free agent as part of Boston’s punishment for the team’s violation of the international bonus pool system via package signings.
When it was ruled that Muzziotti and four other Red Sox prospects would once again be available to MLB clubs, it was ruled that the first $300K of a signing bonus for any of the five prospects would not count toward a club’s bonus pool. As such, $450K of Muzziotti’s bonus with the Phils will count against the club’s bonus pool. Muzziotti also was allowed to keep the original $300K he received from Boston, so he’ll end up with a total of $1.05MM between his two signing bonuses.
Muzziotti wasn’t expected to be part of this year’s July 2 pool and as such wasn’t a part of any international rankings, but Baseball America’s Ben Badler rated him 24th in last year’s class, praising his speed and range/instincts in center field. MLB.com compiled a free video/scouting report last season, and over the weekend, Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote that Muzziotti wouldn’t have been ranked among his Top 25 but would’ve merited mention in the unranked portion of his international prospect rankings, meaning he’d have ranked in the Top 50 or so. In 65 plate appearances for Boston’s affiliate in the Dominican Summer League, Muzziotti batted .317/.354/.383.Comment
