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Archives for June 2009

McLane: “Zero Discussion” About Trading Oswalt

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According to Newsday's Ken Davidoff Astros owner Drayton McLane says there has been "absolutely zero discussion" about trading Roy Oswalt. McLane calls Oswalt a "cornerstone" of his team and says he values his "personal relationship" with the pitcher. McLane denies there's any truth to the speculation that Oswalt could be dealt.

"I am not sure where this rumor began, but it was untrue," he says.

Miguel Angel Sano’s Value

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Earlier in the week we heard that the Pirates are not likely to award a record bonus to 16-year-old Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano. Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus reports that Pittsburgh would be willing to approach the $4.25MM the A's awarded to Michael Ynoa. BP's sources suggest the Pirates have a "bid ceiling" of $4MM, but that may not be a hard ceiling.

As McDaniel says, the Pirates can afford to award Sano a large bonus, but they cannot afford to bid against themselves. Apparently "nearly every Latin insider" believes the Pirates will land Sano, so they need to avoid hyping him up too much even though they believe he's "better than any player" they'll pick in the draft. Pirates president Frank Coonelly sounded interested but restrained when discussing the prospect yesterday.

Odds And Ends: Oswalt, Pirates, Glavine

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More links for Thursday afternoon as we wait for Randy Johnson to take his first crack at the 300-win plateau …

Service Time

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Here's another term for the MLBTR Glossary…

A few days of service time can make a difference of millions of dollars for a player, or allow him to veto a trade. It determines when a player goes to arbitration, when he hits free agency and whether he can be traded without his permission. Teams monitor it closely early in a player's career because they can delay free agency or prevent a player from becoming a Super Two if they're careful. It's recorded in years and days, which are separated by a period. So a player with three years and 40 days sees his service time writen 3.040. Service time matters to players at various points throughout their careers:
  • Most players become arbitration-eligible once they have three years of service time. 
  • Super Twos become arbitration before they have three years of service time. 
  • After six years in the majors, players hit the market as free agents. 
  • After ten years, players cannot be traded without permission if they've spent the last five with their current team.

So how is it calculated?

  • Any time spent on the 25-man roster, on the 15 or 60-day DL or on the suspended list counts towards service time. David Riske won't pitch again this year, but he's still collecting service time because he's on the major league DL.
  • Players can't get more than one year's service time in a season, even though the season lasts over 180 days.   
  • A player who's called up from the minors starts collecting service time when he reports to the team. So even though we heard about Gordon Beckham's promotion yesterday, his clock starts ticking today.
  • Traded players who report to their new teams promptly collect service time without interruption. Yesterday's trade doesn't stand in Nate McLouth's way as long as he reaches Atlanta on time.
  • Tom Glavine collected service time yesterday, when he was released, but not today, since players get credit through the day they're released.
  • If a team options a player to the minors for less than 20 days, he still receives credit for a full season.  
  • Excepting last season (which had an early opener) players on Opening Day rosters start collecting service time on the day of the MLB opener, even if their club doesn't play in it.

Glavine Rumors: Red Sox, Dodgers, Nats, Mets

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1:55pm: According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Astros GM Ed Wade says his team is not interested in Glavine. When asked whether Glavine could be a potential fit, Wade replied "probably not."

10:48am: Here are the latest Tom Glavine rumors…
  • According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, a source close to Tom Glavine says the Red Sox are "close to the top, if not at the top" of the list of teams the lefty would pitch for. The Red Sox seem well-stocked with arms for now and Glavine's friend John Smoltz is nearing his Boston debut, so the team appears to have no room for Glavine now.
  • Kevin Baxter of the LA Times reports that the Dodgers are "not likely to pursue" Glavine. 
  • David Lennon of Newsday has a source who says the Mets aren't interested in reacquiring him.
  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that the Nationals aren't interested in bringing Glavine aboard as a player, but they would have interest in him as a mentor or coach.

Olney On Adrian Gonzalez

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney says if the Padres deal Adrian Gonzalez, it will be during the winter. Here are the reasons why:

  • The Padres have alienated their fans by letting Trevor Hoffman leave and trying to deal Jake Peavy in the midst of an ownership change. They don't want to risk disturbing their fan base any further.
  • During their 1993 fire sale, they traded Fred McGriff and Gary Sheffield away, but kept Tony Gwynn. This year could be similar if the Padres trade Peavy after seeing Hoffman leave and they want to have a franchise player.
  • The Red Sox would be interested if Gonzalez were available now, but Olney says more teams would bid during the offseason, when the Padres could get better players in return for their star.

Olney On Glavine, Dunn, Penny

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney wonders where Tom Glavine will land and comes up with a couple options. The Rangers, who are looking to shed Vicente Padilla, "will probably talk about Glavine." Olney says the pitcher could also "fit cheaply" with the Marlins and former Braves coach, Fredi Gonzalez. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • Adam Dunn fits Boston's needs, but the Nationals would want a "big-time pitching prospect" in exchange for the slugger. The two teams match up well, but Olney warns this doesn't mean we'll see a deal.
  • The Phillies heard that the Red Sox would want infielder Jason Donald in exchange for Brad Penny.  
  • The Reds are looking for a third baseman. 
  • Olney hears buzz that the Mariners may pass on Dustin Ackley, who's considered the best college hitter in the draft. If that's the case, the Padres would consider him and Donovan Tate with their 3rd pick.
  • The Brewers are "actively looking" to improve their team. 

Braves Discussed Ross; Hermida Available Too?

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Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports that the Braves were in serious discussions to trade for Marlins outfielder Cody Ross before pulling off the Nate McLouth deal yesterday. The Marlins made Ross available, but ultimately decided not to deal him. Some within the Atlanta organization would have preferred to trade for Ross because he wouldn't have commanded as much of a return as McLouth did.

Knobler reports that rival officials believe the Marlins are now "open to" trading Ross and Jeremy Hermida, not just Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla.

Draft Updates: Jays, Twins, White Sox

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Let's take a look at what the Jays, Twins and White Sox are saying about the draft:

  • MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says James Paxton is an "intriguing possibility" for the Jays with their 20th pick, but says his agent, Scott Boras, probably takes the Jays "out of the mix." Drew Storen and Chad Jenkins could be options for Toronto, which has five of the first 104 picks. 
  • As MLB.com's Kelly Thesier reports, the Twins are expected to draft a young arm with the 22nd pick in the draft.
  • The White Sox, who follow the Twins at 23rd overall, have five of the first 102 picks. Last year's first round pick, Gordon Beckham, is about to debut for the Sox. This time around MLB.com's Scott Merkin suggests we shouldn't be surprised if they go for a "leadoff-type athletic outfielder."

MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo has all three teams taking high schoolers in his latest mock draft. He has outfielder Everett Williams going to the Jays, pitcher Matt Hobgood going to the Twins and outfielder Michael Trout going to the White Sox.

Bryce Harper, 16-Year-Old Phenom

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Tom Verducci of SI.com introduces us to a 16-year-old so tantalizing multiple MLB scouting directors say he would be a top-five pick if eligible for this year's draft. Bryce Harper, a high school sophomore, has drawn comparisons to Justin Upton, Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr.. The entire article's worth reading, but here are some of the reasons Harper's attracting so much attention:

  • He hit the longest home run in Tropicana Field history, at 502 feet.
  • He's reportedly hit balls as far as 570 feet. 
  • His throws have been clocked at 96 mph. 
  • He's fast enough to have scored from second on six wild pitches this year.   

Scott Boras is one of Harper's advisers, so look for big demands once he's drafted. That won't likely happen until 2011, but his parents would like Harper to be available in next year's draft. It would be hard not to think highly of your skill if you were labeled the "LeBron James of baseball," and Harper has no shortage of ambition.

  • He wants to reach the majors by the time he's 18 or 19.
  • Among his goals: "to be in the Hall of Fame" and to "be considered the greatest baseball player of all time."   

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