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Archives for May 2010

Odds & Ends: Green, Oswalt, Mets, Gaudin, Werth

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Links for Saturday….

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Oswalt, Lowell, Griffey

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With FOX airing Saturday evening games this weekend rather than afternoon games, Ken Rosenthal's new Full Count video showed up on their website a little later in the day too. Now that it's been posted, let's recap Rosenthal's latest hot stove tidbits….

  • Roy Oswalt is making $15MM this year and $16MM next year, which will make it difficult to trade him. Making it even trickier, owner Drayton McLane won't want to include money in a deal, even if it means getting better prospects in return.
  • If the Mariners become sellers, that would further diminish the chances of an Oswalt deal, since the M's could make Cliff Lee available. Lee is the much more affordable ace, earning only $9MM this season.
  • The Red Sox don't want to release Mike Lowell, since he provides injury protection at both corner infield spots, and can DH against left-handers. Additionally, if the Sox were to release Lowell, many of their AL rivals, such as the Angels, Rays, and Twins, could have interest in him.
  • Ken Griffey's current role of pinch-hitter, occasional DH, and clubhouse mentor is exactly what the Mariners were hoping for when they re-signed the 40-year-old this winter. For now, the club has no desire for Griffey to retire.
  • Carlos Zambrano appears to be headed back to the Cubs' rotation, even though he may currently be their sixth-best starter. The team could attempt to trade Tom Gorzelanny or move him to the bullpen, but Rosenthal opines that it would make their pitching staff weaker.

Oswalt Explains Trade Request

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Houston ace Roy Oswalt said today that he didn't explicitly demand a trade, but rather expressed to Astros owner Drayton McLane that a deal may be in the best interest of both sides, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney.

"I just kind of asked as an option, and what they were thinking as far as which direction they're going, do they plan to get young, or try to get some more players, or what direction are they going?" said Oswalt. "They didn't really have an answer for what they were going to do right now."

"I'm not looking for an 'out' for me, from the standpoint as a franchise player for ten years," the right-hander added. "But I think it would be a good thing for both of us."

According to sources, Oswalt would only waive his no-trade clause if he was being dealt to a team he felt could immediately contend for a championship. Olney says that the 32-year-old has a few preferred destinations in mind, but that he wouldn't specify them.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk wrote last night that a few clubs who could be on Oswalt's wish list aren't necessarily good fits. Olney also looks at some potential destinations in his article, naming the Tigers, Rangers, Dodgers, and Angels as some teams whose interest in Oswalt might be outweighed by various roadblocks. Given Oswalt's no-trade clause, his salary, and the lack of clear-cut suitors, a deal may be difficult to work out.

Astros Sign Two Top Dominican Pitchers

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Houston has signed two of the top arms from the Dominican Republic, 16-year-old righthander Michael Feliz and 17-year-old righthander Jose Montero, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.  Feliz's deal is worth $400K while Montero will reportedly earn $350K.

Feliz reached agreement with the A's on a deal worth $800K in the offseason, but Oakland voided the deal upon the pitcher testing positive for an anabolic steroid and receiving a 50-game suspension.  Scouts who have kept tabs on the hurler this year say that he was regularly hitting 92-93 mph on the radar gun before the positive drug test but has been topping out at 91 mph in recent months.

Montero can pitch at 89-92 mph and has hit 93 mph on the radar gun for some scouts.  Latin American sources have said that the Yankees and Padres were also interested in his services.  While he throws a slider and an occasional changeup, his secondary stuff and overall feel for pitching isn't as advanced as Feliz's.

The Astros now appear poised to have three first-year fireballers on their Dominican Summer League staff, with lefty Edgar Ferreira also expected to be on board.  Ferreira, 17, signed with Houston in December of last year. 

Brewers Owner: No Staff Changes Imminent

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Brewers owner Mark Attanasio says that GM Doug Melvin has total job security and that manager Ken Macha will not be let go on Monday, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.  Monday is an off-day for the club and it has been widely speculated as an opportunity for Milwaukee to make some changes.

Attanasio explained that Macha's fate is up to Melvin as he trusts the judgment of his GM.  The owner made it absolutely clear that his GM will be staying put:

"Doug Melvin is very, very secure.  You're not going to see any GM changes here."

On Thursday, Melvin told a local radio station that he doesn't "see any reason" to fire Macha.  Milwaukee is 16-26 heading into their afternoon showdown with the Twins.

Indians Sign Josh Phelps

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The Indians have signed Josh Phelps to a minor league deal, according to the club's Twitter page.  Phelps will report to Triple-A Columbus.  This is the 32-year-old's second stop in 2010 as the Rockies inked him to a minor league deal earlier this year.

The first baseman's last big league cameo came in 2008 for the Cardinals.  In 36 late-season plate appearances, Phelps hit .265/.306/.294.  He owns a major league career slash line of .297/.364/.495 against lefties.

2010 Draft Prospect: Zack Cox

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Major League Baseball's amateur draft will be held from June 7th-9th, so we're going to introduce you to some of the top players available during the next few weeks. 

College hitters are a hot commodity in the draft because of the perception that they're a safe pick, and this year's top bat from a four-year college is Arkansas third baseman Zack Cox. A 20th round pick of the Angels in 2008 (607th overall), Cox didn't sign and is draft eligible again this year as a sophomore because he turns 21 within 45 days of the draft.

ESPN's Keith Law ranked Cox as the 6th best player available in the draft while Baseball America had him 7th (subs. req'd for both). MLB.com's Draft Report says that he has "a great, compact swing with excellent bat speed" and "will be a plus hitter in the future." His defense isn't as promising as his bat, though he has a strong arm and recently spent some time at second base, where he reportedly looks more comfortable. The MLB.com link also includes video.

Cox was hitting .432/.524/.606 with a 29/33 K/BB ratio and 11 steals in 12 attempts coming into this weekend's games. The lefty swinger actually has a reverse platoon split on the season, hitting .456/.542/.632 against southpaws according to CollegeSplits.com. Cox recently dealt with a strained muscle in his back, but the injury doesn't carry any long-term concerns.

As a draft eligible sophomore, Cox has more negotiating leverage than most draftees because he'll be able to return to school for his junior season and enter next year's draft. Baseball America's Jim Callis projected the Indians to draft him 5th overall in his latest mock draft, which would be the third college hitter they've selected with their top pick in the last four years.

Olney’s Latest: Oswalt, Mariners, Jays, Sonnanstine

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In today's blog post at ESPN, Buster Olney wrote about the major hurdles the Astros will face in trying to trade Roy Oswalt. The biggest obstacles are Oswalt's salary (owed $29MM through 2011), his history of back trouble, his full-no trade clause, and the fact that teams are coveting young players more than ever and might not be willing to give up a package good enough to convince owner Drayton McLane to move one of his star players.

As one GM put it, "a no-trade clause doesn't become a must-trade clause." Another believes they won't "just give the guy away." Here's the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • The Mariners continue to search for a hitter.
  • Toronto's asking for one or two prospects for relievers Jason Frasor and Scott Downs, but rival executives believe that asking price to be very high.
  • Some executives believe that the Rays will make Andy Sonnanstine available at some point this summer. Olney suggests the Mets as a potential fit, noting that there were brief talks between the two teams about a trade this offseason.

The Growing Role Of Video For MLB Scouts

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Scouts are hired because they have a knack for observing baseball players, not because they’re particularly tech-savvy.

“I’m not up to speed with all the new technology so to speak, so it’s pretty old-fashioned,” says David Chadd, amateur scouting director for the Detroit Tigers.

Chadd says he relies primarily on cell phones and computers to do his job, so he is comfortable with gadgets. That's a good thing, because another form of technology is becoming more important for him and other Tigers scouts.

“We’ll video as many kids as we can and we’ll actually use that video in the draft when we’re talking about players,” says Chadd, who operates one of three Tigers video cameras. “[Video scouting] certainly started to advance itself probably in the last three years.”

The Tigers are far from the only team using video. Clubs know that the footage they record provides them with more information about the amateur players they’re considering on draft day. Brad Grant, the amateur scouting director for the Cleveland Indians, uses a game card, stopwatch and radar gun, but that’s not all.

“I carry a video camera as well,” Grant says. “Video’s becoming a big part of it now as well.“

This year the Blue Jays hired three new video coordinators. They have always relied on scouting reports, medical reports and stats. That remains important to the Blue Jays, but they’re relying more on video to gather information. Andrew Tinnish, the Blue Jays’ amateur scouting director, says video can supplement a scout’s written or spoken report.

“I think our guys do a great job of painting a picture,” Tinnish says. “But it’s even better when you have film to look at [too].” 

Video has its limitations, too. It can be a distraction for scouts, players can perform differently on different days and cameras don’t capture everything. But for Tinnish, having video footage of a prospect is better than nothing.

“It certainly isn’t the be all and end all, but it’s a piece of the puzzle,” he says.

Whether you use a game card, a smart phone or a camera, Chadd says the results are more important than the method for the Tigers.

“At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter, as long as we’re seeing and talking about the right players.”

Astros Notes: Oswalt, Berkman, Reds, Castro

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Not surprisingly, there's a lot of talk about the Astros tonight in the wake of Roy Oswalt's trade demand.  Here are a few pieces of hot stove info about Houston and their possibly-departing ace….

  • Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle thinks the Astros should completely look to the future and start looking to trade the likes of Lance Berkman, Brett Myers, Matt Lindstrom and other notable players.  Justice sets 2012 as the date when Houston "might be good again" and says "if [Astros GM Ed Wade] thinks a player would still be capable of contributing in 2012, then he ought to stay."
  • Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle dismisses a reader's tweet about any possible interest from the Giants in Oswalt, replying that San Fran needs hitting, not (another) ace pitcher.  In another tweet, he mentions that Berkman is an Astro who would "make more sense" for a Giants trade, and adds that it wouldn't take a prospect the caliber of Madison Bumgarner or Buster Posey to make it happen.
  • An unnamed Reds official "was intrigued" at Oswalt's availability, reports John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Fay is doubtful a trade could be worked out due to Oswalt's contract, but he notes that Oswalt's 2010 salary isn't much larger than those of Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo, both of whom can be bought out of their 2011 contracts for $2MM.  (Harang's buyout is worth $500K more if he's traded.)  An NBA-style deal for a semi-expiring contract might interest the Astros since it would free up a lot of payroll space. 
  • Wade tells MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that catching prospect Jason Castro still needs some more time at Triple-A before Houston thinks about calling him up.  Castro, the 10th overall pick in the 2008 amateur draft, has a peculiar .259/.390/.295 line in 136 plate appearances for Triple-A Round Rock this season.
  • The Astros will have a hard time getting full value back for Oswalt, says R.J. Anderson of Fangraphs.  Anderson notes that only the Padres were able to get a good return on a pitcher in a similar situation when they dealt Jake Peavy to Chicago.

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