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Archives for June 2012

Astros Acquire D’Andre Toney From Royals

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The Astros announced that they have acquired outfielder D’Andre Toney from the Royals as the player to be named later in the March 20th trade that sent Jason Bourgeois and Humberto Quintero to Kansas City.  Toney was drafted by the Royals in the 14th round last year.

Drafted players cannot be traded until they have been in professional baseball for a year which is why Toney was made to be a PTBNL rather than in the initial trade.  The 20-year-old hit .340/.432/.587 in 43 games last year for the Royals' Arizona League affiliate.  At the time of the deal, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow noted that the PTBNL would be the "key component" of the trade.

Cafardo On Upton, Phillies, Red Sox, Mariners

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe ranks the top ten managers in baseball.  Don Mattingly of the Dodgers tops the list as he has the club off to a surprising 38-22 record, putting them four games above the Giants in the NL West.  Robin Ventura (White Sox), Terry Collins (Mets), Bobby Valentine (Red Sox), and Buck Showalter (Orioles) round out the top five.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • Only Kevin Towers knows for sure if the inconsistent Justin Upton could ever be available in a deal.  However, a few baseball evaluators wouldn’t mind tempting the Diamondbacks with a package.  Arizona doesn't need pitching, so the Red Sox can't use someone like Clay Buchholz to get him.
  • The Phillies may be more interested in Will Middlebrooks than Kevin Youkilis, a major league source told Cafardo.  However, it doesn't look like the Red Sox would have interest in dealing Middlebrooks.
  • The Orioles' new six-year, $85MM deal with Adam Jones has led to speculation on how the Red Sox will approach Jacoby Ellsbury, who can be a free agent after the 2013 season.  However, there's reason for both sides to wait.  As an Oregon native who shuns the spotlight, Ellsbury may want a quieter market.  The Sox, meanwhile, would want to see Ellsbury stay healthy for a while before committing 6-8 years to him.
  • While the Mariners haven’t given indications that they will sell off veteran pieces, teams are targeting them as a seller.  The M's have already received some inquiries for Brandon League.
  • The Rays have to be looking for a middle infielder, which are extremely hard to come by.  Tampa Bay is anxious to upgrade from the defensive play of Sean Rodriguez.
  • The Red Sox really like Jorge Soler, but they don’t appear to be the front-runners for him.

Draft Signings: Mathisen, Maxwell, Cardinals

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Here are Saturday's notable non-first round draft pick signings…

  • The Pirates have agreed to sign second rounder Wyatt Mathisen according to Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Sulia). Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects first reported the agreement. The high school catcher from Texas was the 69th overall pick, which carries a slot value of $746K.
  • The Athletics have signed second rounder Bruce Maxwell for a below slot $770K, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). The college bat was slotted for $831K.  Maxwell is represented by Matt Sosnick and Adam Karon of Sosnick Cobbe Sports.
  • In addition to first rounder Stryker Trahan, the Diamondbacks announced that they've agreed to terms with 30 other draft picks. Second rounder Jose Munoz and third rounder Jake Barrett highlight the crop. The Arizona Republic has the full list.
  • Ben Nicholson-Smith reports (on Twitter) that the D'Backs gave ninth rounder Jeff Gibbs a $90K bonus plus college tuition. Callis reports (on Twitter) that they gave fourth rounder Charles Taylor a $250K bonus. Slot money for those two picks is $125K and $286K, respectively.
  • The Cardinals have signed third rounder Tim Cooney for a straight slot $404K bonus, reports Callis (on Twitter). The left-hander hails from Wake Forest.
  • The Mariners have agreed to terms with fourth rounder Patrick Kivlehan, reports MLB.com's Josh Liebeskind. Slot money for the Rutgers third baseman is $353K. Seattle also signed 12th rounder Mike Faulkner for $100K according to Callis (on Twitter).
  • The Red Sox have signed their fifth through tenth round draft picks according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier. All six players are college seniors.
  • The Royals have signed sixth rounder Zach Lovvorn for $275K, reports Callis (on Twitter). Slot money for the pick was $194K.
  • The Astros announced the signing of eight more picks, including ninth rounder Daniel Minor. Houston has now signed 18 picks total according to the release.
  • The Phillies have signed tenth rounder Kevin Brady for a straight slot $125K bonus according to Callis (on Twitter). The right-hander is out of Clemson.

Yankees Not Looking For Outfield Help

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Left fielder Brett Gardner has played just nine games this season due to a right elbow strain, and today he suffered a setback that will likely keep him out through the All-Star break. Despite that, Yankees GM Brian Cashman told reporters (including Chad Jennings of The Journal News) that he hasn't looked into trading for outfield help just yet.

“I haven’t been looking,” said Cashman. “That doesn’t mean that (it’s out of the question). Now you’ve passed the draft, people will be more interested in having conversations. I have not had any conversations with anybody about anything.”

The Yankees have primarily used Raul Ibanez in left during Gardner's absence, though Andruw Jones, Jayson Nix, Eduardo Nunez, and Dewayne Wise have all seen time out there as well. Depending on how Gardner's visit with Dr. James Andrews goes on Monday, the Yankees could either remain patient or be pressed into aggressively scouring the trade market. The outfield market figures to be highlighted by Carlos Quentin and Josh Willingham this year.

Diamondbacks Agree To Sign Stryker Trahan

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7:36pm: Trahan agreed to a straight slot bonus of $1.7MM, reports Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (on Twitter).

4:30pm: The Diamondbacks announced that they have agreed to terms with first-round draft pick Stryker Trahan.  Terms of the deal are not yet known for the catcher tabbed with the 26th pick.

The slot recommendation for the selection is $1.7MM.  The D'Backs have also signed their first six picks, eight of their first ten, 17 of the first 20, and 31 drafted players in total.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Saunders, Quentin, Cards, Pirates

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new Full Count video up. Let's recap…

  • Teams looking for rotation help should call the Diamondbacks about Joe Saunders. Arizona wants to get top prospect Trevor Bauer into their rotation, but right now there's just no room.
  • The identity of the Padres' new owner will not be known before August, leaving the front office to make its own call on Carlos Quentin prior to the trade deadline. They could keep him and make him a qualifying offer after the season (entitling them to draft pick compensation), though they'd be gambling on future payroll before knowing the new owner's plans. The safest move could be trading the outfielder.
  • The Cardinals will wait to hear more about Chris Carpenter's status before making a move for a veteran starting pitcher in the wake of Jaime Garcia's shoulder injury. St. Louis wanted Jeff Francis badly, but the timing wasn't right; Garcia appeared to be healthy when Francis hit the market.
  • The Pirates have inquired about a number of corner infield bats, including Kevin Youkilis, Chase Headley, and Bryan LaHair. Some of those targets are more realistic than others, plus the trade market has yet to really materialize. There are far more buyers than sellers, though Pittsburgh has the pitching depth to swing a deal.

NL Central Notes: Appel, Perez, Soriano

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Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia has tearing in his labrum and rotator cuff, reports Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Surgery is not recommended at this time but he will be shut down for a minimum of four weeks. Garcia signed a four-year, $27MM extension last July.

Here's the latest from the NL Central, which just lost one of its best young pitchers…

  • ESPN's Jayson Stark hears that the Pirates are expected to offer eighth overall pick and Stanford right-hander Mark Appel a slot $2.9MM signing bonus and hold the line until the July 13th deadline as they sign their other picks. "I don't see how," said one executive when asked if a deal will get done between the team and the Scott Boras client.
  • Indians closer Chris Perez told Andrew Wagaman of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he was excited when the Cardinals traded him "because I could go do my thing." Cleveland acquired Perez from the Cards for Mark DeRosa in June 2009.
  • We know the Cubs are willing to absorb most of the $54MM left on Alfonso Soriano's contract to trade him, and ESPN's Buster Olney wonders (on Twitter) if the outfielder's recent power surge will create some interest. Soriano hit two homers last night and has 11 in his last 23 games.

Cardinals Claim John Gaub Off Waivers

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The Cardinals have claimed left-hander John Gaub off of waivers from the Rangers, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter).  Gaub was designated for assignment on Thursday to create room on the 40-man roster for Tanner Scheppers.

The 27-year-old posted a 3.42 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9 in 50 Triple-A appearances for the Cubs last season.  Gaub pitched in 16 games for the Rays' Triple-A affiliate and 5 for the Rangers' Triple-A team this year.

Athletics Claim Danny Farquhar Off Waivers

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‪The Athletics‬ announced that they have claimed pitcher Danny Farquhar off of waivers from the Blue Jays.  The right-hander will be optioned to Triple-A Sacramento while Andrew Carignan has been transferred to the 60-day DL.

The move marks a return to the A's organization to Farquhar, who joined Oakland in November 2010 as a part of the Rajai Davis deal.  The 25-year-old was soon sent back to Toronto in April for David Purcey.  Farquhar owns a 2.97 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 20 Double-A appearances this year.

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