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Archives for June 2015

Kevin Gregg Opts Out From Mariners Contract

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Veteran righty Kevin Gregg has opted out of his minor league deal with the Mariners, Triple-A Tacoma announcer Mike Curto reports. Gregg signed with Seattle a few weeks back.

The 36-year-old started the year with the Reds, but was released after struggling to a 10.13 ERA in 10 2/3 innings. Gregg did show an ability to miss bats in that stint, racking up 14 strikeouts (against five walks). Gregg put up better results at Tacoma, putting up 9 1/3 innings of 2.89 ERA ball with an 8-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Brewers Sign Cody Ponce, Nash Walters

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The Brewers have announced the signings of second-rounder Cody Ponce and third-round pick Nash Walters, both right-handed pitchers. The club also confirmed the signing of first pick Trent Clark.

Ponce’s 55th overall slot came with a $1,108,000 allocation while the pick used to take Walters was valued at $646,300. According to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, it appears that Ponce has agreed to a slot bonus while Walters’ deal will pay him close to his allocated amount.

Draft pundits were all in accord on Ponce, a Cal Poly Pomona hurler, with his pre-draft ratings ranging from 32nd to 36th overall. Baseball America credits his big frame, improving stuff, and good athleticism. BA says that a high-80s cutter-slider offering is Ponce’s best, noting that he profiles as a starter with four usable pitches.

Yankees To Sign First-Round Pick Kyle Holder

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The Yankees have agreed to a $1.8MM bonus with first-round pick Kyle Holder, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reports on Twitter. That represents a savings of $114,900 as against the allocated bonus money for the 30th overall pick.

Mayo and the MLB.com prospect team praised Holder as a premium defender at shortstop — arguably the best fielder at the position in this year’s draft. The question, then, is whether his bat can improve enough to make him a big league regular. Baseball America was highest on him coming into the draft, explaining that he has shown good contact ability.

Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs (66) and Keith Law of ESPN.com (95) are more bearish in rating Holder. The latter says that the collegiate infielder has “a high-effort swing without much explosiveness,” indicating that he has a lot of work to do in building a stroke to match his useful strength and hand-eye coordination.

Padres To Sign Jacob Nix

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The Padres have agreed to terms with righty Jacob Nix on a $900K signing bonus, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. The 86th choice in the draft came with a $687,300 pick value, meaning that San Diego went over $200K over slot to add Nix.

Of course, Nix thought he had an even larger bonus locked up last year with the Astros, before he was caught up in the Brady Aiken saga. He ultimately landed at IMG Academy for a year and brought a grievance action against Houston (reportedly settling for a six-figure payout).

Now advised by MVP Sports, Nix drew plenty of top-forty pre-draft ratings. Keith Law of ESPN.com was highest on Nix, rating him the 32nd-best player available and saying he has mid-rotation starter upside. Baseball America and MLB.com concurred that Nix had back of first-round talent, while Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs dropped Nix to 81st on his list.

Cardinals Sign First-Rounder Jake Woodford

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The Cardinals have announced the signing of supplemental first-round pick Jake Woodford, who’ll receive a $1.8MM bonus according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). That constitutes a nice increase over the $1.585MM value that attached to the 39th overall selection.

St. Louis also announced the signing of top selection Nick Plummer, who reportedly agreed to terms several days ago, along with compensatory selection Jordan Hicks. That selection came with a $543,300 slot value, and Hicks received $600K to sign (again, per Callis).

Woodford drew a range of opinion, with Keith Law of ESPN.com putting him the highest on his board — 39th overall, where the righty was ultimately taken. Law says that while Woodford’s stuff remains uninspiring at the present, he has a prototypical body and delivery that leave tons of room for projection. As might be expected, that overall package is laden with risk, and MLB.com was much more bearish in placing him 85th on its board.

Brewers Sign Trent Clark

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JUNE 15: Clark has just put pen to paper on a contract, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports on Twitter. He will receive a bonus of $2.7MM, landing about $7,300 over slot, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets.

JUNE 11: The Brewers are “99 percent of the way” to a deal with first-round pick Trent Clark, scouting director Ray Montgomery tells MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. The deal will award Clark a bonus that will land “slightly above” the pick’s slot value.

Clark, chosen 15th overall, recently wrapped up his senior season at Richland High School in Texas. The left-handed-swinging youngster previously committed to play collegiately at Texas Tech.

Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs ranked Clark as the seventh-best player available, calling him the “best pure hitter in the draft” and explaining that he could potentially both stick in center and learn to harness his good raw power. Other pundits agreed that Milwaukee did well to land Clark where they did, with ESPN.com’s Keith Law and Baseball America rating him the 10th overall draft prospect. Law is among those who believe Clark may need to shift to the corner outfield, where he’d obviously have less ultimate upside, though he does not figure to be reliant on the glove to have value.

BA also graded Clark with plus speed, making for an impressive overall tool set. If there is an offensive critique, it involves Clark’s unconventional grip and swing, as MLB.com noted in placing him in the 12th spot on its board, though his track record is extensive enough that it doesn’t appear to be much of an issue. Indeed, Montgomery had high praise for the team’s biggest new addition, calling Clark “a prodigal hitter.”

It appears that a physical is the only real hurdle left in finalizing agreement, with sources telling McCalvy that only minor details remained to be ironed out.

Pirates Sign First-Rounder Kevin Newman

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5:49pm: The exact bonus is $2.175MM, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo tweets.

4:03pm: MLB.com’s Adam Berry reports that Newman’s bonus is less than $100K below slot value (Twitter link).

JUNE 15, 2:17pm: The Pirates have officially announced the signing of Newman.

JUNE 14: The Pirates have reached an agreement to sign first-round draft pick Kevin Newman, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter link), to a contract worth close to the $2.273MM slot value tied to the 19th overall pick (slot info courtesy of Baseball America).  An official announcement from the team should come tomorrow, per Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter), probably once Newman passes his physical.

Newman, 21, is a shortstop from the University of Arizona.  ESPN’s Keith Law rated Newman as the second-best prospect in the draft on his board, describing him as “a surefire shortstop with tremendous feel to hit.”  Other draft outlets weren’t quite as bullish, as Newman was ranked 20th on Fangraphs’ list and 29th by both MLB.com and Baseball America.  While Newman’s contact-hitting approach at the plate is noted at all, his ability to generate much power is still a question mark.  His long-term future at short is also up for debate; some observers (like Law) feel Newman can handle the position at the MLB level, while others have mixed feelings about his range and arm strength.

Red Sox Designate Jeff Bianchi For Assignment

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The Red Sox have designated infielder Jeff Bianchi for assignment, reports Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). The move allows the team to recall lefty Robbie Ross Jr. from Triple-A Pawtucket, he notes.

Bianchi’s second stint in Boston this year has ended like his first. After hitting DFA limbo, being outrighted, and electing free agency last month, Bianchi re-signed with Boston on a major league deal that took him straight to the active roster.

Despite all the transactional action, Bianchi has seen just two plate appearances in three games for the Red Sox this season.  Indeed, the 28-year-old has not played much at all this year, due mostly to the multiple moves that have taken place. Over 61 turns at bat for Triple-A Pawtucket, he owns a .302/.373/.340 slash.

Astros Sign First-Rounder Kyle Tucker

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The Astros announced today that they have signed No. 5 overall selection Kyle Tucker. Terms of the bonus weren’t disclosed by the team, but MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reports (via Twitter) that Tucker will receive a $4MM signing bonus, which is about $189K below the assigned slot value (Baseball America link). Tucker was advised by and is now a client of Excel Sports Management.

Tucker, a high school outfielder from Florida, is the younger brother of current Astros outfielder Preston Tucker. More importantly to the Astros, however, is that he was widely believed to be one of the 10 best players in this year’s draft. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs ranked Tucker fourth among draft prospects, while Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked him seventh. Both Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law ranked Tucker as the eighth-best prospect in this year’s draft class.

McDaniel calls the younger Tucker a “way better prospect” than his older brother, praising his raw power as his best tool. Callis and Mayo agree, adding that Tucker should have average-or-better tools across the board and should eventually hit for both average and power. BA feels that he can hit for power to all fields (though the scouting report does note that his pull power outweighs his power to other fields), noting that he has a chance to stick in center field but the arm for right field should a move be necessary. Law seems to think he’ll move to a corner, where he feels Tucker to be capable of above-average defense.

“Kyle Tucker was one of the premier bats of this year’s draft class and has the ability to hit in the heart of our lineup in the future,” said Astros scouting director Mike Elias in today’s press release. “He’s a tall, strong left-handed hitter with a great swing, a track record of success and plus power to both fields. He also runs well and is a polished outfielder. We’re especially pleased to welcome him to our organization and we look forward to him playing alongside his older brother Preston in the Major Leagues.”

Tucker is one of two Top 5 picks the Astros had in 2015. The fifth overall pick was Houston’s natural pick in the draft, while the No. 2 overall pick (which the team used on LSU shortstop Alex Bregman) was compensation for not signing left-hander Brady Aiken after last year’s draft. Tucker, Bregman and No. 37 overall selection Daz Cameron were all regarded as Top 12 talents by the four lists linked above, giving Houston quite a haul with its top three picks. The $189K saved on Tucker’s bonus could help the team sign Cameron, who slipped to the 37th pick due to signability issues and will certainly require a bonus that is well above-slot in order to break his commitment to Florida State.

Mets Designate Dillon Gee For Assignment

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2:51pm: The Mets have now confirmed that Gee has been designated, tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.

2:30pm: The Mets will designate right-hander Dillon Gee for assignment today, reports ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin (via Twitter).

Gee’s name has been bandied about in trade rumors for the better part of the past nine months, as the Mets possess a number of promising young arms that are projected to have higher ceilings. Nonetheless, he’s been a very serviceable back-of-the-rotation starter for the Mets over the past few seasons, so it’s possible that the team was a ways down the road in trade negotiations pertaining to Gee already and simply opted to designate him for assignment now in order to free up a 40-man roster spot. Gee started yesterday, so his spot on the roster wasn’t going to yield any innings in the next few days anyhow.

For a team in need of a stabilizing force at the back of the rotation, rolling the dice on a rebound for Gee would certainly make some sense. From 2010-14, Gee notched a 3.91 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 639 2/3 innings, and he’s typically posted a ground-ball rate near or above the league average (career 46 percent). Of his $5.3MM salary, about $3.24MM is left on the hook. I’d imagine that a team would prefer the Mets to take on some, if not most of that in a trade.

Track record aside, Gee has struggled to a 5.90 ERA in 39 2/3 innings for the Mets this season, though much of the damage came in an eight-run bludgeoning at the hands of the Braves yesterday. Gee has also missed time this year with a groin strain and spent nearly two months on the DL in 2014 with a strained lat muscle. His 2015 struggles, along with the injuries and his salary have presumably diminished his trade value since Opening Day.

If the team is unable to trade Gee, he could be sent outright to Triple-A upon clearing waivers. There’s a chance that some team would claim him, though the remaining $3.24MM on his deal lessens the chance of that outcome. Were he to clear waivers, he’d head to Triple-A Las Vegas..

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