Baseball Rumor News

Jonathan Mayo now has his predictions for the upcoming draft for picks 1-30. Some have changed, but for those of you that haven’t been keeping up with the predictions here is a list:

1. Tampa Bay Rays: Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS, Griffin, Ga.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates: Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt
3. Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.
4. Baltimore Orioles: Aaron Crow, RHP, University of Missouri
5. San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey, C, Florida State
6. Florida Marlins: Brian Matusz, LHP, University of San Diego
7. Cincinnati Reds: Yonder Alonso, 1B, University of Miami
8. Chicago White Sox: Gordon Beckham, SS, University of Georgia
9. Washington Nationals: Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.
10. Houston Astros: Justin Smoak, 1B, University of South Carolina
11. Texas Rangers: Andrew Cashner, RHP, Texas Christian
12. Oakland A’s: Aaron Hicks, OF/RHP, Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, Calif.
13. St. Louis Cardinals: Ryan Perry, RHP, University of Arizona
14. Minnesota Twins: Christian Friedrich, LHP, Eastern Kentucky
15. Los Angeles Dodgers: Zach Collier, OF, Chino Hills HS, Calif.
16. Milwaukee Brewers: Brett Lawrie, C/3B, Brookswood SS, Langley, B.C.
17. Toronto Blue Jays: Brett Wallace, 1B/3B, Arizona State
18. New York Mets: Ike Davis, OF, Arizona State
19. Chicago Cubs: Casey Kelly, SS, Sarasota HS, Fla.
20. Seattle Mariners: Shooter Hunt, RHP, Tulane
21. Detroit Tigers: Ethan Martin, RHP, Stephens County HS, Toccoa, Ga.
22. New York Mets: Jason Castro, C, Stanford
23. San Diego Padres: Daniel Schlereth, LHP, University of Arizona
24. Philadelphia Phillies: Anthony Hewitt, SS, Salisbury School, Conn
25. Colorado Rockies: Jake Odorizzi, RHP, Highland HS, Ill.
26. Arizona Diamondbacks: Josh Fields, RHP, University of Georgia
27. Minnesota Twins: Brett DeVall, LHP, Niceville HS, Fla.
28. New York Yankees: Brett Hunter, RHP, Pepperdine University
29. Cleveland Indians: Jemile Weeks, 2B, University of Miami
30. Boston Red Sox: Lance Lynn, RHP, University of Mississippi

Those are the predictions, but we’ll find out for sure in two days.

Tim Brown reports that the Kevin Towers, GM of the Padres, has had enough. The Padres find themselves in last place, with the worst record in all of baseball, which would signal that extensive changes are necessary. To top it all off, Jake Peavy will now be headed to the DL, so things aren’t getting any better.

“I’m certainly not going to watch this for another four months,” Towers said.

Now that they find themselves so far out of first and only 40 games into the season, you would have to assume that San Diego is headed in the direction of a fire sale. The offense is so bad that adding one piece later in the season won’t make a difference. With that in mind, who might be on their way out of San Diego? Here are a few veterans that would be able to net the Pad’s some prospects that could help them turn things around in the future…

Greg Maddux: While Maddux has a full no-trade clause, it would seem likely that he would want to go somewhere that has a chance of actually competing. The future Hall of Famer doesn’t look like he has much left, but he could be used to eat up some innings somewhere. Atlanta has been rumored to desire a reunion with Maddux, and he could be a big draw for them if he closes out his career with the Braves.

Randy Wolf: Wolf is another vet that could be used to shore up a rotation for the playoff push. He might actually be more valuable than Maddux, as far as performance goes. He has pitched well, and if the Padres are moving into a rebuilding phase they won’t need him around. I would expect his ERA to jump quite a bit if he moves to a team with a more hitter friendly ballpark.

Brian Giles: Giles could become one of the best bats available around the trade deadline. Even with the rest of the offense struggling (and playing in that San Diego pitchers park) he is still batting .311, with 3 HR and 19 RBI’s. You would expect those numbers to look better if he was at just about any other park, so he could turn out to be a valuable trade piece.

Khalil Greene: The SS has struggled offensively the last few years, but a change of scenery could do him well. He is fantastic defensively, so teams may be willing to take a chance on his offense. He has also been the focus of many trade rumors over the last year, so there is clearly interest in him. Most notably, the Cubs and Blue Jays have inquired about his availability. At the moment, both of those teams seem set at SS, but you never know what will happen by the deadline.

- As far as the rest of the team goes, expect that just about everyone is available except: Adrian Gonzalez, Jake Peavy, Chris Young, and Kevin Kouzmanoff. None of these guys are old enough that they wouldn’t figure into a rebuilt team a few years from now.

- The Birmingham Press & Sun Bulletin reports that the Mets have signed 27 year old Eric Reed to a minor league deal. The need for an infielder for the Mets came when Fernando Martinez strained his right hamstring.

- John Boggs, Mark Prior’s agent, has announced that the one time pitching prodigy has had yet another setback. Prior has a tear in the capsule of his right shoulder (the same shoulder that has plagued him with injuries throughout his career.)

“Mark is looking at it in a positive way. He will just lay low for a few weeks and let the shoulder settle down.”

- The Blue Jays have designated Jorge Velandia for assignment after he went 0 for 7 over the last nine days.

- According to The Star-Tribune, the Minnesota Twins have claimed infielder Sergio Santos off waivers from the Blue Jays. Santos will head to the Twins’ Triple-A team.

- The Philadelphia Daily News reports that the Phillies are not ready to sign staff ace Cole Hamels to an extension. You may recall that Hamels was one of the young stars that was upset with his compensation for his play.

- The Rangers have waived Ben Broussard. It seems nobody was interested in picking up the $3.85 million owed to him.

- The Indians have designated OF Jason Tyner for assignment. They needed to open up space for lefty Jeremy Sowers who will be needed to make a spot start for the tribe.

- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Cardinals reliever Jason Isringhausen is headed to the DL. This isn’t surprising as, the once dominant closer has really fallen apart this season.

Just like the NL picks, consider these standouts through about 5/10/08, not just April.

- MLB.com reports that Cardinals reliever Jason Isringhausen will be removed from the closer role. This change comes after Isringhausen blew his 5th save of the season last night against the Brewers. It sure seems like there are a lot of struggling closers to start off this season.

- Robert Macleod of The Globe and Mail reports some more bad news for the Blue Jays. Vernon Wells, the Blue Jays star CF, has suffered a broken wrist. This is a big hit to Toronto, to both the defense and middle of their lineup. Even with the recent addition of Mench and Wilkerson, Wells will be sorely missed.

- In other Blue Jays news, Tracy Thorpe was designated for assignment today. He has been on the 40-man roster for the last two years but never on the major league club. Thorpe has spent his time closing for the Blue Jays Triple-A affiliate. The move may have something to do with comments the reliever made regarding the organization having very few African-American players.

“What are there?” Tracy Thorpe, the Syracuse Chiefs’ co-closer, recently asked while seated in a workout room at Alliance Bank Stadium. “Three or four starting pitchers up there who are black? If that? You have C.C. Sabathia. You have Dontrelle Willis. I guess there’s Shawn Chacon. Is he still starting? I think there’s one with the Devil Rays. Um . . . it’s tough. But that’s about it. That’s pretty bad. It could be better.”

Maybe someone in the organization didn’t like his comments, or the timing could be coincidental…I guess.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that the Blue Jays have made two seperate moves to acquire two OF, Brad Wilkerson and Kevin Mench. Wilkerson, as was anticipated, was signed as a free agent since he was cut by the Seattle Mariners. Mench comes over from the Rangers for cash considerations. Up until now, Mench had been playing for the Rangers Triple-A affiliate.

The Blue Jays also made some roster changes to create space on the roster for the two new OF. They designated LHP Gustavo Chacin and infielder Sergio Santos for assignment, while optioning infielder Joe Inglett to Triple-A.

John Lott of The National Post reports that the Blue Jays are going after Brad Wilkerson now that Jason Michaels has gone to the Pirates. The OF was cut by the Mariners in order to make room for some young guys (Balentien & Clement) and has drawn interest from a few clubs. Now it seems that the Blue Jays are pretty close to a deal, even though General manager J.P. Ricciardi refused to confirm that he had Wilkerson, 30, in his sights.

It would make sense as an addition for the Jays because he can add depth as a solid fourth outfielder. He also hits better against lefties, which is a bit strange for a left-handed batter, but that is what manager John Gibbons wants (he wanted a right-handed batter, but same thing). The Jays as a team are batting .221 against left-handers so it makes sense.

Ricciardi said he hoped to have a new player in place to start the weekend series in Cleveland so this deal could be announced very soon.

According to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, Frank Thomas was close to signing with the Oakland Athletics but now another team has gotten into the mix.

The A’s have great need for Thomas due to the poor production from their DH spot, but don’t expect them to go very high on paying Thomas. The team isn’t designed to win this year and that means the A’s can be easily outbid. At this point for Thomas, I think that the biggest offer will not necessarily depend on the monetary amount, but rather, the playing time available.

- The Padres claimed Josh Banks on waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. It is possible that Banks will move into the Padres bullpen. Last season, the 25 year old Banks posted a 12-10 record with a 4.63 ERA in 27 starts at Triple-A Syracuse. San Diego is looking to solidify a shaky bullpen that led the majors last year.

- The Oakland Athletics made a couple moves worth noting yesterday. First, they claimed Rajai Davis on waivers from the Giants.
On Davis:
“He plays left, center and right,” A’s manager Bob Geren said. “He’s a good runner. Having a speed guy is something that’s a nice addition.”

- Also, the Giants designated pitcher Kirk Saarloos for assignment. They have to make a move with him in the next 10 days, or they will have to put him on waivers.