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.

Well, things keep getting worse for the San Diego Padres. The San Diego Union Tribune reports that several changes have been made today to try and fix the destruction that Albert Pujols wrought on them last night. In one half of one inning, Pujols broke starter Chris Young’s nose with a line drive and broke catcher Josh Bard’s ankle sliding into home. They are both headed to the 15-day DL, but besides them, there are six other moves that the club is making.

First, Justin Germano was designated for assignment. In six starts and six relief appearances, he had a 5.98 ERA this season. They had no real plans to move forward with him, so they are going to give some younger guys shots at the big leagues. His spot on the team will go to Josh banks who was called up today. He will be the most likely person to fill in for Chris Young while he’s on the DL.

Then, there were several other moves. Catcher Colt Morton was called up to take Bard’s spot. He will be backing up Luke Carlin until Michael Barrett comes back…Barrett will be back before Bard, that break was NASTY.

Lefty reliever Joe Thatcher was also sent down and both Mike Adams and Jared Wells, a couple of righty relievers were called up. Neither was really impressive in the minors, but Adams has had limited major league success in the past.

So, I think I got all those changes in there. While the Brewers clubhouse will look completely different before tonight’s game, it won’t be any better. The season is over for San Diego. Now, their two best pitchers are on the DL and none of these roster moves helps the worst offense in baseball. Expect them to be sellers 100%. They will trade everyone they can, because they are bad and need to rebuild. Now comes the waiting game, just kick back and let the offers role in Mr. Towers, because all the others clubs in the MLB will be scouting your team.

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Phillies may be willing to move Shane Victorino now that Jason Werth is performing in CF. While it would thin out their OF, the Phillies may try to ‘just get by’ which they could most likely do with Werth and Jenkins. They may find that it is more in the best interest of the team to beef up the rotation.

Victorino will likely draw interest from several teams, especially the Marlins and Padres. The Marlins might not have the pitching to trade right now, but they have been interested in Victorino in the past. The Padres could be a great match, with several veteran pitchers to offer once they call it a season.

Mike Piazza has officially retired. After a 19-season career, the 10-time All Star is hanging it up. He was unable to find work this season, after spending ‘06 and ‘07 with the Oakland A’s. It was rumored that the Cincinnati Reds had some interest in Piazza this year, but it never amounted to anything. Instead, one of the greatest catchers of all time will call it a career.

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.

The Denver Post reports that Glendon Rusch has signed with the Rockies. It is a minor league deal for the left-handed reliever, who was released by the Padres last week. The Rockies only have two lefties ahead of Rusch in the pen, and they will also consider using him as a spot starter if necessity arises. I can not believe Glendon Rusch keeps finding work.

Edmonds is now officially a Chicago Cub. He agreed to a deal with the Cubs last night and passed his physical. He will be in the lineup today against the team that released him about a week ago, the Padres. With the addition of Edmonds, the Cubs will send struggling young CF Felix Pie down to Triple-A to get more consistent at-bats.

This signing is about as low risk as it gets. The Cubs will be paying Edmonds the league minimum and don’t have to give up any players to get him. If it turns out that he really is not capable of performing anymore, they can just release him and bring Pie back up.

According to MLB.com the Cubs plan to sign Jim Edmonds tonight. He is currently on his way to Chicago (Espn radio says he’ll be in the city by 6:00pm) and the deal is pending him passing a physical. He won’t be in the lineup tonight against the team that just released him, the San Diego Padres.

Just a little disclaimer, these standout picks are a little bit behind schedule so they are really ‘April+the beginning of may’ standouts.