Baseball Rumor News

- Scott Munter is back with the Giants after signing a minor league deal. Munter, now 28, was recently released by the Rays Triple-A affiliate. In 2005, Munter was a solid performer for the Giants, coming away with a 2.56 ERA.

- A partial tear of a tendon sheath in his left wrist will sideline Bostons DH, David Ortiz, for a minimum of 2 weeks, according to USA Today. This should create more playing time for Jacoby Ellsbury and Coco Crisp, who have been splitting OF time. It could also result in Manny spending time at the DH spot.

- OK, this one happened a few days ago, but I missed it and decided to put it in anyway…The Daily Herald reports that Jim Brower was sent to the Cubs from the Reds for cash considerations. Its not really a big deal, but the journeyman reliever has pitched for 8 teams throughout his career and had some success in the majors at a few points. With a very overworked bullpen in Chicago, Brower may only be an injury or two away from a shot at the big league team.

- The New York Yankees Kei Igawa is homesick. Igawa asked the Yankees if they could send him back to Japan, but they couldn’t find any takers. He has not performed since coming to America and probably misses succeeding, but for now, he’s stuck in New York while the Yankees are stuck paying him $11 million.

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.

According to The Philadelphia Daily News, Mets GM Omar Minaya is making inquiries about several players to fill needs at 1B, LF and right-handed relief pitching. Kevin Millar, Jason Bay and Xavier Nady are names that have been tossed around as possible targets for the Mets.

It isn’t surprising that the Mets feel they can improve at those spots. Bay would be an obvious upgrade from the oft-injured Moises Alou in left, although there figures to be competition from several teams to acquire the Phillies star and a reunion with Xavier Nady might also work out well if he can stay healthy until the trade deadline.

As far as first basemen go, both Scott Hatteberg of the Reds and Kevin Millar of the O’s have been mentioned several times. I expect that at some point soon, the Mets will pick up one of them if Delgado doesn’t turn it around.

According to The Seattle Times, the Mariners are ‘actively pursuing’ Cincinnati’s Scott Hatteberg. While it seems inevitable that Hatteberg will be traded, the thinking was that Griffey would be the Reds player on his way to Seattle. I’m not saying that isn’t still possible, but Hatteberg might actually be more of what the Mariners need. They have had just about no production out of 1B. It is actually surprising that they didn’t fix this problem after Richie Sexson dismal 2007. Adding Hatteberg would give Seattle a solid veteran 1B and give Hatteberg the playing time that he wants. Sexson is done, time to make a change.

As the MLB draft approaches, these are going to keep popping up, but this mock draft comes from Jim Callis of Baseball America. They specialize in prospects and other young talent, so you can expect that the closest to reality prediction will probably be this one…
You can see that most of the picks are the same as Mayo’s.

1. Rays - Tim Beckham, SS.
2. Pirates - Pedro Alvarez, 3B.
3. Royals - Buster Posey, C.
4. Orioles - Brian Matusz, LHP.
5. Giants - Justin Smoak, 1B.
6. Marlins - Kyle Skipworth, C.
7. Reds - Aaron Crow, RHP.
8. White Sox - Gordon Beckham, SS.
9. Nationals - Yonder Alonso, 1B.
10. Astros - Shooter Hunt, RHP.

Even though the MLB First Year Player Draft isn’t until June 5th, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has some early predictions for the top 10 picks. He admits that the order is basically a stab in the dark, but this gives a good look at who will be around the first to go.

1. Tampa Bay Rays: Buster Posey, C, Florida State
2. Pittsburgh Pirates: Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt
3. Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.
4. Baltimore Orioles: Brian Matusz, LHP, University of San Diego
5. San Francisco Giants: Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS, Griffin, Ga.
6. Florida Marlins: Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.
7. Cincinnati Reds: Aaron Crow, RHP, University of Missouri
8. Chicago White Sox: Gordon Beckham, SS, University of Georgia
9. Washington Nationals: Justin Smoak, 1B, University of South Carolina
10. Houston Astros: Tanner Scheppers, RHP, Fresno State

He also lists a couple wildcards that should be somewhere near the top: Stanford catcher Jason Castro and Casey Kelly, son of Reds coach Pat Kelly.

Is there anybody you think he missed?

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

While it was mostly thought to be rumors at first, The Dayton Daily News reports that the Seattle Mariners have actually sent Duane Shaffer, a special assistant to the executive vice president, to scout Griffey. The thing that stands out to me about the idea of a Mariners-Griffey reunion is…why? Would they bring him back in hopes that he could help them win some games and a WS championship, or would it just be a publicity move to sell tickets. If the latter is the case, and I think it is, I would be furious as a M’s fan. The farm system has already taken a huge hit trading for Bedard. Would Griffey be worth adding at the cost of a few more prospects? At his age he is still productive, but he won’t be the offensive punch that gets the Mariners over the hump.

Oh yeah, he’s also a huge injury risk. You can expect him to spend at least some time on the DL this year.

The Denver Post is now reporting that the Rockies are not interested in adding another starting pitcher. Rockies owner Dick Monfort seems content with being patient and waiting for the guys they have to turn it around. This clashes with all the news concerning the Rockies over the past few days, but it could be the case.

After picking up Jorge DeLaRosa from the Royals, maybe they actually are content with their situation until the guys they have pick it up. I don’t buy it and expect them to continue the pursuit of either Julian Tavarez or Josh Fogg.

- According to The Rocky Mountain News, the Rockies have signed left-hander Aaron Fultz. He will spend some time at extended spring training in an audition for making the big league team.

- The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Indians have signed Bronson Sardinha to a minor league deal. He was a No.1 pick of the Yankees back in 2001, but has failed to play up to that level so far.

- The Seattle Times clears up some rumors regarding Ken Griffey Jr. today. While his name is being tossed around as a trade candidate, the Mariners have said that they are not currently close to acquiring Griffey.

Mariners president Chuck Armstrong was quoted saying: “I think everybody in Seattle would like to see him retire in a Mariners uniform. He was born a Mariner and I’d like to see him finish up as a Mariner.”

This did not mean that the Mariners even had interest, but it got everybody talking. He was just saying it would be nice to see from a personal level, so take it easy.