Astros claim Mickey Storey off waivers

post from Bronx Baseball Daily on 06 December 2012 05:50:07 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily

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Yankees lost none, gained none in Rule 5 Draft

post from Bronx Baseball Daily on 06 December 2012 05:30:57 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily

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Andre Dawson 1989 Topps & LJN Toys Baseball Talk
Collection

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 06 December 2012 05:02:56 PM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

Andre Dawson 1989 Topps & LJN Toys – Baseball Talk Collection For some reason, I don’t recall these cards as a kid. And after doing a little homework, it appears that the cards were played on some kind of hand-held … Continue reading →

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all-talk-collection/

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Vance Worley and the art of looking strike 3

post from The tenth inning stretch on 06 December 2012 05:02:03 PM. © The tenth inning stretch

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Ten Minutes of Trevor May Pitching

post from The tenth inning stretch on 06 December 2012 05:02:03 PM. © The tenth inning stretch

From 2011[...]

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What is happening with the Kansas City Royals

post from Royals Review - All Posts on 06 December 2012 05:01:28 PM. © Royals Review - All Posts

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The Kansas City Royals have actually done very little this off-season in terms of substantive moves, which makes the amount of discussion they have managed to generate these past few days particularly impressive.

After everyone had a nice Wil Myers induced panic attack last night, things appeared to be trending positively after Bob Dutton reported that the Myers for James Shields talks appeared to be on hold.

Then Dutton released an article today stating the Royals break-even point for their finances is $70 million dollars, which is not in line with what we had been told.

In a previous article, David Glass stated that the $70 million dollar break even point was for major league player salaries, and now it is for total payroll, including draft and international standing.

Dutton explained the consequences of the new information, writing:

That reduces the break-even point for the 25-man roster - the figure generally used for comparison purposes in public discussions - to roughly $57 million. The draft and international limits under the new labor agreement comprise about $10 million.
It also means, as things currently stand, the Royals are already over budget since the projected payroll for their 25-man roster is roughly $65 million.

If we stick our head in the sand and take Glass' word as gospel (you shouldn't), this means that the Royals have essentially no money left to acquire an expensive pitcher. It should also make you question why Kansas City is interested in trading a young, talented and cheap player for an older and more expensive one.

With essentially no money left over, it seems like the Royals should target cheaper free agents. This new information helps explain the following tweets:

Source is also insistent that the Royals are not in the Anibal Sanchez market -- not at five years and $70M-plus, where it stands now.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 6, 2012

#Royals exploring a group of free agent starters that includes Brett Myers, Kevin Correia and Jair Jurrjens, source says.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 6, 2012

But then Dutton sends out the following tweet, which only muddles the picture further.

Have been told repeatedly the #Royals have no intention, for now, of pursuing any pitcher who wouldn't front their rotation.
— Bob Dutton (@Royals_Report) December 6, 2012

In conclusion, the Royals are already "over budget," so they want to trade their cheap players for expensive ones. They are not interested in Anibal Sanchez, but instead are targeting cheaper options. But they are not interested in bringing in a pitcher who will not front the rotation.

There has already been some active discussion about today's news in the other thread, but the question needs to be asked again; what in the world is going on?

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Miami Marlins Select Outfielder Alfredo Silverio,
Lefty Braulio Lara in Rule 5 Draft

post from Fish Stripes - All Posts on 06 December 2012 05:01:26 PM. © Fish Stripes - All Posts

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The Miami Marlins have mostly avoided the Rule 5 draft for the last few seasons, having mostly filled their roster with their own talent. However, now that the team has been gutted by recent trades heading into the 2013 season, the 2012 Rule 5 draft seemed like the right time to take a chance on a player or two for just $50,000 each. The team did just that by targeting former Los Angeles Dodgers outfield prospect Alfredo Silverio and former Tampa Bay Rays lefty prospect Braulio Lara.

Following 2011, Silverio was an intriguing outfield prospect with the Dodgers. He was coming off of a season in which he hit .306/.340/.542 (.383 wOBA) with 16 home runs in 572 PA at the Double-A level. Sure, he was holding that line with a .340 BABIP, but 23 year-olds with those kind of breakout seasons in Double-A do not do poorly. Heading into 2012, he was ranked fifth in the Dodgers system by Minor League Ball's John Sickels and seventh by FanGraphs's Marc Hulet. Here is what Sickels had to say before the season:

5) Alfredo Silverio, OF, Grade B-, borderline B: It took him a long time to develop skills to make his tools meaningful, and he still has issues with the strike zone and using his speed on the bases, but progress has been real and he's the best position prospect in the system. Should put up huge numbers in Albuquerque even if his underlying skills don't improve.

From that description, Silverio sounded every bit like a toolsy outfielder who was beginning to turn his potential power into on-field production. His struggles with the strike zone were mostly in recognizing balls from strikes, as evidenced by his career 4.6 percent walk rate. But he makes enough contact (17.6 percent career strikeout rate) to make up for it, especially if he can continue to increase his power.

Unfortunately, before the 2012 seaosn, Silverio had a car accident that caused injuries to his arm, back, and neck, leading to Tommy John surgery. He missed all of 2012 and, as a result, had a promising potential year robbed from him. The Dodgers left him off of the 40-man roster and the Marlins made a wise move to select him.

The Marlins feel as though Silverio is recovering well from the injury.

"All the reports I've read from 2011, he was a sure thing," Marlins vice president of player development Marty Scott said. "An A-plus player."
Recently, Scott saw Silverio work out in the Dominican Republic. He has been cleared from the concussion, but Silverio has yet to be cleared to throw. He also is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
"I saw him in the cage a couple of weeks ago in the Dominican, so I knew he was swinging the bat," Scott said. "He's not getting cleared to throw for a couple of weeks. He's a project."

If Silverio sticks on the team's roster, he can serve as a fourth or fifth outfielder who can cover each of the three outfield positions. The Marlins took a chance on him because he was clearly a talented player, but his injury recovery is still in question. Given the state of the team's outfield situation, however, it may not matter. Last season, Gorkys Hernandez and Bryan Petersen were both given extended looks in the outfield and failed to impress, and only one of them is likely to make the roster as a primary backup. If the team likes what it sees out of the talented Silverio, he will serve as the other backup.

Lara will be 24 years old in the 2013 season, and he spent the last two years as a starting pitcher in the Rays organization. Starting was not looking good for him, as he struggled with a 4.94 and 5.70 ERA in the last two years respectively. His primary advantage with the Marlins will be that he is a lefty with a big power arm, supposedly being able to throw in high 90's. He may give the team another potential option in the bullpen, but he will not get a chance to start for the Marlins after not making it to Double-A.

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http://www.fishstripes.com/2012/12/6/3736836/miami-marlins-rule-5-draft-alfredo-s
ilverio-braulio-lara

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2012 Winter Meetings

This past week I spent my time at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, TN. I was fortunate to be[...]

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Hamilton, Greinke remain on market after meetings
(Yahoo! Sports)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — As baseball’s new Mr. Moneybags, Ned Colletti gets mentioned when almost any free agent is discussed this offseason.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/12/06/hamilton-greinke-remain-on-market-after-mee
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Braves Sign Utility Infielder Blake DeWitt

The Atlanta Braves have added more depth to their system by signing utility infielder Blake DeWitt to a minor league deal. DeWitt is a former first round pick by the Dodgers, who went to the Cubs as part of the Ted Lilly trade in 2010. He's primarily played second base and third base, but has also played some left field.

He will likely compete for a backup infield spot in spring training. His power never developed at higher levels in the minor leagues, and at 27 he's pretty much just going to be a light hitting utility guy.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2012/12/6/3736956/braves-sign-utility-infielder-blake-
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