Hot Stove Update: Giants Take Pitcher in Rule 5 Draft

I can't remember the last time a Rule 5 draftee remained on the active roster for the full following season.  At one point last year, Travis Bergen looked like he would, but alas, injuries and inconsistency finally forced the Giants to offer him back to the Blue Jays and they obliged.  One factor which may play in favor of a Rule 5 pick sticking a full season is the expanded active roster to 26 players.  This year, the Giants went back to the Blue Jays farm system to make a selection and grabbed RHP Dany Jimenez.

Dany Jimenez RHP.  DOB:  12/23/1993.  6'3", 190 lbs.

2019 A+:  5-1, 3.55, 25.1 IP, 16.70 K/9, 3.20 BB/9, 4 Saves.
2019 AA:  2-2, 1.87, 33.2 IP, 12.30 K/9, 3.21 BB/9, 6 Saves.

Here is Kiley McDaniel's scouting report from Fangraphs:

"Like Ramirez, Jimenez also signed late, agreeing to his first pro contract just before he turned 22.  He also missed  most of 2017 due to injury, and those sorts of factors combined to limit him to just 33 innings above A-ball even though he is about to turn 26.  He sits 93-95, touches 97, the heater spins 3450 rpm, and Jimenez's vertical arm slot makes it harder for hitters to discern the fastball and his power breaking ball from one another..  I think he's pretty likely to stick in a relief role."

MLB Pipeline slotted Jimenez at #28 in their Giants top 30 Prospects list and mentioned he also throws a changeup which helps keep LH batters honest.  Between his scouting report, success at AA and the expanded roster, I think Jimenez has a great chance to make it through the season.  I could even see him eventually moving into a SP or Closer role.

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The Giants selected C/1B/3B Bryan Torres from the Brewers organization in the AAA phase of the Rule 5 draft.  Unlike the MLB phase, the Giants do not have to keep him all season regardless of his assigned level.

Bryan Torres C/1B/3B.  DOB:  7/2/1997.  B-L, T-R.  5'11", 165 lbs.

2019 R:  .283/.373/.356, 13 2B, 2 3B, 21 SB, 11.1 BB%, 11.1 K%, 271 PA.

It's not clear why Torres spend 5 seasons in rookie ball, but he has some intriguing secondary stats.  Giants have a year to figure out if he can play at a higher level.  They would have to add him to the 40 man roster at some point or he would be Rule 5 eligible again next season.

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LHP Garrett Williams was revealed to be the PTBNL in the Zack Cozart/Will Wilson trade.  He was Rule 5 eligible and the Giants must have thought there was a good chance he would be picked and must have preferred whoever they selected over Williams for the 40-man roster spot.  Williams was never able to overcome his control/command issues in 4 seasons with the Giants organization.

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The Giants lost 3 players in the AAA phase of the Rule 5 Draft:  RHP's Adam Oller and Miguel Figueroa and SS/IF Manuel Geraldo.  Kind of hurts to lose Geraldo.  I've been a big fan of his athleticism and switch-hitting, but extremely slow starts year after year held back his progress to higher levels.  I feel like he could show up on an active roster somewhere someday and be a decent player.

Hot Stove Update: Rendon to Angels; Bummy Remains Unsigned

We spent most of Day 3 of the Winter Meetings hearing reports the Giants are "still in discussions" with Madison Bumgarner and his team while holding our breaths at reports the Dodgers are in on him. Meanwhile the Angels agreed to terms with Anthony Rendon for 7 years/$245 M AKA as The Strasburg.  The Angels now have a nice threesome of Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Rendon in the middle of their lineup.  They still desperately need better pitching.

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With multiple teams now rumored to be pivoting to Josh Donaldson in the wake of the Rendon signing, you wonder if Farhan might be able to gin up a market for Even Longoria?  Rumors that Nolan Arenado might be available could complicate a Longo trade scenario, but an Arenado trade seems quite unlikely.

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Lower level pitchers flew off the Free Agent shelves yesterday as teams went bargain shopping in the wake of Gerrit Cole coming off the market.  There's too many here to go into details, but Michael Wacha and Rick Porcello go to the Mets, Tanner Roark to the BJ's and Josh Lindblom signs with the BrewCrew.  I had thought Lindblom and/or Porcello might be Farhan targets.  I do think Kevin Gausman has a higher ceiling than any of these 4 though.

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So, we'll keep chewing our nails on Bummy.  I think Bum has gas left in his tank and the Giants can easily afford him, now and in the future, so why not?  Add in that he's team icon and it would absolutely rip the hearts out of most Giants fans to see him in a Dodgers uniform, I say sign him up!

Hot Stove Update: What Yankees Want, Yankees Get

It turns out the Yankees wanted Gerrit Cole very badly and quickly upped the ante to a massive 9 year/$324 M contract.  The contract has a full no-trade clause and an opt-out after the 5'th year.  Cole apparently grew up a Yankees fan even though he lived in SoCal(I think he may have played on the Yankees travel team as a kid) so maybe that's what sealed the deal, but whatever it was, the fallout is likely to spread far and wide.  1.  The Angels and Dodgers were both left holding their *****'s, especially the Angels who had given up a top prospect to the Giants to unload a contract which presumably was to put them in a better position to offer Cole more.  2.  Madison Bumgarner is suddenly the top FA pitcher left on the market with a long list of teams still in need of a frontline SP.  Hot rumor is he is now the Dodgers top target.  Ugh!   Bummy is going to get paid and probably not by the Giants.  3.  I read somewhere the Yanks are now way over the top level CBT tax and are trying to unload JA Happ and his contract.  Maybe that opens up another path to a top prospect for Farhan, who has financial room to pull of not just one, but several of these deals?

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Didi Gregorius signed a 1 year/$14 M contract with the Phillies which puts him in another hitter-friendly environment.  I love Didi, but he would have been a poor fit for the Giants in that he is a left-handed dead pull hitter, a type Oracle Park is notoriously unfriendly to.

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One hot rumor has the Giants taking David Price and his contract from the Red Sox if Andrew Benintendi comes along in the deal.  I like Benintendi, but am not sure how much he really solves for the Giants.  I might be more interested this kind of deal if at least one more top prospect was included. Another team with a contract they are almost desperate to unload and who have a really strong farm system is the Padres with Wil Myers being the bad contract.

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In response to the Anon who had a long list of valid concerns about both the Cozart/Wilson deal I would make the following points:

1.  The current bonus pool/slotting system grossly undervalues draft picks.  If there were unlimited bonuses in the draft, the Giants or almost any team would gladly pay an extra $9 M to a draft pick in the 10-15 range such as Wilson. There are no guarantees with prospects, but Wilson has a solid chance to be at least an average SS which is actually pretty valuable.  He makes the Giants farm system noticeably stronger immediately.  I expect him to start 2020 in San Jose. We'll see how he does there.  I think he'll do quite well.

2.  The $22 M Farhan spent yesterday should have no bearing on whether he signs Bumgarner or not. The Giants have plenty of room left to sign both Bum and a power hitting OF and a lefthanded hitting IF if that's how they choose to spend their money.

In short, the Giants still have the resources to put together a competitive time for 2020 AND build up the farm system for the future.  It remains to be seen if Farhan can pull that off or if he is even trying.

Hot Stove Update: Giants Buy Draft Pick, Sign Pitcher

Farhan Zaidi took advantage of the Angels almost desperate desire to unload payroll by taking on Zack Cozart and the $12 M left on his contract also acquire the Angels 2019 first round draft pick(#15 overall) SS Will Wilson.  Cozart, you may recall, had a career year for the Reds in 2017 in which he OPS'd .933 on top of excellent defensive metrics.  He signed a 3 year/$38 M FA contract with the Angels but has turned in two injury-plagued, disappointing seasons since.  The Giants take on all of the 1 yr/$12 M left on his contract.  Cozart is a decent candidate for a bounceback year but is also an even bet or better to not still be on the Giants roster come Opening Day because he is not the guy the Giants wanted.  His contract was the price they paid for Will Wilson.

Wilson was the Angels first round draft pick just this year, #15 overall.  According to Farhan, the Giants seriously considered drafting him #10 overall instead of Hunter Bishop.  Wilson slashed .339/.429/.665 with 16 HR his junior season at NC State.  That backed up a 15 HR sophomore campaign.  After the draft, he was assigned to Orem in the Pioneer League, an advanced rookie league where he put up a line of .275/.328/.439 with 5 HR in 204 PA.  Hard to make too much out of that as you would expect a first round college draftee to be placed at a higher level and the Pioneer League is notoriously hitter-friendly.  Wilson is not a fast runner, but scouting reports say he is quick enough to play SS.  The Giants say they will play him at both SS and 2B wherever he is assigned in 2020.  So wow!  Very nice pickup by Zaidi who is starting to impress me just a little bit here.  When you figure Wilson's signing bonus of a little over $3 M was paid by the Angels, we can subtract that from the cost of taking on Cozart's contract for a net cost of $9 M.  The Giants will eventually send back a PTBNL or cash considerations to complete the trade.  And in another affirmation of the current strength of the Giants farm system, Wilson was the Angels 4'th ranked prospect by both MLB and Fangraphs.  He's now listed as #7 in the Giants system.

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The Giants also signed RHP Kevin Gausman to a 1 yr/$9 M FA contract.  Gausman has always had premium stuff, but has has extremely inconsistent results on the field.  He's a guy who almost perennially seems to be on the verge of a breakout, but never quite seems to get there.  At age 29, he still seems to be a decent bet for a breakout.  He's pitched in some lousy pitching environments with the Orioles, Braves and Reds so maybe Oracle Park what the doctor ordered for his pitching career?

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The Giants are still rumored to be in on OF Nick Castellanos and there is come crazy talk of taking on David Price's contract to get Andrew Benintendi.  Stay tuned for Day 3 of the Winter Meetings.

Hot Stove Update: Strasburg Agrees to Mega Deal

The MLB Winter Meetings started out with the usual BS about the Yankees were prepping an offer for Gerrit Cole for $245 M, blah, blah, blah.  BTW, I wonder who planted that rumor and where the number came from?  Oh!  Hi there, Scott Boras!  Scott Boras just happens to also be Stephen Strasburg's agent and later in the day came the bombshell announcement that Strasburg was re-upping with the Nationals for.......wait for it.....$245 M over 7 years!  Suddenly it was the Yankees who looked like cheapskates and talk of Gerrit Cole commanding well over $300 M filled the time at MLB channel.

At this point, comment on the money seems pointless.  This just reinforces my long held belief that any MLB team can easily afford any player they really want for any amount of money.  Stephen Strasburg is an ace pitcher.  Championships are won by ace pitchers.  The Nationals keep their aces together for a few more years.  End of story.  This deal can't help but be a boon to Madison Bumgarner's market.  Bummy's team is reportedly demanding a 9-figure contract and why shouldn't they?

Thoughts on Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller

I don't usually comment too much on the Hall of Fame.  I think it's become a bit of a joke since players from the PED era became eligible.  I will comment on the two people who were elected yesterday.

Marvin Miller is probably not who most fans would pick for the HOF.  He was the founding director of the MLBPA, an organization many fans, probably falsely, feel vicimized by.  The MLBPA is probably the strongest players union in a major sport and that is largely due to Marvin Miller's efforts on their behalf.  Fans may long for the day when players would spend their whole career with one team and didn't get paid in numbers that don't even make sense to most people.  On the other hand, the Reserve Clause was a highly regressive rule which should never have been legal in the first place. Once the Reserve Clause was abolished, the owners have benefitted as much from the contracts they have signed with the MLBPA because the alternative would be unrestricted free agency.  Marvin Miller deserves to be in the HOF. The only shame in it is he was elected posthumously.

Once upon a time, I thought Ted Simmons was the best hitter in baseball.  Modern defensive metrics would probably not be kind to him, but the man sure could hit.  He was a switch-hitter who had almost identical career slash lines from both sides of the plate.  He was a Joey Votto type hitter who walked more than he struck out with a high BA and decent power.  His breakout season came in 1975 when he slashed .332/.396/.491 with 18 HR.  He then had a down season in 1976, but bounced back with 4 consecutive seasons in which he hit over .280 with at least 20 HR's, OBP's of at least .369 and SLG%'s above .500.  Remember, all this occurred when pitching was still dominant in MLB.  His best seasons were with the Cardinals.  He won an AL Pennant with the Brewers but his production at the plate tailed off dramatically after being traded from the Cardinals.  So, I'm all in for Ted Simmons, one of my favorite players from when I was a lot younger.

Scouting the 2020 Draft: Cade Cavalli

Cade Cavalli RHP, College(Oklahoma).  6'4", 220 lbs.

2018:  3-2, 6.75, 17 IP, 13 BB, 18 K.
2019:  5-3, 3.28, 60 IP, 35 BB, 59 K.
2018:  .202/.333/.332, 7 2B, 6 HR, 14.04 BB%, 40.00 K%, 235 PA.
2019:  .319/.393/.611, 5 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 10.71 BB%, 28.57 K%, 84 PA.
2017(Futures League):  0-0, 0.00, 2.1 IP, 2 BB, 3 K's.
2018(Cape Cod League):  0-1, 4.15, 13 IP, 15 BB, 15 K.
2017(Futures League):  .206/.265/.286, 2 2B, HR, 7.35 BB%, 30.88 K%, 68 PA.
2018(Cape Cod League):  .167/.167/.167, 0 BB, 4 K, 6 PA.

Cade Cavalli is a true two-way player who has gradually migrated toward pitching.  Most scouts see him as a pitcher in the draft.  Sources I have read seem to indicate Cavalli is conceding that reality and plans to focus on pitching his junior season.  Tremendous physical tools with plus athleticism despite the large frame.  FB has reportedly hit 99 MPH with a plus curveball and a changeup that projects as average.  Obvious struggles with walks gives him some reliever risk.  If he dramatically cuts down on the walks his junior season, I could see him rising to a top 5-6 pick.  If not, he would profile as someone you would take a flyer on late first or even 2'nd/3'rd round.

Given Farhan Zaidi's obvious belief in a strong player development program, I wonder if he would be more likely to favor drafting a player like this who has a high ceiling but needs development to reach it as opposed to a J.T. Ginn who is more of a high floor type?  I'm going to lean toward yes.

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DrB's Updated 2020 Draft Board:

1.  Austin Martin SS, College(Vanderbilt).
2.  Spencer Torkelson 1B, College(Arizona St).
3.  Emerson Hancock RHP, College(Georgia).
4.  Cole Wilcox RHP, College(Georgia).
5.  Zac Veen OF, HS.
6.  Robert Hassell OF, HS.
7.  Pete Crow-Armstrong OF, HS.
8.  J.T. Ginn RHP, College(Mississippi St).
9.  Jared Kelley RHP, HS.
10.  Mick Abel RHP, HS.
11.  Austin Hendrick OF, HS.
12.  Cade Cavalli RHP, College(Oklahoma).