We'll start with the trade, which germinated from an offer we received from the out-of-it Padres. They wanted a better prospect than we were willing to part with and it turned out they were willing to take two 1/2-star minor leaguers for free-agent-to-be closer Taylor Rogers:
We got them to eat 50% of Rogers' remaining salary as well. Rogers has a sterling 4/33 BB/K ratio in 28 innings with 15 saves but has a bloated 6.43 ERA thanks to a .429 BABIP and 4 homers allowed which belies his 70 movement rating. With Jeffrey Springs struggling in the late-inning lefty role and Andrew Kittredge having his own BABIP issues, Rogers will be a co-closer at the least. To make room for him we optioned Jason Adam to AAA Durham and DFA'd Chris Mazza to open up a 40-man spot.
Now, the draft. Here's how Round 1 went around MLB in case you're wondering where the big names landed:
As for our picks:
Round 1 - Austin:
Nothing not to like here. We'll let him play SS in the minors but long-term we're looking at him for 2B or 3B with Wander under contract forever.
Round 2 - Clifford:
A bat-first OF prospect committed to Vanderbilt just like Austin, he looks like the part with potential power and patience, although contact could be an issue. We'll take a .250 BA if he adds 70-80 walks and 30 HR to that.
Round 2 - Hylton:
Hylton (pronounced "Hilton" I guess) is a hulking 6'5" 1B who was committed to in-state Stetson and has tremendous power potential.
Round 2 - Jordan:
We continue to clean up in the 2nd round with Dakota "Kota" Jordan, a tremendous athlete who's a two-sport commit to Mississippi State for baseball and football. We'll try to get him to concentrate on baseball as he has all the tools except perhaps for contact (OSA's a bit more optimistic at 50 potential).
Round 3 - Messick:
This was not a great draft for pitching, but my scout Rob Metzler likes Messick a lot better than OSA so we're trusting his instincts here. Messick's no ace, but looks to be a very deceptive kind of guy who could move quickly.
Round 4 - Hanson:
Not sure why an infielder with his hitting potential lasted until the late 4th round, but we're not going to argue with it as he could be a steal.
Round 5 - Isaac:
Since power hitters are the most expensive guys on the open market and we don't have the budget to spend big on them, we have to develop them ourselves and Isaac is a guy with some potential power, even if he may be a marginal 1B and likely DH.
Round 6 - Birdsell:
Birdsell is kind of a WYSIWYG pitcher, pretty fully developed out of college. He could be a useful 5th starter or long guy within a couple of years and with our defense and ballpark he could thrive.