The Minnesota Twins were hoping to be a finalist in the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes but they shifted gears on Wednesday night knowing they had no chance of getting the two-way Japanese star.
The Twins sent $1 million of their international bonus pool to each of the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels. The Mariners now have $2.557 million in their pool while the Angels have $2.315 million now.
The Angels sent outfield prospect Jacob Pearson to the Twins. Pearson, 19, was the Angels third round pick this year but struggled at the plate hitting only .226/.302/.284 in his pro debut. MLB.com ranks Pearson as the Twins No. 22 prospect.
To complete their end of the trade, the Mariners sent catching prospect David Banuelos to the Twins. The 2017 fifth round pick hit .236/.331/.394 in his pro debut. He was ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the weak Mariners system before the trade.
Seven teams were deemed finalist by Ohtani and he has met with all of them already as he gets closer to a decision. The San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants round up the teams still hoping to get Ohtani.
The fantastic Mike Petriello of MLB.com was able to get his hands on Trackman data from Ohtani’s 2017 and the data backs up the hype. Ohtani’s fastball averaged 97.5 MPH, which would have tied him with Noah Syndergaard and Luis Severino for second highest in the majors. His max velocity was 101.6 MPH, again putting himself in elite territory for starters.
Other MLB News and Notes
The Kansas City Royals signed two of prospects stripped from the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. They signed 18-year-old Cuban outfielder Juan Carlos Negret. Negret hit .264/.410/.391 in the Dominican Summer League during his pro debut in 2017.
The Royals also inked right-handed pitcher Yefri Del Rosario for a $650,000 signing bonus after originally getting $1 million from the Braves. Rosario reportedly turned down at least one larger offer to sign with KC so he could pitch in same organization as his idol Yordani Ventura did according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com.
The Boston Red Sox have placed former top pitching Henry Owens on outright waivers which removes him from the 40-man roster. Owens, 25, was ranked as high as No. 19 prospect in all of baseball. The left-hander has a 5.19 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and a miserable 1.61 SO/BB ration in 82 big league innings. He walked 20 batters in 22 big league innings during the 2017 season.
Left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland has re-signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks after being non-tendered by the team last week. He received a major league deal worth $850,000 and can earn another $350,000 of incentives.
The 53-year-old Rafael Palmeiro is seriously contemplating a comeback attempt according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic.
The Cubs have been made contact with the agents for right-handed reliever Brandon Kintzler as they look to bolster their bullpen.
