One inevitability of a newer, smarter front office is that the June Amateur Draft becomes a more valued commodity. The assumption bodes well for the Mets, who recently have either given draft picks away or spent them on relievers. With Sandy Alderson and company moving in to run things, I have a feeling this team will retain its draft picks, look to add more where they can, and draft a good blend of upside, cost and ready-made talent. And if Alderson can merely maintain the dedication to scouting and development internationally of his predecessor, things will improve here.

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James Loney is the position player the Dodgers are most willing to move according to Ken Rosenthal. The hostile (and snarky) response here is, “Duh.” The more tactful response includes noting that Loney is not the kind of player that a team should overpay for his production. That statement is banal as it can apply to just about any player, but Loney’s production is more easily replaceable than most, which is exactly why his trade value is likely minimal.

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You’ve probably heard by now that Dejan Kovacevic, a beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, filed a National League Rookie of the Year ballot that included two players from the Pirates, but did not include Jason Heyward. Kovacevic put both Neil Walker and Jose Tabata ahead of Heyward, but behind the guy who won the award, Buster Posey.

As is usual whenever there’s an odd ballot, it didn’t take long for there to be something of a brouhaha over Kovacevic’s choices. Initially, the question was how someone could leave Heyward off the ballot entirely. Once it was discovered that he left him off in favor of two guys from the team he covers on a daily basis, the presumption switched from idiocy to bias. A Pittsburgh writer votes for two Pittsburgh players? His job obviously cost him his objectivity.

Except, there’s a problem.

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In the aftermath of Dan Uggla rejecting their contract offer for four years and $48 million dollars, the Florida Marlins have reportedly put their second baseman on the trade block. It is an interesting move for what might indicate about Uggla’s current value, his potential landing spots, and where the Marlins see themselves.

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This edition of Offseason Notes contains:

1. Some overenthusiastic assessments of AFL SCOUT leaders.
2. Some notable ZiPS projections for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

and

3. Some shameless promotion for our impressive new NotGraphs blog.

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In the winter of 2007-2008, the Marlins had a chance to make a big splash. The free agent market lacked a game-changing bat. Teams seeking a significant offensive upgrade turned to the trade market, where the Marlins were dangling Miguel Cabrera, who would be 25 years old in 2008. After doubling payroll from 2006 to 2007, the Marlins clearly had no intentions of raising it again. And so they traded Cabrera, along with Dontrelle Willis, to the Tigers for a package of players that included two first-round picks: Cameron Maybin, No. 10 overall in 2005, and Andrew Miller, No. 6 overall in 2006.

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Over the weekend, the Marlins pulled the plug on the Miguel Cabrera trade, shipping off both Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin in separate deals that brought them some bullpen help. I like several of the arms that they got in return, so it would be unfair to label these moves as dumping busted prospects, but it’s clear that this is not what the Marlins were expecting when they got Detroit’s two top prospects in exchange for Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis three years ago.

JoePawl will have more on Miller and the Marlins haul in a bit. For now, though, let’s talk about Maybin.

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Kenshin Kawakami began the season in the Braves rotation, but by July injuries and ineffectiveness left him by the wayside. On Saturday, the Braves officially removed him from their 40-man roster, outrighting the 35-year-old righthander to AA Mississippi. With Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Mike Minor, and Kris Medlen all available, Kawakami didn’t appear to stand a chance of starting the season in the Braves’ rotation. Instead of using Kawakami out of the pen, the Braves will instead attempt to move him, most likely back to his homeland of Japan.
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Friday marks the month anniversary of the Los Angeles Dodgers re-signing Ted Lilly for three years and $33 million. If Lilly wants to throw a grandiose party to celebrate his good fortune in life he now can do so while splitting the costs with the Dodgers’ newest rotation member who will also make eight figures annually. Describing Hiroki Kuroda as “new” to the Dodgers is ungenuine. Kuroda has 82 starts with the franchise, thus encompassing his entire North American league career. His reward for good performance is reportedly worth $12 million and is legally binding for the 2011 season only.
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As Matthew pointed out after the A’s acquired David DeJesus from the Royals, Oakland certainly has a player type that they favor at the moment – good defender, some walks, and a dash of gap power. They have kept their costs down by eschewing players who hit home runs and focusing on what they feel are skills that are still undervalued. DeJesus fit perfectly into the mold of previous acquisitions, and when Billy Beane acquired him, we all just nodded our heads and said “yeah, of course.”

Apparently Billy woke up this morning annoyed with his own predictability, because this afternoon, he decided to acquire the antithesis of the rest of his roster, claiming Edwin Encarnacion off waivers from the Blue Jays. Encarnacion is probably the least A’s like player in baseball.

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