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What do we have for news on signings?

What I've heard is that Greg Peavey is torn between the Beavs and the Mets. I would love to have him for one more year, but he should be offered higher than his slot.

Kevin Rhoderick would be a great fit with the Cubs. Reports had him close to signing.

The Angels are reportedly making another run at Jake Rodriguez while also trying to reel in Josh Osich. I've heard that Osich is leaning toward returning and Rodriguez is pretty set on attending OSU for at least a couple years. But we'll see what kind of numbers are thrown their way today.

Drew Vettleson's story is confusing. He's in a slot that pays about $820K, but I can't imagine the Rays are going to let him get through today without a seven figure offer. I wrote him off long ago, and my mind hasn't really changed much. Reports are that he and Josh Sale flew to Tampa yesterday and will be there for an announcement today.

Then there are the Oregon kids. Ben Wetzler has always sounded like he was coming here unless some MLB team made him win the lottery. Tom Zarosinski, Zach Moeller and Zack Reser are definite locks. All four were part of the team that were the runners-up in the Babe Ruth World Series last week, and they bring a lot of talent to the table. I'm looking forward to seeing them play.

Midnight can't come soon enough.

I almost forgot Adam Duke and Brian Pointer.

Rumors had Duke likely to sign with the Red Sox, but those rumors need a huge above-slot pay-out to make them real. The Red Sox are not against paying big money to prospects, so it could be real.

Pointer is highly unlikely to sign with the Phillies.

Pointer signed with the Phillies

Like I said...

I hope I'm just as wrong about Duke and Vettleson.

So it looks like the final damage is Peavey and Rhoderick sign while Osich stays.

Vettleson and Pointer sign for surprising amounts. Vettleson gets barely above slot, and Pointer gets high third round money. The surprise isn't that Pointer is getting that kind of money after being drafted in the 28th round. After all, he was rated above that prior to the draft. It's that the Phillies offered it to him.

I think Boston laid out too much money on other signings during the day. They really had no draft budget left for Adam Duke when all was said and done.

And I thought Jake Rodriguez would be fending off the Angels all day. There's barely a peep about him all day.

Thank God.
Bummer about Peavy, though.

What's the weekend rotation next year, Osich, Sam G, and ?

Peavey really had nothing to gain by staying. His stuff hasn't improved much since his Little League run, so I wouldn't expect it to change over the course of another year.

I always wanted Matt Boyd to be placed in the closer role. I think Dylan Jones is the next best P on the current staff... until we see how Osich's arm recovers. I guess the same can be said for Taylor Starr.

I also thought Tony Bryant had decent control, but he made a few too many mistakes with some off count pitches.

I'm really excited to see Wetzler take the mound. He has great command, and he should make a run at a starting role. He has solid arm strength and four pitches. His fastball has good action, and he needs to work on his changeup. But his hard slider and his curve ball are really pretty, and they stay down.

Tom Zarosinski is just a hair below Wetzler on the mound, but he uses a lot of upper body strength instead of finesse. He's also a better hitter, so I can see Casey wanting to make him an every day player.

I think this coming year might be a good one. Susac developed nicely over the season, and he's done even more this summer. I'm wondering if Rodriguez will be able to take over at third... and who grabs second?

And I think Gaviglio will be in the mix as well. He really got the short end with a lot of fielding mistakes happening while he was on the mound. If grounders were automatic put-outs, his numbers would tell us that he was really good last year.

Agreed. He's a classic pitch to contact guy.

I love Boyd, but Casey didn't seem to want to start him. I'd be comfortable with Osich, Boyd, and Sam G.

Romero hurts. Didn't think he'd sign.

This was the final damage:

Rhoderick (thank god)
Sitton
Waldron
Peavey
Robles
Romero

Recruits:
Drew Vettleson
Ian Kendall
Brian Pointer
Brandon Drury

There are some pretty solid recruits who didn't sign or get drafted, so they should be in okay shape.