Odds and Ends: Bowden, Cain, Young

Links for Tuesday…

• Chat today!  2pm CST.
• Joe Pawlikowski at River Ave. Blues looks at some under-the-radar free agents.
• MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy crunches the numbers and determines that it would be difficult to fit C.C. Sabathia into the Brewers’ payroll.  I think they could retain Mike Cameron and sign Sabathia, but only if they’re willing to take payroll into the mid-$90MM range and forgo other improvements.  Or, they could save $17-19MM by declining Cameron’s option and trading Fielder.
• Reds beat writer John Fay muses on the team’s offseason needs.
• Nationals GM Jim Bowden was diagnosed with a form of skin cancer this summer, but delayed surgery until after the season (a decision he regrets).  He’s OK now and back to work.
• I get this question all the time: if the Yankees sign C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, do the Brewers or the Angels get the Yanks’ first-round pick?  Baseball America’s Jim Callis explains that it’s determined by which player has the higher Elias rating.  In this case it might be Tex by a hair, but the official rankings are not out yet.
• MLB.com’s Chris Haft heard the Twins covet Matt Cain and would be willing to trade Delmon Young for him.  Haft does not believe the Giants would make the one-for-one swap.
• As of Monday night, the Mariners had not decided on their new GM.  They are not supposed to make an announcement during the World Series, so today remains an option.  It’s also been suggested they announce it tomorrow before the Series begins or get a waiver and do it on Friday (an off-day).