September 2009

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Ron Washington's Offseason Wish List

Rangers manager Ron Washington laid out his offseason wish list Wednesday afternoon in a conversation with MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Among the skipper's desires? A veteran starting pitcher, a left-handed reliever and a right-handed hitter. Beyond Scott Feldman and Kevin Millwood, the Rangers have quite a few question marks when it comes to their 2010 starting rotation. Derek Holland, Tommy Hunter, Matt Harrison, Brandon McCarthy, Dustin Nippert and Neftali Feliz are worthy candidates for the final three spots, but Washington would like to add one reliable veteran arm to the mix. "We need one with experience that could help our younger...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Ankiel, Moyer, Griffey, Jays

Another round of links, expertly prepared... Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch believes the Reds might have interest in soon-to-be free agent outfielder Rick Ankiel. The Pirates are also thought to have some level of interest in the former pitcher, who's hit 36 home runs in the past two years and boasts one of the best outfield arms in baseball. (That's looking on the bright side of things, of course). As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark notes, Jamie Moyer's season-ending groin injury locks in his 2010 salary at $8MM. $6.5MM of that is base pay, and the other $1.5MM is available...   Continue Reading

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Crawford Open To Long-Term Deal With Rays

7:02pm: As Topkin notes, the Rays sound interested. “We are very pleased to hear C.C.’s comments,'' executive vice president Andrew Friedman told the St. Petersburg Times just moments ago. "Consistent with our policy, we do not speak publicly about contract negotiations but obviously we have a tremendous amount of respect for Carl both on and off the field. He has been a big part of our past success and I expect he will be a big part of our future success as well.” 6:47pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times reports that Crawford is wary of playing next season...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Tribe, Hudson, Riggleman

A fresh roundup of links for Wednesday evening... According to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, it's highly unlikely the Indians will look within to fill their managing vacancy. Former Tribe pitcher and current Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell has been thrown around as a possible candidate by fans and media types in Cleveland. David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution thinks impending free agent Tim Hudson is going to want to re-sign with Atlanta this offseason, even after they reject his $12MM 2010 option. Hudson just built a dream home in nearby Auburn, Alabama and his wife is heavily involved in the...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Latest: Jenks, Byrd, Wedge

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has a new column up with a few interesting hot stove items. Let's dive in... If the White Sox are going to move Bobby Jenks, they'll probably do it early in the offseason. The market for closers this winter (both in free agency and via trade) is decently strong and GM Kenny Williams will want to be involved in all negotiations from the get-go. Or the White Sox could decide to hand the ninth-inning role to Matt Thornton and find a new setup man among the remaining free agent arms in January. Texas wants to re-sign Marlon...   Continue Reading

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Hermida A Non-Tender Candidate

The Marlins are unlikely to tender a contract to outfielder Jeremy Hermida, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Hermida followed up on a lackluster '08 with a .259/.348/.392 line in 491 plate appearances this year. His defense is not well-regarded, though heading into the season John Dewan of the Fielding Bible said Hermida was "dependable, if unspectacular" and has the physical talent to improve. In 2006, Hermida graced the cover of Baseball America's Prospect Handbook. A few years later, he's a non-tender candidate. If the Marlins cut Hermida loose, he'll be the youngest member of this winter's...   Continue Reading

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Chad Bradford Leaning Toward Retirement

Sidearmer Chad Bradford is leaning toward retirement, Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times learned. Bradford told Topkin he'll still leave the door open for next year, and probably decide in January. The 35-year-old had elbow surgery in February and back tightness in July, resulting in only 10.3 big league innings this year. Bradford is finishing up a three-year, $10.5MM deal signed with Baltimore before the '06 season. He joined the Rays via a waiver claim last August. If he's done, Bradford would finish with a 3.26 ERA over 515.6 career innings. He pitched in the playoffs seven different years,...   Continue Reading

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Discussion: Stephen Drew

Despite Bob Nightengale's suggestion that the Diamondbacks "plan to listen to offers for shortstop Stephen Drew," Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic heard that the idea hasn't been discussed and is very unlikely. Piecoro analyzes the situation anyway, and concludes that trading Drew would just create a new problem for the team. Drew hit .321/.366/.538 over the season's final three months in 2008, leading some to predict a 2009 breakout. That hasn't happened - Drew's power took a nosedive en route to a .256/.318/.428 line. As Piecoro points out, that's still decent production at shortstop. And some metrics suggest Drew...   Continue Reading

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Dodgers Negotiating Extension With Colletti

2:51pm: SI's Jon Heyman heard from "people close to the situation" that Colletti is very likely to receive at least a three-year deal. 10:16am: The Dodgers are in long-term contract talks with general manager Ned Colletti, according to Bill Shaikin and Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. Colletti's current contract has a mutual option for 2010. Colletti has been on the job since November of 2005. His work has been a mixed bag. On the positive side of the ledger (reserving judgment on this summer's trades): the original Nomar Garciaparra signing, the signings of Takashi Saito, Hiroki Kuroda, and Orlando...   Continue Reading

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Offseason Outlook: San Diego Padres

Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Padres. Their likely commitments for 2010: C - Nick Hundley - $404K C - Eliezer Alfonzo - $400K 1B - Adrian Gonzalez - $4.75MM 2B - David Eckstein - $1MM SS - Everth Cabrera - $400K 3B - Kevin Kouzmanoff - $432K+ IF - Luis Rodriguez - $675K+ IF - Edgar Gonzalez - $407K LF - Kyle Blanks - $400K CF - Tony Gwynn Jr. - $405K RF - Will Venable - $402K OF - Chase Headley - $412K OF - Drew Macias - $401K SP - Kevin Correia - $750K+ SP...   Continue Reading

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