Condolences to the family and friends of Lee MacPhail, who passed away at the age of 95 today. MacPhail was a long-time executive who worked with the Yankees and Orioles in addition to serving as Commissioner William Eckert's chief aid. He also served as president of the American League and was the oldest living Hall of Famer.
Here is the latest from around the league as Friday turns into Saturday…
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson hears that Adam LaRoche hasn't heard from the Nationals in a few days, but he's still interested in returning to the team (Twitter link). LaRoche turned down Washington's qualifying offer today.
- The Orioles are still talking to Nate McLouth, reports Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The team is optimistic a deal will get done, but nothing is imminent.
- The Mets have more payroll flexibility than expected, but GM Sandy Alderson told Mike Puma of the New York Post that he's still "realistic" about the players they can acquire (Twitter links). Alderson referenced the "bottom end" of the free agent market.
- "We are not shopping him," said Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez when asked about the Trevor Bauer trade rumors. "Again, if they ask, [GM Kevin Towers'] response is 'Hey, we are willing to listen,' and that's what's happened here."
- Earlier today we heard that the Tigers made a contract offer to Jeremy Bonderman, but the right-hander told MLB.com's Jason Beck that it's news to him (Twitter links). Bonderman cautioned that he usually lets his agent handle contract matters.
- MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith reports (on Twitter) that outfielder Nick Weglarz is drawing interest as a free agent thanks to his left-handed bat. The 24-year-old hit .239/.349/.413 with 14 homers in 436 plate appearances for the Indians' Double-A affiliate last year.
Great to see Nate McLouth back in the game. I still recall when he was viewed with so much promise. Nice to see him succeed again.
It’s good to see him be productive again, but sad to see that his best days are behind him.
about Lee MacPhail, Wikipedia says he died on November 8th, not November 9th (the day this article is posted). is that a typo?
Yes, he died Thursday night, the 8th.
I would love to see Trever Bauer and Gerritt Cole in the Pirates rotation for the next seven years but Arizona would need a tremendous haul or another extremely talented young player in return. He is a high risk player but his potential is through the roof, I kind of liked him more than Cole on draft day but I think my mind has changed some.
The Pirates already have solid top end pitching prospects in Cole and Taillon. And even beyond those two they have another 3 or 4 guys who could be soild 3-4 guys in the rotation with Wilson, Heredia, McPherson, and Locke. So they really dont need to go out and overpay for a guy like Bauer when they already have a solid current group of guys.
Now on the other hand there is a couple guys on the trade market who make a lot of sense and that is Upton and Asdrubal Cabrera.
Jeremy Bonderman? I haven’t heard that name since I first read “Moneyball.” He got rushed to the majors way too quickly in my opinion.
I have LaRoche joining the Brewers hitting behind A-Ram.
They have some pitching to worry about first, but that’s a good destination if they take that route instead.