Ned Colletti Rumors
Rosenthal's Full Count Video: Colletti, Hendry, Royals
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive in...
- Ned Colletti is under contract as Dodgers GM through 2012, but he has an out-clause after that. MLB is unlikely to stand in the way if another team asks to interview him before then though.
- The consensus is that the Cubs need to show some progress if GM Jim Hendry is going to keep his job beyond this season. The team's 14-17 start already has some in the game speculating about possible successors, which might include Colletti, former Diamondbacks GM and current Padres executive Josh Byrnes, and White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn. If the ChiSox are worried about losing Hahn, Rosenthal says they could promote him to GM and promote Kenny Williams to club president.
- Most expect the White Sox to "snap out of it," but if not, they could be a team to watch as the trade deadline approaches. One GM said Williams is not the type to "sit there in no man's land," so expect some rumblings about free agents to be Mark Buehrle and Edwin Jackson. Some believe Buehrle would only accept a trade to the Cardinals though.
- Their most intriguing chips are John Danks and Carlos Quentin, who are under team control as arbitration-eligible players in 2012. Danks could bring a significant return.
- The Royals could be quite busy if they remain in contention. The Zack Greinke trade and Gil Meche's retirement freed up significant cash, and the team could be both buyers and sellers. Wilson Betemit is expendable because of top prospect Mike Moustakas, possibly to the Marlins, and they could look to deal either Jeff Francoeur or Melky Cabrera. One thing they will need in return: bullpen reinforcements. The Kansas City bullpen is throwing a ton of innings.
GM Initiation: Ned Colletti
Ned Colletti was hired as general manager of the Dodgers on November 16th, 2005. His first deal, struck about a month later with the Athletics' Billy Beane, was a huge success. Colletti shipped Milton Bradley and Antonio Perez to Oakland for young outfielder Andre Ethier, who had just been named MVP of the Double A Texas League.
Colletti kindly answered a few questions for MLBTR about his first trade.
MLB Trade Rumors: It was rumored that the Cubs, Yankees, and Blue Jays were also in on Bradley, with the Cubs even sending Dusty Baker to the player's home. Were any of the other possible trades close, or was Oakland always the frontrunner?
Ned Colletti: There were a couple of teams who showed a passing interest. But the calls lacked substance. Oakland had a sincere interest. The calls were of a far more serious nature.
MLBTR: At the time of the deal you called the situation with Bradley and the Dodgers "irreconcilable." Why did you feel that way?
Colletti: I had watched from a distance what had occurred so I had some read on the situation. When I went to the Dodgers I asked a few people who were in the midst of the situation. I asked them for facts and not opinions. I also talked to players, some who were friends with Milton. Finally, at the winter meetings in Dallas I met with one of his agents. He confirmed that giving Milton a fresh start would be best for everyone.
MLBTR: Before the '06 season Baseball America suggested Ethier might not have enough power to be a corner outfield regular. What did you see that made you feel differently?
Colletti: From the outset his swing path was excellent. A young player can develop power later. Once he started to pull the ball more and learned his body and his swing, we felt the home runs would follow. I watched much the same occur earlier in my career, most notably with Ryne Sandberg and the Cubs when then-manager Jim Frey encouraged Sandberg to use his power to pull. Ryno went from hitting 9-12 home runs to hitting 25-40 home runs shortly thereafter.
MLBTR: When your front office puts together a trade, about how many people are involved?
Colletti: It depends on the trade. Anyone who has knowledge of the players involved - both coming and going - are asked to voice their option. It can be amateur scouts, the scouting director, major league staff and an occasional major league player, player development staff and leaders and of course our professional scouts. No one makes these decisions solo or in a vacuum. The more information you can gather from the truest evaluators the better chance you have of making the right decision.
Thanks to Ned Colletti for contributing. Neal Huntington, Jon Daniels, and Josh Byrnes have also participated in the GM Initiation series.
Odds & Ends: Rangers, Chapman, Capps, Choo
Links for Thursday, as Kelly Johnson and Paul Konerko jockey for the MLB home run lead...
- Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas takes a look at what the Rangers could do with their roster once Ian Kinsler returns from the disabled list tomorrow.
- Reds' GM Walt Jocketty said that the team doesn't have a timetable for Aroldis Chapman's arrival in the Majors, says John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders why the Pirates didn't retain Matt Capps in hopes that he'd rebuild value. Capps is generating attention as MLB's saves (and save opportunity) leader. The righty told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times it was a pretty close competition between the Cubs and Nationals for his services, once he was non-tendered.
- Yahoo's Tim Brown profiles Shin-Soo Choo, who his agent Scott Boras feels "has a chance to be the best Pacific Rim player ever over the course of his career."
- SI's Ann Killion writes about Barry Zito's apparent redemption. Zito is rocking a 1.32 ERA, an improved groundball rate, and an unsustainable .203 batting average on balls in play through four starts. If Zito can continue to keep the walks down, he could have his best year as a Giant. Of course, he flashed a similar walk rate in July and August of last year.
- Matt Kemp's agent Dave Stewart discussed Ned Colletti's recent comments on ESPN's Mason & Ireland show, saying the public criticism "should never have happened."
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times notes that the Mariners made the right call in not signing Jarrod Washburn.
- Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein does a mock draft of the first ten picks this year.
- Mark Zuckerman talked to a high-ranking Nationals official who finds Goldstein's criticism of Bryce Harper's makeup "way overblown." Meanwhile, Byron Kerr of MASNSports.com spoke to Harper's college coach about those same makeup concerns.
GM Trade Histories: NL West
Today Brendan Bianowicz updates the GM Trade History series for the NL West. You can download the info-packed Excel spreadsheets below.
- Arizona Diamondbacks - Josh Byrnes
- Colorado Rockies - Dan O'Dowd
- Los Angeles Dodgers - Ned Colletti
- San Diego Padres - Kevin Towers and Jed Hoyer
- San Francisco Giants - Brian Sabean
Odds & Ends: Lackey, Rangers, Mets
With about an hour to go before the start of Game Two, here are some items from around the majors....
- During an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show today, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said his club will be focused on finding second base help and starting pitching in the offseason, though Colletti played dumb when asked about the possibility of the Dodgers making a play for free agent starter John Lackey.
- With the number of open managerial jobs quickly dwindling, some of the rumored candidates for the filled positions are looking at other options. Former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle (who was up for the Cleveland manager's job that went to Manny Acta) is one of four finalists to be the Rangers' next hitting coach, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
- Along those same lines, Bob Melvin may go from being a candidate to be the next Astros manager to being considered for the Mets bench coaching job, says Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News. Rubin also reports that the Mets will name Chip Hale as their new third base coach after the World Series is over.
- According to a team press release, the Pirates have claimed pitcher Justin Thomas off waivers from Seattle.
- In a chat with MASN's Byron Kerr, Adam Dunn said he feels Washington is an attractive destination for free agents in part because Nationals Park is "a really fair ballpark."
Ned Colletti Comments
Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times has the latest from Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, who recently signed a multiyear extension.
- Colletti and the Dodgers agreed to keep the length of the new contract a secret, to avoid future distractions.
- Colletti's explanation of his bad moves: "In an effort to turn that around as soon as possible, we made some moves that in hindsight you wouldn't do twice. But in the last year or so, our deliberation and our thought process were keener, were more fine-tuned, were less impatient."
- Possible long-term deals for arbitration-eligible players will be considered on a "case-by-case basis." Russell Martin, Andre Ethier, George Sherrill, Jonathan Broxton, Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp, and James Loney are among Colletti's arbitration cases this winter. Which would you lock up?
Odds & Ends: Sano, Towers, D'Backs, Fehr
Links for Wednesday...
- Kevin Towers has a standing offer from the Red Sox, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. For now, Towers plans on taking a few months off. In contrast, a week ago ESPN's Buster Olney wrote that "there would appear to be excellent odds that Towers will land with the Yankees as a special assistant sometime in the months ahead."
- The Cubs' contract with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo is official.
- Miguel Angel Sano received his U.S. work visa, according to SI's Melissa Segura.
- The new Rays hitting coach is Derek Shelton, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic crafts an offseason plan for the Diamondbacks, who have a decent amount of money to work with. We did our Offseason Outlook for the team back in September.
- J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics says tendering a contract to arbitration-eligible right fielder Jeff Francoeur is probably worthwhile for the Mets. I don't sense that non-tendering him is a serious consideration.
- Donald Fehr will receive an $11MM parting gift when he steps down from his MLBPA position, says ESPN's Amy K. Nelson. The players were mostly in favor of the decision, according to Curtis Granderson.
- The Rangers met with Jim Crane's group Tuesday, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Two more potential investing groups are scheduled.
- Backup catcher Mike Redmond told MLB.com's Kelly Thesier he plans on playing next year, whether or not it's with the Twins.
- 41-year-old righty Keiichi Yabu also hopes to play in 2010, says NPB Tracker's Ryo Shinkawa.
- Reliever George Sherrill has no hard feelings about the Orioles trading him to the Dodgers, says Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
- MLB.com's Dick Kaegel talked to Zack Greinke, who was characteristically blunt.
- In a Saturday post, Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts said he'd like to see how GM Ned Colletti handles the decreased payroll flexibility once his young players reach arbitration. Weisman is even-handed in his assessment of Colletti, but here's a funny quote: "I don't laud him for retaining the young core of the team: Kershaw, Kemp, Billingsley, Broxton, Martin, et al. Knowing not to dump those guys is like knowing not to show up to work in your underwear."
Dodgers, Ned Colletti Agree To Long-Term Deal
The Dodgers agreed to a long-term deal with GM Ned Colletti, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. The move has been confirmed by a team press release.
In September, SI's Jon Heyman suggested this would be a three-year contract. We discussed Colletti's work here.
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 Hudson, and the Andre Ethier and Manny Ramirez acquisitions. Colletti's second time around with Randy Wolf has worked out extremely well also.
On the negative side: signings of Brett Tomko, Bill Mueller, Juan Pierre, Jason Schmidt, and Andruw Jones, the Nomar extension, and the waiver claim of Esteban Loaiza. Hindsight is 20/20, but Colletti also traded Edwin Jackson and Carlos Santana, designated Cody Ross for assignment, and non-tendered Jayson Werth during his tenure.
Discussion: Should Dodgers Extend Colletti?
The Dodgers currently sit at 93-62, their best record since 1988 when they won their last World Series title. Since Ned Colletti took over as general manager four years ago, the Dodgers have tasted postseason baseball three times.
Colletti's current deal has a mutual option for 2010, and while it might seem like a logical move for both sides to exercise the option and see what happens after 2010, Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com doesn't seem to think that Colletti will return next season without receiving a multi-year extension.
Colletti is certainly largely responsible for the Dodgers' success, but he's also made his share of unsuccessful moves, including the signings of big-name, big-money busts like Andruw Jones and Jason Schmidt. Then again, it's hard not to praise Colletti for moves such as the Manny Ramirez trade and the bargain signings of Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudson.
Bloom is in favor of a Colletti extension, pointing out how quickly the club turned around after a 71-91 record in 2005. Additionally, he points to the biggest number of all: the Dodgers' attendance mark of 3,601,611. The Dodgers are managing the best attendance in baseball this season in the worst economy in recent history.
So what do the readers think? Should Colletti be extended through 2010 and beyond? It's hard to argue with the product on the field this season, but how quick should fans be to forgive the failed gambles in recent Dodger history?
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