Odds & Ends: Pirates, Mets, Johnson
A fresh batch of links for Saturday afternoon…
- According to John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus, Pirates right-hander Ross Ohlendorf missed arbitration eligibility by just two days.
- On the other hand, as Perrotto notes, right-hander Jeff Karstens is eligible for arbitration.
- MLB.com's Marty Noble fielded a ton of hot stove-related questions from Mets fans for his latest "Inbox" article.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution suspects the Braves will stick with Martin Prado at second base next season. That, of course, leaves Kelly Johnson's future in limbo. He's eligible for arbitration and is expected to command close to $3.3MM, which would be a hefty sum for a backup infielder.
- Patrick Newman of the incomparable NPB Tracker has updates on Japanese free agents RHP Ryota Igarashi and OF Saburo Ohmura.
Lee, Phillies Yet To Talk About Extension
Both the Phillies and ace Cliff Lee have more important things on their mind right now, but in today's blog post at ESPN, Buster Olney mentions that Lee's agent, Darek Braunecker, said there have not yet been any discussions about a new deal. When it comes to club options, the $8MM ($1MM buyout) one the team holds on Lee for 2010 is as much of a no-brainer as they come.
Philadelphia acquired Lee at the trade deadline after reaching a stalemate in talks with Toronto about Roy Halladay. Lee was very good after the move, but has been masterful in the postseason, putting up a 0.74 ERA (1.93 FIP) in three starts (24.1 IP).
Odds & Ends: Tigers, Pedro, Rays, Dodgers
Some links to peruse while you eagerly await Game Six of the ALCS…
- Lynn Henning of The Detroit News suggests some salary figures for the Tigers' four key free agents: Fernando Rodney, Brandon Lyon, Placido Polanco, and Adam Everett. He also says there's no way to the team will bring back Aubrey Huff or Jarrod Washburn, nor "is it fathomable that either player will be offered salary arbitration for 2010."
- The Phillies' braintrust has already met about offseason decisions according to Andy Martino of The Philadelphia Inquirer, and a person familiar with the team's thinking tells him that they haven't ruled out offering Pedro Martinez a contract longer than one year.
- Steve Slowinski at DRaysBay.com took a look at the Rays' projected payroll for 2010, and concludes that salary escalations and arbitration raises don't leave the team with too much wiggle room next year, even though they have/will shed some expensive contracts.
- Dodgers' GM Ned Colletti said he "doesn't anticipate any cutbacks in resources" despite the drama between the McCourts, according to the AP (via ESPN).
- Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times says that impending free agents Orlando Hudson and Randy Wolf are expected to "depart to greener pastures."
Kikuchi To Announce Intentions Tomorrow?
Japanese teenage lefthander Yusei Kikuchi has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning according to Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker. Kikuchi is expected to announce whether he'll remain in Japan or come to the United States at the presser.
Patrick passes along two reports which indicate that Kikuchi will remain in Japan, however he qualifies that by saying "we’ve seen a pattern of Japanese media outlets hearing what they want to hear with regards to the highly-regarded lefty." Kikuchi was scheduled to begin meeting with seven MLB teams and a dozen Japanese clubs starting last week. The NPB draft is just five days away, and Kikuchi is expected to be the first overall pick should he remain in Japan.
You can check out all of our Kikuchi rumors here.
Discussion: What’s Next For The Twins?
We've already discussed what four teams – the Red Sox, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Rockies – should do this offseason to improve themselves after being eliminated from the postseason, but we never touched on the Twins.
Minnesota has a handful of players due to become a free agents, most notably Orlando Cabrera, Ron Mahay, Joe Crede, Mike Redmond, and Carl Pavano. Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Delmon Young, and Francisco Liriano are all eligible for arbitration, and the team holds a $2.9MM club option ($100K buyout) on reliever Jon Rauch.
In addition to strengthening the roster, it would also behoove the team to, at the very least, begin discussions with Joe Mauer's camp about an extension this winter. What do you guys and gals think the Twins should do this offseason to make a run in the winnable AL Central next year?
Dodgers Unlikely To Acquire An Ace?
The Dodgers' need for a front-line starting pitcher was evident in the postseason, when they were forced to start Rangers' cast-off Vicente Padilla in an elimination game. Most speculated that acquiring a top of the rotation starter would be the first order of business for GM Ned Colletti, but according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, bringing aboard a pitcher of that caliber may be unlikely.
"There's not a long list of guys where you would say, this guy would make a dramatic difference," Colletti said of the upcoming crop of free-agent starters. "It's a thin market. There are pitchers who would make us better. But tremendously better?
"Every club needs an ace and we're not unlike any club. We might have one or two in the making [referring to Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley]. But the likelihood of an ace becoming available by trade is very slim. And this [free-agent] class doesn't have that type of allure to it."
Both Colletti and manager Joe Torre agree on the clubs biggest areas of need – starting pitching depth and second base – but reiterated that they're comfortable with the young core that's in place. Who wouldn't be comfortable with a group of young players like that?
Despite what seems to be a perpetual need for starters, the Dodgers led baseball with a 3.41 ERA in 2009, and their 3.80 FIP was good for second best behind Atlanta.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Torre, Wang, Wright
A night without baseball just doesn't feel right…
- ESPN's Buster Olney wonders if the "legal wrangling" caused by the McCourts' divorce could affect the Dodgers attempt to land a No. 1 starter this offseason. Within the same piece, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus notes that the prospects traded in deals for Casey Blake and George Sherrill have thinned out LA's system, meaning they might not have the ammo to pull off a major trade.
- Meanwhile, Phil Wood of MASNsports.com writes that a source told him they believe Joe Torre will manage the Dodgers for years to come. "When push comes to shove, he won't want to leave," said the source.
- Tyler Kepner of The NY Times mentions that Chien-Ming Wang isn't sure if the Yankees will tender him a contract this offseason. “Nothing’s sure,” Wang said. Wang has thrown just 137 IP over the last two seasons due to foot and shoulder injuries.
- Dave Cameron at FanGraphs looks at the David Wright–Jose Cruz Jr. non-trade, and says that the Blue Jays messed up by not making the deal, but not because Wright developed into an All-Star. He says J.P. Ricciardi did wrong by not getting any return for Cruz Jr. before he left as a free agent in the offseason.
Hoyer To Become Padres GM
4:42pm: Melissa Segura of SI.com reports that the Padres will name Hoyer as GM later today. The 35-year-old exec has contributed to contract negotiations and offered sabermetric analysis with the Red Sox. He was co-GM of the team when Theo Epstein took a brief hiatus in 2005.
2:35pm: Gammons reports (via Twitter) that the Red Sox held a farewell lunch for assistant GM Jed Hoyer today before he heads off to San Diego. Presumably this means Hoyer is set to become the Padres' new GM.
9:45am: It seems increasingly likely that the Padres will choose Jed Hoyer as the team's next GM early next week, according to ESPN.com's Peter Gammons. Hoyer is currently Boston's assistant GM, but the Red Sox are well-equipped to handle the loss of the high-ranking exec. Kevin Towers, who mentored Red Sox GM Theo Epstein in San Diego, has been offered a position in Boston, and the Red Sox have extended former Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi a similar offer. Red Sox exec Ben Cherington would likely become assistant GM if Hoyer does take over in San Diego.
Sheets Plans To Pitch In 2010
Ben Sheets plans to return to the majors in 2010, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. One of Sheets' representatives says the righty is throwing of flat ground now and expects to be "more than ready to go" in Spring Training.
Sheets had a fantastic 2008 campaign, but a torn flexor tendon sidelined him this past season. Like fellow-free agents Rich Harden, Erik Bedard and Justin Duchscherer, the 31-year-old can pitch when healthy. Sheets allowed 181 hits and 47 walks in 198.1 innings, striking out 158 for an ERA of 3.09 in 31 starts a year ago.
The Brewers confirmed that they would have interest in bringing Sheets back, the Rangers nearly signed him last year and, based on recent comments, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein will likely have interest, too.
Arangure On Perez, Mateo, Sano, Chapman
ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. has the latest on a number of international prospects:
- Felix Perez, who was suspended for a year after lying about his age, has been reinstated by MLB. The 24-year-old outfielder is eager to sign with an MLB team, though he won't receive a bonus worth as much as the $3.5MM the Yankees were prepared to hand over when they thought he was 20.
- Wagner Mateo may be close to signing with the Giants, as Arangure said earlier in the week.
- Pitcher Noel Arguelles is looking less impressive than he used to.
- Miguel Angel Sano has a visa, so he's closer to beginning his career in the States.
- Aroldis Chapman will meet with the Yankees eventually. For now, the Cuban lefty wants to see Yankee Stadium – as a fan.