Cafardo On Drew, Reynolds, Gonzalez
In his piece on Don Mattingly's interest in a managerial position, the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo brings us some nuggets of information from around the majors:
- Stephen Drew is expected to be shopped by the Diamondbacks this offseason and "there should be" discussions with the Red Sox. Cafardo wonders if hitting in a more patient lineup could boost his OPS (.748 in 2009).
- More on the D-Backs as Mark Reynolds fell three days shy of being classified as a Super Two. Reynolds will earn $425,000 in 2010 instead of something in the neighborhood of $5MM.
- Cafardo suspects that Boston will go after Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez but asks, "do the Sox have enough players to give San Diego?"
- Twins pitcher Ron Mahay wants to stay in Minnesota but won't rule out a return to Boston.
- Speaking of returns, Mike Hargrove is campaigning for another opportunity in Cleveland but might be "too old school". According to a report from Terry Pluto earlier today, Hargrove has not been interviewed for the job.
- Cafardo says to look for former Padres general manager Kevin Towers to become an assistant or special adviser with another club. Towers said earlier this month that he doesn't want to be in an office if he isn't the GM.
Odds & Ends: Indians, Padres, Marlins
Some more links on this Sunday evening:
- Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Indians "are expected to cut their managerial search to five or fewer candidates this week." Pluto advises us not to be surprised if former Nationals skipper Manny Acta is among the finalists. Acta is also in contention for the Astros' job.
- Pluto goes on to write that Cleveland has interviewed ten candidates so far. The aforementioned Acta, Bobby Valentine, Travis Fryman (manager of Indians' single-A affiliate) and Torey Lovullo (Indians' triple-A manager) are among those under consideration. Pluto is in the dark regarding the remaining six, but Mike Hargrove, Tony Pena, Buck Showalter and Phil Garner are not in the mix.
- Padres CEO Jeff Moorad has not gone through his complete list of candidates for the vacant GM job, writes Chris Jenkins of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Of the names that have been floated about, Jenkins characterizes Kim Ng as the "most interesting."
- Now that Bryan Price has agreed to become the Reds' pitching coach, the Marlins could turn their attention to Randy St. Claire, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. St. Claire was in his seventh season with the Expos/Nationals franchise before getting the axe earlier this year.
- Yusei Kikuchi will meet with his eight MLB suitors over the course of two days this week, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Randy Winn Wants To Stay With Giants
Chris Haft of MLB.com reports that Giants outfielder Randy Winn wants to re-sign with the club as he enters the open market for the first time in his career. Haft writes that it is "easy to surmise" that San Francisco will choose not to retain the 35-year-old as he had his worst offensive production in a 100+ game season, posting .262/.318/.353 with two homers.
It should be noted that while he struggled at the plate, Winn was still strong defensively. Seeing time at each spot in the outfield (but mostly the corner positions), the one-time all-star posted a UZR/150 of 15.5.
Winn – who projects as a Type B free agent – is coming off of a three-year pact with the Giants worth $23.25MM. While Fangraphs valued his 2008 performance to be worth $20.4MM on the open market, his play in 2009 is quoted at $8.1MM.
Does anyone here think that Brian Sabean & Co. should look to retain Winn? What destinations make sense for him? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Odds & Ends: Mattingly, La Russa, Kikuchi
Let's take a look around the web as we get ready for Dodgers-Phillies:
- Dodgers' hitting coach Don Mattingly tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he is ready to be a manager. Donnie Baseball expects to be interviewed for openings and would strongly consider accepting one if he is given such an offer.
- Although it has been suggested that Cards' skipper Tony La Russa could take a year off and return to manage in 2011, the 65-year-old won't consider that as an option, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- The Mariners are in pursuit of Japanese pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, according to Larry Stone of The Seattle Times. This is not the first time we've heard Seattle linked to the 18-year-old lefty as they are said to be one of at least seven MLB teams interested in his services.
Week In Review: 10/11/09 – 10/17/09
Lots of talk about extensions and looking ahead to 2010 this week as the playoffs continue. Let's take a look:
- We learned that John Smoltz is contemplating a return for 2010 and would like to return to the Cardinals if he pitches. The other question raised for the Cardinals, though, is whether or not Tony La Russa and/or Dave Duncan will return. And what's going to happen with Albert Pujols? He's not ready to begin talking about an extension just yet.
- The Angels made an effort to keep Bobby Abreu in LA, but he rejected their offer of roughly $16MM over two years. Seemed like a reasonable offer to me, but Abreu apparently is convinced he can do better. Will he have to settle for a smaller deal as he did last winter?
- An extension for Brandon Webb doesn't seem to be in the works — for now. Webb has said that he's open to remaining with the D'Backs beyond 2010, but points out that it'd be difficult to make a deal work for both sides right now. He is open to midseason negotiations.
- Onto another injured big-name starter, Tim Hudson has said he'd like to remain in Atlanta. Originally, it was reported that he would test the free agent market, but Hudson would like to work out a multi-year deal to remain with the Braves. Hudson has a $12MM mutual option for 2010. What's the best move for both sides?
- Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean both signed on for another two years with the Giants. Can Bochy and Sabean get them over the top and into the postseason in the coming years?
- The Brewers sent cash to the Reds to complete the David Weathers trade. The Brewers were probably hoping for more than the 4.88 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, and .283 opponent batting average that Weathers posted in 24 innings with Milwaukee.
- Speaking of right-handed relievers, if you're wondering who's going to be on the market this offseason, we've got you covered.
- Tim covered the A's, Jays, and Reds this week in the Offseason Outlook series.
Holliday Prefers New York?
Ken Davidoff of Newsday has a source who has told him that Matt Holliday's top two choices in free agency are the Yankees and the Mets, in that order.
Davidoff doesn't see the Yankees wanting to make another commitment of that level after signing Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett last winter. He also feels that winning the World Series would remove some of the pressure to sign the superstar left fielder.
Davidoff lists hitting at Citi Field as Holliday's main reservation about signing on with the Mets, but says that based on recent comments by Jeff Wilpon, the Mets could be willing to try anything and everything this offseason. "Anything and everything" will be expensive in Holliday's case, however. Remember that back in September, an agent told Jon Heyman that he estimated seven years and $147MM for Holliday, while Heyman himself ventured a guess of seven years, $120MM.
Holliday struggled (by his standards) in his brief American League tenure, posting a line of .286/.378/.454 with Oakland through 93 games this season. Since being traded to the Cardinals, however, Holliday exploded to post an incredible .353/.419/.604 line through 63 games.
It seems a bit early to begin making predictions, but since that's one of the fun parts about the offseason anyway, let's hear 'em. Does Holliday land with a New York club? Will he re-up in St. Louis? Or will we be surprised at what jersey he's wearing again, as we were when the A's acquired him last winter?
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Orioles, Garner
Apparently Sunday afternoons in October are a slow time for baseball news. Who knew? Here's some links to tide you over for now…
- Viva El Birdos takes a look at the 2010 rotation options for the Cardinals, both internal and external. Could Kyle McClellan or Blake Hawksworth succeed in the rotation?
- Roch Kubatko isn't sure that the Orioles are in the market for a left-handed reliever at all, though he does mention that they're expected to re-sign Mark Hendrickson.
- Brian McTaggart from MLB.com held a Q&A session with Astros managerial candidate Phil Garner. Garner managed the Astros from 2004-2007.
- Adam Rubin expects the Brewers to hire Rick Peterson as their new pitching coach. General manager Doug Melvin recently flew to New Jersey to meet with Peterson, and as Rubin points out: "How often does a GM fly halfway across the country to interview a pitching coach? Isn’t it usually the other way around?"
- Bill Madden of the New York Daily News reports that Tony Bernazard is close to signing on with Scott Boras, stating that Boras likely sees Bernazard's rapport with Latin players as a valuable asset in recruiting new clients.
- J.J. Cooper at Baseball America ranks the Top 10 Independent League prospects, with Reynaldo Rodriguez ranking number one. The Red Sox purchased Rodriguez's contract last week.
Red Sox Notes: Bay, Ortiz, Saito
Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald covers a handful of Red Sox topics in his latest column. Here are some of the highlights:
- Silverman expects Jason Bay and the Sox to haggle more about the length of a new contract than the dollar amount. Bay will want to guarantee himself a minimum of four or five years, while the Red Sox would rather stick to three years, plus an option.
- Matt Holliday is an alternative to Bay, but he'll likely be looking for six years and more money per season than Bay. Plus there's no guarantee Holliday can thrive in Boston, while Bay has proven he can.
- Even if they were to sign Bay or Holliday, the Red Sox would just be maintaining their offense, not upgrading it. Silverman thinks they need to add a big left-handed bat too, though he implies that may have to wait until David Ortiz's contract is up, a year from now.
- One lefty hitter that Silverman notes is currently on the trading block: Brad Hawpe.
- Ortiz is committed to improving his conditioning and fitness this winter, hoping to avoid another slow start in 2010.
- While the Sox likely won't pick up Takashi Saito's $6MM option, there's "mutual interest" for the reliever to re-sign.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Yankees, Brewers
A few links to browse while you recover from last night's 13-inning marathon in the Bronx….
- The New York Post's Joel Sherman has a plan for the Mets' rotation: take advantage of spacious Citi Field by pursuing fly ball pitchers instead of the ground ball pitchers that everyone else will covet. Sherman's ideas include Jeremy Guthrie, Gil Meche, and Ervin Santana.
- Adam Rubin at the New York Daily News hears that the Mets want to acquire a right-handed first baseman to complement Daniel Murphy in 2010. Rubin anticipates that the team's bigger move will be adding a power-hitting outfielder though.
- Bill Madden of the New York Daily News expects the Yankees to re-sign either Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui as the team's regular DH, letting the other player go. Brian Cashman could then use that money to sign a left fielder who wouldn't be a defensive liability.
- After the Cincinnati Reds hired Bryan Price as their pitching coach, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel becomes more confident than ever that Rick Peterson is headed for the Brewers' open pitching coach position.
Cardinals Notes: Holliday, Pujols, La Russa
Some Cardinals-related Sunday morning links….
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff hears from a source "in the loop" that when Matt Holliday hits free agency, the outfielder's top choices are the Yankees and the Mets.
- Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune provides a Windy City perspective on Albert Pujols' future in St. Louis. Unsurprisingly, it's bleak, even going so far as to wonder if Pujols could someday be a Cub. I think Rogers might be jumping to conclusions a little too early.
- Rogers also thinks Tony La Russa ought to just sign a one-year contract with St. Louis, or even take a year off, considering all the big-market managerial openings that next winter could bring.
- The Cardinals have finally found their answer at second base, in Skip Schumaker, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The 29-year-old infielder is arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason.