White Sox Exercise Option On Matt Thornton
The White Sox exercised their 2010 option on reliever Matt Thornton, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. At $2.25MM, it was an easy call for GM Ken Williams. Even if the Sox had declined Thornton's 2010 option, he'd still have been under team control as an arbitration-eligible player. The team also has an option on Thornton's first possible free agent year (2011) for $3MM.
Thornton, a 33-year-old lefty, posted another fine season with a 2.74 ERA, 87 strikeouts, and 20 walks in 72.3 innings. The former first-round pick was acquired by the White Sox for Joe Borchard in March of '06, and he's improved his control drastically since the trade (without sacrificing his 96 mph heater). Thornton is the favorite to close for the White Sox in 2010 if Bobby Jenks is traded.
Odds & Ends: Fredi Gonzalez, Giants, Beane
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- The Marlins will retain manager Fredi Gonzalez, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets will look to take on overpriced players via trade this winter.
- A must-read from Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: his ten steps to re-boot the Pirates for 2010. Kovacevic again notes that closer Matt Capps will be on the trading block.
- RotoWorld's Matthew Pouliot looks at the performance of a couple of Alex Anthopoulos fantasy teams from ten years ago. My best pick from '99 was definitely Mike Sweeney.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has a transcript of yesterday's Brian Sabean/Bruce Bochy sit-down. Lots of good stuff in there.
- Tyler Bleszinski of Athletics Nation has part two of his Billy Beane chat. Beane seems interested in retaining free agent infielder Adam Kennedy.
- ESPN's Buster Olney wrote yesterday that "rival executives are already speculating about Kevin Towers' possible connection to the Texas Rangers if — and it's a big if — Dennis Gilbert's group wins the bidding for the team."
Kelly Johnson A Trade Candidate
Braves second baseman Kelly Johnson is drawing trade interest from other teams, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman. Bowman thinks the Braves will be able to trade Johnson before the mid-December tender/non-tender decision comes due.
Johnson, 28 in February, slipped to .224/.303/.389 in 346 plate appearances this year. He lost his starting job to Martin Prado in July, and hit the DL with a wrist injury shortly thereafter. Johnson earned $2.825MM last year, so he'll have to be paid at least $2.26MM in 2010 if tendered a contract.
The Braves switched Johnson from left field to second base before the 2007 season. Johnson had played shortstop in the minors and was coming off Tommy John surgery at the time. His second base defense these past few years has ranged from below average to average, according to UZR and plus-minus.
Which teams might be interested in acquiring Johnson? The White Sox, Tigers, Dodgers, Twins, and Pirates could be potential fits.
Porcello No Longer With Boras
Back in 2007, Scott Boras "advised" recent high school graduate Rick Porcello to take a $7MM Major League contract, tying Josh Beckett's record for the biggest guarantee given to a high school player. Two years later, at age 20, Porcello will start today's crucial one-game playoff against the Twins.
During that time, according to ESPN's Buster Olney, Porcello dropped Boras for agent Alan Hendricks. Porcello's contractual status shouldn't be much of a story until after the 2011 season, when he'll first become eligible for arbitration. As they did with Jeremy Bonderman, the Tigers could attempt to sign Porcello long-term. But Bonderman had four years of service time under his belt when he signed. And the Tigers' more pressing issue may be Justin Verlander, who is due another large raise his second time through arbitration.
Cubs Rumors: Bradley, Grabow, Reed Johnson
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune and Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times discuss the Cubs' offseason plans in new articles today.
- Both writers agree that unloading right fielder Milton Bradley (owed $21MM) is at the top of GM Jim Hendry's to-do list. Wittenmyer's sources suggest the Cubs might be able to move Bradley without eating 80% of his contract. Sullivan believes the Cubs could kill two birds with one stone by trading Bradley for their desired "RBI guy," one who carries an equally poor contract. Magglio Ordonez and Jose Guillen come to mind for me. However, the Tigers would have no motivation to make the swap and the Royals are not interested (it's a poor match on money and handedness anyway).
- Sullivan says lefty reliever John Grabow wants a three-year deal, and the Cubs "are likely to give it to him." That'd be overpaying, based on last year's market for lefty relievers.
- Sullivan believes Jake Fox and Mike Fontenot are trade candidates. Fox might be a good fit with an American League club.
- Will the Cubs opt for a cheap backup outfielder in Sam Fuld, or will they re-sign Reed Johnson?
- Neither writer expects the Cubs to trade Carlos Zambrano.
White Sox Exercise Option On Freddy Garcia
The White Sox exercised their 2010 option on pitcher Freddy Garcia, according to SI's Jon Heyman. The option has a $1MM base salary plus $2MM in possible incentives.
Garcia, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Mets in January. That contract had up to $6.5MM in performance bonuses, but Garcia struggled in Spring Training and the minors for the club. When the Mets released him in late April, some thought he might have to hang it up. He returned to the White Sox on a minor league deal in June, and was solid in the majority of his nine big league starts. It looks like Garcia is finally back from August '07 shoulder surgery.
Chicago's 2009 rotation may already be settled, with Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, and Garcia. Everyone is under contract except for Danks, who is arbitration-eligible for the first time.
Elias Rankings Update
At the end of each season, The Elias Sports Bureau ranks all MLB players numerically based on a bunch of stats. Every player is categorized in one of five position groups and by league. The rankings cover a two-year time period. They are used to determine whether free agents are Type A, Type B, or neither. If you'd like a reminder on how draft pick compensation works, read up here.
Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts reverse-engineered the Elias Rankings last year. Eddie's incredible work was made possible in large part due to information provided by ESPN's Keith Law. Eddie is now providing the rankings exclusively to MLB Trade Rumors. Today's snapshot covers the beginning of the 2008 season through October 4th, 2009. The AL rankings may change once more based on Tuesday's game. Note to journalists: if you use these projections in an article, please credit Eddie Bajek and MLB Trade Rumors.
View the latest Elias Rankings below.
Elias Rankings Update
At the end of each season, The Elias Sports Bureau ranks all MLB players numerically based on a bunch of stats. Every player is categorized in one of five position groups and by league. The rankings cover a two-year time period. They are used to determine whether free agents are Type A, Type B, or neither. If you'd like a reminder on how draft pick compensation works, read up here.
Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts reverse-engineered the Elias Rankings last year. Eddie's incredible work was made possible in large part due to information provided by ESPN's Keith Law. Eddie is now providing the rankings exclusively to MLB Trade Rumors. Today's snapshot covers the beginning of the 2008 season through October 4th, 2009. The AL rankings may change once more based on Tuesday's game. Note to journalists: if you use these projections in an article, please credit Eddie Bajek and MLB Trade Rumors.
View the latest Elias Rankings below.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Mets, White Sox
Lots of teams are packing their bags today. But every trip has a destination…
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette chats with readers. Among other moves, he expects the Pirates to shop Matt Capps.
- The incomparable Marty Noble quotes a Mets official as saying, "There's more of an understanding now that we need to fix things on more than the Major League level."
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune thinks Carlos Quentin could help himself from "a slight weight loss."
- Nick Piecoro believes the Diamondbacks have no choice but to pick up Brandon Webb's $6.5MM option for 2010, which is actually an $8.5MM option minus a $2.0MM buyout Arizona can exercise.
Odds & Ends: Rays, Marlins, D’Backs
You thought the season was over? It's just beginning!
- Bobby Cox is stunned that Fredi Gonzalez is on the hot seat in Florida.
- Arizona is replacing third base coach Chip Hale and first base coach Lorenzo Bundy.
- Steve Henderson is out as Tampa Bay hitting coach, while quality assurance coach Todd Greene was also sent packing, since for the 2009 Rays, quality was most certainly not assured.
- Albert Belle doesn't want to manage the Indians, in case they were wondering, which they almost certainly weren't.