Here are some choice links to kick off the afternoon…
- Former Phillies and Blue Jays GM Pat Gillick is not interested in a return to Toronto, writes ESPN's Buster Olney. However, the 72-year-old would not rule out handling baseball operations for another team down the road.
- Ben Badler of Baseball America reports that Eladio Moronta – one of the toolsiest players in Latin America – is now eligible to be signed, five months after being suspended for lying about his age.
- Manager Cito Gaston doesn't see the Blue Jays holding on to Roy Halladay if the team doesn't make other improvements, writes Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun.
- Russell Branyan could return to the Mariners in 2010, according to Larry LaRue of The News Tribune. Branyan was raking before the all-star break, posting .280/.382/.573 with 22 HRs before being bogged down in the second half by a back injury that cost him the month of September.
- Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times asked and answered questions regarding what the offseason might hold for the Tampa Bay Rays. Amongst other things, Topkin says there is no way that the Rays will trade Carl Crawford, nor will they decline to pick up his $10MM option for 2010. Crawford is still a great value at that price as Fangraphs values his 2009 performance to be much higher than that.
- Joe Maddon doesn't expect to make any changes to his coaching staff, writes Marc Lancaster of The Tampa Tribune. Maddon says he'll meet with his coaches at season's end, as they are all up for renewal.
- If Dusty Baker has his way, pitching coach Dick Pole and hitting coach Brook Jacoby will return in 2010, says John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Under Pole's instruction, the Reds have seen their team ERA improve from 4.55 a year ago to 4.19 in 2009.
- Brewers infielder Craig Counsell recently turned 39-years-old but still intends to play in 2010 according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.