Odds & Ends: Royals, Zambrano, Pujols
Time for some afternoon links…
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star would like to hear Royals GM Dayton Moore admit he was wrong to think his team could contend this year.
- Aaron Gleeman of NBC Sports argues that Carlos Zambrano is simply not an $18MM pitcher anymore, let alone a pitcher clubs would give up worthwhile players to acquire. No argument from me on that one.
- Tom Verducci of SI.com points out that we won't know the team of the decade until the post-season ends. That doesn't stop him from naming his player of the decade: Albert Pujols.
Tomko Would Consider Returning To A’s In 2010
Brett Tomko won the 100th game of his career last night, continuing his impressive 2009 campaign. It was more than just a milestone, however. Tomko tells Drew Davison of the San Jose Mercury News he's hoping the A's will want him back next year if he finishes the season strong.
"It's a huge deal for me now and hopefully we'll talk here about a deal," Tomko said. "But it's definitely important because you want to set yourself up going into free agency."
Tomko has pitched to an ERA of 3.77 in 57.1 innings for the A's and Yankees. The 36-year-old righty has struck out 33 and walked just 13 along the way, so he should draw some interest as a back-of-the-rotation option this offseason.
Odds & Ends: Granderson, Magglio, Hampton
Another round of links…
- Lynn Henning of the Detroit News wonders if the Tigers will consider offers for Curtis Granderson after the season. Though he has 27 homers and 20 steals, Granderson has struggled at the plate this year, particularly against lefties. He has a batting average on balls in play below .300 for the first time in his career, and it has factored in to a .248/.331/.457 line that's solid, but below Granderson's standard. (He's hitting more fly balls than usual, which could explain the BABIP dip and rise in homers.)
- After months of anticipation, it looks like Magglio Ordonez will see his 2010 option kick in tonight. With three more trips to the plate, he can guarantee himself an $18MM salary next year.
- Mike Hampton had surgery on his left rotator cuff and will miss the 2010 season, according to MLB.com's Alyson Footer.
- If Josh Johnson makes all of his scheduled starts, he'll earn $50K in incentives before the season ends, as MLB.com's Joe Frisaro points out.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post says there's a reasonable chance Jason Giambi returns to the Rockies next season.
Tejada Wants To Return To Astros In 2010
Miguel Tejada told Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle that he'd like to re-sign with the Astros when he becomes a free agent after the season. He repeated that he would move to third base if it meant returning to Houston.
"I would love to stay here," Tejada said. "It's a place I feel really comfortable, and I think I could win here."
Justice calls Tejada an "absolute perfect teammate and leader," but his offensive skills are no longer MVP-caliber, or even close. As BP's Christina Kahrl notes at ESPN.com, you can probably expect production in the .290/.325/.420 range next year, with 15 homers and below-average defense. Solid numbers, but not the kind of projection that will have teams lining up to offer Tejada more than the $13MM he made this year.
Olney On Red Sox, Fielder, Cain
ESPN.com's Buster Olney caught our attention yesterday when he guessed the Brewers would trade Prince Fielder to the Red Sox after the season. Some MLB executives who noticed Olney's post "flatly disagreed" with the suggestion. Here are the details from Olney's latest column:
- The executives Olney spoke with believe the Red Sox would prefer not to give up the young pitching it would take to acquire Prince. They gave up a lot of pitching in the Victor Martinez trade, so they will want to keep Clay Buchholz and others.
- The same executives didn't rule out a Matt Cain for Prince Fielder swap. There's no indication that there's even the smallest amount of truth behind the suggestion that the teams could trade stars, but it makes some sense, in theory.
- The Brewers, who know they need an improved rotation, get a top young starter to pair with Yovani Gallardo. The Giants get a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat to place behind Pablo Sandoval. Both Cain and Fielder are under team control for two more seasons, so the suggestion is imaginable, if unlikely.
Cubs Start Talking Extension With Grabow
The Cubs have started discussing a two-year contract extension with John Grabow, according to ESPN.com's Bruce Levine. The lefty, who is scheduled to hit free agency after the season, would be a setup man to Carlos Marmol and occasional closer in the Chicago 'pen.
Grabow has allowed just 55 hits in 66 innings this year with the Pirates and Cubs. He has 53 strikeouts, but has walked 39 along the way. If the extensions to Trever Miller and Ryan Franklin are any indication of the market for relievers, Grabow, who made $2.3MM this year, could be in line for about $4MM over the course of the next two years.
Odds & Ends: Morneau, Nats, Pirates
Some links for Tuesday…
- Justin Morneau will miss the rest of the season because of a stress fracture in his lower back, according to ESPN.com's Jim Caple.
- Ian Desmond, who could figure into the Nationals' middle infield plans next year, has taken some good-natured heat from his teammates for wearing these around, writes Chico Harlan of the Washington Post. Desmond has reached base in nine of his 14 major league plate appearances, but the Nats may look for a free agent shortstop after the season.
- Doug Mientkiewicz tells Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Pirates have made the right decisions this year, as difficult as some of them have been for the fans.
- Neither Kevin Millwood nor Rangers manager Ron Washington is expressing concern over Millwood's 2010 option, according to Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News. Millwood, who is less than 5.0 innings away from guaranteeing himself a $12MM payday next year, could start as soon as Friday.
Odds & Ends: Rios, Hardy, Knapp
A couple more links as the day winds down…
- According to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune, one scout called Alex Rios "a teaser," and that he's the kind of the guy that "can get you fired." Kenny Williams sure hopes that's not the case.
- Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider explains why the Mariners should go after J.J. Hardy. Something tells me we'll see quite a few more posts like this.
- Jason Knapp, one of the prospects the Indians acquired for Cliff Lee, will have arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder to remove "loose bodies," according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. GM Mark Shapiro says they will not file a grievance.
Maggs, Millwood Inching Toward Vesting Options
7:07pm: For what it's worth, manager Jim Leyland said "He's going to get it," referring to Ordonez's option. "He's swinging the bat good. I need him in the lineup. I'm hoping he can be more of a force for us down the stretch. That would really be a boost to our offense." The quote comes courtesy of MLive.com's Chris Iott. Magglio is in the Tigers' lineup tonight, and has already come to the plate twice.
2:08pm: Big-money vesting options are at stake this month for a pair of Scott Boras clients. Right fielder Magglio Ordonez's $18MM option for 2010 vests with just eight more plate appearances. And pitcher Kevin Millwood is just 13 outs away from locking in a $12MM salary for next year.
The Ordonez situation is simple. He's been hitting well since the beginning of August, and the Tigers are not inclined to mess around trying to avoid the vesting option. Maggs figures to be removed from the potential 2010 free agents list Tuesday night against the Royals.
Millwood is more complicated. Evan Grant of D Magazine questions the pitcher's health and declining velocity, and suggests benching him may be the Rangers' best chance at winning. If so, the Rangers would have to play it off as a coincidence that the option came remarkably close to vesting. To be fair, Millwood has been knocked around in four of his last five starts. Perhaps Boras' grievance would point out that Millwood remained in the rotation after posting a 6.75 ERA in July, and how there hasn't been talk of him switching to a mop-up relief role for the rest of the season.
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan grilled Rangers president Nolan Ryan and GM Jon Daniels about Millwood on Thursday (before the pitcher's Saturday stinker), and both execs insisted the vesting option is not a factor in the manager's decision-making. Ryan went as far to say, "I would never do that to him."
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Schneider, Claggett
A few links to start the evening off…
- When asked if the Pirates might pursue a free agent this winter to address their lack of power, Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette said the team has indicated "that they will wait until they see which of the current players might take a step forward, then identifying needs." That sounds like a "no," or at least a "probably not."
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson said he would not be surprised if Brian Schneider returned to the Nationals as a backup catcher next year, but he would have to take a big paycut. Schneider has already said he doesn't expect to return to the Mets next year, and after making $4.9MM this year, he should be prepared to take a big paycut wherever he goes.
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Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09257/997985-63.stm?cmpid=pirates.xml#ixzz0R7cZcwUs
- The Yankees designated reliever Anthony Claggett for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Freddy Guzman, reports Peter Abraham of The Journal News. Claggett was originally acquired in the deal that sent Gary Sheffield to Detroit, and got annihilated in his brief callup (33.75 ERA & 5.62 WHIP in 2.2 IP) this year.