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Archives for September 2009

Brewers Face Plenty Of Roster Decisions

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After a tremendous run last year that resulted in the club's first playoff berth in a quarter-century, the Brewers sat 13.5 GB of a playoff spot coming into today's action, and sport the National League's worst starting rotation thanks to their 5.22 ERA. As Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes, the club has a ton of roster decisions to make this offseason, although GM Doug Melvin says "We've got a lot of decisions, and none of them will be discussed until the end of the season."

Some of the issues facing the Brew Crew this offseason are…

  • Impending Free Agents: Trevor Hoffman, Claudio Vargas, Mike Cameron, Felipe Lopez, Jason Kendall, Craig Counsell, Frank Catalanotto, and Corey Patterson will all be free agents after the season. The clubs holds a $3.7MM option for David Weathers next year ($400K buyout), and there's a $6.5MM mutual option for Braden Looper ($1MM buyout) that McCalvy says the club "will almost certainly pick up."
  • Arbitration Eligibles: Dave Bush, Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks, Seth McClung, J.J. Hardy, Jody Gerut, and Todd Coffey are all eligible for salary arbitration. Coffey, who's been the club's primary setup man, figures to get a nice raise over his current $800K salary.
  • Starting Pitching: As I mentioned earlier, Milwaukee sports the NL's worst starting staff. McCalvy reports that "Melvin promised this week that he would be much more aggressive this winter in his search for answers," and that the club might take a "little more chances and risks" than they're accustomed to taking.

The Brewers also have questions about the key up-the-middle positions. They have to sort out the Hardy-Alcides Escobar situation at short, and decide whether to try and retain Lopez or give Weeks another shot at second base duty. Cameron and Kendall have both made it clear they'd like to return, but those decisions will have to wait until the winter.

Milwaukee also must figure out third base, and whether Mat Gamel or Casey McGehee deserves the job. Prince Fielder has the other corner infield spot locked down, and is under contract for $10.5MM next year before being arbitration eligible in 2011, his final year before free agency. McCalvy also mentions that manager Ken Macha faces a lame-duck year next season, and that Melvin is fielding questions about whether another managerial change may be in order.

Odds & Ends: Mets, Reds, Byrd

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We link, you decide…

  • Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Mets might try to trade the incumbent Luis Castillo this offseason, and look at free agent-to-be Orlando Hudson. I feel like we've heard this before. Castillo still has two years and $12MM left on his deal, so good luck trying to move him.
  • MLB.com's Mark Sheldon has some quotes from Reds manager Dusty Baker about wanting "dudes that drive in some runs and hopefully don't strikeout so much." Scott Rolen, the Reds big trade deadline pickup, has hit just .278/.360/.380 for Cincy.
  • Jeff Wilson of The Dallas Morning News writes that outfielder Marlon Byrd is healthy and hitting again. It comes at a good time for Byrd, who will be a free agent after the season.

Might The Yankees Nontender Chien-Ming Wang?

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In today's Yankee notebook for The Journal News, Peter Abraham writes that there "is virtually no chance the Yankees will offer (Chien-Ming Wang) arbitration before the December deadline." However, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said "That's something we won't even think about until November. Those are issues for another day." The 29-yr old Wang is out for the season with shoulder surgery, the second of his career.

As a Super Two, Wang earned $5MM this season in his second year of arbitration, however he still has two more years of team control ahead of him. Abraham reports that Wang hopes to start playing catch by January and believes he will pitch in the big leagues at some point in 2010. Wang also had his 2008 season cut short due to injury, suffering a foot injury running the bases in interleague play.

If the Yanks do decide to nontender Wang, they could attempt to resign him to a minor league contract. That would keep him in the organization, but remove him from the 40-man roster. He also would not accrue service time while in the minors, likely delaying his free agency. Another club could always step up and offer him a Major League contract with an eye towards having him available for the second half of 2010.

In 42 IP this year, Wang allowed 85 baserunners and 46 runs, but was rock solid for New York from 2005-2007, pitching to a 3.74 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in 82 games. What do you guys think, should the Yankees nontender Wang, or should they suck it up and offer him arbitration after the season and hope he can return to form?

Odds And Ends: Giambi, Wainwright, Meche

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Some more links for the morning…

  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes NL teams should consider Jason Giambi next year if they're looking for a powerful, high OBP bat off the bench.
  • Olney also hears from a scout who raves about Adam Wainwright. In case you're wondering, he won't become a free agent until after 2012 or 2013 (the Cards hold an option).
  • Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (via Twitter) that Gil Meche is likely done for the year. Like rotation-mate Brian Bannister, Meche has a tired shoulder. Makes sense for the team to play it safe if there's any doubt, in my opinion.
  • Murray Chass points indirectly to this ESPN.com article and argues that some baseball writers rely too much on anonymous sources. Chass believes writers should pass information along to readers without giving too much play to individual biases.
  • Joba Chamberlain and Rick Porcello top the list of young pitchers who won't have the luxury of resting their arms during the season's final month, as ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick shows.

Selig On Competitive Balance, Draft, Salary Cap

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Commissioner Bud Selig told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that competitive balance exists even though many of baseball's biggest spenders figure to make the playoffs. Selig points to the recent past when the Rays, Twins and A's have succeeded and suggests that the current system allows small and mid-market teams to compete.

However, Selig says the draft needs to be changed when the current collective bargaining agreement expires after 2011. In fact, the commissioner believes changing the current system is "imperative for the health of the game." Selig suggests, as he has before, that he will push for slotting and a worldwide draft.

Selig doesn't completely rule out a salary cap, but hints that he first plans to explore other ways of maintaining competitive balance.

Odds And Ends: Lackey, Millwood, Ross

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Some more links for the morning…

  • As MLB.com's Lyle Spencer reports, John Lackey is pitching well at the perfect time for the Angels, who now have a solid rotation one through five. It doesn't hurt Lackey's position as an impending free agent, either.
  • Kevin Millwood's $12MM option for next season will kick in tonight if he pitches 8.0 innings or more. He has 172 innings on the season and the option vests once he reaches 180.
  • It looks like the Rangers will be able to surround Millwood with even more young talent next year. As Jamey Newberg shows for MLB.com, the club has more than its share of promising young players in the minors and, now, in the majors.
  • Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports that Cody Ross earned $25k for making 540 plate appearances on the season. He could have more money coming his way, as he makes the same amount for reaching 570 and 600 plate appearances.

Figgins Not Ruling Out A Return To LA

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We've heard rumors that the Yankees, White Sox and Cubs could have interest in Chone Figgins this offseason, but the free agent-to-be tells Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times that other cities don't appeal to him as much as LA does.

"It's a different world than here," Figgins said. "Not to say those places are bad, but here is what my game is all about. The guys they bring in fit the program. You get used to winning and that's a great feeling. It doesn't matter how much money you have there."

However, he doesn't seem inclined to give the Angels a hometown discount, as much as he appears to enjoy playing for them. He will likely have many suitors because of his .400 OBP, versatility and defense (he's a strong defender at third, according to UZR).

Byrd Would Consider Pitching Next Year

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Paul Byrd recovered from a rough outing against the White Sox to help the Red Sox beat the Orioles last night. His numbers to date aren't good, though the sample size is admittedly small. The 38-year-old righty has started three games for the Red Sox and has allowed 19 hits and six walks in 13.1 innings, striking out five. Still, Byrd tells WEEI.com's Rob Bradford that he would consider pitching again next season.

"I'm going to do the same thing until I can't offer anybody anything, until I can't bring anything to the table," Byrd said. "So I think this year is really important to prove that."

Byrd was able to spend time with his family and preserve his health before joining the Red Sox in time for the stretch run. Given the recent success of older pitchers like Jamie Moyer and Tim Wakefield, it's not hard to imagine Byrd pitching again next year, especially if he finishes the season with a stretch of effective starts.

Odds & Ends: M’s, Peavy, Metropolitans

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A handful of links for your Wednesday evening viewing pleasure…

  • Matthew Pouliot of NBC Sports has concluded his "Restoring the Rosters" series.  Pouliot's No. 1 organization, "if given only the players it originally signed," is the Seattle Mariners.  All 30 squads are now available for review.
  • According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Jake Peavy's debut with the White Sox is still "up in the air."  Here's Peavy's take:  "I can promise you this.  On Feb. 15 or whatever day it is I report [for spring training], I'll be in as good of shape as anybody and be ready to pitch and expect nothing less than what I've done in years."
  • R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs doesn't believe "blowing up the Mets" is the answer.  In fact, he likes their current nucleus.  "Heading into next season," Anderson writes, "the Mets will have David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Beltran. Depending on Johan Santana’s health, they could legitimately post four four/five win players without spending a dime on free agency."

Jose Valverde Age Discrepancy

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7:42pm: Valverde told the Houston Chronicle's Jose De Jesus Ortiz Wednesday evening that the age discrepancy was out of his hands.  "My (birth year) is 1978," he confirmed. "Go to the Dominican and check it out. It doesn't matter if it's '78 or '79, I'll still be a free agent after this season."

2:42pm: Lisa Gray and I stumbled across an age discrepancy with Astros closer Jose Valverde yesterday.  Some sources had his birth date as July 24th, 1979, while others had it as March 24th, 1978.  The Astros confirmed to me that the latter date is correct; Valverde will be 32 when the 2010 season begins.

Astros GM Ed Wade told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that the extra year (actually 15 months) "is of no great consequence."  Wade told McTaggart there was a paperwork mistake at some point in Valverde's past.  Wade also brushed it off when Miguel Tejada's two-year age discrepancy came to light in April of '08.  Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes told me that his team was not aware of Valverde's 1978 birth date when he traded the reliever to the Astros in December of '07.

It's true that the age discrepancy doesn't affect the Astros; they're unlikely to pony up the cash to re-sign their closer.  They'll still probably offer arbitration and get their draft picks.  But since Valverde presumably seeks a three-year deal for more than $30MM, the age difference may affect him.

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