As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out, closers Brian Fuentes and Ryan Franklin seem just as shaky as Brad Lidge these days. Rosenthal also covers some hot-stove themed issues. Here are the highlights:
- Carl Pavano, who will earn close to $4MM this year if enough incentives kick in, could sign a one-year deal worth $5-7MM this offseason, according to an MLB executive.
- Cliff Pennington's emergence suggests there's very little chance the A's bring shortstop Orlando Cabrera back after the season.
- Rosenthal reports that the Blue Jays wanted pitcher-shortstop Casey Kelly more than any of the prospects the Red Sox apparently offered for Roy Halladay.
- Rosenthal hears that the Astros are likely to hire an experienced manager to permanently replace Cecil Cooper. Former Astro Jeff Bagwell would be a tempting choice, and he would probably consider the job if the Astros were interested, but the team appears more likely to pursue skippers with significant MLB experience.
- The Indians have lost 17 of their last 20 games under Eric Wedge, who will not likely be out of work for long if he gets fired.
