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Archives for September 2010

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Fusco, Thome, Cubs, Jeter

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On this date in 1998, former New York Highlander and St. Louis Brown Red Hoff passed away. At 107 years, four months, and nine days old, the left-handed pitcher had the longest life span of any player in Major League history, out-living his closest competition by more than five years. He pitched to a 2.49 ERA in 83 innings from 1911-1915, but never played after serving in World War I.

Here are a few interesting links from around the blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Potential Openings For Luis Castillo

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Throughout the season, Luis Castillo has made it clear that he isn't thrilled with his role on the Mets bench. Just yesterday, he told Mike Puma of the New York Post that he wants to play regularly in 2011, since he'll hit free agency after next year. At this point, Castillo thinks the Mets will be able to find a taker for him this offseason, but it seems unlikely that any team would choose to offer him a starting role. 

Castillo makes $6MM this year and he has struggled at the plate. He still makes contact on an unusually high percentage of the pitches he swings at and still has a good eye for the strike zone, but he has a .235/.338/.267 line. Any team interested in Castillo would also have to keep in mind that he has played all 14,373 of his major league innings at second base. Versatility is not one of the 35-year-old's calling cards. 

Second basemen David Eckstein, Orlando Hudson and Mark Ellis (club option) are eligible for free agency this offseason, so the Mets could call the Padres, Twins and, potentially, the A's to see if they have interest in Castillo. The Tigers, Royals and Cardinals have options at second, but not well-established ones, so the Mets could try to peddle Castillo to one of those teams, too.

But it doesn't seem likely that any GM will look at his options and decide that he wants to pursue Luis Castillo as his next everyday second baseman. The Mets may trade Castillo, but there are so many established second basemen that his chances of playing every day don't seem much better than Jeff Francoeur's were when he was hoping for a similar opportunity.

Poll: Which Free Agent Will Sign The Biggest Deal

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Last year it was Matt Holliday. Before him, it was Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano. As the 2010-11 offseason draws closer, it's time to ask a question that's always fun and never easy.

Which free agent will sign for the most guaranteed money this offseason?

Click here to take the survey and here to view the results.

Mozeliak: Rasmus Will Not Be Traded

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Earlier tonight we learned that the Cardinals might increase their payroll in the future, but that's not the only bit of news to come out of the team's social media event. MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports that GM John Mozeliak said that center fielder Colby Rasmus will not be traded, despite the drama between him and manager Tony LaRussa. 

"A lot of times players, out of frustration or for whatever reason, may go into a meeting and come out saying some things they may regret," Mozeliak said. "But a lot of times, you have to understand, these things never get out there. In this particular case, it's been festering for a while. But I can assure you, Colby's not going to be traded. I can also assure you that some of the things he's dealing with are typical growing pains that young players go through. When I look at the talent he brings to the table, and when I think about how I could replace that, I realize that would be a very difficult task ahead."

Rasmus reportedly demanded a trade due to frustrations over playing time, but he later denied that report. The 24-year-old has started every game since that news broke, and is hitting .366/.426/.659 with three homers in 47 plate appearances during that time. Overall, he's hitting .274/.356/.511 with 22 homers on the season, and St. Louis still controls him for another four seasons after this one.

For what it's worth, 57.4% of more than 1,500 MLBTR readers recently said they would not trade Rasmus.

Odds & Ends: Young, Torre, Williams, Bass, Ethier

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Links for Thursday, after lots of chatter about Derek Jeter's acting ability…

  • The Padres will wait until Saturday to activate Chris Young from the disabled list, at which point they'll need to remove someone from the 40-man roster according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link).
  • Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times tweets that Joe Torre has informed his wife and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti about what he plans to do next season, but he will not make his decision public just yet.
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams chatted with Joe Posnanski about football and the challenges of being in second place. Check it out at SI.com.
  • Brian Bass cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple A, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). The Pirates designated Bass for assignment earlier in the week. 
  • Andre Ethier told MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that it doesn't even make sense to comment on the rumor that he'd like to play in Boston.
  • Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs argues that the Royals should offer Wilson Betemit a contract this offseason, since he can be something of a "bridge between the present and the future."
  • Indians GM Mark Shapiro told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he and assistant GM Chris Antonetti met with friend and former colleague Josh Byrnes. The former D'Backs GM "would make anybody better," including the Indians, Shapiro said.

Mozeliak: Cardinals’ Payroll Might Increase

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Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak told fans at tonight's social media event that the team's payroll might increase over the next couple of seasons (Twitter link). St. Louis started the season with a payroll just north of $94MM according to Cot's, right in line with where the club has been since 2005.

Obviously the elephant in the room is Albert Pujols' upcoming contract extension. He'll earn the same $16MM next year that he's earned since 2008 once the team picks up his option, but 2011 is the last season the team will enjoy that discount. His salary is then expected to soar over $20MM, perhaps as much as $10MM more annually than he's pulling down right now.

The only significant contract coming off the Cardinals' books this offseason is Brad Penny's one-year, $7.5MM deal, but they'll also save marginal amounts thanks to the expiring contracts of Jason LaRue and Felipe Lopez. Ryan Franklin's $3.5MM salary will disappear after next season, but that money will just be redistributed to Adam Wainwright when his 2012 option ($9MM) is inevitably picked up. It's worth noting that St. Louis did save itself a nice chunk of change both this year and next when it traded Ryan Ludwick to the Padres. 

Clearly, if the Cardinals plan to retain Pujols and field a competitive team long-term they're going to have to expand the payroll. Jumping into nine-figure payroll territory seems inevitable for the foreseeable future.

Non-Tender Candidate: Bobby Jenks

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It's not often that a team cuts ties with an established closer before he accrues enough service time to qualify for free agency, but that's exactly what could happen with the White Sox and Bobby Jenks this winter. With a $7.5MM salary in 2010 and another year of arbitration eligibility left, Jenks' salary is only going to go up next season, possibility into the eight-figures.

Of course, the White Sox probably wouldn't entertain the idea of non-tendering their World Championship closer if his performance was in line with his compensation. His 4.44 ERA, .267 batting average against, and 3.08 BB/9 this season are career worsts, and it doesn't appear to be a one-year fluke either. Those three stats have gotten worse and worse every year since 2007, and Jenks will begin next season at 30-years-old. It's entirely possible that he's already reached his prime and is now on the way down.

Despite that, Jenks is still one of the better relief pitchers in the game. His 10.42 K/9 ranks right up there with other elite bullpeners, and after a gradual decline his average fastball velocity jumped back up to 95.0 mph this season. Jenks has also been victimized by some poor luck, with a .368 batting average on balls in play (league average is .302) and a 65.4 left-on-base percentage (72.0% league average). If those regress back to his career marks (.306 and 73.5% respectively), his ERA will almost certainly drop back down into the 3.00's.

The White Sox have absorbed a ton of salary obligation in the last two seasons, most notably in the form of Jake Peavy's and Alex Rios' long-terms deals, so they may decide that the money that would be spent on Jenks could be better used elsewhere. For what it's worth, the ChiSox already have a replacement closer in-house with Matt Thornton, and young (and cheap) hard-throwing setup men Sergio Santos and Chris Sale give the club some more options if nothing else. 

Do you think Chicago will part ways with its closer after the season? Click here to vote in the poll, and here to see the results.

Stark On Manny, Rockies, Napoli, Phillies

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An official of a team that once had interest in Manny Ramirez tells Jayson Stark of ESPN.com that he doesn’t think the slugger has much left. Ramirez, who hits free agency this offseason, hasn’t picked up an extra base hit since joining the White Sox and the official says that’s “a major indication he might not have a whole lot left in the tank." Here are the rest of Stark’s rumors.

  • There are indications that the Rockies wouldn’t offer Jeff Francis more than a modest one-year deal with incentives. The Rockies seem likely to decline the $7MM option they have for the lefty.
  • One GM says any team with interest in Jorge de la Rosa needs to do its homework. "He could be [the next] Oliver Perez," the GM said.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes drew that comparison in an April article, but noted De Le Rosa's higher groundball rate. 
  • There are “vibes” that the Angels will make Mike Napoli available this winter.
  • The Phillies could combine Domonic Brown with a right-handed hitting veteran, but GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says that’s just one possible solution. Brown doesn't have a guaranteed everyday job on next year’s team, even if Jayson Werth signs elsewhere, as expected.
  • One scout who covered Royals prospect and former Miami Dolphins quarterback Pat White in high school, says we shouldn’t be surprised if Dayton Moore’s gamble pays off and White’s athleticism translates well to pro baseball.

Heyman On Mets, Towers, Blue Jays

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It won’t be a surprise if the Mets replace GM Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel after the season. At this point, Jon Heyman of SI.com says it’s “all but certain” that they’re goners. Here are the details on who might replace them, plus other details about GM and managerial openings around baseball:

  • The Mets appear to be looking for a “high energy” manager, so it’s hard not to wonder if Bobby Valentine is a candidate to manage the team for a second time.
  • The Mets are ready to consider former Padres GM Kevin Towers, former D’Backs GM Josh Byrnes and White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn as possible replacements for Minaya.
  • Some have suggested that Towers would prefer to work for a team in the West, but he’d consider GM jobs in the East. "I don't think I'm in position to be picky,” Towers said.
  • The Blue Jays will likely consider third base coach Brian Butterfield and Yankees third base coach Rob Thomson for their managerial opening this offseason. Some say current manager Cito Gaston is pushing the Jays to hire former Rockies manager Don Baylor.

Astros Acquire Enerio Del Rosario

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The Astros acquired Enerio Del Rosario from the Reds for cash, according to a team press release. Houston designated Oswaldo Navarro for assignment to make room for Del Rosario on the 40-man roster. The Reds designated Del Rosario for assignment earlier in the week to make room for new acquisition Willie Bloomquist.

Del Rosario, a 24-year-old right-hander, pitched 8.2 innings for the Reds in May and June, striking out three, but allowing about two baserunners per inning. He posted a 3.09 ERA in 64 innings at Triple A this year with 4.8 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 and was a Florida State League All-Star in 2009.

Navarro, a 25-year-old shortstop, collected just one hit and five walks in 25 trips to the plate for the Astros earlier in the year. He hit better in 81 games at Triple A Round Rock, posting a .785 OPS with 24 doubles.

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