Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Pirates, Cubs
Links for Sunday night as the Braves get ready to host the Cardinals..
- Both Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre are mashing as they head into free agency, writes ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes.
- As he evaluates players and prepares for what could be a busy offseason, Bucs GM Neal Huntington says he's happy with what he sees, says Jeff Wallner for MLB.com.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald writes that while Cubs interim manager Mike Quade doesn't identify himself as a sabermetrician, he does believe in using numbers to help him make informed decisions.
- Marc Hulet of Fangraphs reviewed the top prospects in the NL Central.
Angels Notes: Reagins, Scioscia, Matsui
Let's take a look at some Angels-related tidbits..
- Angels GM Tony Reagins blames himself for the team's underachievement this year, writes Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times. Reagins says that he will evaluate the club from the top to the bottom in an effort to turn things around this winter. He also stood behind his acquisition of Dan Haren, saying that the pitcher will help the club beyond this season. Haren's contracts calls for him to earn $25.5MM in the next two seasons and has a $15.5MM club option ($3.5MM buyout) for 2013.
- Meanwhile, Halos skipper Mike Scioscia says that the club needs only minor changes, and not a complete overhaul, heading into 2011, according to MLB.com's Evan Drellich. Scioscia believes that the return of missing pieces from this year such as Kendry Morales will provide a major spark for the Angels next season.
- Scioscia would not go into depth about next season's plans and would not directly address the potential return of Hideki Matsui. The veteran, who has hit .268/.358/.448 with 19 homers in 2010, will be a free agent after the season.
Poll: Should The Cubs Keep Zambrano?
Since returning to the starting rotation on August 9th, Carlos Zambrano has shown flashes of what made him one of baseball's elite pitchers. In seven starts, Big Z has an ERA of 1.60 with 7.8 K/9, though two walk-heavy games have left him with a 5.0 BB/9 rate in that stretch. Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com was in the locker room after his latest strong outing on Friday against Milwaukee when Zambrano was asked about the possibility of being traded this winter.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” the 29-year-old said. “I feel happy, I love this team and I want to stay here. I want to stay here the rest of my contract. No more trade talk.”
The righthander is owed almost $36MM over the next two seasons and has a vesting player option worth $19.25MM for 2013. Even though the Cubs have been hoping that Zambrano would restore his value so that they can dump his contract, they obviously can't expect much in return for him.
Should the Cubs keep Zambrano?
White Sox Want To Keep Konerko
White Sox GM Kenny Williams wants to keep veteran Paul Konerko beyond this season, writes Scott Merkin of MLB.com. While Williams says that he "would love" to have the slugger retire with the organization, the club may not be able to find space on the payroll to make that happen.
"That's pretty much all I'm going to say on it, because I don't know what the future holds," said Williams. "I don't know how we are going to finish. We are driven by the revenue stream that comes in. People might not like it but it is what it is. We have to at least be able to be a break-even operation, and try to win at the same time."
This could be a very active offseason for the White Sox as Mark Buehrle may be left as the only member of the 2005 World Series team still with the club. A.J. Pierzynski and Freddy Garcia will hit the open market and Bobby Jenks is arbitration-eligible.
The 34-year-old Konerko has had a great season at the plate in 2010, hitting .318/.397/.584 with 34 homers.
Odds & Ends: Sandberg, Werth, Mets, Drabek, Dunn
Links for Sunday, as Chris Volstad goes for his fifth win vs. the Nationals this season….
- The Mariners "quietly have interest" in Ryne Sandberg, writes Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post.
- Jayson Werth is looking for an agency willing to charge a lower commission than the usual 5%, reports Ken Davidoff of Newsday. Davidoff provides an update on Werth's search for representation and examines the chances of the Yankees pursuing the outfielder this offseason.
- In a separate piece, Davidoff looks at some options for the Mets' next manager and GM.
- There are hints that Tony La Russa is leaning toward managing the Cardinals in 2011, as Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.
- The Blue Jays will call up top prospect Kyle Drabek to make his major league debut Wednesday in Baltimore, according to the team (Twitter link).
- Ronny Cedeno is on his way to locking up the Pirates' 2011 shortstop job, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas points out that Darren Oliver needs to make just one more appearance to guarantee his option for next season.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo tells MASN (Twitter link) that the team is still "in conversations" to keep Adam Dunn in Washington.
Olney On Johnson, La Russa, D’Backs, Mets
Here are the latest notes from ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider-only link)….
- The Diamondbacks "fully intend" to bring back Kelly Johnson next season. The 28-year-old will be entering his final arbitration year, and should earn a significant raise on this year's $2.35MM salary, but the D'Backs don't have plans to move him this winter.
- Some "early speculation" around baseball suggests that if Tony La Russa doesn't return to St. Louis next year, Seattle could be a potential destination for him.
- The D'Backs are considering installing a humidor at their Triple-A park in Reno, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. Olney supports the idea, noting that it should help the development of Arizona's young pitchers, who would be less reluctant to pitch to contact.
- Olney also agrees with Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who argues that the Mets should consider trading some of their young talent if they think it could improve the team.
Cafardo’s Latest: Konerko, V-Mart, Wakefield, Downs
In his latest column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo looks at the career earnings for some of the biggest names in baseball, with an eye toward the offseason. Cafardo wonders if players in good situations like Adrian Beltre and Paul Konerko would give their respective clubs a slight discount, or if they'll pursue the most money possible on the open market. Here are some other highlights from Cafardo's piece:
- Konerko negotiated his last contract primarily with White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, and Cafardo wouldn't be surprised to see Reinsdorf step in again to keep Konerko in Chicago.
- Although they don't love his defense behind the plate, the Marlins are a team that will be interested in signing Victor Martinez this winter.
- A National League scout could see Tim Wakefield succeeding on the mound in the NL for another couple years, but questions whether Wakefield would be able to hit and run the bases, as the Senior Circuit requires. Cafardo indicates that the 44-year-old is frustrated with his role in Boston.
- Cafardo predicts that the Red Sox will sign Scott Downs this winter.
- As of Friday, Kevin Towers had only had one conversation with D'Backs president Derrick Hall about the team's GM opening, according to a source. It was on Friday that we heard Towers was the frontrunner for the Arizona job.
Odds & Ends: Backe, Ellis, Crisp, Macha, Holliday
Some links to check out as the Rockies try to win their ninth straight…
- Astros Senior Director of Social Media Alyson Footer tweets that Brandon Backe is working out and hopes to throw for scouts this winter with the idea of getting an invite to Spring Training with a team next year. Backe hasn't appeared in a big league game since last June.
- Billy Beane told MLB.com's Jane Lee that the decisions on the 2011 options for Mark Ellis and Coco Crisp likely won't be made until after the season (Twitter link).
- Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel reports that the Brewers and Ken Macha have yet to discuss the manager's club option for next season.
- Matt Holliday volunteered to move to right field after the Cardinals traded Ryan Ludwick according to FoxSportsMidwest.com's B.J. Rains. The idea was to the give the team the flexibility to pursue a player limited to left field if the opportunity presented itself.
- Andy Martino of the New York Daily News doesn't agree with the report earlier today that John Ricco is out of contention to take over as the Mets' general manager if Omar Minaya is removed from the role.
- The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham says that Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman might be celebrating the "best deal they never made" — trading for Johan Santana — following the announcement that he requires shoulder surgery.
- Edwin Rodriguez loves managing the Marlins and hopes they factor him into their search for a permanent candidate this offseason, writes Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post.
- ESPN's Buster Olney says the Diamondbacks aren't going to spend a ton of money on their next general manager, but they will pay Kevin Towers what is needed if they decide he's their guy (Twitter links). Olney says the team is likely to decide on their next GM within the next couple of weeks.
- The Phillies have traded "over 20 players" from their farm system over their last four years according to assistant GM Chuck Lamar, but Bob Brookover of The Philadelphia Inquirer says the team's minor league system is still in good shape. Keep in mind that they've traded for Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, and Roy Oswalt within the last 14 months.
- Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune lists nine traits the Cubs' next manager should have.
Mike Lowell To Retire After The Season
We've heard conflicting reports about the future of Red Sox first/third baseman Mike Lowell all season long, but the former Marlin put it all to rest today when he announced that he will indeed retire after the season. John Tomase of The Boston Herald provides the following…
“I’m retiring,” Lowell said. “I just don’t want to make it a song and dance because I don’t think that’s necessary, but if someone needs something official, yeah, I’m going to retire. This is going to be my last year.”
Lowell, 36, said that he still believes he can still play and platoon somewhere, but he doesn't enjoy it and is not willing to make the transition. He also indicated that staying around to compile numbers was never in his plans.
Plagued by hip issues over the last several years, Lowell has hit just .231/.297/.357 in 202 plate appearances this year, and lately he's lost playing time to younger players. A career .279/.341/.464 hitter, Lowell will retire as the Marlins' all-time leader in doubles (241), RBI (578), total bases (1,641), and extra base hits (387). According to Baseball-Reference.com, he's earned more than $76MM in his career.
Aramis Ramirez Undecided About 2011 Option
Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez is in the middle of his worst full season as a big leaguer, but that hasn't been enough to convince him to exercise his $14.6MM player option for 2011. Ramirez told Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune that he's still unsure if he will pick up the option and return to the Cubs or use this as an opportunity to become a free agent for the first time in his career.
"That's going to be after the season," said Ramirez, referring to when he'll decide what to do with his option. "I don't know exactly when. I haven't talked to my agent about it. That's going to be in the offseason. They've got a lot of other things they have to address. I'm still under contract, so we'll see."
Ramirez said that the new manager, whoever that ends up being, will not be a factor in his decision. He also went out of his way to say that the team has more to worry about than his option, specifically mentioning first base, second base, and the pitching staff.
The 32-year-old has been one of the game's most prolific sluggers over the last half-decade, but he's bottomed out at .243/.297/.454 this year. It's worth noting that he's recovered from a brutally slow start to hit .316/.359/.632 since July 6th, so it's probably too early to write his career obituary just yet.
Ramirez is in the final season of a five-year, $75MM deal he signed after the 2006 season. If he picks up the option, the Cubs would then hold a $16MM option for his services in 2012. Even with his strong second half and track record, it's hard to imagine Ramirez getting $14.6MM for one season on the open market.