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Archives for September 2010

Athletics Pick Up Bob Geren’s 2011 Option

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The Athletics have picked up manager Bob Geren's option for the 2011 season, tweets The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser. An official announcement was made a short while ago.

Geren has served as Oakland's manager since 2007 and owns a 296-329 career record. He is enjoying his team's greatest success this season at 70-70, seven-and-a-half games back of the Rangers in the AL West. The A's gave Geren a new one-year deal last March after picking up the option on the original three-year deal he signed with the club.

Rosenthal’s Full Count: Mets, Gonzalez, Tigers, A’s, Mazzaro

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has his latest Full Count video up, so let's dive in:

  • Mets assistant general manager John Ricco won't replace Omar Minaya as general manager if Minaya is removed from the position. The Mets feel that Ricco is not yet ready for that role.
  • Padres owner Jeff Moorad told Rosenthal concretely that the Padres will not trade Adrian Gonzalez this winter. He could, of course, still be moved during the season if things don't go well for San Diego.
  • The Pads would be willing to give Gonzalez a three-year deal beyond 2011, but the slugger can certainly do better than that on the free agent market. The Padres won't be able to stay in talks if Gonzalez pursues a deal similar to Mark Teixeira's eight-year, $180MM deal.
  • The Tigers will have the money to pursue one or more of the market's top free agents, such as Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn, and Jayson Werth. They can also afford to take on a great deal of salary in trades should they choose to go down that road.
  • The A's still don't know if they'll end up in San Jose, which makes their financial future difficult to predict.
  • Oakland's difficulty in luring free agent position players leads Rosenthal to suggest a trade of Vin Mazzaro in order to acquire the talent they're seeking.

Nats “Unlikely” To Exercise Kennedy’s Option

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After missing out on Orlando Hudson to the Twins last winter, the Nationals turned their focus to Adam Kennedy, signing him to an affordable $1.25MM deal. Washington holds a $2MM option for 2011 with a $500K buyout, but MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes that it's "unlikely" Kennedy returns to the Nats in 2011. He says he'll talk with GM Mike Rizzo about his future soon.

Kennedy's offensive success in 2009 (.289/.348/.410) hasn't carried over to the 2010 season (.252/.321/.335), but his defense has returned to form and matches up more closely with his career UZR/150 mark of 7.9 at second base. In total, he's still been worth almost a full win (0.9 WAR) in limited playing time.

The combination of Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa, who has impressed in his debut this season, has likely spelled the end of Kennedy's time in D.C., however (speculation on my part) at $2MM he could be retained if he's willing to accept a bench role. He's seen time at second, third, and first base over the past two seasons, and still runs fairly well. The Nationals traded one utility infielder, Cristian Guzman, to the Rangers last month, so there could be an opening to fill that role.

If he does enter free agency, Kennedy will join a second base class that's once again headlined by Hudson, but doesn't feature any elite names. He'd likely be looking at a contract similar to the one he signed in Washington.

2011 Rotations

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We've been looking ahead to next year's rotations for the past month or so and here are the results:

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Poll: The NL West

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The Padres had been in sole possession of first place in the NL West since June 11th, but they now find themselves tied with the Giants after falling to their rivals from the Bay 1-0 last night. It was San Diego's 12th loss in 15 games, and San Francisco's sixth win in seven games. A lead that once swelled to six-and-a-half games disappeared in just 15 days.

The Pads are going to have to continue to rely on their extreme pitching and defense approach (MLB best 3.34 ERA and +47.3 UZR) while the Giants have benefited greatly from in-season additions like Pat Burrell (134 OPS+ with SF) and Buster Posey (129). It's worth noting that the Padres do have two games at hand, but it might not matter when the two clubs meet for three games in San Francisco for the season's final series.

Of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the Rockies, who have won eight in a row and 15 of their last 19 as part of their annual second half surge. They're now just two-and-a-half back in the division after being 11 games back 18 days ago. It's going to be a mad dash to finish for the NL West crown, which brings us to today's question.

Who will win the NL West?

Click here to vote, and here to see the results. 

Odds & Ends: Hinch, Soriano, Ellis, Tigers, Ludwick

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Links for Friday, before the Giants and Padres continue an immensely important series…

Gammons On Martinez, Red Sox Bullpen, Crawford

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Peter Gammons of the MLB Network and NESN made his weekly appearance on WEEI's The Big Show earlier today, and DJ Bean has the transcript. Let's round up the good stuff…

  • Gammons thinks the Victor Martinez situation could get dragged out all winter because the Red Sox do not want to sign him for four years as a catcher. That's the logic behind their two-year offer, they view him as a first baseman/designated hitter after the first two seasons and don't want to pay a premium for a guy playing a non-premium position.
  • The Manny Delcarmen trade was the first step in recreating the bullpen. Gammons notes that Boston once landed Bronson Arroyo "for a dollar," and the club could try a similar approach with the pen this offseason. Basically, they'll just bring guys in and see what sticks rather than sign one player to a big contract. Matt Fox may have been claimed with that very idea in mind. 
  • Gammons doesn't believe the Red Sox can afford to sign Carl Crawford, who he thinks will get seven years and $140MM. There is also some concern about the lineup being too lefty-heavy in a division with several top-of-the-line lefthanded pitchers.

The Astros’ 2011 Rotation

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The Astros finally caved and traded longtime ace Roy Oswalt as part of their rebuilding effort this year, but the move certainly didn't cripple the team's rotation. In fact, the starting five has been the team's greatest strength amidst a disappointing season that has Houston sitting in third place in the NL Central at 67-73. For all intents and purposes, the same group will be returning in 2011.

The last remaining link to the 2005 NL Championship team is 31-year-old southpaw Wandy Rodriguez. He followed up 2009's breakout performance with what can best be described as a tale of two seasons. His ERA stood at 6.09 with a 6.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 through his first 14 starts this year, but Wandy rebounded to post a 1.91 ERA, 8.8 K/9, and 1.8 BB/9 in 14 starts since. The Astros control Rodriguez as an arbitration-eligible player for the third and final time next season, when his salary figures to jump from $5MM into the $8MM range.

Joining Wandy at the top of the rotation is former Phillie Brett Myers, arguably the single best free agent signing from last offseason. After signing for just one year and $5.1MM guaranteed, all he's done is post a 2.91 ERA, 7.1 K/9, and 2.5 BB/9 in 29 starts this season, going no fewer than six innings each time out. The Astros rewarded Myers' effort with a contract extension that guarantees the 30-year-old at least $21MM through 2012. 

Lefthander J.A. Happ, acquired in the Oswalt deal, figures to hold down a spot in the middle of the rotation next season. He's made eight strong starts since coming over (3.21 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 4.2 BB/9), and won't be eligible for arbitration until after the 2011 season.

Rookie righthander Bud Norris has been impressive even if his 5.16 ERA doesn't back it up. He's struck out 9.3 batters per nine innings, sixth-most among NL starters, and his walk rate is a tolerable 4.0 BB/9. The 25-year-old Norris figures to remain in the rotation next season after cutting his teeth this year.

Brian Moehler, Felipe Paulino, Wesley Wright, Josh Banks, and most recently Nelson Figueroa have rounded out the back of the rotation at different times this year. Paulino, 26, is the most promising of the bunch (4.40 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 4.5 BB/9), but he's missed the second half with a shoulder strain. At 95.5 mph, only Ubaldo Jimenez has a higher average fastball velocity than Paulino among starters (AL and NL) this year. Moehler is due to become a free agent after the season and Figueroa is a perpetual non-tender candidate, especially since he'll be up for arbitration for the first time this winter.

Down on the farm sits one of the game's best pitching prospects in Jordan Lyles, who dominated the Double-A level (3.12 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 2.5 BB/9) at just 19 years of age this season. Houston gave him a late-season cameo with Triple-A Round Rock, and it seems like a foregone conclusion that he'll make his big league debut at some point during the 2011 season. 

Oswalt won't be around to be that veteran, shut-down ace next season, but the Astros have plenty of arms to work with. Rodriguez and Myers are a more than capable one-two punch (not necessarily in that order, of course), while Happ and Norris give the team plenty of cost-effective production with a chance to improve as they continue their development. If Lyles steps up and establishes himself at some point next summer, Houston's starting five will be one of the deepest, and perhaps most underappreciated, in all of baseball.

Pirates Release Iwamura, Outright Kratz

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The Pirates have given infielder Akinori Iwamura his unconditional release, tweets Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He was designated for assignment along with catcher Erik Kratz earlier this week. Biertempfel says Kratz cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Iwamura, 31, failed to meet even the lowest of expectations after being acquired from the Rays last offseason. He hit just .182/.292/.267 in 193 plate appearances for the big league team in 2010, but was a bit better in Triple-A with a .264/.404/.393 line. This was the second time the Pirates designated Iwamura for assignment this season, certainly not what they expected to do with their highest-paid position player.

Kratz, 30, debuted in the major leagues this summer after a decade in the minors. His minor league numbers suggest he has some pop and patience, but he collected just four singles and two walks in 36 big league plate appearances.

Royals Sign Former Dolphins QB Pat White

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Pat White is hoping to follow in Bo Jackson's footsteps in more ways than one. Jackson, perhaps the greatest two-sport star of all time, suited up for the Royals and White Sox, a former Miami Dolphins quarterback, is hoping to do the same. The Royals announced that they signed White, a 24-year-old outfielder, to a minor league deal.

The Royals say they are aware that “the NFL may be an option” for White. The Angels selected him in the fourth round of the 2004 draft, but White chose to go to the University of West Virginia on a football scholarship. The Reds and Yankees drafted White in 2008 and 2009, respectively, so he has drawn interest from many MLB teams. White ran for 81 yards in his rookie season last year, but didn't complete any of the five passes he attempted. The Dolphins released him this week.

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