Links for Sunday evening, with the regular season behind us and the playoff picture defined…
- Angels GM Tony Reagins tells Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times he's "confident we'll be able to add an important piece."
- As passed along by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman on Twitter, Sanspo reports that a posting announcement will come soon regarding Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma. The righty, 30 in April, posted a 2.82 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 201 innings this year for Rakuten.
- Ichiro Suzuki's 10-and-5 rights kicked in today after the Mariners' game, tweets Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.
- In his end-of-the-season press conference, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein indicated fixing the bullpen and retaining important free agents are his offseason priorities (WEEI's Alex Speier reporting). Epstein fielded all kinds of questions and was noncommittal in most cases, but the transcript is still worth a read.
- Clint Barmes would like to return to the Rockies if he can't find an everyday role elsewhere, he explained to Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post. We discussed Barmes' non-tender candidacy in August, and 79% of MLBTR readers predicted he'll be cut loose.
- The Dodgers officially announced Brad Ausmus' retirement with a press release. Ausmus revealed his decision to reporters in July.
I say the Angels sign both Carl Crawford, Adrian Beltre, Scott Downs, and Jon Rauch.
If they weren’t willing to spend on Lackey and Figgins, I don’t see them buying all 4.
Agreed. The halos look like geniuses not re-signing figgins or lackey who were horrible this year.
well then again, you say tomato and I say tomoto right?
But isn’t that the point sort of? Because they passed on guys they felt they were on a down trend they passed on Lackey and Figgins. It could be said that they took a step back in 2010 to splurge on a better class of FA this year. I don’t think they’ll go after all 4 but I certainly think they might try and lock down Crawford and one other premium player. Beltre is a Boras client and it seems like they hate dealing with him though.
I’m sure they are happy with the decision.
It will be very interesting to see what the Red Sox do this offseason. Usually they go into the winter meetings with a clearly defined team and a short list of positions/slots that they want to fill. This year they might well have to turn over two key positions in C and 3B, have tough decisions to make regarding the DH spot and Closer and need to address weaknesses in their bullpen and OF. Is it possible that next years team won’t include all of the following?
Victor Martinez
Jason Varitek
Adrian Beltre
Jacoby Ellsbury/Mike Cameron
Jon Pappelbon
Not to mention that Mike Lowell won’t be back either.
That’s a lot of big pieces from the 2009 team that may not be back.
Can anyone see Lars Anderson or Ryan Kalish filling any full-time slots next year with the Sox?
I’m guessing the Sox will push hard for Crawford. If we can get him, we’d be fine without Ellsbury. And even if Cameron leaves, it wouldn’t be devastating. I doubt we’ll also sign Werth but who knows.
Papelbon sucked this year…if we can really build up the bullpen, Bard could easily become the closer. Martinez isn’t that great of a defensive catcher but we’d miss his bat, so I hope we get him back. Varitek is pretty much done anyway, and it wasn’t like he carried the team this year. Beltre…since this was a contract year he played awesomely, but aside from 2004 he hasn’t been all that spectacular. There’s an outside chance we sign Adrian Gonzalez, in which case I see Youkilis moving to 3rd. If that happens, we won’t need Beltre.
I can’t see Anderson or Kalish being a full time player in the bigs next year…but who knows who’ll go down with an injury this year.
Kalish and Lars will start the season in AAA. Kalish probably will get a September callup again and will start in 2012 when Drew leaves. And I love Kalish. He reminds me of Drew so much.
Agree with your kalish assessment, on some teams not always in the thick of it, sure they could afford to let him finish his learning curve at the MLB level, then this guy has never spent an entire season at AA and less than 40 games at AAA, he’s been on the fast track the last couple of years and probably needs more seasoning at AAA before taking over for Drew, maybe even Ellsbury.
I was especially impressed with what Epstein had to say about Lowrie. Would like to see him as the starting SS next season and Scutaro as the backup INF with Lowrie backing up 3B for whoever ends up as the starter at that position. Lowrie has shown (again) that when he is healthy he has the hands, decent range and a really good bat to be a well above average SS in the game.
I’d like to see Theo bring in Crawford and explore what he can get for Cameron. If Cameron goes, the Kalish should be the 4th outfielder in 2011 and the RF in 2012. I see him ultimately as Dwight Evans with better speed.
I’d also make Lowrie the starting SS and see what Theo can get for Scutaro. It would be nice to keep Scutaro as a backup, but he’s a good opportunity to get some payroll flexibility that will be needed elsewhere.
whatever the angels do….something needs to be done with rodney..
i know i know brandon wood…and persay scott need work..
but rodney has blown saves all season…and all he has to do normally is get thru one inning…I am really really aggrivated with this guy as a ballplayer…when he was signed last off season..I figured he would be a great addition…trade him if ya can…
congrats on both lowell and ausmus we all know both are gonna retire and both are winning players and good team guys.the thing with boston is how much there willing to spend on there guys beltre vmart i say they consider trading papelbon sign a guy with closing experience just in case or trade for one.crawford seems to me best suited for the tigers.and werth for the red sox.the angels will spend im sure they should try for beltre.i expect boston to make moves i know that they would have possibly won the al east with pedroia youkilis and ellbury but we will never know.and one more thing got to congrat the rays on the al east Im not a biased one but winning that division though by a game shows alot and congrats to the other playoff teams nice to see a few surprises as well
Yes, in all honesty, congrats to the Rays. Best of luck to them in the playoffs…the ALCS has the potential to be great.
Too many “what if’s” from this Sox season. If Beckett and Lackey hadn’t been so inconsistent, who knows. If Pedroia, Youkilis, Cameron, Ellsbury and Martinez didn’t spend significant time on the DL, who knows. I’m proud of them. All things considered, it could’ve been a much worse season.
If I were to predict their free agent targets, I’d say the Sox will go after Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth. It’s hard to say which OF’er fits in better…Crawford has speed and defense and fairly solid pop in his bat, Werth gives you plenty of offense but not as much defensively. I don’t know whether they’ll offer a contract to Beltre soon, but if they get Gonzalez, Beltre isn’t needed. Move Youk to 3rd, have Gonzalez play first.
I’d say Papelbon, Matsuzaka and Ellsbury are expendable. It’d be great to package Matsuzaka and Ellsbury in return for a really good reliever. Or trade them for some prospects and sign a reliever like Scott Downs or Jon Rauch.
Seems like Theo is going to attempt to re-sign both Martinez and Beltre, along with a one or two year extension to keep Ortiz around. Beltre’s decision to stay or go will depend upon whether his wife and 3 young children will agree to come east to live during the season. This team still won 89 games with their #1 pitcher and #5 starter hurt a good part of the season or having a subpar year. Add to this, a relief corps that failed to live up to expectations, losing numerous leads that should not have been, injuries to Youkilis, Ellsbury and Pedroia, and a total lack of production from guys like Hermida and Cameron. I wouldn’t be surprised to see 2-3 new names in the relief corps next year and a new younger face or two to fill Lowell’s spot and a vacancy in the outfield. Kalish immediately comes to mind, along with Darnell McDonald, who played well once he settled in. I would love to see some kind of a deal worked out that would being Masterson back to Boston in 2011. He is a better long reliever than a starter, as Cleveland discovered this year.
I’ve heard it mentioned by a couple of posters but Adiran Gonzalez is not a free agent this year so the only way he would fit into the SOx 2011 plan is if they traded for him which I’m not sure they will since they came so close to winning a playoff berth this year.
Clint Barmes will find a home. He has shown he has pop in his bat, but I could see him as a super utility/Pinch hitter next year