Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for October 2010

Blue Jays To Hire John Farrell

By | at

The Blue Jays haven't officially announced that John Farrell will be the team's next manager, but John Henry confirms to Peter Abraham and Nick Cafardo that Farrell will be leaving Boston for Toronto. The Red Sox owner told the Boston Globe in an e-mail that "the Jays are getting a great baseball man and a great person."

Reports on Friday indicated that Farrell had been offered the managerial job by the Jays and was expected to accept. Now, Henry suggests that it's a done deal: "He will be an effective, excellent manager. I expect him to manage in MLB for as long as he wants to…. He will be missed."

The Blue Jays' managerial search, following Cito Gaston's retirement, was an exhaustive process that began with a list of about 200 candidates and was eventually whittled down to four finalists. From there, it became clear that Farrell, Boston's pitching coach, was the frontrunner. He will take over a club that finished 85-77, good for fourth in the American League East. According to Abraham and Cafardo, the Jays are expected to introduce Farrell in Toronto tomorrow.

Amateur Signing Bonuses: Marlins

By | at

Next up, a look at the Marlins' spending on amateur players…

  1. Josh Beckett, $3.625MM (1999)
  2. Adrian Gonzalez, $3MM (2000)
  3. Livan Hernandez, $2.5MM (1996)
  4. Kyle Skipworth, $2.3MM (2008)
  5. Jason Stokes, $2.027MM (2000)

Touted as the best high school pitching prospect ever, Beckett received the largest contract ever given to a prep pitcher when he agreed to a big league contract guaranteeing him at least $7MM as the second overall pick. He made quick work of the minors, debuting for Florida in 2001. Two years later he was the World Series MVP, and two years after that he was traded to the Red Sox in the blockbuster that brought Hanley Ramirez to the Marlins. Beckett's career with the Marlins consisted of a 3.46 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 609 innings.

Gonzalez was the first overall pick in what is considered one of the worst draft classes in recent memory. He performed well as he steadily climbed the minor league ladder, at least until the Fish traded him and another minor leaguer to the Rangers for Ugueth Urbina to help bolster their bullpen during their 2003 title run. Gonzalez never played a game for the Marlins, and of course has since gone on to star with the Padres. 

The Marlins signed Hernandez shortly after he defected from Cuba as a 21-year-old, and less than a year later he was named the 1997 World Series MVP. He remained with the Marlins until the 1999 trade deadline, when he was shipped to the Giants for two players. Livan finished his Marlins' career with a 4.39 ERA in 469.2 innings. 

Stokes was selected with the 41st overall pick in 2000 after setting the Texas single-season high school record with 25 homers, but injuries (most notably to his hand and groin) derailed his career. He was pretty much through with baseball by 2007, after a minor league career that saw him hit .275/.349/.507 in 1,904 plate appearances. The Marlins dealt him to Oakland before the 2007 season for John Baker. 

Florida took Skipworth with the sixth overall pick in 2008, and he is slowly making his way through the farm system. A career .226/.285/.381 hitter, the 20-year-old had the best season of his career in 2010, hitting .245/.309/.418. It's also worth noting that Miguel Cabrera's $1.9MM bonus (1999) was the largest ever given to a Venezuelan-born player, and stood as the record for close to a decade. 

Odds & Ends: Brewers, Marlins, Yankees, Bagwell

By | at

A few links to check out as the Giants try to join the Rangers in the World Series…

  • Over at RotoAuthority, Tim Dierkes lists some Pittsburgh Pirates that could help your fantasy team next season. 
  • Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com report that Joey Cora and Bob Melvin are among the final candidates for the Brewers managerial opening. Pat Listach was informed that he is no longer considered a candidate for the job according Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel. 
  • Elsewhere in Milwaukee coaching news, the team has confirmed that Dale Sveum will return as hitting coach on a two-year deal according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). Sveum was a candidate for Pirates' manager job.
  • The Marlins have no immediate plans to interview Yankees bench coach Tony Pena for their managerial opening now that New York has been eliminated from the postseason, reports Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun-Sentinel. 
  • Meanwhile, Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com lists ten issues the Yanks must deal with this offseason, starting with Derek Jeter's contract situation.
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart tweets that Jeff Bagwell has informed the Astros that he will not be returning as hitting coach. Astros senior director of social media Alyson Footer says (via Twitter) that there are no hard feelings on either side.
  • MetsBlog.com's Matthew Cerrone muses about the Mets acquiring a starting pitcher.
  • In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney explains how the Rangers were able to take on payroll over the last year despite being bankrupt. 
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports that when the Mets interview GM candidates Sandy Alderson and Josh Byrnes for a second time this week, they will focus on what each would do in the immediate future, meaning the upcoming offseason. 
  • Meanwhile, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets that because Josh Byrnes is still under contract with the Diamondbacks for the next five years, the Mets would only have to pay him a "reasonable amount" if they hire him as their new GM. That amount would then be deducted from what Arizona is paying him. 
  • In the wake of their ALCS loss to the Rangers, John Harper of The New York Daily News says that the failed Cliff Lee trade ultimately cost the Yankees.
  • Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle thinks there's a case to be made for the Astros signing Lance Berkman this offseason.
  • Troy Renck of The Denver Post thinks the Rockies should make a run at Javier Vazquez if the price is right (Twitter link). 

2011 Payroll Commitments

By | at

With the 2010-2011 offseason drawing closer, we're going to start hearing more and more about how much each team is able to spend on their 2011 roster. Some are obviously able to spend more than others, but every team will be impacted by how much money they already have tied up in existing contracts.  

Below is a list of the guaranteed money that each team is responsible for next season. Players in their pre-arbitration or arbitration-eligible seasons do not count since they can simply be non-tendered. Buyouts are included, however, as is money owed to former players (like the Dodgers and Juan Pierre) as well as money received from other teams for current players (like the Cubs and Carlos Silva).

Obviously this data is unofficial, but it's a fine ballpark number to reference.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the information used in this post.

Amateur Signing Bonuses: Tigers

By | at

Time to take our amateur signing bonus series to Motown…

  1. Jacob Turner, $4.7MM (2009)
  2. Rick Porcello, $3.58MM (2007)
  3. Andrew Miller, $3.55MM (2006)
  4. Eric Munson, $3.5MM (1999)
  5. Nick Castellanos, $3.45MM (2010)

Turner, a Scott Boras client and the ninth overall pick in the 2009 draft, received what was then the largest bonus ever given to a high school pitcher. The total value of his big league contract is $5.5MM with the potential to be worth $7MM. He spent his first pro season in Single-A, and is the team's best prospect thanks to a 3.28 ERA, 8.0 K/9, and 1.8 BB/9 in 115.1 innings. 

Before there was Turner there was Porcello, who matched Josh Beckett for the most guaranteed money ever given to a high school arm ($7MM). He reached the majors after just one season in the minors, and has a 4.43 ERA with 2.1 BB/9 and 4.7 K/9 in 333.1 innings for the Tigers. Castellanos was the 44th overall pick this year, and his bonus is the largest ever given to a player outside of the first round. He started his career with a .333/.414/.417 performance in 29 rookie ball plate appearances.

Miller was the consensus top talent in the 2006 draft, but lasted until the sixth pick because of bonus demands. The Tigers were happy to pay him, but they rushed him to the big leagues later that year. Miller posted a 5.69 ERA in 74.1 innings for the Tigers before being traded to Marlins in December 2007 as part of the package for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. 

Munson was the third overall pick in the 1999 draft after a monster collegiate career at USC. His bonus was the franchise record for close to a decade before Porcello came along. Munson received 885 plate appearances for the Tigers from 2000-2004, hitting just .215/.287/.414 along the way. He was granted his release after the 2004 season, and has bounced from team to team ever since. 

Amazingly, this list doesn't including Kyle Sleeth (third overall in 2003) and Justin Verlander (second overall in 2004), who received $3.35MM and $3.12MM bonuses, respectively. The Tigers aren't shy about spending on young players, that's for sure.

Poll: Mets’ Next General Manager

By | at

After a first round of interviews, the Mets have narrowed their general manager search down to two candidates: Sandy Alderson and Josh Byrnes. Both have experience running a team, Alderson with the A's (1983-1997) and Byrnes with the Diamondbacks (2005-2010), and both surely have different strengths and weaknesses. Byrnes gives them a younger exec perhaps more well-versed in today's game, Alderson a veteran front office presence with deep roots in the game.

Both Alderson and Byrnes will interview for the second time this week, and a decision will presumably be made shortly thereafter. Time for the poll…

Who should the Mets hire to be their next GM?

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

Amateur Signing Bonuses: Rockies

By | at

The Rockies are up next in our amateur signing bonus series…

  1. Tyler Matzek, $3.9MM (2009)
  2. Greg Reynolds, $3.25MM (2006)
  3. Jason Young, $2.75MM (2000)
  4. Troy Tulowitzki, $2.3MM (2005)
  5. Chin-Hui Tsao. $2.2MM (1999)

Matzek was one of the best prospects available in the 2009 draft, but he fell into the Rockies' lap with the 11th overall pick because of perceived bonus demands. Colorado met those demands, giving him the fourth largest bonus of the entire draft class. Matzek spent 2010 in Single-A, pitching to a 2.92 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9 in 89.1 innings as a 19-year-old.

Tulowitzki, the seventh overall pick in 2005, is quite simply the Rockies' franchise cornerstone and one of the five or ten best players in baseball. In four-plus years as Colorado's shortstop, Tulo has hit .290/.362/.495 with top-of-the-line defense. The team has gotten every dollar's worth and then some with this pick and bonus.

Young, the 47th overall pick in 2000, pitched well in the minors before getting his first taste of the big leagues in 2003, and he ultimately put up a 9.71 ERA in 29.2 innings for Colorado before being claimed off waivers by the Indians in August 2005. He was out of baseball by the end of that season. Reynolds was the second overall pick in 2006, and made 13 ugly starts (8.13 ERA, 3.2 K/9, 3.8 BB/9) for Colorado in 2008. He missed basically the entire 2009 season with shoulder surgery and is working his way back.

Tsao's career featured a lot of firsts. He was the first significant international signing in team history, the first player they ever signed out of Asia, and the first Taiwanese-born pitcher in MLB history. His career was riddled with injury, most notably Tommy John surgery in 2001, but he reached the big leagues in 2003. In 63.2 innings for the Rockies from 2003-2005, Tsao pitched to a 5.80 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 before being released in 2006. He pitched in the Chinese Professional Baseball League after his time in MLB was through, but his career came to end earlier this year when he was banned from the league for his role in a game-fixing scandal. 

Vazquez Interested In Pitching For The Nationals

By | at

Javier Vazquez has thrown the second most innings (2,320.1) and recorded the second most strikeouts (2,122) in all of baseball since the start of the 2000 season, but 2010 was the worst year of his career. His return engagement with the Yankees resulted in 157.1 innings of 5.32 ERA, 6.9 K/9, and 1.8 HR/9 ball, certainly not what they Yanks expected after trading three young players for him last winter.

After a performance like that, it stands to reason that Vazquez would have some trouble finding work for next season, but that hasn't stopped him from expressing interest in pitching for the Nationals according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. The Nats are one team that we know is ready to spend on pitching, and Javy has long preferred the East Coast so he could be close to his family in Puerto Rico.

Vazquez obviously will not approach the $11.5MM he made each year from 2008-2010, and a multi-year deal is unlikely as well. A pitcher with his track record is a nice candidate for one-year, low base salary contract, and the Nats are in the perfect position to gamble on deals like that. It's worth noting that his fastball velocity dropped off considerably this season, so perhaps all those innings are finally catching up to him at age 34.

I examined Vazquez's free agent stock a few weeks ago, and Luke Adams listed him as a pitcher that could benefit from a move to the NL.

Amateur Signing Bonuses: Indians

By | at

Next up in our series looking at each team's top amateur signing bonuses, the Indians…

  1. Danys Baez, $4.5MM (1999)
  2. Jeremy Guthrie, $3MM (2002)
  3. Drew Pomeranz, $2.65MM (2010)
  4. Jeremy Sowers, $2.475MM (2004)
  5. Alex White, $2.25MM (2009)

Baez's bonus was part of the four-year, $14.5MM contract Cleveland gave him after he defected from Cuba as a 22-year-old. After a year in Triple-A, the Indians gave him a rotation spot in 2002 and watched Baez post a respectable 4.41 ERA, 7.1 K/9, and 4.5 BB/9. Overall, Baez had a 3.92 ERA in 291.1 innings with Cleveland in a variety of roles (starter, setup man, closer) before they cut ties with him after the 2003 season. 

Guthrie, the 22nd overall pick in 2002, never hit his stride in Cleveland, appearing in just 16 games (37 IP, 6.08 ERA) for the Tribe before being designated for assignment and subsequently claimed off waivers by the Orioles in January 2007. Sowers' tenure with the Indians was just as forgettable, though he got a much longer look. The sixth overall pick in the 2004 draft started 71 games for Cleveland from 2006-2009, though he pitched to just a 5.18 ERA with a measly 3.9 K/9 in exactly 400 IP. He spent 2010 in their minor league system.

White and Pomeranz are the team's two most recent first round picks. White (15th overall in 2009) split the 2010 season between the Single-A and Double-A levels, posting a 2.45 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 150.2 IP. Pomeranz (5th overall in 2010) signed right at the August 16th deadline and will start his professional career next season.

Yankees Rumors: Girardi, Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte

By | at

The Yankees always have interesting offseasons, but this one figures to have a little extra something after the Rangers massively outplayed them in the ALCS. Three of their stalwart players, not to mention the manager, are scheduled to become free agents in a few weeks. Let's round up all the news that came out of Yankeeland following last night's loss, courtesy of Chad Jennings of The Journal News, MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, Mark Feinsand and Anthony McCarron of The Daily News, Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger, and Dom Amore of The Hartford Courant (Twitter link)… 

  • Re-signing manager Joe Girardi is "the first order of business," said GM Brian Cashman. Cashman also said he has yet to talk to ownership, which gives you an idea of how far along (or not) they are in the process.
  • Neither Mariano Rivera nor Derek Jeter would talk about their upcoming free agency after last night's loss. “This is where they belong,” said Cashman, and the general belief is that both will re-sign with the Yankees this winter.
  • Andy Pettitte's decision about whether to return for another year or retire will be based solely on his family, adding that he's already accomplished everything he wanted to in his career. Cashman said that they'll give Pettitte as much time as he needs. 
  • Yankee starting pitchers not named CC Sabathia posted a 5.91 ERA in the second half, so Cashman unsurprisingly said that starting pitching will be a priority in the offseason. They're expected to be major players for Cliff Lee, and will likely check in on Zack Greinke.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top