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Archives for October 2010

Cafardo’s Latest: Stairs, Pierzynski, Inge, Berkman

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Let's round up the highlights from Nick Cafardo's Sunday column for the Boston Globe….

  • One AL executive tells Cafardo that he's never seen so many candidates interviewed for managerial openings: "It’s amazing to me that you wouldn’t know within, say, two or three candidates who you want. But I guess in some cases the GM’s job is also on the line if he picks the wrong guy."
  • Matt Stairs would like to play for at least one more season. While he says he'd like to return to Boston, he concedes that he'd probably play "anywhere."
  • An NL scout was positive about A.J. Pierzynski, suggesting that he'll be one of the most attractive catching options on the free agent market, behind Victor Martinez and John Buck. "With A.J., you know he’s not going to throw people out," said the scout. "But there’s nothing wrong with his receiving and he can still hit. I know the fire he has can rub people the wrong way, but I think that’s great for a team."
  • Brandon Inge has a good chance of landing a starting role this winter, given the lack of free agent third base options after Adrian Beltre. However, Cafardo wonders if Inge could eventually become a Bill Hall-esque utility player, given his ability to play a few different positions.
  • Possible bullpen targets for the Red Sox include Joaquin Benoit, Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, and Brian Fuentes.
  • A market appears to be developing for Lance Berkman. Teams like the Rockies, Orioles, Mets, Blue Jays, and Diamondbacks could have interest.
  • Carlos Delgado underwent another hip procedure two and a half weeks ago, but is rehabbing the hip and feels like he'll be able to play in 2011.

Davidoff On Alderson, Valentine, Takahashi

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In his latest piece for Newsday, Ken Davidoff notes that Bud Selig's job as commissioner occasionally involves making recommendations for teams searching for general managers. Selig recommended Jack Zduriencik when the Mariners were looking for a GM two years ago, and, more recently, gave Fred Wilpon a list of suggestions for the Mets. Given the "close ties" between Selig and Wilpon, the commissioner's backing of Sandy Alderson could carry significant weight. Here are the other items of interest from Davidoff's article:

  • Although he has interviewed for multiple managerial positions, Bobby Valentine may end up back at ESPN next year rather than in a major league dugout. The Mets are still a possibility for Valentine, but if Alderson becomes the GM, he figures to make a cheaper, lower-profile hire.
  • Potential free agent Hisanori Takahashi is open to remaining a reliever, meaning he won't necessarily seek out a situation where he has a chance to start.
  • The last report we heard on Takahashi suggested that he'd prefer to remain a Met. However, Davidoff indicates the Yankees, Phillies, and Dodgers also "intrigue" the Japanese lefty.

La Russa “Almost Certain” To Return To Cardinals

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SUNDAY, 9:13am: La Russa's return to St. Louis is "almost certain" at this point, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. As Saturday's AP story suggested, it's still unclear whether or not La Russa's entire coaching staff will be retained, but a source tells Strauss that he'd be "very surprised" if the long-time Cardinals skipper didn't return for 2011.

SATURDAY, 11:43am: Free agency will forever be dominated by the players, but managers are going to get a big piece of the action this winter. Arguably the biggest free agent manager is Tony La Russa of the Cardinals, but the AP (via The Boston Herald) reports that the two sides are talking daily, and that a deal could be reached soon. One of the sticking points involves the security of La Russa's coaching staff, who he presumably wants to return intact.

La Russa has been managing the Cardinals since 1996, leading them to seven division titles, eight playoff berths, and two National League pennants, including a 2006 World Series victory. Overall, St. Louis is 1,318-1,110 under his watch. It's worth noting that La Russa has had his fair share of run-ins with players throughout the years, with Colby Rasmus joining the likes of Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen this year.

At over $4MM annually, La Russa's previous contract made him one of the highest paid managers in baseball. There's no reason to expect that to change if and when a new deal is a reached.

Amateur Signing Bonuses: Red Sox

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Next up in our series looking at the largest signing bonuses given to amateur players: the Red Sox…

  1. Jose Iglesias, $6.25MM (2009)
  2. Casey Kelly, $3MM (2008)
  3. Anthony Ranaudo, $2.55MM (2010)
  4. Ryan Westmoreland, $2MM (2008)
  5. Jose Vinicio, $1.95MM (2009)

Given their revenue streams, it should be no surprise that the Red Sox spend big. Iglesias signed after defecting from Cuban and is widely considered to be the best defensive shortstop in minor league baseball. His bat was better than expected this season, as he hit .295/.339/.379 in 284 plate appearances. A broken finger robbed him of more than two months of the season, however.

Kelly is the team's best prospect at the moment, now that he's no longer dabbling at shortstop and is focused exclusively on pitching. He reached Double-A at age-20 this year, and owns a 3.69 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 190 minor league innings. Ranaudo was arguably the best pitching prospect available in the 2010 draft but he fell to the 39th overall pick because of injury concerns. The Red Sox spent the money and took the risk as they tend to do, and they'll eagerly await his professional debut next season.

Westmoreland was an elite level talent that fell to the fifth round of the 2008 draft due to contract demands, and he was the team's top prospect before a "cavernous malformation of the brain" got in the way. He missed the entire 2010 season after having brain surgery and is recovering well, even starting to perform baseball activities within the last month or so. Vinicio was a high profile signing out of the Dominican Republic last summer. The 17-year-old shortstop hit .253/.290/.373 in 170 plate appearances for Boston's rookie level affiliate this year.

It's worth noting that Daisuke Matsuzaka received a $2MM bonus as part of his six-year, $52MM contract. He had zero MLB experience at the time of the contract, but he was certainly no amateur given all of the time he spent pitching in Japan.

Odds & Ends: Listach, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Hill

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Saturday evening linkage as the Phillies and Giants kick off the NLCS…

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/16/SPJO1FT26N.DTL

Amateur Signing Bonuses: Orioles

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Let's continue our look at the five largest bonuses each team has given to amateur players with the Orioles…

  1. Matt Wieters, $6MM (2007)
  2. Manny Machado, $5.25MM (2010)
  3. Adam Loewen, $3.2MM (2002)
  4. Brian Matusz, $3.2MM (2008)
  5. Matt Hobgood, $2.422MM (2009)

Wieters was the fifth overall pick in the 2007 draft but was arguably the top talent available along with David Price. He destroyed the minors (.343/.438/.576) before making his big league debut last May. Wieters hasn't had the immediate impact the O's hoped for, but perspective is important here. There's nothing wrong with a 24-year-old catcher hitting .266/.328/.393 in his first 887 plate appearances while throwing out 27.6% of attempted basestealers in the AL East.

Another one of the talented young players on Baltimore's big league roster right now is Matusz. He was the fourth overall pick in 2008 and like Wieters he crushed the minors (1.91 ERA, 9.6 K/9, 2.5 BB/9) before debuting in the show. After an eight start cameo in 2009, Matusz's coming out party in 2010 was rock solid for a 23-year-old lefty in that division. His overall numbers won't wow you – 4.30 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 in 175.2 innings – but he was superb down the stretch, posting a 1.57 ERA with a .178/.237/.282 batting line against in his final eight starts. Matusz and Wieters are two biggest pieces in the Orioles' rebuilding effort.

Machado was the third overall pick this past June and didn't sign until the August 16th deadline. He hit .306/.359/.472 in just 39 plate appearances this year, his pro debut. Hobgood was the fifth overall pick last year and has been good but not great so far: 4.48 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 120.2 innings. He just turned 20 in August.

Loewen was the product of the now defunct draft-and-follow process. The O's took him fourth overall in 2002 but didn't sign until a year later, after he spent a season with Chipola College, a two-year school. Loewen cruised through the minors and debuted with Baltimore in 2006. He threw 164 innings with the O's over the next two seasons (5.38 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 5.8 BB/9) but his pitching career was derailed by chronic elbow issues. Loewen went the Rick Ankiel route and transitioned to an outfielder, and he's now working his way back to the big leagues in the Blue Jays system.

The Orioles have never been a big time player on the Latin American free agent market, but they opened a state-of-the-art academy in the Dominican within the last few years. Expect their presence in the international market to jump significantly in the coming years.

Manager Roundup: Brewers, Blue Jays, Cubs

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Here's the latest news concerning managerial vacancies, with more to come..

Brewers

Bobby Valentine has had "conversations" with the Brewers but has yet to have a formal interview, according to the manager when he was a guest on SIRIUS XM's Mad Dog Radio yesterday.  Bobby V added that he is unsure if he'll have another interview with Milwaukee, adding that he'll have to see what the next conversation leads to. 

Meanwhile, the Brewers have asked for and received permission to talk to Nationals third-base coach Pat Listach, two baseball sources tell MLB.com's Bill Ladson.  Listach, who managed in the Cubs' farm system for four seasons, will interview with GM Doug Melvin on Tuesday.

Blue Jays

In his interview with Russo, Valentine also said that he does not expect to have a follow-up conversation with Toronto.  Yesterday we learned that the Blue Jays are looking into a whole lot of potential candidates for their managerial post.

Cubs

The Cubs are still scoping out Joe Girardi as a managerial candidate, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Wittenmyer also hears from a source that Eric Wedge had a strong interview with the Cubs before hooking on with the Mariners.

Mets, Rodriguez Closing In On Settlement

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The Mets and closer Francisco Rodriguez will not go to a scheduled arbitration hearing on Monday as the involved parties feel that they are nearing a settlement, according to Dan Martin and Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  There's now belief on all sides of the table that an agreement could be announced as soon as Monday or Tuesday.

It was said that a grievance hearing and subsequent arbitration process would have been rather lengthy.  Instead, the Mets, Rodriguez, the Commissioner's Office, and the Players Association have worked behind the scenes to strike a compromise. 

As it stands now, the closer is set to earn $11.5MM in 2011 with a $17.5MM vesting option ($3.5MM buyout) in 2012.  A settlement prior to arbitration likely means that the club will still be on the hook for those years.  However, the Mets may be able to recoup some or all of the cash paid to Rodriguez during the time of his injury late in the season.

Poll: Who Will Win The NLCS?

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The ALCS started off with a bang last night, just a few hours after MLBTR readers voted to almost a 50-50 split about who they thought would win the series. The NLCS kicks off later tonight with a pitching matchup that's as good as it gets: Tim Lincecum vs. Roy Halladay. If that's not enough, we'll get Jonathan Sanchez vs. Roy Oswalt in Game Two, and then Matt Cain vs. Cole Hamels in Game Three. What more could baseball fans ask for?

The Phillies certainly have the advantage on paper, but anything can happen in short series.

Who will win the NLCS?

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

Wilpon: Mets GM Hire Could Take “Weeks”

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The Mets have formally interviewed five candidates for their vacant GM position – Sandy Alderson, Rick Hahn, Allard Baird, Logan White, and Josh Byrnes – so far, but COO Jeff Wilpon indicated that a hire wasn't imminent according to Dan Martin of The New York Post. Here's what Wilpon said yesterday in a letter to fans…

"[The GM candidates] are intelligent, creative and passionate about winning … They conveyed their honest assessment of our franchise and discussed how we can move forward on our pledge to give our fans the winner that they deserve. We are continuing our search and expect to hire our new GM in the next few weeks."

ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider req'd) hears that team president Saul Katz is urging the Wilpons to hire someone with "experience and stature" to help restore faith in the team's fanbase. Alderson, who Ben Nicholson-Smith profiled yesterday, certainly fits that criteria. He has been considered the favorite for the job since it opened.

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