Seems hard to believe that the World Series is already upon us, but we're just three days away. Congratulations to both the Rangers and the Giants! That said, let's take a look back at the MLBTR world over the past seven days:
- The Tigers and Brandon Inge agreed on a two-year extension that will pay the 34-year-old $11.5MM. Beyond Adrian Beltre, there's not much on the free agent market, so Detroit stuck with what it had, even if the price was a bit steep.
- Details emerged on the Ted Lilly signing, as we heard the Dodgers will pay the left-hander $33MM over the next three seasons. That's one free agent starter off the market, and another could be gone soon as well, with Jake Westbrook and the Cardinals discussing an extension.
- Some news about the market's other top pitchers: Texas will bid aggressively on Cliff Lee to keep him in Arlington, Zack Greinke's no-trade clause is larger than originally thought, and Javier Vazquez is interested in pitching for the Nationals.
- The Nationals signed Mike Rizzo to a five-year extension this week as well. Tough to argue with Rizzo's results to this point, although the Adam Dunn situation is questionable.
- In managerial news this week, the Cubs hired Mike Quade, and we heard that John Farrell was offered the Blue Jays job before this morning's announcement that Toronto would indeed hire him. Also, the Cardinals re-signed Tony La Russa for 2011 with a mutual option for 2012.
- The Mets have narrowed their GM search down to two candidates: Sandy Alderson and Josh Byrnes. We heard that Alderson is the favorite, but no decision has been made yet.
- We already know the Reds will pick up Bronson Arroyo's option, but we also learned this week that they'll probably exercise the $1.75MM option on Jonny Gomes. Orlando Cabrera's $4MM option will most likely be declined, despite the fact that the Reds will be increasing payroll in 2011.
- The Yankees sent Andrew Shive and Matt Cusick to Cleveland in order to complete July's Kerry Wood trade. Neither prospect is particularly impressive, though that's not a surprise given Wood's injuries and salary.
- The Braves had a busy Tuesday as they released Melky Cabrera and also released Takashi Saito, as they were contractually obligated to do. Saito adds an intriguing arm to the late-inning relief market, while Melky could make a nice fourth outfielder if he can trend back toward his Yankee numbers.
- Josh Willingham would like to sign an extension to remain with the Nationals.
- The Padres will seek production for the top of their lineup this offseason as they look to improve the table-setters for Adrian Gonzalez.
- Interesting note on a trio of players: Bengie Molina is still probably ready to call it a career, while Randy Winn is hoping to avoid that fate and play in 2011, and Orlando Hernandez wants to come out of retirement and pitch again in 2011.
- In international news, Yu Darvish announced that he's planning on remaining in Japan next season, while we learned that multiple Japanese teams are interested in Kenshin Kawakami. One team said it will pay as much as $3MM of Kawakami's 2011 salary.
- The Mets and Francisco Rodriguez resolved their grievance, with the Mets not paying his final $3.1MM of 2010, but paying him in full for 2011.
- In a couple of minor moves, the Brewers signed Mike Rivera and the Marlins re-signed Donnie Murphy.
Someone correct me if wrong, but it’s not necessarily Darvish’s choice whether or not he gets posted. I know in the past players have been posted because they requested it, but I also remember when Matsuzaka was posted during the negotiations with the Sox, rumors were he was be threatened by the Seibu Lions if he didn’t reach a deal then he’d be sent to the minors for a while thus delaying his free agency. So is it possible sooner or later Darvish gets posted even if it’s against his wishes? It’s just selling a commodity.