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Brewers Sign Mark DiFelice

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The Brewers have signed righthander Mark DiFelice to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training next season according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. He is already pitching in the team's instructional league program in Arizona.

The 34-year-old DiFelice has not pitched at all this season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder. He proved to be a valuable setup man for the Brew Crew in 2009, turning in 51.2 innings of 3.66 ERA ball with an 8.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. DiFelice did that largely on the strength of a cut fastball, which FanGraphs says he threw a whopping 81.6% of the time.

The Brewers have had some success bringing back injured pitchers, most notably Chris Capuano this season.

Dipoto “Likely” To Remain With Diamondbacks

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4:46pm: Fanhouse's Tom Krasovic reports that Dipoto is likely to remain within the Diamondbacks organization.

Towers met with Dipoto for four hours and came away with a great impression and respect for the interim GM. He's told Dipoto that he'd like him to remain in the organization as the team's vice president of scouting and player development. Towers also said he liked the trades made by Dipoto in his run as general manager, and feels that Dipoto will be a permanent GM someday.

The decision is up to Dipoto now, but according to Krasovic, indications are strong that he will accept the position sometime within the next ten days.

9:23am: When the Diamondbacks gave their vacant general manager job to Kevin Towers earlier this week, interim GM and long time executive Jerry Dipoto informed the team that he would not remain with the club and move on. He may be changing his mind, however, as sources tell FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi that Dipoto and the D-Backs are in discussions to keep him in the organization in a "high-level position." One source even said the odds of him remaining were as high as 80%.

Club president Derrick Hall didn't offer a prediction as to whether Dipoto would return or not, but he is known to have a "great affinity" for him. Dipoto's familiarity with the organization could ease Towers' transition period. Morosi says that Dipoto could choose to remain if he buys into Towers' plan because he knows at some point another GM job will come his way. The Mets are far and away the most likely club to be looking for a new GM this offseason. 

One industry person told Morosi that Towers and Dipoto have different philosophies when it comes to assessing talent. In his ESPN chat earlier this week (Insider req'd.), Keith Law said that Towers' strength was "big league trades" while his weakness was "the draft and the farm system." He then called Dipoto "an excellent choice [at GM] for a team looking to rebuild its farm system through the draft," and said "he's a very open-minded guy with a strong interest in using data to increase the effectiveness of his team's scouting efforts."

Rosenthal’s Full Count: Beltre, Scioscia, Crawford, Lopez

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Ken Rosenthal has his Saturday Full Count Video up over at FOX Sports. Let's check out the highlights:

  • The Red Sox would love to keep Adrian Beltre around, but at the right price. The alternative is still attractive: shift Kevin Youkilis to third base, find a first baseman for a season, and then pursue one of the big-name free agents such as Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, or Prince Fielder. My own speculation here, but the Red Sox could of course look to trade for Fielder this offseason and then extend him.
  • Angels manager Mike Scioscia's ten-year contract extension with the Angels that he signed in 2009 is worth a whopping $50MM. Rosenthal had the dollar amount confirmed by two different sources. Scioscia can opt out after 2015, and each of the last three seasons is worth $6MM. That's one pricey manager.
  • If Carlos Lee's move to first base becomes permanent, the Astros will have an opening in left field for Houston native Carl Crawford. As Rosenthal points out though, it's pretty hard to envision the Astros outbidding other suitors like the Angels and Red Sox.
  • The Cardinals felt it was so important to get Felipe Lopez out of the clubhouse, that they forfeited the chance to acquire a supplemental round pick for him and simply released the infielder. The Red Sox reaped the benefits of that decision when they signed him for around $50K.

Manager & Coaching Notes: Astros, Cubs, Jays

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Lots of talk about managers and coaches floating around today; let's congregate them all in one place:

  • In this series of tweets, MLB.com's Alyson Footer tells us that the Astros offered their whole coaching staff two-year extensions. All were accepted, aside from Jeff Bagwell, who will decide on his in the offseason after talking more with his family.
  • Astros manager Brad Mills, who is signed through 2011 with a club option for 2012, will have his situation formally addressed this offseason as well. Footer thinks it's a formality, calling Mills "terrific" and saying he'll be in Houston beyond 2012.
  • Bob Brenly is not a candidate to manage the Cubs in 2011, writes MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Brenly doesn't feel that the situation is right for him on a personal or professional level. He will, however, still talk to other clubs.
  • Yankees third base coach Rob Thomson told Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links) that he hasn't heard from the Blue Jays about their managerial opening, and won't discuss it until the season is over. For now, he's staying focused on New York's postseason run.

Felipe Lopez’s Value To Boston

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After rejecting a waiver claim from the Padres, Felipe Lopez instead chose to sign in Boston for the final few games of the season. Earlier today, we learned that Lopez opted for his new destination because his ineligibility for the postseason roster wouldn't have let him feel like part of the team in San Diego.

Alex Speier of WEEI.com informs us that the Red Sox will pay Lopez around the same figure he would've made in San Diego (approximately $50,000) to finish out the season, and also points out that there's more value than simply depth for the end of the season.

Lopez could qualify as a Type B free agent, meaning that if the Red Sox choose to offer him arbitration following the season, and he declines, Boston would net a supplemental round pick. Obviously, Lopez's meager slash line of .231/.310/.340 is hardly anything to write home about, but he also signed for a low base salary of just $1MM in 2010.

Offering arbitration would be a low-cost risk that could pay out high dividends in the form of a supplemental round draft pick in 2011. If Lopez decides that he likes his surroundings in Boston and accepts the deal, he won't see a significant raise and the Red Sox can retain him as a utility player. He may have had a poor season, but he's just a year removed from a .310/.383/.427 season between the Diamondbacks and Brewers in which he was worth 3.9 wins above replacement.

Poll: The Best Record In Baseball

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There's just a little more than a week left in the season, and with the exception of the NL West and NL Wild Card, the playoff teams are all but set. Now it's just a matter of sorting out the seeding.

For most of the season it's been assumed that whoever won the AL East would finish the season with the best record in all of baseball, but suddenly that's not the case any more. The Phillies staked a claimed to best record with last night's win, their 11th in a row to put their season record at 93-61. Both the Rays and Twins sit half-a-game behind them at 92-61, and the Yankees are within a game of Philly with a 92-62 record. No other team is within six games of the Phillies.

Since the NL won the All Star Game and thus clinched home field advantage in the World Series, having the best record in baseball isn't worth much beyond bragging rights. That might not mean anything to the teams, but it certainly means something to us fans. Remember, you can always check out the reverse standings (for draft order purposes) at our page, but it's time to vote…

Which team will finish with the best record in baseball?

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

Blue Jays Notes: Managers, Lewis, Scouting

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The big news in Toronto continues to be the incredible Jose Bautista, who launched his 51st and 52nd homers of the season tonight against Baltimore.  J-Bau aside, here are some other items from MLB's Canadian representative…

  • Bob Melvin and Eric Wedge both interviewed for the manager's position this past week, reports Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.  Jays bench coach Nick Leyva is also scheduled for an upcoming interview.  Don Baylor and Juan Samuel have both expressed interest in the Toronto job after being asked by outgoing manager Cito Gaston.
  • Fred Lewis tells MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that he considers himself "an everyday position player" and doesn't know if he'll be back in Toronto in 2011.  Given the Jays' tentative 2011 starting outfield of Bautista, Vernon Wells and Travis Snider, it's hard to see Lewis taking one of those players' spots, but he could still return in a bench role.
  • Shi Davidi of the Canadian Press reports that the Blue Jays are putting a renewed emphasis on Latin American scouting and development.

Mike Napoli’s Trade Value

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The problem with Mike Napoli, as Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com puts it, is that he "is a 'tweener,' too inconsistent strictly as a hitter, not reliable enough as a catcher."  The Angels might not want to give such a "tweener" an arbitration raise above the $3.6MM that Napoli earned this season, which is why there have been rumors that Los Angeles will try to move Napoli over the winter.  

Given the dearth of power-hitting catchers, many teams would be willing to overlook Napoli's defensive shortcomings for a catcher who has 92 homers in 1778 career plate appearances and a career .839 OPS.  As an everyday player, however, Napoli has his limitations, many of which were on display this season.  Napoli has received a career-high 484 plate appearances thanks to his taking over the lion's share of time at first base after Kendry Morales was lost for the season in May. 

His power notwithstanding, Napoli has an underwhelming .247/.332/.488 slash line entering Friday's action.  These numbers are largely due to the fact that the right-handed hitting Napoli struggles against right-handed pitching; he has a .704 OPS vs. righties this year, as opposed to a whopping 1.082 OPS against southpaws.  (Napoli's career OPS splits are .798 against righties and .962 versus lefties.)  If put back into his comfort zone of facing primarily left-handed pitching, Napoli can be a force.  If a team has a left-handed hitting, defensive-minded platoon partner at catcher, Napoli is an ideal complement.

The catching market is always tough to predict in advance, but here are a few potential trade partners for the Halos…

* Florida.  The Marlins are known to be looking for catchers, though Napoli may be too expensive for their liking.

* New York.  Left-handed hitting Josh Thole will be the Mets' starter next season, so Napoli could be brought in to complement both Thole and another lefty bat (Ike Davis) at first.

* Chicago.  As with the Mets, the White Sox will have a youngster (Tyler Flowers) taking over the starting job.  This is presuming the Sox won't bring back A.J. Pierzynski, though Chicago could also maybe have a hole at first depending on if Paul Konerko signs elsewhere or retires.

* Texas.  Napoli could finally give the Rangers some stability behind the plate, though it's hard to see L.A. making a deal with their division rivals.

* Boston.  The Red Sox made a waiver claim on Napoli in August before the Angels pulled him back, and will need a catcher if Victor Martinez leaves as a free agent.

* Baltimore.  Speaking of Martinez, Napoli could be the Orioles' catcher/first base/DH backup plan should the team's pursuit of Martinez fall short.

If Napoli was dealt, Los Angeles would be left with Jeff Mathis and rookie Hank Conger behind the plate.  Conger, LAA's first-round pick in the 2006 draft, has an .825 OPS in 1705 minor league plate appearances and was rated the 84th overall prospect in baseball by Baseball America's preseason rankings.  Mathis is entering his second arbitration year after earning $1.3MM in 2010, but has had an overall poor season (as outlined by Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times).  The Angels could go into 2011 with a totally overhauled catching corps should they trade Napoli, non-tender Mathis and acquire a new veteran backstop to play alongside Conger.

Odds & Ends: Miller, Laird, Fielder, V-Mart

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As the Giants pick up a major win over the Rockies tonight, here are some news items….

Dodgers Notes: Gibbons, McCourts, Lilly

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Some news items as the Dodgers do battle with the D'Backs tonight…

  • Jay Gibbons is expected to be re-signed by L.A., writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.  Gibbons may get some interest from Japanese teams, but it seems likely the California native will stay close to home.
  • There has been no settlement yet in the ongoing McCourt divorce case, tweets the Los Angeles Times' Dylan Hernandez.  The trial continues on Monday.
  • The Dodgers could be setting themselves up for a future bad contract if they re-sign Ted Lilly to a long-term deal, warns Jon Weisman of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

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