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Free Agent Stock Watch: Adam LaRoche

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Earlier in the summer, Adam LaRoche and the Diamondbacks had preliminary discussions about an extension, but that was before the D’Backs hired current GM Kevin Towers. It’s still possible that the D’Backs work out an extension with LaRoche under Towers, but it seems more likely that LaRoche will hit free agency (assuming both sides don’t exercise his $7.5MM mutual option for 2011). Here’s the outlook for LaRoche this offseason:

The Pros

  • He’s a consistently productive hitter, and has now combined 20 or more homers with an OPS of at least .775 in all seven of the seasons he’s played since becoming a starter.
  • LaRoche has generally stayed healthy, averaging 145 games per season in that seven-year stretch.
  • As a likely Type B free agent, he won’t cost a draft pick.
  • He doesn’t turn 31 until November, so his skills probably aren’t about to fade.

The Cons

  • Though he has traditionally been a strong second half player, LaRoche is slumping badly and has just three extra base hits this month.
  • He’ll join a group of free agent first basemen that includes Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, Carlos Pena, Lance Berkman, Derrek Lee and Lyle Overbay. Teams looking for first basemen will have lots of selection this winter.
  • LaRoche drew limited interest from other clubs when he cleared waivers this summer.

The Verdict

LaRoche signed for $6MM last year after hitting .277/.355/.488 with 25 homers. He now has a .260/.321/.460 line with 23 homers and a career high 93 RBI. The numbers are similar this year and the market remains flush with first basemen, so a similar one-year $6MM deal seems likely for LaRoche.

Astros Claim Cesar Carrillo

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The Astros claimed Cesar Carrillo from the Padres, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros confirmed the move via press release and announced that Carrillo will not be joining the big league team. 

This marks the second time this month that the Padres have lost the pitcher to a waiver claim after designating him for assignment. The Phillies claimed Carrillo on September 9th, but the Padres re-claimed him only to designate him for assignment a second time.

This time the Astros pounced on the 2005 first rounder. In 27 Triple A starts this year (all in the Padres organization), Carrillo had a 5.60 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. The 26-year-old debuted on last year’s Padres team but has not returned to the majors in 2010.

The Astros designated Edwin Maysonet for assignment to make room for Carrillo. Maysonet, a 28-year-old middle infielder, has not appeared in the major leagues this year and he has a .637 OPS in the minors.

Olney On D’Backs, Hinch, Martin, Werth

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Now that the Diamondbacks have hired Kevin Towers to be their new GM, their priority is to assemble an improved bullpen, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Olney says it’s likely that the Diamondbacks will part ways with one or two of their hitters this offseason, because their lineup strikes out so much. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors:

  • Former Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch joined the Padres scouting department because he believes they have a “good pro scouting staff in place with some building to do.”
  • Rival GMs believe Russell Martin will have some trade value if the Dodgers decide to move him (Twitter link).
  • Multiple talent evaluators tell Olney that they see Jayson Werth as a distant second to Carl Crawford among free agent outfielders (Twitter link).

Diamondbacks Name Kevin Towers GM

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The Diamondbacks officially announced that Kevin Towers will be the team's new executive vice president and general manager. Towers gets a two-year deal plus options that could keep him in Arizona for longer, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown, who broke news of the agreement. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Towers won't earn close to $2MM, as he did with San Diego, but escalators could boost the value of his salary (Twitter link).

Towers, who now works for the Yankees, took over the Padres after the 1995 season and led the team until about a year ago, when he was fired. Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio reported this afternoon that Arizona offered Towers the GM job (Twitter link).

Interim GM Jerry Dipoto will not return to the Diamondbacks.

Heyman On Crawford, Soriano, Werth, Mets

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Teams are locking young stars up to long-term deals, so this year's free agent market looks less impressive than it could have. The result, according to one AL executive who spoke to Jon Heyman of SI.com, is a “thin class” behind Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth, Adrian Beltre and Adam Dunn. Heyman polled two agents and an executive on the earning potential of a number of free agents. Here are some results, plus other noteworthy rumors.

  • The executive and one agent predicted Carl Crawford will sign for $120MM over seven years.
  • One agent predicted that Derrek Lee would sign for $24MM over two years. The others predicted a one-year deal worth $4-6MM. Lee’s recent struggles and history as a middle-of-the-order hitter make him hard to project.
  • Agent Scott Boras called Rafael Soriano, who is not his client, “one of the top closers in the game.”
  • Boras continued to link Jayson Werth to Matt Holliday, who signed for $120MM, rather than Jason Bay, who signed for $66MM. "Why not compare [Werth] to Holliday? He's had a platform year like Holliday, and he's a better defender than Holliday,'' Boras said.
  • The Mets won't reach out to Pat Gillick if and when they look to replace GM Omar Minaya. Gillick once said he wouldn’t work for chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, who has a reputation as a difficult boss.

Rockies Won’t Acquire Starter

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The Rockies won't acquire a starter for the stretch run, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Jason Hammel is dealing with an extreme case of dead arm, but Colorado can rely on 25-year-old swingman Esmil Rogers to start. Rogers is striking out nearly a batter per inning and has walked just 3.0 batters per nine innings, though he has a 5.29 ERA.

After yesterday's loss, the Rockies are 2.5 games out of a playoff berth. They considered trading for a starter to reinforce the staff, even though no acquisition would have been eligible for the postseason. Colorado hosts the NL West-leading Giants for three games this weekend.

Marlins Rumors: Uggla, Catchers, Managers

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The Marlins don’t have a permanent manager and Dan Uggla is nearing free agency so Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest and GM Michael Hill have some franchise-defining decisions to make this offseason. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has the details:

  • Dan Uggla’s representation has asked for a deal worth about five years and $58MM, but the Marlins are offering fewer years and less money. They’d prefer to work out a three-year deal and are offering just over $8MM per season. Uggla, who will be eligible for free agency after 2011, makes nearly that much this year and he’ll earn a raise through arbitration next year, so the Marlins don’t appear to be offering much of a deal.
  • The Marlins say they would like to add a top catcher and they’ll consider alternatives to John Baker, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Yorvit Torrealba, Bengie Molina, John Buck and Miguel Olivo will be considerations for Florida if they hit the open market, but Victor Martinez probably won’t be a fit. The Marlins could also have interest in Jason Varitek and Rod Barajas as part-time options.
  • Rafael Soriano’s expected salary demands have priced him out of the Marlins’ plans.
  • The Marlins will consider Yankees bench coach Tony Pena, Padres first base coach Rick Renteria and Padres bench coach Ted Simmons as they search for their next manager. Interim manager Edwin Rodriguez could keep his job and it doesn’t seem likely that the team will resume talks with Bobby Valentine, who was once considered the frontrunner for the gig.
  • The Marlins would have interest in Ozzie Guillen if he were available, but the White Sox skipper is under contract in Chicago next year. However, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that Guillen wants assurances that the White Sox want him to be their long-term manager. White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf would prefer to keep Guillen around than search for a new manager, so Guillen could get the security he’s looking for.

Non-Tender Candidate: Scott Hairston

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As we discussed on the weekend, the four-player January trade between the Athletics and Padres included at least one 2010 non-tender candidate, in Kevin Kouzmanoff. For their part though, the A's gave up a player who appears even likelier to be non-tendered this offseason: Scott Hairston.

When the Padres re-acquired Hairston last winter, he was coming off one of his finest seasons in the bigs. Splitting time between San Diego and Oakland, who traded for him last July, Hairston hit .265/.307/.456 overall, with the better half of his season coming in San Diego (.299/.358/.533). Unfortunately for Hairston and the Padres, his second stint with the club hasn't been as successful. The 30-year-old battled a hamstring injury earlier in the season, and has hit just .215/.298/.353 in 329 plate appearances. Hairston's struggles can't be blamed on his pitcher-friendly home park either; he has an ugly .193/.283/.320 slash line on the road.

Hairston is earning $2.45MM this year and has seen the Padres' outfield get a little more crowded with the acquisition of Ryan Ludwick. Both players will enter their final season of arbitration eligibility in 2011, and Hairston's chances of being tendered a contract might depend in part on what the Padres do with Ludwick. Given Ludwick's larger 2010 salary ($5.45MM) and the fact that his production for the Padres (.239/.330/.368) hasn't been much better than Hairston's, it's conceivable that the team could decide to part ways with the former Cardinal.

Even with Ludwick out of the picture, however, Hairston would be lucky to be tendered a contract. The Padres may prefer to turn to a cheaper outfield option rather than spending $2.5MM+ to retain Hairston for another year. Click here to vote on the Padres' decision, and click here to view the results.

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Towers, Phillies, Torre, Lee

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Tuesday night links, as Scott Baker makes his first start for the Twins in nearly three weeks….

  • Jim Hendry will officially interview Ryne Sandberg for the Cubs' manager job, reports Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago. According to Levine's sources, the club also plans to talk to Pat Listach, Bob Melvin, and Bob Brenly.
  • A "reliable source" told Jim Bowden (Twitter link) that the D'Backs are set to offer Kevin Towers their GM job. Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona says no job offer has been made yet, though the team met with Towers again today (Twitter link).
  • Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly reports (via Twitter) that the Phillies have signed Franklyn Zavala, a 16-year-old Dominican pitcher, for a $330K bonus.
  • Understandably, Joe Torre's comments about the possibility of managing the Mets didn't sit well with current manager Jerry Manuel, as Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger writes. Torre apologized for his comments, telling Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that he's "closing the door on managing the Mets – and probably everybody else" (Twitter links).
  • Astros manager Brad Mills avoided the question of whether Carlos Lee would play more first base in 2011, says MLB.com's Pete Kerzel. Alyson Footer, the team's director of social media, notes in a pair of tweets that first base is Lee's strongest position and she'd like to see him there next year.
  • Pat Gillick won't rule out taking another general manager job if the right situation arises, writes Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
  • Craig Counsell tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link) that he'll be back in 2011, either for the Brewers or another club.

Cubs Designate Mitch Atkins For Assignment

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The Cubs have designated Mitch Atkins for assignment, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (via Twitter). The DFA was part of a series of moves in Chicago, as the team also placed Tyler Colvin and Geovany Soto on the disabled list.

Atkins, who turns 25 next Friday, appeared in five games for the Cubs this year. The right-hander struck out a batter per inning, but recorded a 6.30 ERA and allowed 18 baserunners in just ten innings pitched. Atkins had more success for Triple-A Iowa, with a 3.63 ERA over 106.2 IP.

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