Odds & Ends: D’Backs, Youkilis, Mets, Cubs
Links for Tuesday, 16 years after the Giants signed Yorvit Torrealba as an amateur free agent. Torrealba, a longtime Rockie, is a key part of the Padres team that's barely holding off San Francisco and Colorado.
- Chase Gharrity of Baseball Prospectus explains that relievers such as Randy Choate and Carlos Villanueva could help the D'Backs in 2011.
- Kevin Youkilis told Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com that he's willing to play first or third in 2011.
- Ed Price of AOL FanHouse confirms that Omar Minaya is likely out as Mets GM after the season. The Mets are likely to bring in an experienced GM, instead of promoting assistant GM John Ricco.
- The front office isn't the only unpredictable part of the 2011 Mets. Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog doesn't think anyone but David Wright, Jason Bay, Johan Santana, Jon Niese and Mike Pelfrey have guaranteed spots on next year's team.
- The Cubs will likely interview former Diamondbacks skipper Bob Melvin for their managerial job, according to ESPN.com’s Tim Kurkjian.
A’s Designate Jeff Lyman For Assignment
The A’s designated Jeff Lyman for assignment to create space on the 40-man roster for Eric Sogard, according to the team. The A’s also recalled Vin Mazzaro, Josh Donaldson and Chris Carter.
The A's claimed Lyman, a 23-year-old right-hander, off of waivers from the Braves in July. The 2005 second rounder struggled with control in Oakland's system, as he has throughout his minor league career. Lyman posted a 3.32 ERA last year, but in 2010, his ERA ballooned to 6.50 in 63.2 innings. Though he has started occasionally, Lyman is mostly a reliever. This year he posted 7.4 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 at three stops in the upper minors.
Rosenthal On Rangers, Helton, D’Backs
Ozzie Guillen is under contract through 2012, but he would be a good fit in Miami, if you ask Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Marlins want a “passionate and fiery” manager, and Guillen certainly qualifies. Here are the rest of Rosenthal’s rumors:
- So far, the Rangers have not engaged GM Jon Daniels in serious discussions about an extension. To be fair, the team is in the midst of a pennant race and may prefer to discuss an extension later. Daniels has maintained that he wants to stay in Texas, though he can leave because of the team’s recent ownership change.
- The Rockies will “almost certainly” want to complement Todd Helton with a right-handed hitting first baseman this offseason. Troy Renck of the Denver Post agrees (Twitter link).
- Padres hitting coach Randy Ready may be a candidate to manage the Diamondbacks if they hire Kevin Towers as their next GM.
Nine Teams Likely To Add Starters For 2011
Some teams can relax because their 2011 rotations are more or less set, but that's not the case for every club. That's why the nine teams below will be eyeing the starters that become available through trades and free agency. They'll either have to re-sign their own free agents or acquire a starter if they'd prefer not to rely on younger in-house options.
- Yankees – Javier Vazquez and Andy Pettitte hit free agency.
- Tigers – Jeremy Bonderman is a free agent (Detroit could hand Andy Oliver a starting job).
- Mariners – Erik Bedard (mutual option) and Ian Snell (club option) are likely gone and the M's may want rotation depth.
- Brewers – Dave Bush and Doug Davis (mutual option) are eligible for free agency.
- Cardinals – Are the Cards going to enter next season with Kyle Lohse and an inexperienced starter at the back of the rotation? They'll presumably keep an eye out for cheap rotation candidates.
- Dodgers – Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda and Vicente Padilla hit free agency.
- Rockies – Jeff Francis (club option) and Jorge de la Rosa could hit free agency.
- Diamondbacks – Rodrigo Lopez hits free agency.
- Padres – Jon Garland (mutual option), Kevin Correia and Chris Young (club option) may hit free agency.
Nine Rotations Already Set For 2011
There are no sure things when it comes to starting pitching, but some teams are better-positioned than others for 2011. These nine clubs don't have to worry about Cliff Lee or any other starters this winter. As long as their pitchers stay healthy, they'll enter 2011 with strong rotations one through five.
These aren't necessarily the best rotations (or else you'd see the Cardinals here), they're the groups that will require the least maintenance this offseason. Also note that all the players below are under team control next year and that some of the teams below (Rays, Braves) have more than five viable options.
- Red Sox – Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka
- Rays – David Price, James Shields, Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis
- White Sox – Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Edwin Jackson, Gavin Floyd
- A's – Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Dallas Braden, Gio Gonzalez, Vin Mazzaro
- Angels – Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana, Joel Pineiro, Scott Kazmir
- Phillies – Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Kyle Kendrick
- Braves – Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Derek Lowe, Mike Minor
- Cubs – Ryan Dempster, Tom Gorzelanny, Carlos Silva, Randy Wells, Carlos Zambrano
- Giants – Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner
- Honorable mentions to the Blue Jays, Astros and Marlins.
Aramis Ramirez “Staying” In Chicago
Aramis Ramirez will be back in Chicago next year. The third baseman had suggested he might not return, but he told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday that he’s not considering opting out of his contract.
''I'm staying here,'' he said. ''Put it that way.''
Ramirez has a 2011 player option for $14.6MM and the Cubs will have to pay him $2MM more even if they buy him out in 2012. That's a lot of money, likely more than Ramirez would be able to find as a free agent, but the Cubs are getting a player who has recovered from a slow start to hit well in the second half. Ramirez had a .550 OPS heading into July, but has since posted a .940 mark and now has 22 home runs in total.
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Mets, Harang,
Here are some links to check out on a very muggy Monday night in New York..
- So far, it appears that the Cardinals are getting more than their money's worth when it comes to Matt Holliday, says Jack Moore of Fangraphs.
- Arizona will begin their GM search in earnest on Tuesday when they interview Dodgers' scouting director Logan White, writes Jack Magruder of FoxSportsArizona.com.
- Bill Madden of the New York Daily News wants to see the Mets hire Kevin Towers as GM and Lee Mazzilli as manager.
- A reader asked John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter) why the club didn't designate Aaron Harang for assignment instead of Enerio Del Rosario. Fay believes that it has to do with when the Reds want to pay the starter his buyout of $2MM.
- Toronto manager Cito Gaston isn't having second thoughts about retiring at season's end, writes Pete Kerzel for MLB.com.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com that picking up reliever Chris Leroux was a moderate risk worth taking.
Poll: Will Boston Re-Sign Beltre?
Earlier this evening, Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal wondered if Adrian Beltre will figure into Boston's plans this offseason. The third baseman, who will earn just $10MM for his outstanding play in 2010, is seeking a multi-year commitment in his next deal. Beltre has exceeded all expectations this year by turning in a .326/.369/.563 slash line with 27 homers and a strong defensive play (15.1 UZR/150) at third.
The Red Sox would obviously love to have Beltre back but he may very well command more money and years on the open market than they would be willing to yield. Tim Dierkes believes that the Scott Boras client may seek $50MM over four-years at the outset of this offseason. And, as Ben Nicholson-Smith pointed out, there are plenty of potential suitors who could up the bidding for his services. If Theo Epstein & Co. feel that Beltre is too rich for their blood, they could turn over the third baseman gig to either Jed Lowrie or Kevin Youkilis (if a new first baseman is found). Of course, there would still be a void to fill in the absence of the 31-year-old Beltre.
Will Boston re-sign Adrian Beltre?
Hisashi Iwakuma Wants To Join MLB
It seems that Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma wants to try and head to MLB via posting after the season, according to Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times (via Twitter). According to Patrick Newman in a piece for Fangraphs, the Rakuten Eagles standout is the second best MLB pitching prospect in NPB.
The 29-year-old right-hander is described by Newman as a "fairly standard fastball/slider/forkball" pitcher who can reach 95 mph on the gun but typically stays around 90-91 mph. Iwakuma has a rather lanky frame, standing at 6"3' and weighing just 170 pounds.
While Rakuten won't be eager to part with their star hurler, he is set to be eligible for international free agency after 2011. Newman tells MLBTR that the club may find it more palatable to cash in on him rather than lose him for nothing.
Torre Would Support Padilla’s Return
While Joe Torre's future with the Dodgers is still uncertain, he told the press that he would recommend bringing starter Vicente Padilla back next season, according to Richard Dean in a piece for MLB.com.
"When we got him about a year ago, there were so many stories that followed him," said the 70-year-old skipper. "But he's been a good teammate. I don't think there's anybody who doesn't like what he does. It's tough to find stuff like he has. When he gets out there he can still do it. He knows what he's doing. He has not been a [negative] issue baseball-wise. I like him."
Padilla hooked on with the Dodgers with two months remaining in 2009 and re-upped with the club over the winter, signing a one-year, $5.025MM deal. The soon-to-be 33-year-old was released by Texas who reportedly considered him to be a bad teammate. Torre's backing suggests that there has been no such issue in Los Angeles.
The righthander missed a great deal of time in 2010, turning in just 16 starts. In 95 innings of work, he registered a 4.07 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9, numbers that are a step above his career averages. Padilla was scheduled to return to action yesterday, giving him a chance to audition himself, but will instead be shut down for the year due to a neck injury. He will be joined in free agency by fellow Dodgers starters Hiroki Kuroda and Ted Lilly.