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Cafardo’s Latest: Konerko, V-Mart, Wakefield, Downs

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In his latest column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo looks at the career earnings for some of the biggest names in baseball, with an eye toward the offseason. Cafardo wonders if players in good situations like Adrian Beltre and Paul Konerko would give their respective clubs a slight discount, or if they'll pursue the most money possible on the open market. Here are some other highlights from Cafardo's piece:

  • Konerko negotiated his last contract primarily with White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, and Cafardo wouldn't be surprised to see Reinsdorf step in again to keep Konerko in Chicago.
  • Although they don't love his defense behind the plate, the Marlins are a team that will be interested in signing Victor Martinez this winter.
  • A National League scout could see Tim Wakefield succeeding on the mound in the NL for another couple years, but questions whether Wakefield would be able to hit and run the bases, as the Senior Circuit requires. Cafardo indicates that the 44-year-old is frustrated with his role in Boston.
  • Cafardo predicts that the Red Sox will sign Scott Downs this winter.
  • As of Friday, Kevin Towers had only had one conversation with D'Backs president Derrick Hall about the team's GM opening, according to a source. It was on Friday that we heard Towers was the frontrunner for the Arizona job.

Odds & Ends: Backe, Ellis, Crisp, Macha, Holliday

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Some links to check out as the Rockies try to win their ninth straight…

Mike Lowell To Retire After The Season

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We've heard conflicting reports about the future of Red Sox first/third baseman Mike Lowell all season long, but the former Marlin put it all to rest today when he announced that he will indeed retire after the season. John Tomase of The Boston Herald provides the following…

“I’m retiring,” Lowell said. “I just don’t want to make it a song and dance because I don’t think that’s necessary, but if someone needs something official, yeah, I’m going to retire. This is going to be my last year.”

Lowell, 36, said that he still believes he can still play and platoon somewhere, but he doesn't enjoy it and is not willing to make the transition. He also indicated that staying around to compile numbers was never in his plans. 

Plagued by hip issues over the last several years, Lowell has hit just .231/.297/.357 in 202 plate appearances this year, and lately he's lost playing time to younger players. A career .279/.341/.464 hitter, Lowell will retire as the Marlins' all-time leader in doubles (241), RBI (578), total bases (1,641), and extra base hits (387). According to Baseball-Reference.com, he's earned more than $76MM in his career. 

Aramis Ramirez Undecided About 2011 Option

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Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez is in the middle of his worst full season as a big leaguer, but that hasn't been enough to convince him to exercise his $14.6MM player option for 2011. Ramirez told Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune that he's still unsure if he will pick up the option and return to the Cubs or use this as an opportunity to become a free agent for the first time in his career. 

"That's going to be after the season," said Ramirez, referring to when he'll decide what to do with his option. "I don't know exactly when. I haven't talked to my agent about it. That's going to be in the offseason. They've got a lot of other things they have to address. I'm still under contract, so we'll see."

Ramirez said that the new manager, whoever that ends up being, will not be a factor in his decision. He also went out of his way to say that the team has more to worry about than his option, specifically mentioning first base, second base, and the pitching staff.

The 32-year-old has been one of the game's most prolific sluggers over the last half-decade, but he's bottomed out at .243/.297/.454 this year. It's worth noting that he's recovered from a brutally slow start to hit .316/.359/.632 since July 6th, so it's probably too early to write his career obituary just yet.

Ramirez is in the final season of a five-year, $75MM deal he signed after the 2006 season. If he picks up the option, the Cubs would then hold a $16MM option for his services in 2012. Even with his strong second half and track record, it's hard to imagine Ramirez getting $14.6MM for one season on the open market.

Athletics Pick Up Bob Geren’s 2011 Option

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The Athletics have picked up manager Bob Geren's option for the 2011 season, tweets The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser. An official announcement was made a short while ago.

Geren has served as Oakland's manager since 2007 and owns a 296-329 career record. He is enjoying his team's greatest success this season at 70-70, seven-and-a-half games back of the Rangers in the AL West. The A's gave Geren a new one-year deal last March after picking up the option on the original three-year deal he signed with the club.

Rosenthal’s Full Count: Mets, Gonzalez, Tigers, A’s, Mazzaro

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has his latest Full Count video up, so let's dive in:

  • Mets assistant general manager John Ricco won't replace Omar Minaya as general manager if Minaya is removed from the position. The Mets feel that Ricco is not yet ready for that role.
  • Padres owner Jeff Moorad told Rosenthal concretely that the Padres will not trade Adrian Gonzalez this winter. He could, of course, still be moved during the season if things don't go well for San Diego.
  • The Pads would be willing to give Gonzalez a three-year deal beyond 2011, but the slugger can certainly do better than that on the free agent market. The Padres won't be able to stay in talks if Gonzalez pursues a deal similar to Mark Teixeira's eight-year, $180MM deal.
  • The Tigers will have the money to pursue one or more of the market's top free agents, such as Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn, and Jayson Werth. They can also afford to take on a great deal of salary in trades should they choose to go down that road.
  • The A's still don't know if they'll end up in San Jose, which makes their financial future difficult to predict.
  • Oakland's difficulty in luring free agent position players leads Rosenthal to suggest a trade of Vin Mazzaro in order to acquire the talent they're seeking.

Nats “Unlikely” To Exercise Kennedy’s Option

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After missing out on Orlando Hudson to the Twins last winter, the Nationals turned their focus to Adam Kennedy, signing him to an affordable $1.25MM deal. Washington holds a $2MM option for 2011 with a $500K buyout, but MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes that it's "unlikely" Kennedy returns to the Nats in 2011. He says he'll talk with GM Mike Rizzo about his future soon.

Kennedy's offensive success in 2009 (.289/.348/.410) hasn't carried over to the 2010 season (.252/.321/.335), but his defense has returned to form and matches up more closely with his career UZR/150 mark of 7.9 at second base. In total, he's still been worth almost a full win (0.9 WAR) in limited playing time.

The combination of Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa, who has impressed in his debut this season, has likely spelled the end of Kennedy's time in D.C., however (speculation on my part) at $2MM he could be retained if he's willing to accept a bench role. He's seen time at second, third, and first base over the past two seasons, and still runs fairly well. The Nationals traded one utility infielder, Cristian Guzman, to the Rangers last month, so there could be an opening to fill that role.

If he does enter free agency, Kennedy will join a second base class that's once again headlined by Hudson, but doesn't feature any elite names. He'd likely be looking at a contract similar to the one he signed in Washington.

2011 Rotations

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We've been looking ahead to next year's rotations for the past month or so and here are the results:

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Poll: The NL West

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The Padres had been in sole possession of first place in the NL West since June 11th, but they now find themselves tied with the Giants after falling to their rivals from the Bay 1-0 last night. It was San Diego's 12th loss in 15 games, and San Francisco's sixth win in seven games. A lead that once swelled to six-and-a-half games disappeared in just 15 days.

The Pads are going to have to continue to rely on their extreme pitching and defense approach (MLB best 3.34 ERA and +47.3 UZR) while the Giants have benefited greatly from in-season additions like Pat Burrell (134 OPS+ with SF) and Buster Posey (129). It's worth noting that the Padres do have two games at hand, but it might not matter when the two clubs meet for three games in San Francisco for the season's final series.

Of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the Rockies, who have won eight in a row and 15 of their last 19 as part of their annual second half surge. They're now just two-and-a-half back in the division after being 11 games back 18 days ago. It's going to be a mad dash to finish for the NL West crown, which brings us to today's question.

Who will win the NL West?

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

Odds & Ends: Hinch, Soriano, Ellis, Tigers, Ludwick

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Links for Friday, before the Giants and Padres continue an immensely important series…

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