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Discussion: Adrian Beltre

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Last month, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith examined some potential suitors for Adrian Beltre's services this offseason.  The 31-year-old should have no shortage of opportunities coming his way this winter after his resurgent 2010 campaign in Boston.  It seemed unlikely before this season that the former Dodger and Mariner would reach the necessary 640 plate appearances to activate a $10MM player option for 2011, writes Daniel Barbarisi of The Providence Journal, but with a month to go and just over 100 plate appearances needed, it now seems probable.

Many people in the baseball world, including Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter), believe that the Scott Boras client will decline the player option without much thought.   After all, Beltre could land a three- or four-year deal on the open market this winter.  Our own Tim Dierkes writes that the veteran may start the bidding at about $50MM over four years.

Will the third baseman rake in more than $10MM per season on a multi-year deal?

Click here to take the poll, and here to view the results.

Odds & Ends: Wakamatsu, Lilly, Delcarmen, Rays

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Links for Thursday night..

Dodgers Will Seek Big Bat, Catcher This Offseason

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The Dodgers hope to lure a bopper to Los Angeles this winter in order to shore up the middle of their lineup, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.  Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has already acknowledged that adding a big bat will be a top priority this season.

There are some intriguing offensive options that will hit the open market this season including Adam Dunn, Carl Crawford, and a trio of former Dodgers in Jayson Werth, Paul Konerko, and possibly Adrian Beltre.  While those players will all come with hefty price tags, the Dodgers will have as much as $38MM coming off of their payroll at season's end.  That's money that the club could use in free agency though Gurnick writes that Colletti is more likely to get a power hitter via trade.

Gurnick also writes that Los Angeles needs a starting catcher, adding that Russell Martin was a question mark even before breaking his hip.  The backstop has seen his offensive production drop significantly in the last two years, hitting just .249/.350/.330 with 12 homers.

Nationals Notes: Hudson, Morgan, Norris

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Let's take a look at some Nationals tidbits courtesy of MLB.com's Bill Ladson..

  • Recently, Ladson said that he would be writing about the Nats possibly signing Orlando Hudson for the third year in a row.  However, the Nats beat writer now believes that the club has its second baseman of the future in Danny Espinosa.  Pat Corrales, the team's senior assistant in player development, believes that the 23-year-old is the best all-around player in the organization.  Espinosa was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse in early August and has posted a .295/.349/.463 slash line in 24 games.
  • One reader asks if the Nationals can find a way to get beleaguered outfielder Nyjer Morgan's head back into the game.  Ladson isn't sure why Morgan has been struggling this year but says that he could see Washington dealing him this offseason.  Unsurprisingly, however, he doesn't envision the club getting much in return.  People in the organization have said that he should be a fourth outfielder, an idea which likely wouldn't sit well with the 30-year-old.
  • Even after acquiring Wilson Ramos from the Twins for Matt Capps, Ladson says that the Nats should hold on to fellow catcher Derek Norris.  The Nats have historically had trouble with their depth at catcher and could use the security of having Norris in the fold.  The former fourth-round pick was ranked second in the Nats' farm system by Baseball America heading into this year, ahead of Espinosa, Drew Storen, and Ian Desmond.

Odds & Ends: Huff, Marlins, Sampson, D’Backs

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Links for Thursday, exactly ten years after the Angels signed Ervin Santana as an amateur free agent…

  • Aubrey Huff is enjoying his time in San Francisco, writes Chris Haft of MLB.com.  Huff, who signed a one-year, $3MM deal with the Giants in the offseason, will be a free agent at season's end.
  • The Marlins still consider Bobby Valentine a candidate for their managerial opening and Valentine didn't rule out the possibility of re-starting talks with the team, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). 
  • The Astros announced that they removed Chris Sampson from their 40-man roster. He has three days to accept a minor league assignment or opt for free agency. Sampson told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that he realizes his time with the Astros is likely over.
  • The Mariners say they knew little about Josh Lueke's history with the law when they acquired the pitching prospect in the Cliff Lee trade, but both the Rangers and former Mariners pitching coach Rick Adair have different versions of the story, as Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times explains.
  • Unsure where your team is going to pick in next year's draft? Check out our reverse standings page, which we link to under 'Features' on the right side of the page.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the D’Backs plan to speak to De Jon Watson, the Dodgers assistant GM for player development, about their permanent GM job. Also in the running, some familiar names: Jerry Dipoto, D’Backs assistant GM Peter Woodfork, Kevin Towers, Damon Oppenheimer and Logan White.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic believes Chien-Ming Wang, who signed for $2MM plus incentives, is a better comparable for Brandon Webb than Rich Harden, Tim Hudson, or the other pitchers his agent compared him to. 
  • Chone Figgins told Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times that he doesn't regret signing in Seattle.
  • Rookie pitcher Hisanori Takahashi can become a free agent after the season, as David Waldstein of the New York Times reports. He and the Mets haven't started negotiating an extension, but there's mutual interest in one.

The White Sox’ 2011 Rotation

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The White Sox have five solid starters under team control for 2011 and no impact prospects ready to take over a rotation spot, so Chicago heads into this offseason with a clear sense of Ozzie Guillen's options for next year. Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Edwin Jackson can all be retained for 2011 and all but Danks are already under contract.

Freddy Garcia's contract is up after the season, but he has said he'd like to return to the White Sox. The team doesn't have much MLB-ready pitching in the upper minors, so bringing Garcia back on a one-year deal would make some sense.

The White Sox have called on 27-year-old right-hander Carlos Torres to make occasional starts this year and last year, but he doesn't project as a regular starter. Baseball America explained before the season that Torres "profiles as a long reliever/ sixth starter" and that's how the White Sox have used him. His major league ERA (6.21) is high, but his minor league numbers are more respectable (3.52 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.0 BB/9).

Chris Sale, the team's 2010 first rounder, has yet to start a pro game, but could be converted back to starting. Sale would need minor experience out of the rotation before starting in the majors, but he could eventually join the team's rotation.

It's not hard to explain why the White Sox don't have much in the way of starting pitching prospects. They have traded a number of young pitchers away since last year, including John Ely, Daniel Hudson and Clayton Richard. However if the White Sox had held onto those pitchers, they wouldn't have Jackson, who has been tremendous for Chicago, or Peavy.

The White Sox could make more trades, of course, but their rotation appears set for 2011. They have to determine whether to sign Garcia or another similar pitcher, but they'll be able to focus on other parts of the team this offseason. That's a good thing, since their catcher, DH and first baseman hit free agency and their entire bullpen could be in flux. 

Marlins Sign Mike Rivera

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The Marlins signed former big league catcher Mike Rivera and assigned him to Triple A, according to MLB.com's transactions page. Rivera, who turns 34 later this month, has big league experience with the Tigers, Padres and Brewers. He last played in the majors in 2009 and spent most of this season at AA for the Dodgers.

Rivera posted a .257/.384/.377 line at Chattanooga, showing more patience than he did in his big league career (.244/.305/.383 MLB line). The Marlins don't have much depth behind the plate, since John Baker has an injured elbow and Ronny Paulino has been suspended for PED use. We heard last night that they were looking to sign a catcher.

Stark On Lee, Prince, Braves, Nationals

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ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark debated the pros and cons of moving back the trade deadline with a number of MLB general managers. The group was divided on whether to move the deadline to August, but Stark suggests we’re not likely to see MLB make such changes any time soon. Here are some more hot stove updates from around the league:

  • One source told Stark that Cliff Lee will follow the money this winter: “Cliff would go to Siberia if they offered him the biggest contract."
  • Rival teams expect the Brewers to look into trading Prince Fielder this winter. One executive told Stark that the Brewers were “shocked” not to see more interest in Prince before the trade deadline.
  • Braves GM Frank Wren has often jokingly told Billy Wagner that it’s too soon for him to retire. The lefty maintains that his playing days are over after 2010.
  • Wren says the Braves are assuming that Chipper Jones, who is under contract next year, will be back in 2011.
  • Nationals president Stan Kasten told Stark that Washington will be "more aggressive than we've ever been" this offseason. Presumably that means they’ll try to re-sign Adam Dunn and offer Carl Crawford a contract.

A-Rod Leaves Boras

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Alex Rodriguez sent a letter to Scott Boras 45 days ago to inform the agent that he no longer requires his representation, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported the news and Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports soon confirmed the report. Pittsburgh attorney Jay Reisinger and Washington lawyer Jim Sharp advise Rodriguez, according to USA Today. But as Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out on Twitter, they are not his baseball agents.

Boras negotiated Rodriguez's ten-year $252MM deal and his ten-year $275MM deal, the two biggest contracts in baseball history. Rodriguez's current contract expires when he's 42, so he won't need to negotiate another deal for a while. Here is MLBTR's list of Scott Boras clients.

Elias Rankings Update

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After the season the Elias Sports Bureau will take all players over the 2009-10 period, divide them into five groups for each league, and rank them based on various statistics.  Then each player will be labeled a Type A, B, or none.  Those designations and the possible accompanying arbitration offers determine draft pick compensation (click here for a refresher).

Eddie Bajek has reverse-engineered the Elias rankings, and he's providing that information exclusively at MLB Trade Rumors.  Here's a look at how the players rank for the period beginning with the 2009 season running through August 31st, 2010.  The Google spreadsheet below has separate tabs for each position group.  You can also go directly to the Google spreadsheet here and download it in Excel here.  Our last set of Elias projections is here, in case you want to see what changed.

A few special notes from Eddie this week.  He had to enter rosters by hand, so please leave a comment if you find an error.  Anyone not on an active roster or the disabled list by August 31st is ineligible – Brad Hawpe is one such example.  Also, Eddie included extra tabs for NL 1B and NL OF this week showing how the calculations are done for those groups.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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