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Marlins Inquired On Octavio Dotel

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The Marlins have asked the Pirates about Octavio Dotel, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. Marlins relievers have combined for a 4.66 ERA and though Dotel's 4.55 mark doesn't appear much better, he is a reliable arm who still strikes more than one batter out per inning (though he is walking a characteristically high number of hitters this year). Dotel has 17 saves, while the Marlins have blown 12.

The 37-41 Marlins trail the Braves by 8.5 games in the NL East. They opened the season with a $47MM payroll, even after they were prompted to raise their payroll, so adding Dotel's $3.25MM salary will be a consideration. A trade wouldn't necessarily mean a payroll increase, though; the Rangers and Giants showed this week that payroll-neutral deals are possible. The Pirates' $4.5MM option for 2011 becomes mutual if he is traded, so the Marlins would not have the rights to him after this season if they made a deal. 

The Marlins have been looking for relievers for months and their search recently led them back to Armando Benitez. There's no indication that the Marlins are serious about acquiring Dotel, or even that they have decided to be buyers this summer. They and others teams considering relievers may pursue arms such as Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, Kevin Gregg, Matt Capps, D.J. Carrasco, Kerry Wood and Joakim Soria this month.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Dawson, Ahrens, Rays, Lee

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On this date in 1995, Dodgers right-hander Hideo Nomo became the first Japanese-born player in Major League history to be selected for the All Star Game. Nomo, then a 26-year-old rookie, took the big leagues by storm with his tornado windup and by posting a 1.99 ERA and 11.9 K/9 in 13 first half starts. The All-Star Game was just the tip of the iceberg for Nomo, who went on to win the Rookie of the Year award and finish fourth in the NL Cy Young voting.

Nomo's big league career spanned a dozen seasons with seven teams, and he retired with a 4.24 ERA and two no-hitters to his credit. He's credited with paving the way for Japanese players to permanently relocate to MLB.

Here are a few links from around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Heyman On D’Backs, Astros, Royals, Soriano

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You thought Cliff Lee was drawing a lot of interest now? One GM told Jon Heyman of SI.com that 12-15 teams could show interest in the Mariners lefty before the July 31st trade deadline. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors, as we wonder which teams are going to be calling Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik about Lee:

  • The D’Backs, who just fired their GM, are talking to clubs about five players, including Dan Haren. Rival GMs agree that Arizona would have to be “overwhelmed” to move Haren, but the D’Backs are seriously considering dealing Adam LaRoche, Kelly Johnson and Chad Qualls. They are also listening to offers for Edwin Jackson, who authored a no-hitter over the weekend.
  • Interim manager Kirk Gibson and interim GM Jerry Dipoto appear to be candidates to take on their responsibilities on a more permanent basis.
  • An executive told Heyman that “just about everyone but Hunter Pence” is available on the Astros. Not surprisingly, one GM told Heyman that no team will take on Carlos Lee and his contract.
  • A rival GM believes the Royals would deal Joakim Soria and another GM believes David DeJesus is better than Curtis Granderson or Johnny Damon.
  • The Cubs would love to move Alfonso Soriano, according to a GM.
  • There has been no noticeable progress between the Brewers and Prince Fielder on an extension, but at least one executive doubts that Prince would fetch much of a return in a trade.


A’s Sign Boof Bonser

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The A's signed Boof Bonser to a minor league deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, who notes that Bonser will go to the minor leagues and start (Twitter links). The 28-year-old elected free agency last week after the Red Sox designated him for assignment. A groin injury has limited Bonser to two appearances so far this year; he allowed six hits and walked a pair in his two innings of work.

Bonser, a former first rounder, has not proven himself since missing the 2009 season with shoulder surgery. To his credit, the right-hander posted standout strikeout (7.3 K/9) and walk (2.9 BB/9) ratios in his three-year stint with the Twins. 

The International Signing Period

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Here's some detail on the international signing period, which begins today:

  • Players born outside of the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico aren't eligible to be drafted; they're signed as free agents instead.
  • The signing period begins July 2nd.
  • The youngest eligible players for this year were born in late August and early September, 1994.
  • This year's international free agents must turn 17 by September 1st 2011, or the end of their first pro season, whichever is later.
  • Players don't make their pro debut until the calendar year after they're first eligible to be signed. 
  • They can sign with any major league team.
  • Players can sign after August 31st if they don't do so immediately.
  • A number of players older than 16 will sign as well. 
  • Check out this article by Baseball America's Ben Badler to see how the Reds signed Juan Duran before anyone – even his own agent - thought he was eligible.

Michael Ynoa set a record in 2008 when he signed for a $4.25MM bonus. Miguel Sano was the most-hyped prospect of 2009, but there has not been similar buzz surrounding any of this year's prospects. 

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts, Kiley McDaniel and Ben Badler. This post was first published on June 17th, 2009.

Reactions To The Changes In Arizona

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The changes in Arizona have baseball writers buzzing from coast to coast. The D'Backs announced last night that they have replaced GM Josh Byrnes and manager A.J. Hinch with Jerry Dipoto and Kirk Gibson – at least for now. Here are some reactions to the D'Backs' dismissals:

  • Bob Nightengale of USA Today says the D'Backs fired Byrnes because of his decisions, not because he was backing Hinch (Twitter link).
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the relationship between Byrnes and D'Backs CEO Derrick Hall may have contributed to the GM's dismissal.
  • Chris Snyder told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that it was "definitely time for a change." Brandon Webb says he's sure interim manager Kirk Gibson will do well.
  • Frankie Piliere of FanHouse hears that Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer will get serious consideration for the GM opening in Arizona (Twitter link).
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that A.J. Hinch is well-respected in the game and won't have trouble getting another job (Twitter link).
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan has a new twist on Byrnes' phrase 'organizational advocacy.' 
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the D'Backs "royally screwed up" if they made changes because of their record over the course of the past few years.
  • Vote on the decision here and tell us what you think in the comments.

Poll: The D’Backs’ Decision To Fire Byrnes & Hinch

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The D'Backs announced yesterday that they fired manager A.J. Hinch and GM Josh Byrnes, replacing them with Kirk Gibson and Jerry Dipoto, at least on an interim basis. There's no question that the 31-48 D'Backs are having a disappointing season, but that doesn't mean baseball fans agree with their decision to dismiss the ones in charge.

Were the D'Backs right to fire Byrnes and Hinch?

Click here to take the survey and here to view the results.

Blue Jays, Pirates Bidding On Luis Heredia

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The Pirates and Blue Jays are bidding on Mexican pitching prospect Luis Heredia, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A source tells Kovacevic that the Blue Jays offered the tall 15-year-old right-hander $2.8MM and the Pirates offered $2.5MM. The international signing period opens today, but Heredia cannot sign until August 16th of this year, when he turns 16.

Any teams interested in Heredia will have to negotiate with Veracruz, the Mexican team that currently owns his rights. Veracruz will keep three quarters of the bonus Heredia receives and controls the prospect’s future to a considerable extent.

The Yankees have also scouted Heredia, but the Pirates have been watching him for two years and are closer to the pitcher than any other team. Back in May, the Dodgers, Giants, Rangers and Mariners also appeared to have interest. The Pirates and Blue Jays have both scouted and invested in international prospects aggressively in recent years.

Diamondbacks Fire Josh Byrnes And A.J. Hinch

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USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports that Arizona has fired general manager and executive vice-president Josh Byrnes, as well as manager A.J. Hinch.  Jerry DiPoto, the team's vice-president of player personnel, will be the interim general manager while Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com tweets that bench coach Kirk Gibson has been promoted to manager. 

Byrnes was hired by Arizona in October 2005, and the team recorded a 349-378 mark under his stewardship.  Following the club's 2007 NLCS appearance, Byrnes signed an eight-year contract extension that would've kept him in the desert through 2015.  According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, that extension included a small ownership stake in the Diamondbacks.  ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter) predicts that the highly-respected Byrnes will be out of work for "0.2 seconds" since another team will hire him as a consultant while the Snakes pay out his existing contract.  

Hired on May 8, 2009 to replace Bob Melvin, Hinch amassed an 89-123 record with the D'Backs in his first stint as a major league manager.  We heard a few weeks ago that Byrnes was "fighting hard" to save Hinch's job, and Fanhouse.com's Ed Price reports (via Twitter) that Byrnes was fired for refusing a demand from upper management to make a managerial change.

Conor Jackson's trade to Oakland was the first of many moves expected from the underachieving Snakes, though the team stopped short of saying that an outright fire sale would take place.  It remains to be seen if this perspective will change with DiPoto now running the team.  The club will definitely pay a price for the firings — Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com reports that the D'Backs owe more than $7MM to cover Byrnes' deal and Hinch's contract, which ran through 2012.

Gibson, best known for his walkoff homer in Game One of the 1988 World Series, has been Arizona's bench coach since 2007.  He previously served as a bench coach and hitting coach for the Tigers, though this is Gibson's first time managing on any level.  DiPoto, also a former player, has been a member of the Arizona organization for four seasons, and previously worked as Colorado's director of player personnel and as a scout with Boston.

Rumors are already flying about who the Diamondbacks might hire as their next full-time general manager.  Morosi's story notes that Dodgers assistant GM Logan White and former Padres GM Kevin Towers will be given "serious consideration" for the job.  Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio has those two plus three other assistant GMs (Kim Ng of the Dodgers, Ben Cherington of the Red Sox and "Avila," who is presumably Al Avila of the Tigers) on a top-five list collected from a variety of sources.  As for DiPoto, Morosi tweets that a D'Backs official made "no commitment to the duration" of DiPoto's reign as GM, so it appears as if his assignment truly is on an interim basis.

Odds & Ends: Lee, Miller, Branyan, Phillies

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There may be a lot of NBA and NHL rumors and signings floating around today, but the MLB hot stove will only get hotter as we approach the trade deadline.  Here are some items from around the majors…

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