GM Candidate: Bill Geivett
MLBTR's list of general manager candidates introduced 20 people who were identified by their peers as potential Major League GMs. We’re bringing you closer to the candidates with a series of pieces. Today the series continues with Rockies senior vice president of scouting and player development/assistant general manager Bill Geivett, who ranked 15th on our list.
Bill Geivett grew up in Sacramento rooting for the Swingin' A's. A speedy third baseman, he played ball at Sacramento City College and later majored in economics at the University of California-Santa Barbara, telling me, "I'm a Gaucho, and will always be a Gaucho." Geivett was drafted four times, but a desire to complete his degree compelled him to wait until after his senior season to sign with the Angels. A knee injury ended Geivett's playing career at the Double-A level, after which he obtained a Masters and coached collegiately at Loyola Marymount and Long Beach State.
Geivett got into scouting after that, telling me, "I still believe I'm the only person that has taken a pay cut to go to the New York Yankees." After about four years with the Yankees he took a step up to become the Expos' farm director. After three years there he joined Chuck LaMar as a special assistant to the GM for the Devil Rays, helping prepare for the expansion draft and taking part in many firsts for the organization. Next came an eventual assistant GM position with the Dodgers under Kevin Malone, after which Geivett began his long tenure with the Rockies in 2000. He now oversees scouting and player development and assists with all baseball decisions. I talked to Geivett on the phone yesterday.
On his mentors:
Bill Livesey is one of the biggest mentors I've had in baseball. He really taught me how to scout and how scouting and player development worked [while with the Yankees]. The biggest thing I've learned from [Rockies GM] Dan O'Dowd is perseverence. There were a lot of lean times here, as we were involved in a rebuilding-type situation. To see our leader show up every day, grinding it out, he kept on going when times looked tough for us. The perspective of a MLB manager I learned from Felipe Alou and Tommy Lasorda. Keli McGregor, our former president, and Dick Monfort, our owner, had a big influence on me also.
On stats and scouting:
If you talk to the scouts they'd probably say I'm too involved in statistics. Talk to some stat guys, they'd probably tell you I like scouting too much. I think there's always times where you lean on one or the other. As you're dealing with Major League players, it's a lot more appropriate to lean on stats. I think statistics are a fabulous indication of what's happened. I think the scout's job is to try to tell you what will happen.
I've never really understood the scouts versus stats argument; I don't see it. For somebody to make a good decision they need a clear understanding of all it. You can get the oldest scout you want and he's going to pull out stats and look at them. There are a lot of scouts who will look at statistical information and already have an opinion before they even watch the player. And they've got big floppy hats and gray hair.
The trade he was involved with of which he's most proud:
The Matt Holliday trade was definitely big for us. If we're going to trade Matt we need to get a young, middle of the order position player back, and we got Carlos Gonzalez. You have a criteria in your mind and to be able to make a deal that actually fit was tremendous. We were at an advantage because Arizona had him originally and we were down in Tucson and played Arizona all the time. I can remember [senior director of international scouting] Rolando Fernandez and I were sitting there watching him in the instructional league one year, and we were talking about how that's the type of position player we need to sign. We really hadn't broken the position player barrier at the time. We always looked at CarGo as the type of guy we wanted to get. We had a long history with him.
The draft pick of which he's most proud:
Troy Tulowitzki. I coached at Long Beach State; Bill Schmidt, our VP of scouting, went to Long Beach State. We felt like we knew him very well. If available, we were going to be able to acquire a corner bat at a premium defensive position. Bill Schmidt said he would be available, but I didn't think he'd be there for us [at the seventh overall pick]. The first day [Tulowitzki] showed up he said, "I just want to tell you guys I want to be here my whole career," and he hadn't even played in A ball yet.
Arbitration Eligibles: Boston Red Sox
We looked at the Orioles yesterday; now it's time to discuss Red Sox players who will be eligible for arbitration after the season.
- First time: Andrew Miller, Alfredo Aceves, Mike Aviles, Daniel Bard, Jed Lowrie, Franklin Morales
- Second time: Jacoby Ellsbury, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Rich Hill
- Third time: Matt Albers
Aceves and Bard seem likely to be arbitration eligible as Super Two players. My non-tender candidates are Miller, Aviles, and Hill. Miller projects to an arbitration salary around $1.7MM; I'm not sure how his club option compares to that. Aviles hasn't done much with Boston, and I'm not sure whether they value him around $1.5MM. Hill, who had Tommy John surgery in June, is probably someone the Sox could non-tender and then re-sign to a minor league deal.
Ellsbury is easily the team's biggest case. His MVP-caliber campaign, coupled with his stolen base tally, could result in a salary over $6MM by our calculations. That'd exceed even Hunter Pence's second-time raise won through a hearing last year. The Boras Corporation probably won't be shy about trying to set a new precedent. Most of the team's other arbitration eligibles project to make less than $2MM.
Twins Place Jim Thome On Waivers
WEDNESDAY, 9:14am: The White Sox were one of several teams putting in a claim for Thome, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that "there is a high expectation among executives that the White Sox will be awarded the claim." For that to happen, Thome would have to get past the Orioles, Royals, Mariners, and Athletics. That seems feasible, though it's possible one of the four would put in a claim with an eye on a potential draft pick.
MONDAY, 2:15pm: The Twins placed designated hitter Jim Thome on trade waivers today, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal says the Phillies want Thome back in their organization, but there's almost no chance the slugger gets to them. Since the Phillies have the best record in the National League, the 28 other teams would have to pass on Thome first.
Thome, 40, is hitting .256/.365/.503 with 12 home runs in 230 plate appearances this year. He cranked his 600th home run a week ago. Now that Thome has reached the milestone, the Twins might be more inclined to trade him if he would like to join a playoff race. Rosenthal notes that Thome has a full no-trade clause.
Thome's salary should not pose a problem, as he has about $610K remaining plus incentives. As of a week ago Thome wasn't too far from Type B status, so if he continues producing there could be a shot at a draft pick. So there is the possibility that American League non-contenders could place claims. If the Twins want to give Thome freedom to play for any team but don't mind getting nothing in return, they could release him, notes Rosenthal.
Elias Rankings Update
After the season the Elias Sports Bureau will take all players over the 2010-11 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 2010 season running through August 22nd, 2011. Click here to go to the rankings directly if they don't appear below.
We've updated the rankings to reflect Kelly Johnson landing with the Blue Jays and Aaron Hill with the Diamondbacks. Hill maintains his Type B status, though he's close to none. Johnson climbs to Type A status, though he could easily fall to B. Johnson accepting arbitration wouldn't be all that desirable, and I can see that happening if he's a Type A, so it's not necessarily true that the Blue Jays made this trade to take a shot at two draft picks.
Nationals Don’t Intend To Pursue Prince Fielder
The Nationals don't intend to go after Prince Fielder once he reaches free agency, a team source told MLB.com's Bill Ladson. The primary reason is that first basemen Michael Morse and Adam LaRoche are already under team control for 2012. Instead, the Nats may be more focused on finding a center fielder and a leadoff hitter.
Earlier this month Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com expressed similar feelings about the Nationals sitting out the Fielder bidding. He provided additional reasons: GM Mike Rizzo loves defense at first base, and the team might need to earmark money for a future Ryan Zimmerman extension.
Now, as I mentioned on Monday, having LaRoche under contract for a year at $8MM wouldn't be a huge roadblock if the Nationals wanted Fielder, and Morse could play left field. Scott Boras has been cozy with Rizzo in recent years, and the agent will probably try his damnedest to get them involved on Fielder. However, if the two beat writers are correct and the Nationals don't get involved, that's one less team capable of doing a $150MM+ contract in a market that probably already excludes the Red Sox, Yankees, and many others.
Quick Hits: Rangers, Weaver, Rodriguez, Thome
We saw one trade completed today and, as our list of players to clear waivers shows, there are more potential deals on the horizon. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he doesn't expect to make a trade this month, though he's considering waiver trade candidates every day.
- Angels ace Jered Weaver had a refreshing take on his team friendly five-year, $85MM extension, as Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times writes. “If $85 million is not enough to take care of my family and other generations of my family, then you’re stupid," he said. "I play baseball for the love of the game, for the competitive part of it.”
- A's GM Billy Beane told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that the gap between baseball's haves and have-nots has widened. "The window for small-market clubs is shorter and shorter,” Beane said.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports breaks down some possible trade scenarios between the Rockies and Astros involving the recently-claimed Wandy Rodriguez.
- Rodriguez drew interest at the trade deadline, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). The Yankees were prepared to give up a player for the left-hander, who they valued at $21MM.
- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen says he'd love to bring Jim Thome back to Chicago, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Thome hit waivers yesterday.
Marlins Designate Dewayne Wise For Assignment
The Marlins designated Dewayne Wise for assignment to create roster space for Logan Morrison, who will be recalled tomorrow, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter). The move opens up a spot on the Marlins' 40-man roster, which now sits at 39.
Wise has signed with the Marlins twice this year, first in January, then in June. In 72 plate appearances, Wise posted a .239/.278/.269 line for Florida, appearing in left and center field. The 33-year-old has a .223/.261/.373 line in his nine-year MLB career.
GM Candidate: Mike Radcliff
MLBTR’s list of general manager candidates introduced 20 people who were identified by their peers as potential Major League GMs. We’re now going to bring you closer to the candidates with a series of pieces. Today the series continues with Twins executive Mike Radcliff.
When Mike Radcliff joined the Major League scouting bureau in 1982, the best player he would ever draft hadn’t actually been born yet. And it wasn’t until 2001, after years as an area scout, cross checker and scouting director, that Radcliff actually selected Minnesota high schooler Joe Mauer (pictured) with the top pick in the nation over Mark Prior and Mark Teixeira.
Radcliff, who joined the Twins as an area scout in 1987, has worked for Minnesota ever since. He was the team’s scouting director from 1994-2007 before assuming his current role, vice president of player personnel.
The Twins’ roster features many players Radcliff selected in his 14 years as scouting director, including Michael Cuddyer (1997), Justin Morneau (1999), Jason Kubel (2000), Mauer (2001), Nick Blackburn (2001), Denard Span (2002), Scott Baker (2003), Glen Perkins (2004), Brian Duensing (2005), Kevin Slowey (2005), Danny Valencia (2006) and Ben Revere (2007). Former Twins such as A.J. Pierzynski (1994), Jesse Crain (2002) and Matt Garza (2005) are also products of his drafts.
Radcliff’s selections have helped Minnesota acquire a steady stream of affordable talent that has led the Twins to six division titles since 2002. He doesn't necessarily get much recognition outside of Minnesota, but his peers in the game consider him a GM candidate.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
NL East Notes: Braves, Morrison, Rodriguez
Jason Heyward hit his first MLB grand slam at Wrigley Field tonight, helping the Braves in their attempt to strengthen their hold on the NL Wild Card. Here are the rest of today’s links from Heyward’s division…
- As Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains, the Braves' late-inning combination of Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel is the kind of shutdown late-inning tandem most teams can only dream of having.
- The Marlins are calling Logan Morrison back to the Major Leagues tomorrow, a week and a half after demoting him to the minors, according to MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (on Twitter). Morrison can still receive credit for a full year of service this year, so the demotion probably won’t affect his service clock.
- Agent Scott Boras says the Nationals should re-sign Ivan Rodriguez when the veteran catcher hits free agency after the season, according to Ben Goessling of MASNsports.com.
Minor Moves: Jason Stevenson
Here’s where we’ll keep track of today’s minor moves…
- The Giants signed left-hander Jason Stevenson from the independent Chico Outlaws and assigned him to Triple-A, according to the Pacific Coast League Transactions page. The Expos drafted Stevenson in back to back years, 1999 and 2000, signing him as a 12th rounder in 2000. He has a 4.58 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 505 minor league innings since 2001, including one start with the Giants' top affiliate this year. Stevenson allowed eight hits, two walks and four earned runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven for Fresno.