Rockies To Decline Cook’s Option; Giambi To Exercise His
As our Offseason Outlook shows, the Rockies only have two option decisions to make this winter, and Troy Renck of The Denver Post says both appear to have already been made. The team will decline their end of Aaron Cook's $11MM mutual option, and Jason Giambi seems set to exercise his end of a $1MM mutual option. We learned that the team intends to exercise their end of Giambi's option last month.
Cook, 33 in February, has thrown just 382 2/3 innings over the last three seasons due to various injuries. He's pitched to a 4.94 ERA during that time with 4.39 K/9, 3.21 BB/9, and a 56.7% ground ball rate. The team will pay him a $500K buyout, and Renck says they do have interest in bringing him back as long as it's on a low-risk contract.
Giambi, 41 in January, hit .260/.355/.603 with 13 homers in just 152 plate appearances this past season. He drew a lot of interest both before and after the trade deadline, but has talked openly about enjoying his time in Colorado. He'll return as the backup first baseman and pinch-hitter extraordinaire in 2012.
Last night we learned that all option decisions – regardless if it's team, player, or mutual – must be made by 11:59pm ET on Monday, October 31st.
Free Agency Period Will Begin October 30th
Congratulations to the Cardinals and World Series MVP David Freese for winning the 11th World Championship in franchise history tonight. Now that they're done playing on the field, all of the off-the-field fun starts.
Major League Baseball and the Players' Association announced earlier this evening that the start of the free agency period will be delayed by 24 hours, and will officially begin at 12:01am ET on Sunday, October 30th. All team/player/mutual option decisions are due by 11:59pm ET on Monday, October 31st. Free agents will be able to sign contracts with new teams starting at 12:01am ET on Thursday, November 3rd. The MLBPA will release a full list of free agents on Sunday, but here is our Free Agent Tracker so you don't have to wait.
Here are some other important offseason dates, courtesy of MLB.com…
- Nov. 23rd: Last day for clubs to offer salary arbitration to Type-A or B free agents in order to receive draft pick compensation. Deadline is midnight ET. Here are the reversed-engineered Elias rankings.
- Dec. 7th: Last day for free agents to accept arbitration, if offered. Deadline is midnight ET.
- Dec. 5th-8th: Winter meetings in Dallas.
- Dec. 12th: Deadline to tender contracts to players with less than six years of service time. Our Arbitration Eligibles series will give you an idea of which players are non-tender candidates.
Selig & CBA Links: Mets, Draft, Successor
Let's round up some links from the business side of the game…
- Bud Selig told reporters, including Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, that the Mets are working on an "alternative financing plan." Bob Klapisch of The Bergen Record adds that Selig said the Mets have yet to repay the $25MM loan from MLB, though he's "not worried." (Twitter links)
- ESPN's Buster Olney says that changes to the draft system being discussed during Collective Bargaining Agreement talks involve a draft tax (Twitter links). It would work similar to the luxury tax, forcing teams to pay if they spend over a certain amount. There is also talk about giving lower revenue clubs additional picks, which some officials perceive to have little value.
- "There isn't a mechanism in place," said Selig to reporters (including Passan) when asked about finding his successor (Twitter link). The commissioner continues to maintain that he will retire on December 31st of 2012.
Front Office Notes: Duquette, Gwynn, Padres, Wilken
Earlier today we learned that the Angels will name Jerry Dipoto as their new GM while the Orioles are leaning towards hiring Tony LaCava for the same role. Let's round up the latest front office news from around the game…
- The Diamondbacks are unlikely to fill Dipoto's position, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert (Twitter links). The team believes scouting director Ray Montgomery and farm director Mike Bell can handle the responsibilities.
- Dan Duquette was among those interviewed by the Angels, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Duquette has served as GM of the Expos (1991-1994) and Red Sox (1994-2002), but most recently has been involved with the Israeli Baseball League and New England Collegiate Baseball League.
- The Mariners have hired Chris Gwynn to be their director of player development, reports Dan Hayes of The North County Times (on Twitter). Gwynn had previously been the Padres director of player personnel.
- Hayes hears from a source that Padres assistant GM A.J. Hinch will not assume the departed Jason McLeod's duties (Twitter link). The team will look to hire new evaluators following the departures of McLeod, Gwynn, and Jed Hoyer.
- “I’m very happy that we got him over here for a number of reasons," said Cubs scouting director Tom Wilken to The Chicago Sun-Times when asked about working for McLeod, who now oversees the team's scouting and player development. “[His hiring] just kind of brought a smile to my face, and we’ve talked a little bit here in the last few days. And I really look forward to getting together with him and putting together this plan here to make us World Champions."
Red Sox Notes: Youkilis, Pitchers, Epstein, Freese
The Red Sox are now under new GM Ben Cherington's watch, and they figure to again be one of the most active teams during the offseason. Here's the latest from Boston…
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier spoke to sources both inside and outside the organization who said the Red Sox are not expected to move third baseman Kevin Youkilis. Youkilis will turn 33 next month, and although he's missed time with injury in each of the last three seasons, he remains productive (.258/.373/.459 in 2011) and affordable ($12MM in 2012 with a $13MM club option for 2013).
- Within the same piece, Speier notes that the Sox will "almost surely kick the tires on [pitchers] with the stuff and/or track record that suggests an ability to compete in the American League East," as long as they're open to short-term contracts.
- CEO and team president Larry Lucchino appeared on the Dennis & Callahan show this morning; Jerry Spar of WEEI.com provides a transcript. Among other things, he said talks with the Cubs about compensation for Theo Epstein are taking so long because "the parties have different views of what is significant compensation."
- Meanwhile, Bud Selig told reporters (including Scott Miller of CBSSports.com) he expects the compensation dispute to land on his desk this coming Tuesday (Twitter link).
- David Freese is busy providing the Cardinals with postseason heroics, but Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres says the Red Sox had a loophole deal in place to sign the third baseman for $90K before the 2006 draft. The commissioner's office stepped in and nixed the deal, however.
Cashman, Sabathia’s Agent To Meet This Weekend
7:21pm: Sherman posted a correction (on Twitter); the commissioner's office memo does not apply to Sabathia, he only has until midnight ET on Monday to exercise his opt-out clause.
The league clarified that players can file for free agency at 12:01am ET Sunday morning (Saturday night) and talk to new teams at 12:01am ET Thursday morning (Wednesday night). All option decisions are due by 11:59pm ET on Monday night (Twitter links).
5:44pm: The Yankees took care of one important piece of business by agreeing to a new three-year contract with GM Brian Cashman recently, and now they're moving on to bigger and better things. ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand reports that Cashman will meet with CC Sabathia's agent this weekend in an attempt to complete a new contract extension before the ace left-hander can opt-out of his contract and become a free agent.
Joel Sherman of The New York Post says (via Twitter) the commissioner's office sent out a memo informing teams that the offseason officially begins at midnight ET on Sunday, so Sabathia has until midnight ET on Wednesday to exercise his opt-out clause. Yesterday we heard that the team was "close to completing" a new contract offer for Sabathia, an offer Cashman figures to present this weekend.
Sherman notes (via Twitter) that he expects the offer to be in the five-year and $120MM range, similar to what Cliff Lee got from the Phillies last offseason. The team is concerned about bidding against itself however, simply because there aren't many other clubs capable of putting together an offer of that magnitude. Earlier this month, nearly 1,500 MLBTR readers said they expect Sabathia's new contract to be in the $121-130MM range.
Rockies Links: Wandy Rodriguez, Michael Young
Let's round up the latest from the club at the highest altitude…
- People within the game believe that the Rockies will make another aggressive attempt to acquire Wandy Rodriguez from the Astros this winter, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post. There is $36MM left on Rodriguez's contract, but Colorado was willing to absorb that when they claimed him off trade waivers in August. The two teams could not work out a deal and lefty remained in Houston.
- The Rockies were "100 percent convinced" they had a deal in place for Michael Young before the season, reports Renck (on Twitter). He says the trade fell through on the Rangers' end, not Colorado's.
- Tim Dierkes broke down the team's Offseason Outlook and Arbitration Cases earlier this month.
Mets To Let Other Teams Set Market For Reyes
The Mets intend to allow other clubs to set the market for Jose Reyes this offseason, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Mets officials have suggested that the Nationals, Marlins and Angels could bid heavily on the free agent shortstop this offseason and the Mets would prefer that others clubs establish the market for him.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggested a week ago that the Mets don't want to offer Reyes more than four years and Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog hears from team sources who give him the same impression. If that’s the case, there’s a strong chance Reyes’ best offer will come from another organization. The 28-year-old finished the season well and may have a case for a $100MM contract.
Latest On Orioles’ GM Search: Brown, LaCava
The latest on Baltimore's search for a new GM:
- The Orioles could interview one more candidate and probably won't conduct a second round of interviews, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). If the Orioles conduct another interview, it would probably take place early next week.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun weighs in, pointing out that Dipoto wasn't necessarily Baltimore's preferred candidate.
- De Jon Watson has met with the Orioles three times and had dinner with manager Buck Showalter on Wednesday, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter).
- The Orioles are "very likely" to hire Tony LaCava for their general manager job, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The Angels are about to hire Jerry Dipoto, one of Baltimore's four candidates, as their next GM. This leaves LaCava, De Jon Watson of the Dodgers and John Stockstill of the Orioles in the mix for the Baltimore job.
- LaCava is Toronto's vice president of baseball operations and assistant General Manager. He oversees player development and Latin American operations for the Blue Jays and has also worked for the Angels, Braves, Expos and Indians. He interviewed for GM jobs in Pittsburgh and Seattle in the past. Here's my piece on LaCava for MLBTR's GM Candidates series.
Free Agent And Trade Market For Left Fielders
The Indians, Twins, Athletics, Braves, Padres and Giants could find themselves pursuing left fielders this offseason. Here's a preliminary look at which players will be available at the position:
Starting Left Fielders Available In Free Agency
No free agent left fielder will command Carl Crawford money this offseason. Josh Willingham, the top left fielder available, appears to be in line for a two or three-year deal.
Ryan Ludwick could draw interest, though his homer total and OPS have fallen for three consecutive seasons. Raul Ibanez and Laynce Nix also have power, but it's unclear if teams will see them as a viable everyday options. Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer have both have played left field before, although they didn't play much of it in 2011. Similarly, Johnny Damon isn't an everyday defender. Juan Pierre will likely find an everyday job.
Quality Backups
Jonny Gomes, Juan Rivera and Bill Hall are useful bats against left-handed pitching and Wily Mo Pena and Marcus Thames have also had success against southpaws. Scott Hairston, Travis Buck, Willie Harris and Reed Johnson can add value off of the bench. Mark DeRosa and Carlos Guillen spent considerable time on the disabled list in 2011. Pat Burrell would only play for the Giants and the Braves may exercise their club option for Eric Hinske.
Non-Tender Candidates
Luke Scott, Jeremy Hermida, Steven Pearce, Ryan Spilborghs and Delmon Young are all non-tender candidates to one degree or another. Young may be a non-tender candidate in name only after his powerful stint in Detroit.
Thinking Outside The Box
Free agent David DeJesus has played left field before, though not in 2011. Scott Boras clients Carlos Beltran and J.D. Drew could be fits in left field, despite their inexperience at the position. Ryan Doumit could be worth a shot in left field and if might be easier on Grady Sizemore's knees to play left, rather than center.
Other Trade Candidates
Ed Wade and Theo Epstein may hope to move Carlos Lee and Alfonso Soriano and their generous contracts. Chris Heisey and Yonder Alonso may come up in trade talks as the Reds look to acquire a top starter. Logan Morrison appears to have displeased his bosses at times and could be on the block. The Angels could move Bobby Abreu and clear their outfield logjam. Younger left fielders, such as Josh Reddick, could also be available this offseason.
Check out the full free agent list, as well as our articles on the markets at catcher, first base, second base, third base and shortstop.