Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for 2011

Week In Review: 10/16/11 – 10/22/11

By | at

With Game Four of the World Series in progress, let's take a look back at the week that was..

suggested yesterday that the Rangers, Blue Jays, Nationals, Mariners and Royals are the early favorites to land Darvish, who would be among the offseason's top available arms.

Phillies Notes: Madson, Nathan, Moyer, Lambe

By | at

The Phillies have a number of issues to address this winter, including Jimmy Rollins' impending free agency.  The shortstop is after a five-year deal but the club will likely push for a shorter contract.  Here's a look at some other news out of the City of Brotherly Love..

  • General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. wants stability in the ninth inning, but committing top dollar and multiple years to a proven closer has its risks, opines Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Earlier this month, the GM said that if Phillies don't re-sign closer Ryan Madson, the club will go outside the organization for a replacement.
  • On his blog, Gelb suggests that 37-year-old Joe Nathan could be a sensible choice for the Phillies this offseason.  Nathan would come cheap and could serve as a stopgap while one of the club's young arms develop and build towards taking over the role of closer.  The right-hander pitched 44.2 innings in 2011 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the 2010 season.
  • Former Phillies left-hander Jamie Moyer, who will turn 49 in November, continues to eye a comeback in 2012, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Moyer is roughly 11 months removed from undergoing Tommy John surgery.
  • The Phillies reached out to Bryan Lambe about joining their organization just after he agreed to become an area scout for the Astros, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.  Heyman calls Lambe a "man of integrity" for not wavering after giving his word to Houston.

NL Central Notes: Pujols, Pirates, Astros

By | at

Let's turn our attention to the National League Central where we lead off with, who else, Albert Pujols..

  • If there was any doubt before, it's completely erased now: Albert Pujols is going to hit the free agent jackpot at the age of 31, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  One performance logically shouldn't have a great effect on a player's value, but Rosenthal argues that all it takes is one team to take a contrary position.
  • If, as expected, the Pirates move on without Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder, GM Neal Huntington said the team is "comfortable" with their internal options at catcher but will explore outside options as well, writes Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • The Astros have hired Bryan Lambe as an area scout, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.  Lambe and Wayne Krivsky, both hires of ex-GM Omar Minaya, were let go by the Mets exactly one month ago today.

MLBTR Originals

By | at

Here's look back at the original pieces we published here at MLBTR this week..

  • This week we completed our analysis of the arbitration eligible players for all 30 teams, over 200 players in total.  You can check out the complete series right here.  Some of the biggest names in the series include Tim Lincecum, Matt Kemp, Cole Hamels, Hunter Pence, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, and Jacoby Ellsbury.  
  • We’ve been bringing you closer to the those who were identified by their peers as potential Major League GMs with a series of interviews.  Recently, Tim Dierkes caught up with A.J. Preller, the Rangers' senior director of player personnel.
  • The upcoming class of free agents figures to present an interesting study in the way teams are evaluating relievers these days, writes Dan Mennella.  Mennella looks at this winter's available closers and how they were used in 2011.
  • Ben Nicholson-Smith brought us the service time breakdown for the Angels' Mike Trout.  If the Angels want to keep Trout under their control for an extra year, they could option him to the minor leagues for the season's first three months.  In doing so, they'd ensure that Trout doesn't pick up more than 88 days of service in 2011.
  • Non-tender candidate Hong-Chih Kuo went from being one of the most dominant bullpen arms in the game last September to taking about retirement this September, writes Mike Axisa.
  • Tim Dierkes examined the free agent and trade market for catchers this winter.  The Rays, Angels, Pirates, and Twins may seek help at catcher this winter, and none of the available players should be expensive to acquire.
  • Do you prefer your MLBTR fix to be limited to only your favorite team?  Don't worry, we've got you covered.  Check out the links to our team Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds.
  • Mike Axisa rounded up the best baseball talk from around the web in this week's installment of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
  • Diamondbacks lefty Joe Saunders sounds like a non-tender candidate, based on comments GM Kevin Towers made this week.  We asked you to weigh in on whether or not Saunders would be offered a contract in 2012 and votes were split right down the middle.
  • The Rays have plenty of pitching depth to work with this winter and may use that to upgrade their offense.  We also gave our Offseason Outlook on the Pirates, White Sox, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, and Rockies.
  • Finally, if you missed out on our Wednesday chat, you can check out the transcript right here.

Marlins Considering Shields, Zambrano Unlikely

By | at

The Marlins are considering making a serious run at Rays right-hander James Shields, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  The two sides have some natural match-up on a trade because the Marlins could dangle Logan Morrison as part of a package for the right-hander.

Shields drew interest from a number of clubs at the deadline including the Tigers and Reds but the Rays opted to hang on to him instead.  Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says that he would like to maintain the team's pitching depth, but Shields would be a huge trading chip this winter. 

Meanwhile, Olney writes that in spite of the speculation about Carlos Zambrano joining up with Ozzie Guillen in Florida, there isn't a lot of momentum behind this within the Marlins organization.  The club's opposition to the move has more to do with the way Zambrano's stuff has regressed than his personality history.

Davidoff On Pujols, Fielder, Angels, Oppenheimer

By | at

Industry people are curious whether C.C. Sabathia actually would leave the Yankees and opinions are all over the map on where Jose Reyes will end up in 2012.  There's an even bigger debate brewing in baseball circles, writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday..

  • Whoever signs first between Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols will set the financial bar for the other player to top and it's hard to say who will make the first move.  Pujols has a realistic chance to re-sign with the Cardinals while it seems increasingly unlikely that Fielder will return to the Brewers.  There's also the matter of the relationship between the players' agents, Scott Boras and Dan Lozano.  Boras has shown in the past that he has no concerns about dragging his players' free agencies well past January 1st in order get the deal he wants.  Meanwhile, Pujols represents Lozano's first big test since breaking off from the Beverly Hills Sports Council last year.
  • For now, Davidoff predicts that Pujols will sign first and stay with the Cardinals.  Fielder, wherever he goes, won't top Pujols' annual average value.
  • There are a number of candidates for the vacant Angels' GM position but Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is the club's top choice.  However, it's widely assumed that Friedman will remain with Tampa Bay.  Davidoff writes that Yankees senior vice president/director of scouting Damon Oppenheimer seems like the best choice for the job.  Oppenheimer played a significant role in several departments for the Bombers, from postseason scouting to discovering amateur talent to recommending major-league trades.  Oppenheimer would bring baseball intelligence and a strong presence to serve as a check and balance for owner Arte Moreno and manager Mike Scioscia .

Cafardo On Farrell, Red Sox, Rollins, Oswalt

By | at

When the Red Sox and manager Terry Francona parted ways, Blue Jays skipper John Farrell was the preferred candidate to manage the team, a major league source told Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.  There's conflicting information on how much the Red Sox have explored this possibility but they've internally considered a few managers and the one who would fit best would be Farrell.  One source said the BoSox wouldn't want to give compensation to a division rival while another thought the issue already had been brought up and the discussions didn't get very far. 

The Red Sox have been hesitant to turn to bench coach DeMarlo Hale for the job because of a feeling that he’s too close and tied into Francona, but Cafardo notes that Farrell also learned his managerial style from him.  Farrell took the Toronto job because it appeared that Francona was deeply entrenched in Boston.  Had he known that Francona and the team would part ways, Cafardo wonders if he would have stayed.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • Free agent shortstop Jimmy Rollins will have to back off from his desire for a five-year deal for the Phillies to seriously consider re-signing him.  They probably won’t be interested in free agent Jose Reyes because of his price tag.  If they don't retain Rollins, the club may find a cheaper stopgap to replace him such as Marco Scutaro if the Red Sox don’t pick up his option ($6MM club/$3MM player, $1.5MM buyout).
  • Phillies right-hander Roy Oswalt could become available in free agency as he is due $16MM on a mutual option and the team will likely either buy him out for $2MM or try to negotiate a lesser deal.  If he becomes a free agent, one major league talent evaluator said that he would be a great acquisition for anyone on a two-year deal, but obviously not at a $16MM rate.
  • In the event that the Red Sox decide on Farrell and reach agreement with the Blue Jays, there are an endless number of candidates the team could hire to replace him.  Those options include current bench coach Don Wakamatsu and third base coach Brian Butterfield.
  • Since the Padres have allowed Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod out of their respective contracts, Cafardo wonders if they'd let Bud Black walk to become the Red Sox's next manager.  Black could straighten out the pitching staff and got the most out of John Lackey as pitching coach for the Angels. 
  • Francona probably needs to sit out a half-year before taking on another managerial job sometime next season.  In the meantime, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he took on a job as a special assistant.  An American League GM said that the former Red Sox skipper would have "an endless number of opportunities" along those lines.
  • DeMarlo Hale has a year remaining on his contract and eventually he'll meet with new GM Ben Cherington to determine his fate.  Hale hopes to interview for the Sox managerial job and could also could be a candidate with the Cubs under Theo Epstein.  Davey Johnson is still expected to return to the Nationals job but there may be an interview process and Hale will likely be a candidate given the strong backing he’ll receive from Nats special adviser Bob Schaefer.
  • Don't be surprised if Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum emerges as a top candidate for the Boston job.

Quick Hits: Pujols, La Russa, Red Sox

By | at

A few stray items to pass along as the Cardinals close in on a 2-1 World Series lead over the Rangers …

  • Albert Pujols' snafu with the media following the Redbirds' loss in Game 2 wouldn't bode well for him in larger market like New York, opines Ken Davidoff of Newsday, so it may be in Prince Albert's best interest to remain in city like St. Louis, where he won't face intense media scrutiny.
  • Back on the field, Pujols dominated tonight's game in Arlington, leading Buster Olney of ESPN.com to muse that the Cards may no longer have any choice but to up their offer to their star first baseman as he embarks on free agency (Twitter).
  • Cardinals manager Tony La Russa wasn't entertaining questions pertaining to whether he'd manage again in 2012, tweets Olney. However, we did hear last week that La Russa has been hinting at coming back.
  • In an upcoming interview with Bob Costas of MLB Network, commissioner Bud Selig said he's confident the Red Sox will take care of any issues like players drinking in the dugout, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. So, it sounds like there won't be any league sanctions or policing related to the alleged transgressions.
  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle have been elected vice president of the Baseball Writers Association of America, according to the Associated Press. The VP of the BBWAA becomes the president after one year, putting Slusser in line to become the organization's first female president next year. So, congratulations to her. The BBWAA, of course, is the organization whose members vote for the Hall of Fame and various post-season awards.

Free Agent Closers’ Usage

By | at

The upcoming class of free agents figures to present an interesting study in the way teams are evaluating relievers these days. After Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, many of the most recognizable names are closers or relievers who have previously closed.

Modern analysis suggests it's foolish to invest heavily in relief pitchers due to their limited contributions and volatility in year-to-year production. But someone has to get those crucial late-inning outs, and the temptation for a team that thinks it's a contender to throw a lot of money at a guy who's coming off a year in which he posted a minuscule ERA or eye-popping strikeout rate is often too great.

Undoubtedly, suitors will use a variety of criteria to evaluate free-agent closers, one of which will be usage. Because usage can encompass so many things — innings, appearances, pitches, "high-stress" pitches, and so on — it's tough to say which is the most accurate reflection of a pitcher's workload; of course, this debate continues on for starters, too.

During the season, with the launch of CloserNews.com, we began keeping an eye on relievers who had pitched on three (and four) consecutive days, as that seems to be the breaking point for when most relievers must be rested. We've tallied that up here in a spreadsheet, along with a few other measures (standard and otherwise) of reliever usage, for the upcoming class of free-agent closers.

The objective here isn't to make any bold proclamations based on who threw the most innings; I may as well pen the inevitable mea culpa right now if it were. Rather, there are some interesting tidbits of note here, a few things to file away as these relievers ready themselves for free agency and teams prepare to bid.

  • Heath Bell and Francisco Cordero were the only two of this group to pitch on four consecutive days in 2011. Bell is the only one to do it twice.
  • Bell's abundance of pitches certainly seems to correspond with his dip in strikeout rate (7.32 K/9 in 2011 vs. 9.22 for career). Looks like he was having trouble putting away hitters, at least relative to his past performances.
  • Francisco Rodriguez paced the group by pitching on three consecutive days six times. 
  • Heavy usage is not unusual for K-Rod, though. He's pitched fewer than 65 innings only once in his nine full big league seasons, the red herring due to an off-field incident in 2010.
  • Info was culled from Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference.

Epstein, Hoyer, Cubs Links: Saturday

By | at

The Red Sox officially announced last night that GM Theo Epstein had resigned from his position to take over as the the Cubs president of baseball operations. Both teams will hold press conferences on Tuesday; the Cubs to introduce Epstein, and the Sox to likely announce that Ben Cherington is taking over as GM. The two sides have "reached an agreement regarding a process by which appropriate compensation will be determined" and the issue will be "resolved in the near term."

Meanwhile, the Padres have officially granted the Cubs permission to speak to GM Jed Hoyer and assistant GM Jason McLeod. San Diego has already agreed to a list of players from which they will choose their compensation package. Former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes is expected to replace Hoyer after the World Series, and the Cubs will not raid the Padres' front office any further. As news trickles in about the three-way GM carousel, we'll keep track of it all right here, with the latest up top…

  • Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe cautions Red Sox fans not to expect a "windfall" in exchange for Epstein. Abraham expects Boston to receive two or three prospects, or one prospect and a complementary Major Leaguer like Jeff Baker.
  • Dan Hayes of The North County Times says (on Twitter) we're unlikely the learn the full list of players the Padres can choose from, but a source confirmed that Starlin Castro and Andrew Cashner are not on it. That's not surprising, the Padres are expected to receive minor leaguers in exchange for letting Hoyer and McLeod leave.
  • In a pair of tweets, WEEI.com's Alex Speier notes that because he is coming in as an outsider, Epstein is likely to value the Cubs' prospects differently than those already in the organization. That could lead to a swift resolution of the Cubs-Red Sox compensation talks.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney points out (on Twitter) that Epstein will cost the Cubs about the same as what Alfonso Soriano makes per month. He calls it a "huge per-dollar talent grab" for the north siders.
  • With a handful of front-office types and a manager changing teams this offseason despite being under contract, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders whether the Red Sox could seek another team's manager to be their next skipper (Twitter).

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top