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Orioles Unlikely To Interview Marlins’ Dan Jennings

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9:12pm: The Marlins haven't formally denied the Orioles' request to interview Jennings, but it's leaning that way, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).

2:30pm: The Marlins have denied the Orioles permission to interview vice president of player personnel and assistant general manager Dan Jennings for their GM opening, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.  Jennings is signed through 2015 from an extension signed in '07, and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reported that the Marlins have denied teams permission to interview him three times in the past.  Jennings has been with Florida since 2002, prior to which he worked for the Devil Rays, Mariners, and Reds.

Kubatko notes that Arizona's Jerry Dipoto will interview for the Orioles position today, while Toronto's Tony LaCava is scheduled for tomorrow.

Phillies Outright Brandon Moss, Pete Orr

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The Phillies outrighted Brandon Moss and Pete Orr to Triple-A Lehigh Valley yesterday, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. They now have 38 players on their 40-man roster.

Moss appeared in five games for the Phillies in 2011. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a strong .275/.368/.509 line with 23 homers. The 28-year-old was part of the 2008 trade that sent Manny Ramirez to Los Angeles and brought Jason Bay to Boston.

Orr, 32, appeared in 46 games for Philadelphia this year. He posted a .219/.279/.250 line in 104 plate appearances and appeared at second and third. The six-year veteran has suited up for three of the five NL East teams: the Phillies, Nationals and Braves.

Twins Notes: Shortstop, Cuddyer, Young

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The Twins will likely pursue starting pitching, relief pitching, a backup catcher and middle infield help this offseason after finishing with the worst record in the American League. Here are some notes on the club's offseason plans…

Rangers Notes: Oliver, Levine, Prospects

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C.J. Wilson and the Rangers open this year’s World Series in St. Louis tomorrow night and Nolan Ryan is predicting a Rangers series win in six games. Here’s the latest on the American League champions as we await the first pitch…

  • Rangers left-hander Darren Oliver told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he would like to play again in 2012. The 41-year-old posted a 2.29 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 51 innings this year, so he'll likely have suitors when he hits free agency in the offseason.
  • As Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post shows, Thad Levine’s father had a major impact on his development as a baseball person. Levine, now the Rangers’ assistant GM, grew up following the Orioles with his father. I interviewed Levine about his development in the game for our series on MLB GM candidates.
  • Bernie Pleskoff of MLB.com takes stock of the Rangers' farm system and says they have more talented players on the way, even after trading prospects to bolster the bullpen this summer. Tanner Scheppers and Neil Ramirez are among the Rangers' intriguing minor league arms.
  • I touched on Wilson and the Rangers’ bullpen in a radio appearance on 1570 The Score in Appleton, WI earlier this afternoon.

Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Angels

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The Angels, soon to be under new leadership, will look to add a minimum of one starting pitcher, improve their offense and tinker with their bullpen.

Guaranteed Contracts

Arbitration Eligible Players (estimated salaries)

Free Agents

The Angels' new general manager will face challenges, as every GM does, but no organizational overhaul is required in Anaheim. Even after missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season, the Angels have many above-average players and the payroll to keep them in place. The Los Angeles front office can build on 2011's 86-win team by pursuing starting pitching, considering bullpen upgrades and finding a way to improve the offense.

The Angels have already committed over $100MM to next year's payroll and if they bring back their arbitration eligible players, payroll will rise to $120MM before accounting for those earning the minimum salary. This would give Tony Reagins' replacement a little more than $20MM to work with, assuming owner Arte Moreno is willing to match last year's $142MM payroll.

In other words, the Angels could conceivably bid on an elite free agent like Jose Reyes or Prince Fielder. But in an offseason that features above-average free agents at shortstop and first base, the Angels are set at both positions (Erick Aybar, Maicer Izturis, Mark Trumbo, Kendrys Morales). In theory, the Angels could trade Aybar — he'd have many suitors — and sign Reyes or Jimmy Rollins. There has even been some talk of moving Trumbo from first base to third. Don't count on a major free agent signing.

The team may get a power-hitting first baseman from within. Morales has been sidelined with a left ankle injury since an ill-fated walk-off celebration a year and a half ago and the Angels can no longer count on him to be a force in their lineup. If he does return, they'll have seven players (Morales, Trumbo, Peter Bourjos, Bobby Abreu, Torii Hunter, Vernon Wells and Mike Trout) for five spots. 

The Angels could option Trout, Baseball America's 2011 minor league player of the year, to the minors at the beginning of next season. The benefit, aside from clearing space in the Major Leagues, would be delaying Trout's arrival on the free agent market by a year. If the Angels are happy to let Trout develop in the minors until mid-June, they could control his rights for an extra season seven years from now.

Howie Kendrick, a free agent after 2012, is an extension candidate this offseason. He posted a .285/.338/.464 line and appeared in 140 games, including 20 or more at three different positions (first, second and left). Bourjos, meanwhile, probably needs more time to prove himself if he’s going to land a long-term deal, even after a tremendous first full season.

Kendrick, Trumbo, Erick Aybar and Alberto Callaspo give the Angels a quartet of solid everyday infielders and Maicer Izturis is a capable reserve. While Callaspo offers less power than most third basemen, his .366 on-base percentage could be enough to prevent the Angels' next GM from bidding heavily on Aramis Ramirez. However, if the Angels want to add power, Ramirez is a fit. He's easily the best free agent option at his position and the Angels have more established players than Callaspo at the other traditional power positions.

The Angels face a dilemma behind the plate. Jeff Mathis posted a .174/.225/.259 line while sharing catching duties with Hank Conger and Bobby Wilson. Only the Twins and Astros, baseball's two worst teams, had their catchers combine for a lower OPS than the Angels' .555. But manager Mike Scioscia admires Mathis’ glovework and the skipper's endorsement resonates, since he spent 1,395 Major League games behind the plate himself. Mathis is a non-tender candidate given his projected $1.8MM salary and the team's cheaper, more offensively capable alternatives. If the Angels don’t expect Conger to hit as well as he did in the minors, they could go outside of the organization for catching depth. It’s one of the primary weaknesses of an offense that the Angels should look to improve over the winter.

Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana will occupy the top three spots in the rotation for the next two years, giving the Angels one of the top rotations in the game. Like every MLB team, they have internal candidates for the back of the rotation. But the Angels' chances of unseating the American League champion Rangers would be better if they had more at the back of their rotation than Jerome Williams, Trevor Bell, Tyler Chatwood and Garrett Richards. It appears Joel Pineiro will sign elsewhere as a free agent and the Angels may attempt to sign a replacement. California native C.C. Sabathia would give the Angels one of the best rotations in baseball, though he seems to favor the Bronx.

Last offseason the Angels spent on the bullpen, signing free agent lefties Hisanori Takahashi and Scott Downs to multiyear deals. It's unlikely the Angels will make a similar splash this offseason, even though rookie closer Jordan Walden blew a league-leading ten saves in an otherwise strong season. Rich Thompson, Walden, Downs and Takahashi provide Scioscia with four solid late-inning options and the club's new GM will likely mix in new pieces for depth and competition.

The Rangers have established themselves as the team to beat in the AL West. But the Angels can compete with Texas in 2012 if their new GM improves the rotation and finds a way to infuse offense into a lineup that will remain mostly intact from last year.

Nationals Return Elvin Ramirez To Mets

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The Nationals announced that they returned Rule 5 selection Elvin Ramirez to the Mets. The right-hander spent the season on the 60-day DL after undergoing an operation on his throwing shoulder. The Nationals conserve 40-man roster space with the move.

Ramirez, 24, was sidelined all season and never pitched in a game for the Nationals or one of their affiliates. He posted a 4.16 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 in 80 innings for two of the Mets' affiliates before the Nationals selected him in last December's draft.

Players have to spend 90 non-September days on the active roster to become official property of their new teams. Otherwise, their Rule 5 status carries forward until the players spend 90 non-September days on the active roster. For a complete recap of the December 2010 Rule 5 draft, click here.

Indians Outright Head, Talbot

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The Indians outrighted outfielder Jerad Head and righty Mitch Talbot today, the team announced on Twitter.  The moves drop the 40-man roster count to 38, though Carlos Carrasco, Josh Tomlin, Michael Brantley, and Shin-Soo Choo still need to be activated from the 60-day DL.

Talbot is now a minor league free agent, according to the Indians, and he is out of options, as MLB.com's Jordan Bastian notes (on Twitter).  The 28-year-old started 12 games for the Indians and posted a 6.64 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 63 2/3 innings.  He spent time on the disabled list with a strained lower back and was outrighted to the minors in August.  

Head, also 28, made his MLB debut this year.  He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he hit 24 homers and posted a .284/.338/.526 line in 463 plate appearances.  He can elect free agency, as he has previously been outrighted.

Arbitration Eligibles Series

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Today we completed our analysis of the arbitration eligible players for all 30 teams, over 200 players in total.  The biggest names include Tim Lincecum, Matt Kemp, Cole Hamels, Hunter Pence, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, and Jacoby Ellsbury.  Matt Swartz has done incredible work for MLBTR creating a model to project 2012 arbitration salaries, and those projections are used throughout the 30 posts.  We'll have much more from Matt on the topic later this month.  Below are links to each arbitration eligibles post, which also include payroll flexibility estimates.

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Cashman On Contract, Sabathia

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MLB.com's Bryan Hoch talked with Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who is conducting the team's professional scouting meetings this week.

  • Cashman's contract expires on October 31st, but he told Hoch, "It'll get done between now and October 31st, I'm sure.  I can't promise, but I think that's what everybody expects. I know it's something that everybody has to follow. But that's not a pressing circumstance, as far as something I'm worried about right now."  Cashman feels his deal can be hammered out over the phone.
  • "I'm sure we'll talk before the World Series is over," Cashman said in reference to C.C. Sabathia's contract situation.  Sabathia is expected to opt out of the four years and $92MM remaining on the contract he signed in December of '08, but he hopes to re-sign.
  • Cashman said he's hopeful he has qualified people to take the place of Yankees executives Billy Eppler or Damon Oppenheimer if need be, as they have been granted permission to interview for the Angels' GM job.  ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted Oppenheimer's resume today: he's a Southern California native with five World Series rings and one of the best drafts in history (2006).  Click here to read Ben Nicholson-Smith's interview with Openheimer as part of our GM Candidates series.

Arbitration Eligibles: St. Louis Cardinals

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The Cardinals' offseason has yet to begin, and once it does Albert Pujols will be the primary concern.  GM John Mozeliak will also have to address the situations of four arbitration eligible players, and we look at them today as we finish off this series.

Theriot projects for a $3.9MM salary and is likely to be non-tendered.  The statuses of Rafael Furcal, Nick Punto, and Schumaker will be factors, but Theriot makes too much money to continue on as a bench player and he's not the team's first choice at either middle infield position.  Schumaker is a non-tender candidate as well, though he's more versatile than Theriot and projects at a more affordable $3.1MM.  Motte ($1.7MM) and McClellan ($2.7MM) will be part of next year's club.  

If the Cardinals exercise their club options for Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, and Octavio Dotel, they'll have about $84MM in contractual commitments.  Add $4.4MM for Motte and McClellan and they're at $88.3MM before accounting for minimum salary players.  A $110MM payroll would leave over $20MM in flexibility.  One can certainly picture scenarios where a new Pujols contract fits in, though they'd probably have to take payroll a bit higher to sign Furcal and a few other minor pieces.  A trip to the World Series helps the payroll situation.

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