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Week In Review: 10/9/11 – 10/15/11

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The Rangers officially advanced to the World Series this week, but much of the news on MLBTR centered around front office exchanges, highlighted by Theo Epstein jumping ship from the Red Sox and signing a five-year deal with the Cubs. Here are the rest of the week's stories:

West Notes: Rangers, Rockies, A’s

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The Rangers advanced to their second consecutive World Series last night. Today, Buster Olney of ESPN.com breaks down some of the crucial moves Texas made — and didn't make — that helped them return to the Fall Classic. More on that and a couple other items of note out of the AL and NL West …

  • Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com feels that while the Rangers proved they didn't need Cliff Lee to win the American League pennant, they would not have done so had they traded Michael Young last offseason.
  • The Rockies will move their Rookie level affiliate from Casper, WY to Grand Junction, CO, writes William Browning of the Casper Star-Tribune.
  • The Rangers considered acquiring starters such as Zack Greinke and Matt Garza when Lee walked in free agency, writes Olney, but because the Rangers were stocked with young power arms, they decided to address other needs. Instead, they acquired players in Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli who were seemingly undervalued by their former organizations. Beltre, after the Red Sox moved on from him quickly by acquiring Adrian Gonzalez and moving Kevin Youkilis to third, nearly signed with the Angels but felt he had a better chance to win with the Rangers.
  • Though it appears unlikely the Athletics will gain approval to build a new stadium in a different nearby city, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders whether they'd be able to build a new stadium at the site of the Oakland Coliseum. The NFL's Raiders, with whom the A's share the Coliseum, may relocate to a shared stadium with the 49ers in Santa Clara, which would leave the A's as sole tenants of their current digs, so they wouldn't have to consider any other team's needs.
  • Mark Ellis provided some stability at second base when the Rockies acquired him this season, but the key stone has persisted as a unanswered question throughout Colorado's existence, writes Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post. Ellis, an impending free agent, "figures to return" to the Rox in 2012, according to Armstrong.
  • Elsewhere in Armstrong's piece, he writes that the Rockies will "dive into the offseason trade market in hopes of landing a quality starting pitcher." Three prospects whom other teams might seek are outfielder Tim Wheeler, infielder Nolan Arenado and pitcher Chad Bettis.

Central Notes: Tigers, Astros, Cubs, Wolf

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The Tigers' elimination from the postseason should lead to a handful of postmortems over the next few days, and we've got one in this batch of links …

  • The Tigers are set with nearly all of their core players under team control, writes Jason Beck of MLB.com, but they'll have to address their need for some complementary players. In particular, Detroit will have to look at shoring up second base, third base and right-handed relief. Beck also wonders whether the Tigers will consider signing shortstop Jose Reyes and moving Jhonny Peralta over to the hot corner.
  • Despite recent reports that Jim Crane will be approved as next Astros owner in November, Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle is "still not sure that's going to happen." MLB, extremely conscious of its image and the the images of its teams and owners, appears uncomfortable with aspects of Crane's background, according to Justice, including past allegations of discrimination, enumerated here in a Forbes.com report.
  • Although compensation negotiations between the Cubs and Red Sox are reportedly becoming contentious, Alex Speier of WEEI.com opines that the deal is virtually inevitable, because too many interested parties want it to go through.
  • Brewers lefty Randy Wolf has resurrected his career the past few seasons after missing a sizable chunk of his prime years to injury, writes Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner. Wolf parlayed his brief stint with the Astros in 2008 into a one-year deal with the Dodgers and then a three-year pact with the Brewers. Houston GM Ed Wade wanted to re-sign Wolf after 2008, explains Goff, but felt he didn't have the payroll flexibility.

Quick Hits: Reyes, Darvish, Montero, Yankees

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Some links as we look forward to Game 6 of the NLCS tonight..

  • The only way Jose Reyes will sign in the exclusivity period is if the Mets blow him away with an offer, and that isn't happening, writes Steve Popper of the Bergen Record.
  • With his team's spot in the playoffs already locked up, Yu Darvish will skip his start on October 18th, according to the Kyodo News Agency (Japanese link).  Orioles player development director John Stockstill traveled to Japan to watch Darvish pitch in this game. (Translation provided by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker)
  • The Yankees will look for in-house fixes this winter, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman wonders aloud if the club might deal Jesus Montero for a starter and further open the DH slot, but a team official said that it wouldn't make sense to throw more dollars and add risk to the offense.  Sherman added that he doesn't sense that the club has a strong affinity for free agent left-hander C.J. Wilson.
  • Some of the Red Sox coaches have been granted permission to explore other opportunities while awaiting their fate, multiple sources tell Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.

Theo Epstein Compensation Links: Sunday

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Yesterday it was reported that talks have grown "increasingly contentious" between the Red Sox and the Cubs as they try to figure out what Boston will receive for relinquishing the rights to Theo Epstein.  The Red Sox are looking to get prospects in return for their former GM while the Cubs want to complete the deal with just cash.  Here's the latest on the talks..

  • A deal might not get done by Tuesday but the Red Sox think that the compensation talks with the Cubs will end before the World Series begins on Wednesday evening, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.
  • All signs point toward a resolution by Tuesday, the day after a potential NLCS Game 7 and the day before Game 1 of the World Series, writes Silverman.  The asking price for Epstein could increase as it is believed that he is looking to bring some BoSox staffers with him to Chicago.  As of yesterday, there were no plans in place for any other Red Sox personnel to join the Cubs.

Cafardo On Red Sox, Lackey, Buehrle, Epstein

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Upon joining the Cubs, Theo Epstein will leave behind one contractual headache in John Lackey and acquire another one in Carlos Zambrano, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  The difference between the two, as a National League scout pointed out, is that Zambrano could once again be a top-of-the-rotation hurler while some doubt if Lackey is even a No. 4 or 5 starter.  The answer for both clubs could be a "garbage-for-garbage" deal that allows them to exchange one bad contract for another.  Some prime candidates include Chone Figgins, Barry Zito, Vernon Wells, and Derek Lowe.  Here more from Cafardo..

  • While Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle is an interesting free agent possibility for the Red Sox if they could get him on a two-year deal.  The veteran could be their No. 5 starter or serve as a strong lefty in the bullpen.
  • It's hard to tell if David Ortiz is serious about leaving the "drama" of Boston for the Yankees, but the veteran wouldn't be a fit in New York as they have no need for a DH.
  • A.J. Hinch, the vice president of pro scouting for the Padres, could have interest from teams like the Red Sox, and possibly the Cubs with Epstein there.  Las Vegas agrees, as oddsmaker Jimmy Shapiro placed Hinch as the odds-on favorite to get the Sox managerial job.  Meanwhile, Josh Byrnes is currently a special assistant with San Diego and could depart for a bigger role with Epstein in Chicago.
  • Mariners skipper Eric Wedge is a very interesting name that could be involved in the Red Sox’s managerial search.  However, getting Wedge out of his deal in Seattle could be a problem as he has a good deal of personnel power there.
  • Tony La Russa would be an interesting choice for Boston, but it appears he'll be staying in St. Louis or retiring.  La Russa has always spoken fondly of the city, but it doesn’t appear at this stage of his career that he would want to deal with some of the issues in the BoSox organization.
  • Brian Cashman's contract extension is nowhere near done.  The Yankees GM’s deal expires at the end of the month, but neither side is feeling any pressure to get something completed.
  • Meanwhile, Cashman's top two assistants, Billy Eppler and Damon Oppenheimer, are being interviewed by the Angels for their GM job.  Cashman told the paper that he feels both men are absolutely qualified to take the next step.  Recently, our own Ben Nicholson-Smith spoke with Oppenheimer about the possibility of becoming a GM.
  • Cafardo wonders if history will be kinder to Dan Duquette now that the Theo Epstein era is concluding in Boston.  Duquette never won a championship as the Red Sox's GM but the 2004 team certainly had his fingerprints on it.  Now working as a business consultant, the longtime MLB exec never got the chance to be a GM again, but hasn't ruled out doing so in the right situation.

Davidoff On Red Sox, CBA, Rangers, Darvish

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In today's column, Ken Davidoff of Newsday tackles a number of topics including what's next for Boston.  Here are some highlights..

  • When the dust settles, the Red Sox are expected to name Ben Cherington as Theo Epstein's successor in Boston.  While the club could take one step toward closing their credibility gap by hiring an experienced manager to complement their rookie GM, that's not likely to be the case.  The Red Sox already view Cherington as having GM experience because of the work he has done with the organization.  They'll more likely look to hire someone with a willingness to utilize statistical analysis and work with the rest of the baseball operations department.
  • This year, MLB and the Players Association had hoped to announced their next collective-bargaining agreement during the World Series like they did in 2006.  However, with the World Series just three days away, people in the loop aren't optimistic.   The two sides are meeting virtually every day and the biggest rancor appears to be surrounding Bud Selig's desire for hard slotting in the amateur draft.  It's hard to imagine that this will result in any kind of a work stoppage, but it does seem like they'll miss out on the great PR opportunity that they were able to capture five years ago.
  • We don't see the Rangers and Angels as trading partners because there's too much anxiety over being burned.  However, the Rangers used to admire Halos catcher Mike Napoli from a distance, and were able to trade for him immediately after the Blue Jays acquired him.  Davidoff asked Daniels if he kept an eye on players in the divison whom he couldn't acquire by trade but could hope would get dealt to a different club so he could pounce.  For Daniels, it's not that clear-cut, but he says that he checks in when someone he's interested in moves out of the AL West.
  • Baseball officials are increasingly convinced that righthander Yu Darvish will be posted to the major leagues, and industry folks wonder how much will teams pay.  The Red Sox paid more than $51MM five years ago to talk with Daisuke Matsuzaka, and that hasn't panned out for them. The expectation is that in light of Boston's disappointment with Matsuzaka, teams won't bid as much for Darvish.

AL West Notes: Rangers, Wilson, Feliz, Angels, A’s

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With tonight's victory, the Rangers became the first AL West team to win consecutive pennants since the A's won three straight American League titles between 1988 and 1990.  Here are a few news items from around the division….

  • Despite recent rumors, the Rangers say there's "no way" they'll throw money at CC Sabathia this offseason, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). If Texas does decide to go after a starter from outside the organization, it would probably be Yu Darvish.
  • "[C.J. Wilson] wants $100MM, and he's not getting that from us," a Rangers source tells Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  The source says that if Wilson leaves Texas for free agency, Alexi Ogando and Neftali Feliz would both be converted into starting pitchers next season.
  • The Angels may be close to a new television contract with FOX Sports, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.  A filing from Major League Baseball (in the ongoing legal case with Frank McCourt) stated that the Halos are "expected to close a new transaction" in regards to a new TV deal.  Shaikin hears from sources that "no deal is imminent" but FOX and the Angels have been in negotiations.  Shaikin speculates that the contract could exceed the Rangers' recent 20-year, $1.6BB TV contract with FOX.
  • The Athletics were denied permission to interview Reds pitching coach Bryan Price, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).  Price's contract in Cincinnati expires after next season.
  • Athletics scouts were against the December 2005 trade of then-prospect Andre Ethier to the Dodgers for Milton Bradley, tweets Tom Krasovic of West Coast Bias.

NL West Links: Hill, Gutierrez, Bell

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Some notes from the NL West….

  • Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers spoke with Aaron Hill's agent this week, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The two sides made little progress and didn't exchange figures, but Towers said another talk is tentatively scheduled for next week. Hill hit .215/.386/.492 in 142 plate appearances for the Snakes after being dealt from the Blue Jays, but Towers said he isn't necessarily looking at a multi-year deal for Hill since he doesn't "want to get too crazy about six weeks [of production]. There’s a reason they moved him and a reason we moved Kelly Johnson.”
  • Also from Piecoro's piece, the recently-released Juan Gutierrez said he expected the move and hopes to re-sign with the D'Backs on a minor league deal. Gutierrez underwent Tommy John surgery in September.
  • The Padres are willing to give Heath Bell a two-year, $15-$16MM contract with an option for a third year, reports Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune as part of an online chat with fans. Bell wants three years guaranteed, but Center wonders if the closer would accept a two-year deal with a partial no-trade clause. Center discusses several other Padres topics during the chat, including what he would want in a possible Mat Latos trade and Kyle Blanks' future with the team.

Theo Epstein Compensation Links: Saturday

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It's been three days since Red Sox GM Theo Epstein agreed to a five-year contract worth $18.5MM to take over as GM of the Cubs, and now the two teams are discussing compensation for Boston letting Epstein out of the final year of his contract. Yesterday we learned that the Cubs would like to complete the deal with just cash, but the Sox want "something real" in return. Let's keep track of today's compensation talk news here, with the latest up top…

  • Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe hears from a source that talks are "business-like, civil and moving forward over the weekend." (Twitter link)
  • Brett Jackson will not head to Boston as compensation, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
  • At the moment, no other Red Sox personnel will be joining Epstein in Chicago, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
  • David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com reports that talks between the two sides have grown "increasingly contentious." A source told Kaplan that Boston president Larry Lucchino is "trying to make it very difficult for Epstein to accept his dream situation in Chicago because of his fractured relationship with his one-time protege."
  • The Red Sox "are believed to be requesting at least two top players from the Cubs’ farm system," according to Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald.
  • Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune says talks are not expected to be completed this weekend.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

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