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Latest On Orioles’ GM Search: Avila, Ricciardi

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The Orioles are searching for a successor to Andy MacPhail and we learned yesterday that they received permission to interview Diamondbacks executive Jerry Dipoto. Today, they're continuing to reach out to general manager candidates around the league. Here are the latest updates on Baltimore's search:

  • The Marlins (Dan Jennings) and Tigers (Al Avila) can prevent top executives from interviewing with the Orioles, as Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun points out. Both Jennings and Avila are on long-term deals, so it's possible that the Orioles would have to offer their teams compensation to complete a deal. The Marlins have denied teams permission to interview Jennings three times before, according to Connolly.
  • There's a sense that the Orioles haven't requested permission to speak with Avila or Dodgers executives Logan White and De Jon Watson, according to Connolly (Twitter link).
  • Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com hears that the Orioles haven't yet contacted J.P. Ricciardi about their job opening (Twitter link).
  • The Orioles received permission to interview Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava, according to Connolly (Twitter links). The interviews for LaCava and Dipoto haven't been set up yet and are expected to take place in Baltimore next week.
  • For more on LaCava and Dipoto, check out MLBTR's GM Candidate pieces from earlier in the summer.
  • The Orioles contacted the Marlins seeking permission to interview Dan Jennings, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter links). However, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is in Europe, so the decision is on hold.

Red Sox Owner On Crawford, Epstein, Lucchino

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Red Sox owner John Henry joined 98.5 The Sports Hub this afternoon to deny that Boston's upper management smeared Terry Francona and the Red Sox in the Boston Globe this week. He also discussed a number of Red Sox-related issues. Here are the details:

  • Henry says he "personally opposed" the signing of Carl Crawford, but deferred to Boston's baseball operations department. Neither the Crawford signing nor the Adrian Gonzalez deal was a public relations move, according to Henry.
  • Henry didn't deny that Theo Epstein has talked to another club, but he declined to comment further until there's something to announce. The Cubs are in the process of making Epstein their GM.
  • Though Henry would have liked for Epstein to be Boston's GM for 20 years, he realizes "you don't always get what you want" and that being the GM in Boston comes with an immense amount of pressure.
  • Henry expects CEO Larry Lucchino to sign a multiyear extension this offseason. His contract expires this year.
  • Henry added that he wants to own the Red Sox for as long as he can.

White Sox Outright Four, Release Pena

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The White Sox announced that they outrighted right-handers Kyle Cofield, Josh Kinney and Shane Lindsay and left-hander Leyson Septimo to Triple-A. They also requested unconditional release waivers for right-hander Tony Pena after reinstating him from the 60-day disabled list. All five players will become free agents and the White Sox now have 36 players on their 40-man roster.

Cofield, 24, spent the 2011 season in the upper minors, where he posted a 3.30 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 30 innings. Kinney appeared in 13 games for the White Sox, striking out more than one batter per inning. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted an impressive 2.77 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 61 2/3 innings. 

Lindsay, a native of Melbourne, Australia, had a cameo with the White Sox after spending most of the season in the upper minors. He posted a 2.18 ERA in the minors this year despite an alarming walk rate of 7.5 per nine innings. Septimo posted a similarly high walk rate (6.6 BB/9) in 56 innings at Double-A this year. Lastly, Pena, who was traded for Brandon Allen in 2009, appeared in 17 games for the White Sox this season.

Cubs Notes: Epstein, Byrnes, Pena

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The Cubs and Red Sox are now discussing compensation for GM Theo Epstein. Here are the latest Cubs-related notes as we await an official announcement about the leadership change…

  • There’s a â€śgood chance” that Epstein hires Padres executive Josh Byrnes to work with him in Chicago, according to Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres (on Twitter). Byrnes, the D’Backs’ former GM, worked with Epstein in Boston.
  • Carlos Pena told the Chicago Sun-Times that he's excited to see what the Cubs can do under Epstein. Pena, a free agent after the season, hinted that Epstein's presence makes Chicago an even more desirable place to play.
  • Bradley Woodrum of CubsStats.com loves the Epstein hire for the Cubs, but wouldn't trade prospect Brett Jackson for the rights to the new GM.
  • Check out Tim Dierkes' preview of the Cubs' offseason.

Cubs, Red Sox Discussing Epstein Compensation

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1:41pm: The Red Sox are insisting that Epstein cannot bring any of his top assistants with him to Chicago, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com hears that negotiations may continue until Tuesday. MLB teams are prohibited from making major personnel announcements during the World Series, which begins Wednesday, so the Cubs may want to secure Epstein’s services by early next week.

8:00am: The Cubs and Red Sox are discussing compensation for Theo Epstein and Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune hears that the Cubs are insisting on paying cash, while the Red Sox are asking for one or more players. The negotiations could get contentious, but there are no concerns that the deal will fall through, according to Sullivan.

The Red Sox are looking for "something real" in exchange for Epstein, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. However, it seems unlikely that the Cubs will have to part with a Major League player. The quality of the prospects the Red Sox obtain could be tied to how many front office employees Epstein can bring with him to Chicago, according to Nick Cafardo and Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.

The Cubs agreed to a five-year deal with Epstein earlier this week. Ben Cherington, Boston's assistant GM, will be promoted to replace Epstein.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Epstein, Votto, Sabathia

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Seven years ago today, the Brewers claimed Derrick Turnbow off waivers from the Angels. The then-27-year-old emerged as Milwaukee's closer the next year, saving 39 games with a 1.74 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings. Turnbow saved another 24 games the next year, but his 6.84 ERA was a sign of things to come. Extreme control problems doomed the right-hander, and he's been out of baseball since suffering a shoulder injury while in camp with the Marlins last spring.

Here is this week's collection of links from around the baseball blogosphere. Enjoy.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.

Twins Outright Rivera, Tolbert, Repko, Slama

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The Twins announced that they outrighted catcher Rene Rivera, infielder Matt Tolbert, outfielder Jason Repko and right-hander Anthony Slama to Triple-A Rochester. In corresponding moves, Minnesota reinstated Nick Blackburn and Alexi Casilla from the 60-day disabled list. The Twins' 40-man roster now includes 38 players.

Rivera, 28, played in 45 games for the Twins, but posted just a .412 OPS. Tolbert appeared at short, second and third and was similarly punchless at the plate, posting a .518 OPS in 226 plate appearances. Repko played all three outfield positions for the second consecutive season and contributed a .555 OPS in 144 plate appearances. Slama appeared in two games for the Twins, but spent most of the season pitching out of the bullpen at Triple-A.

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes identified Repko and Tolbert as non-tender candidates earlier in the month.

Heyman On Pujols, Fielder, Mets, White Sox

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Albert Pujols' impressive postseason performance has increased his free agent stock, Jon Heyman writes at SI.com. Some say the Cardinals won't improve their offer from nine-years and a bit more than $200MM, but their postseason success may help their chances of re-signing the three-time MVP. Here are the details and more of Heyman's notes from around the league:

  • MLB executives tell Heyman that they expect Pujols to sign for more than Prince Fielder despite Fielder's youth (he's four years younger than Pujols).
  • Heyman's sources generally expect Pujols to stay in St. Louis, but predicting Fielder's next team is much more difficult.
  • Some of Heyman's sources expect Fielder to sign a deal similar to Adrian Gonzalez's seven-year, $154MM extension. I don't think it's a great comp, since Gonzalez didn't sign his deal on the open market.
  • Heyman reports (on Twitter) that the Mets have hired former A's manager Bob Geren as their bench coach. Interestingly, the A's hired manager Bob Melvin after a stint with the Mets.
  • The White Sox didn't seriously consider anyone other than Robin Ventura once they decided they wanted the former third baseman to be their next manager.
  • Francisco Rodriguez told Heyman that he'd like a three-year deal.
  • The Pirates are looking for starting pitching. It appears that they'll decline Paul Maholm's option for 2012.

How To Use MLBTR

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An explanation of the many ways to enjoy MLB Trade Rumors:

  • If the main site doesn't load perfectly on your cell phone, try the more mobile-friendly mlbtraderumors.mobi.  It's a simple page that shows you just the headlines and lets you click through to what you want to read.
  • If you're an iPhone user, be sure to pick up our app for the latest news and rumors.
  • If you want only the hard news in the form of transactions, our transactions page is the ticket.  You can also get only the transactions via Twitter or RSS. 
  • To return to the main page at any time, just click on the title or the Home button on the navigation bar below the title. 
  • The navigation bar will cover many of your needs.  Use the About dropdown to learn about this site or any of its writers. 
  • The Contact button takes you to a page where you can write an email message to the MLBTR writers.  If you have a link to a rumor we've missed, please send it in through the Contact page!  Also use the Contact page to inquire about advertising on MLBTR.
  • The Archives dropdown shows you 15 months worth.  If you need to go back further, click on Site Map at the very bottom of the page.  Site Map also lists out every MLBTR post category, including players, teams, and features.
  • The Tools dropdown takes you to a number of different places. The MLBTR Widget allows website owners to easily add a constantly updated box with all of MLBTR's headlines to their sites.
  • Also under the tools tab is our Transaction Tracker, which enables you to search about anything and everything to do with baseball trades, signings and extensions. 
  • Under the tools tab, you'll find a link to our Forums, a message board community of MLBTR readers with over 8,200 members.  You can discuss any baseball-related topic on the Forums, and start your own thread too.
  • MLBTR's Agency Database lets you know which agencies represent which players. It's searchable by team, agency or player, so be sure to check it out.
  • Feeds By Team is a very useful dropdown.  Hover over it to see all 30 teams.  Click on the team name to bring up a page of every post containing information about that team, with the latest on top.  These are the same pages you'll find if you go to the Rumors By Team section on the sidebar and select A's Rumors, Angels Rumors, etc.  
  • Also under the Feeds By Team dropdown, you'll find RSS and Twitter buttons.  Those links allow you to follow a single team's rumors via RSS or Twitter.  Did you know we have a separate Twitter account for each of the 30 teams?  For example you can follow @mlbtrtigers, where you would get the latest Tigers updates.
  • You can also follow Tim Dierkes and Ben Nicholson-Smith on Twitter for more MLBTR content.
  • On the far right of the Navigation bar, you'll see buttons for Twitter, Facebook, and RSS.  MLBTR has over 105,000 Twitter followers, over 43,000 Facebook fans, and over 53,000 RSS subscribers.  Sign up for these and you'll be the first to receive all of our posts.
  • Be sure to check out your favorite team's MLBTR page on Facebook so you can receive and comment on the latest rumors.
  • On to the sidebar.  It begins with a list of our Top Stories, which our writers update any time major hard news occurs.  Go here for a quick update on the most important stories.  Below that is the site's Search Box, where you can type in any player's name and get the latest on him. 
  • MLBTR Features has all kinds of goodies, including our free agent lists, 2011 draft order, list of Scott Boras clients, and GM-related stuff.  Many of the MLBTR Features are constantly updated by our writers, so be assured that our free agent lists are always fresh. 
  • Below Features you've got headlines for all the Recent Posts, in case you'd rather not scroll to see all the headlines.  Then there's a box for our Mailing List, where you can sign up to receive a daily email containing MLBTR's posts.  Use this option if you don't need the news as soon as possible.
  • Next we have Featured Posts, where you'll find original work from MLBTR writers we consider noteworthy.  For example, read about MLBTR's GM candidates.

Quick Hits: McCourt, Maholm, Mariners, Axford

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Another night, another pair of exciting LCS games.  The Tigers succeeded in stretching the ALCS to a sixth game while the Brewers evened the NLCS at 2-2 with the Cardinals. 

Here's the latest from around the majors….

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