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Front Office Notes: Orioles, Yankees, Angels

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Theo Epstein's signing with the Cubs was the big news of the day, but there's plenty of other front office news in baseball..

  • The Orioles are no longer considering Josh Byrnes, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.
  • Yesterday we learned that Josh Byrnes (Padres), Gerry Hunsicker (Rays), J.P. Ricciardi (Mets), Thad Levine (Rangers), Tony LaCava (Blue Jays), and Dan Jennings (Marlins) are candidates to become the Orioles' next GM.  The wishlist now includes Jerry Dipoto (Diamondbacks), Logan White (Dodgers), Al Avila (Tigers), Tony Reagins (formerly of the Angels), and DeJon Watson (Dodgers), according to Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun.
  • The Yankees have granted the Angels permission to interview both Billy Eppler and Damon Oppenheimer for their vacant general manager job, tweets Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) believes that Oppenheimer would be a good fit as the GM of the Halos.
  • As of this evening, no teams have asked permission to speak with any of the Mets assistant GMs about job openings, Newsday's David Lennon tweets.

Magglio Ordonez Wants To Continue Playing

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Outfielder Magglio Ordonez is said to want to keep playing, despite the re-break of his ankle, according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter).  The veteran re-fractured his ankle on Saturday.

Earlier this month, Ordonez admitted that he nearly retired mid-season due to lingering issues in his surgically-repaired right ankle.  The slugger will turn 38 in January and will be eligible for free agency this winter.  He earned $10MM in 2011 but should see a significant pay cut if he decides to return in 2012.

Pirates Haven’t Ruled Out Exercising Maholm’s Option

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5:33PM: Pirates GM Neal Huntington still has not entirely ruled out exercising Maholm's option, writes MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.  The Bucs do not plan on paying Paul Maholm $9.75MM in 2012, but keeping the option in play leaves the door open to using the pitcher in a trade.

There is a limited window on the matter as teams typically have until five days after the conclusion of the World Series to officially decline or exercise club options.

3:05PM: The Pirates have decided to decline their 2012 option for Paul Maholm, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 29-year-old left-hander would have cost $9.75MM in 2012, but Pittsburgh will opt for a $750K buyout instead.

Maholm told Biertempfel that he isn't discussing a deal with the Pirates now, but hasn't ruled anything out. The seven-year veteran says he wants to "see what's out there" in free agency and adds that he'll do what's best for his family.

Maholm posted a 3.66 ERA with 5.4 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 162 2/3 innings in 2011. His numbers improved, but he missed the final six weeks of the season with a strained left shoulder. Draft pick compensation won't be an issue, since Maholm is an unranked free agent, according to our rankings.

Rockies Claim Andrew Brown

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The Rockies announced that they claimed Andrew Brown off of waivers from the Cardinals (Twitter link). St. Louis had designated the versatile 27-year-old for assignment over the weekend to create roster space for Lance Lynn.

Brown appeared in 11 games for the Cardinals this June, but spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he made the Pacific Coast League All-Star team. In 428 plate appearances with the Cardinals' top affiliate, Brown posted a .284/.382/.501 line with 20 homers. He played all four corner positions for the second consecutive season. 

Cubs Agree To Deal With Theo Epstein

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11:56am: There's some discussion as to whether the Red Sox will obtain minor leaguers or cash from the Cubs, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). It appears that the Red Sox prefer cash.

10:00am: The Cubs' overall payout to Epstein will be closer to $20MM than $15MM, because they're responsible for paying a $3.5MM conclusion bonus that he had negotiated into his contract with the Red Sox, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. MLB has monitored the Cubs' negotiations with Epstein, since there's concern that his deal will change the market for general managers. Epstein's salary will be similar to the one the Red Sox paid him, Olney notes (on Twitter). He was the Cubs' first choice and has met with them twice.

8:13am: Theo Epstein has agreed on a five-year deal worth more than $15MM with the Cubs, according to WEEI's John Dennis. The deal could be finalized this week, once the teams work out compensation and the Cubs decide on a title for the longtime Red Sox GM.

The Cubs were "on the cusp" of a deal with Epstein last night, but Boston's ownership still appeared interested in retaining Epstein. However, Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that Red Sox owner John Henry isn't the type to "chase" if he knows someone wants to leave (Twitter link).

The Cubs won't surrender Major League players or take on bad contracts in the deal, but they may send prospects and/or cash to the Red Sox. It appears that Epstein will need Boston's approval to bring employees with him.

Ben Cherington, Epstein's current assistant GM and likely replacement, spoke to MLBTR for our GM Candidates series. Alex Speier of WEEI.com chronicles Cherington's rise through Boston's organization.

Astros Expected To Complete Sale, Move To AL

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Astros owner Drayton McLane is expected to complete the sale of the team to Jim Crane in mid-November, according to Peter Gammons of MLB Network (on Twitter). The arrangement would move Houston to the American League West and even MLB into two leagues of 15 teams.

The sale of the Astros is intertwined with baseball's current round of collective bargaining. MLB is likely to add a Wild Card team by 2012 or 2013 and moving the Astros to the American League would likely accelerate expanded playoffs.

McLane recently said he expects the sale to be complete within three or four weeks. Last week, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes looked ahead to Houston's offseason.

AL East Notes: Sabathia, Burnett, Orioles

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Two AL East front offices will have different looks next year, as Theo Epstein is heading for Chicago and the Orioles are searching for a new GM. Here's the latest on the division…

Quick Hits: Angels, Astros, Bartlett, Konerko

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The Tigers defeated the Rangers tonight and they now trail two games to one in the ALCS. Detroit could even the series at two games if they win at home tomorrow afternoon. Here are today's links…

  • The Angels have D'Backs exec Jerry Dipoto and Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer on their list of GM candidates, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). We recently introduced Dipoto and Oppenheimer as part of our GM Candidates series.
  • Astros owner Drayton McLane told Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner that he'll complete the ownership transfer to Jim Crane, though it could take three or four weeks (all Twitter links).
  • The Astros announced that they have agreed to one-year deals with hitting coach Mike Barnett and pitching coach Doug Brocail.
  • MLBTR's Tim Dierkes learned that Jason Bartlett's $5.5MM club option for 2013 vests if he picks up 432 plate appearances in '12 (Twitter link). That would give the Padres infielder 1050 trips to the plate in 2011-12.
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams admitted to reporters that he considered Paul Konerko as a possible player-manager before hiring rookie skipper Robin Ventura. "He would probably drive himself nuts right now playing and managing at the same time," Williams said, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
  • Nolan Ryan wouldn't predict the Rangers' chances of re-signing C.J. Wilson, according to Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com. Ryan says the Rangers will start negotiating with Wilson's agent once their season ends.
  • Joel Zumaya told reporters, including Jason Beck of MLB.com, that he'd like to re-sign with the Tigers after the season. The hard-throwing right-hander didn't pitch this year because of elbow soreness and has started throwing again.
  • As J.J. Cooper of Baseball America explains, young players are being squeezed out of independent baseball. But some, such as Marshall Schuler of the Frontier League, could become options for MLB teams.

Regular MLBTR Features

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If you're a regular MLBTR reader, you'll be familiar with our chats, our Week In Review posts and Mike Axisa's Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature. Here's some more detail on when you'll see our weekly features and exactly what to expect from them:

  • MLBTR Chats – Come by every Wednesday at 2pm CDT to chat about the latest trades, signings and rumblings around the Major Leagues.
  • Baseball Blogs Weigh In – Every Friday morning, Mike Axisa directs you to some of the best writing on baseball blogs around the web. Whether it's opinion, stats or something else entirely, you can connect to the best of the blogosphere once a week on MLBTR. If you want to send Mike a post of yours, reach him at: mike@riveraveblues.com.
  • Week In Review – It's remarkable how much happens in seven days. Every Sunday night, we summarize the week's biggest stories in our Week In Review posts.
  • MLBTR Originals – We gather all our original analysis and reporting in one place every Sunday night.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Mets, Morgan

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Jimmy Rollins said earlier today that there's a "good chance" he re-signs with the Phillies after the season. Here are some more updates from around the NL East, where all five teams are in offseason mode…

  • Ryan Howard's five-year, $125MM contract ranks fourth on Joe Posnanski's list of the ten worst contracts in baseball at SI.com. Howard, whose deal kicks in next season, is "becoming a less and less useful player all the time," Posnanski writes.
  • The Phillies interviewed Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan for their director of player development position this week, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Philadelphia now has a short window to decide whether they're going to offer Jordan the job, which previously fell under Chuck LaMar's responsibilities.
  • The Phillies will look to sign a free agent closer this offseason and a division rival could be interested in similar relievers. GM Sandy Alderson has hinted that the Mets will find their next closer on the free agent market, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
  • A Spring Training conflict between Jayson Werth and Nyjer Morgan nearly escalated to the point that punches were thrown, according to Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post. Now a member of the Brewers, Morgan has emerged as a star (along with his many alter egos). 

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