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Reyes Expects To Talk Contract With Mets Soon

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Jose Reyes told Newsday’s Nick Klopsis that the Mets haven’t started discussing a new contract with him, but the shortstop hinted that he expects dialogue to begin before long. 

"They'll probably start up within the next few days," Reyes said. "But right now, everything's quiet."

The Mets have exclusive negotiating rights with the prospective free agent until five days after the World Series ends. They tried discussing a new contract with Reyes during the summer, but postponed contract talks until after the season ended. Reyes maintains that he wants to re-sign with the Mets, who will likely lower their payroll to the $100-$110MM range for next season.

Reyes finished the 2011 season with a .337/.384/.493 line, 31 doubles, 39 stolen bases and a league-leading 16 triples. He solidified his case for a generous free agent contract last month, when he posted an .854 OPS and won the National League batting title.

Offseason Outlook: Minnesota Twins

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The Twins need to add pitching and stabilize their offense this winter if they are to rebound from an awful 2011.

Guaranteed Contracts

Contract Options

  • Joe Nathan, RP: $12.5MM club option with a $2MM buyout

Arbitration Eligible Players (estimated salaries)

Free Agents

They couldn’t score, they couldn’t prevent runs and they couldn’t stay healthy. The story of the 2011 Twins was unpleasant and unexpected for a franchise that finished in last place for the first time since 2000.

Fortunately for Twins fans, the team plays in the winnable AL Central. Two years into the Target Field era, the team is averaging $105MM in payroll in its new open-air facility. They were second in the American League in attendance this year, despite a 63-99 record (their worst regular season mark since 1982, the year before Joe Mauer was born). Owner Jim Pohlad says payroll will be "right up there" again, so the Twins aren't exactly the small market team they once were. In fact, if payroll stays in the $100MM range and they retain Perkins, Casilla, and Liriano through arbitration, GM Bill Smith could have $25-$30MM to commit to 2012 salaries.

He'll need it. Uncertainty prevails in the outfield, the middle infield, the rotation and the bullpen. There's also first base and catcher, where Mauer and Justin Morneau were supposed to provide stability. Mauer spent time on the DL with bilateral leg weakness and pneumonia, while Morneau missed most of the season with concussion symptoms. In the end, the Twins paid the pair $37MM for seven total home runs in 151 total games.

More than anything else, the Twins need the two former MVPs to stay reasonably healthy in 2012. Since the Twins' offseason plans depend on the health of Mauer and Morneau, it makes sense for them to monitor the players' health and adapt their offseason wish list accordingly.

That doesn't mean Smith's completely at the mercy of his stars' recoveries. Two other fixtures in the lineup, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel are eligible for free agency. There are arguments in favor of offering both arbitration, though the Twins won't necessarily be prepared to guarantee them raises. The Twins say they'd like Cuddyer back and they've made him an offer, but it appears likely that he'll explore free agency, where he's sure to see many offers.

To establish their interest in DH and corner outfield options like Cuddyer and Kubel, the Twins will have to determine their level of confidence in the likes of Joe Benson, Rene Tosoni, Brian Dinkelman and Chris Parmelee (who showed promising power during the season's final three weeks). Despite their internal options, it seems likely that the Twins will look to sign a corner outfielder if Cuddyer leaves as a free agent.

The Twins could target outfielders with good gloves and match them with defensive stalwarts Ben Revere (say what you will about his arm) and Denard Span to give their pitchers a much-needed edge. Or, the Twins could rely more heavily on the defense of Revere and Span and add a below-average defender who can hit.

The positional uncertainty extends to the Twins' infield. Tsuyoshi Nishioka wasn't at his best in 2011 and the Twins have to determine how he, Alexi Casilla, Trevor Plouffe and non-tender candidate Matt Tolbert fit into their plans. Smith, who traded J.J. Hardy to Baltimore last offseason, will consider adding shortstops from outside the organization and an addition seems likely.

Given their need for pitching and likely interest in outfield bats, a major expenditure at shortstop would be a surprise. Instead, Smith and his front office could browse second-tier free agent options such as Alex Gonzalez at short or stand pat. Another need exists at backup catcher, as Drew Butera's .449 OPS won't be enough in 2012, especially if Mauer spends even less time behind the plate. Jose Molina, 36, is coming off of a strong offensive and defensive season, so he's one relatively affordable option for the Twins to consider.

If the Twins' rotation had met expectations, the team wouldn't have lost 99 games. They ranked 26th in the Majors in rotation ERA (4.64) and still can't strike opponents out (5.8 K/9). They'll look for a bounce-back season from Francisco Liriano, who will slot into the rotation along with Carl Pavano and Scott Baker. The back of the rotation remains unsettled and Smith suggested some starters could pitch out of the 'pen in 2012 (Brian Duensing appears to be one such candidate).

Top prospect Kyle Gibson is out with Tommy John surgery, and alternatives such as Liam Hendriks, Scott Diamond and Anthony Swarzak don't appear to have equal upside. It's hard to imagine a turnaround without an improved rotation, so the Twins will want to consider ways of obtaining starting pitching this offseason.

Minnesota's bullpen never recovered from the losses of Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain and Jon Rauch and was the worst in baseball by many measures. Twins relievers posted 6.3 K/9 (30th in MLB) and a 4.51 ERA (30th in MLB). They were also last in xFIP and SIERA, so this doesn't appear to be a case of bad luck. They'll decline Joe Nathan's option but could bring him back on a one-year deal. Matt Capps' Type A ranking and decline in performance should prevent the Twins from offering arbitration (he would obtain a raise from $7.15MM). Glen Perkins' emergence out of the bullpen, a positive for the Twins in 2011, puts Jose Mijares and Phil Dumatrait in non-tender limbo.

One way or another, the Twins need to obtain a shutdown reliever to pair with Perkins in late innings. The D'Backs, now an inspiration to so many of baseball's last-place teams, turned their bullpen around in one season. It can be done and the Twins must do it to improve upon the dismal results of 2011.

While an arbitration offer to Capps seems unlikely, the Twins could have up to three extra draft picks in 2012. They already have the second overall selection, and scouting director Deron Johnson could have extra picks if Minnesota offers arbitration to Kubel and Cuddyer and they decline. 

The Twins need pitching – and lots of it – to be a better team in 2012. They'll probably add a starter and they should add multiple big league relievers. As for position players, it makes sense to offer arbitration to Kubel and Cuddyer before turning to external options. They could use a new shortstop and would do well to pursue a backup catcher who can hit. That's it, you say? Not quite, as the unanswerable question of how much Mauer and Morneau will produce in 2012 remains, and that variable could make the difference between a winning season and further disappointment for Twins fans.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Angels, Prado, Giants

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Six years ago today, the White Sox beat the Red Sox by the score of 5-3 in Game Three of the ALDS. The ChiSox swept the ALDS in three games, their first playoff series win since 1917. They went on to beat the Angels in the ALCS before sweeping the Astros to win the World Series, the franchise's first championship since that 1917 season.

You won't have to wait that long for the next edition of BBWI, thankfully. Here is the latest round of links from the baseball corner of the internet…

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

How The Tigers Acquired Their Newest Additions

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A year after finishing with a disappointing .500 record, the Tigers won 95 regular season games and have advanced to the American League Championship Series. With an aggressive approach in free agency and some successful midseason trades, GM Dave Dombrowski turned the the Tigers into a playoff team.

MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker offers a chronological look at the players Detroit has acquired in the last calendar year. The Tigers have acquired dozens of players since them, but we’re limiting our focus to those who made the ALDS roster:

New Additions

Free Agents Who Re-signed

Dombrowski was one of the most pro-active general managers in baseball last offseason and had signed Benoit, Martinez, Peralta and Inge before many teams had started their winter shopping. Though the Tigers had to demote Inge to Triple-A Toledo earlier in the season, the three other deals could hardly be going better.

The Tigers’ midseason trades have also been critical to their success and there is no better example than last night. Fister allowed just one run in five innings and Young picked up two hits, including his third home run of the series. Without Fister’s emergence and Young’s late-season hot streak, it's doubtful that the Tigers would have advanced this far.

Here’s a look back at how the Rangers, the Tigers' ALCS opponents, adapted last year’s team.

Henry & Lucchino On Epstein’s Future

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Red Sox owner John Henry and CEO Larry Lucchino declined to discuss the Cubs’ request to talk to GM Theo Epstein this morning, insisting that rival teams express interest in Boston’s personnel every year. In an extended appearance on WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan Show, Henry allowed that a “certain protocol in this game” generally dictates that teams allow employees to consider promotions.

Epstein could theoretically add president to his title in Chicago, which would be considered a promotion. It’s fair to assume that the longtime GM will move on from his current role at some point, though the transition won’t necessarily occur in the near future. 

"I think there's a certain shelf life in these jobs," Henry said. "If you're sane, you can only be the general manager, you can only be the manager for a certain period of time. … Theo is not going to be the general manager forever."

Henry confirmed that the Red Sox would probably not have picked up their two-year $8.75MM option for Terry Francona after the season. The owner suggested that the decision to part ways wasn't completely mutual, since Francona made a decision before his bosses did.

Epstein has been searching for Boston’s next field manager along with assistant GM Ben Cherington. Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com hears that Dale Sveum is a candidate on their list. The former Red Sox coach has managed on an interim basis in Milwaukee.

Quick Hits: Prince, Wilken, Blue Jays

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A few late-night items of note as a thriller in the Bronx reaches its climax …

  • Baltimore Sports and Life polled 17 analysts about the Orioles' odds of signing impending free agent Prince Fielder. Interestingly, opinions vary wildly about whether the O's should even pursue Prince, not to mention what kind of financial commitment it might take to procure his services.
  • Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken will be watching a pair of his notable draft selections when Phillies co-ace Roy Halladay squares off against his Cardinals counterpart, Chris Carpenter, in Friday's NLDS Game 5, writes Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. Wilken tabbed both of those pitchers when he was scouting director in Toronto, and he provides some cool insight into how each hurler was regarded before they became household names.
  • Andrew Stoeten of Drunk Jays Fans breaks down Toronto's outfield, replete with sound, humorous analysis and a spelling of "center" that looks odd to those of us in the States. Be sure to check it out.

Robin Ventura Links

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New White Sox manager Robin Ventura acknowledged in a conference call this afternoon that he's made quite a leap considering he has no managerial experience, but he said he's up to it: "I've jumped in the deep end, but I can swim" (Twitter link). Here are some interesting reactions, takes and analyses from the baseball community …

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com (video) heard the rumor of the White Sox's interest in Ventura on Wednesday but didn't relay it because it seemed so outlandish and he couldn't get it confirmed. Pretty ironic, right?
  • "We don't have to react, just to react," opines Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, who notes there's no way of accurately gauging whether Ventura was a sound hire or what the White Sox's motives were.
  • Scott Miller of CBSSports.com commends the White Sox for thinking outside the box.
  • "All we know is that it's somewhere between incredibly brilliant and ridiculously foolish," writes Rob Neyer of SBNation.com.
  • Ventura, who was assisting a high school team in California the past couple years, has a "stunning feel for the game," one of his friends tells Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports. Brown adds that the move looks like the work of White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf (Twitter links).
  • Keith Law of ESPN.com is "shocked and pessimistic" (via Twitter).
  • One of the reasons the White Sox chose Ventura is because he won't butt heads with GM Ken Williams, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. Former manager Ozzie Guillen, of course, didn't always have the best relationship with club brass.
  • Count Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports among the skeptics (Twitter link), who points out that A.J. Hinch was the last manager to be hired without experience (by the Diamondbacks), though Hinch at least had worked in the front office.
  • Finally, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs tweets that we should brace ourselves for an onslaught of jokes about an incident Ventura would rather forget.

NL West Notes: Kemp, Kuroda, Goldschmidt, Rox

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The Diamondbacks, winners of the NL West in 2011, have pushed the Brewers to a decisive fifth game in the NLDS, and they may not have gotten there without the help of rookie slugger Paul Goldschmidt. Here's more on him and a few other items of note regarding NL West clubs …

  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said that extending Matt Kemp is an offseason priority but he won't set a firm deadline to get a deal done, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Last week, Kemp's agent, Dave Stewart, set an extension deadline of Opening Day 2012, and Colletti told Shelburne he too prefers to work out deals in the offseason, but he doesn't have any hard and fast rules: "I've done a handful of deals during a season, but the total number is very small compared to those that have been done in the offseason," Colletti said. "You take every situation case by case, you never say no to anything."
  • That Dodgers right-hander Hiroki Kuroda vetoed pre-deadline trades to the Tigers and Red Sox bodes well for Los Angeles' chances of re-signing the free agent, opines Jim Bowden of ESPN (via Twitter). We heard late last month that Kuroda is on the fence about re-signing with the Dodgers or returning to Japan.
  • The Diamondbacks were awarded an August waiver claim on White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, two sources tell Bob Nightengale of USA Today, but trade discussions didn't progress, as the South Siders were targeting Goldschmidt, whom the Snakes weren't interested in trading. Konerko, who would have had to approve the trade because of his 10-and-5 rights, said a deal was never brought to him — and he's not sure whether he would have accepted.
  • The Rockies haven't ruled out bringing back third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes first reported that Kouzmanoff had elected free agency today after being outrighted on Tuesday.
  • The Rox also are interested in retaining minor leaguers Jose Morales and Matt Daley, who were also outrighted, according to Renck (via Twitter).

Managerial Notes: Red Sox, Alomar, Francona

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The White Sox's unexpected hiring of former third baseman Robin Ventura is Thursday's hot news item regarding managers, but here are a few other nuggets of note:

  • The Red Sox now have the managerial market to themselves with the White Sox filling their vacancy, tweets Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.
  • Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. must be the favorite, among the candidates we know, to become next Red Sox manager, McAdam adds in a separate tweet.
  • Alomar says he never heard from the White Sox about their opening and he's excited to be the Tribe's bench coach, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
  • Similarly, the White Sox did not contact Francona, who was a minor league manager in their system in the early 1990s, a source tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. All of the 30 Major League teams currently have managers, as Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com notes, so there will have to be turnover for Francona to be a skipper in 2012. That is still possible, though, as the Cubs, Astros and Orioles could be in the market, pending front-office changes, and the Cardinals may have to commence a search if Tony La Russa retires or moves on after the postseason.
  • The good news for the Red Sox, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, is that Rays bench coach Dave Martinez and Alomar are still available.

White Sox Name Robin Ventura Manager

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The White Sox announced that they have hired Robin Ventura to be their new manager. The sides have agreed to terms on a multiyear deal that makes Ventura the franchise's 38th manager. GM Kenny Williams says Ventura topped his managerial wish list despite his inexperience as a Major League skipper.

“I wanted someone who met very specific criteria centered around his leadership abilities," Williams said in a statement. "Robin Ventura was that man."

The 44-year-old Ventura re-joined the White Sox this June as a special advisor to director of player development Buddy Bell. He says he's looking forward to the challenge and opportunity of managing in the Major Leagues, something he has never done before.

In a 16-year playing career that lasted from 1989-2004, Ventura hit 294 home runs, made an All-Star team and won six Gold Gloves. He spent his first ten seasons with the White Sox after they selected him with the tenth overall pick of the 1988 draft. 

Williams, who suited up with the White Sox from 1986-88, never played with Ventura, but he was in Chicago's front office by the time Ventura's career ended. Ventura did play with his predecessor, Ozzie Guillen, from 1989-1997.

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