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Mets, Byrdak Close To Extension

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The Mets are close to signing Tim Byrdak to an extension for 2012, reports Mike Silva of New York Baseball Digest. GM Sandy Alderson confirmed the contract talks to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York (Twitter link).

The 37-year-old Byrdak signed a minor league deal with the Mets prior to the 2011 season, and has enjoyed a very strong year for the club. In 36 2/3 innings (68 appearances), the left-hander has posted career bests in ERA (2.95) and K/9 (10.8).

Byrdak will earn about $1.2MM this season after incentives, and while Silva isn't sure about the terms the two sides are discussing for next year, he predicts that the deal will be for at least the same amount, if not more.

Indians Notes: Sizemore, Carmona, Thome, Cabrera

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The Indians may have had their playoff hopes dashed by the Tigers, but with a strong performance over the next week and a half, they'll still finish the season with a winning record. Cleveland sends Justin Masterson to the hill against the Twins today, looking to finish off a sweep and get back to .500. Before they get underway at Target Field, let's check out a few Tribe-related links….

AL East Notes: Aviles, Rays, Blue Jays, Jenks

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Mariano Rivera recorded his 601st career save yesterday against the Blue Jays, tying Trevor Hoffman for the all-time mark. John Harper of the New York Daily News writes that, while Joe Girardi isn't about to keep Rivera out of a save situation if one arises today, it would be nice if the Yankees didn't have to use their closer again in Toronto. New York begins an eight-game homestand tomorrow, which could allow Rivera to notch the record-setting save in Yankee Stadium. Here are the rest of this morning's AL East notes:

  • Mike Aviles told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he asked the Royals to trade him at the deadline this season, knowing he wasn't a part of the team's long-term plans. Aviles has been an important acquisition for the Red Sox, given the injuries to Jed Lowrie and Kevin Youkilis. The utility man has hit .361/.373/.458 in part-time action since arriving in Boston.
  • Within the same piece, Rosenthal notes that you could argue the Rays should have added a bat at the deadline, given their current presence in the Wild Card race. However, the club was 8 1/2 games out of the Wild Card at the time, and didn't want to compromise their team defense for an offensive upgrade.
  • John Tomase discusses Alex Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays in a piece for the Boston Herald, and the Jays GM offers a few interesting quotes. Anthopoulos says the primary challenge of the AL East isn't going up against the massive payrolls of the Red Sox and Yankees, but rather competing with a handful of smart general managers who know how to run a team.
  • More Anthopolous, on the most efficient way for the Blue Jays to add talent: "The trade route where we are right now is important for us. It's going to be a big part of what we're doing and it is. Free agency is the last route we want to go. At some point we'll have to start delving into it a little more, but I still want to try to avoid it at all costs. If we try to do this through the draft, it's going to be a while. And it's not going to work and we're not going to get it to time properly."
  • Bobby Jenks tells Michael Vega of the Boston Globe that he's disappointed the first season of his two-year deal with the Red Sox turned out so poorly. He's optimistic about being ready for Spring Training and being able to contribute in 2012 though. The reliever says that although he hasn't undergone his spine surgery yet, the doctors are talking about "weeks and not months" for the recovery.

Central Notes: Indians, La Russa, Verlander

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A few links to pass along regarding clubs in the Central divisions …

Marlins Notes: Vazquez, Wilson, Payroll

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Josh Johnson will most likely be a Marlin in 2012 (hopefully, in good health). Here are a couple of notes on a pair of hurlers who may or may not don the teal and black of the newly renamed Miami Marlins next season:

  • Javier Vazquez's second-half resurgence, recently detailed by MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith, won't have any bearing on whether he decides to retire after the season, writes Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Vazquez's latest masterpiece was a shutout of the Nats on Friday, after which one of his teammates, Gaby Sanchez, offered these telling words: “He’s accomplished so much. It’s time to just walk away on a high note and be with his family."
  • The Marlins may end up being the highest bidders for the services of impending free-agent starter C.J. Wilson of the Rangers, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com, who adds that he has no inkling as to whether Wilson would want to play for the Fish.
  • The Marlins plan to boost their payroll "significantly" as they head into a new ballpark next season, adds Olney (Twitter).
  • For all things Marlins, be sure to check out their MLBTR Facebook page, Twitter and RSS feeds.

Dmitri Young Wants To Return In 2012

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First baseman Dmitri Young, who last played in the big leagues with the Nationals in 2008, wants to return to the Majors in 2012 and plans to play in the Venezuelan Winter League beginning in October, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com (Twitter links).

Young, 38 next month, officially retired in March 2010. The No. 4 overall pick in 1991 by the Cardinals, Young was limited to 50 games in his final season in the bigs due to a variety of injuries. His last productive season was in 2007, when he hit .320/.378/.491 for Washington. For his career, Young has posted a .292/.351/.475 line in 5,252 plate appearances.

The 13-year veteran broke in with the Redbirds in 1996 and later played for the Reds and Tigers, as well as the Nats. Young tells Ladson he currently weighs 245 pounds and is in the best shape of his life (Twitter link). His brother, Delmon Young, is an outfielder with the Tigers.

Royals Notes: Melky, Starters, 2012

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A couple of Royals notes as they put their six-game winning streak on the line tonight against the White Sox at The K:

  • The Royals will have to figure out what to do with outfielder Melky Cabrera, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The Melk Man has bounced back in a big way from a dismal 2010 and is under team control through next season. The Royals will mull flipping him for pitching help, offering him arbitration and holding onto him for 2012, or signing him to an extension, as they did with Jeff Francoeur. Cabrera, for his part, wants to remain in Kansas City.
  • Rival executives expect the Royals to aggressively pursue one or two established, veteran starters in the offseason, and they could pull it off as they have a prospect-rich farm from which to draw upon, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
  • The 2011 Royals are young and formidable offensively, like their 1999 counterparts, writes Rany Jazayerli. In an interesting analysis, Rany lays out some arguments to believe these Royals will fare better in 2012 and beyond than those ones did in 2000.

Rosenthal On Votto, Epstein, Sabathia, Beinfest

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 Let's take a look at this week's edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..

  • The Reds aren't going to shop Joey Votto but they'll at least listen to trade inquiries this winter.  Cincinnati could come back with Votto for one more year at $9.5MM and play Yonder Alonso in left field but Votto's salary rises to $17MM in 2013 and Alonso's best position is first base.  Reds owner Bob Castellini won't want to trade Votto, just as he didn't want to deal veterans at the deadline.  However, the Reds would be looking at much more value for Votto at two years away from free agency rather than one year away.
  • The Red Sox will likely avoid a historic collapse but if they don't, all bets are off.  Manager Terry Francona is technically unsigned for next season as they hold options on him for the next two seasons.  Meanwhile, GM Theo Epstein might want to leave for the Cubs regardless, if the Cubs give him more power in baseball operations.  The question still remains whether BoSox owner John Henry would allow him to talk with one year left on his contract.
  • It would be interesting to see how the Yankees react if, as expected, C.C. Sabathia opts out of his contract.  The Bombers have had contentious negotiations with key players in years past, but Sabathia is different.  The hurler is only 31-years-old and coming off of three outstanding years in New York.  If the talks to turn ugly, he'll certainly have other options.
  • Marlins GM Larry Beinfest has let it be known that he would like a chance at the Cubs position.  Rival executives say that Beinfest is unhappy with the recent reassignment of Jim Fleming the increasing involvement of owner Jeffrey Loria.  The Cubs' level of interest in Beinfest is currently unknown.

Quick Hits: Astros, Yankees, Mets, Pujols, Fielder

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Some links on this Saturday afternoon..

  • Astros GM Ed Wade isn't sure yet if pitching coach Doug Brocail will return next year, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.  Brocail retired after the 2009 season and was working as a special assistant to Wade this year when he took over as pitching coach when Brad Arnsberg was let go in June.
  • Both the Yankees and Mets will have to start making some critical decisions about which prospects they need to protect ahead of the Rule V draft this winter, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.  It seems likely that the Mets will roll the dice and leave once-promising right-hander Brad Holt unprotected while the Bombers could leave switch-pitcher Pat Venditte exposed.
  • With Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder both hitting the free agent market this winter, the battle between agents Dan Lozano and Scott Boras will be fun to watch, writes Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Giants managing partner and CEO Bill Neukom wanted the team to take a more patient approach to hitting when he took over but Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle says that never came to be.

Dempster Has Not Thought About Player Option

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Ryan Dempster is scheduled to start for the Cubs tomorrow, and it might be his last start at Wrigley Field as a Cub. Dempster holds a $14MM player option for next season, but he told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that he hasn't put much thought into whether or not he'll exercise it yet…

"I never even thought about that," said Dempster. "As a player, you just want to see where everything's going and what direction they want to go and things like that more than anything. You know how much I love playing here. Hopefully, it's not just about staying here for next year but staying past next year. I'll worry about what's on the field first."

Dempster added that there are a lot of factors that will go into the decision, which is understandable. The free agent market for starters is quite thin beyond CC Sabathia (assuming he exercises his opt-out) and C.J. Wilson, so it's not a stretch to say Dempster would be the third best pitcher available and the top righty (ahead of Edwin Jackson).

The 34-year-old Dempster is in the middle of his worst season as a Cub, pitching to a 4.66 ERA in 183 1/3 innings across 31 starts. Unless he pitches very deep into the game in his last two starts, he'll fail to crack the 200 innings plateau for the first time since moving back into the rotation in 2008. It's worth noting that his strikeout (8.7 K/9), walk (3.4 BB/9), and home run (1.0 HR/9) rates are right in line with his previous seasons.

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