Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports brings us yet another edition of Full Count, let's dive in and take a look at the highlights..
- Of all of the pending managerial situations to watch in the majors, the Twins might be the most interesting club to keep an eye on. Ron Gardenhire is trying to avoid his third-straight 90-loss season and he's extremely unlikely to accept a one-year deal and serve as a lame duck in 2014. By the same token, the Twins might not be willing to give him another multi-year pact. For what it's worth, GM Terry Ryan has taken full responsibility for the team's poor roster.
- Catchers generally don't do well in free agency, but two prominent ones are about to hit the open market with prominent teams bidding for their services: the Braves' Brian McCann and the Red Sox's Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Phillies and Rangers figures to be in the mix as they could lose free agent backstops of their own. The White Sox badly need to upgrade behind the plate, though it's not clear how much they'll spend. The Yankees could be involved too. They want to stay under the $189MM luxury tax threshold, but they could use one of the two to finally give themselves an adequate replacement for Russell Martin.
- It's not a huge surprise to see the Marlins contemplating a front office shakeup in September, but regardless of what they do with Baseball Operations President Larry Beinfest, Miami has bigger fish to fry. The Marlins have to decide if they will part with Giancarlo Stanton as he's still unlikely to sign an extension. Rosenthal also wonders why they have been bystanders when it comes to going after Cuban free agents that have come and gone like Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes, and Alexander Guerrero. One has to imagine that a notable Cuban import would be a sizable draw in Miami.
- Even though all of the focus is on the playoff chase, there's still a matter of who will get the final protected pick in next year's draft. The Phillies, if they win too much, can wind up losers. The difference is critical for Ruben Amaro & Co. as they have an older club and they'll want to sign free agents, but, of course, they don't want to lose a first rounder. You can keep track of the other September race with MLBTR's Reverse Standings.
