Chris Bootcheck Elects Free Agency
Reliever and Scott Boras client Chris Bootcheck has elected free agency, according to a press release from the Pirates. Righties Denny Bautista and Craig Hansen were also outrighted, but apparently remain in the organization for now.
Bootcheck, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Pirates in December. The signing seemed to signify the Pirates could work with Boras after the Pedro Alvarez drama. Bootcheck picked up 20 saves in Triple A, posting very strong peripherals (11.6 K/9, 1.5 BB/9, one home run allowed in 42.6 innings). He did not fare well in his 14.6 big league innings, but did average 93.6 mph on his heater.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Rockies, Brewers
What, two playoff games isn't enough baseball for you? Us either…
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com discusses the many problems with the Pirates. She doesn't think any of the traded Pirates are coming back, and addresses the improvement Pittsburgh needs to make in the starting rotation and up the middle.
- MLB.com's Thomas Harding dissects the state of the Rockies, position-by-position.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says there will be no pitching coach hiring announced today for the Brewers, in case you were staying up late waiting for that announcement.
- Boston Red Sox coaches Brad Mills and Tim Bogar interviewed for the Houston managerial vacancy.
Odds & Ends: Bucs, Duchscherer, Astros
A fresh batch of links for Saturday afternoon…
- Perry Hill left his post as Pirates first base coach Saturday and, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, expressed unhappiness with the team's aggressive trading on his way out. The Pirates got rid of three-fourths of their infield (Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche) during the year.
- According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A's have not touched base with soon-to-be free agent Justin Duchscherer since the end of the season. GM Billy Beane plans to engage in some kind of discussions with the right-hander and his agent "soon." We profiled "The Duke of Hurl" about a month ago.
- Former Astros manager Phil Garner interviewed for the club's managing vacancy on Saturday afternoon, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). He was the seventh of 10 candidates to interview for the gig.
- Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the Royals have retained minor league right-hander Jairo Cuevas. The 25-year-old was eligible for free agency.
Odds & Ends: Braves, Orioles, Pirates
A few notes from around the majors…
- Veteran Greg Norton tied a major league record in what may be his final season, says MLB.com's Mark Bowman
- In another blog entry, Bowman said that though Martin Prado spent some time in the outfield while playing in his native Venezuela, Prado is not a candidate for Atlanta's right field job.
- MASN's Steve Melewski reports that the Orioles have signed their first Guatemalan player, 17-year-old Manuel Hernandez
- In a chat on MLB.com, Pirates president Frank Coonelly said that Andy LaRoche was "open" to the possibility of playing second base next season given some of Pittsburgh's minor-league options at third base (including top prospect Pedro Alvarez).
- Dick Kaegel of MLB.com reports on two changes to Kansas City's coaching staff in 2010.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Mets, White Sox
Lots of teams are packing their bags today. But every trip has a destination…
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette chats with readers. Among other moves, he expects the Pirates to shop Matt Capps.
- The incomparable Marty Noble quotes a Mets official as saying, "There's more of an understanding now that we need to fix things on more than the Major League level."
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune thinks Carlos Quentin could help himself from "a slight weight loss."
- Nick Piecoro believes the Diamondbacks have no choice but to pick up Brandon Webb's $6.5MM option for 2010, which is actually an $8.5MM option minus a $2.0MM buyout Arizona can exercise.
Pirates Talk: Payroll, Offseason Plans
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the latest on the Pirates, in articles found here and here.
- Kovacevic says the Pirates "do not plan to pursue a starting pitcher through free agency or trade this offseason." The Bucs figure to enter Spring Training next year with four rotation spots decided and many options for the last spot.
- As hot stove junkies, we love when GMs are revealing about offseason plans and payroll space. However, it's often not in the best interest of the team for the GM to disclose that information. With that in mind, Huntington is staying mum on free agent targets and the team's 2010 payroll.
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly admitted next year's payroll will exceed the current $28MM projection, but wouldn't provide more detail. Coonelly added, "This is a relatively weak free-agent class. Nevertheless, there are several players who would be of interest to us if they become free agents." A few weeks ago, Kovacevic suggested Rick Ankiel and John Grabow are possible free agent targets for the Pirates.
- The Pirates fell below their draft and international budgets this year, and Coonelly says that money will roll over to the corresponding budgets in 2010.
- Huntington and manager John Russell are signed through next year. Coonelly expects both to remain with the team beyond 2010.
- In a Pirates 2010 outlook for MLB.com, Jenifer Langosch names Denny Bautista and Tyler Yates as non-tender candidates.
Odds & Ends: Blue Jays, Towers, Pirates, Mets
Here are some links to kick off Sunday morning:
- Some Blue Jays players approached CEO and President Paul Beeston with complaints about Cito Gaston, reports Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun. “They raised the issues,” said Beeston. “They were listened to. They have not been addressed at this time. I had my ears open. I kept my mouth shut. I gave them some comments and that’s all I want to say about that.”
- Jordan Bastian of MLB.com writes that newly appointed Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos was emotional in his introductory presser. The article notes that the position of president and CEO will be filled soon, relieving the interim hire, Paul Beeston. Beeston says that while the next president and CEO will have the authority to hire its own staff, he will recommend that Anthopoulos remain as GM.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that Kevin Towers didn't deserve to get fired considering all the obstacles he has had to work around in San Diego.
- Towers conducted a farewell press conference in San Diego and Craig Elsten of 619sports.net posted some key sound bytes. Towers insisted that the organization maintained a strong focus on scouting and player development under his watch. He also said that he has been contacted by seven or eight other teams to work immediately, but wants to take some time off before jumping into another job. The 47-year-old made it known that he wants the opportunity to be a GM again. Also available are team owner and CEO Jeff Moorad's post-podium comments.
- The Pirates have talked to Andy LaRoche about possibly moving from third base to second next year to make room for Pedro Alvarez, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Pirates would like to call-up Alvarez by the middle of the 2010 season, but first he must improve his strength and conditioning. The 22-year-old excelled after his mid-season promotion to AA, posting .333/.419/.590 with 13 HR in 60 games.
- More from Kovacevic as he labels the Pirates' trade of Nate McLouth to the Braves to be the worst personnel move of the year. Kovacevic says the deal hurt the players' trust in Pittsburgh management and was a poor public relations decision.
- Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post tweets, "Jerry Manuel was in meetings all morning and said he expects an announcement tomorrow on changes and the team's offseason plans."
- Jon Heyman reports via Twitter that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria refused to comment on a possible manager change. Recent reports suggest that Fredi Gonzalez could be on the way out and Bobby Valentine could be on the way in.
Odds & Ends: Ankiel, Moyer, Griffey, Jays
Another round of links, expertly prepared…
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch believes the Reds might have interest in soon-to-be free agent outfielder Rick Ankiel. The Pirates are also thought to have some level of interest in the former pitcher, who's hit 36 home runs in the past two years and boasts one of the best outfield arms in baseball. (That's looking on the bright side of things, of course).
- As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark notes, Jamie Moyer's season-ending groin injury locks in his 2010 salary at $8MM. $6.5MM of that is base pay, and the other $1.5MM is available through performance-based incentives.
- Ken Griffey Jr. side-stepped another retirement question when the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser spoke with him Wednesday. "It's not really up to me," he said. "Well, some of it is." Stay tuned this offseason for more on Junior's future plans.
- According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, the Blue Jays have laid off nearly two dozen employees from the business side of their organization. Cost-cutting in the front office doesn't bode well for any kind of free agency exploits this winter.
Miguel Angel Sano To Sign With Twins
WEDNESDAY: Kovacevic has details on the breakdown in communication between the Pirates and Plummer. MLB.com's Jen Langosch has a statement from Huntington; here's the money quote:
"Miguel Sano has apparently agreed to terms with another organization without his agent engaging the Pirates in legitimate negotiations."
TUESDAY: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that the Twins will sign Dominican shortstop Miguel Angel Sano. Sano will receive a bonus of $3.15MM, the largest for an international amateur player given this summer. Sano's would be the second largest Latin American signing bonus ever behind only Dominican pitcher Michael Ynoa, who signed with the A's for $4.25MM last year, says Baseball America. It's the second largest in Twins history behind Joe Mauer's $5.15MM.
Last May, Kovacevic said Sano's bonus could reach $3MM. The deal will be signed tomorrow; however, Jorge Arangure of ESPN the Magazine adds via Twitter that "this deal isn't completed until Sano gets a visa to play in the U.S. And that's no given." While his age remains unconfirmed, Sano's saying he's 16.
The signing comes as a surprise. As many as 8-10 teams were reportedly interested in Sano, but it was the Pirates that had intensely pursued him. Kovacevic notes a breakdown between Sano's agent, Rob Plummer, and the Pirates:
"Plummer made clear that his relationship with the Pirates, particularly general manager Neal Huntington and Latin American scouting director Rene Gayo, became frayed during the process. The Pirates were the most aggressive team once the July 2 international signing period began, making offers of $2 million at the time and $2.6 million a month ago — the latter payment to be split in three parts — but talks were minimal in the past three weeks… each side expressed strong distrust in the other."
According to Kovacevic, Plummer says Huntington never believed other teams were interested in Sano and was overly concerned he was bidding against himself.
Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Drew, Red Sox, Valentine
Some more links to read as we ready ourselves for another Tigers-Twins game…
- The Pirates just added Anthony Claggett to their roster, so he could make his debut with the club tonight, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- The Pirates won't bring back coach Rich Donnelly, but pitching coach Joe Kerrigan will return.
- On the weekend, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported (via Twitter) that the D'Backs will listen to offers for Stephen Drew. Nightengale says the club wants pitching and suggests the Red Sox will likely have interest in Drew.
- Rob Neyer of ESPN.com says it wouldn't make sense for the Red Sox to trade Clay Buchholz to the D'Backs to acquire Stephen Drew. Buchholz, after all, has shown that he can pitch in the AL East. The Red Sox need a shortstop, but Neyer doesn't consider Drew a proven player.
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post reports that Bobby Valentine is "totally committed" to his new job as an ESPN analyst, though the former MLB manager acknowledged that he could manage in the bigs again at some point.