Davis Would Return To D’Backs Or Brewers
Doug Davis has played his entire National League career with two teams: the D'Backs and Brewers. Now that he's about to become a free agent, Davis tells Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic that he'd return to either club. However, he knows other teams are likely to have some interest in him, so he's not publicly ruling anything out.
"I think there are a lot of teams out there that could use me," he said.
Davis, who turns 34 on Monday, has been remarkably consistent throughout the last six years. He doesn't have electric stuff, but he's made 30 starts or more nearly every season. A year ago, Davis missed time to recover from cancer, but still managed to start 26 games.
Davis says he won't ask for a ton of money, but he considers himself one of the better left-handers available, so he expects to be paid fairly. After the Brewers nearly acquired him last month, Davis said he wants a three-year deal. Since there are other innings-eaters out there, a deal that long would be a coup for Davis and his agent.
Heyman’s Latest: Mets, D-Backs, Indians
Jon Heyman takes a look at three teams that underachieved this season and how each might approach the off-season…
New York Mets
- Heyman thinks the payroll will be about the same next season, noting that any attempt to lower the payroll would be a tough sell to the fans.
- Needs include left fielder, first baseman, catcher, starting pitcher and overall depth.
- Mets are looking at Matt Holliday and Jason Bay and could target Adrian Gonzalez and Bengie Molina.
- Starting pitchers the Mets may pursue include Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Jason Marquis as well as Roy Halladay if he's available.
- Mets may try to move Luis Castillo and replace him with Orlando Hudson.
Arizona Diamondbacks
- Heyman hears the D-Backs will try to sign Brandon Webb to a new deal at slightly less than the $8.5MM option they have for next season.
- The D-Backs may try to re-sign Doug Davis, but that will still leave a couple of holes in the rotation.
- Arizona may try to fill the second base job via trade. Heyman suggests that Eric Byrnes and Chris Snyder could be trade bait and feels Byrnes could be moved for Castillo.
Cleveland Indians
- Heyman says the Indians need to replace Carl Pavano's ability to eat innings.
- The Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee deals saved the Indians $21MM, some of which could be used in free agency.
Other notes…
- It looks like Andy Pettitte will reach most of the incentives in his contract, nearly doubling his base salary of $5.5MM.
- Dan Uggla feels he will be traded this off-season and Heyman says the Marlins won't want to pay his arbitration figure.
The D’Backs And Brandon Webb’s Option
WEDNESDAY: The D'Backs are likely to take their time on the Webb option decision, says Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Piecoro adds:
But for now, the organization seems to be operating under the assumption that Webb will be back in the fold next year, whether it's with the club picking up his $8.5MM option or negotiating some other type of deal.
MONDAY: The Diamondbacks "don't plan to pick up Brandon Webb's $8.5MM club option," according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Nightengale says they will instead try to negotiate a one-year deal. Webb hopes to be ready for Spring Training after a recent shoulder cleanup. Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic notes that the D'Backs have until five days after the World Series to decide between Webb's $8.5MM option and the $2MM buyout.
Despite the report, I'd be surprised to see the D'Backs decline the option. After all, it is a one-year deal already, and a net of $6.5MM is quite reasonable for a pitcher of Webb's stature. For the team to try to reduce the guarantee further would be unreasonable, and the D'Backs aren't high on incentive-based contracts. Plus, GM Josh Byrnes had this to say a month ago about the option: "If it's close, he'll probably get the benefit of the doubt."
Odds & Ends: Soriano, Reds, Diamondbacks
A couple more links for tonight…
- Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post Dispatch tweets that the Cardinals and Braves discussed closer Rafael Soriano earlier this year. We heard some rumblings of a Joe Mather for Soriano deal over the summer.
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon wonders who should start in center field for the Reds next year – Chris Dickerson, Drew Stubbs, or Willy Taveras. Taveras is under contract for $4MM next year, plus Dusty loves his veterans, so he might get the job by default.
- Steve Gilbert of MLB.com notes that the Diamondbacks and manager A.J. Hinch will wait until after the season to make any decisions about the coaching staff.
Rosenthal On Garcia, Pirates, Papelbon
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal says Florida's Chris Coghlan deserves the NL Rookie of the Year award. Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones, J.A. Happ, Randy Wells, and Tommy Hanson are also in the mix…who do you like?
- For the AL ROY, Rosenthal sticks with his preseason choice of Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus. Jeff Niemann, Andrew Bailey, Nolan Reimold, and Gordon Beckham are other top contenders.
- Rosenthal has a few possible Nationals managerial candidates: Diamondbacks third base coach Chip Hale, Bobby Valentine, and Bob Melvin. It's also possible Jim Riggleman is retained.
- I was not aware of this – Freddy Garcia's deal with the White Sox has a 2010 option with a $1MM base and $2MM in incentives. Garcia has an 89mph fastball these days, but he's posted quality starts in three of four tries (against the Yankees and Red Sox).
- The Pirates would only trade starters Paul Maholm or Zach Duke if they receive "a young major league starter of similar quality, plus another piece." I mentioned that the Bucs look pretty good for 2011, but Rosenthal says team officials are not conceding 2010.
- Rosenthal's source describes a Jonathan Papelbon trade as "pretty unrealistic." Jayson Stark's sources had a similar opinion.
- Rosenthal rattles off the teams that have had past interest in Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, who is getting pricey: the Orioles, Twins, Giants, D'Backs, Dodgers, and Cardinals.
Dodgers, Diamondbacks Trade Hits Snag
When the Diamondbacks sent starter Jon Garland to the Dodgers late last month, they expected to receive infielder Tony Abreu in return. In addition to his gaudy minor league stats, Abreu appealed to Arizona because he still had two more pre-arbitration years ahead of him and five years total before he became a free agent.
However, as Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports, the team had no way of knowing that Abreu and the Dodgers were close to reaching an agreement to settle a grievance filed in 2007. As a result of the settlement, Abreu may be awarded additional service time that may make him arbitration eligible in 2011 instead of 2012. The D-Backs believe LA did not act in good faith during negotiations.
The grievance came after Abreu was optioned to the minors in July 2007, and he claimed he should have instead been placed on the disabled list with an abdominal injury. As you know from our service time primer, a player can accrue service time while on the DL but not while in the minors. Abreu would pick up 47 additional days of service time thanks to the grievance, which would likely make him a "Super Two."
As Piecoro explains, it's unclear what action the D-Backs will take at this point, but teams can file grievances with MLB over disputed trades. They could ask to amend the original list of players the two teams agreed upon to complete the deal, or they could ask for the Dodgers to kick in some cash to cover Abreu's increased salary.
No wonder why they always say abdominal injuries will linger if they aren't taken care of properly.
D’Backs Rumors: Snyder, Garland, Abreu
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has the latest on the D'Backs catchers and their return for Jon Garland:
- Chris Snyder's back problems may not be serious, but they could become a problem for both the club and the catcher. The D'Backs hope to trade Snyder in the offseason to address other weaknesses and Snyder would presumably like to play every day. If Snyder returns in time to re-establish some of his value, he would help himself and the D'Backs.
- Piecoro hears that the Dodgers won't necessarily send Tony Abreu to the D'Backs to complete the Jon Garland trade. It remains likely that Abreu will join the D'Backs, however.
Discussion: What Should Braves Do With Their Pitching Surplus?
Mark Bowman of MLB.com has an excellent rundown of the Braves' payroll going into 2010. He focuses on Tim Hudson, who had scouts from the Rockies and the Diamondbacks watching him make his return to the mound last night.
It would seem that the Braves have some decisions to make about their starting rotation going into next season. They currently have Hudson, Javier Vazquez, Derek Lowe, Kenshin Kawakami, Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson.
According to Bowman, the Braves have a few different options. They could pay Hudson's $1MM buyout and let him go. They could attempt to trade Vazquez for prospects. They could even trade Kawakami for financial relief, though the return for him would be less than what Vazquez would bring.
Bowman argues that if both Hudson and Vazquez stay with the Braves, Atlanta's rotation "would be deeper than any of the great ones it possessed during the 1990's." Do you agree? How should the Braves proceed?
Odds & Ends: Posey, Maybin, Penny
Links for Wednesday…
- Due to Bengie Molina's injury, the Giants have changed their mind and called up top prospect Buster Posey according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. So Posey's clock starts earlier than planned.
- Speaking of service time, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tells me Cameron Maybin's call-up gives him 129 days of service time after this year. That puts him on the fringe of Super Two status after the 2011 season.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick ranks the impact of trades made by contenders in July. He talked to an exec who thinks Matt Holliday "could make an extra $3MM a year as a free agent this winter because of his strong finish."
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes has his trade deadline winners and losers.
- Ryan Doumit's agent Matt Sosnick shot down recent negativity surrounding his client, while Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gets to the bottom of the catcher's recent benching.
- Brad Penny still hates the Dodgers, a team he'll face twice this month according to Baggarly. Baggarly also has a quote from Penny ripping on the Marlins.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has more from Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy, who knows he gained trade value when the team delayed his free agency.
- J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics wonders whether the Braves should pick up Tim Hudson's $12MM option for 2010. Hudson has the right to void that option, not that he would. Back in January Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the Braves "fully intend to exercise it, barring some unexpected turn of events."
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs notes that Kendry Morales has matched the production of the Angels' former first baseman, $180MM man Mark Teixeira.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has comments from Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes on the team's Jon Rauch–Kevin Mulvey swap. Piecoro says the D'Backs have about $23MM to work with this winter as they presumably look to add pitching.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times guesses Ken Griffey Jr. will retire after this season.
Rosenthal On Abreu, Royals, Garland
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Bobby Abreu and the Angels have mutual interest in continuing their relationship, according to his agent Peter Greenberg. Greenberg says there have been discussions but they'll probably wait until after the season. Abreu, 36 in March, is hitting .297/.391/.428 in 547 plate appearances while playing subpar defense. He should end up earning $6MM given his plate appearance incentives. He'll easily achieve Type A status again.
- Rosenthal praises the Royals for extending GM Dayton Moore, and suggests the team should commit to a full-bore rebuild. Rosenthal believes it would've been wise to trade Mark Teahen and Gil Meche.
- Rosenthal says to expect another overloaded 1B/DH market this winter. Survey the free agent market here. I think we might find a .400 OBP on the cheap in Nick Johnson, while Jason Giambi is in for a minor league deal. Carlos Delgado, Russell Branyan, Hank Blalock, Ken Griffey Jr., Hideki Matsui, Aubrey Huff, Gary Sheffield, and Jim Thome are some of the other names.
- The Phillies decided to stick with Miguel Cairo as their right-handed bench bat, rather than pursue Nomar Garciaparra.
- A rival exec Rosenthal spoke to feels that Tony Abreu is not enough for Jon Garland, since the D'Backs are picking up all of Garland's contract.