Hudson Wants To Finish Career With Braves
Following the conclusion of this year's World Series, the Braves will have three days to decide on whether or not to exercise a $9MM option on Tim Hudson or pay a $1MM buyout. It seems practically inevitable that they'll pick up the option, but David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Hudson is hoping for more than just one final year as a Brave:
"I’d love to stay here,” said Hudson … who’s been with the Braves for eight seasons. “Obviously for next year, but I’d love to stay here as long as they’ll have me.”
Hudson, 37, pitched to a 3.62 ERA with a 5.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 179 1/3 innings of work for the Braves this season. His 55.5 percent ground-ball rate ranked seventh in all of baseball among qualified starters, but still represented a noticeable departure from the 62.2 percent mark he posted from 2007-10.
The sinkerballer missed time with bone spurs in his ankle this season, but told O'Brien that he believes the back surgery he underwent last November has prolonged his career:
“I felt better this year than I have in a while, except for the ankle,” he said. “My arm felt great all year, my back never gave me any problems, so that was definitely encouraging. I feel good that I can pitch for a while longer.”
The Braves, of course, don't have to decide on a long-term extension right now. Hudson would like to discuss such a deal this offseason, but the Braves could simply wait to see how he fares in 2013 before deciding on his fate. There are some signs for concern that would merit such caution. Hudson's ERA rose in both 2011 and 2012, his ground-ball rate declined in each of those seasons, and his 5.1 K/9 in 2012 was his lowest since 2004. Hudson's sinker also averaged just 89 mph — a full 1.5 mph drop from 2011.
The Alabama native has been with the Braves since being acquired from the Athletics following the 2004 season. In hindsight, that trade looks like a steal, as the Braves gave up just Juan Cruz, Dan Meyer and Charles Thomas. While all three were highly regarded, none developed into a superstar. Hudson, meanwhile, has pitched to a 3.52 ERA in 1,441 2/3 innings for the Braves.
Braves Extend Frank Wren
Five years into Frank Wren's tenure as the Braves' general manager, the team continues contending on an annual basis. Wren will have at least two more seasons to bring a championship to Atlanta, as he has agreed to a contract extension through 2014. His previous contract covered the 2012-13 seasons.
In related moves the Braves promoted Bruce Manno to the role of vice president and assistant GM/player development and John Coppolella to the role of assistant GM.
“These changes are a reflection of the good work and success of our Major League baseball team and the work of Frank and his senior staff,” team president John Schuerholz said.
Atlanta won 94 games this year, losing to the Cardinals in a controversy-filled Wild Card play-in game. It marked Atlanta's second postseason appearance under Wren; the Braves lost in the Division Series two years ago.
Since being named to his current post on October 11, 2007, Wren has weathered the departure of franchise icons Bobby Cox and Chipper Jones while acquiring key contributors. Wren traded for players such as Jair Jurrjens and Michael Bourn, claimed Eric O'Flaherty off of waivers, and signed Brandon Beachy as a non-drafted free agent. The 54-year-old GM signed Derek Lowe for four years and $60MM, but in general the team has not spent aggressively on outside free agents, as MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker shows.
Wren, Schuerholz's former assistant, joined the Braves in 2000. The former minor league outfielder had previously worked for the Expos, Marlins and Orioles, including a stint as Baltimore's GM.
NL East Notes: Rizzo, Johnson, Braves, Phillies
Jayson Werth's walkoff homer gave the Nationals a 2-1 win over the Cardinals today and extended their NLDS series to a deciding fifth game tomorrow. Gio Gonzalez will start Game Five against Adam Wainwright and the Cards, with the winning team advancing to face the Giants in the NLCS. Here's the latest from Washington and elsewhere in the NL East…
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo had some choice words for unnamed executives who were said to be rooting against the Nats due to the Stephen Strasburg controversy, reports CBS Sports' Jon Heyman. Rizzo again defended his decision to shut Strasburg down, also noting that the anonymous criticisms were "not how we do things in my neighborhood.''
- Davey Johnson joked that he could "pull a La Russa" and retire if the Nationals win the World Series, reports Heyman, though the manager is expected to return next season and Rizzo wants him back.
- Given the unpredictable nature of relief pitching, the Phillies' problematic bullpen could be turned around quickly, writes David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News. With Jonathan Papelbon's salary leaving little room for another pricey relief arm, Murphy suggests the Phils could explore a trade or target such lower-priced relievers as Koji Uehara, Luis Ayala, Jeremy Affeldt or Joel Peralta. Brandon Lyon could also be a Phillies target, as Murphy says the club was interested in the veteran righty three years ago before Lyon signed with Houston.
- Also on the topic of the Phillies' bullpen, Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News thinks a reunion with Ryan Madson would make sense, as Madson could be signed to an inexpensive deal as he looks to rebound and rebuild his value following Tommy John surgery.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution outlines what he would do with the Braves this winter, a list that includes extending Martin Prado and installing him at third base, trading for Josh Willingham or signing a free agent outfielder like Nick Swisher or Cody Ross, picking up Brian McCann's option and letting Michael Bourn in favor of signing a cheaper center field option in Angel Pagan.
East Notes: Braves, Red Sox, Wallach, Orioles
News and notes out of the Eastern divisions..
- Braves General Manager Frank Wren knows that the club may have some financial flexibility this winter, but he would prefer not to put all of his eggs in one basket, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "We're going to be looking for premium players," Wren said. "I don't think there is any doubt about that. But there [are] a couple things we're always mindful of. We're putting a team together. We're not trying to put a player on this team. That's overriding philosophy — to put a team together. If we think we can add two players that give us more than one player, then we're going to do that."
- The Red Sox have been granted permission to interview Tim Wallach by the Dodgers, a source tells Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Earlier today we learned that Boston reached out to the third base coach to gauge his interest in their managerial vacancy. We can safely assume that Wallach is interested.
- As Ben Cherington & Co. work to revamp the Red Sox after a 93-loss season, the club will look to quantify what extent injuries played in their disappointing campaign, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal. MacPherson notes that Boston was just 7.5 games behind the Orioles for the second wild card spot at the time of their blockbuster deal with the Dodgers. With Andrew Bailey, Carl Crawford, and Jacoby Ellsbury healthy for the first-half of the year, that differential likely would have been much closer and may have led to Cherington declining to blow up the team.
- Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter) notes that the Orioles were the only club to offer right-hander Miguel Gonzalez a minor league deal in early March. The inexpensive, low-risk signing worked out well for the O's as he is tonight's starter against the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS.
Wren Talks Bourn, Free Agency, Catchers, Hanson
The Braves' season ended in a game that will be remembered for a controversial call last week, as did the likely Hall of Fame career of Chipper Jones. With a feeling that he could only describe as "emptiness," general manager Frank Wren talked with David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the playoffs, his team's upcoming offseason and several of the decisions they'll have to make…
- Wren suggested that he's not a fan of the Wild Card format and that he'd like to see the system amended to give the Wild Card teams a three-game series, beginning with a day-night double-header.
- He also said that it's worth revisiting the trade deadline, which Wren feels is "pretty early for the current system." August 15 would be a more logical date for teams to determine whether or not they want to push for the Wild Card, in Wren's estimation.
- Wren says he's looking forward to a "focused" offseason. The front office recognizes that they have to replace Jones at third base, and they hope to retain Michael Bourn, whose contract expired at season's end. The team would like to address center field and the leadoff position in the same move — a role which Bourn can obviously fill. The Braves contacted Bourn's representatives about an extension in Spring Training but were told to wait until after the season to engage in negotiations.
- Atlanta would love to have David Ross back in the fold in 2013. Wren spoke very highly of his backup catcher to O'Brien.
- The Braves chose not to have Brian McCann undergo an MRI with a dye injection during the season because the recovery is too long. McCann will undergo that test in the near future, which could reveal a need for surgery, but for the time being the Braves believe their catcher needs only rest to recover.
- Jason Heyward could handle center field "for a few days," but Wren and his associates don't view him as a long-term answer in center. Wren said he considers Heyward among the best defensive right fielders in the game and wouldn't want to diminish his defensive value by moving him.
- The Braves have options on McCann ($12MM), Tim Hudson ($8MM) and Paul Maholm ($6.5MM), and they'll address those decisions in the coming weeks.
- It would take a "very, very big piece" to trade Randall Delgado or Julio Teheran this winter. The trade market does figure to be in play for the Braves though, as Wren said he won't be "going outrageous salary-wise" on free agents. The team will be "looking for premium players," but Wren cautions they're not looking to add a player to the team as much as they are looking to add value. If they feel that adding two players can give them more than one premium name, they'll pursue that route instead.
- Jair Jurrjens' situation is different from Tommy Hanson's, in Wren's mind. Wren spoke more definitely of Hanson's future with the team than that of Jurrjens. The Braves "will have a determination" on Jurrjens' future this winter. Jurrjens earned $5.5MM in 2012 and is a non-tender candidate for 2013 in the mind of MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith.
- Wren confirmed that the entire coaching staff will be offered the opportunity to return to the team.
Quick Hits: Braves, Leyland, Soriano, Phillies, Rays
Depending on what happens with Michael Bourn, the Braves could potentially have two major holes to fill in their lineup. Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) offers some suggestions for replacing Bourn and Chipper Jones and notes that the club could have some added flexibility if Martin Prado can be shifted from left field to third base. Ben Revere of the Twins, Peter Bourjos of the Angels, and Chris Young of the Diamondbacks could all be trade targets in center field. There aren't a lot of great third base options on the open market but Atlanta could zero in on guys like Mike Olt of the Rangers, Chase Headley of the Padres, and maybe even the Mets David Wright. Here's more from around baseball..
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland has been telling people in recent days that he has no plans to retire, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Given his desire to return, it's likely that Leyland will be managing the Tigers in 2013. Leyland's contract expires at the end of the season.
- Even though he has been linked the Marlins opening, Mike Lowell tells Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that he has no interest in managing at this point in his life. The former third baseman is currently working for the MLB Network as an on-air analyst.
- The Yankees' desire to keep their payroll under $189MM in 2014 could complicate their chances to sign Rafael Soriano to a long-term deal once he opts out, writes Heyman. Soriano's three-year, $35MM deal seemed like a stretch last year but it now seems like the Bombers view the possibility of a last year at $14MM more favorably than the right-hander.
- The members of the Philadelphia Daily News staff bring us their suggestions for retooling the club heading into 2013. David Murphy believes that Ruben Amaro & Co. should start by revamping the bullpen while Marcus Hayes writes that the club should stick to making small moves while allowing the younger players to flourish.
- Bill Parker of DRays Bay looks in the rear view mirror to discuss what the Rays could have done differently in 2012. The trade of John Jaso to the Mariners for Josh Lueke was among the missteps highlighted.
NL Notes: Braves, Adrian Gonzalez, Cubs, Cardinals
The Nationals and Cardinals began their NLDS today, 79 years to the day of the last playoff game for a Washington franchise. The series will also feature the largest age gap between two managers facing off in the post-season (27 years and 235 days between 69-year-old Davey Johnson of the Nationals and 42-year-old Mike Matheny of the Cardinals), according to the Elias Sports Bureau via a tweet by ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. Other notes and nuggets from the Senior Circuit:
- It is highly unlikely the Braves will attempt to sign Josh Hamilton because they typically don't pursue top-of-payscale free agents who come with questions, tweets the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's David O'Brien.
- Adrian Gonzalez told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that he felt he struggled this season because he was "trying too hard." Gonzalez was even disappointed by his career-high 47 doubles. Also in the profile, the Dodger first baseman discussed the responsibility he feels as a Mexican-American athlete in a heavily Latino city.
- The Dodgers will continue to strengthen their starting rotation which could lead them to target Zack Greinke, writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Cubs will need to acquire two or three starting pitchers merely to put a representative team on the field, opines Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Wittenmyer adds don't look for the Cubs to sign Greinke or Jake Peavy, as Shaun Marcum and Anibal Sanchez are more in line with the current front-office thinking.
- Jake Westbrook, rehabbing from discomfort in his right oblique, threw a bullpen session this morning and hopes to be available for bullpen duty if the Cardinals advance to the NLCS, reports MLB.com's Jennifer Langosch. The throwing schedule for Westbrook is fluid because he will be leaving the team after Game 2 to be with his wife, who is scheduled to be induced into labor for the birth of their fourth child on Thursday.
- The Cardinals will win the World Series in six games over the Tigers, predicts Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com in his playoff prognostication column.
Braves Notes: Bourn, Hudson, McCann
The latest out of Atlanta, courtesy of David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution..
- Braves General Manager Frank Wren said that he approached Michael Bourn and agent Scott Boras in Spring Training about starting contract talks and Boras said he would wait until after the season, tweets O'Brien.
- No surprise here, but Wren said that the club would like to re-sign the outfielder this winter (Twitter link). The GM added that he would have to see how the market shapes up for Bourn, who figures to be a hot commodity.
- Pitcher Tim Hudson said that he would like to finish his career in Atlanta, even though he knows that's not a given, O'Brien tweets. The Braves hold a $9MM team option on the 37-year-old for 2013 and are expected to exercise it.
- Wren says that the team will target premium players but don't plan to "go outrageous" with any one player in particular. Instead, the Braves are more likely to go for two high-salaried players than one player with an enormous price tag (Twitter links).
- Catcher Brian McCann told reporters that he believes he'll need shoulder surgery and could miss between 2-5 months of action, according to O'Brien (via Twitter). Meanwhile, Wren says that unless an MRI shows something worse than the initial diagnosis, McCann won't require surgery (Twitter link).
- The Braves have asked all of their coaches back for '13 and they are all expected to return, according to O'Brien (via Twitter).
Ben Sheets To Retire
Ben Sheets will retire after he pitches tomorrow, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). Sheets, who joined the Braves midseason after missing the entire 2011 campaign, said he will never pitch again.
Sheets, 34, made eight starts for the Braves this summer after missing a year to recover from flexor tendon surgery. He posted a 3.54 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 48 1/3 innings for Atlanta this year, re-establishing himself as a legitimate MLB starter.
The Brewers selected Sheets with the tenth overall pick in the 1999 draft and he spent most of his career in Milwaukee. He put together a number of strong seasons with the Brewers, including a memorable 2004 campaign. Sheets posted a 2.70 ERA with 264 strikeouts and just 32 walks in 237 innings that year, finishing eighth in the Cy Young balloting. In ten MLB seasons, Sheets has a 94-96 record, a 3.78 ERA and 1323 strikeouts in 1595 2/3 innings. He has earned more than $52MM as a professional, according to Baseball-Reference.
Extension Candidate: Kris Medlen
It speaks to Kris Medlen's dominance over the last two months that his quality start last night against the Marlins (three runs on five hits over seven innings, eight strikeouts and no walks) was his worst outing of the season. Medlen's season ERA rose all the way to 1.64 but the Braves' 4-3 victory means that the club has now won 22 consecutive games that Medlen has started, tying the right-hander with Hall-of-Famers Carl Hubbell and Whitey Ford for the longest such streak in the modern era of baseball.
It's pretty heady company for a guy who didn't even return to the Atlanta rotation until July. Medlen underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2010, returned to pitch just 2 1/3 innings in September 2011 and began this season in the bullpen as the Braves both wanted to keep his arm healthy and felt they were already set for starting pitchers. After some of those starters faltered, however, Medlen rejoined the rotation in July and has posted video game numbers since: a 1.04 ERA, 80 strikeouts and almost a 9.00 K/BB rate in 77 2/3 innings over 11 starts.
Unless Medlen is a modern-day Sandy Koufax, it's safe to assume that he won't quite keep up this particular level of greatness, though the righty certainly appears to have turned a corner in his pro career. This hot streak comes at an opportune time for Medlen; not only did it come during a postseason stretch, but Medlen is also due to be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter. He'll certainly get a nice raise over his $490K salary in 2012 and it's possible the Braves could be so impressed by Medlen's performance that they'll look to get some cost-certainty on their surprise ace for the next few years.
Medlen's case is "tricky" according to Matt Swartz, who calculates arbitration projections for MLB Trade Rumors and believes Medlen will probably be treated as a starter for arb purposes.
"The way I’ve been separating swingmen into starters and relievers, he would actually be projected as a reliever, but those rules were kind of arbitrary and I’m not sure here," Swartz said. "The reason it matters is that if we call him a starting pitcher he gets $2.4MM, and if we call him a reliever, he gets $1.3MM. He has a lot more wins per games started than he does saves and holds."
You could argue that the Braves have enough set 2013 rotation starters (Tommy Hanson, Mike Minor and Tim Hudson, as his $9MM option is sure to be exercised) and enough other young arms in their farm system that a Medlen extension is unnecessary for the moment, but I tend to disagree. As this season has shown, the Braves' pitching depth isn't as sturdy as believed, so Medlen's development is a great boon for the club. Medlen seems to be able to consistently perform at the Major League level, which is something that can't yet be said about their prospects.
Cost-certainty is also of particular interest to a franchise that has kept a mid-level payroll since being bought by Liberty Media in 2007. The Braves had a $102MM payroll in 2008 but have since ranged between $86-$93MM, with only $15MM in committed salary for 2013. If they believe Medlen is the real deal, an extension could save the team millions through Medlen's arb years. Extending him now would cost maybe $10MM over three years ($2MM in 2013, $4MM in both 2014 and 2015) with perhaps a $6MM club option for Medlen's first free agent year.
The Braves have a lot of business to attend to this winter, since such major names as Hanson, Jason Heyward and Jonny Venters are also arb-eligible for the first time, Martin Prado is only a year away from free agency and the team is expected to at least attempt to re-sign Michael Bourn. Given Medlen's injury history and the fact that his arb number may be $2.4MM at the most, Atlanta could be in no rush to pursue a multiyear deal quite yet with the right-hander.
Medlen will get one (very high-profile) further chance to prove himself as he's scheduled to start for Atlanta in the wild card playoff game. Just the fact that the Braves would give Medlen this start is a sign that they believe he's more than just a pitcher on a hot streak, so they could also be eager to lock him up while his price is still low.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Shirey/US Presswire