Rosenthal’s Full Count: Managerial Searches
Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports has his newest Full Count Video up, focusing this week on managerial searches around the Majors. Let's dive in:
- The Braves may pursue their top candidate — believed to be recently fired Marlins skipper Fredi Gonzalez — prior to the end of Bobby Cox's tenure. If the Braves make a deep playoff run, they may look to lock down Gonzalez before other teams, such as the Cubs, can get their hands on him.
- The Marlins want their next manager to have a "more dynamic personality" than Gonzalez. Rosenthal names Bobby Valentine, who says he doesn't know what happened previously with Florida or what will happen in the future, Jim Fregosi, Wally Backman, and Larry Bowa as candidates.
- Mets general manager Omar Minaya is telling friends that he knows his time is running out. The Mets are likely to move Minaya to a scouting role and promote assistant GM John Ricco. However, if they go outside the organization, some names to remember are former Rangers and Indians GM John Hart, and Dan Jennings, a longstanding Marlins executive.
- There have been rumblings of Hart taking over the job in Baltimore as well, but there's no indication that Andy MacPhail is on his way out.
- Rosenthal quotes an MLB executive as saying Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is "under siege" in Seattle, given that a Seattle Times report this week claimed Zduriencik knew more about Josh Lueke's criminal record than he let on before they acquired him in the trade for Cliff Lee. Rosenthal says that it's unlikely the Mariners act so quickly in dismissing Zduriencik, but if they were to do so, that Jennings, a former Mariners scout, and former Padres GM Kevin Towers could be fits.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Francoeur, Lilly, Loney
On this date two years ago, instant replay was used for the first time in baseball history, resolving a fair or foul call on an Alex Rodriguez home run against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Third base umpire Brian Runge originally called the ball a homer, and that call stood upon further review. Numerous umpire gaffes have some clamoring for expanded use of instant replay, but so far Major League Baseball hasn't budged.
Here's a look at what's been written around the baseball blogosphere…
- Amazin' Avenue looks at the illogicality of the Jeff Francoeur trade.
- Meanwhile, Baseball Time In Arlington recaps the last trade of the season.
- North And South Of Royal Brougham suggests Ted Lilly for the 2011 Mariners.
- The Process Report explains how the Rays used Jose Lobaton to manipulate their potential playoff roster.
- Cubs Pack provides Jim Hendry with an offseason to-do list.
- True Blue LA wonders what the Dodgers should do with James Loney.
- Capitol Avenue Club hands out some Braves minor league awards.
- Disciples of Uecker compares Yovani Gallardo's contract to those of some other great young pitchers.
- Saber By The Bay has some good news for Tigers fans looking ahead to next season.
- Midwest Sports Fans builds a roster of players who played for the Indians and White Sox, a la Manny Ramirez.
- The Nats Blog thinks it's time for Nyjer Morgan to go.
- MLB Depth Charts created the Tommy John Surgery Tracker in the wake of Stephen Strasburg's injury.
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Stark On Lee, Prince, Braves, Nationals
ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark debated the pros and cons of moving back the trade deadline with a number of MLB general managers. The group was divided on whether to move the deadline to August, but Stark suggests we’re not likely to see MLB make such changes any time soon. Here are some more hot stove updates from around the league:
- One source told Stark that Cliff Lee will follow the money this winter: “Cliff would go to Siberia if they offered him the biggest contract."
- Rival teams expect the Brewers to look into trading Prince Fielder this winter. One executive told Stark that the Brewers were “shocked” not to see more interest in Prince before the trade deadline.
- Braves GM Frank Wren has often jokingly told Billy Wagner that it’s too soon for him to retire. The lefty maintains that his playing days are over after 2010.
- Wren says the Braves are assuming that Chipper Jones, who is under contract next year, will be back in 2011.
- Nationals president Stan Kasten told Stark that Washington will be "more aggressive than we've ever been" this offseason. Presumably that means they’ll try to re-sign Adam Dunn and offer Carl Crawford a contract.
Odds & Ends: Glaus, Torre, Padres, Strasburg
On this date in 1998, the Mariners traded Joey Cora to the Indians for David Bell. More than a decade later, Cora is still making headlines in Cleveland – sort of. The White Sox coach translated for Manny Ramirez at this afternoon’s Progressive Field press conference. Here are some more links as we await another round of trades…
- The Braves are listening to offers for Troy Glaus, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). On Sunday we heard that multiple AL teams have some interest in Glaus.
- The A's re-signed Tommy Everidge, who played for Oakland last year, but hasn't appeared in the majors since, according to the Pacific Coast League's transactions page.
- Dodgers manager Joe Torre told Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times that he expects to be able to work out a deal with the Dodgers this offseason if he decides to manage in 2011 (Twitter link).
- The Padres are still interested in adding a starting pitcher, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). MLBTR's Tim Dierkes provided a list of potentially available starters earlier today. Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Padres claimed a number of pitchers, but weren't able to work out any deals (Twitter link).
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that Stephen Strasburg will undergo Tommy John surgery this Friday.
- MLBPA leader Michael Weiner told Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork that the hearing between Francisco Rodriguez and the Mets will take place in mid-October (Twitter link).
Multiple Teams Interested In Troy Glaus
Multiple American League teams have some interest in Troy Glaus, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Glaus has been on the disabled list since August 18th, but has been hitting well on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Gwinnett.
When Glaus returns from the DL, the Braves plan to give him some playing time at third base and as a pinch-hitter. However, given his defensive limitations, he would make more sense for an AL contender in need of some power at first base or designated hitter. The Red Sox, Rays, Twins, White Sox, and Rangers could all be fits, particularly at Glaus' affordable price – he has about $340K remaining on his $1.75MM deal.
We've yet to hear whether or not Glaus has passed through waivers already in August. Buster Olney of ESPN.com reported earlier in the month that players could not clear waivers while on the disabled list, but Morosi later indicated that, as long as the player exhibited good health, he could be placed on waivers prior to being activated. Given Glaus' .391 average and two homers on his rehab assignment, he appears to be healthy, so that shouldn't be a roadblock.
Non-Tender Candidate: Melky Cabrera
Braves outfielder Melky Cabrera will be eligible for arbitration for the third time as a Super Two this winter. He's earning $3.1MM this year; will the Braves tender him a contract and potentially give him a raise for 2011?
Cabrera, 26, started off very slowly this year but has come around of late, and is hitting .260/.319/.370 in 422 plate appearances. Capable of playing all three outfield spots, UZR grades him out as below average in center and basically average in the corners.
Part of the deal that sent Javier Vazquez to the Yankees, Cabrera essentially fits the profile of the fourth outfielder yet has been thrust into full-time duty over the last several seasons. He won a World Series ring with New York last season, but I suspect the Braves won't care too much when making a decision on whether or not to tender Cabrera a contract for 2011 in December. This is Melky's third time through the arbitration process as a Super Two, so whatever salary he receives this season will impact his 2012 compensation as well.
Melky received a rather generous $1.7MM raise last winter, more than doubling his 2010 salary. That, however, was coming off the best season of his career, in which he hit .274/.336/.416 with a career best 13 homers. He and his agent shouldn't expect a similar raise this time around with a sub-.700 OPS and a career low four long balls. Even if he were to take a modest $400K raise to $3.5MM, it's not terribly difficult to find outfielders more productive than him at that cost, especially in today's market. We also have to consider Nate McLouth's $6.5MM salary for next season, since the Braves might not want to spend upwards of $10MM on a pair of below average outfielders.
With all that in mind, it's time for you to weigh in. Click here to vote on whether or not Cabrera will be non-tendered, and here to see the results.
Wagner’s Option Vests, Still Plans To Retire
Last night Billy Wagner picked up his 30th save of the season and finished his 50th game of the season, activating his 2011 option worth $6.5MM. However, the closer reiterated his desire to call it a career to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Wagner made his intentions clear once again this afternoon, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“I’m retiring,” the 38-year-old lefty said to O'Brien. “I don’t know how to say it in a politically correct way, that anybody’s going to believe me.
Wagner's 2010 totals suggest that he still has plenty of baseball left in him. The lefty has a 1.68 ERA with 12.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
As Tim Dierkes recently pointed out, a guaranteed $6.5MM wouldn't mean a great deal to Wagner as he would make at least that much on the open market anyway. It also doesn't sound like Wagner, who has 415 career saves, is sweating the opportunity to eclipse John Franco's 424 saves to have the fourth most all-time. Back in April, Billy the Kid said that he wasn't concerned with the mark.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Lee, Feliz, Braves, Kershaw
On this date two years ago, umpires agreed to the use of instant replay to help determine boundary calls, such as fair or foul, on home runs. Expanded use of instant replay remains a hot topic in baseball, and even though Commissioner Bud Selig continues to dance around the subject, more replay feels inevitable at this point.
Here are a bunch of links from around the baseball blogosphere…
- Mike Ashmore's Thunder Thoughts interviews players and team personnel about minor league life, touching on everything from salary to housing to food, the whole nine. It's a long, but truly great read.
- Capitol Avenue Club analyzes the Derrek Lee trade.
- Pine Tar and Pocket Protectors says that Pedro Feliz is not the answer for the Cardinals.
- Beyond The Box Score looks at which teams are building the best bullpens on the cheap.
- Amazin' Avenue tries to figure out who should close for the Mets with Francisco Rodriguez out for the season.
- Royals Review questions whether or not Kansas City has something in Bryan Bullington.
- The Few, The Proud, The Brave looks ahead to Atlanta's offseason as well as the 2011 season.
- Pittsburgh Lumber Co. tries to figure out if the Pirates should start spending this offseason.
- The Process Report lists the Rays' farmhands eligible for this year's Rule 5 Draft.
- SD Sports Net wonders if the Padres whiffed by failing to sign first rounder Karsten Whitson.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness uses Ricky Romero's new contract as a basis for a Clayton Kershaw contract extension.
- Baseball Time In Arlington examines the hidden value of Cliff Lee.
- Camden Crazies wonders if Brad Bergesen is back to being an effective pitcher.
- 1 Blue Jays Way introduces us to Toronto's prospects.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Chapman, Lee, Inge, Thome
Links for Wednesday night….
- The Reds will wait until September 1st to promote Aroldis Chapman, but he'll still be eligible for the playoffs, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. In a separate blog post, Fay explains Chapman's postseason eligibility.
- Scott Miller of CBS Sports, Fangraphs' Jack Moore, ESPN's Keith Law (Insider-only) and ESPN.com's Rob Neyer share their thoughts on today's Derrek Lee trade.
- Ian Casselberry at MLive.com argues that the Tigers ought to trade Brandon Inge.
- Unsurprisingly, Ozzie Guillen had a response for those who criticized the White Sox for parting ways with Jim Thome. Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune has the story.
- Scrambling for a source of saves for the last month and a half of your fantasy league? Follow @closernews on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest injuries, blown saves, and everything else closer-related.
Braves Acquire Derrek Lee For Three Prospects
When Derrek Lee takes the field at Wrigley this weekend, he won't be wearing a Cubs uniform. The Braves have acquired Lee from Chicago in exchange for right-hander Robinson Lopez, right-hander Tyrelle Harris and left-hander Jeffrey Lorick.
The Cubs will pay the Braves $1.7MM, half of the $3.4MM owed to Lee between now and the end of the season. The 34-year-old, who hits free agency at season's end, has a .251/.335/.416 line in 475 plate appearances and projects to be a Type B free agent this offseason. Lee has a .939 OPS since the All-Star break, but is currently dealing with back soreness.
Lee isn't an obvious platoon partner for Troy Glaus, since both players have a history of hitting left-handers a bit better than they hit right-handers. So Glaus, a longtime third baseman, will be placed on the DL and receive some time at the hot corner during his rehab assignment. He has been slumping (.575 OPS in the last two months), but the Braves hope he can provide some pop at both first and third base in September.
As for the minor leaguers heading to Chicago, Baseball America ranked Lopez 16th among Braves prospects before the season and suggested that he "may be the biggest sleeper in the [Atlanta] system." He's still just 19, but his numbers in A ball haven't been as impressive as the ones he posted in his Rookie ball debut last year. Lopez has a 4.37 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 so far in 2010.
Harris, 23, has played at three levels this season and has now reached AA. Overall, the reliever has a 2.90 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9. Lorick, also a reliever, has yet to reach AA, but the 22-year-old has solid numbers so far in 2010: a 2.24 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9.
David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com first reported that the Braves and Cubs were working toward a deal and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) broke news of the trade. Mark Bowman, Mark Bradley. David O'Brien, Jon Heyman, Bob Nightengale, Jerry Crasnick, Bruce Levine and Gordon Wittenmyer also provided updates to the story.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.