Manager Rumors: Astros, Indians, Mets, Cards
The latest on some possible managerial changes…
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle wonders if the Astros could pick former MLB manager Jim Fregosi to lead the club next season. Dave Clark, Manny Acta, Tim Bogar, Jeff Bagwell and Brad Ausmus could also be candidates to manage.
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the Indians appear to be pressuring GM Mark Shapiro to fire manager Eric Wedge.
- Edes says O's manager Dave Trembley and Nats interim manager Jim Riggleman have limited job security.
- It's not likely that the Mets will fire Jerry Manuel and replace him with former manager Bobby Valentine. Edes' sources say it's not impossible, though.
- Edes says Braves manager Bobby Cox will likely return next season, but suggests there's tension between Cox and Braves GM Frank Wren.
- Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail says it's not enough for the Blue Jays to fire GM J.P. Ricciardi. If the Jays are going to clean house, Blair says they should fire manager Cito Gaston, too.
- Cards manager Tony La Russa tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he doesn't want to think about his next contract yet. The longtime skipper is a free agent after the season.
Odds & Ends: Webb, Griffey, Hoffman
Links for Monday…
- The NCAA is cracking down on the adviser/agent distinction for future draftees, presumably in response to the Andy Oliver ruling. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has the story.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic suggests parameters for a new Brandon Webb contract.
- Ken Griffey Jr. still isn't talking about 2010, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin shares Trevor Hoffman's interest in a 2010 contract, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus says Cubs GM Jim Hendry is "blatantly pandering to the disgruntled fan base" with the Milton Bradley suspension.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution discusses the possibility of the Braves re-signing Adam LaRoche.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star wonders if Robinson Tejeda's recent performance is for real.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington is not pleased to have so many players declining to play winter ball, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- We'll be keeping a close eye on Kevin Millwood's start tonight in Oakland. His $12MM option for 2010 vests if he records 13 outs.
Discussion: Should Atlanta Re-Sign LaRoche?
Adam LaRoche has certainly thrived in his return to Atlanta. He's hitting a ridiculous .356/.429/.638 with the Braves in 2009 – a monstrous second half in his contract year. The Braves will face an interesting decision in what to do with LaRoche this offseason, but according to Carroll Rogers, you can count teammate Chipper Jones among those who want to see LaRoche back with the Braves in 2010 and beyond:
"…[Y]ou have the best first baseman that’s going to be on the market in house now. So why not do all you can to lock him up. What else does a guy have to do? He’s produced since he’s been here. He’s been one of the key reasons we’ve gone from a .500 club to 10 games over since he got here. He’s an incredible defender. A 30-home run guy in a pitcher’s ballpark is a commodity that needs to be treasured.”
Jones acknowledges that the Braves #5 prospect, Freddie Freeman, is moving up through the minors. Freeman, however, just turned 20, and has struggled in his move from High-A to Class AA, putting up a line of just .248/.308/.342 through 41 games.
Rogers spoke with both Jones and LaRoche about LaRoche's desire for the security of a multi-year deal. Looking for three years or more, LaRoche says his ideal situation would be to stay in Atlanta, but he recognizes that it might not happen.
The Braves also have decisions to make on the back of their bullpen, as well as with what Javier Vazquez's future with the organization looks like. This year's free agent class of first basemen will likely be headed by names such as Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, and Russell Branyan. Will LaRoche outperform these names over the coming years?
If you were Frank Wren, how would you handle the situation? Should LaRoche be counted on as a long-term solution, or do you spend on other holes and try to find a quick stopgap at first base for a season?
Odds & Ends: Reynolds, Gammons, Orioles
Some late night links after Jake Peavy allowed three runs in five innings in his first start for the White Sox…
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic notes that Mark Reynolds is likely to fall short of qualifying as a Super Two, meaning he'll have to wait until after 2010 to become arbitration eligible. He also says that it "does not appear there have been any discussions about a long-term deal with Reynolds, but the club does not seem averse to the idea of an extension."
- ESPN's Peter Gammons writes about how great Victor Martinez has been for the Red Sox since being acquired at the trade deadline. He also praises Casey Kotchman, but I think I'd rather have Adam LaRoche, who has a 1.053 OPS since the trade.
- Orioles Manager Dave Trembley indicated that the team needs someone to hit behind Nick Markakis until some younger players like Matt Wieters and Adam Jones are ready to do it, according to MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko.
- If you aren't already, make sure you follow MLBTR on Twitter.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Zambrano, Johnson, Fielder, Felix, Braves
On this date 39 years ago, the Mets purchased the contract of Dean Chance from the Indians. At the time, the Mets were 1.5 games back in the NL East. The former Cy Young winner would make only three relief appearances down the stretch and the Mets finished six games back in third place. Chance would subsequently be traded in the off-season and play just one more season. With only two weeks remaining before the start of most team's off-season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse feels the reports that Carlos Zambrano is largely responsible for the Cubs' failures this season are just PR by the Cubs to make it easier to move Zambrano this off-season.
- Fangraphs makes a case that Nick Johnson's injury history could increase the number of teams that are interested in his services this off-season.
- Dodgers Rumors wonders if Ned Colletti will be back next season as the Dodgers' GM and whether he deserves to be.
- MLB Notebook breaks down the possibility of Prince Fielder being traded this off-season.
- Jorge Says No! writes about the Mariners' inability to sign Felix Hernandez to an extension.
- DC Sports Plus looks at some free agent starting pitchers that could help the Nationals next season, with John Lackey, Jason Marquis and Joel Pineiro at the top of the wishlist.
- The Ghost of Midnight Graham suggests that teams avoid Pineiro this winter.
- UmpBump takes a look at who might be playing first base for the Braves next season.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Chipper Jones Talks Retirement
Chipper Jones has been talking a lot about his future lately, and today he was blunt when talking to the AP:
"If I back up this year with the same kind of year next year, I don't want to play the game. The game is not fun to me when I'm not playing up to my standards."
Jones does not blame his down year on injuries. It's only a disappointment by Chipper's standards, since his .390 OBP still ranks 14th in the NL. However, his .435 SLG would be a career-worst and he hasn't done much in August and September.
Jones, 38 in April, is owed $13MM in each of the 2010, '11, and '12 seasons. He has a $7MM club option for 2013 that can vest and increase with certain games played milestones. I have to admit, I liked the extension when it was signed in March. Today in his blog, Joel Sherman of the New York Post draws a parallel between Jones' extension and the upcoming Derek Jeter contract situation.
Vazquez Wants To Stay With Braves
Common speculation is that the Braves could shop Javier Vazquez or Kenshin Kawakami if they re-sign Tim Hudson. Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution talked to Vazquez about the trade possibility, and the pitcher expressed his desire to stay with the Braves.
Vazquez has been a bona fide ace in his return to the NL, with a 3.01 ERA, 216 strikeouts, and 40 walks in 197.3 innings. He's signed affordably for next year at $11.5MM. I've said it before: signing Hudson and having six starters under control on paper does not equal a surplus. Derek Lowe is 36 and his numbers took an alarming dip this year. And whether Hudson, Kawakami, and Tommy Hanson can each throw 200 innings next year is an open question. The Braves need a first baseman, an outfield bat, and a closer, but trading Vazquez for a hitter might just create a new hole. We'll analyze the team's payroll commitments in the coming weeks and see if free agency offers any solutions.
Odds & Ends: Chipper, Ordonez, Schultz
Links for Wednesday…
- Chipper Jones explained his stance toward retirement to Tim Gunter of 790 The Zone.
- Braves manager Bobby Cox was noncommittal on 2010, talking to Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
- Amelia Rayno of the Detroit News notes that Magglio Ordonez's $15MM option for 2011 will vest with 1080 plate appearances between 2009 and 2010. Meanwhile Cot's Baseball Contracts reveals that 135 starts or 540 PAs in '10 will do the trick.
- ESPN's Buster Olney informed us yesterday about a potentially interesting free agent reliever named Mike Schultz. The former D'Backs minor leaguer has been tearing it up in Japan the last two years.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that a top five Cy Young finish for Adam Wainwright in 2010 or 2011 would cause his 2012 and 2013 options to vest. This year, his maximum bonus is $250K if he wins the award.
- Derrick Goold of the P-D has a discussion going about the Cardinals' third base plans for next year.
- Conor Glassey of Baseball America looks at next year's draft class, which is of course led by Bryce Harper.
- Murray Chass has posted several interesting columns since his website's inception. His latest on the Pirates is not one of them. It's a simplistic view of Neal Huntington's plan, with the Nyjer Morgan trade as Chass' main beef. And is he suggesting the organization would've been better off re-signing Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson instead of trading them? Plus, Chass uses the opinion of one anonymous "baseball official" in advancing the notion that the Pirates will have explaining to do to MLB regarding their revenue-sharing money. Wouldn't a consensus assessment of execs have been more useful?
- According to Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball, minor league attendance dropped by only 2.9% this year.
Braves Have Interest In Tim Hudson Extension
2:15pm: MLB.com's Mark Bowman talked to Braves GM Frank Wren, who said he'd like to have Hudson pitching in Atlanta for a long time. Hudson's thoughts:
"I would be glad if they picked up the option. But it's one of those things if they want to discuss not picking it up and maybe going a few years out at some kind of whatever hometown discount, that's something I'd obviously be willing to discuss with them."
9:49am: According to ESPN's Buster Olney:
The Braves are interested in discussing a contract extension with Tim Hudson, and if they can make that work, they presumably will somehow fold the $12MM 2010 option into that deal. This, of course, would free up a starting pitcher for Atlanta to trade.
As MLBTR readers learned in January, Hudson has the right to void the option if the Braves exercise it. Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote at the time that the Braves "fully intend to exercise it, barring some unexpected turn of events." Hudson had Tommy John surgery in August of '08, and he's been solid in two of his three starts this year. However, he wouldn't get $12MM guaranteed for one year on the open market, and nine months later O'Brien's assertion seems less certain. Hudson, as you might expect, would like the option picked up.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports addressed the Hudson situation on Wednesday. Rosenthal also believed that he might prefer to just re-sign with the Braves. He wondered if the Braves would then shop Javier Vazquez for a hitter. Olney believes Atlanta would be more likely to trade another starter, Kenshin Kawakami for example.
I'm thinking something like two years, $15MM (plus incentives) would make sense for a Hudson extension. I don't agree that the Braves should shop a starter if they re-sign him. We have seen countless examples where a team had a starting pitching surplus on paper heading into the season, only to see it turn into a need within months.
Perrotto’s Latest: Vazquez, Valverde, DeRosa, Pavano
In today's column over at Baseball Prospectus, John Perrotto says nobody has been better at making deadline deals in the previous two seasons than Theo Epstein. I might agree but would love to hear some counter arguments.
As usual, Perrotto has his share of rumors from around the league:
- The Braves need offense and are considering dealing Javier Vazquez to get it.
- Don't expect Jose Valverde to return to Houston next season. He plans to test free agency and will likely find a better paycheck elsewhere.
- The White Sox plan to re-sign Freddy Garcia to be their fifth starter.
- The Cardinals would like to re-sign Mark DeRosa before he reaches free agency at the end of the season.
- The Twins are planning an attempt to re-sign Carl Pavano, also a to-be free agent at season's end.
- If the Nationals can acquire a shortstop in the offseason they would like Cristian Guzman to move to second base.