Outrighted: John Gaub
The latest outright assignments from around MLB…
- The Cardinals announced that they outrighted left-hander John Gaub off of the 40-man roster, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports (on Twitter). The move creates roster space for Chris Carpenter, who is returning to action from the 60-day disabled list. Gaub, 27, spent the 2012 season at Triple-A, posting a 5.40 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 53 1/3 innings for the top affiliates of the Cardinals, Rangers and Rays.
Pirates Notes: Huntington, Stark, Taillon
The Pirates fell below .500 when they lost to the Brewers last night, but that’s not why the team is making headlines today. Details surrounding some unusual player development practices have surfaced, generating surprise and criticism. Here are the details:
- Pirates prospects spent this past weekend in Florida performing military drills directed by former Navy SEALS, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. General manager Neal Huntington and assistant GM Kyle Stark implemented the program, which started at 5 am daily and included running along the beach with a telephone pole, flipping truck tires, and diving into sand piles. Earlier in the year Stark emailed his players, encouraging them to “Dream and be creative like a Hippie. Have the discipline and perseverance of a Boy Scout. Be crazy and take risks like the Hells Angels.”
- Kovacevic calls the Pirates' actions inexplicable and indefensible.
- Players dreaded the activities and team officials feared them, Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports. MLB executives expressed skepticism about the program’s effectiveness. "I didn't like it,” one person told Passan. “Nobody did. They don't know what they're doing."
- Top prospect Jameson Taillon once suffered a non-serious knee injury during the program’s hand-to-hand combat component, Passan reports.
- “Whispers are becoming louder” that Huntington’s job status isn’t completely secure, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. However, an ownership source told Heyman the Pirates’ upper management really seems to like manager Clint Hurdle.
Olney On Price, Andrus, Leyland
Some talent evaluators believe Rays left-hander David Price could be traded this winter, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports. Here’s the latest from Olney, who runs down potential suitors for Price in his latest column…
- Price’s trade value will never be higher than it will be this winter, Olney writes. However, the left-hander’s salary will rise considerably from $4.35MM following his Cy Young-caliber 2012 season. This means the budget-conscious Rays will probably decide to part with Price at some point between now and when he hits free agency after the 2015 season. “There will be a day when the Rays trade him,” Olney writes.
- Tampa Bay could seek up-the-middle players for Price, who has extraordinary trade value as a controllable top-of-the-rotation left-hander.
- There’s a wide expectation that the Rangers will trade Elvis Andrus this winter. But Andrus isn’t a great fit for the Rays given his salary and service time, so they’d presumably ask about shortstop prospect Jurickson Profar in talks for Price.
- It’s hard to imagine the Royals obtaining Price from the Rays without giving up Wil Myers, Salvador Perez, Mike Moustakas or Eric Hosmer, Olney writes.
- Though the Tigers aren’t a strong defensive team their pitchers haven’t complained publicly about the glovework behind them. Olney credits Detroit’s player and manager Jim Leyland for this display of support.
Poll: Should Edwin Jackson Get A Qualifying Offer?
It wasn’t long ago that Edwin Jackson was one of the top free agent starting pitchers available. Before long he’ll re-appear on the free agent market, and when he does the Nationals will have to decide whether it’s worth extending him a qualifying offer.
Doing so would allow Washington to obtain draft pick compensation for the right-hander should he sign elsewhere. But it’d also create the possibility of Jackson accepting a one-year contract in the $13MM range.
In some instances the risk (the possibility of a $13MM commitment) isn’t worth the reward (potential draft pick compensation). But in Jackson’s case, a one-year $13MM contract would seem to be a team-friendly deal.
Jackson has a 3.89 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 47.3 % ground ball rate in 173 2/3 innings so far in 2012. Like most Nationals starters, he throws hard (average fastball velocity of 93.5 mph) and generates swings and misses (12.2% swinging strike rate). And though he’s in the midst of his tenth MLB season, he’s still in his prime at 29 years old. Even if the Nationals preferred other candidates for their rotation, Jackson could generate trade interest at that salary.
Last offseason, under baseball’s previous collective bargaining agreement, the Cardinals offered Jackson arbitration, setting themselves up for draft pick compensation in 2012. If the Nationals make Jackson a qualifying offer, no other team will be able to sign him unless they surrender a 2013 draft pick. But there’s not an abundance of quality free agent starting pitching and many of the top pitchers (Zack Greinke excluded) will be linked to draft picks. Jackson, who’s now represented by the Legacy Agency, figures to draw interest either way. What should the Nationals do?
Should the Nationals make Edwin Jackson a qualifying offer after the season?
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Yes 72% (3,607)
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No 28% (1,378)
Total votes: 4,985
Marlins Plan To Fire Beinfest, Promote Jennings
8:44pm: While not exactly a denial of Nightengale's report, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that he “never comments on any ridiculous and fabricated rumors.”
3:00pm: The Marlins will re-structure their front office following a disappointing season, and it'll cost the team's top baseball executive his job. The Marlins are planning to fire president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest and replace him with assistant GM and VP of player personnel Dan Jennings, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
The dismissal could occur as early as next week. Two Marlins executives told Nightengale they’d be stunned if the Marlins don’t make further changes.
The Marlins re-branded their franchise last offseason, changing the team's name, logo and colors before moving to a new stadium. They were not expecting a 66-84 record and a fifth place team when they generated national buzz by spending aggressively on free agents. But the additions of Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, Mark Buehrle and manager Ozzie Guillen weren't enough to make the team a contender.
The Marlins hired Beinfest more than ten years ago, before the 2002 season. Michael Hill was promoted to the GM role following the 2007 campaign with Beinfest assuming the role of president of baseball operations.
Jennings appeared on MLBTR's list of GM candidates last summer, drawing an honorable mention. He is not to be confused with Dan Jennings, the 25-year-old left-hander who pitches out of the Miami bullpen.
White Sox To Promote Williams; Hahn To Be GM
5:43pm: Williams didn't comment on Nightengale's report, telling reporters (including CSNChicago.com's Dan Hayes) that the club is focused on the playoff race and won't discuss contract issues until the offseason.
3:03pm: The White Sox will promote their top two baseball executives following a surprising season that has the team leading its division. The team is expected to promote longtime general manager Kenny Williams to the role of vice president of baseball operations and shift assistant GM Rick Hahn into the GM role, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
Williams has been Chicago's GM since the end of the 2000 season. He is the fifth longest tenured general manager in baseball, behind only Brian Sabean (Giants), Billy Beane (Athletics), Brian Cashman (Yankees) and Dan O'Dowd (Rockies).The White Sox have reached the playoffs twice under Williams; they won the 2005 World Series and won the AL Central in 2008. Chicago entered Thursday's games with a 81-67 record and a two game lead over the Tigers in the AL Central.
Hahn featured prominently on MLBTR's list of GM candidates last summer. He was considered for general manager jobs last offseason, including one with the Cubs.
Managerial Notes: Scioscia, Tigers, Indians
The Marlins and White Sox plan to re-structure their respective front offices, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported today. Nightengale also has some updates on the job security of a few MLB managers. Here are the details…
- Mike Scioscia is in the middle of a heated internal debate in Anaheim, Nightengale reports. Though Scioscia’s contract runs through 2018, he will “likely” be a scapegoat if the Angels miss the playoffs. The Angels are four games behind the Athletics and Orioles in the Wild Card race.
- Jim Leyland could take the fall if the Tigers don’t reach the postseason. Leyland's contract expires after the 2012 season.
- The Indians have gone 15-41 since the All-Star break and Manny Acta is in danger of losing his job, Nightengale writes.
AL East Links: Blue Jays, Reynolds, Yankees
The Rays' chances of making the playoffs are slim at 4.4%, but the Yankees and Orioles are on track to secure postseason berths, according to the playoff odds report at Baseball Prospectus. Here are some afternoon links from the AL East…
- The Blue Jays had two scouts at the Tigers-Athletics series in Detroit this week, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports. The Blue Jays could have interest in trading for A's left-hander Brett Anderson, who left yesterday’s game with a strained oblique, or signing Tigers right-hander Anibal Sanchez. Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is expected to seek starting pitching this coming offseason.
- It wasn’t long ago that Mark Reynolds’ 2013 option ($11MM with a $500K buyout) seemed unreasonable from the Orioles’ perspective. Now that Reynolds is producing at the plate, it’s at least worth debating, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes. The Orioles appear to want Reynolds back for 2013, which wasn’t the case for the first few months of the season.
- On the other side of the infield, Manny Machado is making a solid case for entering the 2013 season as Baltimore’s starting third baseman, according to Kubatko.
- Homegrown starters Phil Hughes, David Phelps, and Ivan Nova have helped the Yankees immensely at a time that the team's veteran starters are struggling, Mike Axisa writes at River Ave. Blues. The Yankees get criticized for not developing enough pitching, but Hughes, Phelps and Nova have pitched well of late.
- For more notes from the AL East, check out this post from earlier today.
White Sox Expected To Decline Peavy’s Option
The White Sox have signaled to Jake Peavy that they’re unlikely to exercise their $22MM club option for 2013, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Instead, the team is expected to pay a $4MM buyout in a move that would make Peavy a free agent.
The White Sox might try to re-sign Peavy after declining the option, but it seems likely he’ll reach the free agent market. Peavy enjoys playing for the White Sox and would like to return, agent Barry Axelrod told Heyman. The right-hander prefers manager Robin Ventura to former manager Ozzie Guillen and appears to have favorable feelings about the White Sox, Heyman reports.
Peavy could be the second best free agent starting pitcher behind Zack Greinke this offseason (FanGraphs' version of wins above replacement suggests as much). Peavy, 31, has a 3.26 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a 36.8% ground ball rate in 198 2/3 innings this year. The shoulder problems that limited him to approximately 100 innings per season from 2009-11 no longer appear to be holding him back.
The White Sox could raise payroll for 2013, especially if they make the playoffs. However, they aren’t currently discussing new contracts with prospective free agents A.J. Pierzynski, Brett Myers, Francisco Liriano and Kevin Youkilis, Heyman reports.
Cody Ross Talks Next Contract
Cody Ross is open to discussing an extension with the Red Sox before he hits free agency in six weeks or so. But he knows what he’ll be looking for if he does reach the open market. The 31-year-old told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that his top priority will be joining a contender.
“Number one this season is probably going to be winning,” he told Bradford. “I’m to that point where I want to win.”
Ross noted that he’ll also take into account role, location, and length and value of contract when weighing offers. The Red Sox have exclusive negotiating rights with Ross until five days after the World Series ends.
The SFX client has a .274/.339/.500 batting line with 21 home runs and 32 doubles in 479 plate appearances for Boston this year. He has played all three outfield positions and continues to thrive against left-handed pitching (11 home runs, .313/.398/.670 batting line). Ross suggested that he can repeat — and even improve upon — these numbers.
“I’m me now. This is me now. What I’m doing this year. This is me,” Ross said.