Rizzo On Willingham, Bench, Payroll
Earlier this evening, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo updated MLBTR on some of his team's offseason plans:
- Josh Willingham has said he's open to playing just about anywhere on the diamond, but Rizzo plans to keep him in the outfield. "We see him as our everyday left fielder, middle of the lineup hitter right now," Rizzo said.
- Rizzo says the Nats are looking for a "makeup" type utility player who is versatile enough to play a number of positions, but there's no timeline for adding such a player.
- MLB.com reported last week that the Nationals are interested in Willie Bloomquist, Aaron Miles and Miguel Cairo.
- Rizzo told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that he can boost payroll in 2011 "if it makes sense for '11 and the long term" (Twitter link).
- Agent Alan Nero told Kilgore that Chien-Ming Wang hopes to remain with the Nationals in 2011.
Friedman Talks Best-Case Scenario For Tampa Bay
The Rays have proven that small market teams can win in the American League East. It just takes a lot of talent, careful timing and some good fortune. Tampa Bay faces payroll cuts and the likely free agent departures of Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Rafael Soriano this offseason, so president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman knows it's too early to say exactly what will happen this winter. But a few months from now when Friedman looks back at the offseason, he knows precisely what he would like to see.
"That we were able to add a meaningful number of bullpen arms," Friedman told MLBTR. "Some with guaranteed deals, some on Spring Training invites and just have the options in house for us to pick and fill out a bullpen. Also to add a bat or two to the mix that helps balance us out offensively and ideally have an extended term of control beyond just 2011 [for the hitter] in an ideal world. Ideally. You asked for ideally. It may not play out that way; we may get a guy on a one-year deal and that's fine."
The Rays bullpen will look considerably different in 2011, since Soriano, Randy Choate, Grant Balfour and Dan Wheeler are all free agents. How does the team address a bullpen that's completely in flux?
"It's a good question," Friedman said. "We don't really know the answer yet in that we have a number of trade targets that we're focused on, we have a number of major league free agents, we have a number of six year [minor league] free agents and [from] some combination of all three of those pools of players, we're going to have to come out of it with four or five bullpen guys that hopefully offer a diversified look and allow us to replicate some of the success we've had recently in the bullpen."
Building a 'pen in the AL East is tough, but the Rays will look for relievers with above average pitches and hope for good luck. They won't necessarily wait around to address the 'pen, but like the Padres, they will probably add relievers later on in the offseason.
Hoyer Talks San Diego Outfielders, Relievers
Last year this time, Jed Hoyer was two weeks into his tenure as Padres GM. Now, he's attending the Orlando GM Meetings with a better sense of his club and a surplus of outfielders. He told MLBTR that he likes having outfield depth, but Cameron Maybin, Ryan Ludwick, Kyle Blanks, Will Venable, Scott Hairston, Chris Denorfia, Aaron Cunningham and Tony Gwynn won't all end up on next season's Opening Day roster and Hoyer did acknowledge that a trade is possible.
"Whenever you have surplus, if a team asks about a guy, you're always going to be willing to listen," Hoyer said.
The Padres like Venable in right and Maybin in center. Tony Gwynn's 2011 role has been unclear since the Marlins sent Maybin to San Diego. He is a non-tender candidate (like Ludwick, Hairston and Denorfia) but Hoyer says Gwynn could be covering even more ground than usual at Petco Park next year.
"He's a guy we can use in all three outfield spots and going forward that's probably how we think of him," Hoyer said.
The Maybin trade left the Padres short on relievers, but don't expect immediate additions to the San Diego 'pen. The Padres are likely to replace the recently-traded Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica with other relievers later in the winter. As expected, Hoyer says the Padres will do a lot of their "damage" late in the offseason.
Huntington On Rotation, Doumit, McCutchen
Pittsburgh GM Neal Huntington describes the market for available starters as "thin," but says the Pirates "need" to upgrade their rotation. Huntington told MLBTR that he is mindful of pitching prospects such as Rudy Owens, Jeff Locke, Bryan Morris, Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie and Luis Heredia who are rising through the Pirates system. But they won't prevent him from offering multi-year deals to free agents.
"We're not opposed to multi-year deals for the right player," Huntington said. "But what we can't do is vastly overpay in terms of years and/or dollars just to get somebody … to make ourselves feel better in November. We've got to pay players for what they're going to do, not what they've done."
The Pirates don't have a distinct preference for left-handers or right-handers. Ideally, they'd get a pitcher who can strike people out, but as Huntington points out, every other team wants just that. Recent reports suggest the Pirates are interested in former Rockies lefties Jeff Francis and Jorge de la Rosa.
Former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle, now the Pirates' skipper, has not yet discussed Ryan Doumit's 2011 role with Huntington in detail. At this point, Huntington says the Pirates can see him filling a number of roles in 2011.
"We've got the ability to have him catch some; he can be the complement to Chris Snyder; he's got the ability with some Spring Training work to maybe go play some at first and then also the opportunity to go play out in right field. So he's got some versatility," Huntington said.
Huntington declined to comment specifically on Andrew McCutchen, but he acknowledged that the Pirates generally have interest in giving top players security with extensions that cover some free agent seasons.
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Dan Uggla Rumors: Monday
Yesterday we heard that the Marlins intend to trade Dan Uggla and that the Blue Jays could be the favorites to acquire him if a deal does occur. Here's the latest on the second baseman:
- The Cardinals have interest in Uggla, though a source told MLB.com's Matthew Leach that the club is concerned about the cost not in dollars, but players. Leach says reports of Florida's asking price "may be misleading."
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson confirmed that the Nationals have interest in Uggla. The Marlins want both pitching and a catcher in return.
- Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com tweets that there is no sign that Uggla will relent and accept the team's four-year, $48MM contract offer.
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that some clubs "perceive the Marlins are absolutely intent on moving Uggla ASAP, and they are not asking for a high rate of return — a couple of decent guys, no A-plus prospects necessary."
- The Marlins are not shopping Uggla aggressively, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter). They are concerned over the stalled extension talks and preparing in case they can't reach a deal.
- Rival executives tell Jon Heyman of SI.com that the Marlins' four-year $48MM offer was reasonable. I thought so, too.
- Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos told Jeff Blair on the FAN 590 that both Aaron Hill and Jose Bautista would be willing to shift to third base if the Blue Jays acquire "someone who can make an impact." Hill hasn't played at the hot corner since 2005, but Anthopoulos says he has enough arm strength and athleticism to handle the shift.
Odds & Ends: Sandberg, D’Backs, Lee, Huff
Here are today's links as we await the Rookie of the Year announcements…
- I'll be in Orlando covering the GM Meetings this week. Follow @mlbtrorlando on Twitter for the latest news, quotes and observations from Florida.
- The Phillies have hired Ryne Sandberg to manage their Triple-A affiliate nearly 29 years after they traded the future Hall of Famer to the Cubs. Sandberg played 15 seasons in Chicago and nearly won the Cubs managerial job this winter.
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki takes us back to 1982, when the Phillies sent Sandberg to the Cubs.
- The Orioles signed former Cubs pitcher Mitch Atkins to a minor league deal, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The 25-year-old has solid minor league numbers and a 5.25 ERA in 12 big league innings.
- The D'Backs announced that Rico Brogna, who was appointed director of player development last month, resigned and will be replaced by Mike Bell.
- Arizona also announced the hiring of Billy Ryan as assistant GM. He will work on arbitration cases and draft bonus recommendations.
- Cliff Lee’s agent is one person who can skip the GM meetings altogether. “We're not going to have to go there to drum up interest," Darek Braunecker told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York times explains that every team is looking for the next Aubrey Huff.
D’Backs Sign Blum To Two-Year Deal
The Diamondbacks officially signed Geoff Blum to a two-year deal, according to the team. The AP reports that the contract is worth $2.7MM. D'Backs GM Kevin Towers says signing Blum is the first step to improving his team's bench.
“Geoff is a veteran that can play nearly every position on the field while also having the experience of contributing to key situations late in the game as a pinch-hitter off of the bench,” Towers said.
Blum hit .267/.321/.356 in 218 plate appearances in 2010 and missed time with elbow and neck injuries. The 37-year-old played all four infield positions and went 14 for 42 as a pinch hitter, before Houston declined his $1.65MM option for 2011.
Indians Re-Sign Anthony Reyes
The Indians re-signed Anthony Reyes to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to the team. The right-hander became a free agent last month when the Indians outrighted him off of their 40-man roster.
Reyes, 29, underwent reconstructive elbow surgery in June of 2009 after making eight starts for the Indians and posting a 6.57 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 38.1 innings. He spent the 2010 season rehabbing and made five minor league starts before working on his mechanics with the big league staff and pitching in the Fall Instructional League.
Once a top prospect with the Cardinals, Reyes rose quickly through the St. Louis system and struck out more than a batter per inning with excellent command in the minors from 2004-06. However, he has faltered since winning the opening game of the 2006 World Series.
Non-Tender Candidate: Tony Gwynn Jr.
Even before they acquired Cameron Maybin, the Padres had more outfielders than jobs. Ryan Ludwick, Kyle Blanks, Will Venable, Scott Hairston, Chris Denorfia, Aaron Cunningham and Tony Gwynn Jr. are all options in San Diego, but the Padres can't hand big league jobs to all of those players in 2011. Not only do they have limited roster space, they have limited payroll.
With more outfielders than jobs and a number of holes to address on a limited budget, GM Jed Hoyer will likely consider non-tendering some of his arbitration eligible players. Ludwick is one candidate to be non-tendered and Hairston and Denorfia are others, but today we'll examine the case for Gwynn.
A top defender, Gwynn fits in Petco Park for the same reasons the Padres acquired Maybin. Last year Gwynn stole 17 bases (21 attempts) and his career 18.4 UZR/150 is spectacular. However, he doesn't have the same offensive upside as Maybin. He has never posted an OPS above .700. and last year he batted just .204/.304/.287 in 339 plate appearances.
Gwynn, 28, is arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason and could be in line for a salary of $1MM or so. That's more than any team wants to pay for a fifth outfielder and the Padres don't have as much room for error as big market teams. That doesn't mean Gwynn will be non-tendered, though. The Padres could keep him and cut others or tender him a contract and flip him to a team looking for a defense-first outfielder. Click here to predict what the Padres will do and here to view the results.