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Heyman On Minaya, White Sox, D’Backs

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The 63-62 Mets likely need a “big finish” for GM Omar Minaya to return in the same role next year, people familiar with the team tell Jon Heyman of SI.com. Minaya’s contract guarantees him about $1MM in 2011 and the same amount in 2012, but the Mets would still consider firing or reassigning Minaya. Here are the details on the Mets, plus the rest of Heyman’s rumors:

  • Disappointing and expensive Minaya additions like Jason Bay and Francisco Rodriguez aren’t doing their GM any favors. Mets execs haven’t been impressed with all of Minaya’s major signings.
  • Heyman lists Kevin Towers, Pat Gillick and in-house candidates John Ricco and Wayne Krivsky as potential replacements for Minaya.
  • A person connected to the White Sox says the team offered the Dodgers two proposals for Manny Ramirez at the end of July, but received no counter-offers. Ken Rosenthal reported today that the White Sox will claim Manny if he reaches them on waivers.
  • Heyman says it would be “a surprise if Kirk Gibson isn't retained” as D’Backs manager next year. Interim GM Jerry Dipoto also has a “decent chance” of keeping his job.

Odds & Ends: Hawpe, Kuroda, Angels, Antonetti

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Some more links for Tuesday night, including the latest waiver wire news…

  • Brad Hawpe is one step closer to signing with another team now that he has cleared waivers, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
  • The Dodgers put Hiroki Kuroda on waivers, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Kuroda hits free agency after the season, but the Dodgers don't necessarily want to move him. A rival executive guaranteed Rosenthal that the Yankees will be "all over" Kuroda if he reaches them on waivers.
  • Rosenthal reports that the Angels placed Brian Fuentes, Juan Rivera, Mike Napoli and Bobby Abreu on waivers (Twitter link). The Angels are presumably curious about the interest their players draw, even if they don't intend on making a trade.
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams told reporters including Paul M. Banks of TheSportsBank that he has to "speak in generalities” about waiver claims. Rosenthal reported earlier today that the White Sox will claim Manny Ramirez if he reaches them on waivers.
  • Indians assistant GM Chris Antonetti is taking on more responsibility as he prepares to replace current GM Mark Shapiro after the season, as MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince explains.
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com's Jason Beck that the Tigers and Red Sox never agreed on a deal involving Johnny Damon (Twitter link). Damon, who has the final say, said today that he intends to stay in Detroit, even though the Red Sox claimed him on waivers.
  • Reds president and CEO Bob Castellini told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he expects the club to agree to an extension with manager Dusty Baker (Twitter link). The Reds offered Baker a deal last week.

Phillies Sign Nate Robertson

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The Phillies signed Nate Robertson to a minor league deal, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). The Cardinals signed the left-hander earlier in the month, after the Marlins released him.

The Phillies will assign Robertson to Triple A, the same level at which he struggled in the Cardinals system. The 32-year-old posted a 9.45 ERA in 20 innings at Triple A Memphis, allowing 32 hits and six walks along the way. The results weren't much better at the major league level for Robertson this year. He posted a 5.47 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 for the Marlins.

Rangers Designate Joaquin Arias For Assignment

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The Rangers designated Joaquin Arias for assignment to make room for Alex Cora, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The Rangers acquired Arias after they obtained Alfonso Soriano for Alex Rodriguez in 2004. According to this report from Jim Callis of Baseball America, the Rangers could have selected Robinson Cano instead of Arias as the player to be named in the trade.

Arias has a .276/.290/.347 line in 101 plate appearances this season. The 25-year-old had a solid 2008 campaign as a reserve for the Rangers, but hasn't hit much in Texas. The Rangers replace him with Cora, who signed with the team last week after a disappointing start to the season with the Mets.

Cody Ross’ Trade Value

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The Marlins gave Cody Ross away for nothing but salary relief this week, forfeiting the chance to trade him this winter. Let’s see what we can infer about Ross’ trade value from the Marlins' decision.

It doesn't seem like the Marlins believe Ross had trade value going into his final season of arbitration. If Florida had determined that teams valued Ross more than the estimated $5.5MM he would make through arbitration in 2011, they could have held onto him. They would have had to pay him $1MM or so between now and the end of the year, but could have flipped him for prospects this winter. Instead, the Giants pay the remainder of Ross’ 2010 salary and the Marlins save themselves $1MM. 

Anyone who followed last week’s signing deadline knows that some highly touted draftees sign for $1MM or so. In theory, the Marlins could invest their savings in the draft or international free agency, but at this point, they don't have anything to show for Ross.

It’s noteworthy that the Marlins didn’t feel confident in their ability to peddle Ross for a more concrete return. They handed the 29-year-old and his .265/.316/.405 batting line over to the Giants despite his ability to play right and center (UZR suggests Ross is an competent defender) and a track record of success.

WAR, which measures a player’s contributions on defense and at the plate, suggests that Ross has been a league-average player in three of the past four seasons. In the other season, 2008, he posted 3.7 WAR, which is considerably above average. Clearly, the Marlins don’t think MLB teams perceive Ross to be anything special. Otherwise, they would have held on and traded him for more this winter.

D’Backs Release Bobby Crosby

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The Diamondbacks released infielder Bobby Crosby to create roster space for Ryan Roberts, according to the team. Crosby, who was acquired in the Chris Snyder trade, spent less than a month in Arizona.

Crosby, 30, hit .220/.294/.298 in 189 plate appearances with the Pirates and D'Backs this year. His best seasons came with the Athletics, starting in 2004 when he won the American League Rookie of the Year award. He followed his rookie season up with a .276/.346/.456 line in 2005, but missed considerable time with injuries as a member of the A's and hasn't been able to reinvigorate his career since.

Sabathia Does Not Intend To Leave New York

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C.C. Sabathia told Mark Hale of the New York Post that he won't "even consider" becoming a free agent after 2011, even though his contract allows him to do so.

"I'm here," Sabathia said, pointing out that his kids go to school in New York, where he lives all year. "Hundred percent."

As Ben Kabak of River. Ave Blues explains, Sabathia’s contract looks like a seven-year $161MM deal, but it’s actually “a three-year contract for $69MM with a player option for four years and $92MM.” As Kabak points out, the opt-out gives Sabathia leverage he could use without actually leaving the Yankees. For example, he could ask for another guaranteed year or re-negotiate the contract completely.

The Yankees are presumably eyeing Cliff Lee and they can count on Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett and Joba Chamberlain even if Andy Pettitte retires, but Sabathia’s presence in the rotation matters immensely.

Odds & Ends: Brazoban, White Sox, Baker

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More links for Monday, as Jose Bautista becomes the first major leaguer to hit 40 home runs this season… 

The Indians’ 2011 Rotation

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Fausto Carmona will be starting for the Indians next year, but after him, there's a lot of uncertainty in Cleveland's projected rotation. The team's 2011 options are generally young, promising and unproven; here's a more detailed look.

Mitch Talbot has probably pitched well enough to earn a rotation spot for 2011 and the early returns are good for Jeanmar Gomez and Josh Tomlin. Both Gomez and Tomlin have ERAs under 4.00, but neither pitcher has started more than six games, so manager Manny Acta can't pencil them into his 2011 plans quite yet. David Huff has started regularly for the Indians, but opponents have hit him hard, so the Indians recently demoted him to the minors. Justin Masterson has followed up a strong 2009 season with a mediocre 2010 campaign (5.33 ERA) that probably doesn't guarantee him a rotation spot next year.

It seems like Carlos Carrasco has been around for a while, but the right-hander is still just 23. Carrasco has spent the season at Triple A Columbus, where he has a 3.77 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 143.1 innings. It seems like Carrasco, who the Indians acquired in the Cliff Lee trade, will be ready to start for the Indians in 2011.

Like Carrasco, Corey Kluber joined the Indians organization after the Tribe traded away a veteran starter. The Indians obtained Kluber, who is now pitching at Akron (AA), in the Jake Westbrook trade. The 24-year-old right-hander has a season ERA of 3.61 with 9.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9, though most of that came when Kluber was in the Padres organization.

Let's not rule out Zach McAllister, who the Indians acquired for Austin Kearns. The 22-year-old posted a 5.09 ERA at Triple A and Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer noted on Twitter tonight that the Indians may call McAllister up in September.

Two other prospects are just as promising, but not quite as ready. Hector Rondon broke out last season with a 3.38 ERA, 8.4 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in the upper minors, but the 22-year-old righty hasn't pitched since May because of forearm tightness. He is not a sure thing, but could start for the Indians at some point in 2011.

Alex White is holding his own at Akron in his first pro season. The 2009 first-rounder has a season ERA of 2.57 with 7.0 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 across two levels. He doesn't turn 22 until this weekend, so the Indians may want him to pick up more minor league seasoning. Some 2009 draftees – Mike Minor and Mike Leake come to mind – are already contributing in the majors, but most players take more time to develop.

The Indians also have depth in the upper minors in the form of 22-year-old left-hander Scott Barnes and 23-year-old right-hander Paolo Espino. Barnes has posted 8.0 K/9 and a 4.57 ERA at Akron and Espino has a 4.25 ERA between Akron and Columbus.

The Indians signed Carl Pavano and Kevin Millwood to short-term deals in recent years, so they could make similar offers this offseason. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince wrote today that he "wouldn't be surprised to see the Indians shop for a free agent veteran to eat up some innings." Perhaps Westbrook could return to Cleveland, where he has spent most of his pro career. After the Indians traded him, Westbrook suggested he'd be open to re-signing in Cleveland. 

The Indians will head into 2011 with a promising but unproven group of prospects and young major leaguers, so when Chris Antonetti takes over as GM after the season, he may look to sign an innings eater to complement the team's stable of youngsters.

Randy Flores Clears Waivers

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Rockies left-hander Randy Flores cleared waivers, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). The Rockies designated the reliever for assignment Friday, so they still have the rest of this week to work out a trade. If teams aren't interested in trading for Flores, the Rockies will likely release him.

Flores makes $650K this year before hitting free agency this offseason. Just $150K remains on his salary, so you won’t find cheaper options out there. The 35-year-old has a 2.96 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 27.1 innings for the Rockies. 

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