Central Notes: Brewers, Aviles, Scherzer
Scouting director Ray Montgomery has left the Diamondbacks to becomes special assistant to the general manager and vice president in charge of scouting for the Brewers, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. It’s a significant hire for the Brewers — Piecoro notes that Montgomery is widely considered to be very promising, and that he interviewed for the Padres’ open GM job months ago. Montgomery worked with the Brewers before the Diamondbacks hired him in 2010. Here are more notes from the Central divisions.
- The Indians exercised Mike Aviles‘ option in part because they would like top shortstop prospect Francisco Lindor to get more time at Triple-A Columbus, Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer writes. Lindor earned a promotion to Columbus last season but only collected 180 regular season plate appearances there. With Lindor in the minors, Jose Ramirez will start at shortstop, with Aviles backing up Ramirez and second baseman Jason Kipnis. Pluto feels Aviles would have trade value if Lindor earned a promotion more quickly than the Indians anticipate.
- Tigers ace Max Scherzer could receive a seven-year, $175MM contract to top this offseason’s free agent market, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post, projecting salaries for ten top free agents. Sherman notes that his guess on Scherzer might be low, but that Masahiro Tanaka‘s 2014 season with the Yankees demonstrates the kinds of uncertainties that often accompany big-money investments in pitchers.
West Notes: Rangers, Kapler, Sabean
Yesterday afternoon, the Rangers announced their coaching staff under new manager Jeff Banister, and it’s fairly similar to their old one. Dave Magadan, who interviewed for the Yankees’ hitting coach position already this fall, will return to the Rangers as their hitting coach. Mike Maddux, who appeared to be a managerial candidate, will return as pitching coach. Steve Buechele, who got good reviews as the manager at Triple-A Round Rock and who interviewed for both the Rangers and Astros managerial jobs, will serve as the Rangers’ big-league bench coach, replacing Tim Bogar. Hector Ortiz will serve as the first base coach, with Andy Hawkins as the bullpen coach. Here are more notes from around the West divisions.
- The Dodgers are considering hiring FOX Sports analyst Gabe Kapler in a front office role, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Kapler played under new Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman for two seasons in Tampa Bay, and Crasnick notes that Friedman “is a Kapler fan.”
- Giants GM Brian Sabean isn’t looking for attention, but he’s quietly gotten strong results in his 18 years on the job, MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby writes. During Sabean’s tenure, the Giants have the third-best record in the National League, behind the Braves and Cardinals. They have also, of course, won three World Series in that time.
Week In Review: 10/25/14 – 10/31/14
The Giants won the World Series this week, but it was also a week touched by tragedy, as Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo, tragically died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic. Here’s a look back.
Key Moves
- The Cubs fired manager Rick Renteria and hired Joe Maddon.
- The Red Sox extended Koji Uehara for two years.
Traded
- Blue Jays – acquired P Liam Hendriks from Royals for C Santiago Nessy
- Pirates – acquired IF Justin Sellers from Indians for cash considerations
Teams Extended (or will extend) Qualifying Offer
- Yankees – P David Robertson (link)
- Tigers – P Max Scherzer, DH Victor Martinez (link)
Teams Who Exercised Options
- Reds – P Johnny Cueto (link)
- Brewers – 3B Aramis Ramirez (Brewers exercised their end of a mutual option), P Yovani Gallardo (link)
- Rays – IF/OF Ben Zobrist (link)
- Angels – P Huston Street (link)
- Cardinals – P John Lackey (link)
- Nationals – OF Denard Span (link)
- Tigers – P Joakim Soria (link)
- Orioles – P Wei-Yin Chen, P Darren O’Day (link)
- Blue Jays – P J.A. Happ (link)
- Indians – IF/OF Mike Aviles (link)
- Rockies – P LaTroy Hawkins (link)
- Diamondbacks – P Daniel Hudson, P Matt Reynolds (link)
Players Who Exercised Options
Players Whose Options Vested
- Mariners – P Hisashi Iwakuma (link)
Teams Who Declined Options
- Nationals – 1B Adam LaRoche (mutual option), P Rafael Soriano (link)
- Rangers – OF Alex Rios (link)
- Orioles – OF Nick Markakis (mutual option), C Nick Hundley (link)
- Reds – OF Ryan Ludwick, IF Jack Hannahan (link)
- Dodgers – P Chad Billingsley (link)
- Red Sox – P Craig Breslow (link)
- Brewers – IF Rickie Weeks (link)
- Padres – P Josh Johnson (link)
- Phillies – P Mike Adams (link)
- Angels – P Sean Burnett (link)
- White Sox – P Felipe Paulino (link)
- Cubs – P Kyuji Fujikawa (link)
Claimed
- Brewers – C Juan Centeno (from Mets –link), IF Luis Jimenez (from Angels – link)
- Orioles – P Pat McCoy (from Tigers –link)
- Blue Jays – OF Andy Dirks (from Tigers –link), IF Justin Smoak (from Mariners – link)
- Athetlics – OF Andrew Brown (from Mets – link)
Designated For Assignment
- Pirates – P John Axford, P Jeanmar Gomez (link)
Outrighted
- Mets – IF Josh Satin, P Scott Rice, P Dana Eveland, P Buddy Carlyle (link)
- Rangers – IF Ed Lucas, P Nathan Adcock, P Alfredo Figaro (link)
- Tigers – IF/OF Don Kelly, P Evan Reed (link)
- Cubs – IF Josh Vitters, OF Ryan Kalish, IF Chris Valaika (link)
- Orioles – P Evan Meek (link)
- Reds – IF Neftali Soto, P Trevor Bell (link)
- Nationals – P Ross Ohlendorf (who elected free agency – link)
- Angels – P Ryan Brasier, OF Tony Campana (link)
- Phillies – P B.J. Rosenberg (link)
- Rockies – 1B/OF Matt McBride (link)
Retired
- IF Kevin Youkilis (link)
Key Minor League Signings
- Athletics – P Brad Mills (link)
Other
- Angels – returned P Brian Moran to Mariners
- SK Wyverns (Korea) – will post P Kwang-Hyun Kim
- Hiroshima Carp (Japan) – signed IF Jesus Guzman
East Notes: Ibanez, Phillies, Mathis
The Yankees have spoken with veteran Royals outfielder Raul Ibanez about their hitting coach position, George A. King III of the New York Post writes. Since Ibanez was still technically a Royal during the team’s World Series run (although he was not on their active roster), the Yankees waited until late this week to contact him. The 42-year-old Ibanez has an excellent clubhouse reputation, although, obviously, he has never been a professional hitting coach. The Yankees have interviewed Chili Davis (who ended up in Boston) and Dave Magadan (who returned to the Rangers). Here are more notes from the East divisions.
- The Phillies‘ pair of deals involving current Giants star Hunter Pence turned out horribly, Ryan Lawrence of the Daily News writes. Jarred Cosart is already contributing in the big leagues, and Jon Singleton and Domingo Santana, who joined Cosart in heading to Houston when the Phillies acquired Pence, are both promising. Meanwhile, little remains of the Phillies’ haul when they sent Pence to San Francisco — catcher Tommy Joseph has struggled to stay healthy, while pitcher Seth Rosin, who will be 26 next week, was demoted to Double-A at one point this summer.
- The Marlins appear likely to exercise their option on catcher Jeff Mathis, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. The 31-year-old Mathis has never hit well (he batted just .200/.263/.274 last season), but he’s competent defensively and he’s cheap, at just $1.5MM for 2015. If the Marlins do in fact pick up his option, he’ll spend another season as Jarrod Saltalamacchia‘s backup.
Blue Jays To Exercise J.A. Happ’s Option
The Blue Jays will exercise their team option on lefty starter J.A. Happ, paying $6.7MM rather than a $200K buyout, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. Prior to the 2013 season, the Jays signed Happ to a one-year, $5.4MM extension for 2014 that included the option they’re exercising now. He can become a free agent after the coming season.
Happ pitched 158 innings for the Jays in 2014, with a 4.22 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and a 2.9 BB/9 that marked a significant improvement over his 2013 mark of 4.4. Happ also increased his average fastball velocity from 91.1 MPH to a career-high 92.7, perhaps an indication that he can continue to be helpful. He looks likely to be in the Jays’ rotation again in 2015.
Central Notes: Maddon, Dirks, Giambi, Indians
The Cubs‘ decision to replace Rick Renteria with Joe Maddon seems “a little dirty,” but the baseball world will go on, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes. The Rays believe the Cubs tampered with Maddon while they had him under contract, and others in the game aren’t happy that Maddon’s situation led to Renteria’s firing. Rosenthal notes that if MLB can prove the Cubs tampered, the Rays could demand a promising young player in compensation, maybe even a player as talented as Javier Baez or Addison Russell. Here’s more from the Central divisions.
- GM Dave Dombrowski says the Tigers would have retained outfielder Andy Dirks in 2015 if they knew he would be healthy, Tom Gage of the Detroit News tweets. Dirks platooned with Matt Tuiasosopo in left field for the Tigers in 2013, but he missed the entire 2014 season with back and hamstring issues, and the Tigers lost him on waivers to the Blue Jays today.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti doesn’t believe Jason Giambi will be a good fit for the team’s roster next season, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer tweets. Giambi will be 44 in January, and he hit .133/.257/.267 in limited duty in 2014, so it’s no surprise that the Indians might move on. Terry Francona has called Giambi a “manager-in-waiting,” so Giambi’s next move could involve coaching.
- The Indians have made a variety of front office moves, Hoynes tweets. Ross Atkins will be Cleveland’s new vice president in charge of player personnel, with Carter Hawkins becoming director of player development and Paul Gillispie the director of pro scouting.
Alex Rios Hires Scott Boras
Free agent outfielder Alex Rios has hired Scott Boras as his new agent, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets. Rios was previously represented by the Kinzer Management Group.
Rios is hiring Boras just as he enters the free agent market for the first time. The 33-year-old was a first-round pick by the Blue Jays in 1999, and the seven-year extension he signed with them in 2008 just came to an end as the Rangers officially declined his team option earlier today. Rios hit .280/.311/.398 with only four home runs in 521 plate appearances with Texas in 2014. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes projected Rios would get one year and $8.5MM this offseason.
Dodgers Decline Option On Chad Billingsley
The Dodgers have declined their option on starting pitcher Chad Billingsley, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Given the cost of the option ($14MM minus a $3MM buyout) and Billingsley’s struggles to stay healthy, the move comes as no surprise. Billingsley was once among baseball’s more promising young arms, but he’s pitched only 12 big league innings since September 2012 after a series of elbow injuries and setbacks. He had Tommy John surgery in April 2013, then another elbow surgery in June of this year.
For his career, Billingsley has a 3.65 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in parts of eight seasons in the Majors, but he’s now very far removed from his last productive stretch. The Dodgers took Billingsley in the first round in 2003, and he’s spent his entire career with Los Angeles, but now, at age 30, he’s a free agent.
West Notes: Sandoval, Lewis, Ethier, Angels
Coming off another World Series win with the Giants, free agent third baseman Pablo Sandoval is seeking a nine-figure contract, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes. Sandoval would, however, like to remain in San Francisco. “He loves the city. He loves the team. He loves the fans,” says agent Gustavo Vazquez. “And he wants to stay.” Sandoval himself echoes those sentiments earlier today, and the Giants want him to return as well. The Red Sox are also expected to be among the teams bidding for Sandoval. Here’s more from the West divisions.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels says starting pitcher Colby Lewis will test the free agent market, FOX Sports Southwest’s Anthony Andro tweets. The Rangers had previously indicated they were interested in re-signing Lewis, even though he posted a 5.18 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 170 1/3 innings in 2014 after missing the previous season due to elbow and hip injuries.
- The Dodgers ought to consider keeping Andre Ethier, Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times writes. Joc Pederson‘s performance in a small sample down the stretch might indicate he’s not ready to start, Dilbeck argues, and Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp might not be able to stay healthy. So the Dodgers might as well keep Ethier, particularly if the alternative is eating tens of millions of dollars in salary and not getting much back in return.
- The Angels are likely to have a quiet offseason, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. They don’t have many free agents departing and not many clear needs, and since they want to stay under the luxury tax threshold, they don’t have much money to spend anyway. They do want bullpen and rotation depth, and a report earlier today indicated one way they might try to get it is by trading Howie Kendrick or David Freese.
Angels Likely To Trade Kendrick Or Freese
The Angels are likely to trade either second baseman Howie Kendrick or third baseman David Freese, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. Kendrick will make $9.5MM in the last season of a four-year deal after hitting .293/.347/.397 in 2014. Freese, who made $5.05MM last season after arriving from the Cardinals in a trade, will likely receive a raise in his last season of arbitration eligibility before free agency. He hit .261/.321/.383 in his first season in Anaheim.
The Angels would like to add starting pitching or left-handed relief help, and dealing a relatively expensive player in Kendrick or Freese would help with their luxury tax issues. Gordon Beckham, who the Angels acquired from the White Sox in a minor deal in August, could replace either player as a starter, or the Angels could use Grant Green at second. Beckham and Green would likely be downgrades, however, particularly if the Angels were to trade Kendrick.