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Cashman Signs Extension With Yankees

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8:39pm: The extension runs through 2011.  Cashman looks forward to the challenge.

4:16pm: Kat O’Brien of Newsday is reporting that Brian Cashman and the Yankees have reached an agreement on a three-year extension.

Brian Cashman has agreed to return as the Yankees general manager on a three-year contract, Newsday has learned. Cashman deliberated over the decision about whether it was time to move on after 11 seasons as GM, but gave the Yankees an affirmative answer this afternoon. In the end, a Yankees source said, it came down to what was best for his family. The new contract will be for slightly more than Cashman had been making, putting it at in the ballpark of $2-million per year.

This move is not unexpected as both Jon Heyman and George A. King III had reported in recent days that Cashman wanted to return to the Yankees.

A formal announcement from the Yankees is expected later today.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Tigers, Teixeira, Burnett

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A look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…

  • MVN Outsider takes a look at some potential offseason moves for the Tigers, including trading Magglio Ordonez and Gary Sheffield and signing Brian Fuentes.
  • Baseball Banter takes a look at the five teams most likely to go after Mark Teixeira this winter.
  • River Ave. Blues wonders if the Yankees should consider signing A.J. Burnett because of his strong career numbers against the Red Sox.
  • Pending Pinstripes takes a look at the Yankees 40-man roster and some potential offseason changes.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Cards, Sheets, Twins, Pirates, K-Rod, Sabean

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A few random notes from around the baseball Blogosphere…

  • Rockin’ The Red says one of the priorities for the Cardinals this offseason should be signing a left-handed reliever. They examine the upcoming free agent market and feel Will Ohman and Jeremy Affeldt are the most attractive options.
  • Was Watching explores the Yankees "lust" for Ben Sheets and notes that he may be a better option than A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia.
  • Twinkie Town projects the Twins ’09 payroll.
  • Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke? says it is better for the Pirates to wait and add payroll noting that a small increase now will not make the Buccos a contender. They believe it makes more sense to wait until ’10 or ’11.
  • One writer at Fanhouse feels Chris Perez could keep the Cardinals from signing Francisco Rodriguez, giving the Cards money to spend on the rest of the bullpen.
  • Another writer at Fanhouse wonders why Brian Sabean is going to be back in ’09.
  • El Lefty Malo says Brian Sabean’s plan has "more or less worked". The suggestion is that it has only been one year since the rebuilding process began.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rasmus, Tazawa, Manny

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Let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Odds and Ends: Alvarez, Orioles, K-Rod, Bradley

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A few more notes from the MLBiverse…

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

McGwire Open To Idea Of Playing Again

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Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch interviewed Mark McGwire about the 10th anniversary of breaking Roger Maris’ single-season home run record. At the end of the article McGwire indicates that he thinks he can still play.

Today, McGwire says, he works out twice a day and still weighs 245 pounds. "I can still hit, if somebody wants me," he said. "Now, wouldn’t that be a shocker?"

Let me say that McGwire may have been joking. However, Hummel gives us no indication that this is the case.

Earlier today, Joe Stiglich reported that the A’s would seek to add power to the lineup this off-season and that they would be more likely to acquire a power-hitter through free agency. Would Billy Beane try to coax McGwire out of retirement? McGwire did play 11 seasons for the A’s and they do have an opening for a DH in ’09 along with a dire need to add an impact bat.

The possibility does seem far-fetched, but this is the type of move that Beane would not shy from. And if McGwire did decide to lace up the sneakers for one more season, this is the exact situation under which it would have to happen.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Wagner Out For A Year; Mets Now Need A Closer For ’09

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3:22pm: In a press conference clip aired on WFAN, Omar Minaya says it will indeed be Tommy John surgery.

3:05pm: The report originally said Wagner would have surgery on the tendon in his elbow. The report has now been changed to say the surgery will be on a ligament and will not require Tommy John surgery as originally reported.

Dan Graziano is reporting that Billy Wagner will need surgery on his elbow and will likely miss the entire ’09 season.

A Mets team official confirmed that Mets closer Billy Wagner will have elbow surgery this week and will miss the remainder of his season and possibly the entire 2009 season as well…Wagner is scheduled to make $10.5 million in 2009, the final year of his four-year, $43 million contract with the Mets.

The Mets do have an $8MM option on Wagner for ’10, with a $1M buyout. However, with the surgery, the Mets are unlikely to pick up the option.

Of a more immediate concern is the closer position for the Mets in ’09. It would seem likely that the Mets would now be one of the front-runners to land Francisco Rodriguez or Brian Fuentes, both of whom are eligible for free agency following the season. It was reported that the Mets were interested in Fuentes prior to the trade deadline.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Several Teams Could Have New GMs In ’09

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A few articles today take a look at some GM positions in ’09 that will have new faces…

  • Michael Radano takes a look at who might fill the GM post for the Phillies in ’09. Based on the Phillies current success, Radano wonders if they should just promote from within. That would mean one of the team’s assistant GMs, Mike Arbuckle and Ruben Amaro Jr. Both Arbuckle and Amaro have interviewed with other teams for open GM positions in the past.
  • Rick Freeman takes a look at the names most likely to end up as the GM in Seattle (John Hart, Gerry Hunsicker, Kevin Towers, Kim Ng) and the Phillies (Hunsicker, Arbuckle, Amaro Jr) noting that Hunsicker was the leading candidate for the same post three years ago prior to the hiring of Pat Gillick. He also notes that Kevin Towers will not likely be kept from interviewing with other teams this time around and Ned Colletti could be gone if the Dodgers miss the playoffs. Among the GMs that Freeman believes will remain with their current teams are Brian Sabean, Brian Cashman and Theo Epstein, the latter two of whom are in the final year of their respective contracts.
  • A blogger interviewed Paul DePodesta. The Padres assistant General Manager sounds like somebody that has no interest in becoming a GM for another organization, saying "I think I’ve moved around enough and when you land in a place like San Diego there isn’t much incentive to leave. The reality is that I came here for a number of reasons, both professional (the people who work here) and personal (my wife’s family), so unless those things change I would like to stay here as long as they’ll have me." DePodesta may be waiting for Towers to move to another organization.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

A’s To Seek Power This Offseason

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Joe Stiglich of the Contra Costa Times reports that the A’s will look to add power to the lineup this off-season.

Though Beane is pleased with the [speed] the A’s have shown, he doesn’t think it holds the key to long-range prosperity…"There’s no question that moving forward, short-term and long-term, we have to get some power," he said. "Obviously you’d like to have young power, but in the short term we have to look at something for next season, too."

Stiglich says the A’s will look for an impact bat in the free agent market noting that Beane added that he is reluctant to trade prospects from the system for a power hitter.

Second base (Mark Ellis) and DH (Frank Thomas) are Oakland’s only positions with a pending free agent. However, the A’s could probably find upgrades at several other spots. Knowing how Beane values draft picks, he is unlikely to go after any Type A free agents.

So let’s hear it in the comments. Who are some free agents the A’s could pursue this off-season?

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Odds And Ends: Millar, Lowe, Jays, Ibanez, Garciaparra, Posey

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A few notes from the MLBiverse…

  • Kevin Millar wants to return to the Orioles in ’09. Of course, many feel the O’s will make a run at Mark Teixeira this off-season which would decrease Millar’s chances of re-signing, unless both sides feel he can be a full-time DH. Millar made $2.75MM this season.
  • Detroit Tiger Thoughts has made an adjustment to the projected Elias ranking for Derek Lowe. He will indeed be a Type A free agent this off-season.
  • The original article is missing from the Toronto Sun, but Sportsnet has the piece in which Paul Godfrey says the Jays are unlikely to include opt-out clauses in any future contracts based on the current situation with AJ Burnett. Some believe Burnett will exercise his opt-out clause and declare himself a free agent this winter.
  • Jim Street says the value of Raul Ibanez goes beyond stats…However, it remains to be seen if his value to Seattle will go beyond the two draft picks they would receive for letting him walk this off-season.
  • Michael Schwartz says another free agent-to-be, Nomar Garciaparra, has proven his worth to the Dodgers in his new role coming off the bench.
  • Even though Brian Sabean went to see Buster Posey play in person, he ruled out any chance of Posey making his major league debut this season.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

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