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Cardinals Links: Pujols, La Russa, Franklin

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While we wait to see if the Cardinals can retake the series lead over the Rangers in the Fall Classic, let's round up some notes from St. Louis (all links go to Twitter)…

  • "Clearly we still think we have a lot of core players," said GM John Mozeliak to a group of reporters (including Scott Miller of CBSSports.com) when asked about the possibility of losing Albert Pujols to free agency. He added that the team's pipeline of young players is strong.
  • Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and others that he's hoping to get an answer from manager Tony La Russa about his future with the team at some point soon. La Russa's contract is up after the season.
  • Former closer Ryan Franklin was hanging around the team today, and Joe Strauss of St. Louis Post-Dispatch says it sounds like he's done playing. Franklin expressed a desire to play beyond 2011, but that was before he posted an 8.46 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 27 2/3 innings.

Epstein, Hoyer, Cubs Links: Saturday

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The Red Sox officially announced last night that GM Theo Epstein had resigned from his position to take over as the the Cubs president of baseball operations. Both teams will hold press conferences on Tuesday; the Cubs to introduce Epstein, and the Sox to likely announce that Ben Cherington is taking over as GM. The two sides have "reached an agreement regarding a process by which appropriate compensation will be determined" and the issue will be "resolved in the near term."

Meanwhile, the Padres have officially granted the Cubs permission to speak to GM Jed Hoyer and assistant GM Jason McLeod. San Diego has already agreed to a list of players from which they will choose their compensation package. Former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes is expected to replace Hoyer after the World Series, and the Cubs will not raid the Padres' front office any further. As news trickles in about the three-way GM carousel, we'll keep track of it all right here, with the latest up top…

  • Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe cautions Red Sox fans not to expect a "windfall" in exchange for Epstein. Abraham expects Boston to receive two or three prospects, or one prospect and a complementary Major Leaguer like Jeff Baker.
  • Dan Hayes of The North County Times says (on Twitter) we're unlikely the learn the full list of players the Padres can choose from, but a source confirmed that Starlin Castro and Andrew Cashner are not on it. That's not surprising, the Padres are expected to receive minor leaguers in exchange for letting Hoyer and McLeod leave.
  • In a pair of tweets, WEEI.com's Alex Speier notes that because he is coming in as an outsider, Epstein is likely to value the Cubs' prospects differently than those already in the organization. That could lead to a swift resolution of the Cubs-Red Sox compensation talks.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney points out (on Twitter) that Epstein will cost the Cubs about the same as what Alfonso Soriano makes per month. He calls it a "huge per-dollar talent grab" for the north siders.
  • With a handful of front-office types and a manager changing teams this offseason despite being under contract, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders whether the Red Sox could seek another team's manager to be their next skipper (Twitter).

Red Sox Links: Gathright, Young, Cherington

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Here are a few links from Boston as we wait to hear what players the Red Sox will receive from the Cubs as compensation for Theo Epstein…

  • The Red Sox have outrighted Joey Gathright to Triple-A according to the International League transactions page. Gathright had one at-bat and a handful of pinch-runner/defensive replacement appearances in September. Boston's 40-man roster is currently at 39 with an additional five players on the 60-day DL.
  • The Athletics announced in a press release that they have hired former Red Sox pitching coach Curt Young to be their pitching coach, his second stint in that role for Oakland. Young spent just one year in Boston, and Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Sox will pay "a significant portion" of his salary.
  • Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe put together a laundry list of things that new GM Ben Cherington must address in the coming weeks, including hiring a new manager and coaching staff.

Williams: White Sox Not In “Shopping Mode”

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The White Sox are a coming off a disappointing season in which they finished 79-83 and 16 games back of the Tigers in the AL Central. A number of high-profile players had poor showings in 2011, but GM Kenny Williams said in a radio interview today that he will not be shopping players this offseason. Daryl Van Schouwen of The Chicago Sun Times provides a recap of the interview…

"Everyone I've heard speak on it is right," said Williams. "We have talented people, and we did not achieve what we wanted to based on some of those talented people not performing. But we're in a position where we have to look at the future. So I will not be in shopping mode; I'll be listening to see what the interest is in some of our players. Quite frankly, I don't expect people to try to blow our doors down for some of our guys who had down years. Their value is going to be down a little bit."

Williams added that if he does move any of what he called the team's "valuable pieces," that it would be for Major League ready talent, not minor leaguers. He cited Dayan Viciedo, Tyler Flowers, Alejandro de Aza, Brent Morel, and Gordon Beckham as the team's young core.

"We have a nice young, kind of youthful movement," said Williams. "[Players acquired in trades] would have to fit into that. Not A-ball players, Double-A type. They would have to be Major League ready and potential impact players."

In our Offseason Outlook, Ben Nicholson-Smith noted that the White Sox could choose to trade players like Carlos Quentin, John Danks, and/or Gavin Floyd to infuse the roster with some young talent. Quentin and Danks are the team two arbitration cases.

Adam Dunn and Alex Rios, two players that had extremely disappointing seasons, figure to be unmovable given their contracts. Both guys are under contract for another three seasons, with Dunn owed $44MM and Rios owed $39.5MM. Williams said he's "got a great idea or two" about how to help Dunn improve going forward, but said he would speak to the slugger about that privately.

Non-Tender Candidate: Hong-Chih Kuo

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1321008271250_Dodgers_at_RockiesThere is no position in baseball more volatile than relief pitcher, which is how Hong-Chih Kuo can go from being one of the most dominant bullpen arms in the game last September to taking about retirement this September. As a result of his 2011 struggles and off-the-field issues, the Dodgers' left-hander is a candidate to be non-tendered this offseason.

Kuo, 30, allowed just 29 hits and eight runs (1.20 ERA) in 60 innings in 2010, striking out 73 (11.0 K/9) and walking just 18 (2.7 BB/9). Left-handed batters had no chance against him that season, hitting just .095/.159/.111 with 28 strikeouts in 69 plate appearances. When Jonathan Broxton struggled in the second half, Kuo stepped in and went a perfect 9-for-9 in save chances in August and September. At $950K, he was a bargain.

That performance pushed Kuo's salary up to $2.725MM in 2011, his second time through arbitration. Unfortunately, his 2010 performance did not carry over. After walking four batters in his first 2 2/3 innings of the season (four appearances), the Dodgers placed Kuo on the DL with a lower back strain. He was activated on May 1st, struggled in his next five appearances (six runs in two innings), and was again placed on the DL on May 11th. This time he was dealing with social anxiety disorder.

One day later we heard that Kuo was not considering retirement, but it wasn't until June 19th that he was activated off the DL. He struggled the rest of the season, allowing 22 runs in 22 1/3 innings across 31 appearances. He did strike out 28 men, but he also walked 17. All told, Kuo pitched to a 9.00 ERA with 7.7 BB/9 in 40 appearances and 27 innings in 2011. 

After the season, Kuo told MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that he needed a break from baseball and was unsure if he'd ever play again. "If I want to still play and somebody wants to give me a try, I'll play," he said. "If not, fine with me. I'll miss it." He indicated that his alternative to baseball would be returning home to Taiwan and opening a restaurant.

Our projections have Kuo's salary going down to $2.5MM next season, what would be his third time through arbitration. It's worth noting that he's been battling the injury bug for his entire career, one that's featured a total of four elbow operations, including a pair of Tommy John surgeries. Hard-throwing lefty relievers (he's averaged 93.4 mph with the fastball in his career) are a valuable commodity, but Kuo's bout with social anxiety disorder and extreme control problems in 2011 could lead to a non-tender. It'll be interesting to see if any teams are willing to offer him a guaranteed Major League contract if he does in fact hit the market.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Epstein, Hoyer, Youkilis

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Five years ago today, Anthony Reyes and the Cardinals beat Justin Verlander and the Tigers in Game One of the World Series. It was the first time in history that two rookies started Game One of the Fall Classic. Reyes allowed just two runs on four hits in eight innings, helping St. Louis to their first World Championship since 1982.

Here are this week's links, as the Cardinals try to win their second title in six seasons…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. One email per week, please.

Theo Epstein Compensation Links: Saturday

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It's been three days since Red Sox GM Theo Epstein agreed to a five-year contract worth $18.5MM to take over as GM of the Cubs, and now the two teams are discussing compensation for Boston letting Epstein out of the final year of his contract. Yesterday we learned that the Cubs would like to complete the deal with just cash, but the Sox want "something real" in return. Let's keep track of today's compensation talk news here, with the latest up top…

  • Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe hears from a source that talks are "business-like, civil and moving forward over the weekend." (Twitter link)
  • Brett Jackson will not head to Boston as compensation, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
  • At the moment, no other Red Sox personnel will be joining Epstein in Chicago, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
  • David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com reports that talks between the two sides have grown "increasingly contentious." A source told Kaplan that Boston president Larry Lucchino is "trying to make it very difficult for Epstein to accept his dream situation in Chicago because of his fractured relationship with his one-time protege."
  • The Red Sox "are believed to be requesting at least two top players from the Cubs’ farm system," according to Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald.
  • Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune says talks are not expected to be completed this weekend.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

AL East Links: Johnson, Orioles, Ortiz

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Blue Jays prospect Travis d'Arnaud will have surgery to repair torn ligaments in his thumb after getting hurt while catching for Team USA at the World Cup in Panama, reports Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun (on Twitter). Toronto acquired d'Arnaud from the Phillies in the Roy Halladay trade, and he's considered one of the very best prospects in all of baseball. Here are some links from the AL East…

  • Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com says one of the first things the Blue Jays have to do this offseason is figure out if Kelly Johnson fits into their long-term plans. "I thought Kelly did a nice job, and he's definitely in the mix for us," said GM Alex Anthopoulos. "We have an opening, he is a free agent, and in the coming weeks, we'll certainly reach out to his agent and talk to him, but it's hard to characterize where any of that is going to go."
  • The Orioles may expand their GM search beyond the names that have already been mentioned, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun says regardless of who is hired, their first priority will be fixing the team's player development system.
  • In another tweet, Olney speculates about a possible fit between the Blue Jays and David Ortiz. The soon-to-be-free agent DH would be a veteran mentor for their younger hitters, and he's close to Jose Bautista.

Central Links: Tigers, Avila, Votto, Epstein

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The Rangers and Tigers are playing Game Six of the ALCS tonight, and Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News looks at how the 1999 trade that sent Juan Gonzalez from Texas to Detroit is still helping the Rangers today. Here are some links from baseball's two central divisions…

  • Regardless of how the rest of their season plays out, David Mayo of The Grand Rapids Press says the Tigers won't have many issues to address this winter. Second base and a left-handed starter figure to top their shopping list, and $23MM is coming off the books in the form of Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen.
  • Tigers assistant GM Al Avila has been mentioned as a GM candidate around the league, but ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says it's probably a long shot (all four Twitter links). "I'm very happy here,'' said Avila, who recently signed a four-year extension. "I have a great relationship with the ownership, and I've worked for [Dave Dombrowski] for 20 years.'' Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com says Avila's new contract prohibits him from interviewing for a GM job (on Twitter).
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Reds don't have to rush into a trade involving Joey Votto. They can wait until free agents Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols sign, which will give them an idea of what an extension for Votto would cost. It would also shed some light on potential trade suitors. GM Walt Jocketty recently shot down all the trade talk, however.
  • While we wait for the Cubs and Red Sox to agree on compensation for Theo Epstein, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun Times says the GM will have a much tougher time turning the Cubs around than he did Boston nine years ago.

Draft Links: Bonuses, Fernando Perez

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Gerrit Cole, the first overall pick in the 2011 draft, made his Arizona Fall League debut yesterday, and ESPN's Keith Law says he hit 100 mph twice and sat at 95-98 (Insider req'd). "I projected Cole as a No. 1 starter based on the plus fastball/changeup combo and the chance for the slider to become plus as well," said Law, "and for his first professional outing Cole didn't show anything to change that ceiling."

Here are a few draft-related links, even though we're still nine months away from the actual event…

  • Fernando Perez, a high school third baseman/outfielder from California, will forego the spring semester at Otay Ranch High School to enroll at Central Arizona Community College according to ESPN's Andrew Knepper. It's the same move Bryce Harper used to become draft-eligible a year earlier than expected. Perez has a chance to go in the first round next June.
  • Baseball America's Jim Callis notes (on Twitter) that signing bonuses have increased just 3.8% since MLB's slot recommendations were put in place in 2000. He adds that bonuses rose 26.9% during the 1990s and 10.2% during the 1980s.
  • In another tweet, Callis says he doesn't expect there to be major changes to the draft in the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement.

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