Scioscia, Tracy Named Managers Of The Year
Congrats to Mike Scioscia of the Angels and Jim Tracy of the Rockies, both of whom were named Manager of the Year in their respective leagues this afternoon. Scioscia led the Halos to their third consecutive division title, while Tracy took over an 18-28 Rockies club in late May and guided them to a 74-42 finish.
Blue Jays Will Give Teams A Window To Discuss An Extension With Halladay?
MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says that the Blue Jays will consider granting another team a window to discuss a contract extension with Roy Halladay if it means the return in a potential trade would be "significantly greater." GM Alex Anthopoulos declined to comment on the situation, however.
Former GM J.P. Ricciardi wouldn't provide such a window when he was shopping Halladay at the trade deadline. While the ability to negotiation an extension will surely increase interest, the bottom line is the "trade value" of such a window is small. Toronto isn't trading multiple years of Halladay, they're trading one year of Halladay plus the right to talk about an extension.
Odds & Ends: Lackey, Phillies, Mets, Greinke
Here's another collection of links…
- Larry LaRue of The News Tribune writes about why you shouldn't get your hopes up about Seattle landing John Lackey, if you're a Mariners fan.
- Andy Martino of The Philadephia Inquirer says that it's clear the Phillies want to add a free agent reliever or two, although GM Ruben Amaro said that Scott Eyre "may have priced himself out of our range.”
- The Mets have to balance two different sets of priorities this offseason, writes Ben Shpigel of The NY Times.
- As The KC Star's Bob Dutton notes, today's AL Cy Young Award win triggered a bonus that put $100K in Zack Greinke's pocket.
- FoxSports.com's Dayn Perry lists his ten offseason moves the need to happen. The Twins locking up Joe Mauer long-term tops the list.
- Brewers' assistant GM Gord Ash shot down the idea of the club taking on Eric Gagne as a reclamation project, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. We learned of Gagne's desire to return to the big leagues late last week.
Several Teams Interested In Smoltz
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com report that several teams have expressed interest in free agent righty John Smoltz, who is open to starting or relieving. The Cardinals, Dodgers, Mets, Mariners, Astros, Rangers, and Orioles are the among the teams interested in the future Hall of Famer, and some teams inquired about him as a closer.
The 42-year-old Smoltz put up a 4.26 ERA in seven starts with St. Louis after his eight start cameo with Boston. His fastball generally sat in the low-90's, though he did strike out 73 batters in 78 total innings.
Mike Gonzalez Now Represented By Scott Boras
Two sources have confirmed that free agent reliever Mike Gonzalez is now represented by Scott Boras, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Gonzalez had previously been represented by Dan Lozano of The Beverly Hills Sports Council. Bowman says that the switch shouldn't have much of an effect on whether the Braves try to retain the southpaw.
The 31-year-old Gonzalez is now over two years removed from Tommy John surgery, and posted a 2.42 ERA in 80 relief appearances this season.
2009 Minor League Free Agents
Big league players aren't the only ones entitled to free agency, minor leaguers also get to hit the open market after six years. Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the list of all 536 players eligible for minor league free agency this year, and as you'd expect, there's some recognizable names in there, including Ruben Gotay, Josh Barfield, Henry Owens, and Joe Borchard.
See any potential bargains?
Scutaro Open To Staying In Toronto
Marco Scutaro figures to be a popular target this offseason (his agent says teams have expressed interest in him at three infield positions), but Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com say that he's willing to stay in Toronto.
"He definitely hasn't closed the door on Toronto at all," (agent Peter) Greenberg said.
The Jays offered Scutaro a contract extension during the season, then did so again after the season, but Scutaro wants to explore the open market according to the duo from Fox.
The 34-year-old enjoyed a career year in 2009 by hitting .282/.379/.409 in 680 plate appearances. Scutaro is a Type-A free agent, so a team would have to forfeit a high draft pick to sign him.
Astros Not Ready To Close The Door On Tejada
The Astros may only have enough payroll to make minor additions, but MLB.com's Brian McTaggart notes that the team isn't ready to close the door on a Miguel Tejada return.
"Everybody is aware Miggy is a free agent and that's a 199 hits and guy who did a really super job for us and two-time All-Star [with the Astros]," (GM Ed) Wade said. "We're not prepared to close any doors with Miggy."
If Tejada were to return to the club, McTaggart notes that it would likely be as a third baseman. The 35-year-old former AL MVP hit .313/.340/.455 in 2009, though just .283/.313/.395 away from Minute Maid Park.
Yankees Rumors: Mitre, Payroll, Lackey, Sheets
1:13pm: Marc Carig of The Newark Star Ledger reports that the Yanks have declined Sergio Mitre's 2010 option. Mitre remains under team control and is arbitration eligible.
12:43pm: George A. King III of The NY Post has some Yankee rumbings for us today, so let's round 'em up…
- GM Brian Cashman said he's received calls from various agents, but hasn't returned them yet because he has to "wait to see about payroll." The team's pro scout meetings begin tomorrow, and after that Cashman will "take the ideas and estimated money to the Steinbrenner family."
- King says that John Lackey's representatives have contacted the Yankees. An agent (not Lackey's) thinks righty can land a deal similar to Barry Zito's seven year, $126MM contract.
- An industry source says "Everybody seems to be in a wait-and-see mode and that plays into how the Yankees have been working. Take Jason Bay, they can wait around like they did with Mark Teixeira last winter."
- Regarding Ben Sheets, Cashman said they'll "go through the scouting reports and see where the market is. After we decide what it is, that will determine if we have less or more (interest)."
- Sheets' agent, Casey Close, says that more than half-a-dozen teams have called to tell him to "keep them in the loop."
Greinke Wins AL Cy Young Award
Unsurprisingly, and certainly not undeservedly, Royals' righthander Zack Greinke was named the American League Cy Young Award winner today. Greinke was the clear favorite for the award, though you could have certainly made cases for some other AL hurlers. Do any of MLBTR's readers disagree with the selection?
Greinke's 2009 season wasn't just good, it was off-the-charts good. He posted a 2.16 ERA in 229.1 innings, striking out 242 batters and walking just 51 in the process. If you're a believer in WAR, Greinke's total of 9.4 was by far the most in baseball this year, and the most by a pitcher since Randy Johnson put up 9.9 WAR back in 2004.