Odds & Ends: Tigers, Pedro, Rays, Dodgers
Some links to peruse while you eagerly await Game Six of the ALCS…
- Lynn Henning of The Detroit News suggests some salary figures for the Tigers' four key free agents: Fernando Rodney, Brandon Lyon, Placido Polanco, and Adam Everett. He also says there's no way to the team will bring back Aubrey Huff or Jarrod Washburn, nor "is it fathomable that either player will be offered salary arbitration for 2010."
- The Phillies' braintrust has already met about offseason decisions according to Andy Martino of The Philadelphia Inquirer, and a person familiar with the team's thinking tells him that they haven't ruled out offering Pedro Martinez a contract longer than one year.
- Steve Slowinski at DRaysBay.com took a look at the Rays' projected payroll for 2010, and concludes that salary escalations and arbitration raises don't leave the team with too much wiggle room next year, even though they have/will shed some expensive contracts.
- Dodgers' GM Ned Colletti said he "doesn't anticipate any cutbacks in resources" despite the drama between the McCourts, according to the AP (via ESPN).
- Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times says that impending free agents Orlando Hudson and Randy Wolf are expected to "depart to greener pastures."
Kikuchi To Announce Intentions Tomorrow?
Japanese teenage lefthander Yusei Kikuchi has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning according to Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker. Kikuchi is expected to announce whether he'll remain in Japan or come to the United States at the presser.
Patrick passes along two reports which indicate that Kikuchi will remain in Japan, however he qualifies that by saying "we’ve seen a pattern of Japanese media outlets hearing what they want to hear with regards to the highly-regarded lefty." Kikuchi was scheduled to begin meeting with seven MLB teams and a dozen Japanese clubs starting last week. The NPB draft is just five days away, and Kikuchi is expected to be the first overall pick should he remain in Japan.
You can check out all of our Kikuchi rumors here.
Discussion: What’s Next For The Twins?
We've already discussed what four teams – the Red Sox, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Rockies – should do this offseason to improve themselves after being eliminated from the postseason, but we never touched on the Twins.
Minnesota has a handful of players due to become a free agents, most notably Orlando Cabrera, Ron Mahay, Joe Crede, Mike Redmond, and Carl Pavano. Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Delmon Young, and Francisco Liriano are all eligible for arbitration, and the team holds a $2.9MM club option ($100K buyout) on reliever Jon Rauch.
In addition to strengthening the roster, it would also behoove the team to, at the very least, begin discussions with Joe Mauer's camp about an extension this winter. What do you guys and gals think the Twins should do this offseason to make a run in the winnable AL Central next year?
Dodgers Unlikely To Acquire An Ace?
The Dodgers' need for a front-line starting pitcher was evident in the postseason, when they were forced to start Rangers' cast-off Vicente Padilla in an elimination game. Most speculated that acquiring a top of the rotation starter would be the first order of business for GM Ned Colletti, but according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, bringing aboard a pitcher of that caliber may be unlikely.
"There's not a long list of guys where you would say, this guy would make a dramatic difference," Colletti said of the upcoming crop of free-agent starters. "It's a thin market. There are pitchers who would make us better. But tremendously better?
"Every club needs an ace and we're not unlike any club. We might have one or two in the making [referring to Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley]. But the likelihood of an ace becoming available by trade is very slim. And this [free-agent] class doesn't have that type of allure to it."
Both Colletti and manager Joe Torre agree on the clubs biggest areas of need – starting pitching depth and second base – but reiterated that they're comfortable with the young core that's in place. Who wouldn't be comfortable with a group of young players like that?
Despite what seems to be a perpetual need for starters, the Dodgers led baseball with a 3.41 ERA in 2009, and their 3.80 FIP was good for second best behind Atlanta.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Torre, Wang, Wright
A night without baseball just doesn't feel right…
- ESPN's Buster Olney wonders if the "legal wrangling" caused by the McCourts' divorce could affect the Dodgers attempt to land a No. 1 starter this offseason. Within the same piece, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus notes that the prospects traded in deals for Casey Blake and George Sherrill have thinned out LA's system, meaning they might not have the ammo to pull off a major trade.
- Meanwhile, Phil Wood of MASNsports.com writes that a source told him they believe Joe Torre will manage the Dodgers for years to come. "When push comes to shove, he won't want to leave," said the source.
- Tyler Kepner of The NY Times mentions that Chien-Ming Wang isn't sure if the Yankees will tender him a contract this offseason. “Nothing’s sure,” Wang said. Wang has thrown just 137 IP over the last two seasons due to foot and shoulder injuries.
- Dave Cameron at FanGraphs looks at the David Wright–Jose Cruz Jr. non-trade, and says that the Blue Jays messed up by not making the deal, but not because Wright developed into an All-Star. He says J.P. Ricciardi did wrong by not getting any return for Cruz Jr. before he left as a free agent in the offseason.
Odds & Ends: McCourt, Manny, Duncan, Blue Jays
A few links to check out between ALCS pitches…
- Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt has fired his wife, Jamie, as CEO of the team. The McCourts are famously going through what will likely be a messy divorce, and Jamie's lawyers maintain that "she owns 50 percent of the team."
- Diamond Leung tweets that the Dodgers and GM Ned Colletti are planning on having Manny Ramirez around next year. Manny has a $20MM player option that he has until shortly after the World Series to exercise.
- Now that they've brought in hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, Mark Potash of The Chicago Sun Times wants to see the Cubs go after pitching coach Dave Duncan. Duncan has said he's going to wait and see what Tony LaRussa does before deciding on his coaching future.
- ESPN's Keith Law, former special assistant to the GM in Toronto, mentioned a few interesting Blue Jays' non-trades in his chat today. He says that the Mets once offered 19-year-old David Wright for Jose Cruz Jr., but J.P. Ricciardi said "I'm not trading a major league player for some guy in the (Low Class-A) Sally League." Klaw also mentions that the Jays had a chance to trade Cruz Jr. for Rafael Soriano, but wouldn't do it unless the Mariners kicked in Clint Nageotte as well. What could have been, Jays fans.
Discussion: What’s Next For The Dodgers?
The Phillies pounded the Dodgers' pitching staff last night en route to a World Series berth, so now the newly signed Ned Colletti will go to work trying to improve his club for next year.
Los Angeles has a few prominent players due to become free agents, including Orlando Hudson, Jim Thome, Randy Wolf, Mark Loretta and Ronnie Belliard. They also have $42MM in options to sort out between Manny Ramirez, Vicente Padilla, and Jon Garland, although Manny's is a player option while Garland's is mutual. Let's not forget that Russell Martin, Andre Ethier, George Sherrill, Jonathan Broxton, Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp, and Hong-Chih Kuo are all eligible for arbitration. That could get expensive very quickly.
What do MLBTR's readers think the Dodgers need to do this offseason? Acquiring a front-line starting pitcher would seem like a top priority, so they may choose to make a play for Roy Halladay or attempt to sign John Lackey. They'll also need to figure out who's playing second. Just throwing some names out there – what about a package deal for Dan Uggla and Josh Johnson?
Odds & Ends: Ng, Thome, Blue Jays
Despite the threat of rain pretty much all day, the Yanks and Angels are playing in the Bronx. Here's a few links to check out between pitches…
- SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that Dodgers' assistant GM Kim Ng interviewed for the Padres GM job today. She's vying to become the first female GM in history.
- The NLCS is bringing Jim Thome back to Philadelphia for just the second time since the trade that sent him to the White Sox prior to the 2006 season, and as MLB.com's Ken Gurnick explains, the Phillies were "somewhat divided internally" about whether to deal Thome, or the up-and-coming Ryan Howard back when the deal was made.
- We still don't know if Cito Gaston will be back to manage the Blue Jays next year, but The Toronto Star's Richard Griffin provides some circumstantial evidence that Buck Showalter could end up replacing Gaston if he and the team part ways.
- MLBTR is on Facebook and Twitter, so make sure you hit us up that way if you haven't already.
Discussion: Boston’s Shortstop Problem
Ever since the Red Sox traded Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs at the 2004 trade deadline, they've been looking for a long-term solution at shortstop. They've gone the big name free agent route with Edgar Renteria and Julio Lugo, tried the scrap heap approach with Nick Green, and gave a youngster like Jed Lowrie a shot as well. In total, they've used 19 different shortstops since the Nomar deal, including four in 2009
Alex Gonzalez did a bang-up job after coming over from Cincinnati mid-season, hitting .284/.316/.453 after the trade while playing his usual rock-solid defense. The Red Sox hold a $6MM option for 2010 on Gonzalez, but we've already heard that the option might be too rich for Boston's taste. Lowrie made two trips to the disabled list last year, and is a career .235/.313/.372 hitter in the bigs.
If the Red Sox decide to move on from Gonzalez and/or Lowrie, the free agent market doesn't offer much. Former Sox Orlando Cabrera will be available, however his on-base percentage has declined for three straight years and his once outstanding defense is just okay now. Miguel Tejada could be another option, assuming he's willing to take a significant pay cut. The righty hitter could be tailor made for Fenway Park's friendly confines.
On the trade market, the obvious target would be Milwaukee's J.J. Hardy, although Yunel Escobar and Stephen Drew may be available as well. After pursuing the likes of Felix Hernandez, Roy Halladay, and Adrian Gonzalez at the trade deadline, the Sox could try to make a major splash for Hanley Ramirez. That would be a bigger blockbuster than the deal that original sent Hanley to Florida in the first place.
The Red Sox also have Cuban signee Jose Iglesias in-house, although it's probably too much to expect the soon to be 20-year-old to make the jump all the way to the majors. What do you think Boston should do about their shortstop problem this offseason? Should they bring back Gonzalez as a one-year stopgap, or go big and try to shore up the position this winter? Tell us what you think in the comments.
Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Kikuchi, Rangers
Here's some links to check out while you hope the weather doesn't interfere with Game Two of the ALCS tonight…
- Byron Kerr of MASNSports.com has the details on Stephen Strasburg's Arizona Fall League debut last night. ESPN's Keith Law also filled us in on some of the more impressive prospects playing out in the desert this year.
- According to Kyodo News, Yusei Kikuchi "said on Saturday all 12 Japanese baseball clubs would be appealing, if he decides to play in Japan." Never a bad thing to keep your options open.
- USA Today's Bob Nightengale says the Rangers will ask for one final bid next month, and "are expected to be sold for about $525 to $550 million."
- Courtesy of Baseball America's latest minor league transactions, you can add about two-dozen players to the free agent pool. Among the notables: Billy Traber, Tony Graffanino, Adam Eaton, and Wilfredo Ledezma.