Discussion: Bobby Jenks
A few weeks ago, White Sox GM Kenny Williams sent a memo to the other 29 clubs saying that pretty much all of his veterans were available. It's unclear if closer Bobby Jenks was included in that memo, but Bob Nightengale of USA Today says the burly righthander will be prime trade bait this winter because of his shaky season, and he goes so far as to say it "will be a bigger surprise if he's back than if traded."
Jenks' performance has suffered this year because he's giving up more longballs than ever before, more than one every six innings pitched. Prior to 2009, Jenks' strikeout rate had been in a four year decline, bottoming out at 5.55 K/9 last year. Even though he's rebounded to post an 8.27 K/9 this season, he's still having the worst year of his career, and FanGraphs values his performance at just $1.9MM.
In his first year of arbitration, the 28-year-old Jenks is earning $5.6MM, and he'll surely get a raise in the offseason. This winter's free agent class features plenty of closers - including Billy Wagner and Trevor Hoffman – which might limit the market for Jenks. What kind of trade value does a homer prone reliever with World Series experience have? Could he fetch a return similar to what the Orioles received for George Sherrill, another closer about to enter his second year of arbitration?
Odds & Ends: Rios, Hardy, Knapp
A couple more links as the day winds down…
- According to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune, one scout called Alex Rios "a teaser," and that he's the kind of the guy that "can get you fired." Kenny Williams sure hopes that's not the case.
- Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider explains why the Mariners should go after J.J. Hardy. Something tells me we'll see quite a few more posts like this.
- Jason Knapp, one of the prospects the Indians acquired for Cliff Lee, will have arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder to remove "loose bodies," according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. GM Mark Shapiro says they will not file a grievance.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Schneider, Claggett
A few links to start the evening off…
- When asked if the Pirates might pursue a free agent this winter to address their lack of power, Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette said the team has indicated "that they will wait until they see which of the current players might take a step forward, then identifying needs." That sounds like a "no," or at least a "probably not."
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson said he would not be surprised if Brian Schneider returned to the Nationals as a backup catcher next year, but he would have to take a big paycut. Schneider has already said he doesn't expect to return to the Mets next year, and after making $4.9MM this year, he should be prepared to take a big paycut wherever he goes.
received when thethey will wait until they see which of the current players might take a step forward, then identifying needs
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09257/997985-63.stm?cmpid=pirates.xml#ixzz0R7cZcwUs
- The Yankees designated reliever Anthony Claggett for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Freddy Guzman, reports Peter Abraham of The Journal News. Claggett was originally acquired in the deal that sent Gary Sheffield to Detroit, and got annihilated in his brief callup (33.75 ERA & 5.62 WHIP in 2.2 IP) this year.
Rosenthal Chats With Chone Figgins
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com sat down for a chat with Chone Figgins of the Angels, who you surely know is up for free agency after the season. They spoke about plenty of topics, including his offseason workouts with Juan Pierre and his improved defense, but here's a wrap up of the hot stove talk…
- Figgins gave credit to free agent pickup Bobby Abreu for helping balance out the team's lineup and adding patience. The Halos have scored the second most runs in baseball, 43 more than any team outside of the Bronx.
- When asked what it's like "being a man in demand," in regards to his upcoming free agency, Figgins said "it's fun" and the best part about it is that it never affects him on the field.
- He said he's just "going to have fun on the field," and let all that other stuff happen when it happens.
- Figgins said that no matter where he goes after the season, his game isn't going to change. By no means did he rule out staying with the Anaheim, saying that he loves it there.
Odds & Ends: Soriano, Reds, Diamondbacks
A couple more links for tonight…
- Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post Dispatch tweets that the Cardinals and Braves discussed closer Rafael Soriano earlier this year. We heard some rumblings of a Joe Mather for Soriano deal over the summer.
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon wonders who should start in center field for the Reds next year – Chris Dickerson, Drew Stubbs, or Willy Taveras. Taveras is under contract for $4MM next year, plus Dusty loves his veterans, so he might get the job by default.
- Steve Gilbert of MLB.com notes that the Diamondbacks and manager A.J. Hinch will wait until after the season to make any decisions about the coaching staff.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Pitching, Rays, Padres, DeRosa
Let's see what Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has for us in his latest Full Count video…
- The free agent market for starting pitching doesn't look very enticing, but the trade market could be intriguing. Toronto will almost certainly field offers for Roy Halladay again, the Cubs could trade Carlos Zambrano, and the Braves could deal Javier Vazquez if they decide to keep Tim Hudson.
- The Astros might finally be ready to move ace Roy Oswalt. While he does have a full no-trade clause, Oswalt has told the club in the past that he'd be willing to consider moves to St. Louis, both Chicago teams, Texas, and Atlanta.
- Tampa Bay moved Scott Kazmir when his value was high, so perhaps it's unlikely they'd move B.J. Upton when his value is low. Regardless, many teams covet the elder Upton brother because at his best he's a righty slugger with superior defense in center field. In his place, the Rays could go in-house with Fernando Perez or Desmond Jennings.
- Keep in mind that if Tampa were to trade an outfielder, they might prefer to deal Carl Crawford. Upton is three years away from free agency; Crawford just one.
- The Padres' recent surge has GM Kevin Towers thinking the team could be a surprise contender next year. The question is this: how low will the team's payroll go? The subtraction of Brian Giles would leave the payroll in the mid-$30MM range, but there are some that believe the team will move either Adrian Gonzalez or Heath Bell and get down into the mid-$20MM range. Ownership has yet to give the front office a firm payroll number for 2010.
- The Cardinals want to re-sign Mark DeRosa, but his offseason wrist surgery changes the equation. DeRosa is fully expected to be ready by the start of Spring Training, but he'll come with some risk. If he was fully healthy, he would be nearly as coveted as Chone Figgins, but supply and demand will work in DeRosa's favor because there are very few quality third baseman available. Plus, he can also play a ton of other positions.
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Rangers, Cubbies
The first round of links for today…
- The Ronnie Belliard pickup is costing Orlando Hudson some major bucks, as Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times points out. Hudson entered the week with 577 plate appearances, and he'll earn $10K for every PA between 576 and 632 according to his contract. However, Hudson has sat in favor of Belliard four times in the last 11 games.
- Jim Reeves of The Star Telegram writes that the Rangers' financial plight will probably hamstring the team, with no immediate relief in sight. Club president Nolan Ryan said he can't see the team being sold before April or May at the earliest.
- Toni Ginnetti of The Chicago Sun Times says that acquiring a "true leadoff hitter with speed and base-stealing ability" should be on the shopping list for Cubs GM Jim Hendry this winter.
- Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports posted his All-Overachiever and All-Underachiever teams. Is it fair to consider Pablo Sandoval and Aaron Hill overachievers?
- Tyler Kepner of The NY Times has an amusing story about Sean Henn and what he went through when he was traded from Minnesota to Baltimore earlier this month.
Astros Unlikely To Be Significant Players in Free Agency
Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle writes that the Astros are "unlikely to be significant players in free agency this winter." The team is trying to lower payroll and get younger, something signing free agents generally won't accomplish. Justice does say that the club would like to retain relievers LaTroy Hawkins and Jose Valverde, both of whom will be free agents after this year.
Houston started the season with close to a $103MM payroll according to Cot's, but they could shed $17.75MM by letting Miguel Tejada, Mike Hampton, and Darin Erstad walk as free agents. However, a significant chunk of those savings will probably end up being redistributed to Wandy Rodriguez and Hunter Pence, both of whom should receive big raises in arbitration (Pence will likely qualify as a Super Two).
In their effort to incorporate more youth into their lineup, Justice says we could see third baseman Chris Johnson, shortstop Tommy Manzella, second baseman Edwin Maysonet, and catcher Jason Castro in the Opening Day lineup next year. The team will also probably ask reliever Wesley Wright to come to camp next year prepared to compete for a rotation spot.
Schneider Doesn’t Expect To Return To Mets
Adam Rubin of The NY Daily News writes that catcher Brian Schneider knows his days with the Mets are numbered.
"I won't be back," Schneider told the Daily News, accepting that the Mets don't plan to re-sign him. "I'm okay with that. I'll easily get a job next year. I'm not worried about it. I'll get a job and just move on. Guys do that. I'm not going to retire. No way."
The 32 year-old Schneider missed part of April and most of May due to injury, and has been riding the bench in favor Omir Santos and Josh Thole recently. He's started just 15 games since August 1st, and has hit a meager .195/.274/.318 on the year. In his two seasons with New York, Schneider's produced a .237/.319/.352 batting line in 590 plate appearances, which isn't far off from his career output.
Schneider projects to be a Type-B free agent after the year, but he's right on the cutoff and could easily become a no-compensation free agent. It probably wouldn't even matter, because it seems extremely unlikely that the team would offer Schneider arbitration after he made $4.9MM this year.
Orioles Will Not Part With Top Prospects
The Orioles are known to be looking for an impact, middle-of-the-order hitter, but according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun, team president Andy MacPhail says he has no plans to part with any of his top young players to acquire such a hitter.
"Personally, I don't see us giving up any key building blocks going forward at this stage of the game," MacPhail said. "I'm pretty optimistic that we're going to be able to acquire guys that are going to be meaningful improvements for us without having to sacrifice key guys."
Zrebiec says this effectively takes the O's out of the running for Adrian Gonzalez, should the Padres put him on the market this winter. This year's free agent class lacks proven middle-of-the order guys beyond Matt Holliday and Jason Bay, although the Orioles are set in the outfield for the foreseeable future with Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and Nolan Reimold.
"It could come either way. You just don't know how the offseason is going to evolve. One trade might start a set of dominoes going in a direction that you really can't anticipate in September. We're going to take a look at what options are available to us in terms of a bat."
"The important thing for us is pretty simple — you identify a pretty wide spectrum of players that are free agents or you think might be available and you make sure you have adequate scouting coverage on them," MacPhail said. "But every offseason, there are things that come about that you just don't anticipate. Our job right now is to make sure we got our scouts in the right places."