AL East Notes: Jones, Red Sox, LaRoche, Blue Jays
Yesterday, the Yankees informed Andruw Jones that he will not be on the ALDS roster against the Orioles. Jones says that he understands the move and won't consider retirement as a result, writes Dan Martin of the New York Post. “I’m going to be playing,” said the 35-year-old. “I don’t know where, but I’m not done playing.” Jones will be a free agent this winter as his one-year, $2MM deal expires. Here's more out of the AL East..
- The Red Sox have plenty of money to work with this winter thanks to their blockbuster deal with the Dodgers, but there isn't much for them to spend it on, notes John Tomase of the Boston Herald. Tomase could see Boston targeting Adam LaRoche and Mike Napoli, but the Red Sox would be wary of a substantial long-term commitment to the latter.
- If the Red Sox can't pry John Farrell away from the Blue Jays, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald suggests that they could instead target Toronto's first base coach Torey Lovullo.
- The Daisuke Matsuzaka era in Boston came and went without a bang, writes Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald. Despite Dice-K's less-than-impressive pitching with the Red Sox, Buckley hopes that the club continues to put a strong emphasis on international scouting.
Cafardo On Johnson, Soriano, Hernandez, Hamilton
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that there are some General Managers who have a few regrets regarding last winter. Red Sox GM Ben Cherington wishes he had done more for the rotation. Angels GM Jerry Dipoto probably would have liked to boost the bullpen more during the team's spending frenzy which netted Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd was asked to assess his own mistakes and said, “How long is this article? Just kidding. We all have regrets. When you make the amount of decisions we do, you make mistakes. So this year [Jeremy] Guthrie was acquired to give us innings, but Coors [Field] got him and that hurt us. We had such a lack of experience everywhere else. There was no margin for error, and I screwed up.” Here's more from today's column..
- Marlins pitcher Josh Johnson will be trade bait, despite talk to the contrary. Miami could get a ton from teams like the Orioles, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Royals, Rangers, Twins, and Dodgers. On the whole, the Marlins look like they're ready to clean house again.
- Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano would make a lot of sense for the Rays as a DH, especially since the Cubs would pick up the bulk of his final two years under contract. Soriano could also help the Blue Jays, Orioles, or Indians.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti says that he expects Shin-Shoo Choo to be back with Cleveland next season as he enters his walk year, but he will also listen to offers for the 30-year-old. Choo could make sense for Boston as they face a similar situation with Jacoby Ellsbury. Cafardo suggests a deal involving a pitcher like Justin Masterson.
- Teams have offered the moon for Felix Hernandez in the past but there’s no chance that Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is going to trade him now. King Felix is under contract through 2014 and the M's have the money to keep him beyond that. For his part, Hernandez is well-paid and loves playing in Seattle.
- Josh Hamilton says that he won't take a discount to stay with the Rangers, but that's where he's likely to land as it's hard to read the market for him. The Tigers, Nationals, Pirates, Phillies, Angels, Mariners, Blue Jays, and Orioles shouldn't be ruled out. The Yankees and Red Sox also can't be crossed off the list but neither market is a strong fit for Hamilton.
- Jake Peavy would appear to be a target for the Red Sox once his $22MM option is declined by the White Sox. The 31-year-old could also end up staying put in Chicago or returning to the NL.
- Former catcher Brad Ausmus, currently serving as a special assistant to the GM in San Diego, said that he would have interest in the Red Sox managerial vacancy. As of Friday, however, he has yet to be contacted. Ausmus turned down a chance to be interviewed for the Astros job earlier this fall.
- The Red Sox are pursuing John Farrell, but Ryne Sandberg could be on their list, even though he was just named as the Phillies' third base coach and is likely being groomed for Charlie Manuel's job. Cherington tried to get Sandberg to take Boston's Triple- A job a couple of years ago.
- While some have accused Bobby Valentine of ignoring advanced scouting reporters, Cafardo says that he saw the manager reading them every time he visited his office.
Rangers Notes: Adams, Ogando, Hamilton
Earlier today, we learned that Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton will give the club a chance to match any offer and categorized his chances of returning at 50/50. Here's more on the Rangers as their offseason gets underway…
- Reliever Mike Adams, who is a free agent this winter, would like to return to the Rangers, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Adams will certainly test the open market though, saying, "I'm going to take advantage of it. It's strictly business." The right-hander earned $4.4MM in 2012 and posted a 3.27 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and BB/9 2.9.
- Meanwhile, Adams will meet with a specialist on Thursday regarding his Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and says he expects to have surgery, tweets Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest.
- The Rangers have rotation holes to fill, but they may be able to turn to an in-house solution as Alexi Ogando says that he wants to be a starting pitcher in 2013, Wilson tweets.
- Allowing Hamilton to walk may seem like an easy call in the wake of his late-season struggles, but it's anything but, writes Richard Justice for MLB.com.
Braves Notes: Bourn, Hudson, McCann
The latest out of Atlanta, courtesy of David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution..
- Braves General Manager Frank Wren said that he approached Michael Bourn and agent Scott Boras in Spring Training about starting contract talks and Boras said he would wait until after the season, tweets O'Brien.
- No surprise here, but Wren said that the club would like to re-sign the outfielder this winter (Twitter link). The GM added that he would have to see how the market shapes up for Bourn, who figures to be a hot commodity.
- Pitcher Tim Hudson said that he would like to finish his career in Atlanta, even though he knows that's not a given, O'Brien tweets. The Braves hold a $9MM team option on the 37-year-old for 2013 and are expected to exercise it.
- Wren says that the team will target premium players but don't plan to "go outrageous" with any one player in particular. Instead, the Braves are more likely to go for two high-salaried players than one player with an enormous price tag (Twitter links).
- Catcher Brian McCann told reporters that he believes he'll need shoulder surgery and could miss between 2-5 months of action, according to O'Brien (via Twitter). Meanwhile, Wren says that unless an MRI shows something worse than the initial diagnosis, McCann won't require surgery (Twitter link).
- The Braves have asked all of their coaches back for '13 and they are all expected to return, according to O'Brien (via Twitter).
NL Central Notes: Brewers, Soriano, Cubs, Cardinals
When addressing the press earlier today, Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin said that his "gut feeling" is that he won't be pursuing high-priced free agents this winter, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel. More from the NL Central..
- Melvin also said the current plan is to keep Corey Hart at first base and Norichika Aoki in right field with Mat Gamel coming off the bench, Haudricourt tweets.
- The Cubs are willing to explore an offseason trade involving Alfonso Soriano, writes Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com. Last night, Soriano made it known that he would be open to a trade this winter as he hopes to return to the World Series before his career is through.
- Speaking of the Cubs, they promoted Shiraz Rehman to the position of Assistant GM, joining Randy Bush, Padilla tweets.
- Kyle Lohse could be making his final start for the Cardinals as they face the Braves in a one-game playoff in Atlanta, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
NL East Notes: Marlins, Phillies, Sandberg, Nats
A look at items out of the National League East..
- Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is getting pressure from his top executives to fire Ozzie Guillen because they believe he has brought an unprofessional culture to the club, two people who have spoken with the front office told Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.
- The Phillies announced that Ryne Sandberg will join the team’s big league coaching staff as its new third base coach and infield instructor. The Hall of Famer had been managing in the Phillies’ minor league system and is considered by many a likely candidate to replace manager Charlie Manuel eventually.
- Manuel isn’t seeking a contract extension right now, but he stopped short of saying 2013 will be his final season, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (via Twitter). Manuel’s contract with the Phillies expires after next year.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. “made no promises” to Sandberg, Gelb tweets. The 53-year-old will be permitted to interview for managerial jobs elsewhere if teams express interest.
- Rick Maese of The Washington Post looks at the unique relationship between agent Scott Boras and the Nationals front office. Despite Boras' incredible success as an agent, he said that he has no aspirations of building a team from the other side.
Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.
NL West Notes: Diamondbacks, Towers, Padres
Earlier tonight, we looked at the latest news on the Dodgers after General Manager Ned Colletti addressed the media. Here's a glance at other items out of the NL West..
- Earlier this week, Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers told Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com that he will target a shortstop, a veteran starter, and a third baseman this offseason. When talking to the press today, Towers added that he will also look to pickup a lefty specialist, tweets Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.
- Towers conceded that the club might have to deal a young pitcher in order to take care of their vacancies on the left side of the infield, Piecoro tweets. In his Q&A with Bloom, Towers said that he doesn't see Willie Bloomquist or John McDonald as full-time answers at shortstop.
- Padres GM Josh Byrnes says that starting pitching will be the club's focus this offseason, writes Corey Brock of MLB.com. Injuries decimated the Padres' rotation in 2012, forcing the club to turn to 15 different starters throughout the year.
Dodgers Notes: Kershaw, League, Ramirez, Cruz
Good news for Dodgers fans as General Manager Ned Colletti confirmed that Clayton Kershaw will not require surgery on his right hip, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Here's more on what Colletti had to say to reporters with all links going to Hernandez's Twitter..
- The Dodgers will make a strong effort to re-sign their relievers, including free agent Brandon League (Twitter link). The former Mariner told reporters yesterday that he has informed the Dodgers that he hopes to return.
- At this point in time, Colletti is leaning towards Hanley Ramirez playing shortstop in 2013, Hernandez tweets.
- Meanwhile, the club is heading into the offseason with the idea that Luis Cruz can be the Dodgers' third baseman in 2013 (Twitter link). Cruz, 28, hit .297/.322/.431 with six homers in 78 games for the Dodgers in 2012. It would make sense for the Dodgers to look in-house for an answer at third with limited options at the position on the open market this winter.
- Colletti was asked if Juan Uribe has a place on the team in 2013 and the GM responded "We'll have to see," (Twitter link). To part ways with Uribe, the Dodgers will have to eat the $10.3MM remaining on his deal.
Indians Notes: Alomar, Perez, Sizemore, Choo
Earlier today, the Indians interviewed Sandy Alomar Jr. about their full-time managerial vacancy. General Manager Chris Antonetti didn't put a timetable on making a hire, but he was quick to tip his cap to Alomar for the job he did guiding the club at the end of the 2012 season, according to the Associated Press. Antonetti addressed the media today and we have the highlights courtesy of MLB.com's Jordan Bastian..
- Antonetti confirmed to reporters, including Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (via Twitter), that closer Chris Perez wants to remain in Cleveland. Perez said earlier this week that he wasn't looking for a way out this year by commenting on issues concerning the club.
- The GM wouldn't rule out bringing back Grady Sizemore or Travis Hafner on reduced deals, but Bastian (Twitter link) believes that Antonetti was just saying the right thing in regards to two long-time Indians.
- As of right now, Antonetti anticipates Shin-Soo Choo being back with the Indians in 2013 (Twitter link). Choo will hit the open market after next season and it has been said that the club will consider trades for him as they are not optimistic about an extension.
- The GM said that the decision on Roberto Hernandez's option will be difficult given the limited amount of time they had to evaluate him, Bastian tweets. Hernandez has been sidelined both by his suspension and injury.
- Matt LaPorta is out of minor league options going into next year and the GM said (Twitter link) that this will be a very important offseason for the first baseman/outfielder.
Blue Jays Outright Laffey, Hill, Korecky
Today’s outright assignments..
- The Blue Jays announced that they have outrighted left-hander Aaron Laffey, right-hander Shawn Hill, and right-hander Bobby Korecky off of the 40-man roster. The move leaves Toronto with 37 players on the 40-man roster. Laffey, 27, would have been arbitration-eligible this offseason. That leaves Colby Rasmus, Jesse Litsch, J.A. Happ, and Rajai Davis (if his club option is declined) as the remaining arb eligible cases in Toronto.