Rosenthal On Indians, Tracy, Haren, Farrell
Here's a look at the latest Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..
- The Indians plans to entertain trade offers for Shin-Soo Choo, Justin Masterson, and others won't change if they hire Terry Francona as manager. The Tribe doesn't have to shed payroll and their commitments for 2013 are minimal. The idea of acquiring additional young talent would make sense anyway as Francona helped develop several young stars in Boston. It's just another reason as to why Tito would almost certainly get a long-term contract.
- There's only a 50/50 chance that Jim Tracy will return as the Rockies skipper, despite his "handshake agreement" for 2013. With the Rockies' plan to hire Mark Wiley as the pitching coordinator, it may serve them to also get a pitching-minded manager.
- The Angels much decide whether to exercise club options on Dan Haren ($15.5MM) and Ervin Santana ($13MM). The Halos could decline both and make qualifying offers to both hurlers, putting them in position to potentially rake in draft pick compensation. It would be something of a gamble to risk having one or both back one a one-year, ~$13MM deal, but neither pitcher would be overly tough to trade on a one-year pact.
- Omar Vizquel's critical comments of John Farrell have shed light on what has become a tough situation in Toronto. Farrell could be even more open to parting ways with the club and the Blue Jays might be on the same wavelength. Rosenthal opines that the only thing left to sort out might be the club's compensation deal with the Red Sox.
Orioles Claim Steve Pearce Off Waivers
The Orioles announced that they have claimed Steve Pearce off of waivers from the Yankees. The first baseman/outfielder was designated for assignment by the Yanks on Tuesday.
The move marks the second time that Pearce has gone from the Yankees to the Orioles in 2012. The O's purchased the 29-year-old from New York in June and designated him for assignment in July. The Astros claimed him shortly thereafter but traded him back to the Yankees a month later.
Pearce owns a .234/.309/.369 slash line across six big league seasons with a .266/.343/.464 line against left-handers.
Quick Hits: Peavy, Rizzo, Byrnes, Utley, Rockies
At the beginning of the season, it seemed farfetched that Jake Peavy would get another multi-year contract for 2013 and beyond, but that matter will soon be a front-burner issue for the White Sox, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com. It’s hard to say what the 31-year-old might get on the open market as Olney notes that this time last year, few predicted that Mark Buehrle would land a four-year, $58MM contract from the Marlins. The Dodgers, Cubs, Angels, and others will have money to spend this winter while the Royals are known to be looking for someone to anchor their rotation. Here’s more from around baseball..
- The Nationals hold club options for 2014 and ’15 on General Manager Mike Rizzo’s contract, people familiar with the deal told Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post. That effectively means that Rizzo has just one guaranteed year remaining with the club. Kilgore writes that the GM may use the club’s success as leverage to get yet another contract extension, but the Nats don’t appear to be in a rush to get that done.
- While Padres General Manager Josh Byrnes believes that the club will increase its payroll for next season, he cautioned that a good chunk of that will go to arbitration raises for Chase Headley, Clayton Richard, Edinson Volquez, Will Venable, and others, writes Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com. Byrnes also talked about what he learned in his time with the Diamondbacks and the evolution of Carlos Quentin over that span.
- The Phillies have been toying with the idea of shifting Chase Utley to third base for the 2013 season, but GM Ruben Amaro is shutting the experiment down, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Now, the Phillies will likely have to turn to the open market for a solution at third, but there aren’t a ton of appealing options in this year’s free agent class.
- Jonah Keri of Grantland.com sat down with Rockies GM Bill Geivett for a lengthy discussion on the unique challenges faced by the club thanks to the altitude of their home ballpark. The Rockies turned to a unique pitching experiment this season that will continue in 2013 and are looking into other ideas that could affect the way they build their roster going forward.
East Notes: Red Sox, Aviles, Vizquel, Guillen
Here's a look at the latest out of the AL and NL East..
- Red Sox shortstop Mike Aviles isn't thrilled about his reduced role but still hopes to remain in Boston next season, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Despite that, Aviles insists that he won't dwell too much on his baseball future as a great deal of his focus will remain on his family at home.
- Blue Jays shortstop Omar Vizquel made it known earlier this summer that 2012 will be his final major league season and the 45-year-old hasn't had a change of heart. The veteran reiterated today that he plans on retiring as a player effective Wednesday, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- In a session today with Spanish-language reporters, Marlins skipper Ozzie Guillen opined that it would be unfair if he is dismissed after just one season at the helm in Miami, writes Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post. Earlier this week, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com wrote that Guillen's job appears to be in "serious peril".
- Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine told ESPN 98.7's Michael Kay that he wished he had listened to a particular piece of advice from former pitcher Al Leiter over the winter, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. Leiter later told Kay that his advice was to work to get pitcher Josh Beckett on his side as he can be difficult at times. Beckett, of course, would later be a part of the club's massive payroll purge in their deal with the Dodgers.
This Date In Transactions History: Tim Salmon
Had MLBTradeRumors been in existence during Tim Salmon's strongest years, it's unlikely that you would have seen him featured prominently on the site. For the most part, it was difficult to picture the outfielder known as Mr. Angel donning another uniform. On this date in 2006, Salmon announced that he would end his career with the only franchise that he had ever known.
Salmon quickly made a name for himself in the majors as he hit .283/.382/.536 with 31 homers in his first full season in 1993, earning AL Rookie of the Year honors with 100% of the first-place votes. The right fielder didn't let up in the years that followed and finished seventh in MVP voting in both 1995 and 1997, seasons in which he posted an OPS of 1.024 and .911, respectively. Injuries would limit Salmon to just 98 games in 1999 – his lowest total since becoming a full-time major leaguer – but he bounced back in spectacular fashion in 2000, matching his career-high of 34 home runs.
The strong season came at the tailend of his four-year, $16.5MM deal with the Halos. The lifelong Angel wasn't short on suitors, but quickly chose to stay put with the Angels on a four-year, $40MM extension. Salmon's 2001 regular season was somewhat forgettable and it stayed that way thanks to his strong bounceback in 2002, culminating in the Angels' 2002 World Series championship.
The veteran would later reach another crossroads in his career where he may have entertained the idea of playing elsewhere. After missing all of 2005 thanks to a pair of significant surgeries, Salmon hooked on with the Angels in Spring Training with the hope of auditioning himself for other clubs. However, the veteran's play earned him a spot with the club in 2006 in which he saw 54 games at DH with a handful of appearances in the outfield. On September 28th, Salmon announced that he would call it a career after 14 big league seasons.
On a day in which the Braves are paying tribute to their own longtime superstar, it seems fitting to also reflect on the career of another lifelong franchise pillar who plied his craft on the opposite coast. While Chipper Jones' body of work is obviously quite different from Salmon's, it's rather remarkable that the outfielder never received an All-Star nomination throughout the course of his lengthy career. However, he will always be remembered fondly by Angels fans for his power bat, his resilience in the face of multiple setbacks, and his instrumental role in the club's 2002 championship.
White Sox Sign Johan Cruz
We'll keep track of tonight's international signings here..
- The White Sox finalized the signing of Dominican shortstop Johan Cruz with a $450K deal, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). Cruz, a 6'1" right-handed hitter, was the club's only pickup from the July 2nd class of this year.
Quick Hits: Varitek, Rockies, Haren, Diamondbacks
Earlier tonight, the Red Sox announced that Jason Varitek will serve as a special assistant to General Manager Ben Cherington. “Jason was one of the most respected players of his era and will be a key voice as we move forward,” said the GM. “He will be involved in a number of areas including Major League personnel decisions, evaluations, and mentorship and instruction of young players. We are fortunate to have him in this role.” The former catcher has long been rumored to be on the verge of a role with the club, but yesterday we learned that he would not be in the mix for the managerial job. Here's more from around baseball..
- Rockies manager Jim Tracy says that he wants to return in 2013 despite a difficult season in which the team is set to post its worst record in franchise history, writes Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. The Rockies plan to discuss their managerial position but so far have made it sound as though Tracy is safe.
- Dan Haren is less-than-thrilled about a report earlier this week that indicated the Angels are leaning towards turning down options for him and Ervin Santana this offseason, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Haren says that he and his fellow pitcher are dialed in on the season at hand and are not giving any thought to their respective contract situations.
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic evaluates Trevor Cahill's performance with the Diamondbacks since being acquired from Oakland in December. While Cahill hasn't given the club everything all that they could have hoped for, the 24-year-old has still delivered a reasonably strong year.
Central Notes: Cubs, Hoyer, Indians, Astros
Here's a look at some items out of the Central divisions..
- Cubs General Manager Jed Hoyer has just $40MM committed to four players for 2013 and says that the rotation will be a priority for the club this winter, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. “We certainly have to be aggressive with starting pitching over the course of the winter," said Hoyer. Last night, Hoyer indicated that the Cubs are prepared to be active on the open market this winter.
- A number of candidates have already emerged for the Indians job but Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com opines that newly-minted interim manager Sandy Alomar Jr. is the right hire. Terry Francona, who has also been linked to the gig, appears to be a longshot as Cleveland may not have the money to give him an attractive offer.
- Randy Harvey of the Houston Chronicle writes that Bo Porter won the Astros' job thanks in large part to his high-level of intensity, something that Brad Mills was not known for.
Dodgers TV Deal Allows For Limited Revenue Sharing
The Dodgers' 2011 bankruptcy court settlement gives the club's new owners a chance to cap income subject to revenue-sharing from a proposed regional sports network, five people familiar with the agreement's special terms tell John Helyar, Steven Church, and Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com. The deal, which was first reported by Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, calls for revenue sharing from a TV deal to be capped at $84MM while TV sports-rights experts say the team could net as much as $225MM a year from a network’s rights fees.
The terms of the agreement likely boosted the value of the franchise, resulting in their $2.15 billion sale in April and allowing them to make upwards of $400MM in future commitments to Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, and others. One TV sports-rights expert notes that the deal could prompt other owners to seek similar treatment and relief from revenue sharing in relation to broadcast rights.
Meanwhile, Robert Manfred Jr., an MLB executive vice president who deals with revenue-sharing matters, insists that the team will share based on its income from the actual contract and not the settlement-set $84MM figure. Manfred Jr. went on to say that the club's record-setting price tag was the result of it being a flaghsip team in the second-biggest media market and not because of the special terms related to the TV deal.
Quick Hits: Marlins, Blue Jays, Phillies, Dodgers
Sunday afternoon linkage..
- Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is angry at manager Ozzie Guillen for comments the manager made that were critical of him, a person who spoke with team officials told Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Guillen made a series of comments on Friday that touched on his own job security and Loria's relationship with previous managers. Earlier today we ran down the latest news out of Miami.
- Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos told reporters, including Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com, that he believes the Orioles' success is due in large part to their strong bullpen. Looking ahead, Anthopoulos says that he hopes to emulate that.
- Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer previews what the 2013 Phillies might look like and sees a team with Chase Utley at third and a big ticket acquisition in centerfield. The feeling around the club is that the high-priced pickup will be someone like B.J. Upton or Michael Bourn.
- While some have posited that the Dodgers' woes are due to a lack of team chemistry, some club officials believe that the team is plagued by raised expectations, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Dodgers went from David to Goliath in the blink of an eye, which has led some to believe that a number of hitters are pressing.