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Quick Hits: Andrus, Upton, Greinke, Rockies, Pettitte

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Believe it or not, but the last place Red Sox may actually be in better position for future years than the AL East champion Yankees, argues Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.  The Yankees have tens of millions tied up in an aging and increasingly unproductive roster, while the Red Sox shed much of their major payroll commitments when they dealt Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford to the Dodgers.

Here are some news and notes from around the baseball world…

  • Elvis Andrus is a major trade chip for the Rangers if they choose to move him, notes Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas, who outlines Andrus' trade value and circumstances behind a possible deal. Durrett also says Texas could instead try to trade an older, more expensive player like Nelson Cruz or Ian Kinsler.
  • The Rangers have interest in B.J. Upton but they see him as a corner outfielder rather than in center, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com as part of a fan mailbag.
  • The longer Zack Greinke takes to pick his next team, the longer it will delay the rest of the Angels' offseason moves, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.  Greinke is the Angels' top target and his status with the team could determine what the Halos do with Dan Haren, Ervin Santana and Torii Hunter.
  • The Rockies have Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. and A's third base coach Mike Gallego on their list of possible external candidates for manager, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
  • Mark Wiley is the favorite to become the Rockies' new director of pitching operations, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post.  Wiley, currently a Marlins scout, would oversee pitchers at all levels of the Colorado organization as the team tries to develop arms capable of performing at Coors Field.
  • Andy Pettitte hopes to have a decision made about his playing future "in a month or so," reports ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand.  The Yankees southpaw hinted last week that he was looking to return in 2013.
  • The Yankees are in for a busy offseason though "by any objective measure, the Yankees aren't a team in need of a major overhaul," writes Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal.  Costa details the five most pressing questions facing the Bombers this winter.
  • Wilson Betemit doesn't appear to have much of a role on next year's Orioles roster, writes CSNBaltimore.com's Rich Dubroff.  Betemit is owed $1.75MM from the O's in 2013 and his $3.2MM option for 2014 will vest with 324 more plate appearances.
  • The Twins have no plans to alter the dimensions at Target Field next season, team president Dave St. Peter said in an e-mail to reporters (including MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger).

AL East Notes: Ausmus, A-Rod, Orioles, Red Sox

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Brad Ausmus has a supporter in former teammate Andy Pettitte, who tells Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald that Ausmus would be a "great" choice to manage the Red Sox.  Ausmus is one of four candidates (along with Tim Wallach, DeMarlo Hale and Tony Pena) who have interviewed for the job, though the Sox are also negotiating with the Blue Jays about manager John Farrell.  Here's the latest from around the AL East…

  • Sources familiar with the Dodgers' and Marlins' plans tell Jon Heyman of CBS Sports that neither team has an interest in Alex Rodriguez.  The Miami source said that rumors about talks between the Yankees and Marlins about Rodriguez are "BS. [It's] not happening."
  • The Angels may not be interested in an A-Rod-for-Vernon Wells deal due to the salary differences and the fact that the Angels see prospect Kaleb Cowart as a potential starting third baseman by 2014, opines MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (Twitter links).
  • Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun grades each member of the Orioles' roster.
  • As the Red Sox and Blue Jays continue to negotiate about Farrell, an anonymous AL East GM tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he isn't a fan of manager trades.  "I don't think it's a great practice to deal for managers. I'm surprised the league allows it," says the general manager.  "If the guy doesn't want to be there you just let him go. What's the big deal? You get someone else who does want to be there and who you feel will do a good job."
  • Gerry Hunsicker and Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman talk to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times about Hunsicker's decision to leave the Rays for the Dodgers.
  • From earlier today on MLBTR, I compiled some news about the Blue Jays.

Quick Hits: Yankees, Orioles, Scutaro, McCann

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The Yankees are not talking about a potential Alex Rodriguez trade with the Marlins, according to GM Brian Cashman. Cashman said Keith Olbermann’s report about trade talks is "not true," according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. It’d be an unusual time to discuss a trade, as the Yankees are still in the playoffs and the Marlins have uncertainty in their front office. On to today’s links…

  • Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said Jim Thome "did a nice job" in Baltimore and "added a real veteran presence,” Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. Thome sounds undecided about his next step, but he could re-sign with Baltimore this coming offseason. Making room for him on the roster could require some creativity on the part of Duquette and manager Buck Showalter.
  • Baseball executives Brian Sabean (Giants GM), Dan O'Dowd (Rockies GM) and J.P. Ricciardi (Mets special assistant) agree that Marco Scutaro is a talented played with toughness, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. The Giants infielder stayed in the game to deliver a key hit after being knocked down by Matt Holliday’s overly aggressive slide in the second game of the NLCS.
  • Brian McCann could miss the beginning of the 2013 season to recover from shoulder surgery, so the $12MM club option on his contract presents the Braves with a quandary, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes. McCann doesn’t have much to worry about in Olney’s estimation. Either the Braves bring the 28-year-old back or he hits free agency and draws interest from many teams, especially AL clubs looking at him as a catcher/DH.
  • It's too soon to know if the Braves will pick up the option, but MLB.com's Mark Bowman would guess that McCann will be back.

Carroll, Paulino, Eveland, Thomas Hit Free Agency

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We'll track the day's minor moves here…

  • Outfielder Brett Carroll and catcher Carlos Maldonado also elected free agency, Matt Eddy reports (on Twitter). Carroll appeared in five games for the Nationals this past season and Maldonado appeared in four.
  • Catcher Rob Johnson is a free agent after being removed from the Mets' 40-man roster, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports. Johnson, 30, appeared in 17 games for the Mets this year plus 45 contests for their Triple-A affiliate. 
  • Orioles catcher Ronny Paulino and left-hander Dana Eveland also elected free agency, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter links). Eveland appeared in 14 games for the Orioles, posting a 4.73 ERA, and Paulino appeared in 20 games.
  • Yankees left-hander Justin Thomas also elected free agency, according to Eddy. The Yankees outrighted Thomas to Triple-A earlier in the month.
  • Blue Jays reliever Juan Abreu has also elected free agency, Eddy reports. Abreu posted a 6.80 ERA in 42 minor league relief outings this past season.
  • The Brewers announced that Livan Hernandez and Yorvit Torrealba elected free agency after refusing outright assignments to Triple-A. The moves are procedural, as Hernandez and Torrealba were expected to hit free agency.

Quick Hits: Kemp, Mijares, Teagarden

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The Tigers overcame a tense ninth inning to cinch a 2-1 victory in tonight's Game Three, taking a 3-0 lead over the Yankees in the ALCS.  Justin Verlander allowed three hits and one run (a ninth-inning Eduardo Nunez homer) over 8 1/3 innings, while Phil Coke allowed two singles but held on to pick up the save.  Here's the latest from around baseball…

AL East Notes: Beeston, Martinez, Scutaro, Orioles

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Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston will continue in his current role after the end of October, when his contract had been set to expire, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports. Beeston and the Blue Jays are believed to be working toward a two-year extension. The 67-year-old acknowledged to Davidi that the sides are "in discussion" and that he's "committed to seeing this thing through." Here are more notes from the AL East…

  • Rays bench coach Dave Martinez hasn't heard from the Red Sox or Rockies about possible manager interviews, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Martinez was one of the top candidates to manage the Astros before they hired Bo Porter last month.
  • The Red Sox shouldn't have any regrets about dealing Marco Scutaro last winter, writes WEEI.com's Alex Speier, despite Scutaro's strong performance down the stretch with the Giants.
  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun lists the five biggest questions facing the Orioles this winter.
  • It doesn’t appear that Red Sox bench coach Tim Bogar will be interviewed for the team’s managerial opening, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter).
  • Jon Lester just completed a disappointing season, but as Rob Bradford points out at WEEI.com it could be a good time for the Red Sox to approach the left-hander about another contract extension. Lester, who's under team control through 2014, has said he's "always open" to extension talks. So far the sides haven't discussed a new deal, Bradford reports.
  • Outfielder Nate McLouth would like to re-sign with Baltimore when he hits free agency this offseason, but the Orioles could decide to stick with internal options and try to find another McLouth-like performer next year, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun writes. In case you missed it, Mike Axisa examined McLouth’s free agent stock over the weekend.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

AL East Notes: Ortiz, Peralta, Jackson

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Some links from around the AL East for your Monday reading pleasure…

  • David Ortiz is still looking for two years and $25-30MM, according to the Boston Herald's John Tomase. Ortiz told Tomase that he expects the Red Sox to reach out to his representatives at SFX next week.
  • Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com cautions Orioles fans not to buy into any rumblings that Ortiz could end up in Baltimore if he doesn't re-sign with the Red Sox. Dubroff notes that manager Buck Showalter felt handicapped by Vladimir Guerrero's inability to play in the field the last time the team had a strict DH in 2011.
  • In his latest mailbag, MLB.com's Bill Chastain tells one reader that Joel Peralta is so intent on returning to the Rays that he will likely deal with them exclusively before talking to other teams. Chastain does opine that a multi-year deal from an outside team could sway Peralta's thinking.
  • Chastain also says he believes that the Rays will open the season with Ben Zobrist as the shortstop, as Hak-Ju Lee may not be ready from an offensive standpoint yet.
  • Danny Knobler of CBS Sports tweets that the Blue Jays had nine different scouts in attendance for Edwin Jackson's final three regular season starts. Jackson will be a free agent this offseason, and while he'd like to return to the Nationals, he could end up elsewhere. The Jays are planning to shop aggressively this offseason.

Latest On Boston’s Managerial Search

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Padres special assistant Brad Ausmus and Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach are candidates for Boston's managerial opening, but the former MLB stars aren’t the only ones being considered for the position. Here’s the latest news on the managerial search…

  • Wallach was “very impressive” in his interview with the Red Sox, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter). It’s not clear if Wallach’s interview will be enough to land him the job, however.
  • DeMarlo Hale's interview will take place Thursday, according to Tim Britton of the Providence Journal (on Twitter). Ausmus will interview Wednesday, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter).
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com provides a complete rundown of Tony Pena, the Yankees coach who's a candidate for Boston's managerial job.
  • The Red Sox will interview Yankees bench coach Tony Pena today, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. The 55-year-old managed the Royals from 2002-05 before joining the Yankees, who have today off and will resume the ALCS in Detroit on Tuesday.
  • The Red Sox have plans to interview Hale, the Orioles' third base coach, for the position at some point this week, according to Bradford.
  • Joe Torre said he has no plans to manage and isn't a candidate for the Red Sox position, John Tomase of the Boston Herald reports. Nick Cafardo reported yesterday that there's talk Torre would consider managing again.

AL East Notes: Rays, Buck Showalter, Alex Rodriguez

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It'll be interesting to see how the Rays look to improve this winter given their limited financial flexibility, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  The Rays, who were last in the majors in attendance, will save more than $22.5MM with Carlos Peña, B.J. Upton, Luke Scott, and Kyle Farnsworth off the books.  However, built-in and projected arbitration increases will cost them around $50MM to keep 17 players.  After opening the season with a higher-than-planned $64MM payroll, the club is expected to try and scale back the payroll this year, leaving them with limited room.  Here's more out of the AL East..

  • Yankees President Randy Levine appeared on ESPN 98.7 FM's Sunday Morning with Ian O'Connor (partial transcript courtesy of ESPNNewYork.com's Matt Ehalt) and did not commit to Alex Rodriguez remaining in pinstripes for the duration of his contract through the 2017 season. "That's like one of those questions: Where's the stock market going to be in 2017, who's going to be president on Nov. 15?" Levine said. "If I had crystal ball to predict all of that stuff, I'd be a lot smarter than I am. I'm not going to go there. That's stuff for people to speculate on your show and elsewhere, but it's irresponsible for me to do so."
  • Orioles manager Buck Showalter says that he isn't ready to start thinking about a contract extension despite the fact that he enjoys being in Baltimore.  Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com wonders aloud if the skipper has his eye on becoming a General Manager somewhere.  Showalter was interested in running the O's front office before Dan Duquette was brought in as executive vice president.
  • The Yankees should have passed on giving Alex Rodriguez a ten-year, $275MM contract following the 2007 season, opines Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News.  Lupica notes that the Cardinals made a shrewd business decision by letting Albert Pujols sign a $200MM+ contract elsewhere last winter and now find themselves in the championship hunt.
  • With Curtis Granderson struggling, the trade that sent Austin Jackson to Detroit for him no longer seems like a smart move, writes Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.  Last year it seemed like both the Tigers and the Yanks came out as winners in that trade, but Madden believes that the W now goes squarely in the Tigers' column.
  • The Orioles will likely be forced to make a decision between Nate McLouth and Nolan Reimold as to which ballplayer will be called upon to man left field next season, writes MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski. While Reimold got off to a strong start to the season before succumbing to injury, McLouth proved to be a valuable asset for Baltimore towards the end of the year and playoffs.

Edward Creech and Daniel Seco contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Showalter, Angels, Cardinals, Ludwick

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Sunday night linkage..

  • Orioles manager Buck Showalter is signed through next season, and he told Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com that he has interest in remaining with the team beyond then. Team owner Peter Angelos told Dubroff that he is interested in keeping Showalter around long-term as well.
  • Mike Lupica of The New York Daily News wrote about Yankees' ace CC Sabathia, the rare big money free agent pitcher who is living up to his contract. Sabathia threw a complete game in the team's ALDS Game Five win over the Orioles yesterday.
  • In an interview with Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, commissioner Bud Selig said that Angels owner Arte Moreno has never mentioned the idea of moving on from Angels Stadium when he can opt out in 2016. The Halos were able to fuel their winter spending spree behind a brand-new television contract and could conceivably look for a new revenue boost in the form of a new ballpark.
  • Despite the Orioles' surprising success this season, executive vice president Dan Duquette told reporters that he doesn't expect to chase top-tier free agents this winter, writes Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com. Duquette declined to talk about individual contract situations like Mark Reynolds and his $11MM option but praised his second-half play and overall toughness.
  • Today's news on Sean Burnett requiring surgery could be of interest to the Cardinals as they will be in the market for a left-handed reliever this winter, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Burnett has a $3.5MM mutual option with the Nationals for 2013 but he is likely to decline it given the going rate for lefty bullpen arms.
  • The Cardinals will be without Jaime Garcia for at least the early portion of the 2013 season as the left-hander is set for shoulder surgery, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. General Manager John Mozeliak confirmed that he expects Garcia to have an "exploratory" procedure but wouldn't comment on what it might mean for his availability.
  • Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News writes that the Reds might not be able to match the best offers that come in for Ryan Ludwick, but the club may be able to come close enough to make the outfielder want to give them a discount out of loyalty. Ludwick and the Reds have a $5MM mutual option for 2013 but he is expected to decline it.
  • The Red Sox will need much more out of their underachieving rotation in 2013 if they expect to turn things around, opines John Tomase of the Boston Herald.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

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