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Free Agent Stock Watch: Nate McLouth

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The last few seasons have been a rollercoaster for 30-year-old Nate McLouth, a former All-Star with the Pirates who finished the season as the regular left fielder for the Orioles. In between he was traded to the Braves, had his option declined, re-signed by the Pirates, released by Pittsburgh, and signed by Baltimore.

Uspw_6644238McLouth earned himself a three-year deal worth $15.75MM back in 2009 after hitting .276/.356/.497 with 26 homers, 23 steals, and a league-leading 46 doubles back in 2008. He was traded to Atlanta shortly thereafter, where he put together just a .229/.335/.364 batting line in over 1,000 plate appearances across three years. After a second tour of duty as a bench player with the Pirates failed, McLouth hooked on with the Orioles and had the best stretch of his career since breaking out in 2008.

Called up in early-August after hitting .244/.325/.461 in 209 plate appearances for the team's Triple-A affiliate, McLouth quickly assumed Baltimore's left field job full-time and even batted third for a few weeks. When Nick Markakis went down with a season-ending thumb injury, the 2008 All-Star assumed the leadoff spot. McLouth finished the season with a .268/.342/.435 batting line in 236 plate appearances for the Orioles, and he went 7-for-22 (.318) with a homer and two steals against the Yankees in the ALDS.

McLouth is now set to head back onto the open market, this time on much more favorable terms after the Braves declined his club option last winter. He's a .248/.335/.421 hitter in nearly 3,000 career plate appearances, and he's shown both speed and decent pop from the left side. As a left-handed hitter, most of his damage comes against righties (.257/.346/.447) and not lefties (.223/.303/.346). Although he's is a strong defender by reputation, the various advanced metrics actually rate him as below-average.

Two strong months and one great playoff series with the Orioles won't be enough to make teams forget McLouth's performance with Pirates earlier this year as well with the Braves. He fits best as a platoon corner outfielder who can fill in at center on occasion, and the good news is that he's on the "heavy" side of the platoon as a lefty. I think McLouth's best free agent comparable may be Casey Kotchman, another guy who bounced around and struggled for years before having the proverbial "one good year" with the Rays a season ago. He turned that year into a one-year, $3MM contract with the Indians last offseason.

Earlier today we learned that McLouth would like to return to the Orioles, but the club already boasts impressive outfield depth with Markakis, Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold, and even Chris Davis. There simply may not be a spot for him in Baltimore next season. McLouth played well enough down the stretch that he will likely be able to find a guaranteed contract (rather than a minor league deal) on the open market, but that contract may only be for one year and a few million bucks. He'll have to repeat this year's his success again in 2013 before richer opportunities come along.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Reynolds & McLouth Would Like To Return To Orioles

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The Orioles impressive season ended with an ALDS Game Five loss to the Yankees yesterday, but the team improved so much that a pair of impending free agents told MLB.com's Adam Rosenbloom that they would like to return to the club next year.

"I'd definitely like to come back," said Mark Reynolds. "This is the most fun I've ever had playing baseball, this group of guys. There's a bunch of ballplayers in this room. No prima donnas, nobody for themselves. Just ballplayers who pull for each other, and who wouldn't want to be in that environment?"

The 29-year-old Reynolds hit .221/.335/.429 with 23 homers in 538 plate appearances this year, making the transition from third base over to first base full-time. The club holds an $11MM option for his services next year, but even if they decline it they would still control his rights as an arbitration-eligible player. Baltimore could turn down the option and try to re-sign him at a lower salary without having to worry about a bidding war on the open market.

Nate McLouth, 30, also indicated a willingness to return to the Orioles next season, telling Rosenbloom that he "couldn't have had a better time in the time" with the team. He signed a minor league contract with Baltimore at midseason before taking over their left field and leadoff hitter jobs full-time in the second half. McLouth was their best hitter in the ALDS and produced a .268/.342/.435 batting line 236 regular season plate appearances with the team.

With Nick Markakis and Nolan Reimold expected to be healthy in time for next season, plus 33-homer guy Chris Davis' ability to play first base or right field, the Orioles may not have spots for Reynolds and/or McLouth next year. McLouth in particular figures to look to parlay his strong finish into a full-time job somewhere.

East Notes: Showalter, Orioles, LaRoche, Yankees

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The Orioles' season came to a close tonight as the Yankees took Game 5 behind an impressive complete game outing from C.C. Sabathia.   Despite the disappointing exit coupled with heartbreak of Game 3, it was a remarkable season for a team that was never expected to win 93 games and qualify for the postseason.  More out of Baltimore and other items from the Eastern divisions..

  • Orioles managing partner Peter Angelos said that the club has yet to discuss a contract extension with Buck Showalter, but he sounds ready to have those talks if the manager does, writes Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com.  Showalter is under contract with the O's through the 2013 season.
  • The Nationals opened talks with Adam LaRoche on a multi-year deal at some point during the season to keep him from free agency, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  However, nothing is close at this time.  LaRoche has a $10MM for 2013 but has made it clear that he would like to stay put in Washington.
  • The Yankees are looking for the right investor to buy out some of their partners in the highly-profitable YES Network, according to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times.  Current partners like Goldman Sachs and Providence Equity usually sell their investments in companies rather quickly, but have held on because of the station's incredible success.

East Notes: Braves, Red Sox, Wallach, Orioles

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News and notes out of the Eastern divisions..

  • Braves General Manager Frank Wren knows that the club may have some financial flexibility this winter, but he would prefer not to put all of his eggs in one basket, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman.  "We're going to be looking for premium players," Wren said. "I don't think there is any doubt about that. But there [are] a couple things we're always mindful of. We're putting a team together. We're not trying to put a player on this team. That's overriding philosophy — to put a team together. If we think we can add two players that give us more than one player, then we're going to do that."
  • The Red Sox have been granted permission to interview Tim Wallach by the Dodgers, a source tells Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).  Earlier today we learned that Boston reached out to the third base coach to gauge his interest in their managerial vacancy.  We can safely assume that Wallach is interested.
  • As Ben Cherington & Co. work to revamp the Red Sox after a 93-loss season, the club will look to quantify what extent injuries played in their disappointing campaign, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.  MacPherson notes that Boston was just 7.5 games behind the Orioles for the second wild card spot at the time of their blockbuster deal with the Dodgers.  With Andrew Bailey, Carl Crawford, and Jacoby Ellsbury healthy for the first-half of the year, that differential likely would have been much closer and may have led to Cherington declining to blow up the team.
  • Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter) notes that the Orioles were the only club to offer right-hander Miguel Gonzalez a minor league deal in early March.  The inexpensive, low-risk signing worked out well for the O's as he is tonight's starter against the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS.

AL Notes: Duquette, Red Sox, Showalter, Neshek

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On the night that playoff baseball returns to Baltimore for the first time since 1997, we take a break from the action to catch up on the latest news and stories making headlines around the American League…

  • Orioles general manager Dan Duquette says there's no need to increase the team's payroll for next season given Baltimore's current success, says Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The Orioles' payroll for the 2012 season saw the team spend $82MM — down $6MM from one season ago.
  • History says that the Red Sox will have to pay a steep price to the Blue Jays if they hope to secure John Farrell's services next season at manager, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Most recenly the Marlins sent the White Sox their fourth- and fifth-best prospects in exchange for manager Ozzie Guillen. The trade proved to be an ill-fated one for Miami as the front office may not retain Guillen for the 2013 season.
  • O's manager Buck Showalter has done a masterful job taking undesirable pieces and shaping a competitive club under his tutelage, says Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. "I kind of noticed this right when I got here," Nate McLouth said. "He's the kind of guy who even when he's not looking at you, he's watching you. He knows what's going on. All the time. Everywhere."
  • Mere days after the death of his newborn child, Athletics reliever Pat Neshek and his wife turned to baseball as a tool to aid in the mourning process, writes Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News. Neshek returned to the team on Saturday after tragedy struck on Wednesday to retire two batters in a row and successfully guide the A's out of a jam. "You could just see the emotion in his eyes," said Derek Norris. "You could see how much it meant to him."

Cafardo On Johnson, Soriano, Hernandez, Hamilton

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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.

Minor Moves: 28 Players Elect Free Agency

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A total of 28 players — all with big league time under their belts — recently elected free agency after finishing the year in Triple-A. Here is the full list, courtesy of the International League and Pacific Coast League transaction pages…

AL East Notes: MacPhail, Cano, Rays, Blue Jays

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Bobby Valentine has officially been dismissed, which means the Red Sox will embark on their second managerial search in as many years. GM Ben Cherington has said he hopes to conclude the search earlier this time. Here are some notes on Boston’s division rivals…

  • Former Orioles president Andy MacPhail told Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that he's happy for the team’s fans, players and executives. He acknowledged that it "would have been a lot of fun" to be present for Baltimore's playoff run, but said he doesn't regret stepping down to spend time with his family. MacPhail said he's starting to think about working in baseball again and noted that, at 59 years old, he's "way too young" to do nothing. "I think there are a variety of things that would interest me," he told Connolly.
  • MacPhail noted that Dan Duquette has done an excellent job of finding starting pitching depth this year.
  • Executives suggest an extension for Robinson Cano could cost the Yankees $200MM, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan writes. The second baseman says he hasn’t “thought about anything," but the Yankees can’t allow him to hit free agency in Passan’s view. New York will exercise its $15MM option for Cano after the season, delaying his free agency until the end of the 2013 season.
  • Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman said he's "not going to be flippant" about Tampa Bay's impressive pitching depth this coming offseason, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Friedman also said he expects to talk with Larry Reynolds, the agent for B.J. Upton, even though the sides aren't expected to agree to a new contract.
  • Mike Axisa rounded up the latest Red Sox-related rumors earlier today. Here's one more note from Boston: the Blue Jays would want “a decent player” in a deal for manager John Farrell, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports.

AL Notes: Trout, Ventura, Peavy, Twins, Playoffs

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Rookie outfielder Mike Trout hit his 30th home run in the opener of the Angels-Rangers doubleheader this afternoon to become the youngest player in MLB history to slug 30 homers and steal 30 bases and the first rookie with a season of 30 homers and 40 steals. Trout is also the first player in MLB history to record 30 home runs, 45 steals, and 125 runs scored in a single season (h/t ESPN, via Twitter). Trout swiped his 48th base in that game and is now just two stolen bases away from joining Barry Bonds and Eric Davis as the only 30/50 players in baseball history. Today's historic performance further fuels the AL MVP debate between Trout and Miguel Cabrera, a debate chronicled by Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Elsewhere on the Junior Circuit:

  • White Sox manager Robin Ventura had to clarify comments he made about his future yesterday, reports CSNChicago.com's Dan Hayes. Ventura said he was only making a joke when he said he just wanted to get through this season. "I plan on being here for two more years, yes,” Ventura said. “Unless they don’t want me to be here.”
  • If the White Sox opt for the $4MM buyout of Jake Peavy's contract rather than exercise the $22MM 2013 option, the right-hander may act as his own agent, reports Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times. Barry Axelrod, Peavy's longtime agent, is no longer able to represent him because Axelrod will be taking a position in the Diamondbacks' front office. For his part, Peavy says he wants to remain with the White Sox, "I love Chicago and this team. I hope we'll be able to work something out."
  • The Twins will have to work something out with pitcher Scott Baker, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. The club has a $9.25MM team option for 2013 and it seems highly unlikely they'd exercise that and make Baker the team's highest-paid pitcher coming off surgery, writes 1500ESPN.com Phil Mackey. GM Terry Ryan wouldn't say much about Baker's status other than, "If you think he's going to be able to contribute in 2013, the answer is yes (we do have interest)."
  • Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has a feeling some of his coaching staff won't be back after the team's second consecutive 90-loss season, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger and Jordan Garretson. "I have all the faith that they can do the job, but some of these things aren't going to be left up to me, it's going to be left to ownership and [general manager] Terry [Ryan]," Gardenhire said. "If he thinks change is needed, he's going to talk to the owners and we'll go from there."
  • Within the same piece, Bollinger and Garretson confirmed Gardenhire hadn't spoken to Joe Mauer about moving to third base. Gardenhire said he has considered playing Mauer some at third when asked about the possibility during a conference call with season-ticket holders on Thursday.
  • The Blue Jays' Darren Oliver is undecided if he will continue playing in 2013, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Oliver says the main deciding factor will be "my two kids and my wife." The Blue Jays hold a $3MM club option on the left-hander, who has posted a 1.78 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and 2.3 BB/9 in 60 relief appearances this year covering nearly 56 innings. 
  • The Rays ultimately may be known more for not providing enough support to take advantage of one of the best overall pitching performances in recent times; but, there has been a lot accomplished, writes Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin who recounts the good, bad and interesting. 
  • Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com has obtained an assessment of the Red Sox’s top 20 prospects by pro scouts for another big-league team. The young talent will be needed as Boston lost 90 games for the first time since 1966 after being swept by the Orioles today.
  • The Yankees, Rangers and Orioles each clinched a playoff spot on Sunday evening thanks to a Mike Napoli-led Texas victory over the Angels. All three teams remain in the hunt for division titles, but three more regular season games must be played this week before final seeding can be determined. For the Orioles, the return to the playoffs comes after a lengthy absence as Baltimore's last postseason appearance came in 1997.

Daniel Seco contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Kurt Suzuki, Scott Hairston, Nate McLouth

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After an arduous start with the Dodgers, Brandon League has settled in nicely as the team's closer, writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times. The right-hander turned his season around thanks to 18 scoreless appearances out of his last 19, giving him a 0.44 ERA during that stretch. Here's a look at the news and stories making headlines on the final Sunday of the regular season…

  • Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki has exceeded all expectations for Washington after the team acquired him from the A's at the non-waiver trade deadline, writes Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com. The 28-year-old's strong performance has come on both sides of the ball, especially with his bat. "He's gotten clutch hits," Ryan Zimmerman said. "I think we all knew he was a better hitter and his track record shows he was a better hitter than what he was doing this year.
  • Thanks to a strong campaign replete with increased playing time, Mets outfielder Scott Hairston heads into the offseason looking for a deal that will allow him to continue to expand his role in 2013, says Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Hairston will be able to use his 1.9 Wins Above Replacement as a negotiating chip as he looks to become an everyday player for the entirety of the season. "I pretty much played in every role possible, and the last few weeks or so I've been playing every day," Hairston said. "It's just one of those things where I really don't know what's going to happen. I'm just going to prepare myself this offseason as if I'll be playing every day."
  • The resurgence of Nate McLouth hasn't been an easy endeavor for the former All-Star, but the hard work has the scrappy outfielder playing a major role in the Orioles' success, writes Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. "It's part of the path that God has laid out for my life. And I don't question it. Were the last couple years tough? Heck yeah they were. But I know I am stronger and better because of it," McLouth said.
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