AL East Notes: Ortiz, Orioles, Hellickson
Until the Red Sox and Cubs agree to compensation for Theo Epstein’s departure, Boston’s GM situation will dominate headlines out of the American League East. Here’s the latest news from the division, starting with an update on the Red Sox…
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com previews the market for David Ortiz and concludes that he won't have an overwhelming number of suitors this offseason. Speier suggests the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Angels and Mariners are possible fits for the slugger, though some of those teams won't have strong interest. I can see the Orioles getting involved, depending on who their next GM is.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com previews the Orioles' 2012 bullpen and points out that there's a lot of uncertainty at this point. Jim Johnson could move to the rotation, Willie Eyre and Jo-Jo Reyes could be non-tendered and the Orioles are likely to add relievers from outside of the organization.
- Congratulations to Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson, who is Baseball America's 2011 Major League Rookie of the Year. The 24-year-old right-hander posted a 2.95 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over the course of 189 innings in his first full season.
Quick Hits: Byrnes, Reds, Uehara, Young, Inge
The World Series is tied at a game apiece after the Rangers' thrilling 2-1 victory over the Cardinals tonight. As we look forward to Game Three on Saturday night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, here are a few news items to round out the evening…
- The Diamondbacks will receive "a significant level of financial relief – and perhaps total relief" when and if Josh Byrnes becomes the Padres' new general manager, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Byrnes had five and a half years remaining on his contract with Arizona when he was fired on July 1, 2010, but the Snakes could be off the hook for the remaining four years left on that deal should Byrnes get another GM job.
- There is nothing new to report on the Reds' negotiations with Brandon Phillips or Francisco Cordero, Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- Koji Uehara has told people close to him that he wants to return to the Orioles, reports MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. After being dealt to Texas in July, Uehara struggled in the first two rounds of the playoffs and was left off the Rangers' World Series roster. The Japanese right-hander made enough appearances to activate a $4MM vesting option for 2012, so if the O's want Uehara back, the Rangers would probably be happy to unload him.
- The Red Sox have given the Athletics permission to interview pitching coach Curt Young about the pitching coach vacancy in Oakland, reports Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link) reports Young and the A's are already in negotiations. Young served as Oakland's pitching coach from 2004-2010 before going to Boston to replace John Farrell last winter.
- The Tigers have enough money coming off the books this winter that Tom Gage of the Detroit News thinks Brandon Inge's contract could be swallowed if the team can find a better third base option on the trade market. Inge is set to earn $5.5MM in 2012 and the Tigers hold a $6MM club option on their longtime third baseman for 2013.
The Orioles’ GM Search: Jennings, Watson, Dipoto
The Orioles have interviewed Jerry Dipoto of the Diamondbacks and Tony LaCava of the Blue Jays for their open GM position. Here's the latest on the team's search with the most recent updates up top:
- As expected, the Marlins have officially denied the Orioles' request to interview Dan Jennings, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Jennings is halfway through an eight-year contract with the Marlins, reports Connolly, and this is the fourth time in four years that the Marlins have turned down another club's request to interview Jennings, Florida's assistant GM and vice-president of player personnel.
- The Orioles are expected to contact Dodgers assistant GM De Jon Watson about their GM position, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. They haven't scheduled additional interviews at this point, but more are coming.
- Dipoto probably has the edge at this point, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Connolly explains why Dipoto might prefer the Orioles to the Angels. Los Angeles is interviewing many candidates, but the Orioles won't interview many more than two, so Dipoto's chances of getting an offer from Baltimore seem good. Connolly notes that the Orioles would look bad if they want Dipoto then let him slip away to the Angels.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that Dipoto had a "terrific" interview with the Orioles (Twitter link).
- For more on LaCava and Dipoto, check out MLBTR's GM Candidate pieces from earlier in the year.
Orioles GM Rumors: Dipoto, Levine
Arizona's Jerry Dipoto interviewed for the Orioles' GM opening yesterday, and Toronto's Tony LaCava is scheduled for today. The latest:
- Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that Dipoto has a “good shot” at the job (Twitter link).
- The Orioles originally planned to interview at least four candidates, according to Steve Gould of the Baltimore Sun. They've interviewed Dipoto and Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava so far and it would be surprising if they don't interview more people.
- Dipoto will also interview for the Angels job, and Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com expects him to get one of the two GM positions. Kubatko notes that the Orioles are likely to reassign director of player development John Stockstill, replacing him with coordinator of minor league instruction Brian Graham.
- Kubatko hears Rangers executive Thad Levine could be interviewed later, but he'd be surprised if the Orioles hire him (Twitter link). Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun believes Levine will be interviewed if the Orioles haven't hired someone by the end of the World Series. The Rangers' assistant GM is an Alexandria, Virginia native who told MLBTR he "grew up a big Orioles fan."
- Connolly tweets that as of Tuesday evening, the Orioles had not asked permission to talk to Levine, the Dodgers' De Jon Watson or Logan White, or the Angels' Tony Reagins, and the Marlins' Dan Jennings may be denied permission. He also considers the Tigers' Al Avila a longshot.
Orioles Unlikely To Interview Marlins’ Dan Jennings
9:12pm: The Marlins haven't formally denied the Orioles' request to interview Jennings, but it's leaning that way, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
2:30pm: The Marlins have denied the Orioles permission to interview vice president of player personnel and assistant general manager Dan Jennings for their GM opening, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. Jennings is signed through 2015 from an extension signed in '07, and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reported that the Marlins have denied teams permission to interview him three times in the past. Jennings has been with Florida since 2002, prior to which he worked for the Devil Rays, Mariners, and Reds.
Kubatko notes that Arizona's Jerry Dipoto will interview for the Orioles position today, while Toronto's Tony LaCava is scheduled for tomorrow.
Quick Hits: Red Sox, Rangers, Yankees
On this date in 1979, the Pirates beat the Orioles 4-1 to win the World Series in seven games. Willie Stargell, the '79 NL MVP, hit a two-run home run in the victory. Here are links for Monday night as we await the beginning of this year's World Series…
- Jim Callis of Baseball America envisions Matt Barnes and Anthony Ranaudo in Boston's 2015 rotation.
- Callis also explains that the Dodgers weren't sure what they had when they drafted right-hander Edwin Jackson in 2001. He was athletic enough to pitch or play in the outfield.
- Bob Simpson, a co-chairman of the Rangers' board, told reporters, including Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com, that the Rangers are committed to sustaining their current level of play.
- Victor Martinez told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he's prepared to catch in 2012. The switch-hitter didn't catch at all after August 4th because of a knee sprain, but he's willing to don the tools of ignorance again. Martinez's health will affect Detroit's level of interest in backup catchers this offseason.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests it will be hard to get the Yankees to offer C.C. Sabathia much more than Cliff Lee obtained from the Phillies ($120MM over five years). Sabathia is expected to opt out of the four years and $92MM remaining on his contract this offseason and though he enjoys playing in New York, it doesn't seem like he's going to give the Yankees a hometown discount.
- The Yankees favor Yu Darvish over C.J. Wilson of the Rangers, according to Sherman.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer is highly regarded by the Angels. The Orioles hold D'Backs exec Jerry Dipoto in similarly high esteem, according to Olney (on Twitter).
Latest On Orioles’ GM Search: Dipoto, LaCava
The Orioles are starting to interview candidates for their GM opening this week. Here's the latest on the search:
- The Orioles will interview Jerry Dipoto of the Diamondbacks tomorrow and Tony LaCava of the Blue Jays on Wednesday, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). The Orioles haven't yet scheduled interviews with other candidates.
- The Orioles are still waiting to get permission from the Marlins to interview Dan Jennings, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links).
- The Orioles haven't yet asked permission to interview Tony Reagins of the Angels or Logan White or De Jon Watson of the Dodgers, according to Connolly.
- For more on LaCava, Dipoto, White and Watson check out MLBTR's GM Candidate pieces.
Jeremy Accardo Elects Free Agency
Reliever Jeremy Accardo is the latest addition to our 2012 free agents list, after refusing last week's outright assignment from the Orioles. Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com posted the news on Twitter.
Accardo, 29, posted a 5.73 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, 1.19 HR/9, and 37.4% groundball rate in 37 2/3 innings for the Orioles this year. The Arizona resident was designated for assignment in June and accepted a Triple-A assignment, but was re-added to the 40-man in September.
Quick Hits: Reyes, Darvish, Montero, Yankees
Some links as we look forward to Game 6 of the NLCS tonight..
- The only way Jose Reyes will sign in the exclusivity period is if the Mets blow him away with an offer, and that isn't happening, writes Steve Popper of the Bergen Record.
- With his team's spot in the playoffs already locked up, Yu Darvish will skip his start on October 18th, according to the Kyodo News Agency (Japanese link). Orioles player development director John Stockstill traveled to Japan to watch Darvish pitch in this game. (Translation provided by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker)
- The Yankees will look for in-house fixes this winter, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman wonders aloud if the club might deal Jesus Montero for a starter and further open the DH slot, but a team official said that it wouldn't make sense to throw more dollars and add risk to the offense. Sherman added that he doesn't sense that the club has a strong affinity for free agent left-hander C.J. Wilson.
- Some of the Red Sox coaches have been granted permission to explore other opportunities while awaiting their fate, multiple sources tell Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
AL East Links: Johnson, Orioles, Ortiz
Blue Jays prospect Travis d'Arnaud will have surgery to repair torn ligaments in his thumb after getting hurt while catching for Team USA at the World Cup in Panama, reports Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun (on Twitter). Toronto acquired d'Arnaud from the Phillies in the Roy Halladay trade, and he's considered one of the very best prospects in all of baseball. Here are some links from the AL East…
- Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com says one of the first things the Blue Jays have to do this offseason is figure out if Kelly Johnson fits into their long-term plans. "I thought Kelly did a nice job, and he's definitely in the mix for us," said GM Alex Anthopoulos. "We have an opening, he is a free agent, and in the coming weeks, we'll certainly reach out to his agent and talk to him, but it's hard to characterize where any of that is going to go."
- The Orioles may expand their GM search beyond the names that have already been mentioned, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun says regardless of who is hired, their first priority will be fixing the team's player development system.
- In another tweet, Olney speculates about a possible fit between the Blue Jays and David Ortiz. The soon-to-be-free agent DH would be a veteran mentor for their younger hitters, and he's close to Jose Bautista.