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Odds & Ends: Chapman, DeRosa, Lackey, Hinske

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Some links for Friday morning…

  • Roch Kubatko of MASN.com doesn't expect the Orioles to win the bidding for free agent lefty Aroldis Chapman, but the club doesn't have a policy against signing Cuban defectors, according to a high-ranking Orioles official.
  • Tyler Hissey of Around the Majors takes a look at this year's class of free agent second basemen. Players like Mark DeRosa and Freddy Sanchez have value, but Hissey doesn't see a true star among the group. 
  • MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says the Cubs aren't going to sign DeRosa just because he's popular. Jeff Baker is currently the frontrunner to start at second base next year.
  • Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog thinks John Lackey, who turns 31 today, would be a fantastic pitcher for Citi Field.
  • The Blue Jays are looking for a Canadian scout and, according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun, have received permission from the Phillies to interview a member of their front office for the job.
  • Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker compiles a list of players who could spend next season in Japan, including Kenji Johjima and Eric Hinske. 
  • Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle points out that most of baseball's best-respected managers improved in their second or third stints.
  • Felix Perez, the Cuban outfielder who was suspended for lying to the Yankees about his age, has been reinstated, according to Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.com.

Odds & Ends: Sano, Towers, D’Backs, Fehr

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Links for Wednesday…

  • Kevin Towers has a standing offer from the Red Sox, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  For now, Towers plans on taking a few months off.  In contrast, a week ago ESPN's Buster Olney wrote that "there would appear to be excellent odds that Towers will land with the Yankees as a special assistant sometime in the months ahead." 
  • The Cubs' contract with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo is official.
  • Miguel Angel Sano received his U.S. work visa, according to SI's Melissa Segura.
  • The new Rays hitting coach is Derek Shelton, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic crafts an offseason plan for the Diamondbacks, who have a decent amount of money to work with.  We did our Offseason Outlook for the team back in September.
  • J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics says tendering a contract to arbitration-eligible right fielder Jeff Francoeur is probably worthwhile for the Mets.  I don't sense that non-tendering him is a serious consideration.
  • Donald Fehr will receive an $11MM parting gift when he steps down from his MLBPA position, says ESPN's Amy K. Nelson.  The players were mostly in favor of the decision, according to Curtis Granderson.
  • The Rangers met with Jim Crane's group Tuesday, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Two more potential investing groups are scheduled.
  • Backup catcher Mike Redmond told MLB.com's Kelly Thesier he plans on playing next year, whether or not it's with the Twins.
  • 41-year-old righty Keiichi Yabu also hopes to play in 2010, says NPB Tracker's Ryo Shinkawa.
  • Reliever George Sherrill has no hard feelings about the Orioles trading him to the Dodgers, says Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
  • MLB.com's Dick Kaegel talked to Zack Greinke, who was characteristically blunt.
  • In a Saturday post, Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts said he'd like to see how GM Ned Colletti handles the decreased payroll flexibility once his young players reach arbitration.  Weisman is even-handed in his assessment of Colletti, but here's a funny quote: "I don't laud him for retaining the young core of the team: Kershaw, Kemp, Billingsley, Broxton, Martin, et al. Knowing not to dump those guys is like knowing not to show up to work in your underwear."

Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Orioles, Garner

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Apparently Sunday afternoons in October are a slow time for baseball news. Who knew? Here's some links to tide you over for now…

  • Viva El Birdos takes a look at the 2010 rotation options for the Cardinals, both internal and external. Could Kyle McClellan or Blake Hawksworth succeed in the rotation?
  • Roch Kubatko isn't sure that the Orioles are in the market for a left-handed reliever at all, though he does mention that they're expected to re-sign Mark Hendrickson.
  • Brian McTaggart from MLB.com held a Q&A session with Astros managerial candidate Phil Garner. Garner managed the Astros from 2004-2007.
  • Adam Rubin expects the Brewers to hire Rick Peterson as their new pitching coach. General manager Doug Melvin recently flew to New Jersey to meet with Peterson, and as Rubin points out: "How often does a GM fly halfway across the country to interview a pitching coach? Isn’t it usually the other way around?"
  • Bill Madden of the New York Daily News reports that Tony Bernazard is close to signing on with Scott Boras, stating that Boras likely sees Bernazard's rapport with Latin players as a valuable asset in recruiting new clients.
  • J.J. Cooper at Baseball America ranks the Top 10 Independent League prospects, with Reynaldo Rodriguez ranking number one. The Red Sox purchased Rodriguez's contract last week. 

Odds & Ends: Barajas, Red Sox, Acta, Orioles

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Some links to read as we watch a couple mid-season signings dominate Game 2 of the NLCS…

  • MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports that the Blue Jays have interest in bringing Rod Barajas back in 2010.
  • As Alex Speier of WEEI.com notes, the Red Sox purchased the contract of 22-year-old indy leaguer Reynaldo Rodriguez from the Yuma Scorpions. Rodriguez has yet to establish himself at any one position, though he has been playing first.
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart says Manny Acta appeared to know the Astros from top to bottom after his interview for the team's managerial opening. It's no surprise that Acta knows so much; as MLB.com's Alyson Footer says, he spent 16 years in the Astros' system as a player and manager.
  • Acta wasn't the only qualified candidate. Footer says Bob Melvin was also "hugely impressive." 
  • MLB.com's Spencer Fordin says the O's need an experienced starter and a corner infielder or two this offseason.

Odds & Ends: Webb, Abreu, Indians

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Here are some afternoon tidbits:

  • The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro, in his latest piece, reiterates that Brandon Webb only wants to discuss his 2010 option. The Diamondbacks are hoping to add a 2011 option to the deal. Webb, however, hopes a healthy 2010 will increase his 2011 value.
  • Dave Cameron at Fangraphs breaks down Bobby Abreu's value, and concludes that a two-year, $16MM offer from the Angels is a fair one.
  • Both Bobby Valentine and Clint Hurdle refused to comment on Cleveland's managerial search, adding to speculation that both are being considered for the job.
  • The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck thinks that Bob Melvin should be Baltimore's next bench coach.

Odds & Ends: Astros, Indians, Reds, O’s, Reyes

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Assorted rumblings from around the majors…

Orioles Have Interest In Kikuchi & Chapman

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The Orioles have some interest in the world's most coveted amateur lefthanders. Director of international scouting John Stockstill tells Roch Kubatko of MASN.com that the club has some interest in Yusei Kikuchi, a top Japanese amateur. But Kikuchi's not the only big name the O's would consider.

"We're looking at all of them," Stockstill says. "It's the same thing with (Aroldis) Chapman and anyone else."

Stockstill says he isn't sure how interested the Orioles are at this point. Kikuchi will still have plenty of suitors to choose from if the O's decide not to pursue him. The Giants, Mets, Dodgers, Yankees, Rangers, Mariners and Indians are expected to start meeting with the 18-year-old lefty this week.

O’s Interested In John McDonald

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According to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter), the Orioles are interested in free agent infielder John McDonald.

McDonald, 35, hit .258/.271/.384 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 152 plate appearances this season for the Blue Jays.  The Orioles are expected to let Melvin Mora walk this offseason in lieu of exercising his $8MM option for 2010 and could use some inexpensive infield depth.  McDonald was well above average defensively this season with a 10.5 UZR/150 (per FanGraphs).  He made $1.9MM in 2009.

Discussion: Dan Uggla

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His name is Dan Uggla, and he can be had for the right price this offseason.  The 29-year-old Florida second baseman has 121 homers and an .826 OPS in his four major league seasons, but between his war of words with Marlins franchise player Hanley Ramirez and the $7-8MM he is likely to earn in arbitration, rumors have been swirling that the Fish are looking to move Uggla out of south Florida before he becomes too pricey for their taste.

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal listed the Dodgers, Cardinals, Orioles, Twins, Giants and Diamondbacks as possible suitors for Uggla in an article last month.  The Snakes may be out of the running now since, as reported by the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro, Arizona will likely look at internal candidates to play second base.  Baltimore already has Brian Roberts entrenched at second, but if Uggla was interested in moving to third base he would surely become attractive to even more clubs.

Of the clubs on Rosenthal's list, Minnesota stands out since it's unusual for the small-market Twins to be looking at picking up high-priced talent, rather than moving it themselves.  But with Target Field opening in 2010, the Twins may have some extra revenue to spend on both picking up the tab for Uggla and (the team's top priority) signing Joe Mauer to a long-term contract.  Minnesota has holes at both second and third that Uggla could fill.

Would Uggla fit best on one of the aforementioned six clubs, or is there another team out there with both the money and the need for a slugging second (or third) baseman?

Discussion: What’s Next For Baltimore?

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The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly details the questions facing a Baltimore team with some young offensive talent, some terrific young pitching on the way, and a lot of extra cash.

Connolly writes that while the 64-98 record Baltimore had in 2009 was the third-worst in team history, "there is a sense that the future has promise because of the emergence of young starting pitchers Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman and Brad Bergesen, catcher Matt Wieters and outfielders Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie."

Left unsaid, of course, is the emergence of Adam Jones and Nick Markakis continuing to be a tremendous player.

The good news? The Orioles, according to Connolly, went from roughly $77MM owed in payroll at the start of the 2009 season-including $9MM to Jay Gibbons and Ramon Hernandez– to a $30MM commitment for 2010, not including raises through arbitration.

The bad news is that there aren't many marquee free agents (though there is Jason Marquis), and those that do qualify- Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, John Lackey– aren't great fits, particularly Bay and Holliday in an overcrowded outfield.

Connolly captures the problem of desires vs. realistic options perfectly here:

"The preference is to find a right-handed or switch-hitting first baseman in his prime, like the New York Yankees' Mark Teixeira. But there's no one who fits that profile in this year's class. The best free-agent options might be left-handed-hitting first basemen Russell Branyan and Hank Blalock or right-handed do-it-all Mark DeRosa."

So what's an Oriole to do?

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