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Odds & Ends: Aramis, Marte, Lowe

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Links for Wednesday…

  • Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune talked to Aramis Ramirez about his $14.6MM player option for 2011, and the Cubs' third baseman was noncommittal.  Other third basemen who may become free agents after the 2010 season include Garrett Atkins, Jorge Cantu, Mike Lowell, Jhonny Peralta, and Scott Rolen.
  • Former top prospect Andy Marte spoke with Indians GM Mark Shapiro about the future, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  Shapiro told Marte to play first and third base in winter ball and show up early to Spring Training.  It was a tough year for Marte, who turns 26 in November.  He was designated for assignment to make room for Juan Salas in February, cleared waivers, raked at Triple A, and then struggled in the bigs.
  • Braves GM Frank Wren told MLB.com's Mark Bowman that Derek Lowe "pitched really well for us."  Aside from his home run rate, Lowe's numbers declined across the board this year.
  • The Nationals will improve their minor league catching depth for next year, GM Mike Rizzo told MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
  • Miguel Angel Sano is on the backburner for the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASN learned from team president Andy MacPhail.  MLB's inconclusive age investigation is the problem.
  • David Waldstein of the New York Times says Ramon Pena, a special assistant to Mets GM Omar Minaya, will not be back next year.  Waldstein says a scouting/player development shakeup is in order.  Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News has info on possible changes aside from Pena.
  • White Sox closer Bobby Jenks is out for the season with a calf injury.  Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times wonders about the righty's future, given a possible $7MM arbitration reward for the 2010 season.
  • Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News notes the impending raise for Giants closer Brian Wilson, who enters his first arbitration year.  Jenks' $5.6MM salary this year will serve as a comparable, so the Giants will add around $5MM to the payroll compared to Wilson's $480K this year.
  • Braves manager Bobby Cox was not happy with the way GM Frank Wren handled the John Smoltz situation last winter, according to Yahoo's Gordon Edes.

Manager Rumors: Astros, Indians, Mets, Cards

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The latest on some possible managerial changes…

  • Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle wonders if the Astros could pick former MLB manager Jim Fregosi to lead the club next season. Dave Clark, Manny Acta, Tim Bogar, Jeff Bagwell and Brad Ausmus could also be candidates to manage.
  • Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the Indians appear to be pressuring GM Mark Shapiro to fire manager Eric Wedge.
  • Edes says O's manager Dave Trembley and Nats interim manager Jim Riggleman have limited job security.
  • It's not likely that the Mets will fire Jerry Manuel and replace him with former manager Bobby Valentine. Edes' sources say it's not impossible, though.
  • Edes says Braves manager Bobby Cox will likely return next season, but suggests there's tension between Cox and Braves GM Frank Wren.
  • Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail says it's not enough for the Blue Jays to fire GM J.P. Ricciardi. If the Jays are going to clean house, Blair says they should fire manager Cito Gaston, too.
  • Cards manager Tony La Russa tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he doesn't want to think about his next contract yet. The longtime skipper is a free agent after the season.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Villalona, Johnson

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A few Monday evening links….

Odds & Ends: Reynolds, Gammons, Orioles

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Some late night links after Jake Peavy allowed three runs in five innings in his first start for the White Sox…

  • Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic notes that Mark Reynolds is likely to fall short of qualifying as a Super Two, meaning he'll have to wait until after 2010 to become arbitration eligible. He also says that it "does not appear there have been any discussions about a long-term deal with Reynolds, but the club does not seem averse to the idea of an extension."
  • ESPN's Peter Gammons writes about how great Victor Martinez has been for the Red Sox since being acquired at the trade deadline. He also praises Casey Kotchman, but I think I'd rather have Adam LaRoche, who has a 1.053 OPS since the trade.
  • Orioles Manager Dave Trembley indicated that the team needs someone to hit behind Nick Markakis until some younger players like Matt Wieters and Adam Jones are ready to do it, according to MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko. 
  • If you aren't already, make sure you follow MLBTR on Twitter.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Dodgers, DeRosa, Cubs, Managers, General Managers

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Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive right on in…

  • Southpaws Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw are likely to start the first two games of the playoffs for the Dodgers, but Kershaw must recover from his dislocated non-throwing shoulder first. The back-to-back lefties would be a big advantage if LA played the lefthanded hitter heavy Phillies. Rosenthal also mentions that the Cardinals, despite being so righty heavy, have the second lowest team OPS (.675) against lefthanded pitchers in the National League.
  • Hiroki Kuroda would likely start game three for the Dodgers, followed by either Vicente Padilla or Jon Garland. Chad Billinglsey will likely be left out of the rotation.
  • The Cards have put their contract extension talks with Mark DeRosa on hold until the offseason, making it more likely that he'll become a free agent. The deal St. Louis originally proposed was less than the three-year, $17.5MM contract Casey Blake received as a free agent last offseason. DeRosa is a year younger now than Blake was then, but the offseason wrist surgery he is scheduled to have makes the situation cloudy.
  • The Cubs will be open to "anything and everything" this offseason, including trading Milton Bradley and/or Carlos Zambrano. Anything to improve the club, basically. However, perhaps the only way the Cubs could unload Bradley would be to take on another underachieving, overpaid player in return.
  • Zambrano has a full no-trade clause and is owed $54MM over the next three years, but he's still only 28-years-old and still incredibly talented. The free agent market for starting pitching is thin, which may work in Chicago's favor. Big Z might be appealing at the right price.
  • Ken Macha will likely remain with the Brewers, but at least four other managers are in danger of being fired. The list starts with Cecil Cooper of the Astros, and also includes Jim Riggleman of the Nationals, Dave Trembley of the Orioles, and Eric Wedge of the Indians.
  • Among general managers, Ned Colletti of the Dodgers, Brian Sabean of the Giants, and Dan O'Dowd of the Rockies are all without contracts for next year, and two of them are going to the postseason. The only GM that appears to be in jeopardy of losing his job is J.P. Ricciardi of the Blue Jays.

Hendrickson Hopes To Return To Orioles

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Orioles lefty Mark Hendrickson sports a 4.43 ERA, 55 strikeouts, and 27 walks in 83.3 innings this year.  He struggled in his seven starts, but has a 3.44 ERA out of the bullpen.  According to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun, Hendrickson relishes his role as a leader on the young club and hopes to return in 2010.  Plus, he lives in York, Pennsylvania, about an hour from Camden Yards.    

Given the strong competition for spots in the Orioles' 2010 rotation, Hendrickson would probably fit as a reliever next year.  He earned $1.5MM in '09, a contract he signed on the last day of December.

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Rangers, Cubbies

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The first round of links for today…

  • The Ronnie Belliard pickup is costing Orlando Hudson some major bucks, as Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times points out. Hudson entered the week with 577 plate appearances, and he'll earn $10K for every PA between 576 and 632 according to his contract. However, Hudson has sat in favor of Belliard four times in the last 11 games.
  • Jim Reeves of The Star Telegram writes that the Rangers' financial plight will probably hamstring the team, with no immediate relief in sight. Club president Nolan Ryan said he can't see the team being sold before April or May at the earliest.
  • Toni Ginnetti of The Chicago Sun Times says that acquiring a "true leadoff hitter with speed and base-stealing ability" should be on the shopping list for Cubs GM Jim Hendry this winter.
  • Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports posted his All-Overachiever and All-Underachiever teams. Is it fair to consider Pablo Sandoval and Aaron Hill overachievers?
  • Tyler Kepner of The NY Times has an amusing story about Sean Henn and what he went through when he was traded from Minnesota to Baltimore earlier this month.

Orioles Will Not Part With Top Prospects

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The Orioles are known to be looking for an impact, middle-of-the-order hitter, but according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun, team president Andy MacPhail says he has no plans to part with any of his top young players to acquire such a hitter.

"Personally, I don't see us giving up any key building blocks going forward at this stage of the game," MacPhail said. "I'm pretty optimistic that we're going to be able to acquire guys that are going to be meaningful improvements for us without having to sacrifice key guys."

Zrebiec says this effectively takes the O's out of the running for Adrian Gonzalez, should the Padres put him on the market this winter. This year's free agent class lacks proven middle-of-the order guys beyond Matt Holliday and Jason Bay, although the Orioles are set in the outfield for the foreseeable future with Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and Nolan Reimold.

"It could come either way. You just don't know how the offseason is going to evolve. One trade might start a set of dominoes going in a direction that you really can't anticipate in September. We're going to take a look at what options are available to us in terms of a bat."

"The important thing for us is pretty simple — you identify a pretty wide spectrum of players that are free agents or you think might be available and you make sure you have adequate scouting coverage on them," MacPhail said. "But every offseason, there are things that come about that you just don't anticipate. Our job right now is to make sure we got our scouts in the right places."

Orioles Acquire Sean Henn

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WEDNESDAY: A press release from the Orioles says the Twins will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations.

TUESDAY: The Orioles acquired reliever Sean Henn from the Twins today, according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.  The 28 year-old southpaw has yet to experience big league success in brief stints with the Yankees, Padres, and Twins, but he posted strong numbers in Triple A this year.

Offseason Outlook: Baltimore Orioles

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Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Orioles.  Their 2010 commitments:

C – Matt Wieters – $400K
C –
1B –
2B – Brian Roberts – $10MM
SS – Cesar Izturis – $2.6MM
3B – Ty Wigginton – $3.5MM
IF –
IF – Robert Andino – $400K
LF – Nolan Reimold – $400K
CF – Adam Jones – $435K
RF – Nick Markakis – $6.75MM
OF – Felix Pie – $410K
DH – Luke Scott – $2.4MM+

SP – Jeremy Guthrie – $650K+
SP – Koji Uehara – $5MM
SP – Brad Bergesen – $400K
SP – Brian Matusz – $868K
SP – Chris Tillman – $400K

Other rotation candidates: Rich Hill – $445K+, Jason Berken – $400K, David Hernandez – $400K, Jake Arrieta – $400K, Troy Patton  – $400K

RP – Chris Ray – $850K+
RP – Cla Meredith – $435K+
RP – Jim Johnson – $420K
RP – Matt Albers – $410K+
RP – Dennis Sarfate – $410K
RP – Brian Bass – $405K
RP – Kam Mickolio – $400K

Other commitments: Melvin Mora – $1MM buyout

The Orioles have about $40MM committed before arbitration raises to Scott, Guthrie, and a few others.  They should land in the low 40s after starting 2009 with a $67MM payroll.  There is cash to play with for a few reasonably-priced free agents.

Like the Pirates, the O's seem better off making their free agent strike a year from now.  With the way this club is stacking up, the AL East could be even more competitive in years to come.

For 2010, Wigginton could take either infield corner and Scott could be an option at first base.  Brandon Snyder and Michael Aubrey may also merit consideration.  The O's added their third baseman of the future in Josh Bell with the George Sherrill trade.  With the corners and DH spot in flux next year, it may make sense for the Orioles to add a free agent.  Players such as Carlos Delgado, Nick Johnson, and Adrian Beltre are interesting on one-year deals, if the price is right.

The rotation is suddenly deep enough where Uehara is being considered for a bullpen role.  Matusz and Tillman are the team's aces of the future, with both getting a look this year.  Arrieta isn't far behind.  I wouldn't be looking to spend much on a free agent pitcher this winter.

Certain players could be trade bait if Andy MacPhail doesn't consider them part of the next good Orioles club.  Scott and Guthrie, both under team control through 2012, jump out as candidates.  Guthrie's seen a dip in his strikeout and groundball rates this season, but he's potentially above-average in the NL.

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