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NL East Notes: Reyes, Johnson, Phillies, Sandberg

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Some news from the NL East…

  • Two Mets players "wouldn't be surprised to see" Jose Reyes sign with the Nationals this winter, tweets David Lennon of Newsday.
  • The Nationals are conducting a managerial search to abide by MLB rules, but Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweets that the job is Davey Johnson's if he wants it.
  • All six members of the Phillies' coaching staff have signed new contracts for 2012, according to a team press release.  This includes bench coach Pete Mackanin, who has been mentioned as a candidate to become the next Red Sox manager.
  • As Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer points out, the intact coaching staff means that Ryne Sandberg (who managed Philadelphia's Triple-A affiliate last season) isn't getting a promotion.  Gelb predicts that Sandberg will manage or coach somewhere in the Major Leagues next year, which would mean he'll leave the Phillies' franchise unless Mackanin gets the Boston job and Sandberg is promoted to bench coach.
  • Also from Gelb, he examines Ruben Amaro's plan to sign a proven closer if Ryan Madson leaves and compares it to how the Cardinals relied on unproven (and cheaper) closing options like Jason Motte and Fernando Salas to great success this season.
  • Despite the Braves' collapse in September, Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution thinks the club is close to a World Series.

Epstein, Hoyer To Join Cubs; Byrnes In As Padres’ GM

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2:18pm: The deal is done, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (on Twitter). Hoyer will join Epstein in Chicago and Byrnes will become the Padres' new GM.

10:47am: The Red Sox and Cubs are "finalizing" an agreement that would bring longtime Red Sox GM Theo Epstein to Chicago, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. The teams are expected to announce the deal tomorrow, as MLB has told the Cubs they can hold a news conference during the World Series travel day. Brett Jackson, Trey McNutt and Matt Szczur will not join the Red Sox in the trade, but another prospect will, according to Levine. 

The Cubs will name Jed Hoyer their GM within a few days, Levine reports (Epstein would be the club's president of baseball operations). However, the Cubs have not officially asked for permission to interview Hoyer. The Padres will make Josh Byrnes their GM and won't demand compensation for losing Hoyer, according to Levine.

Alex Speier of WEEI.com confirms that Epstein is expected to be named the Cubs' president of baseball operations with Hoyer joining him as general manager. Compensation between the Cubs and Red Sox hasn't been finalized yet, Speier reports. 

Epstein is "close" to joining the Cubs, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports confirms (on Twitter). Jon Heyman of SI.com confirms that Hoyer is also joining the Cubs and notes that Josh Byrnes is becoming San Diego's GM (Twitter links).

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Wilson, Johnson, CBA

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Links for Wednesday night as the Rangers and Cardinals get the World Series started in St. Louis…

  • When Rangers GM Jon Daniels was trying to break into baseball, he applied for an internship with the Red Sox, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Ben Cherington, now Boston's GM-in-waiting, was in charge of hiring a new intern for the Red Sox and he chose Jed Hoyer, now the Padres' GM, over Daniels. “I remember [Daniels'] quick mind and intelligence and I thought he had a resilience about him,” Cherington told Speier.
  • The Blue Jays scouted at least eight of C.J. Wilson's starts this season, according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). The Jays could use starting pitching, as I explained earlier in the week, but their scouting trips may simply have been due diligence.
  • Kelly Johnson of the Blue Jays chatted with FanGraphs'  David Laurila about the challenge of changing leagues and the way he uses stats and video to improve his game.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that MLB isn't close to adding a slotting system for draft bonuses in the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations. Executives doubt that Bud Selig would "dig in and fight" for slotting, since it could mean a prolonged dispute.

Padres Rumors: Front Office, Lackey, Bell

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The latest Padres rumors:

  • Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts met with Padres owner Jeff Moorad, Byrnes and Hoyer during the regular season finale, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com.
  • Most baseball people expect Hoyer, not Byrnes, to join Epstein in Chicago, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The Padres have internally discussed the possibility of acquiring John Lackey from the Red Sox if Boston takes on most of the right-hander's salary, according to Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  Lackey pitched for the Angels when Padres manager Bud Black was the team's pitching coach. 
  • When Theo Epstein joins the Cubs, he'll likely bring along someone from the Padres front office, according to Center.  GM Jed Hoyer, assistant GM Jason McLeod and senior VP of baseball operations Josh Byrnes are candidates to join Epstein in Chicago. 
  • Contract talks have begun between the Padres and Heath Bell, tweets Center.  The Padres are aiming for a two-year deal with an option, while Bell wants three guaranteed years.  He's never had a multiyear deal in his career.  Center recently wrote that the Padres are in the two-year, $15-16MM range.  If no deal can be worked out, the Padres must decide by November 23rd whether to offer arbitration to the Type A reliever.
  • Theo Epstein wouldn't tell the people he'd want to bring to Chicago until he's officially part of the Cubs, a source close to Epstein tells Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link).  The source believes recent rumors are "just speculation."  Yesterday, SI's Jon Heyman reported that Epstein is interested in poaching some combination of top Padres executives Jed Hoyer, Jason McLeod, and Josh Byrnes.  Today, Heyman writes that Hoyer is "definitely in the mix for a job with the Cubs once Epstein officially goes to Chicago."  
  • Tom Krasovic thinks that if Hoyer joins the Cubs he'd bring McLeod with him.  Byrnes, a favorite of Padres owner Jeff Moorad, would likely become San Diego's GM.

Theo Epstein Rumors: Wednesday

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The Cubs and Red Sox could work out compensation for Theo Epstein today and announce the deal Friday, Peter Gammons of MLB Network said on WEEI’s Mut & Merloni show. Gammons also says the rebuilding process Epstein is about to undertake is “far greater” than the one he inherited in Boston nine years ago. Here are the latest rumors about Epstein with the most recent updates up top:

  • The Cubs-Padres talks appear to be developing more smoothly than the Cubs-Red Sox talks, according to Morosi (on Twitter).
  • There seems to be more optimism from the Red Sox today, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
  • Talks are going slowly and Boston’s asking price remains high, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. 
  • The discussions were progressing well as of this morning, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
  • We heard earlier today that the Padres could lose a high-ranking front office member when Epstein starts hiring in Chicago.

Theo Epstein Rumors: Tuesday

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The latest on the Cubs' attempt to add Red Sox GM Theo Epstein to their front office…

  • Epstein is actively looking to hire a general manager to join him in Chicago, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The 37-year-old is exploring GM candidates while he waits for the Red Sox and Cubs to work out compensation for his departure. The Cubs would bring Epstein in as their president of baseball operations and he would hire a general manager to assist with the daily grind of the job.
  • The Red Sox are "holding tough" on their asking price and don't anticipate resolution tonight, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).
  • Hoyer told Marty Caswell of XX1090 Sports Radio that he's not going to comment on media speculation (Twitter links).  "I'm excited about what we continue to build here in San Diego," he said. 
  • The Cubs haven't asked for permission to talk to any Padres executives, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link).
  • Carrie Muskat of MLB.com points out that obtaining Hoyer could prove difficult, as he is under contract through 2013 with an option for 2014 (Twitter link).  But Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres doubts owner Jeff Moorad would hold up a deal if it meant Byrnes became the Padres' next GM (Twitter link).
  • Current Padres GM Jed Hoyer is being considered by the Cubs and Epstein, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  In that scenario, Josh Byrnes would become the Padres' GM.  Heyman notes that the Cubs are also looking at Padres executives Byrnes and Jason McLeod for themselves, should Hoyer stay.  All the executives were once members of the Boston front office with Epstein.
  • Yesterday we learned that the Red Sox started out the Epstein compensation discussions by asking the Cubs for righty Matt Garza, which CSNNE.com's Sean McAdam says was "rejected out of hand."  Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says that "the sides slowly have moved their position to a more realistic center" as they discuss Cubs prospects.  
  • Cafardo says the Red Sox have been focusing on Trey McNutt, Brett Jackson, Matt Szczur, and Josh Vitters, the latter three labeled as unlikely by Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com yesterday.  McNutt and Andrew Cashner are unlikely as well, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, while McAdam says McNutt's inclusion is "far from guaranteed at this point."
  • An announcement today has been ruled out, writes McAdam, with "significant work" remaining to reach an agreement on compensation.  He says Friday's World Series off-day is the earliest possibility, assuming the teams come to terms and get Bud Selig's permission for an announcement.  McAdam says that although progress has been made, the Cubs feel that precedent calls for minimal compensation while the Sox think this situation defies precedent.
  • McAdam writes that the issue of Epstein taking Red Sox employees with him is not an issue, with a mutual understanding in place that he will not raid Boston's baseball operations department. 
  • Most reports, including this one from Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, suggest that the five-year, $18.5MM deal between Epstein and the Cubs is not in jeopardy.  Still, as Cafardo notes, both teams have a lot of team-building to do.    

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Cardinals, Red Sox

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MLBTR has the rundown on your team's arbitration eligible players. Be sure to read Tim Dierkes' series for insight into how each team's offseason will develop. Here are the latest links from around MLB…

Heyman On Crawford, Pujols, Buehrle, Madson

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At least one Molina brother has been in six of the past ten World Series, as Jon Heyman points out at SI.com (that includes Yadier, who will play again this year). Heyman also passes along some hot stove notes; here they are:

  • Red Sox owner John Henry “threw $60MM into the air,'' by making it clear that he views the Carl Crawford signing as a mistake, according to one baseball person. Henry said on the airwaves of 98.5 the Sports Hub that he was not in favor of signing the left fielder for $142MM.
  • One agent says Albert Pujols should look for a six-year, $240MM deal in free agency. It’s hard to imagine anyone, even Pujols, signing for $40MM per year.
  • The White Sox are expected to try to keep Mark Buehrle on a two-year deal, according to Heyman. The left-hander profiles as a Type B free agent, as our rankings show.
  • Jayson Werth, who played with Ryan Madson in Philadelphia, is trying to sell the free agent closer on the Nationals. Keep in mind that the Nationals already have Drew Storen.
  • Zack Greinke told Heyman that he would have accepted a trade to the Rangers last winter, when the Royals were shopping him.

Red Sox Wanted Matt Garza For Epstein

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The Red Sox asked the Cubs to include Matt Garza as compensation for GM Theo Epstein, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. However, the Cubs declined and the sides have moved on to minor leaguers. The Red Sox currently appear to be focused on Cubs pitching prospect Trey McNutt.

White McNutt is a valuable prospect, he's not as desirable as Garza. The 27-year-old right-hander posted a 3.32 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 for the Cubs this year and remains under team control through 2013. It's no surprise that the Red Sox were interested and it's equally unsurprising that the Cubs balked at Boston's request. The Cubs acquired Garza from the Rays in the January deal that sent Chris Archer, Hak-Ju Lee, Robinson Chirinos, Sam Fuld and Brandon Guyer to Tampa Bay.

Red Sox Focused On McNutt In Epstein Talks

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The Red Sox are "believed to be focused" on Cubs pitching prospect Trey McNutt in the Theo Epstein compensation talks, writes Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com.  Mooney says Cubs center field prospect Brett Jackson is "untouchable and not part of the discussions," while prospects such as Josh Vitters and Matt Szczur are considered unlikely.  A source close to the talks said the Red Sox have been asking for "ridiculous combinations," writes Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.

McNutt, 22, posted a 4.55 ERA, 6.2 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, and 0.5 HR/9 with 120 hits allowed in 95 innings for the Cubs' Double-A affiliate this year.  Baseball America ranked him second among Cubs prospects heading into the season and he was a consensus top 70 prospect in the game.  McNutt dealt with blister problems and bruised ribs in a disappointing 2011 season, and is currently pitching in the Arizona Fall League.  ESPN's Keith Law scouted him there, noting "great velocity but well-below-average command and control."

The World Series, scheduled to begin Wednesday, seems to serve as a deadline for the talks between the Cubs and Red Sox.  That is the latest point the Red Sox expect a resolution, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.  One major holdup is determining which front office members Epstein can take with him to Chicago.  Silverman's informed speculation suggests Red Sox vice president of baseball operations Brian O'Halloran, special assistant to the GM Dave Finley, and head athletic director and assistant director of medical services Mike Reinold "could be part of Epstein's request."  Senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes and assistant GM Jason McLeod could be candidates to come from the Padres.       

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