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NL Central Notes: La Russa, Furcal, Epstein

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Here are a few items of note regarding the NL Central as the Redbirds threaten to take a 3-2 series lead over the Brew Crew in the NLCS …

  • Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is hinting at returning to manage St. Louis in 2012, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN). Prior to Game 5, TLR was excitedly discussing the talent the Cards have in place for next season, and he also mentioned recently that he will hold a charity event in January at the team's Winter Warmup, according to the report. La Russa and the Cards have a mutual option for 2012.
  • Cards shortstop Rafael Furcal reiterated that he'd like to re-sign with St. Louis after the season, according to Matthew Leach of MLB.com. Furcal, an impending free agent, and the Cardinals expressed mutual interest in working out a new deal last month, though nothing came to pass.
  • While the Cubs and Red Sox continue to haggle over compensation and other details of Theo Epstein's potential move the Chicago, one GM told Buster Olney of ESPN.com that the North Siders should hold firm on giving up little for Boston's GM (Twitter link). "What are the Red Sox going to do — bring Theo back? No way," said the GM.
  • Albert Pujols has reestablished his negotiating leverage, opines Olney (via Twitter), who finds it hard to believe the Cards will let him walk if they reach or win the World Series.

AL East Notes: Cashman, CC, Blue Jays, Darvish

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There's no shortage of news regarding AL East ballclubs so far this offseason, not the least of which is the Orioles' search for a new general manager. Click here for the latest on that story, and here are some other interesting items of note:

  • The Yankees will meet with GM Brian Cashman next week, and the sides are expected to hammer out a new contract without trouble, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Cashman's contract expired after this season.
  • Separately, Sherman examines which teams could be in on the bidding for Yankees starter CC Sabathia in the likely event of the left-hander opting out of his contract. As well, Sherman raises an interesting point: If some team swoops in with six- or seven-year offer, will the Yankees match? A case could be made against it, as the Bombers already have a few risky long-term deals on the books.
  • The Blue Jays do not require rival teams to seek permission to interview Toronto employees, explains Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. As we have already seen in a couple instances this offseason (and in offseasons past), many teams are not as liberal with this policy, but the Jays feel that they can attract strong employees with the promise of being able to move on if another opportunity arises.
  • Orioles player development director John Stockstill is in Japan to scout Yu Darvish, among others, a club source tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Stockstill signed Koji Uehara, according to Connolly.
  • Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com has compiled a retrospective of Theo Epstein's tenure as Red Sox GM, listing Epstein's best and worst moves in trades, free agency and draft picks.

Red Sox Owner On Crawford, Epstein, Lucchino

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Red Sox owner John Henry joined 98.5 The Sports Hub this afternoon to deny that Boston's upper management smeared Terry Francona and the Red Sox in the Boston Globe this week. He also discussed a number of Red Sox-related issues. Here are the details:

  • Henry says he "personally opposed" the signing of Carl Crawford, but deferred to Boston's baseball operations department. Neither the Crawford signing nor the Adrian Gonzalez deal was a public relations move, according to Henry.
  • Henry didn't deny that Theo Epstein has talked to another club, but he declined to comment further until there's something to announce. The Cubs are in the process of making Epstein their GM.
  • Though Henry would have liked for Epstein to be Boston's GM for 20 years, he realizes "you don't always get what you want" and that being the GM in Boston comes with an immense amount of pressure.
  • Henry expects CEO Larry Lucchino to sign a multiyear extension this offseason. His contract expires this year.
  • Henry added that he wants to own the Red Sox for as long as he can.

Cubs, Red Sox Discussing Epstein Compensation

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1:41pm: The Red Sox are insisting that Epstein cannot bring any of his top assistants with him to Chicago, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com hears that negotiations may continue until Tuesday. MLB teams are prohibited from making major personnel announcements during the World Series, which begins Wednesday, so the Cubs may want to secure Epstein’s services by early next week.

8:00am: The Cubs and Red Sox are discussing compensation for Theo Epstein and Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune hears that the Cubs are insisting on paying cash, while the Red Sox are asking for one or more players. The negotiations could get contentious, but there are no concerns that the deal will fall through, according to Sullivan.

The Red Sox are looking for "something real" in exchange for Epstein, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. However, it seems unlikely that the Cubs will have to part with a Major League player. The quality of the prospects the Red Sox obtain could be tied to how many front office employees Epstein can bring with him to Chicago, according to Nick Cafardo and Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.

The Cubs agreed to a five-year deal with Epstein earlier this week. Ben Cherington, Boston's assistant GM, will be promoted to replace Epstein.

Quick Hits: McCourt, Maholm, Mariners, Axford

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Another night, another pair of exciting LCS games.  The Tigers succeeded in stretching the ALCS to a sixth game while the Brewers evened the NLCS at 2-2 with the Cardinals. 

Here's the latest from around the majors….

Keith Law On Epstein, Sizemore, Votto, Ricciardi

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ESPN's Keith Law gave his thoughts on a number of prospects during a chat with readers today, and also expounded on a few Major League items.  The highlights…

  • Cubs fans should be excited about Theo Epstein's "ability to turn the Cubs' baseball ops department into a process-oriented, professionally run organization. You can't run a baseball team the way they were run 20 or 30 years ago. It's a business now, one where smart decisions based on sound processes are necessary and innovation is increasingly critical."
  • Law describes Brett Jackson (taken 31st overall by the Cubs in the 2009 amateur draft) as a "non-star prospect" and thinks he would be fair compensation for Epstein.
  • Law doesn't think Grady Sizemore can remain healthy as an everyday center fielder.  The Indians have a $9MM club option on Sizemore next season but will take their time in deciding on it, given that Sizemore just underwent knee surgery.
  • Between Joey Votto and Yonder Alonso, Law would deal Alonso and "look to win" in the remaining two years that Votto is under Reds' control.  Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty recently shot down rumors that the Reds were listening to offers for the reigning NL MVP.
  • Law hears from his sources that J.P. Ricciardi isn't currently on the Orioles' short list of general manager candidates, as was reported on Tuesday by Law's ESPN colleague Buster Olney.  Law worked for the Blue Jays' front office from 2002-06 when Ricciardi was the team's general manager.
  • The Mariners "might have the best rotation in baseball by 2013 or so."
  • If given a choice of signing either Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols to a seven-year contract worth the same money, Law says he would choose the younger Fielder.  "Pujols is the better player right now, but even at his listed age I worry about his durability and potential decline," Law says.
  • Despite Alex Avila's breakout 2011 season, Law said he still prefers Matt Wieters as the better long-term player.

Theo Epstein Links: Compensation, Baker, Quade

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The Red Sox and Cubs began negotiations today about the compensation package required to finalize Theo Epstein's move to Chicago, and WEEI's John Dennis reports that the talks have gotten off to a slow start.  The Cubs just want to send money as compensation, while the Red Sox are looking for prospects instead.  This seemingly represents a shift in Boston's stance from just yesterday, when SI's Jon Heyman reported the Sox preferred cash.

Here's the latest on those talks and a few other Theo-related items…

  • Negotiations between the Cubs and Red Sox "are moving along at a snail's pace," according to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago.  "There's no such thing as a timetable for these transactions," but there doesn't appear to be anything major that would keep Epstein from eventually joining the Cubs.
  • Also from Levine, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts has presented a list of players to interim GM Randy Bush, scouting director Tim Wilken and director of player personnel Oneri Fleita.  The front office members will report back to Ricketts indicating which of the players they would be comfortable trading to Boston as compensation.
  • "The Red Sox like utilityman Jeff Baker," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, though Baker alone wouldn't be suitable compensation.  Cafardo says the Sox would also "love" to send John Lackey to the Cubs but unsurprisingly, "that is also a long shot."  Cafardo lists a few of the Cubs' notable prospects who could conceivably go to the Sox, though I'd personally be surprised if Chicago would part with top minor leaguers like Brett Jackson or Matt Szczur.
  • In addition to taking some Boston front office members with him to Chicago, Epstein may also take some of the Red Sox medical staff, tweets Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe.
  • Mike Quade says he wasn't consulted about the Cubs' pursuit of Epstein, the incumbent manager tells ESPN Chicago, though he has no hard feelings about not being a part of the GM search.
  • With no deal finalized yet, it was "business as usual" for Epstein, pending new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington and other front office staffers today, reports Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston. 
  • Edes notes that the Red Sox gave Jed Hoyer and Josh Byrnes permission to take two front office members each when Hoyer and Byrnes left Boston for the GM jobs in San Diego and Arizona, respectively.  Edes believes Mike Hazen, Boston's vice president of player development and amateur scouting, is "untouchable" both because the Red Sox brass his contribution to the club's minor league system and because the Cubs already have Wilken performing similar duties.

AL East Notes: Ortiz, Cherington, Swisher, Rays

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The Red Sox' reputation may have been damaged in recent weeks, but Shi Davidi of Rogers Sportsnet writes that Boston isn't going to suddenly stop being a major force in the AL East.  Some other notes from around the division….

  • David Ortiz wouldn't be a fit with the Yankees, writes Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.  Ortiz called the Yankee organization "a great situation" earlier today, but Feinsand points out that Ortiz wouldn't be willing to come to New York only as a part-time designated hitter.  The Yankees still need to give some DH at-bats to Alex Rodriguez and Jesus Montero, so Ortiz wouldn't be able to play every day.
  • Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd, who worked with incoming Red Sox GM Ben Cherington in Cleveland, praised Cherington's humility and experience to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
  • Josh Beckett may not be a popular figure in Boston right now, but Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe thinks the Red Sox would be foolish to trade the right-hander given the club's need for pitching.
  • Mike Axisa of the River Ave Blues blog thinks that Nick Swisher's $10.25MM option for next season is an obvious pickup for the Yankees, even if New York picks up the option with the intent of trading Swisher elsewhere.
  • The Rays want to add a big hitter this winter, but won't do so at the expense of their core of pitching and defense, reports MLB.com's Bill Chastain.  "If you add offense, more than likely you're detracting from the defense," said Andrew Friedman.  "So we're not going to do things where it's a net neutral move, or even to where we take a step back."
  • Rays owner Stuart Sternberg has been open about how critical a new stadium is to his franchise's future in the Tampa Bay area, but Fangraphs' Alex Remington gives several reasons why the Rays won't be leaving Tampa and/or Tropicana Field anytime soon.
  • Joe Jordan, formerly the Orioles' director of amateur scouting, talks to MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski about his seven years in Baltimore.  Jordan was hired yesterday as the Phillies' new director of player development.
  • Unsurprisingly, the Orioles are holding off on any coaching and front office staffing decisions until their new head of baseball operations is hired, reports Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.

Manager/GM Notes: Epstein, Sandberg, Cashman

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The Cubs are on the brink of completing a deal with the GM Theo Epstein and the Red Sox. Here are the details and more managerial and GM notes from around MLB…

  • MLB.com's Carrie Muskat hears that chairman Tom Ricketts is handling compensation discussions for the Cubs. However, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that assistant GMs Ben Cherington and Randy Bush will do most of the negotiating with upper management signing off on the expected agreement.
  • John Dennis of WEEI hears that the Red Sox and Cubs won't start talks about compensation for Epstein until today (link via Rob Bradford of WEEI.com).
  • Epstein will earn $3MM or more on his new deal with the Cubs, but it still falls short of what Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski earns, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links). Heyman noted earlier this week that Dombrowski, one of baseball's longest-tenured GMs, earns about $5MM.
  • Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times hears that the Cubs expect a reconciliation with Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg this week. Epstein interviewed Sandberg for Boston's Triple-A managerial position last offseason, but Sandberg turned the job down to manage in the Phillies' system. Cubs manager Mike Quade is under contract through 2012.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains the challenges GMs face in Boston and New York. One MLB executive is amazed that Yankees GM Brian Cashman has continued to do his job under such intense pressure for more than a decade.

David Ortiz Talks Yankees, Red Sox

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David Ortiz recently hinted that the offseason could get even more tumultuous for the Red Sox. The designated hitter, who will be eligible for free agency after the World Series, suggested to ESPN's Colleen Dominguez that he would fit into the Yankees’ culture.

"It's great from what I hear," he said. "It's a good situation to be involved in. Who doesn't want to be involved in a great situation where everything goes the right way?”

Ortiz says there's "too much drama" in Boston these days and acknowledged that he's thinking about moving on. “I don't know if I want to be part of this drama for next year."

Ortiz projects as a Type A free agent, which means teams will have to surrender a top pick to sign him if he turns down an offer of arbitration from the Red Sox. The 35-year-old completed his ninth season in Boston with 29 home runs and a .309/.398/.554 line.

The Yankees don't need a designated hitter this offseason. Alex Rodriguez and Jesus Montero could DH on a semi-regular basis and manager Joe Girardi could also use the spot to provide tired or banged up players with a partial day off.

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