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Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Cubs, Valentine, Dunn

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Ken Rosenthal's weekly Full Count video is up over at FOX Sports; here are your highlights:

  • The Cubs would be taking a risk if they choose to wait for the Yankees' season to end to interview Joe Girardi for their managerial opening. Given that six to ten managerial openings may arise, other candidates such as Eric Wedge and Bob Melvin (who's interviewing today), as well as their internal candidates (Mike Quade and Ryne Sandberg) could find work elsewhere.
  • Boston pitching coach John Farrell's contractual clause that prevents him from interviewing for managerial openings expires this offseason. Rosenthal says he's likely to interview with at least one club. He turned down a chance to interview with the Mariners years ago, but may be a fit once again.
  • Seattle, meanwhile, is also looking at Ted Simmons, Joey Cora, and others. They ultimately may prefer someone with more experience than Farrell.
  • Unsurprisingly, the Mets will hire a new GM before a new manager. Bobby Valentine could indeed return, but everyone involved would need to determine exactly what his responsibilities would be. Wally Backman could also be a candidate to manage the Mets, but his managerial experience comes in A-ball. If hired, the team would need to put a strong coaching staff in place around him.
  • Valentine is still a candidate for the Marlins' managerial opening, as is interim manager Edwin Rodriguez, Jim Fregosi, Tim Wallach, Bo Porter, and Simmons. 
  • There's still a chance that the Nationals could sign Adam Dunn to an extension, and the two sides will speak at least once more before the slugger hits the open market. At this point Dunn would require a deal at market value to return, which Rosenthal suggests could be four years, $60MM. As bad as his defense is, several metrics rate him better than Ryan Howard and Miguel Cabrera with the glove.

Gammons On Ortiz, Beltre, Dunn, Crawford, Dice-K

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In his latest appearance on WEEI's Big Show, Peter Gammons discussed the playoffs, the offseason, and, of course, the Red Sox. Here are the highlights:

  • The Red Sox will likely pick up David Ortiz's 2011 option in part because they'd be afraid to see him playing for the Yankees or Rays if they let him go.
  • Adrian Beltre was never comfortable in Seattle like he was in Los Angeles and is in Boston. Gammons thinks the third baseman could end up signing with the Tigers this winter and wonders if he'd be uncomfortable in Detroit's spacious home park.
  • Although Adam Dunn insists he doesn't want to DH, he may end up having no other choice. The Nationals appear unlikely to re-sign Dunn because "they don’t know where to play him in the field," according to Gammons, who says the Yankees are a potential destination for the slugger.
  • If they pursue either player, the Red Sox are more likely to go after Carl Crawford than Jayson Werth.
  • Crawford signing with the Angels may not be as likely as people think, Gammons says, since owner Arte Moreno "isn’t always great with free agents."
  • Daisuke Matsuzaka is a trade candidate this winter, and Gammons can envision Boston dealing him to the Mets for Carlos Beltran.

Odds & Ends: Dipoto, Figueroa, Papelbon, Greinke

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Links for Friday, before all eyes turn to Clayton Richard and Matt Cain…

  • The D'Backs will likely bring interim manager Kirk Gibson back in 2011, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The D'Backs are close to an agreement with Jerry Dipoto that would keep the exec in Arizona as director of scouting and player development, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • Astros GM Ed Wade told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle that he can see Nelson Figueroa being the team's fifth starter in 2011. The 36-year-old goes to arbitration this winter, assuming the Astros offer a contract.
  • Jonathan Papelbon would like to set the market for closer contracts when he hits free agency after next season, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Papelbon has his doubters after a tough season, but he says he's looking forward to a dominant 2011 campaign.
  • Some MLB executives are convinced that the Royals will dangle Zack Greinke as trade bait this winter, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
  • Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reminds us of some of Omar Minaya's best and worst moves, since it looks like the Mets may soon replace their GM.
  • Free agent pitching prospect Barret Loux will start accepting offers today, according to Kendall Rogers of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Broxton, Zambrano, Pujols

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On this date 15 years ago, the Yankees and Rockies became the first Wild Card teams in baseball history. Both were eliminated in the League Championship Series however, with the Mariners and Braves doing the honors. Nine Wild Card teams have reached the World Series since, with the Marlins (1997 & 2003), Angels (2002), and Red Sox (2004) taking home championships.

A few days before the 2010 postseason begins, let's look around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here

Beltre’s Player Option Doubles

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Adrian Beltre has now batted 640 times this season, so the value of his 2011 player option doubled from $5MM to $10MM. But the third baseman will probably have the chance to earn considerably more than $10MM as a free agent this offseason, so the value of his player option doesn't matter a whole lot.

“It doesn’t mean anything to me,” Beltre told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. “It’s a testament that I was able to stay healthy, and be in the lineup almost every day. But that’s it.”

Beltre, 31, already has 28 homers and a American League-best 49 doubles. He has combined his strong defensive play with a .321/.365/.553 batting line and seems primed for another big free agent payday. The Mariners signed Beltre to a five-year $64MM deal after the 2004 season.

Epstein On Injuries, Bullpen, Wood

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Red Sox GM Theo Epstein appeared on WEEI's Dale & Holley radio show on Thursday morning to recap and discuss Boston's 2010 season.  WEEI.com's Jerry Spar and ESPNBoston.com both have partial transcripts of the interview, and here are some of the hot stove highlights…

  • In part due to the multitude of injuries that befell the club, Epstein admitted that the team's pitching and defense (the offseason focus on which led to the signings of John Lackey and Mike Cameron) were actually Boston's biggest weaknesses in 2010.
  • The Red Sox will "have to completely fix the bullpen" in the winter.  Epstein said that he pursued several midseason trades for relievers: "We were aggressive with our prospect proposals, and those guys weren’t moved. So, yeah, I would have loved to have made a trade for a reliever. I feel bad, I feel like we didn’t get it done."
  • In regards to three specific bullpen targets (Matt Capps, Brian Fuentes and Kerry Wood), Epstein said that Washington wanted Daniel Bard for Capps, the Twins were able to make a move for Fuentes first due to a higher waiver position, and the Yankees "were willing to take on just a little bit more of [Wood's] salary."
  • Epstein admitted that the team can improve the flow of communication between the medical staff and the players.  He didn't comment on whether or not the Red Sox were looking to make some changes to their training staff in the wake of their injury-filled season.

Olney On Crawford, Rangers, D’Backs

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Home field advantage in the Division Series and League Championship Series hasn't given teams the advantage you might expect, as ESPN.com's Buster Olney shows. But the Rays, Yankees and Twins presumably want home field advantage anyways and there's no question that the teams' respective owners would like the extra revenue. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • Some MLB executives expect the Red Sox and Angels to get into a bidding war over Carl Crawford this offseason. He’d be a good fit on either team, though Mike Cameron would likely become a bench player if the Red Sox signed Crawford or Jayson Werth.
  • High-ranking executives wouldn’t be surprised to see the Rangers’ payroll rise to $90-100MM. The team opened the 2010 season with a $65MM payroll, so that would be a substantial increase.
  • There seems to be a very good chance that Adam LaRoche and Mark Reynolds, who have combined  to strike out 375 times this season, will not be on the D’Backs in 2011. LaRoche will probably hit free agency this winter, but Reynolds has $13MM remaining on his contract and would have to be traded.

Odds & Ends: K-Rod, Angels, Tamura, Matsui

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Links for Wednesday, before the Giants ask Tim Lincecum to help extend their NL West lead…

  • Lawyers from the MLB Players Association and MLB will meet in New York tomorrow to discuss the union's grievance with the Mets. As the AP reports, the sides will discuss the team's decision to place Francisco Rodriguez on the disqualified list.
  • Top prospect Mike Moustakas told reporters that he and other Royals minor leaguers welcome the attention they're attracting this year. 
  • The Angels let scouting director Eddie Bane go, according to John Manuel of Baseball America. Bane was a candidate for the D'Backs GM job earlier in the month.
  • Japanese outfielder Hitoshi Tamura has interest in playing major league baseball, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The 33-year-old has 27 homers this year and represented the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks at the All-Star game.
  • Jason Varitek told reporters, including MLB.com's Ian Browne, that he's well aware of the fact that he may only have a handful of games remaining in a Red Sox uniform.
  • Through an interpreter, Hideki Matsui told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he'd consider signing with the A's if they expressed interest in him this offseason.
  • Todd Helton made it clear to Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he isn't retiring after the season.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic heard that Brandon Webb was throwing just 81 mph in his instructional league outing (Twitter link). Webb told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he had fun and felt good.
  • The D'Backs, who will see Webb and Rodrigo Lopez hit free agency this winter, will look to add starting pitching, but GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he believes starters may be easier to obtain through trades than major league free agency.

Cubs Rumors: Ramirez, Dunn, Payroll

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The Cubs are finishing up their first losing season since 2006; of course the focus is on next year.  The latest:

  • The Cubs "remain intent on taking a run at Joe Girardi," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
  • The Red Sox "have a lot of interest" in Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez, reported ESPN's Bruce Levine in a chat yesterday.  It is assumed Ramirez will exercise his $14.6MM player option for 2011, and the clubs would have to work around issues of a no-trade clause and an assignment bonus.  Plus, I imagine the Cubs would have to swing another trade to find someone to replace Ramirez at the hot corner.
  • Levine writes that "Adam Dunn is a top priority for the Cubs if they can afford him."  We learned last month that Dunn likes Wrigley Field and Jim Hendry, but the slugger made it clear yesterday he's tired of discussing his future.
  • Levine notes that Cubs ownership has indicated there will be a slight decrease in payroll for next year.  Hendry might have to move a current contract or two to create flexibility.
  • Cubs starter Ryan Dempster endorsed Mike Quade as manager, saying to CSNChicago's Patrick Mooney and others, "He’s done a great job and I hope that he’s here longer than just this year (and) managing for us next year because he deserves it."  Mooney also spoke to hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, who's intent on honoring his three-year contract regardless of the team's manager changes.

Odds & Ends: Beltre, Athletics, Gibson

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Links for Tuesday, as David Price tries to clinch a playoff berth for the Rays a day after tweeting that last night's attendance was embarrassing…

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