Pierzynski Yet To Hear An Offer From White Sox
In an interview with Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio today, A.J. Pierzynski said that the White Sox have not made him an offer to return to the club in 2011. (Twitter link) Pierzynski doesn't specify if the club has made any contact with him at all, and it's worth noting that Chicago still has three days left of exclusive negotiating time for pending free agents. Given that Pierzynski said he would like to keep playing in Chicago "but they are going to have to want him first," however, it seems unlikely that the Sox have opened negotiations.
Pierzynski went into detail about his criteria for a new team (another Twitter link): in order, his new club must be a contender, be willing to give him a starting job, be located close to his home in Florida and along those same lines must also have their spring training camp in Florida and be a "quick flight home." He says the Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Rays and Red Sox "would all be good fits." All of these teams except the Rays were mentioned by MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith in his look at potential suitors for Pierzynski. All make some sense on Pierzynski's checklist, though the Rangers and Padres are in Arizona for spring training and San Diego is a cross-country flight away from his home.
Red Sox Hire Curt Young As Pitching Coach
The Red Sox hired Curt Young as their new pitching coach, according to WEEI's Alex Speier. The team already made a formal announcement. Young, formerly of the Athletics, replaces John Farrell. Farrell is now manager of the Blue Jays. A few other Red Sox notes from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe…
- Former Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi will probably decide later this week whether to join the Red Sox or Mets front office.
- The Red Sox told Bill Hall they'll reject his $9.25MM club option in favor of a $500K buyout according to Cafardo, though The Providence Journal's Brian MacPherson notes it's team policy to wait until the deadline to officially make option decisions.
- Cafardo says early talks with David Ortiz "haven't yielded much progress." Big Papi is known to be seeking multiple years, but the Sox have a $12.5MM club option just for 2011.
- Felipe Lopez has an "unspecified option" in his contract, writes MacPherson. He's a Type B free agent, but the Red Sox will need to decline the option, offer arbitration, and have him turn it down to sign a big league deal elsewhere if they're to get a draft pick.
- The Red Sox also have Adrian Beltre, Victor Martinez, and Jason Varitek as free agents. They have five arbitration eligible players: Jacoby Ellsbury, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kevin Cash, Hideki Okajima, and Jonathan Papelbon. Salty has already agreed on a contract for 2011.
Odds & Ends: Long, Romanick, Falkenborg, Carlin
Links for Monday, as Cliff Lee looks to leave a strong last impression on his 2010 season against Tim Lincecum and the Giants…
- The Yankees and hitting coach Kevin Long agreed to a three-year deal, reports George A. King III of the New York Post. He'll be getting a raise on his previous $400K salary.
- The Athletics named Ron Romanick their new pitching coach, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- King's colleague Joel Sherman doesn't believe Brian Falkenborg will be the next Colby Lewis, as Falkenborg is likely to remain in Japan.
- The Indians removed catcher Luke Carlin from the 40-man roster, according to the team's Twitter account. Carlin, 30 next month, hit .238/.332/.336 at Triple-A this year. The Indians' 40-man roster is at 38. Andy Marte is another candidate to find his way off the 40-man, in my opinion.
- If Carl Crawford has similar offers elsewhere, he'd need to be convinced to join a former rival like the Yankees or Red Sox says ESPN's Buster Olney.
- The Seibu Lions have again denied Hiroyuki Nakajima's appeal to be posted, according to a report passed along by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman on Twitter. The Japanese shortstop was said Saturday to be holding out hope.
- Check out the voting for the 2010 Fielding Bible Awards.
Cafardo’s Latest: Bautista, Varitek, Montero
Let's check out the latest from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe….
- It's still up in the air whether Jose Bautista will go to arbitration this winter, or whether he'll sign either a one-year or multi-year deal with the Blue Jays. "Right now, there are no talks about a multiyear contract," said Bautista. "But I suppose we may hear something about that in December." MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith took an in-depth look at Bautista's arbitration case earlier this month.
- Cafardo speculates that the Brewers and Jason Varitek could be a good fit, since Milwaukee could use a veteran to mentor Jonathan Lucroy. Of course, the Brewers are probably hoping that the recently-signed Mike Rivera will fill that role.
- There is some doubt about whether Yankees prospect Jesus Montero will be able to handle a major league pitching staff. A "Yankee insider" tells Cafardo that he thinks Montero could be used in a big trade this winter, with Austin Romine waiting in the wings as a potential long-term backstop.
- Cafardo names a few candidates to replace Dave Eiland as the Yankees' pitching coach, noting that Scott Aldred appears to be the front-runner.
- Meanwhile, Curt Young looks like the favorite to become the Red Sox' next pitching coach. The Diamondbacks were "very interested" in Young, but ultimately ended up hiring Charles Nagy instead.
Poll: David Ortiz’s Future
Yesterday we heard that Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is still seeking a multi-year contract, brushing off criticism about his declining offense. The one they call Big Papi hit .270/.370/.529 with 32 homers last season, but he again had to overcome a brutally slow start (.143/.238/.286 in April). After hitting .302/.402/.612 with an average of 41 homers per year from 2003-2007, Ortiz has hit dipped down to .257/.356/.498 since 2008, which is still very good production.
The Red Sox hold a $12.5MM option for Ortiz's services in 2011, and last month we heard that they were prepared to pick it up. Their alternatives would be to decline the option and make him a free agent (no buyout), or attempt to work out the multi-year deal he desires. It's not an easy call, and it's made even more complicated by Ortiz's status as a franchise icon. Time to hit the polls…
What should the Red Sox do with David Ortiz this winter?
Click here to vote, and here to see the results.
Ortiz Wants Security, Defends Hitting Ability
David Ortiz says he is still hoping to sign a multi-year deal with the Red Sox and insists that he remains an elite hitter despite the perception that he’s in decline. Big Papi told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he won’t be pleased if the Red Sox exercise his $12.5MM option for 2011 instead of offering more security.
"I'm not comfortable coming back just for one year because it's going to be the same roller-coaster that I had this year," he said.
Ortiz’s representatives will meet with the Red Sox next week and Big Papi may drop in for part of the discussions. Ortiz says he wants to stay in Boston and the Red Sox figure to pick his option up even if they don’t offer a multi-year deal, so he’s not going anywhere for now.
Ortiz considers himself “one of the best hitters in the game” and you can’t deny that he’s still one of the best designated hitters around. The 34-year-old was among the American League leaders in slugging (8th, .529), OPS (8th, .899), home runs (5th, 32) and walks (9th, 82) this year.
“You tell me, how does a guy who is declining finish in the top 10 best hitter in the league,” Ortiz asked. “How does that happen? Put it this way, the past two years I have 60 homers, and I have over 200 RBI. Is that bad?"
It’s quite good, but it may not be enough for the Red Sox to offer an extension. Even though Ortiz is tired of proving himself year after year, the Red Sox can simply exercise his option and postpone discussions about 2012 and beyond until next winter if they aren't completely comfortable guaranteeing more years.
Adrian Gonzalez’s Trade Suitors
The Padres' surprising 2010 campaign might ensure that Adrian Gonzalez at least starts next season in San Diego, since the club will want to see if they can capture the same lightning in a bottle in 2011. But if the Padres fall out of contention early (as they were expected to do last year), the simmering Gonzalez trade market will again catch fire.
Don Norcross of the San Diego Union-Tribune recapped the difficulty — or impossibility — that the Padres will have in signing Gonzalez to the expensive, long-term contract that he'll no doubt command when he reaches free agency after the 2011 season. Norcross named three "favorites" and two dark horses as possible homes for Gonzalez come Opening Day 2012, so let's take a closer look at these options…
- The Red Sox. Boston has been at the forefront of Gonzalez rumors for over a year, and there's no question the Sox will be involved in trade talks for the slugger right down to the wire.
- The Giants. Norcross somewhat surprisingly adds them to his favorites list, pointing out that Aubrey Huff could be moved to the outfield (if he's re-signed at all) to accommodate Gonzalez at first base. It's hard to picture San Diego dealing Gonzalez to a division rival, plus San Francisco isn't the kind of big market that could afford A-Gon's future contract. That said, the Giants are rewriting their own history right now in the World Series. They might decide to just go for broke and acquire Gonzalez while their window of contention is open.
- The Angels. As Norcross notes, L.A. is close to home for the San Diego-born Gonzalez, and the Halos will pay the money for top talent. Kendry Morales is relegated to the outfield or the DH spot in Norcross' scenario, but Morales could also be the centerpiece of the Angels' trade package to San Diego.
- The Dodgers. One of the darkhorse contenders depending on if a new owner takes control of the team and wants to make an instant impact. Gonzalez could be in a new uniform well before the Dodgers' ownership situation is settled, so we can probably write off at least one L.A. team.
- The Cubs. Gonzalez himself has shown some interest in playing in Chicago, but the Cubs might be looking to add Adam Dunn to play first base this winter.
Besides these five teams, a number of other clubs can and will arise in the market depending on how this offseason pans out. The White Sox might need first base help if Paul Konerko departs, and could be interested in a long-term answer at first anyway given Konerko's age. Texas might try to undo their infamous Gonzalez/Chris Young for Adam Eaton/Akinori Otsuka swap in 2006 and make a play for the first baseman. Teams like Toronto, Baltimore, Washington or Seattle don't seem like candidates now, but could dive into the free agent market next winter if they think they're close to contention. Even St. Louis could be considered a possibility if they're unable to come to terms on an extension for Albert Pujols.
Odds & Ends: Gammons, Braves, Hurdle, Marlins
As we hope for Wilson and Cain rather than clouds and rain in San Francisco tonight, here are a few news items…
- In an appearance on WEEI's The Big Show this afternoon, Peter Gammons predicted that Cliff Lee will re-sign with Texas and Victor Martinez will sign a four- or five-year contract with Detroit since "I don't think anyone else is going to give him four or five years." Gammons also reiterated that the Red Sox have a big interest in Carl Crawford this winter. WEEI's Kirk Minihane has a partial transcript here.
- The Braves have signed Beau Torbert to a minor league contract, according to the Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants, Torbert's American Association team. Torbert, a 17th-round pick of the Astros in 2004, was Baseball America's Independent Player Of The Year for 2010.
- The Pirates haven't interviewed a managerial candidate in two weeks, but FOXSports.com's Tracy Ringolsby believes the Bucs are waiting to speak to Clint Hurdle, who is "a serious consideration" for the job. Pittsburgh has to wait until the World Series is over to interview Hurdle, the former Rockies manager and current Rangers hitting coach.
- The Marlins hope to settle on a manager by next week, tweets Newsday's Ken Davidoff. Edwin Rodriguez is "still in the mix" according to Davidoff, which coincides with news earlier this week that the Fish were "leaning toward" keeping their current manager.
- Pedro Martinez is "looking for motivation to come back," tweets Enrique Rojas of ESPN. Martinez is training with the Dominican League's Licey Tigers, whose pitching coach is Pedro's brother (and former major league pitcher) Ramon.
- Andy MacPhail tells MASN.com's Steve Melewski that the Orioles aren't likely to re-sign any of their pending free agents before the deadline.
- Tom Gage of the Detroit News implies that Jim Thome could be the Tigers' backup plan if the team fails to sign any bigger-name free agents.
- We had heard that John Gibbons wasn't a managerial candidate in New York, but Jack Curry of the YES Network reports that the Mets have already contacted other teams for infomation about the Royals bench coach. Curry says the Mets haven't contacted Gibbons himself, but will probably do so once Sandy Alderson officially takes over as GM. (All Twitter links)
- Hoping your team can unload a bad contract this winter, or at least trade one for another team's problem? ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin has a rundown of each team's most unwieldly financial commitments.
Odds & Ends: Daniels, Takahashi, Byrnes, Lee, Gray
Links for Wednesday, as Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum duel in Game One of the World Series…
- Jon Daniels called a report indicating that he asked the Mets (through back channels) to hold off on their GM announcement until after the World Series "complete bull," according to CBSSports.com's Scott Miller. Daniels can opt out of his contract after the season since the Rangers were sold this year.
- Hisanori Takahashi switched agents from Peter Greenberg to Arn Tellem, tweets Newday's David Lennon. We learned that Takashi and the Mets were discussing an extension just a few days ago, but it appears that the lefty is positioning himself to test the free agent waters.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the "belief in the sport" is that Josh Byrnes will join the Padres' front office after losing out on the Mets GM gig. Byrnes has strong ties to San Diego's front office, most notably owner Jeff Moorad.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe wonders if the Tigers and Red Sox are getting ready to battle for the same free agents in a few weeks.
- The Yankees have had internal discussions about how much money they'd be willing to offer Cliff Lee, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network.
- The Cubs outrighted Jeff Gray to Triple A, so he’s no longer on the team’s 40-man roster. The 28-year-old righty struggled through 9.1 big league innings this year.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com explains that the Red Sox will have trouble finding another pitching coach like John Farrell, the new Blue Jays manager.
- Omar Minaya isn't sure whether he'll stay with the Mets, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Heyman says there's a decent chance Minaya returns, since he gets along well with owner Fred Wilpon and incoming GM Sandy Alderson.
Odds & Ends: Ortiz, Girardi, Molina, Werth
On the eve of the World Series, here are some news items to tide you over until the big Lee/Lincecum battle tomorrow night…
- David Ortiz tells Mike Vega of the Boston Globe that he'll be back with Boston next season, reports the Globe's Peter Abraham. Ortiz said his representation and the Red Sox will talk next week about the club's $12.5MM option on the slugger for 2011. Boston has until three days after the end of the World Series to decide to pick up Ortiz's option.
- Joe Girardi's expected new contract with the Yankees will probably be a three-year deal, writes George A. King III and Mark Hale of the New York Post. Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated reports the deal will be worth between a total of $9-$10MM. While no one doubts Girardi will be manning the Yankee bench next season, ESPNNewYork.com's Ian O'Connor thinks the Yankees should limit Girardi's extension to two years, citing lingering issues about how the manager deals with the New York pressure.
- Bengie Molina is still planning to retire this winter, writes MLB.com's Lyle Spencer. "It's more 'yes' than 'no' right now," Molina said. "Something could get worked out this winter. As for now … yes."
- If the Phillies don't re-sign Jayson Werth, Fangraphs' Dave Cameron points out that they'll be "running out a line-up with a large, exploitable flaw" — a lack of right-handed hitting.
- Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle praises Ron Washington and wonders if Billy Beane should've hired Washington (a former Oakland coach) to manage the A's.
- With Jorge de la Rosa possibly being too expensive for the Rockies to bring back, Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets that the "most likely scenario" is that De La Rosa goes elsewhere and Colorado trades for a James Shields-caliber starter, if not necessarily Shields himself.