Odds & Ends: Drew, Molina, Cards, Chapman
Another round of links before the weekend…
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier suggests J.D. Drew has been worth slightly more than the $42MM the Red Sox have paid him since 2007 because of his on-base skills and strong defense. Drew's no RBI machine, but GM Theo Epstein likes his hitting approach as-is. Considering the massive deals handed out to Vernon Wells, Alfonso Soriano and others after 2006, Drew's contract seems reasonable.
- Jack Moore of FanGraphs expects Bengie Molina to draw interest this offseason and predicts that the catcher will be worth $4MM or more next year.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch says the Cardinals are in position to bring back their entire bullpen in 2010. The Cards expect Ryan Franklin to close once again next season.
- ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. reports (via Twitter) that Aroldis Chapman will meet with the Cardinals Monday before going to Boston Wednesday to meet with the Red Sox.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos tells MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that the Jays are talking to other teams about possible trades.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Gonzalez, Thome, Hinske, Red Sox, D’Backs, Twins
On this date 64 years ago, the Dodgers announced the signing of Jackie Robinson, who would become the first African-American to play major league baseball since the 1880s. Robinson would spend the '46 season with Triple-A Montreal, hitting .349. The next season he would hit .297/.383/.427 and help the Dodgers to the National League pennant. With the Hot Stove season only days away, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Sox and Pinstripes looks at what it would take for the Red Sox to land Adrian Gonzalez.
- Phlavio's Corner attempts to fix the Diamondbacks in three moves or less.
- Around the Majors takes a look at the free agent class of shortstops.
- MLB Notebook breaks down the market for Jim Thome.
- Nick's Twins Blog makes an off-season blueprint for the Twins and projects next season's roster.
- Capitol Avenue Club examines what the Braves can do to reload the bullpen in 2010.
- Talking Chop says the Braves need to add a power-bat this off-season, in part to protect Chipper Jones.
- Marlin Maniac sees Eric Hinske as a good fit for the Marlins.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Odds & Ends: Chapman, Indians, Mulder, Royals
More links for Friday…
- Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News says the Mets are meeting with Aroldis Chapman today in New York. Rubin also passes along the bio Chapman's representatives have prepared.
- The Angels have given the Indians permission to interview bench coach Ron Roenicke for the club's managerial opening, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney says Don Mattingly is a frontrunner for the Indians job and, as Brian Costello of the New York Post reports, the Nationals have interest in Mattingly, too.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel agrees with Buster Olney. Mark Mulder makes sense for the Brewers, who had interest in the lefty earlier this year.
- Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star assumes the Royals won't bring Tony Pena Jr. back. The shortstop-turned pitcher chose to become a free agent earlier in the week.
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says the Red Sox have enough organizational pitching depth to focus on adding a big bat this offseason. Massarotti expects the Red Sox to target Jason Bay and, possibly, Matt Holliday. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the team sign either player. Check the article out to see a breakdown of the club's financial commitments for the next couple years.
Odds & Ends: Reds, White Sox, Shimizu
More Thursday linkage…
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon guesses the Reds will buy out Ramon Hernandez's option for $1MM, but then try to re-sign him. Sheldon also runs through the upcoming important hot stove dates.
- White Sox GM Ken Williams wouldn't reveal much about his offseason plans, talking to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. "I'm always looking at all the possibilities," said Williams.
- WEEI's Rob Bradford talked to Tim Wakefield, who is aiming for 200 victories. He's 11 shy, so he could pull it off in 2010. The Sox figure to exercise his $4MM option once again.
- Ryo Shinkawa of NPB Tracker says 33-year-old righty Naoyuki Shimizu has MLB aspirations. Shimizu posted a 4.42 ERA this year in 144.6 innings for the Chiba Lotte Marines, striking out only 88.
- Cot's Baseball Contracts informs us that Ryan Howard will earn $50K for his NLCS MVP award. Tack that on to his $15MM salary.
Odds & Ends: Parker, Okajima, Kikuchi, La Russa
Links for Thursday…
- Bad news for D'Backs fans: top prospect Jarrod Parker is headed for Tommy John surgery. Reynolds Sports Management broke the news via their Twitter feed, check it out.
- Red Sox reliever Hideki Okajima has dismissed agent Peter Greenberg in favor of Boston-based Joe Rosen, according to a Japanese report passed along by NPB Tracker's Ryo Shinkawa. Shinkawa takes this as a sign Okajima wants to stay with the Red Sox. He is already under team control through 2012 as an arbitration-eligible player.
- Yusei Kikuchi's NPB-vs.-MLB decision seems to be coming within a few days, says Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.
- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is nearing his decision on whether to manage in 2010, says Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says that "if La Russa manages next season, it will be with the Cardinals."
- Mark McGwire told The Sporting News' Jeff D'Alessio that Albert Pujols would be worth $30MM+ as a free agent.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star feels the Royals should consider trading closer Joakim Soria.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis believes it's not far-fetched to think Bryce Harper could fall out of the first round in 2010 due to financial demands (hat tip River Ave. Blues).
- MLB.com's Matthew Leach and Jon Weisman of Dodgers Thoughts expect GM Ned Colletti to focus on the rotation this winter.
Red Sox Rumors: Bay, Drew, Bard
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein appeared on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan show this morning; let's take a look.
- Epstein admitted the Red Sox need a contingency plan in case Jason Bay leaves, but he still believes "[Bay] wants to be here, and we want to keep him and take a shot."
- Epstein says J.D. Drew has been worth "a tick more than $14MM per year," due to his offense, defense, and baserunning. FanGraphs has the best-known public player valuation system, and they say Drew has averaged $14.93MM in regular season value over 2007-09.
- The Red Sox GM was not trying to send a message through the media when he said DH David Ortiz needed to be a force in 2010.
- Epstein considers reliever Daniel Bard a "work in progress," and implies thrusting him into the closer role in 2010 wouldn't be beneficial long-term for Bard.
- In other Red Sox news, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the team has "expressed interest in meeting with [Aroldis Chapman] and watching him throw, although it is premature to categorize their interest as anything beyond preliminary."
Hoyer “Closer” To Becoming Padres GM
THURSDAY, 9:09am: Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune describes the Hoyer hiring as "imminent," but says no announcement is scheduled for today.
WEDNESDAY, 2:25pm: Both MLB.com's Corey Brock and ESPN's Buster Olney are reporting that San Diego is moving closer to naming Boston Assistant General Manager Jed Hoyer as their next General Manager.
Hoyer and Los Angeles Assistant GM Kim Ng have both been interviewed. It is unclear if anyone else has been interviewed, with San Diego staying quiet about the search.
Padres' CEO Jeff Moorad has said he'd like to name a GM prior to the World Series, so it is reasonable to expect an announcement sooner than later.
As for Kevin Towers, whom Hoyer would be succeeding, his destination remains unclear. Olney wrote last week that "it figures that Towers will take a job with the Yankees as a special assistant in the months ahead."
But Brock reports that Towers could "conceivably take a spot in the Red Sox front office — possibly as a special assistant or in the scouting department — if Hoyer is indeed hired by the Padres."
Odds & Ends: Yankees, Cardinals, Astros
Here are some links to take you through the end of your workday, instead of, you know, working.
- The Yankees aren't satisfied to simply win the 2009 World Series. They are concurrently planning to take 2010 as well, with Jon Heyman reporting that they are atop Matt Holliday's preferred list of teams, and Lohud.com's Chad Jennings writing that the Yankees should be meeting with Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman soon, though GM Brian Cashman wouldn't confirm it.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Jason LaRue would be a good fit for the Cardinals in 2010, and breaks down the other catching candidates as well.
- Manny Acta had his second interview for the Astros' managing job, while Bobby Valentine and Bob Melvin are candidates to take Acta's former position as skipper for Washington.
- Tim Wakefield had successful back surgery for the Red Sox, who have a number of 2010 contract options to consider, include Wakefield's. Alex Speier of WEEI.com runs it down nicely.
- The Rays hired Derek Shelton as their new hitting coach. Shelton had been the hitting coach for Cleveland.
- Former Mets' first base coach Tom Nieto is the new manager for Rochester, Minnesota's Triple-A farm team, among other minor-league hires.
Aroldis Chapman In New York
Aroldis Chapman's agent Edwin Mejia changed his mind – he won't make MLB teams come to Andorra to see his client. Instead, according to ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr., Chapman is set to arrive in New York today to visit with several GMs.
Arangure Jr. still sees the hard-throwing 21-year-old lefty getting a contract in the $40-60MM range. He considers the Yankees and Red Sox top suitors for Chapman, with the A's and Giants in the mix. The Angels, Mets, and Orioles are also interested, based on previous reports. The Dodgers are not viewed as a serious suitor, according to one Arangure Jr. source.
Click here to read Keith Law's scouting report on Chapman for ESPN.
Odds & Ends: Sano, Towers, D’Backs, Fehr
Links for Wednesday…
- Kevin Towers has a standing offer from the Red Sox, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. For now, Towers plans on taking a few months off. In contrast, a week ago ESPN's Buster Olney wrote that "there would appear to be excellent odds that Towers will land with the Yankees as a special assistant sometime in the months ahead."
- The Cubs' contract with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo is official.
- Miguel Angel Sano received his U.S. work visa, according to SI's Melissa Segura.
- The new Rays hitting coach is Derek Shelton, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic crafts an offseason plan for the Diamondbacks, who have a decent amount of money to work with. We did our Offseason Outlook for the team back in September.
- J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics says tendering a contract to arbitration-eligible right fielder Jeff Francoeur is probably worthwhile for the Mets. I don't sense that non-tendering him is a serious consideration.
- Donald Fehr will receive an $11MM parting gift when he steps down from his MLBPA position, says ESPN's Amy K. Nelson. The players were mostly in favor of the decision, according to Curtis Granderson.
- The Rangers met with Jim Crane's group Tuesday, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Two more potential investing groups are scheduled.
- Backup catcher Mike Redmond told MLB.com's Kelly Thesier he plans on playing next year, whether or not it's with the Twins.
- 41-year-old righty Keiichi Yabu also hopes to play in 2010, says NPB Tracker's Ryo Shinkawa.
- Reliever George Sherrill has no hard feelings about the Orioles trading him to the Dodgers, says Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
- MLB.com's Dick Kaegel talked to Zack Greinke, who was characteristically blunt.
- In a Saturday post, Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts said he'd like to see how GM Ned Colletti handles the decreased payroll flexibility once his young players reach arbitration. Weisman is even-handed in his assessment of Colletti, but here's a funny quote: "I don't laud him for retaining the young core of the team: Kershaw, Kemp, Billingsley, Broxton, Martin, et al. Knowing not to dump those guys is like knowing not to show up to work in your underwear."