AL East Links: Red Sox, Ortiz, Yankees, Orioles
We've already had two managerial changes in the AL East this offseason, and a ton of player moves will surely follow this winter. Here's the latest from the only division to house three 90-win teams in 2012…
- "I wouldn't be trying to re-sign him if I had any concern about David's commitment to baseball or to the Red Sox," said Red Sox GM Ben Cherington to ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes when asked about former manager Bobby Valentine's recent disparaging comments about David Ortiz's commitment to the team. The Sox and Ortiz are reportedly working on a new two-year contract.
- In a recent radio interview, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said he would like to make his team younger but will only do it if it makes them better according to Kristie Ackert of The New York Daily News. "In theory, I want us to get younger and better, but in reality, that’s not always realistic," he said.
- Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun lists ten free agents who could be fits for the Orioles next season, from stars like Josh Hamilton to role players like Jeff Keppinger.
Managerial Notes: Marlins, Farrell, Rockies
John Farrell met with the Boston media today, two days after the official completion of the long-awaited deal between the Red Sox and Blue Jays. Farrell explained that he intends to be more passionate in recommending player moves, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links). Farrell added that Blue Jays president Paul Beeston and general manager Alex Anthopoulos were understanding about his desire to leave Toronto for Boston. Here are some more managerial links from around MLB…
- Mike Redmond appears to be a strong frontrunner for the Marlins job while Bryan Price is also in the mix, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Redmond currently manages the Blue Jays' Class A-Advanced affiliate in Dunedin, Florida.
- Former Rockies, Dodgers and Pirates manager Jim Tracy and former Nationals and Indians manager Manny Acta are entrants in the managerial sweepstakes in Toronto, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reports. Tracy, Acta, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Don Wakamatsu are among the leading candidates for the Blue Jays position, Elliott writes.
- Former Blue Jays first base coach Torey Lovullo will become Boston's bench coach, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. Lovullo has experience managing the Triple-A affiliate of the Red Sox.
- The Rockies will start interviewing outside managerial candidates in the coming days, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports (Twitter links). Jason Giambi, one of the candidates in Colorado, was very impressive in his interview, and bench coach Tom Runnells has also interviewed for the position.
- The Cubs named David Bell their third base coach and named James Rowson their permanent hitting coach.
Red Sox Notes: Ortiz, Ross, Farrell, Cherington
Earlier today, the Red Sox (re-)introduced John Farrell to the Boston media, two days after sending Mike Aviles north of the border to free him from the manager from his contract with the Blue Jays. Here's more on the Red Sox..
- In an interview with NBC's Bob Costas, former Red Sox skipper Bobby Valentine opined that David Ortiz quit on the team after their blockbuster deal with the Dodgers, writes Matthew Pouliot of HardballTalk. "He realized that this trade meant that we’re not going to run this race and we’re not even going to finish the race properly and he decided not to play anymore. I think at that time it was all downhill from there," said Valentine. The slugger is currently working to iron out a new deal with Boston.
- Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter) found it interesting that Farrell mentioned Cody Ross right away when asked about players that he has reached out to. Ross is set to hit the open market after turning in a strong campaign on a one-year, $3MM deal.
- There has been talk that the Blue Jays are upset with the Red Sox over what they perceive as tampering in the courtship of John Farrell, but GM Ben Cherington says that nothing of the sort took place, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. "I can say definitively that wherever that speculation was coming from, it wasn't coming from me. The only conversations I had about the situation were directly to [CEO] Paul [Beeston] and [GM] Alex [Anthopoulos]'s until Saturday, when I got a chance to talk to John," said Cherington.
- The solid relationship and familiarity between Cherington and Farrell will be key to the club's success going forward, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
Latest On Shohei Otani
Shohei Otani, the Japanese pitching prospect who intends to pursue a career in MLB, appears to be an elite talent comparable to those selected in the top half of the first round of baseball’s amateur draft. The right-hander had been a potential first overall pick in Japan before he announced his intention to play for an MLB organization. And, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America, Dodgers assistant GM Logan White told Japanese reporters that Otani could go first overall if he were eligible for the MLB draft.
However, the 18-year-old free agent won’t be draft eligible. Otani will be subject to spending restrictions as an international amateur, which means teams will face consequences if they exceed the $2.9MM international bonus threshold to sign him. Teams will be taxed at a rate of 100% for exceeding the 2.9MM threshold by more than 15%. These clubs would also forfeit the right to spend more than $250K on an international player during the following year’s signing period.
Callis suggests these restrictions won’t be too much of a deterrent for interested MLB teams. Boston GM Ben Cherington confirmed today that the Red Sox met with Otani, Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports (on Twitter). The Red Sox and Rangers “have done the most work in this arena,” ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported today. Meanwhile, the Angels aren’t expected to be heavily involved, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reports (on Twitter).
Olney On Braves, Cano, Otani
The latest from ESPN.com’s Buster Olney…
- Brian McCann’s $12MM option for 2013 no longer seems as appealing as it once did, Olney writes. The Braves are working to address many offseason needs with a modest payroll and McCann's recent shoulder surgery was more extensive than expected. Olney points out that the Braves could attempt to negotiate a deal at a lower salary or exercise the option and trade McCann to a team such as the Rangers or Yankees. Of course the Braves could simply bring the catcher back for another season in the hopes that his shoulder recovers.
- Next year’s free agent class might be light on impact talent other than Robinson Cano, Olney writes. In general it probably doesn’t make sense to expect stacked free agent classes at a time that teams are locking up players to extensions that cover their prime years.
- Japanese pitching prospect Shohei Otani intends to pursue a career in MLB, and a number of teams are interested in the hard-throwing right-hander. The Red Sox and Rangers “have done the most work in this arena,” according to Olney.
Coaching Links: Mariners, Ausmus, Giambi, Alomar
John Farrell is back in a Red Sox uniform, but that's far from the only managerial and coaching news we'll see this offseason. Here's the latest on some of the open situations throughout the league…
- The Mariners have announced the hiring of Dave Hansen as their hitting coach, writes MLB.com's Greg Johns. Hansen, who has been serving as the Dodgers' hitting coach, finished his Major League career with the Mariners in 2005. In parts of 15 seasons, he batted .260/.360/.369.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock spoke with Brad Ausmus earlier today and was told that Ausmus is happy where he's at and isn't currently pursuing another position (Twitter link). Ausmus has been a popular name among managerial candidates.
- Jason Giambi is a real candidate to manage the Rockies next season and would make a good Major League manager, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Renck runs down several players he's covered throughout the years that thinks could also step into a managerial role with success, including Matt Holliday and Todd Helton. Renck also notes that a decision from the Rox could come prior to the start of the World Series, as MLB frowns on major announcements being made during the Fall Classic.
- As of this afternoon, Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. had not received a call about interviewing to replace former Blue Jays manager John Farrell, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that if Blue Jays first base coach Torey Lovullo follows Farrell to the Red Sox, it would likely be to serve as Farrell's bench coach.
AL East Notes: Lovullo, Rodriguez, Lowe
John Farrell has officially joined the Red Sox after many months of intense speculation. Here are some links, starting in Boston with Farrell’s new team…
- Blue Jays first base coach Torey Lovullo is a strong candidate to join Farrell with the Red Sox, perhaps as the team's bench coach, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports. We heard lots about the possibilities for Lovullo yesterday.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman acknowledged that Alex Rodriguez is not a superstar, but said he's still an "above-average" player, Peter Botte of the New York Daily News reports. The GM repeated that a deal involving Rodriguez seems "unrealistic." The 37-year-old has five years and $114MM remaining on a contract that includes no-trade protection.
- Derek Lowe, who pitched out of the bullpen for the Yankees down the stretch, says he would like to start again in 2013, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Lowe hits free agency this offseason and probably won't interest the Yankees as a starter in the estimation of Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues.
- Andruw Jones, who also hits free agency this offseason, said he intends to play for four more years, according to King.
Farrell Reactions: Red Sox, Blue Jays, Aviles
After months of speculation, the Red Sox finally got their man in Blue Jays skipper John Farrell. Several names were floated about as potential bait for Toronto, but the Blue Jays wound up receiving shortstop Mike Aviles in the compensation deal. Here's a look at some of the reactions to the move..
- The loss of Aviles is not an insignificant one for the Red Sox, according to the Boston Globe's Pete Abraham. Aviles could have been a solid player off the bench next season, capable of backing up three infield positions and even playing some outfield, plus he was one of the most professional and accountable players on the team, setting an example for the young players, writes Abraham.
- In a separate article, Abraham says now the Red Sox have their manager, the real work starts for GM Ben Cherington, who must fill in the holes on the roster and hire a coaching staff.
- The Blue Jays were willing to let Farrell go in part because keeping him would have meant giving him a multi-year extension, and he hadn't earned that, writes Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star. The club wasn't eager to do that in part because of the team's lack of on-field discipline in the 2012 season.
- If Farrell is such a good manager, Scott Miller of CBSSports.com wonders why the Blue Jays would allow him to walk for relatively little. However, Miller spoke with one highly respected person close to the Blue Jays who insists that Toronto's struggles were not Farrell's fault and that he will develop into a very fine manager one day.
- There are suggestions that first base coach Torey Lovullo, third base coach Brian Butterfield, and extra coach Luis Rivera may now follow Farrell to the Red Sox, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. GM Alex Anthopoulos confirmed all coaches are "free to talk" with other organizations because none of them are under contract beyond this season, tweets MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm.
- The Red Sox deserve credit for being decisive and moving quickly to grab the manager that they wanted all along, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Boston's sacrifice of Aviles also seems especially mild given that the Blue Jays supposedly asked for Clay Buchholz in return for Farrell last winter.
- Toronto was furious with what they perceived to be tampering on the part of Boston, but they were wise to move past it, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Olney adds that Torey Lovullo is likely to be a prominent candidate for the Jays' managerial job as he is highly regarded in the organization.
- With a new manager in place, General Manager Ben Cherington's neck is now on the line, opines Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
- The Blue Jays would do well to turn around and hire Brad Ausmus, opines Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). The Red Sox hiring team indicated to Cafardo that Ausmus was very impressive during the process.
- Rules mandate that both teams receive a player in such a deal, but whoever the Sox get from the Blue Jays is expected to be marginal, writes Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.
- In getting Aviles as compensation, the Blue Jays seemingly followed the Lou Pinella-Randy Winn precedent from 2002, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
- Look for Lovullo to join Farrell in Boston as the team's new bench coach according to an industry source, tweets Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
- The reaction by current Red Sox players to Sunday's managerial hiring has been been completely different than how the team responded to Bobby Valentine's arrival in Boston last fall, tweets Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe.
Edward Creech and Daniel Seco contributed to this post.
Red Sox Hire John Farrell
The Red Sox have announced the hiring of John Farrell as their new manager and his agreement to a three-year deal that will run through 2015. As compensation to the Blue Jays, to whom Farrell was under contract through 2013, the Red Sox traded shortstop Mike Aviles for right-hander David Carpenter.
The Red Sox confirmed in their press release they sought and received permission from the Blue Jays to talk directly to Farrell and made the agreement late last night. Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told reporters, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter), that Farrell approached him one week after the season to tell him, if the opportunity to manage in Boston came up, he wanted to pursue it calling it a dream job.
"I’m extremely excited to be returning to the Red Sox and to Boston," said Farrell in the Red Sox's statement. "I love this organization. It’s a great franchise in a special city and region, with great fans, and we want nothing more than to reward their faith in us."
"We are thrilled to name John Farrell as our new manager," said Executive Vice-President/General Manager Ben Cherington, who made the announcement. "John has been a major league pitcher, front office executive, coach, and manager. His broad set of experiences, and exceptional leadership skills, make him the ideal person to lead our team. I have known him in various capacities throughout my career, and I hold him in the highest regard as a baseball man and as a person."
Aviles saw his role reduced towards the end of the season in Boston as the club slotted Jose Iglesias in as the starting shortstop for the bulk of September. The 31-year-old took a step back offensively in 2012 as he hit just .250/.282/.381 with 13 homers. In parts of five big league seasons for the Royals and Red Sox, Aviles owns a .277/.308/.408 batting line. Aviles, who earned $1.2MM last season, will head to arbitration once again this winter and is set to hit the open market after the 2014 season.
This marks the second time that Carpenter has been traded this year, as he went from the Astros to Toronto in a ten-player deal this summer. The 27-year-old appeared in 33 games for the two clubs last season, posting a 8.07 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9. He also had a 3.08 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 23 Triple-A appearances.
Boston had been linked to Farrell, their former pitching coach, ever since Bobby Valentine appeared to be losing his grip on the club this year. Meanwhile, Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos repeatedly deflected questions about the possibility of Farrell returning to the Red Sox and even instituted a club policy of blocking personnel from leaving for a lateral move.
Two compensation deals for baseball decision makers were completed last season. Theo Epstein went from the Red Sox over to the Cubs' front office while manager Ozzie Guillen was traded from the White Sox to the Marlins. The White Sox received Double-A reliever Jhan Marinez and Triple-A shortstop Ozzie Martinez for their skipper. While both were ranked highly within the Marlins' farm system, neither player is viewed as an elite prospect. Meanwhile, the Cubs and Red Sox had a long protracted battle over what Epstein's compensation package should be before finally agreeing upon pitching prospects Chris Carpenter and Aaron Kurcz going to Boston for Jair Bogaerts.
Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com (via Twitter) was the first to break the news of Farrell's hiring. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com first reported the inclusion of Aviles and, along with colleague Alex Speier, Carpenter.
Edward Creech contributed to this post.
Cafardo On Mets, Davis, Lincecum, Peavy
The Yankees are obviously frustrated with how their 2012 campaign turned out, but an American League General Manager told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that they won't have to blow things up the way that the Red Sox did in order to improve. “[I] don’t think they necessarily have to hit rock bottom like Boston to get better," said the GM. "We always said you can’t do that in Boston, but it happened. We always say that can’t happen with the Yankees, so I guess we’ll see. But I just see Brian Cashman trying to get this team younger while still competing. That’s what I think will happen.” Here's more from today's column..
- We've heard that the Mets will be open to trading Ike Davis, but special assistant J.P. Ricciardi would be shocked to see any movement on the first baseman. Davis has often been linked to the Red Sox and the Rays would also be a fit. Tampa Bay could certainly afford to part ways with a pitcher in order to improve their offense.
- Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum will be available in trade and it will be interesting to see what kind of market develops for him. The Giants say his problems were strictly mechanical, but other teams wonder why his fastball dipped from around 96 mph to 92 mph for most of the season. The 28-year-old is due $22MM in the final year of his deal.
- The White Sox will decline Jake Peavy's $22MM option for 2013 and one National League GM sees him fetching a three-year deal worth $36-40MM on the open market. Understandably, the GM cautioned that team doctors would have to do a thorough check on him despite the fact that he stayed healthy this past season.
- Ricciardi's deal with the Mets is up but he expects to return. So far, no one has inquired on him as a GM candidate or something close, though he says he would like to return to the front office.