Andrew Miller’s Contract Was Reworked
Major League Baseball initially approved Andrew Miller’s contract with the Red Sox, but ended up objecting to the deal and it was reworked, WEEI.com’s Alex Speier reports. However, the Red Sox don’t have to worry about losing the left-hander, who has emerged as a valuable piece of their pitching staff in the past two months.
Miller’s minor league deal with Boston initially included a $3MM option for 2012 that would become guaranteed if another team claimed Miller off of waivers. The option had apparently been designed to deter rival teams from claiming the former first rounder, but it was removed from the agreed upon contract after MLB objected.
Given Miller’s importance to the Red Sox – he has put together consecutive strong starts – and the upcoming expansion of rosters, it seems highly unlikely that Boston would expose him to waivers by sending him to the minors.
Instead, Miller will likely remain with the Red Sox for the remainder of 2011 and then some. He’s arbitration eligible next year (working from a $1.2MM salary) and it appears that the Red Sox will tender him a contract, as Speier explains. The 26-year-old has a 4.42 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 in 55 innings this year.
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Yankees, Maddon
Links from the AL East before some of the division's top pitchers – Josh Beckett, C.C. Sabathia and Ricky Romero – start for their respective teams…
- Red Sox owner John Henry told John Tomase of the Boston Herald that chatter about GM Theo Epstein and the Cubs shows "how highly regarded Theo is by the media and baseball in general.”
- Prospective free agent David Ortiz tells Yahoo’s Jeff Passan that his ability to tune criticism out helps him perform on the field. “I’m not a five-tool player. I may be a two-tool player. But one of them tools is this one right here,” he said, pointing to his head.
- Bartolo Colon has slowed down, so the Yankees figure to rely on Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova more than ever, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes.
- MLB players consider Joe Maddon of the Rays the manager they'd most like to play for, according to a recent Sports Illustrated poll. Red Sox manager Terry Francona placed second in the poll and Yankees manager Joe Girardi placed seventh. Having a popular manager in place no doubt helps teams trying to attract free agents or sign players to long-term extensions.
Cubs Notes: Pena, Epstein, Soriano
Carlos Pena has been claimed off of waivers by an unknown team. Here’s the latest on the Cubs, starting with an update on their first baseman…
- The Cubs are likely to pull Pena back off of waivers, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). They did not get good offers for Pena in July.
- Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken told Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com that he didn't know Jim Hendry had been fired until the day the Cubs announced their decision. Wilken and Hendry played baseball as teenagers and Hendry brought his friend to the Cubs years later.
- MLB executives explained to ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the Cubs' GM job is an opportunity with enormous potential. Olney suggests the Cubs could consider the likes of Brian Cashman, Billy Beane, Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman for the opening, though it's not yet clear who they're targeting.
- Peter Gammons said on WEEI's Mut & Merloni show that he thinks Epstein would have interest in the Cubs' job. Interest doesn't mean it's time for Red Sox fans to get worried, though. Jerry Spar of WEEI.com has the details from Gammons.
- Alfonso Soriano told Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes that he doesn't regret signing a free agent deal with the Cubs, even though the last three years have been disappointing for the team (link in Spanish).
Arbitration Eligibles: Boston Red Sox
We looked at the Orioles yesterday; now it's time to discuss Red Sox players who will be eligible for arbitration after the season.
- First time: Andrew Miller, Alfredo Aceves, Mike Aviles, Daniel Bard, Jed Lowrie, Franklin Morales
- Second time: Jacoby Ellsbury, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Rich Hill
- Third time: Matt Albers
Aceves and Bard seem likely to be arbitration eligible as Super Two players. My non-tender candidates are Miller, Aviles, and Hill. Miller projects to an arbitration salary around $1.7MM; I'm not sure how his club option compares to that. Aviles hasn't done much with Boston, and I'm not sure whether they value him around $1.5MM. Hill, who had Tommy John surgery in June, is probably someone the Sox could non-tender and then re-sign to a minor league deal.
Ellsbury is easily the team's biggest case. His MVP-caliber campaign, coupled with his stolen base tally, could result in a salary over $6MM by our calculations. That'd exceed even Hunter Pence's second-time raise won through a hearing last year. The Boras Corporation probably won't be shy about trying to set a new precedent. Most of the team's other arbitration eligibles project to make less than $2MM.
AL East Notes: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Darvish
The Blue Jays completed a trade with the Diamondbacks today, sending Aaron Hill and John McDonald to Arizona for Kelly Johnson. Here's the latest news from the AL East, starting with a note on today's trade…
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio that Hill and McDonald cleared waivers earlier in the month (Twitter link). The deal started when Arizona GM Kevin Towers called about McDonald.
- Anthopoulos says he acquired Johnson from the D'Backs to get an up-close look at him before deciding how aggressively to pursue him this offseason when he hits free agency, according to Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com takes us inside Boston's front office in a must-read look at how the Red Sox approached the signing deadline. “Between 11:50 and 12 it was straight chaos,” one person told Speier. “Five people were on the phone at the same time with five different agents negotiating five different deals.”
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains that MLB teams, even rich ones like the Yankees, have to develop their own starting pitching, since the few elite starters who do reach free agency are prohibitively expensive.
- The Yankees have scouted Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish heavily, according to Sherman. Darvish, 25, "is coming" to the Major Leagues this offseason, according to one of Sherman's sources.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Randy Williams
Here are the latest players to get outrighted to the minors…
- Randy Williams cleared waivers and the Red Sox outrighted him to Triple-A, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (on Twitter). The Red Sox designated the 35-year-old lefty for assignment last week to create roster space for Ryan Lavarnway.
Quick Hits: Davis, Marlins, Draft
The Rangers beat the Orioles 30-3 on this date four years ago. In one of the most bizarre statistical quirks in recent memory, Rangers reliever Wes Littleton actually picked up a save in the game. Here are today's links, starting with an update on Texas and Baltimore…
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels reached out to Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail when he heard about Chris Davis' strained shoulder, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The Orioles, who obtained Davis from Texas in a trade late last month, haven't had serious talks about reworking the deal, according to Sullivan. Daniels says the sides could revisit the trade at some point, though.
- Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says it's doubtful that the Marlins would allow president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest to interview for the Cubs' GM opening (Twitter link).
- The Nationals, D'Backs, Red Sox, Pirates and Rays had the best drafts this year, Jim Callis writes at Baseball America.
Cubs Rumors: Zambrano, Aramis, GM Search
Before the Cubs can moving on their offseason, they face big decisions in their next GM, what to do with Carlos Zambrano, and how to handle Aramis Ramirez's $16MM club option. The latest on each situation:
- Cubs owner Tom Ricketts told ESPN's Dan Shulman last night that he found it hard to imagine Zambrano would ever pitch for the Cubs again. Buster Olney points out that the Cubs would have to reinstate or move Zambrano before the end of the season, should the pitcher win his grievance. On Tuesday, I presented 11 scenarios the Cubs could consider in their attempts to move Zambrano.
- Ramirez would have been "pretty much a slam dunk" to return to the Cubs next year under Jim Hendry, his agent Paul Kinzer tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. But now, Ramirez plans to step back, see who the Cubs hire, and also see what's out there on the free agent market. With his resurgent season, Ramirez may be the only viable free agent starting third baseman, and would be hard for the Cubs to replace.
- The Cubs have reached out to front office member Greg Maddux about remaining in the organization, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Maddux is close to Hendry. As for the team's GM post, Sullivan writes, "The names of Josh Byrnes, Andrew Friedman and even Theo Epstein have also come up in conversation. While the Red Sox are unlikely to let Epstein out of his contract with a year remaining, the Cubs seem interested enough to explore the possibility."
- Hendry, who Sullivan speculates could land in Arizona working under Kevin Towers, is off the hook for the Alfonso Soriano signing in the opinion of Wittenmyer. Wittenmyer says then-president John McDonough drove that disastrous contract.
- Ricketts said on Friday that he seeks a GM with a commitment to player development, a stronger analytical background, and a track record of success. I expect him to look into big-name current GMs like Epstein, Friedman, and Jon Daniels first. Those guys will probably stay put, at which point I can see Ben Cherington, Thad Levine, and Jerry Dipoto being candidates. Click here to see our top 20 GM candidates, among those who have not yet held that position permanently.
- ESPN's Jon Greenberg is "convinced the Cubs will be run by a forward-thinking general manager with a strong emphasis on advanced statistics, and reliance on cheap, farm system labor." I think the stats thing is a big factor – teams tend to go in the opposite direction from the previous guy.
- Talking to Wittenmyer, Cubs interim GM Randy Bush said he could see a lot of the team's front office members keep their jobs.
Rosenthal’s Full Count: Cubs, Zimmerman, Minor, Rox, Span
Ken Rosenthal has his weekly Full Count Video up over at FOXSports.com, so let's take a look:
- All GMs — past, present, and prospective — would love a crack at the Cubs' recent opening, says Rosenthal. Some GMs who are in their last contractual year, like Brian Cashman of the Yankees, line up better than others. Rosenthal feels the Rays might let Chicago interview Andrew Friedman, but finds it highly unlikely that the Red Sox would allow the Cubs to interview Theo Epstein, who is under contract through 2012.
- While the Nationals have spent almost $40MM on the Amateur Draft in the past three seasons, Rosenthal says they'd be wise to check in with their first draft pick ever: Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman is controlled through 2013, but Rosenthal likens him to another prominent young star, saying that Zimmerman is to the Nats what Troy Tulowitzki is to the Rockies. He feels the Nats should approach their cornerstone about a similar extension before he gets so close to free agency that he considers testing it.
- The Mets were far from the only team interested in Mike Minor at the July 31st trade deadline. The Indians offered the Drew Pomeranz to the Braves in exchange for Minor, thinking that with Atlanta trying to acquire Hunter Pence at the time, the Astros may prefer Pomeranz to Minor. Cleveland would get a more Major League-ready arm in return, but the Braves had no intention of dealing Minor.
- The Rockies will look to add a big bat this winter, preferably at third base or a corner outfield spot. If they can find a third baseman despite a weak market, they may be inclined to pursue a leadoff hitter like the Twins' Denard Span. Rosenthal says the Rox have long coveted Span, and almost drafted him in 2002, but instead took Jeff Francis due to concerns over Span's asking price. Minnesota grabbed Span 11 picks later at No. 20 overall, though they showed a willingness to move him at this year's deadline when negotiating with the Nats.
GM Candidate: Ben Cherington
MLBTR’s list of general manager candidates introduced 20 people who were identified by their peers as potential Major League GMs. We’re now going to bring you closer to the candidates with a series of pieces. Today the series continues with Red Sox executive Ben Cherington.
When Red Sox assistant GM Ben Cherington started his baseball career with the Indians in 1998 he was essentially the least experienced person in a front office filled with rising stars. He has since become one of the top executives in Theo Epstein’s front office and is now considered a GM candidate himself.
Cherington joined the Red Sox when Dan Duquette was GM and credits Duquette for trusting his eye for talent, both as an area scout and, later on, in Latin America. In the nine years or so since Epstein became Boston’s GM, Cherington has taken on more responsibility and now assists in player acquisitions, arbitration, quantitative analysis and scouting.
I spoke to him yesterday; here are some highlights from our conversation:
