The Brewers fired manager Ned Yost today, replacing him with third base coach Dale Sveum for the rest of the season. The timing is bizarre – the Brewers have not been playing well lately, but they are currently tied for the wild card with 12 games left to play. Tom Haudricourt thinks the decision to fire Yost came from the top.
Brewers Rumors
Week in Review: 9/7 – 9/13
Just a few weeks left in the regular season, but plenty of news here on MLBTR still. Let’s look back at the past week:
- The Mets received terrible news when they learned that their All-Star closer, Billy Wagner, will need Tommy John surgery and miss all of 2009. Wagner does not expect to return to the Mets, and apparently the Mets have already told him his 2010 option will not be exercised. The Mets seem likely to be in the Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes mix. On that note, Fuentes will probably not return to Colorado next season.
- I’m taking this one with a grain of salt, but it sure makes for a headline: Mark McGwire would consider playing again? Big Mac says he can still hit if someone wants him. However, it seems to me there’s another 40-something former slugger with steroid allegations who says the same thing, and no one’s biting on that front…
- Adam Dunn hasn’t heard anything about a possible extension from the Diamondbacks, but he’s not worried about it. He doesn’t sound too pleased with former teammate Bronson Arroyo these days, however…
- Speaking of Dunn, the Reds officially acquired Micah Owings as part of their trade of him this week.
- Tim updated the Offseason Outlook series, with installments for the Nationals, Royals, and Pirates. He also took a look at some of the potential big-name free agents following the 2009 season.
- The Elias Rankings for American League and National League relievers are out.
- Two minor moves: The A’s released designated hitter Mike Sweeney, and the Brewers claimed pitcher Todd Coffey.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Hudson, Ordonez, Fielder, Howard
Let’s swing through Ken Rosenthal’s latest column.
- Rosenthal names the Mets, Yankees, Rangers, White Sox, Indians, Rockies, and Cardinals as speculative fits for free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson. Obviously several of those scenarios would involve shuffling players to other positions or trades. The Yankees’ infield defense could certainly use the boost.
- Rosenthal considers Frank Wren’s midseason trip to Japan a sign that he might be active in that market.
- The Tigers may shop Magglio Ordonez for pitching this winter. Maggs will need fewer than 500 plate appearances next year to cause his 2010 and 2011 options to vest. So he’s essentially owed $48MM over three years.
- Don’t forget two other sluggers who may be available this winter: Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard. It works well for the Brewers and Phillies, as the free agent market is weak at first base.
Odds and Ends: Sabathia, Pavano, Penny, Burnett
Random links to start the morning…
- Ben Shpigel says Billy Wagner’s $10.5MM for ’09 is not covered by insurance, making the Mets unlikely suitors for K-Rod (hat tip to MetsBlog).
- The Padres claimed knuckleballer Charlie Haeger. You have to like the move; he’s only 24.
- Ken Davidoff writes about Nationals pitcher Tim Redding, who dreams about returning to the Yankees one day.
- Davidoff also says that contrary to popular belief, C.C. Sabathia did not buy a home in Southern California.
- In another post, Davidoff lists the worst trades of ’08.
- Nats GM Jim Bowden will probably bring in a veteran first baseman next year due to health concerns with Nick Johnson and Dmitri Young.
- Not much cooking on the Pedro Alvarez front…Bud Selig testified yesterday, and the next part of the hearing isn’t until September 23rd.
- Andrew Baggarly explains Bengie Molina’s contentious relationship with the Giants.
- From Saturday: Carl Pavano’s side of the story. Can Pavano be a useful pitcher next year?
- Larry Borowsky would like to see the Cardinals enterain an extension for Todd Wellemeyer. He’s eligible for free agency after the ’09 season.
- Joel Sherman isn’t sure the Yankees will invite Andy Pettitte back next year.
- Brad Penny says he pitched through a shoulder injury because of uncertainty around his ’09 option.
- Interesting fact…A.J. Burnett is second in MLB with 3286 pitches thrown (Sabathia jumped into the lead last night). Many of the ’07 leaders in pitches thrown came down with injuries this year.
- Michael O’Keefe sits down with agent Scott Boras.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney notes that the Blue Jays will pursue a shortstop this winter.
- All you ever wanted to know about Dr. James Andrews.
- Jed Hoyer explains where Curt Schilling learned his negotiating tactics.
Brewers Claim Todd Coffey
WEDNESDAY: According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Brewers claimed Coffey off waivers and designated Laynce Nix for assignment. With the Nix move, the Brewers’ summer ’06 bounty for Carlos Lee is all pretty much gone. They do have pitcher Jake Odorizzi, picked 32nd overall as compensation for Cordero.
TUESDAY: According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds designated reliever Todd Coffey for assignment today. On his 28th birthday, no less. Coffey did a fine job in ’06 (even closing for a brief period), but has struggled since.
Coffey was known for his sprint in from the bullpen, but apparently he abandoned the practice last year. This year, Coffey dropped 25 pounds in the offseason but subsequently lost a mile per hour off his fastball.
Heyman’s Latest: Hawpe, Pavano, Fuentes, Lowe
Let’s dig into the latest columns from SI.com’s Jon Heyman, found here and here.
- Brad Hawpe had choice words in response to team criticism from Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd.
- Heyman says Carl Pavano tried to "weasel out of" paying his former agent $2MM in commission from his current contract, signed in December of ’04. You get the impression Pavano is not well-liked among members of the media.
- Heyman wonders if Rickie Weeks could be the odd man out in the Milwaukee infield next year.
- The Mets are more likely to pursue Brian Fuentes than Francisco Rodriguez this winter. K-Rod’s agent hinted that his client would be a good fit in L.A. or New York, but the Mets will have to make the rotation their priority.
- Heyman says Derek Lowe prefers the East Coast.
- Heyman figures A.J. Burnett will consider the $24MM remaining on his contract "pocket change," and will surely opt out.
Sabathia Compensation Situation
Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer details an interesting arrangement between the Brewers and Indians regarding the player to be named later in the C.C. Sabathia trade (hat tip to Anthony Castrovince). Hoynes says the Indians get to choose the player if the Brewers make the playoffs; otherwise, the Brewers choose. The Brewers have roughly a 70-80% chance of making the playoffs, according to Baseball Prospectus.
Hoynes says the candidates include four possible players, with outfielder Michael Brantley and third baseman Taylor Green among them. Baseball America had Green ranked ahead of Brantley heading into the season, but it seems pretty close.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Mets, Brewers, Astros
Ken Rosenthal has a lot to offer in his latest Full Count video:
- The Mets will prefer to pickup Carlos Delgado’s $12MM option rather than buy him out for $4MM. That’s a guarantee for a guy who should finish the year around 35-100 despite not contributing for the first two months.
- According to sources, Manny Ramirez is unlikely to go the Mets. They will more likely focus their spending on pitching. John Maine has a bone spur in his right shoulder. Pedro Martinez and Oliver Perez are free agents. The Mets will need to go after starting pitching.
- If the Mets go after Francisco Rodriguez, would they dangle Billy Wagner on the trade market in his contract year?
- If the Astros sign Ben Sheets and Randy Wolf, they’d become immediate contenders, if not division favorites.
- To recoup the loss of Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia, the Brewers might want to trade J.J. Hardy or even Prince Fielder for a pitcher to join Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra, and Dave Bush. I can’t see them trading Fielder and a lot will be determined by how they fare in the playoffs.
- Casey Blake will be in high demand this offseason. As a third baseman, his only real competition is the fragile Joe Crede. Blake can play 1B, 3B, RF and LF. He’s a good fit for the Dodgers to re-sign but, according to Rosenthal, he may want to go closer to his Iowa home.
Stark’s Latest: Cain, Beltre, Burrell, Wigginton
Let’s take a look at the latest column from ESPN’s Jayson Stark.
- Stark wonders why no one has questioned MLB’s apparent trade deadline extension for the Manny Ramirez deal.
- Currently the idea of the Brewers swapping Prince Fielder for Matt Cain is just fun speculation. However, it is true the Brewers will listen on Fielder (he is about to get expensive). The Giants are known to like the big first baseman. The hangup is Brian Sabean’s reported unwillingness to trade Tim Lincecum or Cain.
- The Giants also have their eye on Adrian Beltre. The Mariners want starting pitching, but one year of Beltre is not equal to four of Jonathan Sanchez.
- The Phillies still don’t want to go past two guaranteed years for Pat Burrell. Stark points out another complication – Burrell would gain 10-and-5 rights early in a Phillies contract. Any NL team inking Burrell for four years is a risky proposition given his defense. If Burrell leaves the Phillies, Stark doesn’t expect the team to sign a major free agent as his replacement.
- The Indians deserve props for acquiring Anthony Reyes. Let’s not overdo it though – it’s only been five starts, and his strikeout rate is just 4.0 per nine in Cleveland.
- The Indians talked to multiple teams about Cliff Lee last winter. Interestingly, they thought the hardest about swapping him for Carlos Quentin.
- The Astros were quite willing to trade Ty Wigginton, prior to his massive August.
Odds And Ends: Taveras, Brewers, Kent
A few notes from around the MLBiverse…
- Troy E. Renck says Willy Taveras prefers to stay with the Rockies, despite being claimed off waivers. Taveras speculates that he was claimed by either the Yankees or the Nationals. Renck says it is unlikely that Taveras will be traded during the season.
- Tom Haudricourt is reporting that the Brewers don’t expect to make any deals prior to tonight’s deadline to acquire players that would be eligible for the post-season.
- Tony Jackson of the LA Daily News is reporting that Jeff Kent’s knee injury could be career-ending. Kent is contemplating retirement following the season. He is not signed for ’09.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
