AL East Notes: Ortiz, Cherington, Swisher, Rays
The Red Sox' reputation may have been damaged in recent weeks, but Shi Davidi of Rogers Sportsnet writes that Boston isn't going to suddenly stop being a major force in the AL East. Some other notes from around the division….
- David Ortiz wouldn't be a fit with the Yankees, writes Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Ortiz called the Yankee organization "a great situation" earlier today, but Feinsand points out that Ortiz wouldn't be willing to come to New York only as a part-time designated hitter. The Yankees still need to give some DH at-bats to Alex Rodriguez and Jesus Montero, so Ortiz wouldn't be able to play every day.
- Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd, who worked with incoming Red Sox GM Ben Cherington in Cleveland, praised Cherington's humility and experience to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
- Josh Beckett may not be a popular figure in Boston right now, but Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe thinks the Red Sox would be foolish to trade the right-hander given the club's need for pitching.
- Mike Axisa of the River Ave Blues blog thinks that Nick Swisher's $10.25MM option for next season is an obvious pickup for the Yankees, even if New York picks up the option with the intent of trading Swisher elsewhere.
- The Rays want to add a big hitter this winter, but won't do so at the expense of their core of pitching and defense, reports MLB.com's Bill Chastain. "If you add offense, more than likely you're detracting from the defense," said Andrew Friedman. "So we're not going to do things where it's a net neutral move, or even to where we take a step back."
- Rays owner Stuart Sternberg has been open about how critical a new stadium is to his franchise's future in the Tampa Bay area, but Fangraphs' Alex Remington gives several reasons why the Rays won't be leaving Tampa and/or Tropicana Field anytime soon.
- Joe Jordan, formerly the Orioles' director of amateur scouting, talks to MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski about his seven years in Baltimore. Jordan was hired yesterday as the Phillies' new director of player development.
- Unsurprisingly, the Orioles are holding off on any coaching and front office staffing decisions until their new head of baseball operations is hired, reports Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Reegie Corona
The Astros outrighted three players to Triple-A earlier today. Here are the rest of the day's outrights…
- The Yankees reinstated Reegie Corona from the 60-day disabled list and outrighted him to Triple-A, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues predicted earlier in the week that the Yankees would likely remove Corona from their 40-man roster. The 24-year-old infielder has a .259/.333/.344 line in seven seasons as a minor leaguer, but he spent 2011 on the disabled list.
Manager/GM Notes: Epstein, Sandberg, Cashman
The Cubs are on the brink of completing a deal with the GM Theo Epstein and the Red Sox. Here are the details and more managerial and GM notes from around MLB…
- MLB.com's Carrie Muskat hears that chairman Tom Ricketts is handling compensation discussions for the Cubs. However, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that assistant GMs Ben Cherington and Randy Bush will do most of the negotiating with upper management signing off on the expected agreement.
- John Dennis of WEEI hears that the Red Sox and Cubs won't start talks about compensation for Epstein until today (link via Rob Bradford of WEEI.com).
- Epstein will earn $3MM or more on his new deal with the Cubs, but it still falls short of what Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski earns, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links). Heyman noted earlier this week that Dombrowski, one of baseball's longest-tenured GMs, earns about $5MM.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times hears that the Cubs expect a reconciliation with Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg this week. Epstein interviewed Sandberg for Boston's Triple-A managerial position last offseason, but Sandberg turned the job down to manage in the Phillies' system. Cubs manager Mike Quade is under contract through 2012.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains the challenges GMs face in Boston and New York. One MLB executive is amazed that Yankees GM Brian Cashman has continued to do his job under such intense pressure for more than a decade.
David Ortiz Talks Yankees, Red Sox
David Ortiz recently hinted that the offseason could get even more tumultuous for the Red Sox. The designated hitter, who will be eligible for free agency after the World Series, suggested to ESPN's Colleen Dominguez that he would fit into the Yankees’ culture.
"It's great from what I hear," he said. "It's a good situation to be involved in. Who doesn't want to be involved in a great situation where everything goes the right way?”
Ortiz says there's "too much drama" in Boston these days and acknowledged that he's thinking about moving on. “I don't know if I want to be part of this drama for next year."
Ortiz projects as a Type A free agent, which means teams will have to surrender a top pick to sign him if he turns down an offer of arbitration from the Red Sox. The 35-year-old completed his ninth season in Boston with 29 home runs and a .309/.398/.554 line.
The Yankees don't need a designated hitter this offseason. Alex Rodriguez and Jesus Montero could DH on a semi-regular basis and manager Joe Girardi could also use the spot to provide tired or banged up players with a partial day off.
Quick Hits: Sizemore, Carmona, Pujols, Wilson, Nova
Wednesday night linkage..
- The Indians plan to take their time in deciding whether to pick up the options on Grady Sizemore and Fausto Carmona, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Sizemore, who underwent surgery on his right knee earlier this month, has a club option worth $9MM with a $500K buyout while Carmona's option is worth $7MM for next season.
- The Cardinals are hopeful that the good feelings from this postseason might carry over into the Albert Pujols negotiations this winter, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.
- Even though the Marlins are expected to spend this offseason, Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel (via Twitter) doesn't like their chances of landing Pujols or C.J. Wilson.
- If Yankees pitcher and former Rule 5 pick Ivan Nova can build off of an inspiring rookie season, he’ll be taking one of the rarest career paths in baseball history, writes Josh Goldman of Fangraphs.
Theo Epstein Signing With Cubs Reactions
This morning we learned that Theo Epstein agreed on a five-year deal worth more than $15MM with the Cubs. Here' s a look at some of the reactions and fallout from around baseball..
- Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal outlines some Cubs prospects that the Red Sox could receive as compensation for Epstein.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says that the Cubs' signing of Epstein means that the NL Central is about to get even stronger, write Matthew Leach, Joe Frisaro, and Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.
- Would Yankees GM Brian Cashman be interested in the new Red Sox GM vacancy? It doesn't seem that way, writes Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com. "I have a job," said Cashman when asked about the possibility of leaving for Boston. Nothing official has been agreed upon yet, but Cashman is expected to sign a new deal with the Yankees in the near future.
- Epstein's new average salary of $3MM is unlikely to affect Cashman's next deal with the Yankees, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Epstein's previous salary was roughly $2.5MM and Cashman will likely see a bump from his current $2.2MM average.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) heard that the Red Sox wanted to keep Epstein, but the GM made it clear that he would be leaving when his contract expired after 2012 . Epstein would have earned $3MM with a $4MM parachute payment at the year's end. That prompted the club to approve his discussions with the Cubs.
- Ben Cherington is expected to be the next GM of the Red Sox and Dan Duquette had nothing but kind things to say about the long-time exec, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
- In an interview on WEEI's "Mut & Merloni" show this morning, Peter Gammons said that he's "sickened" by the criticism he has heard of former Red Sox skipper Terry Francona, writes Justin Doubleday of WEEI.com. As for the matter of compensation, Gammons says that he could see the Red Sox receiving someone like 23-year-old center fielder Brett Jackson.
Front Office Notes: Orioles, Yankees, Angels
Theo Epstein's signing with the Cubs was the big news of the day, but there's plenty of other front office news in baseball..
- The Orioles are no longer considering Josh Byrnes, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.
- Yesterday we learned that Josh Byrnes (Padres), Gerry Hunsicker (Rays), J.P. Ricciardi (Mets), Thad Levine (Rangers), Tony LaCava (Blue Jays), and Dan Jennings (Marlins) are candidates to become the Orioles' next GM. The wishlist now includes Jerry Dipoto (Diamondbacks), Logan White (Dodgers), Al Avila (Tigers), Tony Reagins (formerly of the Angels), and DeJon Watson (Dodgers), according to Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun.
- The Yankees have granted the Angels permission to interview both Billy Eppler and Damon Oppenheimer for their vacant general manager job, tweets Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) believes that Oppenheimer would be a good fit as the GM of the Halos.
- As of this evening, no teams have asked permission to speak with any of the Mets assistant GMs about job openings, Newsday's David Lennon tweets.
AL East Notes: Sabathia, Burnett, Orioles
Two AL East front offices will have different looks next year, as Theo Epstein is heading for Chicago and the Orioles are searching for a new GM. Here's the latest on the division…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yankees will have to seriously consider going in another direction if C.C. Sabathia opts out of his contract and wants much more than $120MM over five years. Some teams (the Rangers, for example) can get by without elite starting pitching, as Sherman explains.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff explains what he'd do if he were running the Yankees this offseason. First, Brian Cashman and Sabathia would be back with new deals. Davidoff would also exercise the options for Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher, trade A.J. Burnett for Derek Lowe, acquire John Danks and sign David DeJesus and a lefty reliever.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun explains that most people who aspire to be a general manager would want the Orioles' GM job. It's no easy assignment (I examined the task in detail yesterday), yet only 30 GM jobs exist.
Yankees Notes: Cashman, Sabathia, Swisher
There's a 100% chance GM Brian Cashman signs a new contract with the Yankees before long, based on what Joel Sherman of the New York Post is hearing (Twitter link). However, many questions about the 2012 Yankees persist. Here's a look ahead at some of the team's upcoming decisions…
- The Yankees haven't had any contract talks with Cashman at this point, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Feinsand hasn't heard from anyone who thinks the sides will fail to reach a deal.
- C.C. Sabathia told Mark Hale of the New York Post that baseball is a business, while acknowledging that it would be difficult to leave New York. The left-hander will likely opt out of the four years and $92MM remaining on his seven-year, $161MM deal. Cashman says the Yankees haven't started talking extension with Sabathia.
- Manager Joe Girardi says he doesn't want to imagine his rotation without Sabathia, according to Feinsand (all Twitter links). Girardi says he's sure the Yankees will look to add top-of-the-rotation pitching even if Sabathia returns.
- Girardi says he expects Alex Rodriguez to start at third, rather than DH, in 2012, according to Feinsand.
- Sherman knows that it'd be easiest for the Yankees to pick up Nick Swisher's $10.25MM option and work Jesus Montero into the lineup, but he makes the case that Carlos Beltran is in many ways preferable to Swisher. It will cost more than $10.25MM to sign Beltran, who could obtain a three-year deal this winter.
Raul Valdes, Scott Proctor Elect Free Agency
Relievers Raul Valdes and Scott Proctor have elected free agency, the Yankees announced today (Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweeted the news). Having lost Aaron Laffey as well, the Yankees' 40-man roster now stands at 37.
Valdes, a 33-year-old southpaw, joined the Yankees on an August waiver claim from the Cardinals after being designated for assignment. Valdes tossed 12 big league innings overall and another 63 2/3 in the minors. He's had some success against lefties.
Proctor, a 34-year-old right-hander, returned to the Yankees for eight games in September after spending most of the season with the Braves. He began his career with the Yankees, suiting up in pinstripes from 2004-07. In 40 1/3 innings for Atlanta and New York this year, Proctor posted a 7.14 ERA with more walks (31) than strikeouts (29).