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Odds & Ends: Mariners, Marlins, Orioles

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Time for your afternoon snack (naptime optional):

  • The question isn't so much if all the Marlins will return, Joe Capozzi writes in the Palm Beach Post, but which Marlins will be dealt. The $36.8MM payroll would expand to around $43MM next season with the current roster.
  • Geoff Baker writes in the Seattle Times that the Mariners can't expect the same group to win as many games in 2010.
  • The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck says that Dave Trembley's job status will be determined "in the next 4 or 5 days."
  • A front office person tells Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus that Miguel Angel Sano has incredible power for a 16-year-old. The "sky is the limit" for the Dominican infielder.
  • Goldstein reports that plenty of teams are doing their "digging" on Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo. The Cards voided Mateo's contract last month after agreeing to a $3.1MM deal with him in July.
  • MLB.com's Bryan Hoch says the Yankees still expect Phil Hughes to develop into a starter. 
  • ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. explains that Hanley Ramirez couples impressive work habits and awesome talent with a dismissive and distant demeanor.

Will Yusei Kikuchi Choose MLB?

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Yusei Kikuchi may decide this week between Japanese baseball and MLB, according to Bobbie Dittmeier of MLB.com.  As Dittmeier says, the hard-throwing 18-year-old southpaw would "become the first high school player to bypass Japan's draft and sign with a Major League organization."

Dittmeier says the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Cubs, Giants, Tigers, Braves, Rangers, Mariners and Indians have reportedly scouted Kikuchi.  She passes along a Kyodo News quote from Kikuchi's high school coach indicating the pitcher is 50-50 on his decision.

NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman has covered Kikuchi extensively.  Back in May, Newman explained to MLBTR the differences between Kikuchi and Junichi Tazawa.

Miguel Angel Sano Lowers Asking Price

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Dominican shortstop Miguel Angel Sano has lowered his asking price in recent weeks, according to MASN's Steve Melewski.  The Orioles admitted "things have stepped up" in their talks with Sano, but a gap remains.  (Just a week ago, Orioles president Andy MacPhail characterized the talks as on the backburner.)  Melewski heard eight to ten teams are in on Sano, perhaps large-market clubs like the Yankees and Red Sox included.  Melewski believes Sano may sign in October.  The player's age remains unconfirmed, but he's saying he's 16.

The Pirates were the frontrunner for Sano a few months ago, but Sano's agent turned down their $2.6MM offer (ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. reporting).  Since then, Wagner Mateo's $3.1MM deal with the Cardinals was voided.

Odds & Ends: Astros, Girardi, Ricciardi

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Time for a round of afternoon links before the regular season's second-last weekend officially begins…

  • The Astros signed Korean infielder Chan Jong Moon to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Tom Singer. The 18-year-old high schooler is apparently a high-energy player.
  • Peter Abraham of the Journal News wonders if the Yankees would extend Joe Girardi's contract if the Yankees secure a World Series berth this year. Girardi's current deal expires after next season. 
  • Joe Posnanski doesn't get J.P. Ricciardi, partly because people say wildly divergent things about the GM. Posnanski doesn't expect J.P. to be the person who will turn the Jays around in the tough AL East.
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com says it's time to think of Clay Buchholz as a number three starter. Meanwhile, Rob Neyer of ESPN.com wonders if Jon Lester is Boston's new ace.

Dotel Would Play For Mets Or Yankees

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The White Sox told Octavio Dotel that he's not in their long-term plans when the righty approached the club about a contract extension last month, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The 35-year-old reliever says he'd like to play in New York for the Yankees or, his preferred team, the Mets. Dotel has experience in New York; he began his MLB career as a starter with the Mets in 1999 and played a season with the Yankees in 2006.

This year Dotel has allowed 54 hits in 61.2 innings, walking 36 and striking out 74 for an ERA of 3.36. He projects as a Type A free agent, so teams will have to surrender a high draft pick to sign Dotel if the White Sox offer him arbitration. He's currently making $6MM in the second deal of a two-year contract.

Pirates Claim Anthony Claggett

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The Pirates claimed pitcher Anthony Claggett off waivers from the Yankees, according to a press release.  The Yanks had designated him for assignment ten days ago.  Claggett, a 25-year-old righty, was acquired by the Yanks from Detroit in the Gary Sheffield deal in November of '06.  Upon reaching Triple A this year, Claggett's strikeout rate took a large drop to 4.7 per nine innings.

Red Sox To Pursue Aroldis Chapman; O’s?

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7:12pm: It sounds like the Orioles will be quick to bow out if Chapman's price tag is driven up by high-budget bidders like the Red Sox and Yankees.  Here's Andy MacPhail, the O's president of baseball operations, courtesy of MASN's Roch Kubatko:

"I have not talked to [owner Peter Angelos] about it because I have no idea where this one is.  I haven't broached the subject with him because I am so uncertain as to the level of interest among other clubs because there will be a certain time where you measure the risk-reward."

"…If some of the big boys are going to go after him, like the Red Sox did with Dice-K, that's not a risk that I would be willing to take."

11:41am: Expect the Red Sox to have interest in 21-year-old lefty Aroldis Chapman when he becomes a free agent, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald and ESPN's Amy K. Nelson.  The Yankees are also expected to be in the mix.  Will the Sox attempt to buy up all the hotel rooms in Andorra?

Chapman may be granted free agency before the playoffs.  The bidding could exceed $40MM, and Chapman could potentially sign before the regular free agent signing period begins.  Nelson talked to Chapman's agent Edwin Leonel Mejia, who plans to hold private workouts in Europe.  Aside from the Red Sox and Yankees, Silverman names the Angels and Rangers as likely suitors.  The Orioles were connected to Chapman in July, but the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec didn't expect them to join a bidding war.  Mejia explained Chapman's preference to Silverman: "He simply wants to go with whatever team wants him the most."

Odds & Ends: Greinke, Rangers, A’s, Yankees

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Some more links for the afternoon…

  • Zack Greinke told WEEI.com's Alex Speier that he wouldn't have trouble pitching in any city except New York. The Cy Young contender sounds confident that he could thrive in other places, but suggested he might struggle if asked to pitch in the Big Apple on a regular basis.
  • MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan provides the names of some possible bidders for the Rangers. George Bush and Nolan Ryan don't appear to be candidates to buy the club.
  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says the A's could use some big bats next year. As Ken Rosenthal pointed out earlier today, Adam Kennedy's .767 OPS leads all A's with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.
  • Matthew Pouliot of NBC.com's Circling the Bases continues to rank the offseason's top free agents. Carlos Delgado and Hideki Matsui place 40th and 36th, respectively. 
  • As Peter Abraham of the Journal News points out, Andy Pettitte will probably earn about $5MM in incentives before the season ends. Earlier in the month Jon Heyman of SI.com predicted this would happen.
  • Abraham also notes that Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez were literally lined up to speak with Scott Boras at one point yesterday.

Odds & Ends: Buchholz, Burnett, Yanks, Cards

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Some links as the weekend draws closer…

  • Thought the Red Sox were going to deal Clay Buchholz this summer? You're not alone. Buchholz tells WEEI.com's Rob Bradford he expected to be traded because of all the rumors.
  • Peter Abraham of the Journal News points out that one of the Yankees' biggest acquisitions of the year, A.J. Burnett, has pitched poorly over the course of his last nine starts. Now Burnett must prove to his teammates that he's ready for the Division Series.
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com says the Yankees' plan to add power pitchers to the rotation worked (even if Burnett has struggled lately). It's hard to argue with 94 wins in mid-September, but there's more to the Yanks than their rotation.
  • Verducci notes that some of the best free agent signings happened late last offseason and some of the worst ones were finalized early. Could we see GMs play the waiting game this winter? 
  • Joel Pineiro, Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa will have to wait until the season's over to sign their next contracts. Cards GM John Mozeliak told Bernie Miklasz that the team doesn't expect to negotiate deals with prospective free agents before the season ends.

Chipper Jones Talks Retirement

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Chipper Jones has been talking a lot about his future lately, and today he was blunt when talking to the AP:

"If I back up this year with the same kind of year next year, I don't want to play the game.  The game is not fun to me when I'm not playing up to my standards."

Jones does not blame his down year on injuries.  It's only a disappointment by Chipper's standards, since his .390 OBP still ranks 14th in the NL.  However, his .435 SLG would be a career-worst and he hasn't done much in August and September.

Jones, 38 in April, is owed $13MM in each of the 2010, '11, and '12 seasons.  He has a $7MM club option for 2013 that can vest and increase with certain games played milestones.  I have to admit, I liked the extension when it was signed in March.  Today in his blog, Joel Sherman of the New York Post draws a parallel between Jones' extension and the upcoming Derek Jeter contract situation.

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