Manager Notes: Scioscia, La Russa, Red Sox
We heard earlier today that Blue Jays manager John Farrell will be staying put in Toronto. Here's the latest news on other managers around MLB:
- Tony La Russa expects to decide soon after the World Series whether to exercise his half of his mutual contract option with the Cardinals, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The sides have 14 days to make their decisions regarding the option. The St. Louis coaching staff has not received any indications that La Russa intends to leave or retire, according to Strauss.
- Now that Farrell is out of the picture for the Red Sox, they aren't likely to hire another MLB club's manager, according to the Boston Herald.
- Angels manager Mike Scioscia told ESPN 710’s Mason and Ireland that he's far from Los Angeles' de facto GM, according to Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The skipper says he can't do two jobs at once. “I don’t look at budgets. I don’t count money," he said. "I don’t look at other teams to see what trades are going to be made or facilitate or start that process. I think that’s the only way a manager can function."
- Saxon hears from one executive who says some executives shy away from the Angels GM job because of Scioscia's power in Anaheim.
Cardinals Links: Pujols, La Russa, Franklin
While we wait to see if the Cardinals can retake the series lead over the Rangers in the Fall Classic, let's round up some notes from St. Louis (all links go to Twitter)…
- "Clearly we still think we have a lot of core players," said GM John Mozeliak to a group of reporters (including Scott Miller of CBSSports.com) when asked about the possibility of losing Albert Pujols to free agency. He added that the team's pipeline of young players is strong.
- Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and others that he's hoping to get an answer from manager Tony La Russa about his future with the team at some point soon. La Russa's contract is up after the season.
- Former closer Ryan Franklin was hanging around the team today, and Joe Strauss of St. Louis Post-Dispatch says it sounds like he's done playing. Franklin expressed a desire to play beyond 2011, but that was before he posted an 8.46 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 27 2/3 innings.
Heyman On Pujols, Wilson, Angels, Crane
SI's Jon Heyman leads his latest column with an examination of Albert Pujols' impending free agency. An additional $20MM in total dollars wouldn't compel Pujols to leave St. Louis, says one person who knows the slugger well. The preseason gap was large, though, as Heyman says the Cardinals were at nine years and "a bit more than $200MM" while Pujols wanted to beat Alex Rodriguez's ten-year, $275MM deal. Wherever he lands, Pujols is certainly putting an exclamation point on his season. Heyman's other rumors…
- The Rangers almost surely would be out of the C.J. Wilson bidding if it reaches five years and $75MM, hears Heyman. A Rangers person tells Heyman Wilson hasn't actually named an exact asking price. The lefty is looking forward to free agency and noted to Heyman that he doesn't have a wife, a child, or a dog, implying the decision will be entirely his. The Nationals, Marlins, and Royals are likely to pursue Wilson, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- The Angels' desire for a scouting type in their GM job may favor the Yankees' Damon Oppenheimer, hears Heyman.
- Prospective Astros owner Jim Crane seeks a $50MM discount for moving to the American League.
- "I wish I stay here," remarked Rafael Furcal on his upcoming free agency. The 34-year-old shortstop joined the Cardinals at the trade deadline and is playing in his first World Series.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Edwin Jackson
Last night's seven-walk World Series performance was one to forget for the Cardinals' Edwin Jackson, though the righty certainly isn't turning his attention to free agency yet. Jackson might be the fourth-best free agent starter this offseason; let's take a closer look.
One point Jackson's agent Scott Boras is sure to play up is sure to play up is his client's age; he just turned 28. No accomplished free agent starter is younger, and most are over 30. For Boras that will translate into years, perhaps with a target of four. Last winter only Cliff Lee exceeded three years, and only a handful of guys reached that level.
Though Jackson will be fighting a reputation of inconsistency, he has made at least 31 starts every year since 2007. Including the 2011 postseason, Jackson has averaged about 214 innings from 2009-11. In '09 with the Tigers Jackson's innings pitched per start jumped past 6.4, and it has stayed there since. He's not much different than Mark Buehrle in that regard.
Despite these numbers, Jackson doesn't feel like anything close to a #1 or #2 starter. He averages almost 95 miles per hour on his fastball, yet his strikeout rate stays around seven per nine innings and he's quite hittable. His last two pitching coaches were the game's best, Dave Duncan and Don Cooper. While Jackson had a flash of brilliance for 75 innings with Chicago last year, his strikeout rate came back down and his walks back up this year. Jackson was arguably worse in his Cardinals stint, with both his strikeout and groundball rates plummeting. Jackson's ERAs have bounced around and even his SIERAs tell us to expect anything from 3.85 to 4.30.
Six teams have tried to harness Jackson's potential, and potential suitors will have to wonder why he's been deemed so movable. Though he's had some moderate AL East success, I don't expect the Yankees and Red Sox to seriously enter the mix. I could see the Orioles, Blue Jays, Royals, Twins, Marlins, Nationals, Cubs, Pirates, and Rockies as matches for Jackson instead.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Quick Hits: Padres, Orioles, Wilson, Sizemore
Here are some Quick Hits as the Rangers have evened up the World Series 2-2..
- Even though Padres GM Jed Hoyer and assistant GM Jason McLeod are headed to the Cubs, Baseball America's Jim Callis told Dan Hayes of the North County Times that the club should still be able to maintain their strong farm system.
- When speaking to reporters, Commissioner Bud Selig didn't rule out the possibility of a collective bargaining agreement announcement before the end of the World Series, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Orioles manager Buck Showalter is a big admirer of what the Blue Jays do which leads many to think that Tony LaCava will land the GM job, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. Jerry Dipoto is also in the mix for the job.
- C.J. Wilson is well aware that his scheduled start in Game 5 of the World Series could be his last with the Rangers, but his impending free agency is the furthest thing from Wilson's mind, writes Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest.
- Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster hopes that Theo Epstein sparks a cultural shift in Chicago, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- The Indians' biggest need this winter is a productive hitter that they can slide into the middle of the order, writes Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer. Preferably, that hitter would play first base, third base, left field, or right field.
- It could be worthwhile for a team such as the Giants to take a one-year flier on center fielder Grady Sizemore, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Shea also runs down his predictions for many of this winter's top free agents including Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and C.J. Wilson.
- If Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. lets Albert Pujols walk now after his mythical Game 3 performance an angry uprising from St. Louis fans is inevitable, writes Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
NL Central Notes: Pujols, Pirates, Astros
Let's turn our attention to the National League Central where we lead off with, who else, Albert Pujols..
- If there was any doubt before, it's completely erased now: Albert Pujols is going to hit the free agent jackpot at the age of 31, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. One performance logically shouldn't have a great effect on a player's value, but Rosenthal argues that all it takes is one team to take a contrary position.
- If, as expected, the Pirates move on without Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder, GM Neal Huntington said the team is "comfortable" with their internal options at catcher but will explore outside options as well, writes Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- The Astros have hired Bryan Lambe as an area scout, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Lambe and Wayne Krivsky, both hires of ex-GM Omar Minaya, were let go by the Mets exactly one month ago today.
Quick Hits: Pujols, La Russa, Red Sox
A few stray items to pass along as the Cardinals close in on a 2-1 World Series lead over the Rangers …
- Albert Pujols' snafu with the media following the Redbirds' loss in Game 2 wouldn't bode well for him in larger market like New York, opines Ken Davidoff of Newsday, so it may be in Prince Albert's best interest to remain in city like St. Louis, where he won't face intense media scrutiny.
- Back on the field, Pujols dominated tonight's game in Arlington, leading Buster Olney of ESPN.com to muse that the Cards may no longer have any choice but to up their offer to their star first baseman as he embarks on free agency (Twitter).
- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa wasn't entertaining questions pertaining to whether he'd manage again in 2012, tweets Olney. However, we did hear last week that La Russa has been hinting at coming back.
- In an upcoming interview with Bob Costas of MLB Network, commissioner Bud Selig said he's confident the Red Sox will take care of any issues like players drinking in the dugout, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. So, it sounds like there won't be any league sanctions or policing related to the alleged transgressions.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle have been elected vice president of the Baseball Writers Association of America, according to the Associated Press. The VP of the BBWAA becomes the president after one year, putting Slusser in line to become the organization's first female president next year. So, congratulations to her. The BBWAA, of course, is the organization whose members vote for the Hall of Fame and various post-season awards.
NL Central Notes: Rasmus, Bourn, Dempster
Weather permitting, we''re just a few hours from watching the Cardinals represent the NL Central in Game Three of the World Series in Texas. While we wait, let's round up some links on the Cards and a couple of their division rivals….
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak discusses the Colby Rasmus trade with Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, noting that there was some internal opposition to moving the center fielder: "I'm not going to point anybody out specifically but there definitely was a robust debate internally on what we should do. But in the end, everybody believed it was what was best for the organization."
- In a highly recommended piece at Bloomberg Businessweek, Rob Gloster revisits another July deal, providing an in-depth look at negotiations between the Braves and Astros for Michael Bourn.
- ESPNChicago passes along a few quotes from Ryan Dempster regarding his future and the Cubs' new president. Dempster praised Theo Epstein and said he'd talk to the new front office regime before making a decision about his $14MM player option: "Hopefully it's not just picking up an option for this year, but I'll go out there and play the best I can and be here for a long time."
Quick Hits: Messenger, White Sox, Indians, Rhodes
Some links from around baseball as we await Game Three tomorrow night..
- Former Mariners pitcher Randy Messenger has agreed to a contract to return to the Hanshin Tigers in 2012, a source tells Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Messenger’s agent Matt Sosnick confirmed that the deal is for one-year with an option for 2013. MLBTR has learned that the two-year deal could be worth just under $5MM.
- If the White Sox stick to their plan of cutting their $127MM payroll, with $89MM already tied to eleven players, it's likely that John Danks or Mark Buehrle won't start next season with the team, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin. The arbitration-eligible Danks would be one of the team's greater trade chips.
- Three days after the World Series, Indians GM Chris Antonetti will have to decide whether to exercise club options on center fielder Grady Sizemore and starter Fausto Carmona, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Picking up the options of both would cost the Tribe $16MM in 2012.
- Shortstop Rafael Furcal wrestled with the decision of whether or not to approve the deal sending him from the Dodgers to the Cardinals, writes Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times.
- After clearing waivers, Cardinals lefty Arthur Rhodes could have wound up with any number of teams, writes Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- Blue Jays skipper John Farrell gained valuable experience in his first year as a big league manager, writes MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm.
NL East Notes: Reyes, Johnson, Phillies, Sandberg
Some news from the NL East…
- Two Mets players "wouldn't be surprised to see" Jose Reyes sign with the Nationals this winter, tweets David Lennon of Newsday.
- The Nationals are conducting a managerial search to abide by MLB rules, but Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweets that the job is Davey Johnson's if he wants it.
- All six members of the Phillies' coaching staff have signed new contracts for 2012, according to a team press release. This includes bench coach Pete Mackanin, who has been mentioned as a candidate to become the next Red Sox manager.
- As Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer points out, the intact coaching staff means that Ryne Sandberg (who managed Philadelphia's Triple-A affiliate last season) isn't getting a promotion. Gelb predicts that Sandberg will manage or coach somewhere in the Major Leagues next year, which would mean he'll leave the Phillies' franchise unless Mackanin gets the Boston job and Sandberg is promoted to bench coach.
- Also from Gelb, he examines Ruben Amaro's plan to sign a proven closer if Ryan Madson leaves and compares it to how the Cardinals relied on unproven (and cheaper) closing options like Jason Motte and Fernando Salas to great success this season.
- Despite the Braves' collapse in September, Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution thinks the club is close to a World Series.