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NL Notes: Rockies, Pirates, Mets, Managerial Searches

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The NLCS is taking a day off as the scene shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 tomorrow night with the Cardinals leading the Dodgers 2-0. Here is the latest news and notes out of the National League today:

  • The Rockies need to improve their talent acquisition via the draft and Latin America in order to overcome the crushing injuries suffered in recent seasons, according to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Tim Hudson, whose free agency was profiled this past week by MLBTR's Steve Adams, would make a perfect middle-of-the-rotation starter for the Rockies, Renck opines.
  • The Pirates' payroll will increase significantly in 2014 aiding their efforts to retain free agents Marlon Byrd and A.J. Burnett while also trying to sign Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez to long-term extensions, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Rob Biertempfel.  
  • The Mets will face a dilemma with their 40-man roster when it comes time to protect minor league players from the Rule 5 draft, reports ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin. The Mets' 40-man roster is currently full and will be so again once the eight players on the 60-day disabled list replace the eight pending free agents on the 40-man. Jordany Valdespin headlines Rubin's list of eight Mets who could lose their roster spot.
  • The Reds' managerial search is centered on pitching coach Bryan Price and Triple-A manager Jim Riggleman, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Fay expects Price to get the job; but, if neither candidate impresses ownership in upcoming interviews, the search may be expanded.
  • Nationals third-base coach Trent Jewett has an excellent shot to become the team's next manager, reports ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider subscription required).

Cafardo On Price, BoSox, Granderson, Loney, Dodgers

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While David Price has resigned himself to being traded, the Rays appear to be trying to figure out ways to make their ace the focal point of their pitching staff for many years to come, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo notes, however, the Rays' front office realizes it could be a losing battle, so a trade is likely with nearly half of baseball rumored to be interested in the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. "It's a big name, a big-time pitcher," one National League GM told Cafardo. "Even if you feel you don't need that level of pitcher, you look into it because he's so special and such a game changer. You do more than kick the tires. You try to make something happen, and I think you'll see teams that don't even need him step up." Here's more from Cafardo's column:

  • The Red Sox will likely trade one of their veteran starters to make room for their young arms. Cafardo suggests Jon Lester and Jake Peavy could be available while Ryan Dempster, John Lackey, and Felix Doubront are also vulnerable.
  • Jacoby Ellsbury is a perfect fit for the Mariners and Carlos Beltran likewise for the Orioles.
  • Curtis Granderson will likely receive a qualifying offer from the Yankees and there's a strong possibility he would take it because he could post his biggest numbers at Yankee Stadium.
  • The Dodgers will make Andre Ethier and/or Matt Kemp available this winter. Kemp will come with injury concerns, but that shouldn't prevent a team from taking a chance on his talent.
  • James Loney has rebuilt his value with a strong season in Tampa (.299/.348/.430 with a 2.1 oWAR in 158 games and 598 plate appearances). Loney could find a market with the Rangers, if the Rays don't re-sign the free agent first baseman.
  • Reds pitching coach Bryan Price appears to be the front-runner to replace Dusty Baker as manager in Cincinnati while Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr is in a strong position to take over from Davey Johnson, unless ownership wants a bigger name as its new manager.

NL East Notes: Nats, Papelbon, Mayberry, Marlins

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MLB.com's Bill Ladson recently broke down the Nationals roster, taking a look at players who would stay, those with something to prove, those who will depart and those who could be traded. Dan Haren and Chad Tracy are "all but gone," in Ladson's estimation, who feels that the team's primary trade chips are Danny Espinosa, Drew Storen and Eury Perez. Interestingly, Ladson lists Anthony Rendon as a possible trade centerpiece should the Nationals make a run at acquiring David Price, who expects to be traded this winter. Here's more out of the NL East…

  • Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News looks at the bullpens of the remaining playoff teams in contrast to that of the Phillies, noting that the quartet of relief corps that are still pitching serve as a primary example as to why paying Jonathan Papelbon $13MM annually was unnecessary. The Phillies would be well-served to reassess their scouting department in order to bring in evaluators capable of finding arms like Paco Rodriguez in the draft, opines Lawrence, who notes how mightily the team has struggled to develop relievers.
  • In a separate piece, Lawrence writes that it's time for the Phillies to part ways with John Mayberry Jr. now that the team has better bench options. With GM Ruben Amaro Jr. stating that Darin Ruf isn't likely to be an everyday player, Lawrence feels that Ruf should assume Mayberry's role of a powerful righty bench bat. Mayberry will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $1.7MM salary for the soon-to-be 30-year-old.
  • After naming Frank Menechino the new hitting coach, the Marlins will look to create an organization-wide philosophy and approach at the plate, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The Fish may yet look to add a second hitting coach/instructor as well. Newly crowned GM Dan Jennings tells Frisaro that by Spring Training, he hopes to have input from all over the organization to create a new "Marlins Way" or "Marlins Mindset" in their hitters.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Phillies, Braves, Marlins

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Nationals GM Mike Rizzo wants his club's new manager to chime in on personnel choices over the off-season, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson, but the team has yet to conduct any interviews and will not rush the process. Here are a few more notes from Nats Town and the rest of the NL East …

  • After accounting for arbitration-eligible players, the Nationals will probably enter the off-season with about $114MM already committed to payroll, reasons James Wagner of the Washington Post. That already-tall figure could actually understate things. The aggregate $33.7MM that Wagner allocates for arbitration falls about $6MM shy of the projections of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. In particular, Swartz expects starter Jordan Zimmermann to leap all the way up to $10.5MM in his second year of eligibility, and sees big paydays for both set-up man Tyler Clippard ($6.2MM) and shortstop Ian Desmond ($6.9MM).
  • Desmond, along with Zimmermann, has long been considered an extension candidate. Now entering his second-to-last year of arb-eligibility after grossing 10 fWAR over the last two seasons (a full two wins better than the next-rated shortstop), Desmond's price is likely to continue going up. That makes it a good time to lock him up to a long-term deal, reasons Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com.
  • While it may be tempting to attribute a major share of the Phillies' lost season to Roy Halladay's struggles, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News notes that every National League playoff club suffered an approximately similar loss of top-flight pitching. The ways to surmount such difficulties, he says, are to develop pitching depth in the upper minors, find value in free agency, and be unafraid to roll the dice on some players. The net for Philadelphia, according to Murphy, is that the club must cross its fingers on its top young pitchers, go after a turnaround candidate in the Francisco Liriano mold, and add multiple starting options in free agency.
  • One major wild card is already seemingly entrenched in the Philly rotation: international free agent signee Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez. As Philadelphia Inquirer colunist Bob Brookover reports, the 27-year-old is working in the Phils' Florida complex to establish a big league routine and build up strength for his first Spring Training.
  • The major question marks facing the Braves are whether to bring back pitcher Tim Hudson and what to do with struggling, high-priced second baseman Dan Uggla, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Bowman wonders if Atlanta might try to move Uggla, swallowing a big chunk of the $26MM that the 33-year-old is still owed. He also suggests that the team could push for a trade for a top-flight starter like David Price. As things stand, says Bowman, it appears that the Braves have the capacity to add something in the neighborhood of $15-20MM via free agency or trade.
  • The Marlins have announced their 2014 coaching staff, including two new faces in hitting coach Frank Menechino and third base coach Brett Butler, the team announced on Twitter. As the Miami Herald's Clark Spencer notes, both additions carved out nice careers in the bigs. In particular, Butler accumulated somewhere between forty and fifty wins above replacement, depending upon whom you believe, over his 17-year career. The outfielder posted only a .376 lifetime slugging percentage, but his on-base percentage exceeded that mark by one hundredth of a point. He had served as the manager of the Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate for the last five years.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Choo, Pierre, Johan

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The latest out of the National League East…

  • Dusty Baker reached out to Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo to inform him that he's interested in taking over as the Nats manager with Davey Johnson stepping down, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Baker said that no interview has been scheduled, and Rizzo declined to comment on the Nats' managerial search. Kilgore adds that the Nationals may prefer a younger manager to replace Johnson, who was the oldest skipper in the Majors this season at age 70.
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio tweets that the Nationals are giving serious consideration to Cal Ripken Jr. as a managerial candidate.
  • Matt Meyers of ESPNNewYork.com provides a case against the Mets' expected pursuit of Shin-Soo Choo, opining that Choo is a prime candidate to become the next Jason Bay in New York. Choo is much more likely to decline than maintain his production, writes Meyers, adding that Choo would be leaving an environment that favors his skill set for one that would diminish it.
  • Juan Pierre wants to keep playing but realizes that 2013 might have been his last season, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Pierre is grateful to the Marlins for both of his stints with the team and says he would be interested in returning if they would like to re-sign him.
  • Johan Santana isn't ruling out a return to the Mets, but the two sides haven't talked, agent Chris Leible told Jorge Castillo of the Star-Ledger. Santana resumed throwing last week and expects to be ready for Spring Training. GM Sandy Alderson said two weeks ago that he wouldn't rule out a return for Santana.

Blue Jays Notes: Mottola, Santos, Catchers, Gose

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The Blue Jays' decision to fire hitting coach Chad Mottola yesterday made him a curious scapegoat for the team's 2013 failures, opines Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Davidi points out that Colby Rasmus, Adam Lind and Brett Lawrie (who hit .283/.346/.417 in the second half) all made positive strides under Mottola, who was in his first season as a Major League coach. Here's more on the Blue Jays…

  • Sergio Santos' contract no longer looks as team-friendly as it once did, but the Blue Jays aren't missing Nestor Molina, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Molina has struggled with the White Sox since being sent to Chicago in exchange for Santos, and Santos' final two months were healthy and dominant. Santos tells Nicholson-Smith that his goal for 2014 is to stay healthy, which will be a key if he's to have any chance at seeing his $6MM option exercised.
  • Starting pitching is still the team's top priority this offseason, but an upgrade at catcher has leapfrogged left field for the team's No. 2 priority, writes MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm in his latest Blue Jays Inbox. Chisolm notes that the free agent market will be expensive and competitive and adds that the Jays are interested in Wilson Ramos of the Nationals, though he would be an expensive trade target himself (in terms of prospects). Still, Chisolm writes that GM Alex Anthopoulos "seems determined" to make an upgrade behind the dish.
  • Anthony Gose could slot into the fourth outfielder role that will open up with Rajai Davis' departure, but Chisolm notes that he's also one of the team's top trade chips. Gose could also move into a starting role should a starting outfielder be traded.
  • The Blue Jays felt that Emilio Bonifacio couldn't handle playing the infield on the turf at the Rogers' Centre due to his poor footwork and limited range, writes Chisholm, which is why they essentially gave him to the Royals. He'd have been non-tendered this winter, Chisholm adds.
  • Chisolm also addresses the free agent market, noting that the Jays aren't likely to break their policy of limiting free agent deals to five years this offseason and aren't likely to pursue a Roy Halladay reunion as they need more certainty in a starting pitching acquisition.

NL East Links: Nationals, Bowa, Mets, Harang

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The Braves acquired Freddy Garcia from the Orioles in late August in a trade that generated few headlines, yet the veteran right-hander posted a 1.65 ERA in 27 1/3 September innings (three relief appearances, three starts).  Now, Garcia will take the mound to save Atlanta's season in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw, who is starting on short rest for the first time in his career.

Here are some notes from around the NL East…

  • The bullpen was a disappointment for the Nationals in 2013 and improving the relief corps "is one of the Nationals' biggest offseason priorities," James Wagner of the Washington Post writes.  The Nats will particularly be looking for left-handed relief help.  Wagner suggests that the team could possibly trade setup man Tyler Clippard due to his rising price tag in the arbitration process.  Clippard earned $4MM last season and has two more years of arb-eligibility remaining.
  • Larry Bowa is close to a deal to become the Phillies' new bench coach, CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury reports.  Bowa managed the Phillies from 2001-04, was a coach with the team from 1989-96 and played in Philadelphia from 1970-81, winning five Gold Gloves and winning a World Series in 1980.  Bowa and new Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg were actually traded together from the Phils to the Cubs in 1982.
  • Marlins third base prospect Zack Cox is profiled by MLB.com's Bernie Pleskoff, who writes that Cox needs to show some consistency in 2014.  Cox was taken by the Cardinals with the 25th overall pick of the 2010 draft, then traded to the Marlins for Edward Mujica at the 2012 deadline.  Cox was ranked as amongst the top 100 prospects in the sport by Baseball America before the 2011 and 2012 seasons, though he has struggled over the last two years and has been surpassed by Colin Moran as Miami's third baseman of the future.
  • This season, the Mets became the first Major League team to work with KinaTrax, a company that tracks pitchers' bio-mechanics via motion-capture technology, Metsblog.com's Matthew Cerrone writes.  The purpose is to gather information on how their pitchers' mechanics develop over time, so the Mets can better evaluate their long-term health.  The Orioles and Brewers are the only other MLB clubs investing in bio-mechanical evaluations of their players.
  • Aaron Harang is a good fit for the Mets on a one-year deal, Metsblog.com's Michael Baron opines.  Harang is the type of veteran pitcher that the Mets seem likely to pursue on a short-term contract, as MLBTR's Jeff Todd wrote in his Offseason Outlook entry on the Mets earlier today.

AL East Notes: Girardi, Price, Drew, Morse

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The Yankees have begun discussions with manager Joe Girardi as his three-year contract is set to expire, but Mark Gonzales of the Chicago-Tribune reports that the Cubs may be willing to top any offer the Yankees make (subscription required). According to Gonzales, Girardi's annual salary may soar over the $5MM mark, and he could exceed his previous three-year guarantee as well. Here's more out of the AL East…

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post spoke with nine executives who believe that the Rays will trade David Price this offseason. Sherman points out that Price's $10MM salary could approach $15MM (MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects $13.1MM), and the Rays have previously dealt Matt Garza and James Shields with two years of team control remaining. Now that they are among the league's best teams each year, the Rays must add top talent via trade instead of at the top of the draft, Sherman adds. The Rangers, Cubs and D-Backs were popular guesses for landing spots among Sherman's panel of nine executives.
  • Stephen Drew would love to return to the Red Sox and went so far as to say that he'd like to finish his career in Boston, writes WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. Bradford outlines a scenario in which Drew could remain with the Sox, though it would require shifting Xander Bogaerts from shortstop to third base and moving Will Middlebrooks across the diamond from third base to first base.
  • The Orioles aren't expected to pursue Mike Morse in free agency this offseason, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Kubatko opines that Morse could be a bargain, however, noting his limited leverage coming off a .215/.270/.381 season and pointing to Morse's monster production in 2011 (.303/.360/.550). Kubatko adds that the Nationals tried to trade Morse to the Orioles at last year's Winter Meetings, but the Nats weren't interested in parting with right-hander Jake Arrieta at the time. Arrieta eventually went to the Cubs in this summer's Scott Feldman deal.

Managerial Notes: Baker, La Russa, Reds, Girardi

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Earlier today, the Reds fired manager Dusty Baker, who had one year and roughly $3.5MM remaining on his contract. Reports indicated that Baker was fired after telling GM Walt Jocketty to fire him instead of hitting coach Brook Jacoby, whom Baker didn't feel was to blame for the team's struggles. Reds owner Bob Castellini denied that report when asked by John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Here's more on the Baker, the Reds and other managerial rumblings from around the league…

  • USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets that Tony La Russa has no interest in returning to a managerial role, and adds that the Reds will likely stay in-house to replace Baker. He lists Jim Riggleman as one internal candidate.
  • Indeed, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch backs Nightengale's assessment of La Russa. Hummel spoke with La Russa following Baker's dismissal and was told, "I'm not managing again." La Russa then joked, "Walt [Jocketty] has had more than enough of me."
  • Fay tweets that pitching coach Bryan Price is the leading in-house candidate to replace Baker, though Riggleman is also a candidate. He implies that it isn't a given that Cincinnati will stay in-house, though.
  • Baker was fired because his players stopped playing hard for him, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It became clear to management that Baker wasn't the man to take them to the next level, says Rosenthal.
  • Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated looks at Baker's 0-for-7 run in the postseason, calling him the Gene Mauch of our generation and wondering if Baker will get another chance. Verducci speculates that Baker could be a fit with the Mariners and adds that Baker loves that area of the country.
  • The Nationals have asked the Yankees for permission to interview Joe Girardi, according to David Kaplan of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). Kaplan speculates that the Reds may also want to interview Girardi.

NL East Links: Cishek, Byrd, Ausmus, Phillies

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The Marlins were featured as part of MLBTR's Arbitration Eligibles series two days ago, and according to Matt Swartz's projection model, Steve Cishek is set to earn $3.2MM in his first year of eligibility.  MLB.com's Joe Frisaro wonders if such a number could make Cishek a trade candidate, as "the organization is probably asking itself if it needs a $3.2MM closer at this point."  Cishek will get more expensive in the future, as he will receive an extra arb year as a Super Two player.  Still, Miami has shown that it wants to keep Cishek, as the club turned down all trade offers for the stopper last summer before the deadline.

Here are some more items from around the NL East…

  • Marlon Byrd would love to return to the Mets this winter, the Pirates outfielder tells Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News.  After Byrd was traded to the Buccos in August, Byrd talked to Mets GM Sandy Alderson and told him "thank you for the opportunity at the beginning of the year and thank you for the opportunity to play for a winner.  I told him, ‘If you want me back, I would love to come back.’ ”  Byrd credits the Mets for giving him an opportunity to revive his career after serving a 50-game PED suspension last year.
  • Brad Ausmus has been mentioned as a candidate for the Nationals' manager job, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports.  The Nats haven't yet asked the Padres for permission to interview Ausmus, who is an assistant to baseball operations in San Diego.  Kilgore notes that the Nationals still seem to be in the early stages of their search, as bench coach Randy Knorr and Diamondbacks third base coach Matt Williams have yet to be contacted about interviews. 
  • The Phillies under Ruben Amaro have been known for making big offseason splashes but thanks to the team's existing large payroll commitments, "this will be the offseason of the value play," writes David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.  Murphy lists five key elements to the Phils' winter plans, including noting that the club "can't have any untouchables."
  • In other Phillies news from earlier today, they outrighted four players off their 40-man roster and MLBTR's Tim Dierkes looked at Philadelphia's arbitration-eligible players,
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