Rosenthal On Mets, Cubs, Yankees, Hawkins
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders how Mets GM Omar Minaya and Cubs GM Jim Hendry will untangle themselves from their respective messes. Both execs have overpaid for players in the recent past, but both can point to recent successes. Here are the details:
- The Mets are expected to lower their payroll from the $150MM range next season.
- The Rockies obtained Carlos Gonzalez from the A's in last winter's Matt Holliday trade and, for all of Holliday's heroics in St. Louis, Gonzalez is out-slugging Holliday by 142 points since the A's flipped him to the Cards.
- A Yankees official says it's "very likely" the team will bring Johnny Damon back after the season if he's willing to take a paycut.
- Like their cross-town rivals, the Yanks are expected to be operating on a lower payroll next year.
- The Yankees figure to be in the mix for Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, or both.
- Alex Gonzalez could have vetoed the trade that sent him to Boston.
- The Astros placed LaTroy Hawkins on waivers and Rosenthal expects the Rockies, Cardinals and Dodgers to at least consider him.
Discussion: Should The Cubs Re-Sign Harden?
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune outlines the dilemma the Cubs will face when Rich Harden becomes a free agent after this season: he is perhaps the ultimate risk-reward player. When he's healthy, as he has been during the second half this year, there are few better. But his injury history suggests that teams should use caution when signing him.
Sullivan writes that any team wishing to sign Harden will "probably" have to pony up $50-60MM over four years. That is a hefty sum for a starter who has made 20 starts in a season only twice since 2004. What do you think? Should the Cubs re-sign Harden? Should any team spend that much on a player with Harden's injury history? What other teams might be in the mix for Harden?
Odds And Ends: Lincecum, Byrd, Orioles, Cubs
More links from around the league…
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick wonders if Tim Lincecum will sign a multi-year deal this offseason. He might make more going year-to-year, but a long-term deal could give him peace of mind.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers want to bring Marlon Byrd back after the season, but wonders if the outfielder might prefer to test the open market.
- Roch Kubatko of MASN.com says the Orioles have a lot more flexibility now that they've dealt Aubrey Huff.
- Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times doesn't doubt that the Cubs can win a World Series with Jim Hendry as GM, even though his moves have looked "disastrous" this season.
Heyman On Damon, Minaya, Wagner
Jon Heyman of SI.com would like to see an Angels-Dodgers World Series. He breaks down lots of great possible matchups and, as always, provides some rumors:
- The Yankees plan on bringing back Johnny Damon and they figure to make him an opening offer worth $6-8MM. It would be a big paycut from the $13MM he's currently making, but Damon seems to want to return to the Yanks.
- As much as the Yankees like Hideki Matsui, they probably need the DH spot for players like Damon and Jorge Posada. Check out some possible destinations for Matsui right here.
- It looks and sounds as though the Mets plan on keeping Omar Minaya around as GM, and the $3.5MM remaining on his contract definitely has something to do with their stance. As Heyman says, one of the best deals Minaya made was his own.
- One GM believes Billy Wagner's a "difference maker" and suggested the Mets should seek a decent prospect in return for him.
- The Cubs don't appear likely to fire Lou Piniella, Heyman hears.
- Heyman guesses Tony La Russa will return when his contract with the Cardinals is up after the season.
Odds & Ends: Harang, Ichiro, Cubs, Mets, The Draft
Some odds and ends from around the league:
- Aaron Harang had to have an emergency appendectomy and will miss the remainder of the season as a result, says Ed Price. Harang will make $10.5MM in 2010 and will pitch for a $12.75MM club option that increases to $13MM if he reaches 210 IP. It's worth noting, if the Reds trade Harang next season, the option increases to $14MM and becomes mutual. Earlier this month, John Fay suggested the Reds don't think their fans will embrace a rebuilding effort, but that the team is hamstrung by too many large contracts that have not worked out.
- Jon Paul Morosi asks whether or not Ichiro Suzuki is a Hall of Fame lock?
- Gordon Wittenmyer notes Cubs players feel Lou Piniella, who recently announced his intention to return in 2010, is the right man for the job.
- Joel Sherman doubts any decisions about bringing back Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel have been finalized.
- The New York Times Dan Rosenheck suggests ending the draft, and perhaps an expansion and reform of revenue sharing. The article refers to the current system as a "bargain [that] has distorted the game's economics. Minor leaguers and players with less than three years of service time remain pseudoslaves." Rosenheck writes:
"A study by Erik Manning of Fangraphs.com found that the production of an average No. 1 draft pick during the 1990s was worth $51.5 million on the free-agent market, while the commissioner’s recommendation for their bonuses is $3.6 million. As a result, clubs jealously hoard their prospects, often refusing to trade them even for superstars. The massive profits extracted from these players are divided among overpaid veterans and the owners."
The piece also recommends players from the U.S. be granted the right to choose their employer, "a freedom enjoyed by their Latin American counterparts. This would not necessarily raise salaries over all but would distribute them more evenly, benefiting both the players… and the game."
Cubs Rumors: Sale, Hendry, Piniella
The Cubs' sale to the Ricketts family has been finalized, which should bring some shred of optimism amidst the already-defeatist tone some of these stories have taken during the Cubs' current slump:
- Gordon Wittenmyer at the Chicago Sun-Times talked to 3B Aramis Ramirez, who gave the oft-maligned GM Jim Hendry a vote of confidence. "I hope he stays…He's done his job," Ramirez said.
- In the same article, Hendry says he won't use the previously looming uncertainty of ownership as an excuse for the Cubs' problems, acknowledging the Cubs' high payroll of around $140MM in recent past.
- Wittenmyer also heard that Lou Piniella intends to return to manage the Cubs in 2010, the final year of his contract, despite not giving hard answers on his return earlier this season. He cites the sale as a reason to stay.
- Rick Morrissey at the Chicago Tribune says that there are "no quick fixes" with this Cubs team and that fans should temper their expectations with the new ownership group.
Odds & Ends: Cubs, Sheffield, Brewers, Relievers
Here's a few links to take in as you recover from the work week…
- Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball reports that The Tribune Co. has reached an agreement to sell a 95% interest in the Cubs to The Ricketts Family
- Bart Hubbuch of The NY Post tweets that Omar Minaya said the Mets "have no intentions of releasing Gary Sheffield or putting him on irrevocable waivers."
- Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel reports that the Brewers have designated catcher Carlos Corporan for assignment. Corporan singled in the only big league plate appearance of his career back in May.
- Cliff Corcoran at SI.com ranks the top ten setup men in the league. Two of them were acquired not long before this year's trade deadline, one signed as a free agent last winter, and another signed a long-term extension before the season. A fifth player wasn't even in the big leagues at the start of the year.
- Make sure you follow MLBTR on Twitter. It's the future, man.
Odds And Ends: Cubs, Royals, Morgan
More links for the afternoon…
- MLB president Bob DuPuy confirmed to MLB.com's Barry Bloom that the Cubs should soon be sold to Tom Ricketts for about $900MM.
- Royals third-rounder Wil Myers told Matt Forman of Baseball America that it felt a little weird to face live pitching after a few months off. He still managed to hit a homer in his ffith pro at bat.
- You don't hear many Cardinals fans complaining about Matt Holliday, but how about Brett Wallace, the centerpiece of the trade that sent Holliday to St. Louis? As Baseball America shows with its latest Prospect Hot Sheet, Wallace homered five times this week.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post compares Nyjer Morgan to a number of leadoff hitters throughout history and shows that Morgan looks like a nice acquisition.
- The Nats introduced Stephen Strasburg to the fans at Nationals Park this afternoon, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
Odds And Ends: Zambrano, Sheffield, Rockies
Links for the morning…
- Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times believes the Cubs need Carlos Zambrano, even if he hasn't endeared himself to everyone.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post suspects that baseball is about to retire Gary Sheffield. After all, it will be hard for a "41-year-old, oft-injured malcontent" to find work.
- Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle looks at the Rockies and sees a team without glaring weaknesses.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times lists the best and worst free agent signings the Cubs have made since 2000.
- Sure, the Yankees and Red Sox are big spenders, but, as this Boston Globe piece shows, they develop lots of talent, too.
Odds And Ends: Jeter, Uggla, Cubs, Hall
Links for Thursday morning…
- Derek Jeter, whose contract expires after next season, says he isn't thinking about his next deal or how long he'll keep playing, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
- Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel asks: Are the Marlins better off holding onto Dan Uggla after the season and paying him about $7MM in arbitration, or should they trade him?
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he takes resonsibility for his team's frustrating season.
- Jeff Sackmann of the Hardball Times says Doug Melvin was justified in handing Bill Hall a long-term contract, even though it didn't work out for the Brewers.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports expects Vicente Padilla to be on his best behavior with the Dodgers, who need him badly.
- In his latest roundup of top Rangers prospects at MLB.com, Jamey Newberg notes that it doesn't look like Justin Smoak will reach the majors this year.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles will audition Luke Scott at first base between now and the end of the season.
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says the Astros won't see their attendance improve if they put another "old, bad, boring" team on the field next year.