Odds And Ends: Cuban, Zaun, Hall, Mariners
Saturday morning linkage:
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry didn’t consult the prospective new owners before picking up Rich Harden‘s option, and that’s fine by Mark Cuban.
- The Blue Jays are expected to pick up Rod Barajas‘ option; there’s still a possibility that Gregg Zaun will return. The 37-year old Zaun is eligible to become a free agent.
- Speaking of catchers, Sox Machine analyzes the pros/cons of the White Sox keeping or moving backup catcher Toby Hall.
- The Yankees are correctly focusing on their rotation and will sign one or two free agent pitchers, thinks the LoHud Journal News’ Peter Abraham, which in turn may prohibit them from going after Mark Teixeira.
- A’s assistant GM David Forst will not interview with the Mariners for their vacant GM position.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com and can be reached hre: alexo05 *at* umpbump *dot* com.
Odds and Ends: Beltran, Brewers, Padres
Links for Friday…
- The Padres claimed second baseman Travis Denker off waivers from the Giants. Surprising to see the Giants let him go.
- Ted Berg at MetsBlog explains how a Carlos Beltran rumbling spun out of control.
- I recently did a Brewers Q&A with Bernie’s Crew.
- The Padres called yesterday’s report about John Moores selling his share of the team "highly speculative." Tim Sullivan considers the statement revealing, and notes that this is a bad time to sell.
- Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times chatted with Scott Boras.
- Mark Cuban mentions that the struggling economy is slowing down the sale of the Cubs.
- Terry Pluto believes the Indians should pursue Brian Roberts.
- David Brown at Yahoo profiles Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman.
- Freddy Garcia is headed to winter ball. The Tigers will have the first crack at signing him. Andruw Jones will also play winter ball; he seems to want a trade if he’s not a starter next year.
- Elbow surgery for Tom Gordon, which probably means the Phillies will buy out his ’09 option for $1MM.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Greinke, Manny, Burnett
A look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…
- Royals Authority feels it will take a Johan Santana-type deal to trade Zack Greinke this offseason.
- Goat Riders Of The Apocalypse takes an in depth look at the Cubs ’09 roster and what changes could be made.
- Mets Geek (or is it Rays Geek?) thinks the most important move for the Mets this winter is to sign Manny Ramirez, but only for three-years and an option.
- River Ave. Blues agree that Manny should only be signed by the Yankees if it can be done for less than five years.
- MetsBlog calls Orlando Hudson a "must sign" this off-season.
- The Chuck Knoblog doesn’t see how the Yankees can sign two big free agent pitchers and a first baseman and still get the payroll down to $180-185MM.
- Drunk Jays Fans does not see any way A.J. Burnett will return to the Jays next season.
- First And Goal From Second Base wants to see the Twins trade Jason Kubel for a reliever.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Cubs Exercise Harden’s Option
1:47pm: The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Harden does not need surgery and the Cubs exercised his $7MM option for ’09.
8:34am: Some fresh notes regarding the Cubs’ offseason plans…
- Turns out the Cubs have to decide on Rich Harden‘s $7MM option by midnight tonight. Even if he needs arthroscopic shoulder surgery, they’re expected to exercise it. Other less likely options include declining it and going to arbitration or just non-tendering him. Unless Harden needs major surgery, he’s a Cub in ’09.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald wonders whether the Cubs will buy out backup catcher Henry Blanco and re-sign him more cheaply rather than exercise his $3MM option.
- Gordon Wittenmeyer believes the Cubs could try to re-sign Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood before they reach free agency.
- The team’s organizational meetings begin eleven days from now.
Odds and Ends: Hudson, Cano, Mariners GM
Links for Wednesday…
- ESPN’s Jayson Stark reminds us that Manny Ramirez could’ve been traded to the Phillies in July. But the Phils wouldn’t offer Lou Marson, didn’t like the idea of Manny in right field, and were concerned about Ramirez’s hustle.
- Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog gives his early sense of the team’s offseason approach. He doesn’t seem them splurging on one of the big free agent names.
- MLB.com’s Marty Noble heard Orlando Hudson "yearns to play for the Mets" (hat tip to MetsBlog).
- Jamey Newberg believes in the Rangers’ plan.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post doesn’t believe Robinson Cano will be traded, because the Yankees are valuing him as if 2008 did not occur. He names Fausto Carmona as an example of a pitcher the Yanks would not accept for Cano.
- Sherman also notes that Bobby Abreu and the ivy-covered brick wall at Wrigley might not be the best match.
- The Mariners will interview five people for their GM vacancy this week: Peter Woodfork (D’Backs), Jerry DiPoto (D’Backs), Tony Bernazard (Mets), Kim Ng (Dodgers), and Tony LaCava (Blue Jays).
- The Angels signed Korean pitcher Jang Pil-Joong, who just finished serving in the army.
- I did a couple of interviews recently: over the phone with MLB Interviews and over email with Pinstripes Published.
Odds and Ends: Bonds, Crow, Odalis Perez
Links for Tuesday…
- Barry Bonds is enjoying his freedom.
- MLB.com has a list of all the potential free agents. The Dodgers lead with 14, while the Royals and Giants have only two.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin may get an extension soon.
- Rich Harden will have a shoulder exam soon, which will inform the Cubs’ decision on his $7MM option.
- MLB.com’s Matthew Leach sees the Cardinals letting starter Braden Looper leave, but attempting to re-sign infielder Felipe Lopez.
- The Kansas City Star’s Bill Reiter catches up with Aaron Crow, who is basically just chillin’ right now. MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel says the Royals like Crow, but he may not be around when they draft 12th in 2009.
- Ken Rosenthal agrees that the Rays owe their success to much more than just top draft picks.
- Pete McElroy notes that Odalis Perez would love to re-sign with the Nationals. Perez pitched 159.2 respectable innings but earned less than a million bucks.
- Eddie Bajek has his final Elias rankings for NL relievers. Type As: Ryan Dempster, Russ Springer, Juan Cruz, Doug Brocail, Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, and Jason Isringhausen. Type Bs: Joe Beimel, Jeremy Affeldt, Brian Shouse, Bob Howry, David Weathers, Trevor Hoffman, Eric Gagne, and Brandon Lyon. If one of these players is offered arbitration, turns it down, and signs elsewhere, his old team gets one or two draft picks.
- MLB.com’s Spencer Fordin doesn’t see the need for the Orioles to sign Jeremy Guthrie to a long-term deal this winter.
Cubs Rumors: Hendry, Payroll, Ibanez, Roberts
Let’s talk Cubs.
- First things first – the Cubs need to lock in their GM. ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Cubs are currently trying to convince Jim Hendry not to opt out of his contract in December. Olney expects a new long-term agreement.
- Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago-Sun Times talked to Cubs CEO Crane Kenney, who anticipates another payroll bump despite ownership uncertainty. Maybe the $140MM range?
- Lot of talk about the Cubs adding a left-handed hitter for balance, with Kosuke Fukudome looking like a failure. Names suggested by Olney, Wittenmeyer, and Andy Dolan of Desipio.com: Raul Ibanez, Bobby Abreu, David DeJesus, Milton Bradley, and Brian Roberts. Regardless of the path the Cubs take, they seem likely to accept shaky right-field defense in exchange for a middle-of-the-order bat. The Cubs could also consider Aubrey Huff or Adam Dunn, but they’d be even more of a stretch in right.
- Dolan would like to add a more complete shortstop. If the Cubs feel the same, they could again pursue switch-hitter Rafael Furcal and finally move Alfonso Soriano out of the leadoff spot.
- Everyone expects Rich Harden‘s $7MM option to be exercised, setting the ’09 rotation. The Cubs will look at Harden’s shoulder first though. Wittenmeyer recommends an aggressive run at C.C. Sabathia, which seems unlikely.
Fukudome Is Just A Rookie
While Japanese players are eligible for Rookie of the Year honors, they often come with much higher expectations than rookies. As evidence, scapegoat-du-jour Kosuke Fukudome has 3 years, $38MM left on his contract. That is a large commitment to a first year player who struggled more like a traditional rookie than delivering like a high-profile Japanese import.
Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune says what to do with Fukudome is at the top of the Cubs offseason to do list. Says Rogers,
"According to scouts, Fukudome would have no value if Hendry tried to shop him. He isn’t going to go back quietly and resume his career with the Chunichi Dragons, walking away from his deal with the Cubs. That would send a terrible signal as teams around the majors become more aggressive in pursuing players from Asia. One scout interviewed Saturday suggested a course of action that could be tough to swallow.
‘He has to go to the minors,’ the scout said. ‘He has to get rid of all those habits, pulling out on pitches, collapsing. He’ll never hit the way he’s hitting now, and this is a tough place to work out your problems. Always has been.’"
Here we find the expected risk associated with giving large contracts to unproven commodities. It’s obvious Fukudome needs to make adjustments to big league pitching; however, his contract prevents the club from treating him as they should: like a rookie.
Fukudome put up .257-.359-.379 with 10 homeruns, 25 doubles, and an underwhelming 58 RBI. With a career OBP just under .400 in Japan, disappointment lies primarily in his .359 OBP and the inability to adjust and remain the tablesetter he was in May. Fukudome finished with a stat line less than that of a $12.5MM player and more akin to a rookie. As Rogers points out, Jim Hendry might need to treat him like one.
Edmonds Considers Retirement
Jim Edmonds is mulling over retirement, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. The 39 year old is not complaining of breaking down physically and was a starter on the Cubs postseason roster so it’s evident the guy can still play. Still, as many-a-ballplayer considers at his age, Edmonds says, "I’m just trying to figure out what I want to do, what’s best for my family.”
While Edmonds admitted to "soaking it in" during his final games, Wittenmyer writes:
"The Cubs are expected to leave the door open for Edmonds to return but won’t break the bank to keep him off the free-agent market. Whether he returns to Chicago could come down to whether another team goes after him hard, whether a team closer to his Southern California home pursues him or whether he decides to retire."
There are 18 reasons to expect Edmonds to return. Needing only that many homeruns to reach the 400 mark, Edmonds should be motivated to find a full time role with a club this offseason. The outfielder made $8MM with the Cubs this season and while that amount could come down a notch, if Edmonds is healthy and motivated to put up another 20 homerun season then he should find plenty of interest.
Odds and Ends: Manny, Laird, Strasburg, Chipper
Let’s gather up today’s linkage.
- Andy Pettitte will probably pitch next year, but Mike Mussina remains an unknown.
- Reader Peter H. reminds us that the Brewers’ playoff berth means the Indians get to choose the player to be named later in the C.C. Sabathia deal.
- Ross Newhan finds it indisputable that the Dodgers and Angels have to re-sign Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira at any cost. Manny generated an estimated $7.6MM in extra revenue for the Dodgers. T.J. Simers snagged all kinds of quotes from Manny in recent articles, including one about Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick dissing Manny in front of his teammates prior to the shoving incident.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News names some possible fits for Gerald Laird this winter – the Tigers, Brewers, Reds, and Red Sox.
- The Nationals will pick first in the 2009 draft. Will they go for Stephen Strasburg?
- Kerry Wood felt bad about his three-year, $32.5MM deal, and basically signed a blank check after the ’07 season.
- Ron Villone would like to return to the Cardinals rather than attempt to tie Mike Morgan‘s record of playing for 12 different teams.
- Leo Mazzone or Rick Peterson for next Tigers pitching coach?
- Athletics Nation puts together a plan to compete in ’09 without sacrificing the future.
- Chipper Jones wants to retire a Brave. But if he doesn’t sign an extension beyond ’09 and the Braves want to trade him next summer, he’s got a short list of teams to which he’d accept a trade.