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AL Central Notes: Konerko, Abreu, Jimenez, Ausmus

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The Fielding Bible released its list of the best defensive players in all baseball, and one of only two back-to-back names is Alex Gordon of the Royals. (Of course, the other – Yadier Molina – has accumulated six total nods.) Elsewhere in the AL Central …

  • First baseman Paul Konerko is apparently unsure of how to interpret the White Sox' signing of Jose Dariel Abreu, He said he doesn't "know what the story is behind that" – referring to Abreu's long-term deal — as reported by Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). A meeting between player and team has yet to be put on the schedule, according to Kane.
  • Meanwhile, Abreu's deal has seen mixed reactions. Count Dan Farnsworth of Fangraphs in favor of the deal: he predicts that Abreu will be one of the game's 25 best hitters, making him well worth his contract.
  • The Indians will "almost certainly" make a qualifying offer to starter Ubaldo Jimenez, says Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Echoing other recent reports, Bastian says that the team would like to retain him on a one-year deal in the QO range, but will not be interested if his price tag approaches the $35MM given the similarly situated Tim Lincecum. While opinions have varied as to whether Lincecum's deal will have a real impact on the open market, it could have a fairly direct bearing on Jimenez since it takes one competitor out of the free agent supply.
  • Bastian also opines that the Indians will most likely shop for a mid-tier rotation piece while aiming to extend Justin Masterson. MLBTR's Charlie Wilmoth recently previewed the Tribe's offseason, discussing the internal rotation options and noting that the club could well need a replacement for Jimenez.
  • Brad Ausmus has interviewed for the Tigers' managerial opening, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports via Twitter. For more details, see this article from John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.

Managerial/Coaching Notes: Wakamatsu, Wedge, White Sox

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Earlier today it was reported that the Nationals will hire Diamondbacks third base coach and five-time Major League All-Star Matt Williams as their new manager. Though an official announcement has yet to come, it wouldn't be surprising to see the team wait until after the World Series in accordance with MLB's preference for teams not to distract from the World Series (as pointed out by Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington). Here's the latest on managerial vacancies and coach hirings from around the league…

  • The Royals announced that they have named former Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu as their Major League bench coach and promoted Mike Jirschele from Triple-A Omaha manager to Major League coach. Wakamatsu will also work as a special instructor for catchers. Jirschele, the Royals note, led the Storm Chasers to their second Pacific Coast League title of the past three seasons in 2013 (All Twitter links).
  • ESPN's Keith Law points out (via Twitter) that Williams is a minority owner of the Diamondbacks and will have to sell his share in order to take the job with the Nationals.
  • The Cubs will interview former Mariners manager Eric Wedge for their managerial vacancy next week, the MLB Network's Peter Gammons said on 670AM The Score in Chicago this morning (h/t: Gordon WIttenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times).
  • The White Sox will hire Todd Steverson as their Major League hitting coach, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Steverson, who will soon turn 42, has served as a minor league manager and hitting coach in the A's organization as well as Oakland's Major League first base coach. Merkin offers past quotes from Steverson, who talked about the importance of controlled aggression in the box and the dangers of being too passive at the plate.
  • Jerry Crasnick of ESPN reported yesterday that Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon interviewed for the team's managerial vacancy (Twitter link). Crasnick later appeared on 105.1 radio in Detroit and spoke with host Matt Dery about McClendon's candidacy, revealing that the interview lasted four hours (audio link).

Minor Moves: Ramirez, Crowe, Purcey

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Here are today's minor moves from around the league…

  • The Twins have outrighted outfielder Wilkin Ramirez off their 40-man roster, reports Tyler Mason of FOX Sports North (on Twitter). Ramirez, who turns 28 on Friday, broke camp with the team but missed a significant portion of the season with a concussion. He received just 87 plate appearances for the Twins, batting .272/.302/.370. Though he's been primarily a corner outfielder in his minor league career, Minnesota used Ramirez in center for 50 innings this season.
  • Outfielder Trevor Crowe rejected his outright assignment from the Astros and elected free agency, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The former first-rounder was outrighted last week and would have been eligble for arbitration had he remained on the 40-man roster. Instead, Crowe is now free to sign with any team following a season in which he batted .218/.287/.291 in 181 MLB plate appearances. Crowe was solid in the minors, slashing .304/.364/.388 with three homers and 16 steals in 60 Triple-A games.
  • Left-hander David Purcey rejected his outright assignment from the White Sox in lieu of free agency as well, per the International League's transactions page. Purcey, 31, posted a 2.13 ERA with 8.2 K/9 but an ugly 6.0 BB/9 rate in 24 relief appearances for the South Siders in 2013. Like Crowe, he'd have been arbitration eligible, so his team decided to cut ties early on, knowing that he wouldn't be tendered a contract. Purcey missed the final week of the season with a sprained UCL in his throwing elbow, but the injury wasn't expected to require surgery and should be able to heal with offseason rest.
  • The Dodgers' Alex Castellanos is the only player currently in DFA limbo, as can be seen in MLBTR's DFA Tracker.

Minor Moves: Green, Kroenke, Narveson, Lalli

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Here are the day's minor moves …

  • The Brewers have re-signed corner infielder Taylor Green to a minor league deal after he was recently outrighted, agent Joshua Kusnick announced via Twitter (hat tip to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Andrew Gruman of FOXSportsWisconsin.com). The contract includes several opt outs and an invitation to big league spring training. Though the 27-year-old missed most of 2013 due to injury, he has a nice .311/.386/.513 line in parts of two seasons at the highest minor league level. His major league career line is less impressive — .207/.266/.343 — but it has come in just 154 plate appearances over two seasons. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy has the details. 
  • The club is also close to reaching a deal to bring back lefty Zach Kroenke, who is also represented by Kusnick, McCalvy reports in the same link. Kroenke has spent much of his time in Triple-A since 2009, splitting time between relieving and starting. Last year, he put up a 4.51 ERA in 129 2/3 innings. His deal does not include an invitation to MLB spring training.
  • Meanwhile, both lefty Chris Narveson and catcher/first baseman Blake Lalli have elected to become minor league free agents, notes McCalvy via Twitter. The news was originally tweeted by the Brewers Player Development account. Narveson, who spent 2010 and 2011 in the Milwaukee rotation but has not seen substantial MLB time since, was outrighted back in June. He posted a 5.14 ERA in 15 Triple-A starts this past season. Lalli, who was designated and then outrighted in September, has never been given a real chance in the bigs, but did put up a .282/.334/.447 line in 311 Triple-A plate appearances last year.
  • The White Sox recently dealt for first baseman Jackson Laumann, sending the Braves cash considerations in return, reports Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune. Laumann, a 20-year-old righty, has done little to impress in rookie ball but will get a new shot with an organization whose amateur scouting department is headed by his father, Doug Laumann.
  • Alex Castellanos of the Dodgers remains the only player in DFA limbo at present, as reflected in MLBTR's DFA Tracker.

Quick Hits: Rockies, Abreu, Tigers, Dodgers

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The Rockies placed multiple bids on Jose Dariel Abreu and while its not known how close they came to matching the White Sox's six-year, $68MM offer, it gives an interesting window into their offseason intentions, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post.  Abreu might have been out of their price range, but a hitter like free agent Justin Morneau, who is on their radar, wouldn't be.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • Now that their 2013 season is over, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) offers some suggestions for how the Tigers can take the next step forward this winter.  The first step will be addressing some tough questions with free agents including Joaquin Benoit and Jhonny Peralta, who says that he'd like to return to Detroit.
  • An international scout from the National League said the price paid for Abreu seems a little steep, write Colleen Kane and Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.  Meanwhile, the White Sox like that they don't have to give up draft picks as they might for a major league free agent or prospects in a trade.
  • It was reported that MLB is looking into Magic Johnson's comments that the Dodgers won't pursue free agent second baseman Robinson Cano, but Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets that they aren't viewing it too harshly.  Had the comments been made by Stan Kasten or someone in baseball operations, it'd be a different story.
  • The Red Sox's success this year is a reminder that, sometimes, finding the right fits for your team is more important than star power, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.

Minor Moves: Rays, Cubs, Purcey, Okajima

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves here..

  • Infielder Ryan Roberts, 1B/OF Shelley Duncan, outfielder Jason Bourgeois and right-hander J.D. Martin have all elected to become free agents, MLBDailyDish.com's Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter links).  All four players were outrighted off the Rays' roster earlier this season.
  • Also from Cotillo (Twitter links), catcher J.C. Boscan and outfielder Darnell McDonald have elected to become free agents.  Both players were outrighted off the Cubs' 40-man roster last week.
  • The White Sox announced they have outrighted David Purcey to Triple-A Charlotte. Purcey, 31, posted a 2.13 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 24 relief appearances. The club's 40-man roster is now at 36.  Purcey was one of Chicago's arbitration eligible players this winter.
  • Left-hander Hideki Okajima and right-hander Chris Resop have elected free agency from the Athletics, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter link).  Okajima, 38 in December, pitched in five big league games for the A's but spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A where he posted a 4.22 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 37 appearances.  Resop, 31 in November, also spent the lion's share of the year in Triple-A and had a 6.81 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.
  • Reds right-hander Jose Arredondo, Angels right-hander Robert Coello, and Marlins third baseman Gil Velazquez have elected free agency under Article XX(D), according to Eddy (via Twitter).  Arredondo struggled at the Triple-A level in 2013, posting a 5.87 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9.  Coello made 16 big league relief appearances in 2013 and put up a 3.71 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
  • At Baseball America, Eddy has the full list of the past week's minor league transactions.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Chicago Links: Abreu, Peavy, Martinez, Renteria

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The White Sox made one of the first big strikes of the offseason when they agreed to sign Jose Dariel Abreu to a six-year, $68MM deal.  We've already collected some reaction to the Abreu signing and heard what it could mean for Paul Konerko's future with the Sox, so let's expand our look at the Windy City's baseball news to include the latest on the Cubs…

  • "Depending on what is considered major," Abreu's signing will probably be the only major White Sox free agent move of the offseason, MLB.com's Scott Merkin writes.  The Sox could still make further moves via trades, as Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham have drawn some interest from other teams.
  • Also from Merkin, GM Rick Hahn goes into detail about how the three-team trade from last July between the White Sox, Red Sox and Tigers developed.  Chicago got an important piece for the future in Avisail Garcia while the deal is currently having a big impact on the ALCS, with Jake Peavy starting for Boston and Jose Iglesias starting at shortstop for Detroit.
  • Jim Thome won't be the next White Sox hitting coach, Hahn told reporters (including CSN Chicago's Charlie Roumeliotis) during a conference call today.  Still, Hahn praised Thome's work as a special assistant to the GM and predicted he would become a coach in the future.
  • An NL executive tells Peter Gammons that while the White Sox may have overpaid for Abreu, they have "one of the half-dozen thinnest farm systems in the game and Abreu doesn’t cost them a draft choice."  Gammons also hears mixed reviews of Abreu from a scout and a general manager, though the GM's team still offered Abreu $40MM.
  • Rays bench coach Dave Martinez interviewed with the Cubs today about their managerial opening and now the club will move onto the next step of its hiring process, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.  Martinez joins Manny Acta, A.J. Hinch and Rick Renteria as contenders for the job, and while Renteria just underwent hip surgery, he is still "considered a very strong candidate."
  • The Cubs would prefer to hire a bilingual manager since they have so many important Latin American prospects, FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi reports (Twitter links).  Speaking Spanish isn't "a must" but it could be a tiebreaker if the Cubs are weighing equal candidates.  Hinch is the only one of the four who doesn't speak Spanish, though the Cubs could still hire him to manage and hire Spanish-speaking coaches instead.
  • CSN Chicago's Dave Kaplan spoke to several sources around the game about the four candidates.  Martinez is seen as the clear best choice, Renteria was praised though there were some doubts about him as a first-time manager, Acta's unsuccessful stints managing the Indians and Nationals are strikes against him and Hinch drew scathing reviews.  Kaplan, for his part, thinks the Cubs should hire Brad Ausmus.

Paul Konerko Could Still Return To White Sox

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On the surface, the White Sox’s signing of Jose Dariel Abreu to a monster six-year, $68MM deal might have signaled the end of Paul Konerko’s tenure in the Windy City.  However, General Manager Rick Hahn said yesterday on a conference call that the veteran could still return to the team next season, writes Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com.

“(We’ll) talk through what Paul is feeling and how he wants to handle his future as well as potentially the role he could conceivably play on the 2014 White Sox,” Hahn said. “Those conversations haven’t taken place yet and when they do we we’ll handle them the way we have (before) which is open and honestly and internally and not publicly.”

Konerko posted an uncharacteristically low .244/.313/.355 slash line in 2013 and missed nearly an entire month with back troubles.  The 37-year-old, who has six All-Star selections to his credit, posted a career low of 12 home runs last season.  Many speculated that 2013 would be Konerko’s final season, but the slugger sounds open to returning to the White Sox on a part-time basis.

Reactions To Jose Dariel Abreu Signing With White Sox

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Last night, the White Sox signed Cuban first baseman Jose Dariel Abreu to a six-year, $68MM deal – the largest ever for an international free agent and the most lucrative deal for any White Sox player in club history.  Abreu turned heads in his showcases for clubs earlier this month and had serious interest from the Red Sox, Astros, Rangers, Marlins, and Giants.  Here's a look at the latest reactions to the deal..

  • Sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links) that bidding for Abreu was fast and furious with four clubs bidding between $63MM and $66M.  It's not known which four teams put those bids down, but the White Sox’s winning bid of $68MM wasn't excessive.
  • While Abreu’s power is impressive, scouts are split over whether his power will translate against major league pitching, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America.  Some consider his bat speed is just average and he appears vulnerable to good fastballs on the inner third of the plate.  The first baseman lacks the athleticism of fellow Cuban stars Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig.
  • The scouting consensus is that Masahiro Tanaka is better than Abreu and the total price tag for the Japanese hurler should be going up, tweets Badler.  
  • While some are up in arms about Abreu's price tag, Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors (via Twitter) notes that there is plenty chance for Abreu to be something between boom or bust at $11.3MM annually.
  • It’s interesting that the White Sox signed Abreu to a hefty deal without having publicly disclosed future of first baseman Paul Konerko yet, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd).  It's possible the veteran has already indicated that he will probably retire or maybe the White Sox determined that Abreu is the first baseman of the future, no matter what.  

Jose Dariel Abreu Down To Astros, Red Sox, White Sox

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Cuban slugger Jose Dariel Abreu has narrowed his list of possible destinations to the Astros, Red Sox, and White Sox, multiple industry sources tell Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com.  The standout first baseman could sign within the next two weeks.

The Rangers, Giants, and Marlins were also showing strong interest in Abreu along the way but are no longer in the running.  ESPN's Buster Olney reported yesterday that the 26-year-old is expected to command a deal in the range of $70MM.  Such a deal would shatter the four-year, $36MM contract signed by Yoenis Cespedes and the seven-year, $42MM pact signed by Yasiel Puig.

Recently, Tim Dierkes profiled Abreu and noted that because he is looked at as an "all bat" prospect, it would make sense for him to wind up in the American League.  Now, barring something unforeseen, the former Serie Nacional star will call the AL his home in 2014.

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