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Odds & Ends: Church, Macha, Farrell

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Some more reading for the last Friday night of the 2009 regular season….

  • Mark Bowman of MLB.com wonders if Ryan Church has played his last game for the Braves. Bowman thinks, because of Church's back injuries, the Braves may not want to pay for a salary bump through arbitration.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin has not yet met with Ken Macha to discuss his future in Milwaukee, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. It looks as if Macha will be back in the Brewers' dugout in 2010, but Melvin probably won't make it official until after Sunday's finale.
  • Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell attempts to dispel rumors that he'll be the next manager in Cleveland, via Anthony Castrovince at MLB.com.
  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer looks at the AL Rookie of the Year race and concludes that the candidate he'd most like to have for the next few seasons is Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus.
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter) is surprised the Orioles picked up Dave Trembley's 2010 option.
  • If Bobby Jenks is back in Chicago in 2010, White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper expects a better season out of the closer, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
  • Daniel Barbarisi of the Providence Journal writes that the Indians are still feeling the "punch to the gut" of losing Victor Martinez.
  • T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com notes that it's not certain whether Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo will be back in Texas in 2010.

Bidding On Jason Bay

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WEEI.com's Alex Speier hears from multiple sources that the bidding for Jason Bay will reach at least four years at $14-15MM per season. The 31-year-old outfielder has been "pleasantly surprised" by his first contract year. Bay didn't know what to expect at the beginning of the season, but he's produced, as usual.

He has 36 homers and a .266/.385/.538 line that overshadows his 159 strikeouts and below average defense (according to UZR/150). A return to Boston appears to be a "legitimate possibility," but other teams will have interest if the two sides can't agree to a deal.

As Speier notes, the Angels, Cardinals, Giants, Mariners, Mets, White Sox and Yankees could all have interest in Bay and the resources to sign him.

Yahoo's Gordon Edes and MLBTR's Mike Axisa each compared Bay to Matt Holliday last month, so check out their articles to see how Bay fits in to the rest of the free agent market.

Odds & Ends: Blue Jays, Wedge, Sweeney

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Some more links for the morning…

  • Multiple major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that many Blue Jays are fed up with manager Cito Gaston and don't want him to return. One source says it's "nearly a mutiny" in the clubhouse.
  • Eric Wedge wants to manage again at some point, according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.
  • Marlins prospect Mike Stanton still projects as a middle-of-the-order 40 homer threat, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. gets high marks from his predecessors, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Former Phillies GMs Ed Wade and Pat Gillick praised Amaro's moves.
  • Mike Sweeney is having the most fun he's ever had in the big leagues, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. He wants to return and play one more year for the Mariners or the Angels.
  • As Jon Heyman of SI.com notes, players chose Michael Weiner as the next executive director of the MLBPA.
  • Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune doesn't expect Jermaine Dye, Josh Fields or Octavio Dotel to return to the White Sox next year.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Jenks, Byrd, Wedge

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FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has a new column up with a few interesting hot stove items.  Let's dive in…

  • If the White Sox are going to move Bobby Jenks, they'll probably do it early in the offseason.  The market for closers this winter (both in free agency and via trade) is decently strong and GM Kenny Williams will want to be involved in all negotiations from the get-go.
  • Or the White Sox could decide to hand the ninth-inning role to Matt Thornton and find a new setup man among the remaining free agent arms in January.
  • Texas wants to re-sign Marlon Byrd, as we've heard before, but the outfielder's demands might not match the Rangers' available resources.  Byrd posted career-highs in homers and RBI this season and probably won't be interested in taking any sort of discount.

Rosenthal also appeared on the MLB Network this evening for a chat about Eric Wedge, who was fired as Indians manager this morning.  Rosenthal believes Wedge will garner interest from teams looking for a new skipper as soon as next season.  "This is going to be a hot guy," said Rosenthal.  "Someone is going to hire Eric Wedge on the rebound, and someone is going to get a great manager."

Odds & Ends: Griffey, Harden, Guzman

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Let's have a look at a few evening links….

  • John McGrath of the Tacoma News Tribune notes that the uncertainty regarding Ken Griffey Jr.'s future with the Mariners could make for an uncomfortable PR situation, given Griffey's popularity in Seattle. We've already heard that Griffey would be open to returning and that the Mariners would not reject the idea. McGrath rightly points out though that it would be a mistake to bring the 39-year-old back as the same middle-of-the-order DH he was this year, since he has hit just .214/.323/.395. If the Mariners do retain Griffey, McGrath says it has to be a pinch hitter and part-time player.
  • After earlier reports that the Cubs might not be interested in retaining Rich Harden, we get a follow-up from Keith Law at ESPN.com wondering what type of deal Harden might get. Law compares Harden to Brad Penny, suggesting that, like Penny, the Cubs righty may not be able to secure a multi-year deal because of health concerns.
  • Bill Ladson of MLB.com blogs that Cristian Guzman is still unsure about playing second base for the Nationals in 2010. GM Mike Rizzo and interim manager Jim Riggleman requested the move, feeling that Guzman "no longer has the range to play shortstop."
  • The White Sox should consider keeping Jermaine Dye, according to Matt Meyers of ESPN.com. Although he acknowledges that the outfielder's declining slugging percentage and subpar fielding make for a scary combination, Meyers contends that Dye is a better fit in Chicago than anywhere else, since he could replace the departed Jim Thome as the team's full-time DH. Dye would like to return and Ozzie wants him back too, but the Sox aren't about to pick up the $12MM option just because it's the best fit for Dye.
  • Corey Brock at MLB.com talks to San Diego Padres' GM Kevin Towers about the focus on speed for the Padres. Towers believes there is such a thing as a "PETCO Park player," and that athleticism is a crucial characteristic for playing in the spacious ballpark. Given this approach, it'll be interesting to see who the Padres might target from this offseason's free agent pool.
  • Baseball America's Ben Badler tweets that the Pittsburgh Pirates' win this afternoon once again clinched the No. 1 pick for the Washington Nationals in next June's draft. The Pirates and Baltimore Orioles are still in the mix for No. 2.

Odds & Ends: Holliday, White Sox, Pirates

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Good morning everybody!  Let's check out some links…

  • Matt Holliday has meshed beautifully with the Cardinals since being acquired in July, writes Matthew Leach of MLB.com.
  • Ozzie Guillen says that Matt Thornton has "good enough equipment" to step into the closer role, but wants to learn more about his mental makeup as the season winds down, writes Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune.  Thornton may asked to be the White Sox' fireman in 2010 if the team trades Bobby Jenks, who is entering his second year of arbitration.
  • If the Giants don't pick up his 2010 option, Freddy Sanchez doesn't anticipate coming back to the Pirates, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • More from Dejan Kovacevic as he says that the Pirates could be calling Matt Capps their closer for 2010 in an effort to boost his trade value.  Capps has an ERA of 5.91 in 53.1 innings of work this year.
  • There are indications that the Mets will keep pitching coach Dan Warthen and batting coach Howard Johnson on board, writes Marty Noble of MLB.com.  There has been no such indication for third-base coach Razor Shines.

Odds & Ends: Chapman, Indians, Dye, Cubs

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Let's take a look at the wire…

  • Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times talked to Angels scouting director Eddie Bane about his level of interest in Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman.  Bane once again stated that he is intrigued by the 21-year-old lefty, but must see him face live batting before considering making an offer.
  • A clause in Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell's contract prevents him from accepting an outside managerial position until after the 2010 season, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Farrell, who served as Cleveland's farm director before joining the BoSox, was expected to be a candidate to manage the Indians if Eric Wedge is not brought back.
  • More from Ken Rosenthal as he reports that the Brewers are "seemingly on the verge" of retaining Ken Macha and are considering hiring pitching coach Rick Peterson. Macha and Peterson were on the Oakland staff together from 1999-2003.  Peterson served under Macha in 2003, his first year as the A's skipper.
  • MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports that Ozzie Guillen hopes "it's not the end" for him and Jermaine Dye, as 2010 marks a mutual option year.  Dye wants to return but the White Sox are unlikely to pick up the 35-year-old's $12MM option.
  • Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports that Lou Piniella doesn't expect the Cubs roster to change too much.  "Last year we had about 10 changes here," Piniella said. "If we have half that, that's a nice number. Some changes [last year] were out of necessity. I see us being selective in what we do."
  • Toronto's Jose Bautista is improving his stock heading into arbitration, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
  • Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News writes in his blog that Brian Sabean denied telling season-ticket holders that he would "undoubtedly" look to pick up Freddy Sanchez's option, but said that the Giants want to hang on to him.

Peavy For Zambrano?

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Phil Rogers of The Chicago Tribune says that there is some buzz regarding a Second City swap of Jake Peavy and Carlos Zambrano:

"Some baseball people believe the White Sox could have interest in the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano, possibly even for the newly acquired Jake Peavy.  It would be a way for two teams without much money to spend to shake things up, but wouldn't Peavy have more value than Zambrano at this point?"

Peavy, as you may remember, listed the Cubs as a team he was willing to be traded to when the Padres first looked to move him.  Zambrano has solid numbers for the year, posting an ERA of 3.69 and 8 strikeouts per 9 innings. 

With just two starts in black and white, people are already wondering if Peavy will be a part of the team's 2010 plans.  Big Z has had a very strong September (2.81 ERA, 38 K's in 32 IP) but frustrations on the north side of Chicago have put every Cubbie under the gun.

Starting in 2010, the continuation of Peavy's contract will pay him $52MM over three years plus a club option.  Zambrano will earn $53.75MM in the next three years with a vesting player option for 2013 worth $19.25MM.

Could an intra-city trade of this magnitude ever happen?  Should either team pursue such a trade or is this simply a case of the grass being greener on the other end of the Windy City?

Could Garcia Return To White Sox In 2010?

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After missing most of the last two-and-a-half years due to injury, Freddy Garcia has emerged as arguably Chicago's most reliable starter down the stretch. He's put up a 3.29 ERA in his last six starts, and opponents are hitting just .234/.283/.355 off the guy that was once traded for Randy Johnson. Garcia has already expressed a desire to return to the White Sox next year according to MLB.com's Jesse Temple, and the team holds a $1MM option for his services next year.

The front of Chicago's rotation is pretty well set with Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd, so Garcia would give the team a cheap and experienced option in the five-spot. Plus there's the old adage of "you can never have too much pitching." What do you guys think, picking up the option seems like a no-brainer, right?

Mets Claim Jack Egbert From White Sox

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5:24pm: Just following up, Hubbuch says Egbert will not pitch for the Mets this year, instead he'll just report to Spring Training next year.

3:06pm: The Mets claimed right-hander Jack Egbert off waivers from the White Sox, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post. The 26-year-old only appeared in two games with the White Sox this year and the results weren't pretty. He allowed one run for every out he recorded, so he has a 27.00 ERA to show for his 2.2 innings pitched.

Egbert pitched better at Triple A Charlotte, where he allowed 132 hits and 33 walks in 108 innings. He struck out 78 and finishes his minor league season with a 5.05 ERA.

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