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Odds And Ends: Figgins, Peavy, Royals

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Some more links to check out…

  • Cubs manager Lou Piniella told the Chicago Tribune that he expects his team to be speedier next year. The Tribune suggests Chone Figgins could be a fit for the Cubs. With his versatility and speed, Figgins would be a fit on a number of clubs.
  • As MLB.com's Rustin Dodd points out, Figgins has also emerged as one of the league's best defenders at the hot corner.
  • Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald believes the White Sox would be wise to rest Jake Peavy for the rest of the season if they're not within five games of the division lead by next weekend. 
  • Whether Peavy returns this year or not, MLB.com's Mike Bauman says the White Sox have a lot to look forward to in coming seasons.
  • A "baseball guy" tells Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star that the Royals are bad because even "their good players aren't very good." Zack Greinke and Billy Butler are presumably exceptions.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Figgins, Hanley, Kershaw, Drew

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Let's see what FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has for us in his latest Full Count video…

  • Chone Figgins could be one of the most popular free agents this winter. The White Sox have long had interest in him, and his skills as a leadoff hitter will make him attractive to many teams, perhaps even the Yankees.
  • Figgins will come cheaper than Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, and the Yanks could easily withstand his lack of power if they put him in left field. Four years younger than Johnny Damon, Figgins and Derek Jeter would make a dynamic 1-2 punch atop the Yankees' lineup.
  • Apparently, Hanley Ramirez isn't very popular in the Marlins' clubhouse. The complaints should only go so far though, because he's played hurt this seasons and is on target to play in 150 or more games for the fourth straight year. Hanley's also batting .385 with runners in scoring position this year after hitting just .239 in those spots last year. He's also worked very hard to improve his defense as well.
  • The Dodgers did well by adding Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla to their rotation, but one National League GM is worried about Clayton Kershaw because he's approaching 3,000 pitches thrown on the season, which is when you start to worry.
  • Maybe it's time to cut J.D. Drew some slack. Sure, he's missed 92 games in three seasons with Boston, but one team official told Rosenthal he'd sign Drew to the same contract (five years, $70MM) again in a second. The Red Sox consider Drew one of the five best right fielders in baseball when you consider on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and defense.

Odds & Ends: Hillman, White Sox, Japanese Pitchers

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Let's start the evening off by rounding up a few spare links…

  • According to The Associated Press (via ESPN), Royals manager Trey Hillman will return to the team next season. Kansas City GM Dayton Moore, who originally hired Hillman, had his contract extended through 2014 earlier this week.
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams was asked if the Jim Thome and Jose Contreras trades indicate that he was throwing in the towel according to Scot Gregor of The Daily Herald, and Williams replied "Hell no. We're still in it to win it.”
  • Patrick at NPB Tracker passes along a report saying that the Yokohama BayStars are looking to import Japanese pitchers currently playing in the States. The article mentions that players like Tomo Ohka, Yasuhiko Yabuta, and Masahide Kobayashi could interest the BayStars, while Patrick throws the names of Kei Igawa and Takashi Saito into the ring.
  • ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. writes that Miguel Angel Sano is not the only big name Latin American free agent stuck in age investigation limbo. Venezuelan pitcher Daniel Sanchez, considered one of the best pitchers available this year, is stuck in the same boat after the Brewers put in a formal request to MLB to investigate his age. An age investigation is a prerequisite to signing any player from Latin America.

Williams Discusses Thome and Contreras Trades

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ESPN's Peter Gammons has a long-awaited interview with White Sox GM Ken Williams about the trades that sent Jim Thome and Jose Contreras packing. Williams argues that the trades did not amount to "a raising of the white flag" and says he was trying "to do right by players who certainly did right by us."

Williams says that he assured Thome that he would not be traded against his wishes. "He told me he was more interested in winning another ring than hitting 600 homers," the GM said. "We wanted to accomodate [him] so that he could finish the season the way he wanted."

Regarding Contreras, Williams says that manager Ozzie Guillen was not planning to start the pitcher down the stretch. "I thought this was a way to give him the opportunity to start and rebuild his value in the free-agent market," Williams said. 

According to Gammons, Rockies manager Jim Tracy, who "dealt with" Brad Penny when both were with the Dodgers, did not want the veteran starter on his staff although GM Dan O'Dowd had interest. So, O'Dowd turned to the White Sox for the starter he needed.

Odds & Ends: Johnson, Peavy, Nelson

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Links for Thursday…

Rosenthal On Cameron, Penny, Dye

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Time for a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • The Yankees and Brewers discussed a Mike Cameron trade (again) in August, but never came close to a deal.  We learned earlier today from ESPN's Jayson Stark that the Marlins were also interested.  Cameron, however, hopes to remain with the Brewers past this season.
  • The Yankees had "serious interest" in Brad Penny as well, but the big righty preferred the NL and the Giants' ballpark.  Penny recently said he'd be willing to return to the AL East, but the smart money's on him signing in the NL after the season.
  • Rosenthal learned that Jermaine Dye had the right to convert his $12MM mutual option into a player option if traded.  That was probably one of several reasons the Giants did not pursue him.  We learned from Stark that the White Sox "wanted something good" for Dye.
  • Rosenthal expects Astros manager Cecil Cooper to be fired even though he's under contract through next year.  He believes former Phillies manager Jim Fregosi could be a candidate to replace him.

Stark On Lackey, Rays, Jeter

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More from Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings column at ESPN.com…

  • One of Stark's sources says the Angels' acquisition of Scott Kazmir is not linked to John Lackey's future.  Lackey is said to have dropped his price from the C.C. Sabathia range ($161MM over seven years) to A.J. Burnett money ($82.5MM over five years) due to his recent injury history.  The Angels will attempt to re-sign Lackey, but they have their limit.  Stark's suggestion that Lackey had a "Sabathia-esque" price tag in Spring Training runs counter to Mike DiGiovanna's report that the pitcher wanted Burnett money at that time.
  • Stark feels that the Rays' trade of Kazmir will help them allocate money toward retaining Carl Crawford and/or Carlos Pena.  Crawford's 2010 club option is worth between $10-11.5MM.  Pena is signed at $10.125MM for '10 and is represented by Scott Boras.  One positive: the slugging first baseman inked a below-market deal in January of '08.
  • Derek Jeter is not talking about his next contract, but Stark feels the Yankees will take care of him.  They may wait until after next season, when Jeter finishes his current deal.
  • Rockies manager Jim Tracy is familiar with Brad Penny, and his opinion might have caused the team to back off.  And the Yankees cooled Jon Garland because they didn't see him as a difference-maker in the AL East.
  • The Marlins were in on Mike Cameron, but the Brewers decided to keep their players and win as many games as possible.
  • The White Sox "wanted something good" for Jermaine Dye, according to one Stark source.  He would not have been as easy to pry away as Jim Thome and Jose Contreras were.
  • A couple of sources are skeptical that the Red Sox will shop closer Jonathan Papelbon this winter.
  • Stark notes that only two players – Ryan Franklin and David Eckstein – signed extensions in-season.  These days it makes more sense to talk during the exclusive negotiation period after the season.  Plus, there were many bargains to be had on the free agent market last offseason.

Olney On White Sox, Rangers, Yankees

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney says Giants catching prospect Buster Posey is probably more likely to be on the team's Opening Day roster, now that they club started his service time clock. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • Olney says Kenny Williams has a responsibility to publicly discuss the moves that sent Jim Thome and Jose Contreras elsewhere.
  • Olney hears that the Rangers will likely consider various infielders now that Michael Young is hurt. A player like Jamey Carroll could help the Rangers, but Olney doubts they'll make a move.
  • Here's a suggestion for the Yankees from Olney: offer both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui one-year deals after the season, but say "we'll keep whoever takes our offer first."

Heyman On Dye, Felix, Cameron

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The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • Heyman's sources say the Giants "made no overtures" to acquire Chicago outfielder Jermaine Dye, who Sox GM Ken Williams made available a few days ago.  Dye is hitting .260/.339/.474 in 495 plate appearances on the season after a terrible August.
  • Heyman talked to "competing execs" who believe the Mariners will try hard to sign young ace Felix Hernandez to an extension during the offseason.  If that completely fails then we might hear trade rumors.  Hernandez, 24 in April, has a 2.77 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 185.3 innings this year.  He's under team control through 2011.  Six teams made offers for Felix at the trade deadline this year, including the Tigers, Red Sox, and Rays.
  • Three teams expressed interest in Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron, and Heyman isn't sure why Doug Melvin held onto him.  The Brewers could've potentially saved $2MM.
  • Heyman's heard the initial bids to buy the Rangers have been weak.

Dodgers Rumors: Colletti, Thome, Garland, Hudson

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The latest from Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times covers the future of Dodgers GM Ned Colletti and also reveals details from the team's acquisitions of Jon Garland and Jim Thome.

  • Colletti faces a mutual option for 2010.  He says he'd love to be back, but hasn't discussed his future with owner Frank McCourt yet.  Sure, Colletti has been able to operate under a budget.  But his work as a GM is a mixed bag at best.  SI's Jon Heyman recently weighed in on Colletti's recent work; check that out here.
  • The White Sox are paying $1.4MM of the $2.4MM still owed to Thome.  From Chicago's point of view, the benefit was saving a million bucks.  With all the penny-pinching in the Dodgers' trades the past few years, I'm surprised they were willing to spend that million for one month of a bench bat.
  • Hernandez heard that Tony Abreu is the player to be named later in the Garland deal, as had been rumored.  Abreu, a Scott Boras client, is hitting .351/.382/.609 in 213 Triple A plate appearances.
  • Hernandez says the Dodgers are "not expected to retain" second baseman Orlando Hudson.  Hudson may not be up for a one-year, incentive-laden contract this time around.
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