Mike Redmond Retires
Catcher Mike Redmond has retired after 13 big league seasons, he told Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Redmond signed an $850K big league deal with the Indians during the offseason, but was released in July. He plans to look for a new job in baseball.
Redmond batted .287/.342/.358 in 764 career games for the Marlins, Twins, and Indians, catching over 5,300 innings. He earned about $9MM in his career.
Antonetti Officially Named Indians’ GM
The Indians officially completed the transition of Mark Shapiro to club president and Chris Antonetti to GM, according to a press release. The plan had been announced in February. Mike Chernoff was named assistant GM, among other front office promotions. Back in April, MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince profiled Antonetti, a 35-year-old who had been in the organization for 12 years.
Indians Acquire Preston Mattingly
The Indians have acquired Preston Mattingly from the Dodgers in exchange for outfielder Roman Pena, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com (via Twitter). Of course, Mattingly's father Don will take over as Dodgers skipper beginning in 2011.
Mattingly was the Dodgers' first-round selection (31st overall) in the 2006 draft. The 23-year-old was being groomed as a middle infielder up until 2009 when he spent the bulk of his time in left field. The youngster split time between Rookie ball and the Dodgers' Inland Empire affiliate, hitting just .218/.247/.291.
Pena, 24, has a .189/.300/.313 slash line at the A-plus level. The left-handed batter has experience at all three outfield positions.
Cafardo On Diamondbacks, Lee, Ortiz, Byrnes
In his latest column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo writes that the Phillies have to be considered World Series favorites heading into the postseason. Here are the other items of interest in Cafardo's piece:
- Discussing his new team, Kevin Towers hinted that he may want to shake up the Diamondbacks' strikeout-heavy lineup: "Personally, I like contact hitters. I like guys with good pitch recognition. Strikeouts are part of the game, but if you have four, five, or six guys in your lineup, it’s hard to sustain any sort of rally."
- According to Cafardo, moving Carlos Lee to first base helps the Astros by not only improving Lee's trade value, but also making their outfield more athletic. I agree on the second point, but I don't think Lee has any trade value until he improves his career-low .701 OPS.
- Cafardo adds that if Lee can play first base for a National League club, there's reason to believe David Ortiz could do it too.
- Former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes has spoken to six different teams about job opportunities in their organizations, and was asked for advice by a few clubs at this year's trade deadline. The Red Sox and Indians are among the teams interested in Byrnes.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: LaRue, Martin, Ortiz, Minaya
On this date four years ago, Trevor Hoffman set a new career saves mark when he retired Ryan Doumit, Jose Bautista, and Freddy Sanchez of the Pirates in order. His 479th save moved him past Lee Smith and into first place on the all-time list, a spot he still holds today with 600 career saves on the nose. Other than Mariano Rivera and the soon-to-retire Billy Wagner, no active closer is within 310 saves of Hoffman's mark.
Here's a collection of links from the last week of the baseball blog world…
- The Hardball Times takes an in-depth look at the legal implications of the Johnny Cueto–Jason LaRue brawl that led to LaRue's retirement.
- Disciples of Uecker checks in with the players the Brewers traded for C.C. Sabathia back in 2008.
- Pittsburgh Lumber Co. looks at how the Pirates bullpen has performed since trading away some key pieces at the deadline.
- The Process Report follows up a previous post and explains how Jose Lobaton continues to help the Rays even though he's never played a game for them.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness breaks down the Dodgers' options with Russell Martin.
- Red Sox Beacon tries to figure out what Boston should do with David Ortiz.
- Amazin' Avenue audits Omar Minaya's front office.
- Crashburn Alley discusses the genius of Charlie Manuel.
- Drunk Jays Fans looked at the merits of Rays' bench coach Dave Martinez as a potential Cito Gaston replacement.
- Feeling Dodger Blue says Tim Wallach should have gotten the Dodgers manager job over Don Mattingly.
- A Fan's Opinion plans out the Angels offseason.
- DesigNate Robertson does the same, but for the Tigers.
- Lookout Landing guesses at the Mariners' 2011 payroll.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Extension Candidate: Shin-Soo Choo
When Chris Antonetti officially becomes the Indians GM this offseason, he'll probably consider extending Shin-Soo Choo. It would mean working with agent Scott Boras on a multi-year deal and while that may sound intimidating, there's precedent for this kind of contract. Early in 2009, Prince Fielder, another Boras client, signed a two-year deal that bought out a pair of his arbitration seasons.
Choo will be arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason and Boras has hinted that he'd be open to a multi-year deal. Boras clients, Fielder included, aren't generally easy to sign long-term, so the Indians may have trouble locking Choo up beyond his three arbitration seasons. Here's a look ahead to a potential three-year deal between the Indians and their right fielder.
Let's start by estimating what Choo would make if the Indians don't extend him. Three other outfielders (none of them super twos) match up reasonably well with Choo if you compare his stats to what they had accomplished heading into their first arbitration seasons. B.J. Upton ($3MM), Josh Willingham ($2.95MM) and Ryan Ludwick ($3.7MM) all signed deals worth $3MM or so for their first arbitration seasons.
You could make the case, as Boras may, that Choo has accomplished more than any of those three players at comparable stages in their careers. When you compare Choo to the other three players in home runs, RBI, runs, batting average, OBP, slugging percentage and steals, it becomes apparent that the Indians outfielder has a strong case to earn over $3MM next year. Upton beats Choo in steals and runs scored, but loses in every other category; Willingham loses to Choo in every category but home runs and Ludwick loses in every category but home runs and slugging percentage.
Choo's defense is also strong; he has a 7.7 UZR this season and leads all MLB outfielders in assists with 13. He was among the top ten MLB outfielders in assists last year and consistently gets to more balls than most AL right fielders. He doesn't head into arbitration with quite the same platform year that Ludwick did, but Choo will be coming off a second consecutive 20 homer, 20 steal season. A $3.5MM payday in 2011 seems within reach.
If Choo is making $3-4MM next year and is set to receive raises in 2012 and 2013, the Indians would likely have to be prepared to spend considerably to sign Choo for the next three seasons. Antonetti could go year to year, especially if it looks like Choo will have to serve in the South Korean military, but if the Indians do sign their right fielder for the next three years, it probably won't be for less than $20MM.
Nick Markakis, who signed a long-term extension with the Orioles after the 2008 season, then had remarkably similar numbers to the ones Choo has now. Markakis, who also has a strong throwing arm and plays right field, edges Choo in average, runs and homers, but Choo has more RBI and steals and better on base and slugging averages. Markakis' extension could be a model for Cleveland and he will earn $20MM for his three arbitration seasons.
Odds & Ends: Ellsbury, Pirates, Soto, Drew
Links for Sunday, as the Padres, Giants, and Rockies find themselves separated by a single game in the NL West standings….
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe hears from a pair of Mets officials that the team may make a run at Jacoby Ellsbury this winter.
- GM Neal Huntington discusses the Pirates' nine arbitration-eligible players with Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Geovany Soto will have arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder tomorrow, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Soto will be looking at a three-month recovery, so he should be fully healthy for spring training.
- J.D. Drew isn't sure what the future holds after his current deal expires, writes WEEI's Rob Bradford. Drew is under contract through 2011 and indicates that he's considering the possibility of retiring after that.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer outlines a few of the Indians' needs, and addresses the possibility of Josh Byrnes joining the team's front office.
Indians Claim Chad Huffman
The Indians claimed Chad Huffman off of waivers from the Yankees and optioned him to Triple A, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (on Twitter). The Yankees, who claimed Huffman from the Padres in April, designated him for assignment earlier in the week.
Huffman, a 25-year-old outfielder, struggled through 21 plate appearances for the Yankees back in June and July, but hit 274/.353/.410 at Triple A this year. It was the first time in his five-year minor league career that he posted an OPS under .800. The 2006 second-rounder made the Pacific Coast League All-Star team a year ago and won the league's Home Run Derby.
Odds & Ends: Kuroda, Dunn, Wang, Sabathia, Choo
Links for Tuesday, exactly one year after the Rockies released Russ Ortiz. It was the third time a major league organization released Ortiz in 2009 and a preview of April 2010 when the Dodgers released him. Here are today's links…
- Hiroki Kuroda denied to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that he intends to play in Japan next season. "I really haven't decided anything," the right-hander said (Twitter links)
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that there has been no progress on a contract extension for Adam Dunn. The first baseman told reporters recently that he "assumes" he will finish the year without a deal in place.
- Within the same piece, Ladson mentions that Chien-Ming Wang will not pitch this year because of shoulder weakness. The Nationals signed Wang to a one year deal worth $2MM last winter and control him as an arbitration eligible player next year.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Jack Curry of the YES Network that C.C. Sabathia has done "exactly what they hoped for" when they signed him last offseason, and that includes his presence in the clubhouse (Twitter links).
- Shin-Soo Choo will likely be able to avoid military service in South Korea if he helps his country win a gold medal in baseball at the Asian Games this November, as MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince explains.
- Agent Scott Boras told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Choo may sign an extension with the Indians this offseason. "Things have a way of working out with the good players," Boras said.
- Baseball America named Jeremy Hellickson its 2010 minor league player of the year.
- It's looking like the Marlins will sign Ricky Nolasco to a one year deal through arbitration, instead of negotiating a long-term deal, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
- Arizona president Derrick Hall likes former Padres GM Kevin Towers and interim D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. The D'Backs haven't had a permanent GM or manager since firing Josh Byrnes and A.J. Hinch earlier in the summer.
Odds & Ends: Choo, Larish, Fox, Maya, Orioles
Links for Sunday evening as the Dodgers and Giants battle it out in Los Angeles..
- Shin-Soo Choo is reminding his former team, the Mariners, of how talented he is, writes Doug Miller of MLB.com. Seattle sent Choo to Cleveland in a deal for Ben Broussard in 2006.
- Jeff Larish is enjoying his second stint with the A's, writes MLB.com's Alex Espinoza.
- Twins manager Rod Gardenhire told Kelly Thesier of MLB.com that designating Matt Fox for assignment was not an easy decision.
- Yuneski Maya is excited to make his major league debut, writes George Von Benko in piece for MLB.com.
- Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun spoke to Cal Ripken Jr. who has high hopes for Manny Machado.