Odds & Ends: Mariners, Orioles, Indians
If you're up reading, we're up writing!
- MLB.com's Jim Street takes questions about the Mariners. Among other things, he believes the Mariners will find a veteran catcher to at least split time with prospect Adam Moore.
- Street's Baltimore counterpart, MLB.com's Spencer Fordin, believes the Orioles will move Koji Uehara to short relief and look to acquire another veteran starter.
- The Cleveland Plain-Dealer's Paul Hoynes has very positive things to say about Manny Acta, the new Indians' manager.
- Manny Corpas looks strong in Instructional League play, according to Thomas Harding of MLB.com, and Corpas will play winter ball as well. A Corpas revival gives the Rockies some alternatives if they don't want to face a big arbitration number from Huston Street, or pick up the $5.4MM option of Rafael Betancourt.
Acta To Manage Indians
3:28pm: MLB.com's Brian McTaggart confirms, via Twitter, that Acta turned down the Houston job for Cleveland. McTaggart adds that the Astros offered Acta a two-year contract with an option.
2:53pm: Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer provides an update. Acta received a three-year contract with an option for 2013. According to Hoynes, Acta was offered the managerial job in Houston as well, but turned it down to manage in Cleveland.
1:53pm: Jon Heyman informs us, via Twitter, that the Indians will hire Manny Acta as their new manager.
Acta, 40, managed the Nationals for two and a half seasons from 2007-2009, posting a record of 158-252, but was fired earlier this year after a 26-61 start. Acta's winning percentage of just .385 can be attributed largely to the quality of the product that he was given, however. Following his firing, many in the industry thought it would only be a short period of time before Acta was given another chance to experience success at the Major League level.
Acta was also in the mix for the managerial job in Houston, along with Phil Garner, Brad Mills, and Dave Clark. Other candidates for the Indians managerial gig included Bobby Valentine and Torey Lovullo.
Odds & Ends: La Russa, Indians, Arguelles
A few links to start your Sunday….
- Tony La Russa didn't officially say he'll be back in St. Louis in 2010, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. But it sounds like he's leaning towards returning, and that an announcement could be made within a couple days.
- Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that Bobby Valentine would be the best choice as an "impact" manager for the Tribe. He thinks that Manny Acta is the favorite though.
- The Plain Dealer's Bud Shaw also gives his two cents on the Indians' managerial hunt, opining that Valentine's "outside-the-box interview strategy figures to backfire."
- At least four teams are very interested in Cuban lefty Noel Arguelles, according to Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus (via Twitter). In the same tweet, McDaniel mentions that Wagner Mateo still looks headed to the San Francisco Giants.
- Michael Baron of MetsBlog agrees with MLB.com's Marty Noble when he says the New York Mets have to address their need for a catcher.
Odds & Ends: Indians, Dodgers, Sizemore
More links on this Saturday night…
- The Indians' "trio of managerial candidates" each told the club how they would improve the team's less-than-stellar bullpen. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer brings us the ideas of Manny Acta, Bobby Valentine and Torey Lovullo. Chris Perez was one of the Tribe's bright spots in relief, posting 38 Ks in 33.1 IP after coming over from St. Louis in the Mark DeRosa trade.
- Hoynes also writes that Jon Nunnally is expected to be a "serious candidate" for the team's hitting coach vacancy, regardless of who the manager is. Nunnally is currently the hitting coach for the team's triple-A affiliate under the aforementioned Lovullo.
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports that Major League Baseball is monitoring the McCourts' battle in Chavez Ravine. Bob DuPuy, president and chief operating officer of MLB, says that the commissioner's office has not encouraged the McCourts to sell the team.
- Shaikin also says that the Dodgers will not use freed-up cash in free agency, but will instead use those funds to retain their arbitration eligible core players. Those players include Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, James Loney, Russell Martin, Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton and George Sherrill.
- A broken ankle won't cost Tigers' second baseman Scott Sizemore any time in Spring Training, writes Jason Beck of MLB.com. Barring any unforeseen setbacks in his recovery, it seems that Detroit can still afford to allow free agent Placido Polanco to walk.
Heyman On Lee, Sabathia, Mattingly
Indians GM Mark Shapiro tells Jon Heyman of SI.com that it's "bittersweet" to see Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia excelling in the postseason for other clubs. The former Indians aces could match up in Game 1 of the World Series if the Yankees beat the Angels in six games. Lee tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports it would be a lot of fun and I'm sure thousands of baseball fans agree with him. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- Shapiro says "the realities of the business" prevented the Indians from retaining either Sabathia or Lee.
- Heyman says the Indians offered Sabathia $72MM over four years to stay in Cleveland before the 2008 season and Shapiro admits the offer was probably "unrealistic."
- The Indians never made Lee an offer and traded him and Victor Martinez because they would have had limited payroll flexibility had they held onto both players for 2010.
- The Indians appear to have chosen four finalists for their managerial opening: Bobby Valentine, Don Mattingly, Manny Acta and Torey Lovullo.
- The Dodgers appear to be preparing Mattingly to take over for Joe Torre after next season, so it might make sense for Mattingly to stay in LA.
Odds & Ends: Chapman, Indians, Mulder, Royals
More links for Friday…
- Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News says the Mets are meeting with Aroldis Chapman today in New York. Rubin also passes along the bio Chapman's representatives have prepared.
- The Angels have given the Indians permission to interview bench coach Ron Roenicke for the club's managerial opening, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney says Don Mattingly is a frontrunner for the Indians job and, as Brian Costello of the New York Post reports, the Nationals have interest in Mattingly, too.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel agrees with Buster Olney. Mark Mulder makes sense for the Brewers, who had interest in the lefty earlier this year.
- Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star assumes the Royals won't bring Tony Pena Jr. back. The shortstop-turned pitcher chose to become a free agent earlier in the week.
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says the Red Sox have enough organizational pitching depth to focus on adding a big bat this offseason. Massarotti expects the Red Sox to target Jason Bay and, possibly, Matt Holliday. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the team sign either player. Check the article out to see a breakdown of the club's financial commitments for the next couple years.
Heyman On Dodgers, Valentine
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman, like many writers, believes the Dodgers need a #1 starter. He says Dodgers people "aren't overly optimistic" about snagging Roy Halladay or John Lackey, however.
- Heyman believes the Dodgers should consider trading one or all of James Loney, Russell Martin, and Chad Billingsley. Billingsley was ineffective in July and September, but the 25-year-old is under team control for three more years. Interest would be very strong.
- Heyman guesses the Indians might be willing to go to $2.5MM for Bobby Valentine, while GM Mark Shapiro doesn't expect money to be a factor.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Cameron, Valentine
A few news items to think about while we get ready for Game Five of the NLCS….
- MLB.com's Marty Noble agrees with a reader e-mail that a defensively-sound first baseman would do wonders for the Mets' infield defense and overall performance.
- From that same piece, Noble thinks that Mike Cameron would be a good fit with the Mets due to his ability to cover the vast expanses of Citi Field's outfield. Noble isn't as keen on Chone Figgins since he doesn't fit New York's needs.
- MLB.com's Noah Coslov tweets that the Indians will interview Bobby Valentine on Thursday.
- If Manny Acta isn't hired in Cleveland or Houston, The Globe & Mail's Jeff Blair thinks he could land in Toronto.
- Canadian Business Online looks at the best and worst free agent signings from last year and examines which teams got the most value from their rosters in 2009.
Odds & Ends: Mariners, Pujols, Indians, Lincecum
A few more evening links….
- Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times says that Kenji Johjima's opt-out is "an early Christmas present" for the Mariners.
- Meanwhile, Rob Johnson has one surgery down and one to go, according to MLB.com's Jim Street. Johnson will battle for time behind the plate in Seattle next season, with Johjima's departure resulting in one less competitor.
- Speaking of offseason surgeries, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports is reporting that Albert Pujols will have elbow surgery tomorrow. Breathe easy though, Cardinals fans: according to Rosenthal, Pujols expects to be fully healthy for spring training.
- Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com breaks down four of the confirmed finalists for the Cleveland Indians' managerial opening.
- Of the candidates for the Indians' job, Manny Acta would be the best choice for appealing to the team's Latino players, writes Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Pluto anticipates Latinos to make up about a third of the team's 25-man roster in 2010.
- The San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman looks at the Super Two rule, and explains why Tim Lincecum's extra week of major-league service could mean a big payday for the Cy Young winner.
Odds & Ends: Indians, Padres, Marlins
Some more links on this Sunday evening:
- Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Indians "are expected to cut their managerial search to five or fewer candidates this week." Pluto advises us not to be surprised if former Nationals skipper Manny Acta is among the finalists. Acta is also in contention for the Astros' job.
- Pluto goes on to write that Cleveland has interviewed ten candidates so far. The aforementioned Acta, Bobby Valentine, Travis Fryman (manager of Indians' single-A affiliate) and Torey Lovullo (Indians' triple-A manager) are among those under consideration. Pluto is in the dark regarding the remaining six, but Mike Hargrove, Tony Pena, Buck Showalter and Phil Garner are not in the mix.
- Padres CEO Jeff Moorad has not gone through his complete list of candidates for the vacant GM job, writes Chris Jenkins of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Of the names that have been floated about, Jenkins characterizes Kim Ng as the "most interesting."
- Now that Bryan Price has agreed to become the Reds' pitching coach, the Marlins could turn their attention to Randy St. Claire, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. St. Claire was in his seventh season with the Expos/Nationals franchise before getting the axe earlier this year.
- Yusei Kikuchi will meet with his eight MLB suitors over the course of two days this week, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.