Indians GM On The Rebuilding Process
Indians GM Mark Shapiro told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the Indians plan to rebuild in "mini cycles" and could contend again soon:
- Some of the Indians' deadline deals were "financially motivated," but Shapiro distinguishes them from pure salary dumps like the Alex Rios deal.
- Shapiro doesn't see any of the Indians' division rivals becomining dominant forces in the near future.
- He expects to be the team's GM next year despite rumblings that he could ascend to another front office role. He says he has "unfinished business" as GM, but he acknowledges that he could move on to a different position later on.
- It's hard to say how much the Indians will spend on free agents, but Shapiro says he could sign one or two this offseason, something that would not have been possible with Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez around.
- He knows he overpaid for last year's free agent signing, Kerry Wood, but expects this year's market to be depressed.
- Why didn't the Indians acquire Kyle Drabek or Clay Buchholz? Young talent's at a premium and sometimes the Indians don't value players as much as other teams, scouts or analysts do.
- Carlos Carrasco is close to contributing to the Indians and will compete for a rotation spot next year.
Odds & Ends: Chapman, Pirates, Westbrook
Some more links to go along with what's been a slow Sunday thus far:
- If you haven't already, take a look at Jorge Arangure Jr.'s article on Aroldis Chapman. Arangure covers Chapman's journey and the decisions and sacrifices that he made when he defected from the Cuban national team. There are also two videos (one Insider only) to go along with the story. It's lengthy, but a great read. Peter Abraham offers a cautionary note regarding Chapman: "…keep in mind that the same things were being said about Jose Contreras and he’s just another guy at this point. There’s a lot more to being a great pitcher in the majors than having a good arm."
- Dejan Kovacevic has some of Pirates general manager Neal Huntington's thoughts on several issues, including the club's recent losses and the need for a left-handed reliever. Jen Langosch has some of Huntington's thoughts as well, on topics including the farm system and newly-acquired Ronny Cedeno. Huntington would rather have a quality arm who can retire both left- and right-handed hitters than just a left-handed specialist.
- Bad new for Indians fans: Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Jake Westbrook experienced another setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and will see Dr. Lewis Yocum this week. Westbrook isn't sure if the pain is something he should expect and work through, or if there are new issues in his arm. General manager Mark Shapiro has said that if Westbrook is healthy, he'll be Cleveland's opening day starter in 2010.
- Buster Olney has a new article up, and talks about the Dodgers' shrinking lead on the NL West. Olney wonders if, with a growing need for starting pitching, the Dodgers will call on John Smoltz to try his hand back in the National League. Olney stresses that the Smoltz idea is just his own personal speculation.
- Joel Sherman's Sunday Hardball column looks at how to fix the Mets for 2010. His solution begins with Mark DeRosa and Chone Figgins.
Odds & Ends: A’s, Yankees, Brewers
Some links to peruse with your Sunday brunch:
- The A's are apparently in the process of finalizing a five-year naming rights contract with Verizon for Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, say Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross at the San Francisco Chronicle. Ownership could come into a lot of cash that way.
- John Harper at the New York Daily News believes the Yanks' handling of the Red Sox this weekend means Yankees GM Brian Cashman has outmaneuvered Theo Epstein.
- The Brewers have signed their fifth-round pick, D'Vontrey Richardson, but terms haven't been disclosed just yet, says Tom Haudricourt at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- Phil Rogers at the Baltimore Sun believes that the Indians' and Pirates' firesales "raise competitiveness issues."
- Dan Novick at the Hardball Times asks the $64,000 question: "Why should I care about Alex Rios?"
Odds & Ends: Tate, Phillies, Pirates, Indians
Links? You can't handle the links!
- ESPN's Jason Churchill notes that third overall pick Donovan Tate was expected to report to UNC's football camp today, and that the Padres are "mum on the negotiations between Tate's adviser, Scott Boras, and the club." If he doesn't sign, Tate will play both football and baseball for the Tar Heels.
- Peter Gammons of ESPN writes about the Phillies and the rotation depth they've build this year. It seems like whenever we hear a team has pitching depth, it disappears. It's like the Madden cover curse, but crueler.
- Pirates skipper John Russell admits that his club will "have to look to find a left-hander to solidify [the bullpen], either this season or in time for next season," reports John Perrotto of PiratesReport.com. The Bucs haven't had a southpaw in the pen since trading John Grabow to the Cubs at the deadline.
- Terry Pluto of The Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that even though the Indians recent moves were driven by money, they still made sense for the organization.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Rios, Mulder, Moyer, Masterson
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up. Let's dive in…
- Whatever the Blue Jays do with Alex Rios will tell us everything we need to know about the team's financial state and their opinion of Rios. Toronto could shed more than $60MM in obligation by letting the claiming team have him.
- Some executives believe Rios still has some trade value, and if the Jays wait until the offseason they'd be able to negotiate with all 29 other clubs. The problem is that the free agent market will again be flooded with outfielders.
- Free agent southpaw Mark Mulder could be throwing for teams within 7-10 days. Mulder is working with Rick Peterson, his former pitching coach, in New Jersey this weekend, The pair recently corrected a "minor mechanical flaw," and Peterson told Mulder's agent Greg Clifton that he was shocked the pitcher was in such good shape.
- Teams are looking at Mulder for September, with the Yankees, Brewers, Dodgers and Rangers are among the cubs that have expressed interest. Just as a reminder, if Mulder joins a big league team after August 31st, he would be ineligible for the playoff roster.
- Forget about all that talk from Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. about going with a six-man rotation, Jamie Moyer will "almost certainly" head to the bullpen once Pedro Martinez is ready. The team just hasn't figured out how to break the news yet.
- Justin Masterson was throwing 93-97 in his first appearance with Cleveland, causing some club officials to wonder if he should be a closer down the line. Short term, the Indians need him in the rotation and he has the everything needed to become a third or fourth starter.
Twins Acquire Carl Pavano
The Twins deepened their rotation today, acquiring Carl Pavano from the Indians for a player to be named later, according to a team press release. Pavano, 33, has allowed 150 hits in 125.2 innings, posting a respectable 88K/23BB ratio.
His base salary is just $1.5MM, but in addition to the $500k remaining on his contract, Pavano stands to earn a lot through incentives. If he makes 10 more starts and averages 6.0 IP per outing, he'll make another $1.75 in bonuses. We heard yesterday that the Indians expect to lose $16MM this year, but they'll receive some relief if the Twins are paying the rest of Pavano's contract.
A note from Kelsie Smith of the Pioneer Press: The Twins claimed Pavano off waivers before making the deal.
Odds & Ends: Sandberg, Indians, Red Sox, Yankees, McCoy
A few links for Thursday evening.
- Ryne Sandberg, the only Hall of Famer currently managing in the minors, wants to make it back to The Show, according to the Associated Press.
- Chris Shelton cleared waivers and reported to AAA Tacoma Rainiers, according to Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune. The first baseman was designated for assignment by the Mariners to make room for pitcher Luke French.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the Indians have used 28 different pitchers this year, the most of any team in the majors.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Red Sox have a thin lead over the Yankees in July trades in the AL from 2000 to 2009. The score stands at 26 to 25.
- And on a sad note, Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy announced today that he will retire from the Dayton Daily News, which has decided to stop covering the Reds.
Odds And Ends: Yanks, Red Sox, Indians, Peavy
More links to look through as we ready ourselves for four days of Yankees vs. Red Sox…
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney presents nine reasons the upcoming Boston-New York series matters. To an extent, both teams have their psyches on the line this weekend.
- Indians ownership says the team will likely lose about $16MM this year, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN). The Indians trimmed about $8.1MM in payroll leading up to the deadline.
- So how do teams like the Indians compete with big spenders like the Yankees and Red Sox? Joe Posnanski of SI.com says small market teams may have to beat richer ones by taking advantage of the 'win now' mentality in large markets.
- Jake Peavy is set to pitch in three minor league games before joining the White Sox, according to Bruce Levine of ESPN.com. He's still expected to make his AL debut in late August or early September.
Winston Abreu Becomes A Free Agent
Less than a week after designating Mike Gosling and Winston Abreu for assignment, the Indians outrighted both pitchers to Triple A Columbus, only to see Abreu opt for free agency. The 32-year-old righty struggled in cameos with the Rays and Indians this year, but he has an impressive minor league line to his credit. In 32 innings at Triple A Durham, he allowed just 14 hits and ten walks, striking out 49.
Gosling accepted the minor league assignment according to the Indians' press release.
Odds And Ends: Cubans, Waivers, Indians, A’s
A few more links to look through…
- ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. hears that Yasser Gomez, Yadel Marti and Juan Yasser Serrano, who are now free agents, will showcase their talents for major league teams this Friday.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says Jamey Carroll and Carl Pavano, who will both become free agents after the year, will likely clear waivers.
- Craig Brown at RoyalsAuthority.com says there's no way any team would claim Jose Guillen or Kyle Farnsworth. Gil Meche, on the other hand, would probably not clear waivers in Brown's opinion.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that A's first rounder Grant Green toured the Oakland Coliseum yesterday. His representative, Scott Boras, met with A's GM Billy Beane, who says he expects to sign Green.