Odds & Ends: Iwakuma, Ichiro, Red Sox, Barmes
Links for Sunday evening, with the regular season behind us and the playoff picture defined…
- Angels GM Tony Reagins tells Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times he's "confident we'll be able to add an important piece."
- As passed along by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman on Twitter, Sanspo reports that a posting announcement will come soon regarding Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma. The righty, 30 in April, posted a 2.82 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 201 innings this year for Rakuten.
- Ichiro Suzuki's 10-and-5 rights kicked in today after the Mariners' game, tweets Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.
- In his end-of-the-season press conference, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein indicated fixing the bullpen and retaining important free agents are his offseason priorities (WEEI's Alex Speier reporting). Epstein fielded all kinds of questions and was noncommittal in most cases, but the transcript is still worth a read.
- Clint Barmes would like to return to the Rockies if he can't find an everyday role elsewhere, he explained to Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post. We discussed Barmes' non-tender candidacy in August, and 79% of MLBTR readers predicted he'll be cut loose.
- The Dodgers officially announced Brad Ausmus' retirement with a press release. Ausmus revealed his decision to reporters in July.
O’Dowd: Re-Signing De La Rosa Is “A Priority”
The Rockies made a valiant late season charge at a playoff spot, but they ultimately fell short and will miss the postseason for the second time in four years. We've already heard that GM Dan O'Dowd wants to acquire an impact bat this offseason, but he now tells Troy Renck of The Denver Post that re-signing Jorge de la Rosa is a priority.
"He is a priority. I don't know how to gauge that yet," O'Dowd said. "Adding a middle-of-the-rotation starter is a priority. And we would certainly like that to be Jorge."
De La Rosa missed close to three months with a torn flexor band on his left middle finger, but he was rock solid in the 20 starts he was able to make: 121.2 innings, 4.22 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 4.1 BB/9. Aside from a drop in strikeout rate (9.4 K/9 in 2009), the southpaw was able to repeat his 2009 breakout performance.
The Rockies tried to lock De La Rosa up last winter to a two-year, $8.75MM contract with an option for a third year, but he instead opted for a one-year deal that paid him $5.6MM in 2010 and allows him to hit the open market after the season. The 29-year-old could be in line for an annual salary of $7MM or more on a multi-year deal, so he likely made himself some extra money by passing on Colorado's offer.
Tim looked at De La Rosa's free agent stock back in April, but more recently one unnamed GM cautioned that he could be "the next Oliver Perez."
Rockies Interested In Martinez, Jackson
Rockies manager Jim Tracy told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that the Rockies want to add an “impact bat” this offseason. According to Renck, Colorado has interest in Conor Jackson and will target Victor Martinez if the Red Sox don’t lock him up.
Jackson, a non-tender candidate, can play first base or left field; Martinez can catch and play first. The Rockies appear to want a right-handed complement to Todd Helton and Martinez, a switch hitter, would satisfy that requirement. But Colorado has Chris Iannetta under contract and a mutual option for Miguel Olivo's services, so the team isn't desperate for catching help.
Adding an outfielder is a priority for the Rockies, according to Renck. Seth Smith isn’t conisdered an everyday player because of his late summer struggles, so the Rockies will consider free agent outfielders and trades.
The Rockies already have two electrifying hitters: Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki, but Tulo told Renck that he’d like to see some of the organization’s young players improve so the Rockies can reach the postseason in 2011.
Odds & Ends: Darvish, Feliciano, D’Backs, Blue Jays
As the Padres face a big uphill battle in San Francisco this weekend, we look at some news items….
- Yu Darvish's likely posting fee could be around $25MM and the right-hander might look for a five-year deal from an MLB club, suggest sources of Matt Cerrone of Metsblog.com. The Mets, Yankees, Rangers and Braves are listed as four of the eight teams who have shown an interest in Darvish, and we know the Rays have watched him pitch as well.
- Pedro Feliciano's struggles against right-handed hitters will prevent the reliever from earning a big contract this winter, writes David Brown of Yahoo Sports. The fact that Feliciano is a Type A free agent will also hurt his cause, since teams will shy away from losing a draft pick to sign a limited relief pitcher.
- Rafael Soriano, Cody Ross, David DeJesus and Francisco Rodriguez are among several free agents or trade candidates that Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic thinks the D'Backs might consider acquiring.
- Bob Gebhard, the Diamondbacks' vice-president and special assistant to the GM, will survive the expected front office changes in Arizona this winter, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
- Nightengale also tweets that Tim Wallach is "picking up plenty of steam" in regards to the Toronto manager's job. The Rockies have granted hitting coach Don Baylor permission to interview for that same position, reports Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- The Everett Daily Herald's Kirby Arnold lists several Mariners who might not be with the team next season, including Jose Lopez, David Aardsma and Casey Kotchman.
- Dodgers assistant GM Logan White told Baseball America's Jim Callis that he hasn't been fired by L.A., and is "working for the team until…told otherwise" (both Twitter links). Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweeted about "rumors starting to swirl" that White and the Dodgers were parting ways earlier in the day. White was one of several candidates interviewed for the Arizona general manager's job that eventually went to Kevin Towers.
- The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore lists five possible replacements for Adam Dunn if the Nationals don't re-sign the slugger.
- In a chat with fans on Thursday, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News predicted that the Rangers would announce contract extensions for manager Ron Washington and GM Jon Daniels within a week of Texas' final playoff game.
- Trevor Hoffman hasn't decided if he will play next year yet, but if he does, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy predicts Hoffman will look for "a situation in which he at least has a chance to be the closer."
Odds & Ends: Brewers, Buehrle, Francis, Vazquez
Miguel Olivo never played a major league game for the A's, but he signed with Oakland as an amateur free agent 14 years ago today. Here are some afternoon links, including an update on Olivo…
- Steve Foster of Inside the Rockies breaks down some of Colorado's offseason decisions and says Olivo wants to stay in Denver next year.
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio gave GM Doug Melvin a strong vote of confidence, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Mark Buehrle repeated to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he'll consider retiring after the 2011 season.
- Rockies manager Jim Tracy told Troy E. Renck and Jim Armstrong of The Denver Post that he'd "absolutely" like to see Jeff Francis on next year's team. Colorado will likely decline its $7.5MM option for the lefty's services, but could re-sign him nonetheless.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yankees are not going to offer Javier Vazquez arbitration this winter and predicts that the right-hander will sign a one-year deal with a base salary of $4MM or so.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports explains why he considers Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston "a proud and often outspoken man who carried himself with dignity in a business that isn’t always fair."
Odds & Ends: K-Rod, Angels, Tamura, Matsui
Links for Wednesday, before the Giants ask Tim Lincecum to help extend their NL West lead…
- Lawyers from the MLB Players Association and MLB will meet in New York tomorrow to discuss the union's grievance with the Mets. As the AP reports, the sides will discuss the team's decision to place Francisco Rodriguez on the disqualified list.
- Top prospect Mike Moustakas told reporters that he and other Royals minor leaguers welcome the attention they're attracting this year.
- The Angels let scouting director Eddie Bane go, according to John Manuel of Baseball America. Bane was a candidate for the D'Backs GM job earlier in the month.
- Japanese outfielder Hitoshi Tamura has interest in playing major league baseball, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The 33-year-old has 27 homers this year and represented the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks at the All-Star game.
- Jason Varitek told reporters, including MLB.com's Ian Browne, that he's well aware of the fact that he may only have a handful of games remaining in a Red Sox uniform.
- Through an interpreter, Hideki Matsui told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he'd consider signing with the A's if they expressed interest in him this offseason.
- Todd Helton made it clear to Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he isn't retiring after the season.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic heard that Brandon Webb was throwing just 81 mph in his instructional league outing (Twitter link). Webb told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he had fun and felt good.
- The D'Backs, who will see Webb and Rodrigo Lopez hit free agency this winter, will look to add starting pitching, but GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he believes starters may be easier to obtain through trades than major league free agency.
Odds & Ends: Hart, Cox, Giambi, Pierzynski
Links for Tuesday night, as the Rays, Yankees and Reds clinch playoff berths…
- Former Rangers and Indians GM John Hart has prepared in case he becomes a candidate for the Mets GM job, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- ESPN.com's Jayson Stark profiles Braves manager Bobby Cox, whose storied managerial career is coming to an end after the season.
- The Blue Jays, who were once managed by Cox, are looking for a new manager, but GM Alex Anthopoulos says the organization's search cannot be rushed, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
- Brewers bench coach Willie Randolph would like to manage in the big leagues again, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- MLB president and chief operating officer Bob DuPuy will resign after the season, according to this MLB press release.
- Jason Giambi told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that there's "no chance" he's retiring after the season (Twitter link).
- A.J. Pierzynski would like to return to the White Sox next year, according to Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald. His teammate, Omar Vizquel, told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he'd like to return, too.
Olivo’s 2011 Option Is Now Mutual
Catcher Miguel Olivo's option for next season went from club to mutual after he made his 110th appearance in today's contest against the Giants. However, the Rockies can still opt to buy out his 2011 for $500K rather than bring him back for $2.7MM.
Olivo's return to Colorado could create an uncomfortable situation with Chris Iannetta, writes Jim Armstrong of The Denver Post. The Rockies signed Iannetta to a three-year, $8.35MM deal before the season in the hopes that he would take hold of the everyday job behind the plate. If Olivo returns, he will earn more than the 27-year-old who believes that he is a starting major league catcher.
In his first season with the Rockies, Olivo has hit .271/.317/.447 with 13 homers. His option was initially worth $2.5MM but he boosted that figure to $2.7MM by reaching 100 and 110 appearances this year.
Odds & Ends: Miller, Laird, Fielder, V-Mart
As the Giants pick up a major win over the Rockies tonight, here are some news items….
- The Marlins face a tough decision with the out-of-options Andrew Miller, writes Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.
- Gerald Laird is looking for regular playing time next season, so it could mean the end for his time in Detroit what with Alex Avila having locked down a regular catching job, reports MLB.com's Jason Beck.
- "I think there’s probably a better chance that [Prince Fielder]’s not with us than he is [next season]," Ryan Braun said to Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel before what could be Fielder's last home series as a Brewer.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post (via Twitter) predicts that Miguel Olivo will return to Colorado next season even if he doesn't reach his vesting option.
- C.C. Sabathia doesn't think his friend and former Indians teammate Victor Martinez will re-sign with Boston this winter, tweets Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman.
- Matt Cerrone of the MetsBlog would like to see Bobby Valentine managing the Mets next season, with Wally Backman (who's been rumored as another managerial candidate) as the team's bench coach.
- Now that we know Stan Kasten won't be back as Washington's president next season, MASNSports.com's Phil Wood thinks Kasten would be a prime candidate to be baseball's next commissioner. Wood also thinks the Nationals will promote their next president from within the organization.
- With Yadier Molina shut down for the rest of the season with a knee injury, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch thinks the Cardinals should look for a veteran backup for the workhorse catcher over the winter.
- A number of Padres coaches are being interviewed for open managerial jobs, writes MLB.com's Corey Brock.
Rockies Won’t Acquire Starter
The Rockies won't acquire a starter for the stretch run, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Jason Hammel is dealing with an extreme case of dead arm, but Colorado can rely on 25-year-old swingman Esmil Rogers to start. Rogers is striking out nearly a batter per inning and has walked just 3.0 batters per nine innings, though he has a 5.29 ERA.
After yesterday's loss, the Rockies are 2.5 games out of a playoff berth. They considered trading for a starter to reinforce the staff, even though no acquisition would have been eligible for the postseason. Colorado hosts the NL West-leading Giants for three games this weekend.