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Astros Dismiss Ed Wade, Tal Smith

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11:33pm: The Astros have confirmed in a press release that they are letting General Manager Ed Wade and President of Baseball Operations Tal Smith go.  The release goes on to say that Assistant GM Dave Gottfried will serve as interim GM until a new GM is hired.  However, Gottfried is not a candidate for the permanent position.  The search for a new GM "begins immediately".

11:21pm: Tal Smith said he was told by team president George Postolos he and GM Ed Wade are being dismissed, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26.

8:41pm: The Astros, coming off the worst season in franchise history, are expected to announce major changes Monday, including the dismissal of GM Ed Wade, major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Furthermore, Tal Smith, the team’s president of baseball operations, is also expected to leave his current position, possibly by retiring. 

The fate of manager Brad Mills, who is under contract through 2012 with an option for ’13, is uncertain. Mills could be part of the initial housecleaning, or his future could be decided later by the team's next GM.

Last Sunday it was reported that Astros owner Jim Crane was prepared to make a swift decision on the futures of Wade and Smith.  Now, Crane and new team president George Postolos plan one-on-one meetings with all of the team’s top executives starting Monday, sources tell Rosenthal and Morosi.

Wade has served as Houston's GM for just over four years and is under contract through 2012.  Smith, meanwhile, has been with the Astros a total of 35 years, the last 17 as club president.  In total, he's spent 54 years in baseball.

There has been a great deal of speculation surrounding Wade's job security in recent weeks.  Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com wrote that if Wade were to be fired, the club could have an ambitious wish list including  Rangers executives A.J. Preller and Thad Levine and Rays executives Andrew Friedman and Gerry Hunsicker.  Hunsicker previously served as Houston's GM from 1996-2004.

As we've heard before, Friedman is happy with his job in Tampa Bay and unlikely to leave, despite being a Houston native, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  Knobler also tweets that friends of Crane say the owner is a fan of the Rangers organization.

Cafardo On Lowrie, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Marlins

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe gives a list of suggestions for the Red Sox's offseason.  As they look for a solution in right field, Cafardo feels that the club should go after Michael Cuddyer with Carlos Beltran as a Plan B.  The BoSox are also looking for a pair of affordable starters and two interesting names that could be had in deals are Joe Saunders of the Diamondbacks and Francisco Liriano of the Twins.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • There were many scouts and GMs in the Dominican Republic recently and Jed Lowrie came up often as a possible shortstop/third base candidate.  Teams like his offense and are skeptical about his defense, but are more worried about his mental toughness and his ability to play through injury.  The 27-year-old may become a chip for the Red Sox in a deal.
  • The Astros are getting more and more inquiries about the availability of Wandy Rodriguez.  The Red Sox are one of the teams that have asked.
  • Scouts and GMs believe that the Athletics would deal left-hander Gio Gonzalez for the right price.  An NL talent evaluator noted that the 26-year-old would be at the top of a lot of teams' lists.
  • Baseball people we talked to seem to think that if the Marlins are thinking big, Jose Reyes is the most logical signing for them, with Hanley Ramirez shifting over to third.  Cafardo also wonders if the Brewers would explore signing with the likelihood of losing Prince Fielder.
  • Free agent David Ortiz is still very much in play with the Orioles.  O's GM Dan Duquette met with Ortiz’s agent, Fern Cuza, at the GM meetings.
  • Cafardo could envision Jason Varitek backing up Matt Wieters in Baltimore
  • The BoSox have considered former Mets GM Omar Minaya for a front office role, but nothing is official yet.

National League Free Agent Arbitration Offers

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10 National League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make today, and we'll update them in this post in advance of the 11pm central time deadline.  For a fantastic customizable chart with all 57 Type A/B free agents and their teams' decisions in real-time, click here.  

Updated team decisions:

Teams with automatic decisions only:

Quick Hits: Infielders, Young Jr., Scott, Red Sox

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On this day in 2006, the Cubs signed Alfonso Soriano to an eight-year, $136MM deal.  In five seasons with Chicago, Soriano has a slash line of .266/.320/.498 and has averaged 129 games per year.  Here are some links for Sunday afternoon..

  • Mark Townsend of Yahoo! Sports is surprised at what teams are paying for sure-handed middle infielders. Specifically, he says the Twins and Dodgers paid role players like final pieces to the puzzle and are counting on them for too much (referring to Jamey Carroll and Mark Ellis, respectively).
  • Eric Young Jr. decided to play in Venezuela this offseason in order to gain more experience playing second base, writes Rafael Rojas Cremonesi for the Denver Post. Young played second base just seven times for the Rockies last season, and is 6-for-20 with three steals in his first six games.
  • Luke Scott would be open to negotiating a new deal with the Orioles if he's non-tendered, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  Scott is projected to earn $6MM in arbitration.
  • Bobby Valentine expects to meet with Red Sox GM Ben Cherington on Monday and could emerge as the favorite for the job if his meeting goes well, a source tells Jeff Passan of Yahoo (via Twitter).
  • Astros owner Jim Crane is prepared to make a swift decision on the futures of president Tal Smith and GM Ed Wade, writes Steve Campbell of the Houston Chronicle.
  • There are team executives who are furious with aspects of the new labor agreement, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney.  Some believe that MLB's new draft structure hurts the league's small-market and mid-market clubs.  One GM told Olney that the changes don't solve any problems and actually make some worse.

Quick Hits: Mills, Madson, Twins, Danks, Prado

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On a day when the Blue Jays adopted a familiar-looking "new" logo, here are some news items to carry us into the weekend….

  • If the Astros fire Brad Mills, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes Mills could reunite with Terry Francona as the latter's bench coach for a future managing vacancy.  Morosi also lists Rangers executives A.J. Preller and Thad Levine and Rays executives Andrew Friedman and Gerry Hunsicker as wish list candidates for Jim Crane if he removes Ed Wade as Houston's general manager.  It would be the second stint as Astros' GM for Hunsicker, who ran the team from 1996-2004.
  • Ryan Madson could be one of several free agents to lose his Type A status under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  Such an adjustment would help Madson, as clubs with unprotected first-round draft picks currently have to give up that pick in order to sign the closer.
  • Twins GM Terry Ryan tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that Denard Span and Ben Revere won't be traded this winter.  Minnesota could lose both Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel to free agency this offseason.
  • The White Sox didn't add Jordan Danks to their 40-man roster, and Jim Margalus of the South Side Sox speculates that this could be a hint that Chicago is preparing to part ways with John Danks.  The elder Danks brother has drawn strong interest on the trade market.
  • The Braves "seem to undervalue [Martin Prado's] skills," writes Fangraphs' Jason Roberts, who thinks Atlanta may not get proper market value in exchange for the utilityman in a deal. 
  • Right-hander Darrell Rasner has signed a new contract with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, reports NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman.  Matt Sosnick, Rasner's agent, tells Newman the contract is worth $1.5MM plus performance bonuses.  Rasner last appeared in the majors as a Yankee in 2008 and has pitched for Rakuten ever since.
  • The Blue Jays, Cardinals, Mariners, Red Sox and Twins are all listed as possible suitors for Kelly Shoppach by ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link).

Added To 40-Man Roster: Giants, Dodgers, Pirates

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Today is the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Here's more on which players need to be protected and here are the details on which players have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster:

Read more

Minor Moves: Bulger, Carpenter, Kimball

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Here's the list of players who have been added to 40-man rosters and here's the list of players who have been removed from them. Now for some moves that don't affect 40-man rosters at all…

  • The Twins announced that they signed right-hander Jason Bulger to a minor league deal.
  • The Blue Jays announced that they claimed right-hander Andrew Carpenter off of waivers from the Padres and lost right-hander Cole Kimball on waivers to the Nationals. The Blue Jays had claimed Kimball from the Nationals earlier this week and he's now back where he started. Carpenter, 26, appeared in 12 games for the Phillies and Padres in 2011. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 1.79 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in 60 1/3 innings.
  • The Astros announced that they signed right-hander Lance Pendleton to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training 2012. The Astros selected the Houston native in the 2010 Rule 5 draft and he spent this past Spring Training with Houston before being returned to the Yankees. The Astros claimed the 28-year-old off of waivers from the Yankees in September and he finished the season in the Major Leagues. Pendleton posted a 6.75 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 18 2/3 innings for the Yankees and Astros in 2011.

Heyman On Marlins, Pujols, Wilson, Kershaw

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The Red Sox have yet to hire a manager, so Jon Heyman of SI.com looks at the dynamics between GM Ben Cherington and Boston’s ownership group and how they are affecting the hiring process. Here are Heyman’s hot stove notes…

  • We heard earlier in the week that the Marlins offered Jose Reyes a $90MM deal, but Heyman’s sources say Miami offered $10-20MM less than that.
  • The Marlins made Albert Pujols a “lowball” offer that would only work if the three-time MVP was intent on playing for Miami, according to Heyman. All things being equal Pujols appears to prefer St. Louis.
  • C.J. Wilson is seeking close to $120MM over six years, according to Heyman. Wilson’s former teammate, Cliff Lee, signed for $120MM over five years last offseason and it would be a coup for Wilson’s agents if they find a similar deal for their client.
  • The Dodgers seem inclined to wait on a possible extension for Clayton Kershaw, according to Heyman. They control the NL Cy Young winner through 2014.
  • The Angels opposed the sale of the Astros to Jim Crane, though they voted in favor of it according to Heyman.

NL Central Notes: Furcal, Hanrahan, Astros, Brewers

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I hesitated at first to include the Astros in these NL Central notes. Thankfully, I've got a year to remap the standings on my mind's sports page. On with the linkage …

  • The Pirates are looking at shortstop Rafael Furcal and other options at the position, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, although not the premium types like Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins. It'll be interesting to see how the Bucs handle shortstop after declining Ronny Cedeno's $3MM 2012 option last month.
  • Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan would be receptive to working out an extension with the team, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, who reports that there have been no talks but that neither side has ruled it out, either. It's not a regular occurence in Pittsburgh, where Neal Huntington has dished out just one multiyear contract to a reliever, Matt Capps for 2008-09, since taking over in 2007, according to Langosch. Hanrahan is under team control for two more years and is due a sharp raise through arbitration on his $1.4MM 2011 salary coming off a 40-save campaign. The 30-year-old right-hander should earn $4MM in 2012 through arbitration.
  • New Astros owner Jim Crane said it was made clear to him before agreeing to purchase the Astros that the team would be moved to the AL, according to Astros senior director of social media Alyson Footer. Crane also cautioned not to expect the Astros to be big players in free agency this year, as they will instead focus on building the farm, and said payroll will "be in line with" incoming revenue (all Twitter links).
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin said he's interested in extending starters Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, as was reported yesterday, but that the sides haven't had talks yet and aren't in a rush to do so, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
  • Melvin also hasn't ruled out bringing Craig Counsell aboard as the Brewers' hitting coach, tweets McCalvy. Counsell, however, hasn't ruled out remaining in the game as a player.
  • Cardinals CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said the Redbirds are "going to make every effort" to re-sign first baseman Albert Pujols, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. We heard earlier today and yesterday that the Cards and Pujols' agent have resumed talks.
  • New Cubs manager Dale Sveum may bring in Robin Yount as one of his coaches, writes Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun Times.

MLB Owners Approve Astros’ Sale

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MLB owners have approved the sale of the Astros from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane, commissioner Bud Selig announced today, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (all Twitter links). The commissioner also confirmed that the Astros will move to the American League West in 2013.

Alyson Footer, the Astros' Senior Director of Social Media, reports that the move to the AL was mandatory for the sale to be approved (Twitter links). Crane told Jeff Wilson of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he Rangers are the model he'd like to follow as the team rebuilds. The Astros finished the worst record in baseball this season at 56-106, and they haven't finished higher than third place in the NL Central since 2006.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

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