Astros Links: Rodriguez, Wade, Mills
Ed Wade's tenure as Astros GM lasted four years and a few months, as his dismissal was announced last night. David Gottfried will serve as interim GM. New Astros president and CEO George Postolos described the team's criteria for their next GM in a statement last night:
"We are searching for a candidate who has the knowledge, skills and experience to build a winner and a strong commitment to player development in order to sustain success. Our goal is to consistently compete for a championship, and we know the first step towards that goal is to develop one of the top farm systems in baseball. We will hire the best candidate available to achieve our goal."
That's a pretty standard-issue statement. Here are today's Astros links…
- The Astros don’t expect to hire a new GM before the Winter Meetings begin next Monday, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart.
- There’s a “decent-sized” market for Wandy Rodriguez if the next Astros GM wants to move him, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- Wade was informed by owner Jim Crane and Postolos Wednesday morning that he wouldn't return, he told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The Astros will be paying him through 2013. Wade expressed disappointment he won't be able to see the rebuilding project through to the end. He added, "We were able to acquire Randy Wolf, LaTroy Hawkins and Jose Valverde and several other players, who, in different economic circumstances, we could have retained and could have been more successful at the big league level. The last couple of years in the economic environment we were in, we were in position of being mandated to trade iconic players — Berkman and Oswalt in 2010 and then young All-Stars in Bourn and Pence and [Jeff] Keppinger, who was a solid piece to our club."
- Wade indicated he wants to find a new job in baseball quickly, saying, "I haven't had a lot of down time and I'm not looking for down time."
- Wade "inched the franchise back toward respectability," in the opinion of Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle.
- One "really smart executive" estimated that the Astros will take four to seven years to become respectable again, writes ESPN's Buster Olney.
- The Astros will choose their new GM before clarifying the status of manager Brad Mills, hears SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Mills is not a candidate to return to Boston as their next manager, tweets Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.
NL Central Notes: Saito, Fielder, Pujols
The Astros announced last night that GM Ed Wade and longtime executive Tal Smith have been dismissed. Here are some notes from the NL Central…
- The Brewers announced Johnny Narron will replace Dale Sveum as their hitting coach. Narron, who's the older brother of Brewers bench coach Jerry Narron, had previously worked with the Rangers and developed a strong relationship with Josh Hamilton. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reaction from GM Doug Melvin, manager Ron Roenicke and Narron.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Brewers need relievers (assuming Francisco Rodriguez turns down arbitration).
- The Brewers have maintained dialogue with the agent for free agent reliever Takashi Saito, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
- Baseball executives tell Yahoo’s Jeff Passan that they have trouble identifying a team other than the Cardinals that’s a realistic potential destination for Albert Pujols. The Marlins bid on Pujols, but they aren’t seen as a realistic suitor.
- Generally speaking, Passan’s sources say they prefer overweight players to aging ones. This could play in Prince Fielder’s favor, since he’s just 27.
Astros Dismiss Ed Wade, Tal Smith
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
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
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:
- The Giants won't offer arbitration to Pat Burrell (B) or Cody Ross (B) according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Carlos Beltran (A) contractually cannot be offered arbitration.
- The Dodgers declined to offer Hiroki Kuroda (B) arbitration, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (on Twitter). Rod Barajas (B) already signed with the Pirates.
- The Pirates offered arbitration to Derrek Lee (B) while declining to offer Ryan Ludwick (B) and Chris Snyder (B) arbitration. Ryan Doumit (B) already signed with the Twins.
- The Phillies did not offer Roy Oswalt (A) or Brad Lidge (B) arbitration, according to the AP (via ESPN). The team announced that it offered arbitration to Raul Ibanez (B), Ryan Madson (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick), and Jimmy Rollins (A), according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com (via Twitter).
- The Cubs offered arbitration to Carlos Pena (B) and Aramis Ramirez (B) but not to Kerry Wood (B), according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter).
- The Cardinals offered Edwin Jackson (B) and Albert Pujols (A) arbitration, but declined to make offers to Rafael Furcal (B) and Arthur Rhodes (B), according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). That leaves Octavio Dotel (modified B, no arbitration offer necessary).
- The Mets offered Jose Reyes (A) arbitration, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (on Twitter).
- The Padres will offer arbitration to Heath Bell (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick) and Aaron Harang (B), tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com.
- The Brewers offered Prince Fielder (A) and Francisco Rodriguez (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick) arbitration. They declined to offer Yuniesky Betancourt (B) arbitration. Takashi Saito (A), contractually cannot be offered arbitration.
- The Braves did not offer arbitration to Alex Gonzalez (B), according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Teams with automatic decisions only:
- Reds: Francisco Cordero (modified B, no arbitration offer necessary), Ramon Hernandez (modified B, no arbitration offer necessary)
- Astros: Clint Barmes (B, already signed with Pirates)
- Rockies: Mark Ellis (B, already signed with Dodgers)
Quick Hits: Infielders, Young Jr., Scott, Red Sox
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
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
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:
- The Giants added Hector Correa, Charlie Culberson, Tyler Graham, Roger Kieschnick, Dan Otero and Angel Villalona to their 40-man roster, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter links). Baggarly suspects Villalona's inclusion may be a "procedural move," since Villalona still needs a new visa to play in the United States.
- The Dodgers have added Michael Antonini, Alex Castellanos, Stephen Fife, Josh Wall and Chris Withrow to their 40-man roster, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link).
- The Pirates have announced the additions of Matt Hague, Starling Marte, Jordy Mercer, Rudy Owens, Duke Welker and Justin Wilson to their 40-man roster. Pittsburgh's 40-man roster is now full.
- The Mariners added Chih-Hsien Chang, Francisco Martinez and Carlos Triunfel to the 40-man roster, reports Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Radio Seattle (via Twitter).
- The Angels added Johnny Hellweg, Fabio Martinez, Ariel Pena and Jean Segura to their 40-man roster, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- The Red Sox announced that Drake Britton, Che-Hsuan Lin and Will Middlebrooks were added to the club's 40-man roster.
- The Rangers added pitchers Jacob Brigham, Roman Mendez, Justin Miller, Martin Perez, Neil Ramirez and Matt West to their 40-man roster, reports Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest (via Twitter).
- The Indians announced that Scott Barnes, Juan Diaz and Danny Salazar were added to the team's 40-man roster. The Tribe's roster now has a full complement of 40 players.
- The Cubs announced that Jeff Beliveau, Junior Lake, Matt Szczur and Josh Vitters have been added to the club's 40-man roster.
Minor Moves: Bulger, Carpenter, Kimball
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
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.