Dodgers Still In Mix For Alexander Guerrero
The Dodgers thought they had a deal with Cuban second baseman Alexander Guerrero several weeks ago, but the pact dissolved when it was discovered that Guerrero's first representatives were not certified agents. Since then, the Dodgers have said that their previous five-year, $32MM deal was off the table, but that may have just been posturing. The Dodgers are again one of a few teams in the thick of the Guerrero talks, people familiar with the discussions tell Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
Since the L.A. deal fell apart, Guerrero signed on with Scott Boras and the agent immediately opened the bidding back up to all major league clubs. Now, the 26-year-old is only seeking a four-year deal so that he can once again become a free agent at the age of 30. Many of the clubs in the mix for Guerrero are seeking a longer pact, but Heyman writes that the team willing to meet his asking price on a four-year deal will be the victor.
The Giants, Rangers, Red Sox, and Reds have also been connected to Guerrero in recent weeks. However, Reds GM Walt Jocketty said yesterday that he expects the Cuban to sign elsewhere and a Rangers source suggested to Heyman that they're not making an aggressive push for him. Heyman adds that it's possible the Cardinals will get involved with Guerrero this winter.
Manager Notes: Renteria, Martinez, Mattingly, Manuel
Here's the latest on two National League managerial situations, and one more that has already been resolved …
- The Cubs are becoming increasingly active in vetting candidates to take over the managing duties at Wrigley Field. First up for an interview were Manny Acta and A.J. Hinch, says MLB.com's Cash Kruth.
- Next in line to talk with president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer is Rick Renteria, whose interview was set to take place today Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune tweeted. The Padres bench coach managed the Mexican entry in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the club is working hard on its due diligence on Renteria, while USA Today's Bob Nightengale opines via Twitter that he is as likely as anyone to get tapped, and may even be a close favorite.
- Also in line for an in-person chat is longtime Rays bench coach Dave Martinez. The longtime big leaguer never stayed in one place for too long during his playing career, but tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link) that he "love[s] Chicago" and is very excited for the opportunity.
- The winds can shift quickly in baseball. After dropping two straight to the Cards, Dodgers players are privately griping about Don Mattingly's shortcomings as a skipper, reports USA Today's Bob Nightengale. The club will nevertheless retain and extend him, says Nightengale, with the possibility of a dismissal waning after making it out of the divisional round. Don't expect Los Angeles to hand him a four-year deal, however, Nightengale notes.
- Unless that bit of news came from Dodgers president Stan Kasten, says Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times, it may not mean anything. Dilbeck criticizes Kasten for having left Mattingly dangling all year without any public discussion of whether he would return, in spite of the fact that the organization has an option on him for next year. Unfortunately, says Dilbeck, that has allowed speculation and intrigue to blossom right at the point at which it is most harmful.
- Fired Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel is still trying to decide whether to accept an offer from his former club to do a combination of PR work, player development, and advising of GM Ruben Amaro Jr. He talked about his decision on MLB Network Radio with hosts Brad Lidge (his former closer) and Jeff Joyce. (Audio link.) Manuel said that he wants to stay in baseball, and particularly emphasized that he "still want[s] to manage."
Cafardo On Price, BoSox, Granderson, Loney, Dodgers
While David Price has resigned himself to being traded, the Rays appear to be trying to figure out ways to make their ace the focal point of their pitching staff for many years to come, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo notes, however, the Rays' front office realizes it could be a losing battle, so a trade is likely with nearly half of baseball rumored to be interested in the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. "It's a big name, a big-time pitcher," one National League GM told Cafardo. "Even if you feel you don't need that level of pitcher, you look into it because he's so special and such a game changer. You do more than kick the tires. You try to make something happen, and I think you'll see teams that don't even need him step up." Here's more from Cafardo's column:
- The Red Sox will likely trade one of their veteran starters to make room for their young arms. Cafardo suggests Jon Lester and Jake Peavy could be available while Ryan Dempster, John Lackey, and Felix Doubront are also vulnerable.
- Jacoby Ellsbury is a perfect fit for the Mariners and Carlos Beltran likewise for the Orioles.
- Curtis Granderson will likely receive a qualifying offer from the Yankees and there's a strong possibility he would take it because he could post his biggest numbers at Yankee Stadium.
- The Dodgers will make Andre Ethier and/or Matt Kemp available this winter. Kemp will come with injury concerns, but that shouldn't prevent a team from taking a chance on his talent.
- James Loney has rebuilt his value with a strong season in Tampa (.299/.348/.430 with a 2.1 oWAR in 158 games and 598 plate appearances). Loney could find a market with the Rangers, if the Rays don't re-sign the free agent first baseman.
- Reds pitching coach Bryan Price appears to be the front-runner to replace Dusty Baker as manager in Cincinnati while Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr is in a strong position to take over from Davey Johnson, unless ownership wants a bigger name as its new manager.
Yankees Expected To Aggressively Pursue Tanaka
Masahiro Tanaka's video-game numbers for NPB's Rakuten Golden Eagles this season have turned quite a few heads in the United States, and according to George A. King III of the New York Post, the Yankees "are going to be serious players" for the Japanese ace.
King spoke with several executives who guessed that the posting fee for Tanaka could go as high as $60MM, but the Yankees aren't overly concerned about that number given the fact that the posting fee wouldn't count against their stated desire to get underneath baseball's $189MM luxury tax threshhold. The expected $50-60MM contract that would go along with such a posting fee — contract totals are usually in the same ballpark as the posting fee — certainly would.
King writes that assistant GM Billy Eppler and pro scout/former Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu have both watched Tanaka extensively this season. While the common consensus has been that Tanaka is a lesser prospect than Yu Darvish was prior to joining the Majors, King spoke to a scout who prefers Tanaka to Darvish:
"He is better than Darvish because he is a strike thrower," the scout said. "Overall, Darvish’s stuff might be a little bit better, but this guy knows how to pitch. He is like Kuroda, he has a lot of guts. He throws four pitches but when it gets to [stone]-cutting time, it’s fastball and splitter."
Tanaka, who doesn't turn 25 years old until Nov. 1, is 22-0 for the Golden Eagles with a 1.23 ERA. His strikeout rate has dipped slightly from previous seasons, though he still manages nearly eight whiffs per nine innings and has averaged just over one walk per nine innings as well. His splitter is such a wipeout pitch that Baseball America's Ben Badler called it perhaps the best splitter in the world back in late August.
The Yankees will have competition for Tanaka — one talent evaluator told King that the Red Sox, Dodgers and Rangers will be in the mix as well — but they also have a clear need for starting pitching with Andy Pettitte's retirement and Hiroki Kuroda's uncertain future. New York also saw CC Sabathia decline in 2013 and is unsure what, if anything, they can receive in the future from Michael Pineda.
NL West Notes: Kemp, Price, CarGo, Tulo, Gray
The Dodgers announced this week that Matt Kemp underwent surgery to repair the A-C joint in his left shoulder. Kemp, who was ruled out for the postseason due to an ankle injury, is expected to be ready for Spring Training, at which point the Dodgers will possess an interesting outfield logjam due to the presence of Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier. Here's more out of the NL West…
- On yesterday's Baseball Tonight Podcast, ESPN's Buster Olney told colleague Tim Kurkjian that the Dodgers are expected to be the most aggressive team in pursuing a trade for David Price this offseason. A Price acquisition would give the Dodgers an unthinkably dominant front four of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Price and Hyun-jin Ryu. Olney also names the Mariners and Rangers as possibilities, though he questions whether or not Price would want to sign an extension in Seattle.
- Rockies owner Dick Monfort says Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki are staying put, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post. "The plan is to keep them. Next year, yes. And my plan is to always keep them," Monfort said. "Is that the smartest thing in the world to do? I don't know. But for our fans I think it's the best thing to do."
- Monfort also noted to Renck that the Rockies' payroll is expected to rise from this year's mark of $83.7MM to the $90-95MM range in 2014. He would like the team to add a starting pitcher and another big bat this offseason. MLBTR's Zach Links recently looked at the club's needs in the Colorado installment of the offseason outlook series.
- MLB.com's Jim Callis called Rockies 2013 first-rounder Jonathan Gray "the class of the 2013 draft," saying that he has a higher ceiling than that of fellow Top 3 picks Mark Appel (Astros) and Kris Bryant (Cubs). Callis notes that the Rockies have had trouble developing pitching, but opines that Gray has clear ace potential and could reach the Majors in a hurry.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Latest On Alexander Guerrero
Cuban second baseman Alexander Guerrero is back on the free agent market after his engagement with the Dodgers was called off in September. Now, the Scott Boras client is seeking a four-year deal from interested MLB teams. However, some of the clubs that are in on Guerrero are pushing for a longer pact.
Heyman cites the Dodgers, Giants, Rangers, Red Sox, and Reds as clubs with interest in the 26-year-old. Guerrero and Los Angeles were closing in on a five-year, $32MM deal last month but the deal fell apart for reasons that are still unknown. The 86ing of the near-agreement also coincided with a change in representation as Guerrero left his former agent for Boras.
Guerrero played mostly shortstop in Cuba's Serie Nacional, but most scouts expect him to move to the other side of the bag for defensive purposes. He slashed .290/.402/.576 with 21 home runs in 328 plate appearances in his final season in Cuba. According to Ben Badler of Baseball America, Guerrero doesn't figure to be a premium talent, but he does offer impressive raw right-handed power.
Quick Hits: Magic, Girardi, Pirates, Bailey
Magic Johnson's candor about the Dodgers likely not pursuing Robinson Cano this offseason has led Major League Baseball to look into Johnson's comments, ESPN's Buster Olney reports. Officials on other teams aren't allowed to publicly discuss players who haven't officially become free agents yet, especially in cases where a player's market value could be affected. General managers around the league told Olney that "their comments were watched more closely over the last year than in any time in recent memory," so Johnson could face some type of penalty for his remarks.
Here are some news items as we end another exciting day of four playoff games…
- Joe Girardi "apparently remains torn" if he's going to accept the Yankees' extension offer or explore other manager jobs, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Yankees "have made it clear" that they could pull back their offer if Girardi talks to other clubs, something he's not allowed to do until the end of the month since the Yankees aren't granting other teams permission to negotiate with their manager. One such team, the Cubs, expect to learn by tomorrow if Girardi is staying in New York, a source tells Wittenmyer.
- The Pirates want to keep Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez over the long term, team president Frank Coonelly tells MLB.com's Tom Singer. Coonelly also discusses the Francisco Liriano signing, the farm system and other topics during the interview.
- "It wouldn't be shocking" if the Reds traded Homer Bailey to create some payroll space, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon opines. Bailey earned $5.3MM last season and MLBTR's Matt Swartz projects that he could earn $9.3MM in arbitration. Though Bailey has been one of the Reds' best pitchers over the last two years, he "has shown little interest in signing" a multiyear deal with the team, Sheldon writes, so the Reds could move him now before possibly losing him in free agency after next season.
- Major League Baseball has filed a motion requesting that Alex Rodriguez's lawsuit against the league be moved to a federal court, and if the move is granted, MLB will likely file a motion to dismiss the suit, Newsday's Steven Marcus reports.
- The Indians have a number of things to do before Opening Day 2014, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Hoynes' list includes adding an impact bat, adding at least one quality starter, bolstering the relief corps and locking up Justin Masterson to a long-term deal.
- It once seemed unusual, but now its the norm for playoff teams to turn to inexperienced pre-arbitration eligible players, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca writes. Among the 24 pre-arb hurlers in this year's postseason are Michael Wacha, Jarrod Parker and Alex Cobb, all of whom started today for their respective teams.
MLBTR's Zach Links contributed to this post
Managerial/Coaching Rumors: Nagy, Yankees, Price
As reported earlier today, the Cubs are considering such names as Manny Acta, A.J. Hinch and Rick Renteria to be their new manager, though it seems they're prepared to top any offer Joe Girardi might receive from the Yankees. Here's the latest on some managerial openings and coaching candidates from around baseball…
- The Diamondbacks have fired pitching coach Charles Nagy, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. Nagy had served in the role for the previous three seasons.
- Don Mattingly tops the list of potential candidates ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand thinks could be the next Yankees manager if Girardi isn't re-signed. While Dodgers management has praised Mattingly, the fact that they haven't yet exercised their $1.4MM team option on Mattingly for 2014 has raised some speculation about Mattingly's job security in Los Angeles.
- Internal Yankees candidates such as Pete Mackanin, Tony Pena, Don Wakamatsu and Dave Miley are also on Marchand's list, while high-profile names like Dusty Baker, Tony La Russa and Lou Piniella are seen as long shots.
- Reds pitching coach Bryan Price said he was interested in the team's manager job, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports (Twitter link), though Price didn't further comment on the topic. Price has been cited as the possible favorite internal candidate to succeed Baker as Cincinnati's skipper.
- Several interested parties have already contacted Reds GM Walt Jocketty about the job, Jocketty tells John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, though franchise legend Barry Larkin isn't one of them. The team is "just scratching the surface" on their search, Jocketty said, and hasn't yet made plans to interview first base coach Billy Hatcher or bench coach Chris Speier. The Reds will probably begin interviewing candidates next week.
- Joe Espada, the Marlins third base coach for the last four seasons, could receive some interviews for a manager's job this winter, a scout tells Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. At the very least, Espada will be pursued for coaching jobs on Major League rosters. The Marlins themselves see Espada as a potential future skipper and thus assigned him to manage their Class A team in Jupiter for 2014 to gain experience.
- Blue Jays hitting coach Chad Mottola and first base coach Dwayne Murphy (who is retiring) will not return next season, the Jays announced via press release. Mottola took over from Murphy as Toronto's hitting coach before the 2013 season. The rest of the Blue Jays' coaches will return in 2014.
- The Padres will retain their entire coaching staff next season, the club announced.
Quick Hits: Pirates, Dodgers, Leyland, Orioles
The Pirates might now be better than any other organization at fixing pitchers, ESPN's Jayson Stark writes. That begins with Francisco Liriano, who started Game 3 of the NLDS against the Cardinals tonight, but it also includes Charlie Morton, who will start Game 4, along with Jason Grilli, Mark Melancon, and Jeanmar Gomez. Liriano originally agreed to a two-year deal with the Pirates, but when Liriano broke his non-pitching arm while surprising his kids last Christmas, that contract was adjusted to guarantee just $1MM. Liriano's injury caused him to miss the beginning of the season, but it also allowed the Pirates to take their time adjusting his delivery. "The changes that he made — we couldn't have done that if he'd been in big league camp," says Jim Benedict, a special assistant to GM Neal Huntington. "But because he spent so much time in extended spring training, he had time to get his delivery right and build his arm up slowly." The adjustments they made turned Liriano into a top-flight starter, and gave the Pirates one of the biggest free agent bargains of the offseason. Here are more notes from around the Majors.
- Despite the Dodgers' extremely strong finish to the season, they still haven't picked up manager Don Mattingly's 2014 option, and that's leading to speculation about Mattingly's future, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman notes. Outwardly, the Dodgers have shown strong support for Mattingly, but one source tells Heyman that the Dodgers might need to beat the Braves in the NLDS for Mattingly to be asked to return.
- As far as GM Dave Dombrowski knows, Jim Leyland "wants to keep going" as the Tigers' manager, Dombrowski tells MLB.com's Barry M. Bloom. The Tigers have retained Leyland on a series of one-year deals, and that will likely continue, but, Dombrowski says, "He knows if he wants to manage, he can just keep managing."
- Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette says his club needs to improve its on-base percentage and pitching, reports Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. The team will likely concentrate on retaining and developing its own pitching, however, rather than trying to work the free agent market. They would particularly like to see their pitchers throw more innings. "That would be the goal: to make the most of the players on our current roster and encourage them to train in a way in the offseason to help them accomplish that," says Duquette. The Orioles would also like to re-sign Scott Feldman.
Cafardo On Arroyo, Kendrick, Braun, Cano
Timing is everything in baseball and Joe Girardi is hitting the open market at the perfect time, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. The Cubs always saw landing Girardi as a longshot, but they'll give it another go this winter. From the Yankees perspective, they'd be foolish not to lock Girardi up with a lucrative new deal, in Cafardo's opinion. Few managers, he argues, could have survived the injuries that the Yankees were dealing with and kept them in the playoff chase in September. If Girardi bails for Chicago or elsewhere, Cafardo suggests Don Mattingly as a candidate. Of course, the Dodgers would have to fire him or work out a trade for that to happen. Here's more from today's column..
- Bronson Arroyo says he wants a three-year deal and he feels his time in Cincinnati is likely over. “I have no preference on where I want to pitch but I’ll certainly consider the team, their chances of winning, and all of that,” he said. “I feel I can pitch effectively at 37, 38, and 39 years old. I’ve never missed a start. Never been injured. I’m not a max-effort guy out there, so there’s no big-time wear and tear on me. I loved Cincinnati but I don’t think they’re in position to give me what I want.” Cafardo suggests the Blue Jays, Orioles, Brewers, Cubs, Giants, Pirates, Cardinals, and Dodgers as possibilities.
- It's looking increasingly likely that Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick will be traded for pitching or prospects. The Royals need second base help and would have interest. The Orioles may also be interested if they cut ties with Brian Roberts this winter. The O's haven't decided what to do with Roberts just yet but they wouldn't go beyond a one-year deal to keep him.
- It has been suggested that the Brewers could trade Ryan Braun, but finding someone willing to take on his baggage and lucrative deal could be tricky. “I don’t think he’s going anywhere. Someone would have to take a big chance and nobody’s doing that on PED guys, especially for that length of contract,” said one exec.
- Bench coach Tony Pena is not likely to replace Girardi as manager if he goes elsewhere. “I don’t think anyone in our front office is even thinking about that,” said one Yankees official.
- Many believe that the Dodgers won't be serious players for Robinson Cano, but things can change with an early exit from the playoffs.