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Podsednik Declines Option, Becomes A Free Agent

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Scott Podsednik declined his side of his mutual option with the Dodgers and will hit free agency. The Dodgers exercised their side of the option for $2MM two days ago, but Podsednik topped 525 plate appearances this year, so his contract gave him the choice between a $2MM salary or free agency.

Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reported (on Twitter) that Podsednik turned down his side of the option and MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reported on Twitter that the Dodgers picked up theirs.

Podsednik, 35 in March, hit .297/.342/.382 in 595 plate appearances for the Royals and Dodgers this year.  He spent most of his time in left field, tallying 1078.6 innings there.  Given the weak free agent market for left fielders after Carl Crawford, it's not surprising that Podsednik chose free agency.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braves, Rangers, Rays, Haren

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The Phillies won their second World Series in franchise history two years ago today, beating the Rays in the first suspended game in series history. Game Five started on October 27th, 2008, and the two clubs played to a 2-2 tie through the first five and a half innings before rain forced the suspension. The game didn't resume until October 29th due to the weather, but when it finallly did the Phillies outscored Tampa 2-1 the rest of the way for a 4-3 final score.

There's no weather-related delay for these links; here's the best from around the web this week…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Adrian Gonzalez’s Trade Suitors

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The Padres' surprising 2010 campaign might ensure that Adrian Gonzalez at least starts next season in San Diego, since the club will want to see if they can capture the same lightning in a bottle in 2011.  But if the Padres fall out of contention early (as they were expected to do last year), the simmering Gonzalez trade market will again catch fire.

Don Norcross of the San Diego Union-Tribune recapped the difficulty — or impossibility — that the Padres will have in signing Gonzalez to the expensive, long-term contract that he'll no doubt command when he reaches free agency after the 2011 season.  Norcross named three "favorites" and two dark horses as possible homes for Gonzalez come Opening Day 2012, so let's take a closer look at these options…

  • The Red Sox.  Boston has been at the forefront of Gonzalez rumors for over a year, and there's no question the Sox will be involved in trade talks for the slugger right down to the wire.
  • The Giants.  Norcross somewhat surprisingly adds them to his favorites list, pointing out that Aubrey Huff could be moved to the outfield (if he's re-signed at all) to accommodate Gonzalez at first base.  It's hard to picture San Diego dealing Gonzalez to a division rival, plus San Francisco isn't the kind of big market that could afford A-Gon's future contract.  That said, the Giants are rewriting their own history right now in the World Series.  They might decide to just go for broke and acquire Gonzalez while their window of contention is open.
  • The Angels.  As Norcross notes, L.A. is close to home for the San Diego-born Gonzalez, and the Halos will pay the money for top talent.  Kendry Morales is relegated to the outfield or the DH spot in Norcross' scenario, but Morales could also be the centerpiece of the Angels' trade package to San Diego.
  • The Dodgers.  One of the darkhorse contenders depending on if a new owner takes control of the team and wants to make an instant impact.  Gonzalez could be in a new uniform well before the Dodgers' ownership situation is settled, so we can probably write off at least one L.A. team.
  • The Cubs.  Gonzalez himself has shown some interest in playing in Chicago, but the Cubs might be looking to add Adam Dunn to play first base this winter.

Besides these five teams, a number of other clubs can and will arise in the market depending on how this offseason pans out.  The White Sox might need first base help if Paul Konerko departs, and could be interested in a long-term answer at first anyway given Konerko's age.  Texas might try to undo their infamous Gonzalez/Chris Young for Adam Eaton/Akinori Otsuka swap in 2006 and make a play for the first baseman.  Teams like Toronto, Baltimore, Washington or Seattle don't seem like candidates now, but could dive into the free agent market next winter if they think they're close to contention.  Even St. Louis could be considered a possibility if they're unable to come to terms on an extension for Albert Pujols.

Amateur Signing Bonuses: Dodgers

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Time to head to Hollywood for our amateur signing bonus series. Here come the Dodgers…

  1. Zach Lee, $5.25MM (2010)
  2. Clayton Kershaw, $2.3MM (2006)
  3. Joel Guzman, $2.255MM (2001)
  4. Ben Diggins, $2.2MM (2000)
  5. Ethan Martin, $1.7325MM (2008)

With the McCourt's divorce still ongoing and the team facing an uncertain financial situation, many assumed that the Dodgers were punting the 28th overall pick in this year's draft by selecting Lee. The talented righthander was considered extremely tough to sign, using a scholarship to LSU as one of the nation's best quarterbacks recruits as leverage. The Dodgers could have claimed to have made Lee a fair offer, then taken the 29th overall pick in the 2011 draft as compensation if they didn't sign him. Except they did sign him, so give them credit. Lee didn't pitch after signing and will start his career next season.

Kershaw was the seventh overall pick in the 2006 draft, the first high school player selected in a class dominated by college arms (and Evan Longoria). After just 44 minor league starts (and four relief appearances), Kershaw was pitching in the the big leagues as a 20-year-old. Two-plus seasons into his career, the lefty owns a 3.17 ERA, 9.3 K/9, and 4.2 BB/9, as well as the top spot in Los Angeles' rotation.

The Dodgers signed Guzman out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old and allowed him to steadily climb the minor league ladder. He made his major league debut in June 2006, and his first career start came as a cleanup hitter. Unfortunately Guzman didn't live up to the bonus or hype, hitting .211/.348/.211 in just 23 plate appearances before being sent back down. The Dodgers dealt Guzman to the then-Devil Rays a few weeks later for Julio Lugo. He hasn't appeared in a big league game since 2007, but is still toiling away in the minors.

Diggins, drafted out of the University of Arizona with the 17th overall pick in 2000, made his pro debut in 2001 and had was solid: 3.58 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 4.1 BB/9. He was better the next year (3.20 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 3.3 BB/9), but the Dodgers traded him and another minor leaguer to Milwaukee for Tyler Houston and a player to be named a week before the 2002 trade deadline. Diggins appeared in five games with the Brewers that season, but was out of baseball a few years later after having Tommy John surgery and subsequent setbacks.

Martin was the team's first round pick in 2008 (15th overall), but he didn't make a good first impression. He suffered a season ending knee injury almost immediately after signing, and didn't debut until 2009. Martin's currently working his way up through the system; in 213.1 career innings, he's posted a 9.5 K/9, 6.0 BB/9 and 6.35 ERA.

We're not counting Japanese veterans in this series even though they have zero MLB experience when signing, but Hiroki Kuroda's $7.3MM bonus would easily top the list. Hideo Nomo received $2MM when he came stateside.

Minor League Transactions: Henn, Dodgers, Mendoza

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All of the minor league moves that took place between October 15-25 have been helpfully catalogued by Baseball America's Matt Eddy. Here are a few of the notable names involved…

  • Left-hander Sean Henn re-signed with Toronto, a week after the Blue Jays granted him free agency.  Henn spent his 2010 season pitching for the Jays' Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, posting a 4.73 ERA in 38 games (nine of them starts).
  • The Dodgers re-signed a number of players with major league experience, such as J.D. Closser, Tim Corcoran and Travis Denker.  Los Angeles also re-signed 11-year veteran Corey Smith, who has yet to get a cup of coffee in the bigs after being drafted 26th overall by Cleveland in the 2000 amateur draft.
  • Luis Mendoza re-signed with Kansas City.  The right-hander has an 8.43 ERA in 36 career major league appearances, 14 of which were starts, with the Rangers and Royals.
  • Houston re-signed Brian Esposito and Wladimir Sutil, both of whom were recently removed from the club's 40-man roster.  In addition, the Astros re-signed Oswaldo Navarro, who picked up 25 plate appearances for Houston last season.

Odds & Ends: Duncan, Mets, Dodgers, Baylor

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Four years ago today, the Cubs signed Starlin Castro as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic.  He became the team's starting shortstop in May at the age of 20, debuting with a .300/.347/.408 performance.  Links for Monday:

Odds & Ends: Mets, Inge, Reynolds, Angels

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On this date in 1974, the Yankees and Giants swapped Bobby Bonds and Bobby Murcer in one of the many deals that had Bonds packing his bags. Now, the Yankees and Giants are preoccupied with something else entirely: trying to reach the World Series. Here are today's links…

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Wood, D’Backs, A’s

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Links for Wednesday, as the Yankees try to prolong their season…

  • Baseball sources tell Ken Gurnick of MLB.com that the Dodgers are likely to bring Trey Hillman aboard as their bench coach.
  • Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald wonders if Kerry Wood could have made a difference for the BoSox.
  • Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks are expected to name Ray Montgomery their new scouting director.  Montgomery has spent the last eight years in the Brewers organization.
  • Bryce Harper will bat seventh in his Arizona Fall League debut tonight, according to the Nationals Baseball Media Relations department (via Twitter).
  • The A's have announced several staff changes via press release.  Gerald Perry has been welcomed back as hitting coach in place of Jim Skaalen.  Joel Skinner, a longtime member of the Indians coaching staff, will take over as bench coach.  Former bench coach Tye Waller will be reassigned as the first base coach.  Waller replaces Todd Steverson who has been offered a position in the A's farm system.
  • Mark McGwire is on the fence about returning as the Cards hitting coach, Tony La Russa told Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch.
  • Former Angels scouting director Eddie Bane will join the Tigers scouting department, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (on Twitter).
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck introduces us to Tigers assistant GM Al Avila, the longtime Detroit exec who remains a GM candidate. The Tigers recently declined to let the Mets interview Avila. 
  • If you play fantasy baseball, head over to RotoAuthority, where Tim Dierkes examines the impact of Ted Lilly's new deal on the lefty's fantasy value.
  • It doesn't look like Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima will become available to MLB teams this year, according to reports passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (Twitter link).
  • Cubs GM Jim Hendry told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that he will "absolutely" welcome Ryne Sandberg back to Chicago's minor league system if the Hall of Famer wants to continue working his way to the major leagues. Sandberg, a finalist for the Cubs major league job, was disappointed when the team hired Mike Quade.
  • Brewers managerial candidate Pat Listach was pleased with his interview, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.

Odds & Ends: Wilson, Twins, Greinke, Dodgers

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As the Giants take a 2-1 lead in the NLCS, let's look at some news from around the baseball world…

  • Though C.J. Wilson will get a big arbitration raise, ESPN's Jason A. Churchill thinks the Rangers are more likely to keep the southpaw rather than put him on the trade market.
  • The Twins need another top-flight starter, and Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune thinks the team should try to acquire Zack Greinke.  His proposed offer of Delmon Young, Kevin Slowey and a prospect won't be enough to get it done, especially since Kansas City would be sending Greinke to a division rival.
  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says the club's payroll will increase in 2011, according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.  (Twitter link)
  • Detroit "will make [a] strong push" to sign Victor Martinez this winter, tweets The Denver Post's Troy Renck.  The Rockies, meanwhile, are a "longshot" to sign the free agent catcher.
  • Also from Renck (via Twitter), Troy Tulowitzki isn't likely to give the Rockies a discount on his next contract since the six-year, $31MM deal he signed before the 2008 season has already proven to be very team-friendly.  Tulowitzki is locked up through 2013 and the Rockies have a team option (for $15MM) on him for 2014, so it'll be at least a couple of years before Colorado thinks about extending the star shortstop.
  • PGP of the DRaysBay.com blog looks at why Tampa Bay might think about trading Matt Garza and what he could fetch in a deal.
  • If Cliff Lee signs a six-year contract with the Yankees this winter, he could earn close to $200MM in salary and endorsement deals, estimates Forbes Magazine's Patrick Rishe.
  • Magic Johnson owning the Dodgers?  ESPN.com's J.A. Adande wants to see it happen.
  • Padres assistant GM Fred Uhlman Jr. will remain with the club, tweets MLB.com's Corey Brock.  There were rumors that Uhlman could head to Arizona to work with former Padres general manager Kevin Towers.
  • The Cardinals need to patch up the "rift" that has developed in the front office in recent years, writes Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Gordon also looks at the Cardinals' minor league system and the team's last several drafts. 
  • Fangraphs' Pat Andriola looks at which teams did and didn't benefit from "the old guy discount" last winter.

Dodgers Sign Ted Lilly

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The Dodgers have signed Ted Lilly to a three-year, $33MM contract that was finalized today when the 34-year-old pitcher passed a physical.  Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) reports that Lilly has a full no-trade clause for the first two seasons of the deal, and the left-hander will receive a $3.5MM signing bonus to be paid out over all three years.  Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com broke the news of the agreement last Saturday, and MLB.com's Ken Gurnick was the first to confirm the dollar amount (both Twitter links).

Los Angeles acquired Lilly from the Cubs at the trade deadline this summer, and watched him post a 3.52 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in dozen starts (76.2 innings). He also threw his first complete game shutout since 2004 while in a Dodgers' uniform. Lilly just wrapped up the four year, $40MM contract he signed with Chicago before the 2007 season. 

Lilly projected to be a Type-A free agent, so the Dodgers will be forfeiting a chance at two high draft picks with the move. Of course they would have had to offer arbitration and Lilly would have had to turn it down for that to happen, and neither of those things was a given. 

Lilly was positioned to be one of the best free agent starting pitchers available, and Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (via Twitter) calls the signing a "bargain" for Los Angeles considering what Lilly could've earned on the open market.  Apparently he preferred to sign quickly, and given how the market played out last offseason, it's hard to blame him.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post.

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