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Blue Jays Notes: Alomar Jr. Wallach, Marcum, Crawford

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It was on this day in 1992 that the Blue Jays won their first World Series game, a 5-4 result over Atlanta in Game 2 of the 1992 World Series.  Here are a few notes about the Jays and their quest to find a manager that can get them back to the postseason…

  • Sandy Alomar Jr. is going to have his third interview with the Blue Jays and is "among [the] finalists" for Toronto's managerial job, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, though Rosenthal isn't sure how many names are on the Jays' list of finalists.  Alomar Jr. is one of the least experienced of the many names on Toronto's list, with just the past season as Cleveland's first base coach and two years as a Mets minor league catching instructor on his coaching resume.  Rosenthal also notes that Boston bench coach DeMarlo Hale "is in [the] mix," which ties into yesterday's item about Hale being asked back for a second interview.
  • Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com has more details on why Dodgers coach Tim Wallach didn't interview for the Toronto job.  It appears as though Wallach will be the L.A. third base coach in 2011 unless he's hired as the new Milwaukee manager.  The Globe And Mail's Robert Macleod also looks at the situation and thinks that the Dodgers want to keep Wallach in the fold in case Don Mattingly struggles as the club's manager.
  • In a mailbag for MLB.com, Jordan Bastian thinks Toronto will discuss a contract extension with right-hander Shaun Marcum this winter.  Since Marcum still has two years of arbitration left, however, Bastian notes that "keeping him under control as an arbitration-eligible player could increase his value on the trade market." 
  • From that same mailbag, Bastian doubts the Jays will make a play for Carl Crawford.  While the Jays have said that they can afford high-priced free agents, Bastian thinks the club won't do so until it gets to "the stage where it sits a piece or two away from World Series contention."

Arbitration Eligibles: Los Angeles Dodgers

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The Dodgers are next in our arbitration eligibles series.

Billingsley and Kuo will certainly be tendered contracts this offseason.  Billingsley trimmed walks, home runs, and ERA this year and is operating from a strong first-time salary of $3.85MM.  Agents will be rooting for second-timers Billingsley, Jered Weaver, Matt Garza, Joe Saunders, John Danks, and Jeremy Guthrie to jump to the $6MM range and raise the bar for others.  Kuo has a strong case as well, with a fantastic, healthy platform year in which he took over at closer.

Loney, Martin, Theriot and Sherrill form an interesting group of non-tender candidates for the Dodgers.  We discussed Loney's case a week ago; about 82% of you expect him to be tendered a contract.  A trade is more likely than a non-tender.  Martin is in a similar situation - ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted last month that "the perception among rival GMs is that he will have some (but not great) trade value."  It doesn't help that Martin is coming off a broken hip.  For a look at the trade market for catchers, click here.

MLBTR's Mike Axisa looked at Theriot's case on September 4th, at which point 42% of you predicted he'll be cut loose.  Looking at Theriot's numbers since then, a non-tender is even more likely.  Sherrill is a lock to be let go after his tough year.  He was placed on outright waivers in July and cleared.

Davidoff On Alderson, Valentine, Takahashi

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In his latest piece for Newsday, Ken Davidoff notes that Bud Selig's job as commissioner occasionally involves making recommendations for teams searching for general managers. Selig recommended Jack Zduriencik when the Mariners were looking for a GM two years ago, and, more recently, gave Fred Wilpon a list of suggestions for the Mets. Given the "close ties" between Selig and Wilpon, the commissioner's backing of Sandy Alderson could carry significant weight. Here are the other items of interest from Davidoff's article:

  • Although he has interviewed for multiple managerial positions, Bobby Valentine may end up back at ESPN next year rather than in a major league dugout. The Mets are still a possibility for Valentine, but if Alderson becomes the GM, he figures to make a cheaper, lower-profile hire.
  • Potential free agent Hisanori Takahashi is open to remaining a reliever, meaning he won't necessarily seek out a situation where he has a chance to start.
  • The last report we heard on Takahashi suggested that he'd prefer to remain a Met. However, Davidoff indicates the Yankees, Phillies, and Dodgers also "intrigue" the Japanese lefty.

Odds & Ends: Listach, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Hill

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Saturday evening linkage as the Phillies and Giants kick off the NLCS…

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/16/SPJO1FT26N.DTL

Gammons On Red Sox, Crawford, Moreno, Liverpool

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Peter Gammons made one of his regular appearances on WEEI's The Big Show today to discuss the playoffs and look ahead to Boston's winter moves.  Albert Vontz of WEEI.com has a partial transcript, and here are some highlights…

  • The Red Sox are "going to go real hard after Carl Crawford."  Gammons thinks one advantage Boston has is that they're looking at Crawford as middle-of-the-order bat rather than as a leadoff man, and Crawford "doesn’t want to be the guy trying to steal 70 bases."
  • The Angels are another team rumored to be pursuing Crawford this winter, and they'll have the money to do so.  Gammons hears that Angels owner Arte Moreno "is on the cusp" of a new local television deal worth approximately $4BB.  Gammon says Moreno and the Halos are moving fast to "swallow up even more of the Dodgers market" what with the Dodgers embroiled in the McCourt ownership dispute.
  • In the wake of the Red Sox ownership group's purchase of Liverpool FC of the English Premier League, Gammons thinks Red Sox fans will blame the soccer club if the Sox can't acquire and/or afford any major free agents this winter.  Gammons was told, however, that Liverpool is "a $1BB business that they bought for about $400MM" and surmises that majority owner John Henry sees the purchase as "a great business deal…[that] might help the Red Sox in a ten-year period."

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Dodgers, Nationals, Rasmus

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On this date back in 1988, a hobbling Kirk Gibson pinch hit for reliever Alejandro Pena with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Dodgers down by one to the Athletics in Game One of the World Series. Dennis Eckersley, who finished second in the Cy Young voting that year, recorded two quick outs before walking the light hitting Mike Davis (.196/.260/.270 that year) in front of Gibson. You all know what happened next. Gibson battled Eck for six pitches before the Oakland reliever finally hung a slider, a pitch that resulted in one of the most famous home runs in World Series history.

Injuries limited Gibson to just that one plate appearance in the Fall Classic, which the Dodgers went on to win four games to one. Joe Posnanski ranked Jack Buck's and Vin Scully's call of the play the fifth greatest in sports history. These links might not be all-time greats, but they're still the best from the past week of the internet…

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

Logan White To Interview For Mets GM Job

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12:55pm: White is interviewing for the Mets GM job, confirms Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.  Hernandez adds that White has a new deal in place to remain with the Dodgers in his current role if he does not get the Mets gig.

9:45am: A potential new candidate has entered the mix for the Mets GM vacancy in Dodgers assistant GM of amateur and international scouting Logan White. ESPN's Tony Jackson reported early Tuesday that White will interview for the Mets GM job on Friday. The implication is that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti granted White permission to do so. However, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News talked to non-Mets league sources who said White is not a candidate for the GM job. Instead, they're interested in hiring him in a scouting role to work with the team's new GM.

Red Sox assistant GM Allard Baird interviewed for the Mets GM position yesterday. ESPN's Adam Rubin reports that Baird spoke to Mets COO Jeff Wilpon, acting GM John Ricco, and other team executives. The Mets will interview White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn today and former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes tomorrow. Sandy Alderson, the reported favorite, interviews Thursday or Friday.

Meanwhile, Dan Martin of the New York Post spoke to Athletics GM Billy Beane, who unsurprisingly supported the idea of the Mets hiring Alderson.  Martin's colleague Joel Sherman explains why he feels Alderson is best qualified for the job.

Non-Tender Candidate: James Loney

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Dodgers first baseman James Loney does not intuitively strike me as a non-tender candidate – the team was reportedly unwilling to part with him in July in a Cliff Lee trade.  However, Loney had a terrible final two months and finished with the worst numbers of his career.  Let's examine his case.

Loney, 27 in May, agreed on a $3.1MM deal with the Dodgers for 2010.  He was arbitration eligible for the first time after posting another 13 home run, 90 RBI season.  This year Loney still managed ten home runs and 88 RBIs, but his batting average and walk rate slipped from '09.  He finished at .267/.329/.395, disappointing rates for a first baseman.

Loney's basic career numbers: a .288 average, 55 home runs, 353 RBIs, 267 runs, and 25 steals in 2436 plate appearances across 624 games.  Potential comparables Corey Hart, Adam LaRoche, Ryan Ludwick, Cody Ross, and Josh Willingham averaged a raise of about $1.8MM, which would put Loney at $4.9MM for 2011.  These comparables aren't perfect; Loney bests them all in average and RBIs but falls short in home runs.  Hart, coming off a lousy platform year himself after the '09 season, had to beat the Brewers to get his $1.55MM raise.  The Brewers were rewarded for tendering Hart a contract, as he had a big 2010 season. 

Chances are some team would be willing to give Loney a shot at $4.5-5MM next year even if the Dodgers prefer a change at first base.  Loney's team will have the ability to retain him for 2012 if they're happy with his '11 results.  MLB.com's Bill Ladson speculated on Friday that the Nationals would go after Loney hard if the Dodgers make him available. 

We'll still pose the question in a poll: will the Dodgers non-tender Loney?  Click here to vote and here to see the results.

Odds & Ends: Rothschild, Listach, Wallach, Alderson

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Some links to check out as the Reds try to extend their season…

  • Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune reminds us that Cubs' pitching coach Larry Rothschild has until tomorrow to pick up his option for 2011. Rothschild has worked closely with Carlos Zambrano over the last several years, watching over him like a "substitute teacher," to use Sullivan's words.
  • Meanwhile, MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that Nationals third base coach Pat Listach is no longer a candidate to manage the Cubs. 
  • Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports that Tim Wallach will serve as either the Dodgers bench or third base coach next season unless another team hires him to be their manager.
  • Sandy Alderson asked and received permission from Bud Selig to interview with the Mets for the GM vacancy next Thursday or Friday, and The New York Post's Joel Sherman says that's an indication that Alderson wants the job badly.
  • Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer ranks everyone on the Indians 40-man roster based on what they did in 2010 and what they're expected to contribute in 2011.
  • In a mailbag piece, Hoynes says that insurance would cover some of the $28.75MM left on Travis Hafner's contract if he lands on the disabled list with a right shoulder issue. Pronk has been battling injuries to the shoulder since 2008.
  • John Tomase of The Boston Herald looks at all of the non-closer relievers who signed a multi-year deal worth at least $5MM over the last four seasons. In summary, it's not pretty. Not at all.

Cafardo’s Latest: Matsuzaka, Managers, Konerko

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Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe spoke to nearly a dozen scouts and executives and found that there would be substantial interest in Daisuke Matsuzaka if the Red Sox made the righthander available in a trade this offseason. Most of those polled believe Boston would have to kick in some money to offset the two-years and $20MM left on his deal, but it's unclear what they would want in return. As Cafardo reminds us, there's no such thing as too much pitching depth, so the Sox could simply hold onto him.

As far as teams that could have potential interest in Dice-K, Cafardo names the Mariners, Mets, Dodgers, Brewers, Rangers, and Tigers. Here are the rest of his rumors…

  • There's talk that the Red Sox might go after Yu Darvish if he's posted this winter, and there is a little bit of a New England connection there: Darvish's father attended school in the area.
  • Doug Melvin said he will go outside the organization to replace departed manager Ken Macha, which rules out Dale Sveum and Willie Randolph.
  • Jim Hendry and Cubs ownership likes what interim manager Mike Quade got out of his players down the stretch, so the sentiment to retain him is growing.
  • Fredi Gonzalez turned down a chance to interview with the Cubbies, and it's looking more and more likely that he will take over for the retiring Bobby Cox in Atlanta.
  • Alex Anthopoulos is looking at third base/bench coaches for his next manager, while Neal Huntington might dip into his Indians' roots to fill the Pirates' managerial vacancy.
  • Paul Konerko indicated that contract length won't be much of a factor when he hits free agency this winter because he isn't sure how much longer he wants to play. Kenny Williams indicated that there might not be enough room in the budget for the White Sox to bring back their captain, especially if they seeks out a lefty bat as expected.
  • Jason Varitek wants to return to the Red Sox but the team is thinking bigger picture with Jarrod Saltalamacchia on board. Cafardo suggests the Marlins as a potential landing spot for Varitek, where he would work with the team's young pitchers.
  • Meanwhile, the Sox could sign John Buck as a stopgap while they wait for Salty to establish himself.
  • Teams in need of a second baseman are very interested in Jed Lowrie, though at least one scout thinks he can stick at shortstop. The 26-year-old hit .287/.381/.526 in 197 plate appearances this year.
  • Despite a strong finish (1.41 ERA in his last ten starts), the Cubs would still like to move Carlos Zambrano. Of course, they're going to have to eat some of the $55MM left of his contract to do so.
  • Cafardo thinks that Carl Pavano could command a three-year deal worth $30MM as a free agent this winter, but he'd have to give a bit of a discount to return to Minnesota. The Twins have shown a willingness to spend in the last year, so this will be an interesting negotiation for them.
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