Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Villalona, Johnson
A few Monday evening links….
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs argues Joe Torre is making the Dodgers worse by giving Ronnie Belliard playing time at the expense of Orlando Hudson. Belliard is outperforming Hudson lately, and keeping Hudson on the bench is saving the Dodgers some money, but Cameron thinks that playing Belliard at second base in October would hurt the team's World Series chances.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that Giants prospect Angel Villalona has pleaded innocent to the charge of murder. Still, Baggarly says it's anyone's guess whether Villalona will ever play baseball again.
- After some recent speculation that the Marlins might attempt to move Josh Johnson, imaginations are already running wild. Roch Kubatko at the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network wonders what kind of prospects it could take to get Johnson to Baltimore.
Benching Costs Orlando Hudson
Talking to Jim Peltz of the L.A. Times, Dodgers manager Joe Torre would not commit to Ronnie Belliard over Orlando Hudson as the team's starting second baseman. Belliard has started at second base in eight of the team's 18 games this month, as well as a few times at third.
Hudson stands to lose money as a bench player, though he was gracious in comments made to Peltz. The way his contract is set up, Hudson is currently earning $10,000 per plate appearance up until his 632nd. He's already earned $7.63MM on the season, despite a base salary of $3.38MM.
The larger effect of the benching may be on Hudson's next contract. He faces strong competition among free agent second basemen, and will have a hard time topping this year's salary.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Dodgers, DeRosa, Cubs, Managers, General Managers
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive right on in…
- Southpaws Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw are likely to start the first two games of the playoffs for the Dodgers, but Kershaw must recover from his dislocated non-throwing shoulder first. The back-to-back lefties would be a big advantage if LA played the lefthanded hitter heavy Phillies. Rosenthal also mentions that the Cardinals, despite being so righty heavy, have the second lowest team OPS (.675) against lefthanded pitchers in the National League.
- Hiroki Kuroda would likely start game three for the Dodgers, followed by either Vicente Padilla or Jon Garland. Chad Billinglsey will likely be left out of the rotation.
- The Cards have put their contract extension talks with Mark DeRosa on hold until the offseason, making it more likely that he'll become a free agent. The deal St. Louis originally proposed was less than the three-year, $17.5MM contract Casey Blake received as a free agent last offseason. DeRosa is a year younger now than Blake was then, but the offseason wrist surgery he is scheduled to have makes the situation cloudy.
- The Cubs will be open to "anything and everything" this offseason, including trading Milton Bradley and/or Carlos Zambrano. Anything to improve the club, basically. However, perhaps the only way the Cubs could unload Bradley would be to take on another underachieving, overpaid player in return.
- Zambrano has a full no-trade clause and is owed $54MM over the next three years, but he's still only 28-years-old and still incredibly talented. The free agent market for starting pitching is thin, which may work in Chicago's favor. Big Z might be appealing at the right price.
- Ken Macha will likely remain with the Brewers, but at least four other managers are in danger of being fired. The list starts with Cecil Cooper of the Astros, and also includes Jim Riggleman of the Nationals, Dave Trembley of the Orioles, and Eric Wedge of the Indians.
- Among general managers, Ned Colletti of the Dodgers, Brian Sabean of the Giants, and Dan O'Dowd of the Rockies are all without contracts for next year, and two of them are going to the postseason. The only GM that appears to be in jeopardy of losing his job is J.P. Ricciardi of the Blue Jays.
Odds & Ends: Mateo, Sano, Crow, Ethier
Some more links for the afternoon or, if you're on the East Coast, the early evening…
- ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. hears that a vision issue could affect the status of the contract Wagner Mateo signed with the Cardinals earlier in the summer. If Mateo has a degenerative eye condition, the Cards may look to reclaim some of the $3.1MM they awarded the 16-year-old. Mateo's agent says it's a non-issue.
- Miguel Angel Sano doesn't appear to be near a deal with any club, but Arangure Jr. hears that the shortstop seeks $3.2MM.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law believes Aaron Crow's long holdout will hurt the pitcher more than it helped him. The Royals completed their deal with Crow just yesterday.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer knows it's painful for the A's to see Andre Ethier's 30-homer season in LA, but he reminds his readers that Milton Bradley helped the A's win a division title after Billy Beane traded Ethier to acquire Bradley before the 2006 season.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Zambrano, Johnson, Fielder, Felix, Braves
On this date 39 years ago, the Mets purchased the contract of Dean Chance from the Indians. At the time, the Mets were 1.5 games back in the NL East. The former Cy Young winner would make only three relief appearances down the stretch and the Mets finished six games back in third place. Chance would subsequently be traded in the off-season and play just one more season. With only two weeks remaining before the start of most team's off-season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse feels the reports that Carlos Zambrano is largely responsible for the Cubs' failures this season are just PR by the Cubs to make it easier to move Zambrano this off-season.
- Fangraphs makes a case that Nick Johnson's injury history could increase the number of teams that are interested in his services this off-season.
- Dodgers Rumors wonders if Ned Colletti will be back next season as the Dodgers' GM and whether he deserves to be.
- MLB Notebook breaks down the possibility of Prince Fielder being traded this off-season.
- Jorge Says No! writes about the Mariners' inability to sign Felix Hernandez to an extension.
- DC Sports Plus looks at some free agent starting pitchers that could help the Nationals next season, with John Lackey, Jason Marquis and Joel Pineiro at the top of the wishlist.
- The Ghost of Midnight Graham suggests that teams avoid Pineiro this winter.
- UmpBump takes a look at who might be playing first base for the Braves next season.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Rangers, Cubbies
The first round of links for today…
- The Ronnie Belliard pickup is costing Orlando Hudson some major bucks, as Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times points out. Hudson entered the week with 577 plate appearances, and he'll earn $10K for every PA between 576 and 632 according to his contract. However, Hudson has sat in favor of Belliard four times in the last 11 games.
- Jim Reeves of The Star Telegram writes that the Rangers' financial plight will probably hamstring the team, with no immediate relief in sight. Club president Nolan Ryan said he can't see the team being sold before April or May at the earliest.
- Toni Ginnetti of The Chicago Sun Times says that acquiring a "true leadoff hitter with speed and base-stealing ability" should be on the shopping list for Cubs GM Jim Hendry this winter.
- Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports posted his All-Overachiever and All-Underachiever teams. Is it fair to consider Pablo Sandoval and Aaron Hill overachievers?
- Tyler Kepner of The NY Times has an amusing story about Sean Henn and what he went through when he was traded from Minnesota to Baltimore earlier this month.
Rosenthal On Garcia, Pirates, Papelbon
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal says Florida's Chris Coghlan deserves the NL Rookie of the Year award. Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones, J.A. Happ, Randy Wells, and Tommy Hanson are also in the mix…who do you like?
- For the AL ROY, Rosenthal sticks with his preseason choice of Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus. Jeff Niemann, Andrew Bailey, Nolan Reimold, and Gordon Beckham are other top contenders.
- Rosenthal has a few possible Nationals managerial candidates: Diamondbacks third base coach Chip Hale, Bobby Valentine, and Bob Melvin. It's also possible Jim Riggleman is retained.
- I was not aware of this – Freddy Garcia's deal with the White Sox has a 2010 option with a $1MM base and $2MM in incentives. Garcia has an 89mph fastball these days, but he's posted quality starts in three of four tries (against the Yankees and Red Sox).
- The Pirates would only trade starters Paul Maholm or Zach Duke if they receive "a young major league starter of similar quality, plus another piece." I mentioned that the Bucs look pretty good for 2011, but Rosenthal says team officials are not conceding 2010.
- Rosenthal's source describes a Jonathan Papelbon trade as "pretty unrealistic." Jayson Stark's sources had a similar opinion.
- Rosenthal rattles off the teams that have had past interest in Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, who is getting pricey: the Orioles, Twins, Giants, D'Backs, Dodgers, and Cardinals.
Odds And Ends: Mets, Padilla, Cardinals
Derek Jeter could become the all-time Yankees hit leader today, but in the meantime, here are some links:
- Jim Bastian of The Journal reports that the Dodgers re-signed Jamie Hoffman just two days after designating him for assignment in a procedural move.
- As Ben Shpigel of the New York Times notes, Daniel Murphy could start at first base for the Mets next year. This could allow the team to spend on an outfielder, perhaps even Jason Bay or Matt Holliday.
- MLB.com's David Ely says Vicente Padilla has been more than serviceable since the Dodgers picked him up to bolster their rotation in late August.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan says the Cardinals are the champions of the trade deadline. Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa, Julio Lugo and John Smoltz have turned the Cards into a force.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer expects Jose Tabata to spend the next six years making the Yankees look foolish. The Pirates acquired Tabata in the Xavier Nady trade last summer.
- Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post gives Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd credit for the team's strong play.
The Week Ahead
Now that we've taken a look at the week that was, let's anticipate what lies ahead. There aren't as many pennant races to watch as usual this year, so keep your eye on the following stories as the week progresses:
- When Josh Beckett throws his first pitch tomorrow afternoon, his 2010 option will kick in for $12.1MM.
- Kevin Millwood will likely pitch against the Mariners on Friday. If he goes eight innings or more, he will have pitched 180 innings on the season and his $12MM option for 2010 will vest.
- One final option to monitor this week: Magglio Ordonez is a mere 27 plate appearances from seeing his $18MM option kick in for next season. It could happen this week, but, depending on playing time, Maggs may have to wait longer.
- For recaps of these options and more, check out Tim's post from earlier in the week.
- Tony Abreu filed a grievance against the Dodgers and Glen Perkins may file one of his own against the Twins. We'll see if either player reaches a resolution with his club this week.
- Don't rule out trades, either. Could the Rangers acquire an infielder? Could the Phils add a bench bat?
Odds & Ends: Uggla, Royals, New Blood
Here's some links to start off a gorgeous Sunday (at least around these parts)…
- After calling out teammate Hanley Ramirez, Bill Shaikin of The LA Times wonders if Dan Uggla might get a ticket out of Florida. If so, he says Uggla could be a fit for the Dodgers, who he says "are not expected to engage in a bidding war to retain second baseman Orlando Hudson."
- Sam Mellinger of The KC Star presents a few ways to improve the Royals for 2010. In addition to not handing out albatross contracts to players like Kyle Farnsworth and Jose Guillen, Mellinger suggests the team trade Alberto Callaspo, nontender Mike Jacobs, and resign Coco Crisp.
- Joel Sherman of The NY Post rates which teams "succeeded and failed in bringing new blood to their organizations" over the last year. The Yankees take home top honors thanks to additions of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira, and Nick Swisher. The Mets … well they come in last.
- Make sure you follow MLBTR on Twitter for the fastest rumor updates around.