Quick Hits: Votto, Anderson, Red Sox, Dodgers
Links for Sunday evening as the Brewers have jumped out to a 1-0 lead over the Cardinals in the NLCS..
- The Reds need to ask themselves if they believe that they can pay Joey Votto a market-value contract after 2013, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com. If the Reds don't believe that they can pay him, Olney writes that history says that they should move him between now and July 31, 2012.
- The Red Sox could use Lars Anderson as a trade chip this offseason, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal. The 24-year-old first baseman is stuck behind Adrian Gonzalez and MacPherson identifies several teams who would be interested in the youngster. Anderson was nearly shipped to the Athletics in a deal for Rich Harden in July.
- Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times doesn't expect to see the Dodgers make many changes this winter. If Ned Colletti & Co. don't sign a bopper in free agency, that leaves trading for a big bat and the club doesn't have much to offer in return.
- Tigers closer Jose Valverde represents yet another ex-Astros player achieving success elsewhere, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.com.
- Brewers right-hander Shaun Marcum sees a bright future for his former teammate, Cardinals lefty reliever Marc Rzepczynski. Marcum, who will start Game 2 of the NLCS on Monday, played with Rzepczynski in Toronto.
Dodgers Notes: Colletti, Kuroda, Barajas, Legal Ruling
On this day in 1978, the Dodgers clinched the NLCS on Bill Russell's walkoff single in the 10th inning of Game Four. It was the 19th National League pennant for the Dodgers' franchise, though the club would lose the World Series to the Yankees.
Some news from the modern-day Dodgers…
- GM Ned Colletti broke down the Dodgers' roster and offseason plans in an interview with ESPN's Jim Bowden. Colletti reiterated that signing Matt Kemp to a multiyear extension was "a priority" and extending Clayton Kershaw would also be explored through without as much urgency since Kershaw is under control through 2014. Colletti said he "would entertain" locking up Andre Ethier as well, and though he noted that Ethier is "coming off an injury and a subpar season," the GM also said that Ethier isn't a candidate to be dealt.
- Hiroki Kuroda "is an extremely loyal person to both the Dodgers and the city of Los Angeles and really doesn't want to play anywhere else," Colletti said. He noted that Kuroda's daughters go to school in L.A. and the right-hander has bought a house in town.
- Colletti also noted that the Dodgers would "probably let Tim Federowicz and A.J. Ellis handle the [catching] duties" next season. As Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times notes, this would mean the team won't bring back Rod Barajas, who last month said he hoped to finish his career in Dodger blue.
- Barring a surprise signing of Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, Mike Petriello of the Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness blog wonders where the Dodgers will find their desired middle-of-the-order bat this winter.
- A bankruptcy judge has ruled that the Dodgers will not be able to obtain information from MLB's 29 other teams, reports Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. Frank McCourt and his attorneys have stated that the Dodgers were being treated differently by Major League Baseball than other teams and were looking for documentation to prove this alleged double standard.
GM Candidate: Logan White
MLBTR’s list of general manager candidates introduced 20 people who were identified by their peers as potential Major League GMs. We’ve been bringing you closer to the candidates with a series of pieces. Today the series continues with Logan White, the Dodgers’ assistant GM of scouting.
Logan White oversaw the selection of high-profile pitchers such as Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley and Kenley Jansen, so he knows a good arm when he sees one. And in retrospect, White acknowledges that his own big league prospects were slim when Mariners scout Jeff Malinoff recommended him in the 1984 draft.
“No disrespect to Jeff, I wouldn’t draft me,” White said.
Seattle selected White, then a right-handed pitcher out of Western New Mexico University, in the 23rd round. Three minor league seasons and one shoulder operation later, the former Academic All-American was teaching English and communications at the junior high level. But White returned to baseball as an associate scout with the Mariners before moving on to Baltimore and San Diego. He joined the Dodgers a decade ago and oversaw the selection of current players such as Matt Kemp, Russell Martin and James Loney.
White seeks out analysis beyond the traditional scouting report. He has researched pitching deliveries and the amateur draft to help the Dodgers obtain healthier, more productive players. Today, he oversees amateur and international scouting for the Dodgers as an assistant to GM Ned Colletti.
I spoke to him late in the regular season. Here are some highlights from our conversation:
On his start in scouting:
I don’t want to compare horses to people, but I grew up on a ranch in New Mexico. I grew up around agriculture and when I was in school we did horse judging – we would judge horses and we had to rank them. It sounds funny, but in the end I learned a lot about the gait of a horse and how the horse looked and worked and how the body worked. So there was always an interest for me to try to understand those kinds of things.
On what kind of scout he is:
I think that I’m a person who can understand the delivery, the arm action, the mechanics, how a body works, but also someone who can understand the mental side for the player. I think I was ahead of the curve in understanding that the player’s performance has to follow and I was always looking for backgrounds of success. I’m also a person that likes tools. I know in the game today, particularly in a large-market city like L.A., you have to draft impact players.
I like to think I’m a pretty open-minded evaluator. I’m hopefully not going to miss on David Eckstein and I certainly respect the importance of the kind player he is, but I also know that I can’t make a career out of looking for David Eckstein, because he’s pretty rare. I’m better off looking for Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez and not missing a David Eckstein.
On advanced analysis and traditional scouting:
If you play, you can get labeled as a ‘baseball guy’ who’s not a critical thinker. That’s not necessarily the case for me. I respect that side of what people try to do [advanced analytics]. I’m always open to ways to get better and I’m always a person that’s researching.
On development of his own analytical side:
I think most people, we go back to our life experiences, our educational backgrounds. I’ve always been one who wants to test and see if it works and I think it goes back to my background. When you’re raising cattle and horses and crops, making a living that way, certain things work and certain things don’t.
Some of what I do I call deductive reasoning and you have to have it. And you certainly have to have data and research [as well]. If you have deductive reasoning without research and data, it’s irrelevant.
NL West Notes: Kemp, Kuroda, Goldschmidt, Rox
The Diamondbacks, winners of the NL West in 2011, have pushed the Brewers to a decisive fifth game in the NLDS, and they may not have gotten there without the help of rookie slugger Paul Goldschmidt. Here's more on him and a few other items of note regarding NL West clubs …
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said that extending Matt Kemp is an offseason priority but he won't set a firm deadline to get a deal done, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Last week, Kemp's agent, Dave Stewart, set an extension deadline of Opening Day 2012, and Colletti told Shelburne he too prefers to work out deals in the offseason, but he doesn't have any hard and fast rules: "I've done a handful of deals during a season, but the total number is very small compared to those that have been done in the offseason," Colletti said. "You take every situation case by case, you never say no to anything."
- That Dodgers right-hander Hiroki Kuroda vetoed pre-deadline trades to the Tigers and Red Sox bodes well for Los Angeles' chances of re-signing the free agent, opines Jim Bowden of ESPN (via Twitter). We heard late last month that Kuroda is on the fence about re-signing with the Dodgers or returning to Japan.
- The Diamondbacks were awarded an August waiver claim on White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, two sources tell Bob Nightengale of USA Today, but trade discussions didn't progress, as the South Siders were targeting Goldschmidt, whom the Snakes weren't interested in trading. Konerko, who would have had to approve the trade because of his 10-and-5 rights, said a deal was never brought to him — and he's not sure whether he would have accepted.
- The Rockies haven't ruled out bringing back third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes first reported that Kouzmanoff had elected free agency today after being outrighted on Tuesday.
- The Rox also are interested in retaining minor leaguers Jose Morales and Matt Daley, who were also outrighted, according to Renck (via Twitter).
Dodgers Decline Options On Garland, Blake
The Dodgers announced on Twitter today that they've declined club options on starter Jon Garland and third baseman Casey Blake, and also outrighted Eugenio Velez to Triple-A. Typically option decisions are announced after the World Series, but Garland and Blake were obvious choices.
For Garland, the Dodgers chose a $500K buyout over an $8MM club option. Garland had signed for a below-market guarantee of $5MM in November, but a vesting option in the contract became moot when the righty when down for an oblique injury in March and shoulder surgery in July. Garland, now 32, had previously been a lock for around 200 innings per season. If Garland is healthy, his agents at LSW Baseball should have no problem finding a one-year deal worth a few million plus incentives, along with a back-end rotation job.
The Dodgers chose a $1.25MM buyout over a $6MM club option on Blake, finishing a contract signed in December of '08. The 38-year-old Jim McDowell client hit .252/.342/.371 in 239 plate appearances. Blake's season was shortened by a ribcage, elbow, and neck injuries, culminating in September neck surgery. McDowell told MLBTR recently that his client should be "100% for 2012." Blake is also looking at a one-year deal, probably of the part-time variety. You can check out MLBTR's list of all the 2012 free agents here.
Velez, now the record-holder for a non-pitcher going hitless in a season with an 0-for-37 showing, was removed from the 40-man roster. Once free agents Aaron Miles, Jamey Carroll, Hiroki Kuroda, Rod Barajas, Juan Rivera, Vicente Padilla, Jonathan Broxton, and Mike MacDougal are subtracted, the Dodgers' tally will be down to 30.
Quick Hits: Giants, Red Sox, Smith, Dodgers, Orioles
Here are some items from around baseball to peruse after a great night of October baseball..
- Giants GM Brian Sabean said that the club's paryoll in 2012 will be around $125MM but he may ask for more money based on a specific player they are targeting, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Schulman believes that if Sabean wants to re-sign Carlos Beltran and needs more payroll room to do it, ownership will be willing to listen.
- Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona plans to manage next season if offered the opportunity, a source close to Francona told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.
- Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter) suggests that Torey Lovullo is a name to consider for the Red Sox managerial vacancy. Lovullo managed Boston's Triple-A affiliate in 2010 and currently serves as the first base coach of the Blue Jays.
- There's been a great deal of trade talk surrounding the Rockies' Seth Smith lately but the outfielder says that he's trying not to think about it too much, writes Jim Amstrong of The Denver Post. If Colorado were to sign an everyday left fielder like Michael Cuddyer, Smith could be flipped for pitching.
- The Dodgers have asked the judge in their bankruptcy case to reconsider limits he placed on their arguments, write Bill Shaikin and Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. The team's attorneys want to present Bud Selig's dealings with other teams involving similar transactions.
- Everybody is still waiting for both shoes to drop in the Orioles front office, writes Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun.
Kemp Won’t Talk Extension Once Season Starts
The Dodgers’ best player is a year away from hitting free agency and if they don’t lock him up by the time the 2012 season starts, it appears that he’ll test the open market. Agent Dave Stewart told Bill Plaschke of the LA Times that he hopes to complete an extension for Matt Kemp by Opening Day 2012.
"I know it is not a good thing to negotiate a contract during the course of the year; it's just not," Stewart said. "The player needs to be clear of mind and just do his job, and the organization also doesn't need the distraction."
Timing isn’t just one consideration for the Dodgers. Kemp narrowly missed a 40-40 season and is a leading candidate for the National League MVP, so we’re “talking about some pretty heavy dollars," as Stewart points out.
"If we have a concern at all, it's going to be, are we going to be able to get paid what we're trying to get," Stewart said.
There are few statistical matches for Kemp, who led the league in home runs (39), OPS+ (171), total bases (353), runs scored (115) and RBI (126) this season. The 27-year-old can look forward to "new ground" from a contractual standpoint as well.
GM Ned Colletti says the Dodgers can afford long-term deals for Kemp, Andre Ethier and Clayton Kershaw. MLBTR estimates a $16.3MM salary for Kemp in 2012, his final season before he’s eligible for free agency.
Dodgers Notes: Ethier, Wada, Mattingly, Payroll
2011 may have been the most tumultuous season in Dodger history, but it was still a winning one as the club finished with an 82-79 record. Here's the latest from Chavez Ravine….
- "Andre Ethier's quirky personality has begun to wear thin on teammates and staff alike," several sources have told ESPN Los Angeles' Tony Jackson. While Ethier would bring back a solid return on the trade market, Jackson doesn't think a move is likely to happen since Ned Colletti said the club needs Ethier's bat.
- Also from Tony Jackson, a source close to the Dodgers says assistant GM Logan White was recently in Japan scouting left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Wada will be a free agent this winter and is known to be looking at a move to Major League Baseball. NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman compared Wada to Dallas Braden, pitching-wise.
- Don Mattingly's first season may be "more of a managerial audition than a chance for Mattingly to establish himself as a Los Angeles fixture in the dugout," writes T.J. Simers for the Los Angeles Times. Simers suspects a new owner will want to "fumigate the place" of past Frank McCourt decisions, including hiring a new manager.
- Alex Tabin has been hired as the Dodgers' new Director of Baseball Contracts, Research and Operations, according to a club press release. As Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times explains, Tabin will fill many of the duties handled by former assistant GM Kim Ng.
- The Dodgers will have roughly $105MM committed to their 2012 payroll, projects Jon Weisman for ESPN Los Angeles. This could mean L.A. will have little to spend this winter, especially if any extra money goes into multiyear extensions for Ethier, Clayton Kershaw, and/or Matt Kemp.
Quick Hits: Burrell, Beltran, Lee, Kuo
Evan Longoria, Dan Johnson, Chris Carpenter and Robert Andino delivered in big moments for their respective teams on this incredible night of baseball, as the Cardinals and Rays won the wild cards. Some links as the season winds down…
- Pat Burrell told Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News that he'll give his chronic foot strain a month to recover before he decides on his future in baseball. If he does play again, it would only be with the Giants.
- Carlos Beltran told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that he'll give the Giants the first chance to sign him when he hits free agency this offseason (Twitter link). The Giants will have five days of exclusive negotiating rights after the World Series, plus the month of October.
- Carlos Lee hinted that he might retire after the 2012 season, when his six-year, $100MM contract expires with the Astros, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Lee, 35, says he wants to spend more time with his family.
- Hong-Chih Kuo told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com that he needs a break and is currently unsure if he'll play again. "If I want to still play and somebody wants to give me a try, I play," he said. "If not, fine with me. I'll miss it." The 30-year-old was sidelined with an anxiety disorder this year and may return home to Taiwan and open a restaurant. The Dodgers will consider non-tendering Kuo and he said he'll understand if they do.
Los Angeles Notes: Beltre, Napoli, Dodgers
Both the Angels (86 vs. 80) and Dodgers (81 vs. 80) have already improved on last year's win totals with one game to play. Here's a look back at a couple moves that shaped the Angels' season and a look ahead to the Dodgers' offseason…
- Adrian Beltre, who lives 30 minutes from Angel Stadium, begged the Angels to sign him last offseason, according to Peter Gammons of MLB Network (on Twitter). Instead, he signed a five-year deal with the AL West Champion Rangers and has a .296/.332/.563 line with 32 home runs. It won't be surprising if the Angels are on the lookout for third base help this offseason.
- Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times explains that there's reason to consider the Vernon Wells–Mike Napoli trade one of the worst deals in Angels history. Wells is expensive and has struggled offensively, Napoli has had the best offensive season of his career and the Angels finished second to the Rangers. Manager Mike Scioscia says we should give the deal some time before calling it a poor one for Los Angeles.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times that he understands Los Angeles is a star-driven city and will consider the best players out there this winter, even if they cost $100MM or more. Still, Colletti says he's "very conscious" of the Dodgers' drop in attendance.