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NL East Notes: Pierre, Polanco, Braves, Nationals

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Marlins outfielder Juan Pierre just passed Joe DiMaggio for the 175th slot on MLB's all-time hit list with his 2,215th base knock, a milestone brought to my attention at least by the Sun Sentinel's Juan C. Rodriguez. Though DiMaggio missed three prime years due to military service, it remains an impressive accomplishment for the speedy Pierre, who will become a free agent at the end of the year. Elsewhere in the National League East …

  • Fellow Marlins veteran Placido Polanco wouldn't commit one way or another when asked by Rodriguez if he would return for a 17th Major League season next year. The thrd baseman, who resides in Miami, did seem to hint that this could be his final season with his answer: "It depends," Polanco said. "It has to be close to home. I have to see what's out there, but the kids, the wife and family is probably ready for me to be home now."
  • Only two players — Tim Hudson and Brian McCann — on the current Braves roster were with the club when it last won a division title, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required). Neither veteran is guaranteed to be back with Atlanta in 2014, however, as each is set to hit free agency. McCann declined to talk about his future, instead commenting that he's focused on making a deep playoff run and adding some banners to Turner Field.
  • The Nationals have opted to sign free agents like Edwin Jackson and Dan Haren to one-year deals to fill out their rotation in each of the past two offseasons, but James Wagner of the Washington Post writes that the development of Taylor Jordan and Tanner Roark might not make that a necessity. The development of that pair, plus the continued maturation of arms like A.J. Cole and Sammy Solis, gives the Nats the option to stick with internal options, sign a free agent or make a trade. GM Mike Rizzo wouldn't rule out any of the three.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

International Notes: Marlins, Guerrero, Abreu, Twins

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A look at the latest on the international front…

  • The Marlins made a bid for Cuban shortstop Alexander Guerrero prior to the 26-year-old's decision to hire Scott Boras as his new agent but were told that the bid wasn't competitive, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the Miami Sun-Sentinel. The Marlins are no longer in the mix for Guerrero but still have interest in fellow Cuban Jose Dariel Abreu. However, the slugging first baseman would require an even larger commitment than Guerrero. Abreu is said to be looking for a larger guarantee than Yasiel Puig's seven-year, $42MM commitment from the Dodgers.
  • The Twins have signed 16-year-old Dominican prospect Alexander Vargas, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America.  Terms of the deal are not known for the right-hander, who stands at 6-foot-3 and boasts a fastball in the low 90s, a curveball, and a changeup.  In addition to the La Academia product, Minnesota has also inked Dominican outfielder/first baseman Lewin Diaz for $1.4MM and Dominican third baseman Roni Tapia for $550K during this signing period.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

NL East Notes: Sandberg, Bowa, McCann, Tejada

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It seems to be a fait accompli that Ryne Sandberg will have his interim tag removed and be named full-time manager of the Phillies sometime in the next week or so, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Whether the announcement happens in a matter of days, after the season finale against the Braves on September 29th, or shortly thereafter, the smart money is on Sandberg taking the full-time gig.  Here's more on the Phillies and the latest out of the NL East..

  • More from Salisbury, who wonders if Larry Bowa could be joining Sandberg on his staff for next season.  Bowa was in the Phillies’ dugout before Wednesday’s game and the idea of adding the 67-year-old has been discussed within the organization.
  • Braves catcher Brian McCann may not be back in Atlanta next season, but his focus is on the team's current run as they near the postseason, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman.  Many have speculated that McCann will find a big payday elsewhere this winter.
  • Mets skipper Terry Collins wants to see Ruben Tejada take control of the shortstop position in 2014.  "My message is real simple: this job is his," Collins said of next year's starting shortstop role. "But he's got to show everybody that he wants it desperately."  Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com recently wrote that the Mets could look out-of-house for their next shortstop and may even consider trading Tejada.
  • Peter Gammons of MLB.com (on Twitter) notes that Ed Lucas, who belted his fourth homer of the year for the Marlins last night, was a Winter Meetings job seeker last season.  The Dartmouth grad spent nine seasons in the minor leagues before getting called up by Miami in late May. 

NL East Notes: Loria, Roark, Franco

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Earlier in the week it was reported that Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest confronted owner Jeffrey Loria to get a direct answer about his future with the club. Loria has yet to comment on the situation, but this isn't the first time that there has been speculation about Beinfest's job security in the past. Here's more on the Marlins front office and the rest of the NL East…

  • Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald spoke to several officials regarding the Marlins' front office, with one source telling him that Loria "has marginalized the front office" and is making the calls on all baseball moves on his own. Another source told Spencer that they don't think team president David Samson's job is in danger.
  • Spencer also spoke with former Nationals/Expos GM and current ESPN analyst Jim Bowden, and Bowden offered a different view, noting that it's "old school" to think a team's owner would ever let a GM make most of the decisions on his own: “There are very few situations left in baseball where the GM has full autonomy in making the call. I’ve never had a situation my entire career where I got to make the call, ever.” Bowden said the key is getting the owner and GM on the same page.
  • Nationals right-hander Tanner Roark is making a case for a 2014 rotation spot, writes Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com. Kolko spoke with manager Davey Johnson, first baseman Adam LaRoche and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, all of whom offered high praise for the 26-year-old. The Nats originally acquired Roark in the trade that sent Cristian Guzman to the Rangers. After a Triple-A season in 2012, Roark posted a 3.15 ERA in the minors this year and has a 1.08 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 1.9 BB/9 and a 45 percent ground-ball rate in 41 2/3 big league innings.
  • Top Phillies prospect Maikel Franco expects to compete for a Major League job in Spring Training next season but is currently blocked by Cody Asche and Ryan Howard, writes Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News. Franco told Lawrence that he doesn't care what position he plays. The 21-year-old hit a combined .320/.356/.569 with 31 homers between High-A and Double-A this season.

NL East Notes: Harvey, Collins, Johnson, Valencia

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The plan of action could change later this offseason, but for now, Matt Harvey has decided to try and avoid undergoing Tommy John surgery, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The young Mets ace will try to rehab his right elbow for a month or two and then throw to see if he bounces back well from the partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. Here's more on the Mets and the rest of the NL East…

  • Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog isn't on board with the Mets bringing Terry Collins back for next season and beyond.  The Mets have stopped short of officially saying that Collins will manage the team in 2014, but all indications are that he will be back in the dugout.
  • Look for Elliot Johnson to be back with the Braves in a super-utility role next season, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com within his latest column.  Atlanta is quite pleased with their August waiver claim on the 29-year-old as he has done a capable job of filling in for second baseman Dan Uggla.
  • More from Rosenthal's piece, as he writes that Danny Valencia’s strong play with the Orioles could make him an appealing option for the Marlins, who will be looking for help at third base this winter.  It doesn't hurt that Valencia has strong ties to the area as he was born in Miami, grew up in nearby Boca Raton, and attended the University of Miami.
  • The Phillies are a prime example of how fortunes can change quickly in the game of baseball, writes MLB.com's Paul Hagen.  The Phillies opted to keep their aging core in tact this season despite being bogged down by injuries.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Hawkins, Feliciano, Beinfest

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In the aftermath of today's shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, the Nationals have rightly postponed tonight's matchup against the Braves. Needless to say, our thoughts are with those affected by this tragedy. As anyone who has ever attended a game at Nationals Park knows, the neighboring naval facility plays a big role at the ballpark, with the team playing a submarine horn to celebrate home runs and honoring service men and women at every contest. Today, the stadium's parking lots have served as a somber meeting point for family members waiting to learn more about their loved ones. 

Shortly after the recent Boston Marathon attack, Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci wrote that baseball, "unlike any other sport, is there for us virtually every day." There is no ballgame in D.C. today, but they'll play two tomorrow. We hope that baseball will bring some small comfort to the Navy Yard community, as it has done for so many others. 

  • For those interested in learning more about the Nationals' reactions to today's events, the Washington Times' Amanda Comak has the latest. Meanwhile, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on things from the Braves side. According to third baseman Chris Johnson, the Nats' and Braves' player representatives jointly notified the MLBPA that the players felt it would be inappropriate to play.
  • Mets reliever LaTroy Hawkins is keenly aware that he doesn't have much time left in the bigs, writes Brian Giuffra of The Record (NorthJersey.com), but says he's still "not at the end of [his] career." Still capable of touching the mid-90's in his age-40 season, the righty has been effective: in 65 2/3 innings, he has a 3.15 ERA, 10 saves, 7.1 K/9, and 1.4 BB/9. "Certainly, if he wants to come back … it would be nice to have him around," said Mets manager Terry Collins, who explained that Hawkins is a beneficial presence for the club's younger arms.
  • Fellow Mets reliever Pedro Feliciano says that he, too, hopes to return next year at age 37. He tells Clayton Collier of MetsmerizedOnline.com that he hopes to "retire from here." The lefty specialist has never thrown a pitch for another big league club, though he did spend a year in Japan and also collected $8MM from the cross-town Yanks for two injury-riddled seasons. Since returning to Queens, Feliciano has tossed 9 1/3 innings of 4.82 ERA ball. Much of the damage has come from the twelve right-handed hitters he's pitched to in 2013, however, as they have a collective .714/.833/1.143 line against him. Of the 32 lefties that Feliciano has faced this year, as many have struck out as have managed a hit (six).
  • Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest is once again facing public speculation that he could lose his post. Beinfest deserves better, says FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, who reports that the long-time executive recently approached owner Jeffrey Loria and asked him to decide whether or not Beinfest would stay on in Miami. Loria has thus far stayed quiet on the status of Beinfest, who is under contract through 2015. Rosenthal reports that the two key Marlins figures have repeatedly clashed over baseball decisions ranging from promotions to the saga of hitting coach Tino Martinez. 

Quick Hits: Balentien, Marlins, Abreu, Yankees

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Wladimir Balentien's journey to becoming Japan's single-season home run record holder took a number of twists and turns through the Mariners and Reds organizations, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick writes. Balentien, now with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, has 57 homers this year, topping Tuffy Rhodes, Alex Cabrera and Sadaharu Oh. Before that, though, he made his way through the Mariners' system, then went to the Reds in a minor trade after former Seattle GM Bill Bavasi took a job there. He played part of two years in the Reds organization and failed to find a lasting spot on their big-league roster. "For me, he was just one of those guys who ran out of time," says Bavasi. "It's not like there were two clubs that passed on him and he went over there and played great. There were 30 clubs that passed on him, and he went over there and found his niche. It's kind of remarkable what he's done." Here are more notes from around baseball.

  • The Marlins have been scouting Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu, reports Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Frisaro also notes that the Marlins are scouting "a couple" of young Cuban pitchers at an MLB showcase in the Dominican Republic. Abreu is expected to command an enormous contract, so it would be surprising if the Marlins ended up being serious contenders for his services. Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets that, while the Marlins are interested in Abreu, they probably won't be able to or willing to spend the money necessary to sign him.
  • The Yankees' outlook for 2014 is bleak, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Robinson Cano, Hiroki Kuroda, Mariano Rivera, Curtis Granderson and Andy Pettitte will all be free agents. While some of them might be back, many Yankees who are already under control for 2014 are signed to ugly contracts. Sherman points out that the Yankees have also seen few positive developments from their young players this season, and that 2013 hasn't seen the debut of a single blue-chip prospect.

Rosenthal On Gardenhire, McCann, Saltalamacchia

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports brings us yet another edition of Full Count, let's dive in and take a look at the highlights..

  • Of all of the pending managerial situations to watch in the majors, the Twins might be the most interesting club to keep an eye on.  Ron Gardenhire is trying to avoid his third-straight 90-loss season and he's extremely unlikely to accept a one-year deal and serve as a lame duck in 2014.  By the same token, the Twins might not be willing to give him another multi-year pact.  For what it's worth, GM Terry Ryan has taken full responsibility for the team's poor roster.
  • Catchers generally don't do well in free agency, but two prominent ones are about to hit the open market with prominent teams bidding for their services: the Braves' Brian McCann and the Red Sox's Jarrod Saltalamacchia.  The Phillies and Rangers figures to be in the mix as they could lose free agent backstops of their own.  The White Sox badly need to upgrade behind the plate, though it's not clear how much they'll spend.  The Yankees could be involved too.  They want to stay under the $189MM luxury tax threshold, but they could use one of the two to finally give themselves an adequate replacement for Russell Martin.
  • It's not a huge surprise to see the Marlins contemplating a front office shakeup in September, but regardless of what they do with Baseball Operations President Larry Beinfest, Miami has bigger fish to fry.  The Marlins have to decide if they will part with Giancarlo Stanton as he's still unlikely to sign an extension.  Rosenthal also wonders why they have been bystanders when it comes to going after Cuban free agents that have come and gone like Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes, and Alexander Guerrero.  One has to imagine that a notable Cuban import would be a sizable draw in Miami.
  • Even though all of the focus is on the playoff chase, there's still a matter of who will get the final protected pick in next year's draft.  The Phillies, if they win too much, can wind up losers.  The difference is critical for Ruben Amaro & Co. as they have an older club and they'll want to sign free agents, but, of course, they don't want to lose a first rounder.  You can keep track of the other September race with MLBTR's Reverse Standings.

Quick Hits: GMs, Comp Picks, 2013 Free Agents

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On this day in 2007, Terry Ryan announced that he would step aside from his post as the Twins general manager at the end of the season. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes noted, Ryan's history was checkered at best at the time. Of course, as a read through this site's most recent post would indicate, Ryan is now back at the helm. Though the team has yet to post more than seventy wins in a season since Ryan returned in November of 2011, Minnesota stands at 15th in ESPN's latest future power rankings on the strength of its minor league system. While Ryan has long been said to have his job as long as he wants to keep it, some other GMs may not be so lucky …

  • There are four general managers around the league who could soon be replaced, writes Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com. According to Gammons, two of those — Jerry Dipoto of the Angels and Larry Beinfest of the Marlins – have arguably been undone by meddling owners. (Gammons cites Arte Moreno's $365MM investment in Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, and Jeffrey Loria's propensity for "whimsically run[ning] everything.") Meanwhile, Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik may not survive to see whether the team's top young pitching talent can drive a winner. And Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd — the game's fourth-longest tenured GM — has yet to figure out how to craft a squad that can win away from Coors field. (For what it's worth, O'Dowd was in charge for the franchise's lone season with a winning road record, when it posted a 41-40 mark in 2009.)
  • It would be ridiculous to consider Rangers GM Jon Daniels among those at risk, writes Baseball Nation's Grant Brisbee. While he surely could have sacrificed future value to win at all costs this season, says Brisbee, Daniels was prudent not to and still delivered a team that should qualify for the post-season.
  • Teams must determine whether to make outgoing free agents a qualifying offer just five days after the conclusion of this year's World Series, and those decisions will play a major role in setting the stage for the 2014 free agent market. For non-obvious candidates, writes Dave Cameron of Fangraphs, an important part of the equation lies in valuing the compensation pick that the team would receive if the player declines the offer and then signs with another club. Working off of a rough valuation of international signing slot dollars, Cameron opines that teams could value the dollars spent on a comp pick as much as three-to-four times higher than money the team could spend outside the draft. As he explains, this would imply that there is substantial excess value in obtaining non-marketable draft picks, which could move the needle in favor of making qualifying offers in marginal situations.
  • As we prepare to weigh a new class of free agents, CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman ranks the best signings of 2013. His top three are a collection of veterans whose contributions have vastly outweighed the relatively meager financial commitments that they received: Pirates starter Francisco Liriano, Red Sox reliever Koji Uehara, and Athletics starter Bartolo Colon. Next on his list is Boston's David Ortiz, who as Heyman notes was the only player to accept a qualifying offer in the first year of the system.

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Stanton, Collins, A-Rod

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For the Red Sox, 2013 has increasingly taken on the feel of a triumphant return to glory. Now enjoying a seemingly insurmountable division lead, the Sox have engineered one of the greatest season-to-season turnarounds ever. Jonah Keri of Grantland looks back on each of the key free agent signings made by GM Ben Cherington, arguing that the team's "passel of midlevel free agents" were hardly the overpays that they were labeled.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • The Phillies are still interested in Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton and GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says that he's tried to trade for him "at least ten times," writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Unfortunately for the Phils, Marlins president Larry Beinfest has rebuffed them each time and made it clear that they're not moving him.
  • A Mets source told Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter) that manager Terry Collins isn't being evaluated by wins and losses in September.  "There's different criteria at different times of the year," the offical said.
  • Alex Rodriguez's attorneys fear that the MLBPA won't fight hard for their client as he fights a 211-game ban, writes Michael O'Keeffe of the New York Daily News.  Sources say that the relationship between team A-Rod and the union is rather uneasy at this point.
  • Twins pitcher Mike Pelfrey needs 10.2 innings to reach a $100K bonus and manager Ron Gardenhire won't get in his way as he says that he never lets bonuses affect his decisions, tweets Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.
  • Regardless of his light-hitting, Brendan Ryan left his mark on Mariners baseball, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.  The shortstop was traded to the Yankees earlier this week for a player to be named later.
  • Three years after signing Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126MM deal, Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner says that he's still pleased about the deal, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

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