Pierzynski Yet To Hear An Offer From White Sox
In an interview with Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio today, A.J. Pierzynski said that the White Sox have not made him an offer to return to the club in 2011. (Twitter link) Pierzynski doesn't specify if the club has made any contact with him at all, and it's worth noting that Chicago still has three days left of exclusive negotiating time for pending free agents. Given that Pierzynski said he would like to keep playing in Chicago "but they are going to have to want him first," however, it seems unlikely that the Sox have opened negotiations.
Pierzynski went into detail about his criteria for a new team (another Twitter link): in order, his new club must be a contender, be willing to give him a starting job, be located close to his home in Florida and along those same lines must also have their spring training camp in Florida and be a "quick flight home." He says the Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Rays and Red Sox "would all be good fits." All of these teams except the Rays were mentioned by MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith in his look at potential suitors for Pierzynski. All make some sense on Pierzynski's checklist, though the Rangers and Padres are in Arizona for spring training and San Diego is a cross-country flight away from his home.
Marlins Hire Edwin Rodriguez
First it was Bobby Valentine, then it was Ozzie Guillen. Edwin Rodriguez always seemed to be trailing someone as he attempted to prolong his big league managerial career. But he'll be back in Miami; the Marlins officially announced that they have extended Rodriguez through 2011.
Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reported yesterday that the team was expected to retain Rodriguez and noted (on Twitter) today that the deal became official. Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported yesterday that the Marlins had offered the job and that Rodriguez had accepted.
Rodriguez, a rookie manager in 2010, led the Marlins to a 46-46 record this year. He is the first Puerto Rican-born manager in big league history.
As soon as Bo Porter, another candidate for the job, accepted a job with the Nationals, it became apparent that Rodriguez was the leading candidate for the Marlins' opening.
Porter Joins Nats; Marlins Likely To Hire Rodriguez
The Marlins definitely won't be hiring Bo Porter and Edwin Rodriguez's chances of remaining the team's manager are looking better and better. The Nationals announced that Porter agreed to be Jim Riggleman's third base coach, so he's no longer in the running for Florida's managerial opening. Meanwhile, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports that the Marlins are "expected" to announce that they will retain Rodriguez as manager.
Rodriguez, who appeared in 11 games for the Yankees and Padres from 1982-85, led the Marlins to a 46-46 record this year. He is the first Puerto Rican-born manager in big league history.
Porter spent last season on Arizona’s coaching staff, first as third base coach and then as bench coach. He arrived in Arizona after three seasons in the Florida organization, where he worked with current National Josh Willingham.
Non-Tender Candidate: Andrew Miller
There is no commodity in baseball more precious than young power pitching, and that goes double if the player happens to be lefthanded. That's the case with Andrew Miller of the Marlins, the sixth overall pick in the 2006 draft and one of the key pieces in the December 2007 trade that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit.
It's easy to forget that he's still just 25 years old, but it seems like Miller had lived a baseball lifetime. He made his big league debut a few weeks after signing his first contract, throwing 10.1 innings of low-pressure relief down the stretch for Jim Leyland's club. After a brief minor league tune-up the next year, Miller found himself in the Tigers' rotation at midsummer, posting a 5.63 ERA in 13 starts. The next year he was in Florida, and in his three seasons with the Fish he's pitched to a 5.89 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 220 innings.
Miller has been bouncing back and forth between the majors and minors throughout his career as he's struggled to find consistency with his delivery and command, and as a result he's now out of options. If the Marlins want to sent him to minors next year, he'll have to first be exposed to the other 29 teams on waivers. There's a chance that will be a non-issue though, because Florida may opt to simply non-tender Miller this offseason.
Thanks to the major league contract he signed out of the draft, Miller earned a touch over $1.79MM in 2010. That original deal expired after 2009, though it paid him $1.575MM that season, which was used as a base for his 2010 compensation. Considering how poorly he's pitched, not to mention the system in general, Miller wouldn't have come close to a seven-figure salary in either of the last two years if he was a regular player with less than three years of service time. Given their financial restraints, it's not tough to see why the Marlins may opt to pass on paying Miller close to $2MM in 2011.
Despite all that, it's tough to walk away from a young lefty that still touches the mid-90's with his fastball. The Kevin Towers led Padres wanted Miller in a potential Heath Bell trade last year, and I'm sure general manager Michael Hill would be able to drum up some trade interest if he looks around. That would be preferable than a non-tender, since at least Florida would get something other than payroll relief in return.
What do you think the Marlins will do with Miller this offseason? Click here to vote and here to see the results. Thanks in advance.
Ozzie Guillen For Mike Stanton Trade Was Discussed
4:47pm: Williams told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that the Sun-Times report is “false,” but declined to go into further detail because of rules forbidding executives from speaking about other teams’ players. "That's tampering," Williams said. "All I can say is the report isn't completely accurate." Merkin hears that the White Sox demanded compensation from the Marlins when they wanted to talk to Guillen.
9:56am: The Marlins did not discuss an Ozzie-Stanton trade with the White Sox, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (Twitter link). The White Sox may have discussed the possibility internally, but it seems to have been wishful thinking on Chicago’s part. As the response to our poll shows, Stanton is far more desirable.
4:56am: When Ozzie Guillen was at odds with the Chicago front office earlier this year, there was discussion of a deal that would have sent the White Sox manager to Florida for 20-year-old slugger Mike Stanton, according to Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times. De Luca reports that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria was intent on making Guillen the Marlins’ next manager until Guillen met with White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and agreed to return in 2011.
Guillen says he never spoke to the Marlins about managing the team, but he confirmed to the Sun-Times that the White Sox granted the Marlins permission to talk to him. White Sox GM Kenny Williams repeated that he is on good terms with Guillen and insisted his manager is staying put.
''Ozzie is the manager of the White Sox next year and I hope the next 10 years after,” Williams said. “How many times do I have to [bleeping] say it?''
Guillen is under contract with the White Sox next year and he expressed interest in an extension at the end of the season, but did not sign one. Stanton batted .259/.326/.507 with 22 home runs as a rookie this year and is under team control through 2016.
Though manager-player exchanges are exceptional, there is some precedent for them. Eight years ago today, the Devil Rays sent Randy Winn to the Mariners after Lou Piniella left Seattle to manage in Tampa.
Some Movement For Marlins, Uggla
Agent Terry Bross told Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post that there has been some “movement” in negotiations with the Marlins about a long-term deal for Dan Uggla. The second baseman, who is one year away from free agency, seeks a five-year deal and the Marlins had been offering a three-year extension worth roughly $24MM.
Though Bross didn’t say as much, the “movement” could mean the Marlins offered a four-year deal. Earlier in the week, Marlins president David Samson told Capozzi that the team is “definitely” discussing a deal with Uggla and hopes to work something out.
Uggla, 30, hit 32 homers in 2010, reaching the 30-homer mark for the fourth consecutive season and posting the highest OPS of his career. He earned $7.8MM and is headed for an arbitration raise that could place his 2011 salary at $10MM or so. I suggested a month ago that a three-year $24MM deal would not be fair for someone as accomplished and close to free agency as Uggla.
Poll: Ozzie Or Stanton
Ozzie Guillen for Mike Stanton? It's not as outlandish as it sounds. There was some discussion about a trade that would have sent the White Sox manager to Florida for the young Marlins slugger, according to Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Stanton entered the year as the third-best prospect in the game, according to Baseball America. He hit .313/.442/.729 in the minors with 21 homers and followed that up with 22 more long balls and a .259/.326/.507 line in the majors. He's just 20 years old and he's under team control through 2016. They don't come much cheaper or much more powerful than Stanton.
Guillen wouldn't be easy to replace, either. He's charismatic, energetic and vocal – sometimes opinionated enough to make the White Sox uncomfortable. Chicago won the 2005 World Series title under Guillen and the team has a 600-535 regular season record since he took over.
Even if the trade was 'discussed' it doesn't mean both sides seriously considered it, so let's not kid ourselves: this deal isn't going to happen. But we can still ask the question…
Which team would have won the Guillen-Stanton swap?
Click here to vote and here to view the results.
Odds & Ends: Gammons, Braves, Hurdle, Marlins
As we hope for Wilson and Cain rather than clouds and rain in San Francisco tonight, here are a few news items…
- In an appearance on WEEI's The Big Show this afternoon, Peter Gammons predicted that Cliff Lee will re-sign with Texas and Victor Martinez will sign a four- or five-year contract with Detroit since "I don't think anyone else is going to give him four or five years." Gammons also reiterated that the Red Sox have a big interest in Carl Crawford this winter. WEEI's Kirk Minihane has a partial transcript here.
- The Braves have signed Beau Torbert to a minor league contract, according to the Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants, Torbert's American Association team. Torbert, a 17th-round pick of the Astros in 2004, was Baseball America's Independent Player Of The Year for 2010.
- The Pirates haven't interviewed a managerial candidate in two weeks, but FOXSports.com's Tracy Ringolsby believes the Bucs are waiting to speak to Clint Hurdle, who is "a serious consideration" for the job. Pittsburgh has to wait until the World Series is over to interview Hurdle, the former Rockies manager and current Rangers hitting coach.
- The Marlins hope to settle on a manager by next week, tweets Newsday's Ken Davidoff. Edwin Rodriguez is "still in the mix" according to Davidoff, which coincides with news earlier this week that the Fish were "leaning toward" keeping their current manager.
- Pedro Martinez is "looking for motivation to come back," tweets Enrique Rojas of ESPN. Martinez is training with the Dominican League's Licey Tigers, whose pitching coach is Pedro's brother (and former major league pitcher) Ramon.
- Andy MacPhail tells MASN.com's Steve Melewski that the Orioles aren't likely to re-sign any of their pending free agents before the deadline.
- Tom Gage of the Detroit News implies that Jim Thome could be the Tigers' backup plan if the team fails to sign any bigger-name free agents.
- We had heard that John Gibbons wasn't a managerial candidate in New York, but Jack Curry of the YES Network reports that the Mets have already contacted other teams for infomation about the Royals bench coach. Curry says the Mets haven't contacted Gibbons himself, but will probably do so once Sandy Alderson officially takes over as GM. (All Twitter links)
- Hoping your team can unload a bad contract this winter, or at least trade one for another team's problem? ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin has a rundown of each team's most unwieldly financial commitments.
Marlins Notes: Relievers, Nunez, Payroll, Ross
MLB.com's Joe Frisaro answered some Fish-centric topics in a fan mailbag that dealt with a few hot stove rumors. Here are the highlights…
- It's unlikely that Florida will go after big-name free agent relievers like Matt Capps or Brian Fuentes this winter. The club is more likely to explore "a trade or two for some young, emerging arms" to form their bullpen.
- "It's not guaranteed" that Leo Nunez will be a Marlin next season. Nunez is headed to arbitration for the second time, and Frisaro predicts the right-hander is due to earn approximately $4MM. Nunez was terrific in the first four months of the season before a horrific August (a 9.31 ERA and three blown saves in 10 appearances) cost him the closer's job to Clay Hensley, though Nunez did pitch well in September. Nunez would draw a lot of interest on the trade market if the Marlins decide that he's too expensive.
- Frisaro predicts the Marlins' 2011 payroll to be around $48-$50MM, with a bit of leeway to bump it up a couple million dollars. He thinks the club's payroll for 2012 (when the Marlins move into their new ballpark) will be bumped up to the $70MM-range. Frisaro notes that Florida's season-ticket sales for their new stadium are already better than expected.
- Even if the Giants hadn't planned on retaining Cody Ross, Frisaro shoots down any chance that the Marlins would've been interested in bringing Ross back.
Marlins “Leaning Toward” Retaining Edwin Rodriguez
The Marlins "are leaning toward" keeping current manager Edwin Rodriguez at least through 2011, tweets The Palm Beach Post's Joe Capozzi, passing on information from Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Rodriguez took over as Florida's interim manager on June 23 and led the team to an even 46-46 mark over the remainder of the 2010 season after Fredi Gonzalez was fired.
If the Fish did bring back Rodriguez, it would bring a sudden end to a managerial search that, in the words of the Miami Herald's Clark Spencer, has been "like watching a glacier melt." Bo Porter, Jim Fregosi and Bobby Valentine were a few of the names mentioned in connection with the Florida job, but the consensus was that the Marlins would still bring in a few more candidates for interviews after the World Series.
In a meeting with media on Tuesday, Marlins president David Samson told reporters (including MLB.com's Joe Frisaro) that team management was still having "internal conversations" about the direction of the manager search. Samson made these comments while taking media members on a tour of the club's new stadium, which is in itself might be the reason why Florida hasn't yet agreed on a manager for 2011 or made movement on long-term deals for Dan Uggla or Ricky Nolasco.
"Everything takes a little longer right now because our allocation of time," Samson said. "So when [owner Jeffrey Loria] and I speak, it's 85 percent construction and ballpark related."
"There are decisions on the ballpark that have to get done….Construction doesn't wait for anyone. It's deciding what needs to be done. So in a priority battle, when we talk about players or the ballpark, the ballpark wins every time."
It seems odd to think that a manager could be hired simply as a time-saver, but if Marlins officials are really devoting their focus to the stadium's completition this winter, it would be an easy solution to just retain a familiar and comfortable face in Rodriguez. If he or the team struggles next season, then Florida could always let him go and bring in a big-name manager to grace the opening of their new ballpark in 2012.