Odds & Ends: Fredi Gonzalez, Giants, Beane
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- The Marlins will retain manager Fredi Gonzalez, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets will look to take on overpriced players via trade this winter.
- A must-read from Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: his ten steps to re-boot the Pirates for 2010. Kovacevic again notes that closer Matt Capps will be on the trading block.
- RotoWorld's Matthew Pouliot looks at the performance of a couple of Alex Anthopoulos fantasy teams from ten years ago. My best pick from '99 was definitely Mike Sweeney.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has a transcript of yesterday's Brian Sabean/Bruce Bochy sit-down. Lots of good stuff in there.
- Tyler Bleszinski of Athletics Nation has part two of his Billy Beane chat. Beane seems interested in retaining free agent infielder Adam Kennedy.
- ESPN's Buster Olney wrote yesterday that "rival executives are already speculating about Kevin Towers' possible connection to the Texas Rangers if — and it's a big if — Dennis Gilbert's group wins the bidding for the team."
Odds & Ends: Rays, Marlins, D’Backs
You thought the season was over? It's just beginning!
- Bobby Cox is stunned that Fredi Gonzalez is on the hot seat in Florida.
- Arizona is replacing third base coach Chip Hale and first base coach Lorenzo Bundy.
- Steve Henderson is out as Tampa Bay hitting coach, while quality assurance coach Todd Greene was also sent packing, since for the 2009 Rays, quality was most certainly not assured.
- Albert Belle doesn't want to manage the Indians, in case they were wondering, which they almost certainly weren't.
Odds & Ends: Blue Jays, Towers, Pirates, Mets
Here are some links to kick off Sunday morning:
- Some Blue Jays players approached CEO and President Paul Beeston with complaints about Cito Gaston, reports Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun. “They raised the issues,” said Beeston. “They were listened to. They have not been addressed at this time. I had my ears open. I kept my mouth shut. I gave them some comments and that’s all I want to say about that.”
- Jordan Bastian of MLB.com writes that newly appointed Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos was emotional in his introductory presser. The article notes that the position of president and CEO will be filled soon, relieving the interim hire, Paul Beeston. Beeston says that while the next president and CEO will have the authority to hire its own staff, he will recommend that Anthopoulos remain as GM.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that Kevin Towers didn't deserve to get fired considering all the obstacles he has had to work around in San Diego.
- Towers conducted a farewell press conference in San Diego and Craig Elsten of 619sports.net posted some key sound bytes. Towers insisted that the organization maintained a strong focus on scouting and player development under his watch. He also said that he has been contacted by seven or eight other teams to work immediately, but wants to take some time off before jumping into another job. The 47-year-old made it known that he wants the opportunity to be a GM again. Also available are team owner and CEO Jeff Moorad's post-podium comments.
- The Pirates have talked to Andy LaRoche about possibly moving from third base to second next year to make room for Pedro Alvarez, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Pirates would like to call-up Alvarez by the middle of the 2010 season, but first he must improve his strength and conditioning. The 22-year-old excelled after his mid-season promotion to AA, posting .333/.419/.590 with 13 HR in 60 games.
- More from Kovacevic as he labels the Pirates' trade of Nate McLouth to the Braves to be the worst personnel move of the year. Kovacevic says the deal hurt the players' trust in Pittsburgh management and was a poor public relations decision.
- Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post tweets, "Jerry Manuel was in meetings all morning and said he expects an announcement tomorrow on changes and the team's offseason plans."
- Jon Heyman reports via Twitter that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria refused to comment on a possible manager change. Recent reports suggest that Fredi Gonzalez could be on the way out and Bobby Valentine could be on the way in.
Farrell Out Of Cleveland Search, Valentine A Candidate
After publicly stating that he is committed to the Red Sox, John Farrell has followed through and removed his name from consideration to be the Indians' next skipper, writes ESPN's Buster Olney. This comes on the heels of a Ken Rosenthal report that Cleveland was moving on as though Farrell would not be a candidate – but would have likely considered him again if he declared his interest in the job.
If Farrell and Cleveland had come to an agreement, they would have had to negotiate with Boston for a way out of the clause barring him from managing in 2010.
Now that they have scratched their reported early favorite off the list, the Indians must move ahead with their search. Rosenthal says the Tribe plans to conduct 8-10 phone interviews before whittling their way down to 3-5 finalists by the third week of October. Olney says that Torey Lovullo – manager of Cleveland's AAA affiliate – is among the in-house options that might be considered. Both Rosenthal and Olney identify Bobby Valentine as a contender.
In a separate report, Olney says that Valentine is already talking to the Marlins about a position. Although Valentine recently signed on with ESPN as an analyst, it is believed that his contract contains an escape clause that would allow him to accept an MLB managerial job. The charismatic skipper spent the last six years managing the Pacific League's Chiba Lotte Marines, where he had the support of the fans, but not the cash-strapped organization. The Mets reached the NLCS in 1999, the World Series in 2000 and went 536-467 (.534) in six seasons and change under Bobby V.
Would Valentine be your pick to manage the underachieving Indians? Who else should the Indians interview for the job?
Odds & Ends: Padres GM, Valentine
Here's a few links that just couldn't wait until tomorrow…
- MLB.com's Corey Brock tweeted plenty of goodies about the Padres' search for a new GM tonight. First of all, CEO Jeff Moorad said that there are no internal candidates for the job, nor are there any candidates from the Diamondbacks organization. That would eliminate Paul DePodesta and Jerry DiPoto. Moorad also mentioned that he has already interviewed three candidates. Any guesses?
- Secondly, and definitely not more importantly, Moorad said that the team's 2010 payroll will "begin with a 4." I'm guessing they won't be baseball's first $400MM team.
- ESPN's Buster Olney reports that Bobby Valentine "is in communication with the Florida Marlins about a possible position with that team." Current manager Fredi Gonzalez signed a two-year extension in Spring Training, keeping him in Marlins' pinstripes until 2011, so this one is a bit of a headscratcher.
Odds & Ends: Nationals, Towers, Marlins
A few links on the second to last day of the regular season…
- Even though they'll finish with the worst record in baseball, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo indicated that it's not a lock the team will draft Bryce Harper first overall next year, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Says Rizzo: "I haven't seen him yet. He certainly hasn't separated himself like [pitcher] Stephen Strasburg did last year."
- CBSSports.com reports that Kevin Towers said he wasn't given a specific reason for his termination, but KT did say that he's "been around long enough to know why."
- Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel says that Florida's final 2009 payroll was just under $35.6MM. Hanley Ramirez ($5.5MM) and Dan Uggla ($5.35MM) were the only Marlins to make more than $3.5MM this year.
- Matthew Carruth at FanGraphs weighs in with his opinion of the Towers and J.P. Ricciardi firings.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Indians Manager, Johnson, Padres GM, Crawford, Mauer
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up this afternoon, so let's see what he's got for us…
- The Indians plan to conduct 8-10 phone interviews for their managerial vacancy, then bring in 3-5 finalists by the third week of October, presumably for formal interviews. Bobby Valentine will be "on the short list," and will almost certainly get an interview. Buck Showalter will not be a candidate.
- Cleveland is proceeding with the search as if Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell will not be a candidate, however that could change quickly if Farrell expresses interest in the job. At that point, the three parties involved would need to discuss a way around the clause in the Farrell's contract that prohibits him from seeking a managerial job elsewhere.
- Signing Josh Johnson long-term is the Marlins' top priority this offseason. In order to get a deal done, Florida will need to "exceed significantly" the four year, $38MM deal the Royals gave Zack Greinke, who was at a similar service time level last offseason.
- If a deal doesn't get done, Johnson will almost certainly not sign an extension next offseason, when he'd be just one year away from free agency. At that point, the Fish would need to trade him.
- Who will replace Kevin Towers as Padres GM? Paul DePodesta, a special assistant to Towers and former GM of the Dodgers, is not interested in the job. Pat Gillick doesn't figure to be a candidate either.
- The leading candidate might be Diamondbacks' exec Jerry DiPoto, but the Padres would need approval from the commissioner's office to get him. CEO Jeff Moorad left the D-Backs just last December, and the league frowns upon executives raiding their former teams for front office talent.
- However, DiPoto has already interviewed for openings with the Nationals and Mariners, so it would be difficult for the D-Backs to make much of a fuss.
- Carl Crawford is "well intentioned" when he says he wants to sign a long-term extension with Tampa Bay. The problem is that the team probably won't offer him enough to keep him from becoming a free agent at the end of 2010.
- The bigger question is Joe Mauer, who can also hit free agency next winter. Mauer told The NY Times earlier this week that he is not interested in becoming the highest paid player in the game, even though he probably deserves to be. He is represented by Ron Shapiro, the same agent that kept Cal Ripken Jr. in Baltimore and Kirby Puckett in Minnesota. Shapiro clearly understands the value of a player staying with one team his entire career.
- Shapiro, father of Indians GM Mark Shapiro, would be "sticking it to his son" a bit by keeping Mauer in the AL Central. That's my phrase, not Rosenthal's.
Odds & Ends: Mariners, Marlins, Orioles
Time for your afternoon snack (naptime optional):
- The question isn't so much if all the Marlins will return, Joe Capozzi writes in the Palm Beach Post, but which Marlins will be dealt. The $36.8MM payroll would expand to around $43MM next season with the current roster.
- Geoff Baker writes in the Seattle Times that the Mariners can't expect the same group to win as many games in 2010.
- The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck says that Dave Trembley's job status will be determined "in the next 4 or 5 days."
- A front office person tells Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus that Miguel Angel Sano has incredible power for a 16-year-old. The "sky is the limit" for the Dominican infielder.
- Goldstein reports that plenty of teams are doing their "digging" on Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo. The Cards voided Mateo's contract last month after agreeing to a $3.1MM deal with him in July.
- MLB.com's Bryan Hoch says the Yankees still expect Phil Hughes to develop into a starter.
- ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. explains that Hanley Ramirez couples impressive work habits and awesome talent with a dismissive and distant demeanor.
Hermida A Non-Tender Candidate
The Marlins are unlikely to tender a contract to outfielder Jeremy Hermida, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Hermida followed up on a lackluster '08 with a .259/.348/.392 line in 491 plate appearances this year. His defense is not well-regarded, though heading into the season John Dewan of the Fielding Bible said Hermida was "dependable, if unspectacular" and has the physical talent to improve.
In 2006, Hermida graced the cover of Baseball America's Prospect Handbook. A few years later, he's a non-tender candidate. If the Marlins cut Hermida loose, he'll be the youngest member of this winter's free agent class at 26 years old (which the exception of Aroldis Chapman). The Fish will presumably attempt to find a trade partner first.
Odds & Ends: Byrd, Livan, Marlins
A couple of links to help you start off your Saturday night…
- Rangers' manager Ron Washington wants to see the team bring back Marlon Byrd next year, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Bryd has said he wants to return to the team next year, but Sullivan says it's uncertain if Texas will be able to re-sign him, presumably because of their uncertain financial situation.
- According to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, Livan Hernandez "believes he has six years left in his baseball career and wants those years to be with the Nationals." Livan's been a below league average pitcher for four years now, but if he can stick around for another six years, more power to him.
- Marlins' closer Leo Nunez figures to stick around next year, even though he'll earn a hefty raise in arbitration says Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald. The bigger question might be what to do with ex-closer Matt Lindstrom, who will also be arbitration eligible for the first time. Lindstrom has a 5.79 ERA and has battled injuries this season.