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NL Central Notes: Brewers, Soriano, Cubs, Cardinals

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When addressing the press earlier today, Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin said that his "gut feeling" is that he won't be pursuing high-priced free agents this winter, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel.  More from the NL Central..

  • Melvin also said the current plan is to keep Corey Hart at first base and Norichika Aoki in right field with Mat Gamel coming off the bench, Haudricourt tweets.
  • The Cubs are willing to explore an offseason trade involving Alfonso Soriano, writes Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com.  Last night, Soriano made it known that he would be open to a trade this winter as he hopes to return to the World Series before his career is through.
  • Speaking of the Cubs, they promoted Shiraz Rehman to the position of Assistant GM, joining Randy Bush, Padilla tweets.
  • Kyle Lohse could be making his final start for the Cardinals as they face the Braves in a one-game playoff in Atlanta, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.

Central Notes: Myers, Soriano, Ryan, Morgan, Cubs

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Earlier today, we looked at the latest on the White Sox courtesy of Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  The club will decline options on Jake Peavy and Kevin Youkilis, but Kenny Williams will still work to retain both veterans.  Speaking of Williams, he will soon be promoted from General Manager to team president with Rick Hahn assuming his former title.  Here's more out of the Central divisions..

  • Williams says that reliever Brett Myers could start for the White Sox in 2013, writes Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com.  The White Sox hold a $10MM option on Myers for next season that they can buy out for $3MM.
  • Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano told reporters that he is open to being traded in the offseason, according to the Associated Press.  Soriano hopes to have one more shot at making a trip to the World Series before his career is through.  The 36-year-old went on to say that he is open to retiring after the two remaining years on his contract are up.
  • Twins manager Rod Gardenhire suggested to Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (via Twitter) that the club will probably have a press conference tomorrow to remove the interim tag from General Manager Terry Ryan's title.
  • Brewers outfielder and former ACES client Nyjer Morgan says that he is now represented by agent Rex Gary, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.  The outfielder is set to be a free agent for the first time following the 2014 campaign.
  • The Cubs dismissed third base coach Pat Listach tonight, tweets Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com.  The decision was made by the club and manager Dale Sveum said that he would recommend him for any other coaching job (Twitter link).

NL Central Notes: Correia, LaHair, Snyder, Brewers

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With tonight's 3-0 win over the Cubs, the Astros have now recorded three straight shutouts for the first time since 1986.  It's a small measure of consolation for a team that has already clinched the worst record in baseball and the first overall pick in next year's amateur draft.  Here's the latest from Houston and elsewhere around the NL Central…

  • Kevin Correia cracked the 170-inning plateau with tonight's start, earning him a $100K bonus, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Correia will be a free agent this winter and is rumored to be parting ways with the Pirates, given that he's already requested a trade earlier this season.
  • Bryan LaHair thinks he has a 50-50 chance of being traded by the Cubs this offseason, he tells ESPN Chicago's Doug Padilla.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow is undecided about bringing back Chris Snyder next season, though he's been impressed by Snyder's veteran leadership, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.  The Astros and Snyder have a $4MM mutual option for 2013, an option that seems unlikely to be exercised by the club given Snyder's poor hitting this season and the fact that $4MM is a high price for a backup catcher.  It's possible the Astros could decline the option and still bring Snyder back on a smaller contract.
  • Ron Roenicke tells reporters (including MLB.com's Adam McCalvy) that the Brewers will bring their current coaching staff back next season.

NL Central Notes: Pirates, Brewers, Baker, Soriano

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It was on this date in 1972 that Roberto Clemente collected the 3,000th and final hit of what would become a Hall of Fame career. Clemente would perish three months later in a New Year's Eve plane crash while delivering aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. Forty years later, the Pirates sealed their 20th consecutive losing season by falling to the Reds 4-3. Pittsburgh was 16 games over .500 on August 6, but has lost 18 of 23 to drop to 77-82. Elsewhere in the NL Central Division:

  • The Brewers were eliminated from the playoffs today with a clunker of a 7-0 shutout loss to the Astros. However, the outlook for 2013 looks bright, opines Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Haudricourt believes the Brewers should be able to concentrate during the offseason on improving their pitching, both the starting rotation and bullpen, the major area of weakness on the 2012 team.
  • Brewers manager Ron Roenicke told reporters, including Haudricourt in a separate article, that he doesn't think Zack Greinke will be returning to Milwaukee. "I don't think we're going to sign a guy for five years and $120 million," said Roenicke. "We made him a great offer. We'll see how much he likes it in Anaheim." 
  • Dusty Baker will be back at the helm of the Reds on Monday when they travel to St. Louis for a three-game series against the Cardinals to close out the regular season. Baker has missed 11 games while recovering from a minor stroke and an irregular heartbeat. Baker is a free agent after this season and a popular theory has him headed to the Dodgers, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. Rosenthal dismisses the rumor. However, Rosenthal reports, citing a Baker friend, that the 63-year-old definitely wants to continue managing, but recognizes that he will need to take better care of himself.
  • Cubs manager Dale Sveum admitted to reporters, including the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan, that Alfonso Soriano's trade value has never been higher and could be dealt this offseason. "It’s as high as it can be,” Sveum said. “Those kind of things are all (dependent ) on what you’re getting back and all those kind of things. The replacement value of that is very difficult to find."  

2013 Vesting Options Update

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With two weeks left in the season, here's an update on the various vesting options for 2013 from around the league…

  • Brett Myers, White Sox — $10MM option vests with 45 games finished or based on a points system. Myers has finished 39 total games this season and the ChiSox have 12 games remaining. This one is unlikely to vest but is still possible.
  • Kevin Gregg — $6MM option vests with 50 games finished. Gregg finished only 13 games before the Orioles released him last weekend.
  • Jason Bartlett — $5.5MM option vests with 432 plate appearances. Bartlett came to the plate just 98 times with the Padres before hurting his knee and getting released last month. Like Gregg's, this one won't vest.

Chipper Jones has an option worth $9MM+ that will vest with 123 games played, but he's already rendered the option moot by announcing his plans to retire after the season. He recently said that he won't change his mind about retirement despite his strong play as well. Chipper has played in 103 of the Braves' 151 games, so this one isn't even mathematically possible anymore.

Alex Gonzalez has an option worth $4MM that will vest with 525 plate appearances, but he missed the majority of the season with a torn ACL. Gonzalez came to the plate just 89 times before the injury, so the Brewers do not have to worry about this one kicking in.

Brewers Acquire Yorvit Torrealba

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The Brewers have acquired catcher Yorvit Torrealba from the Blue Jays for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the teams announced. Torrealba will be in uniform for Milwaukee tomorrow.

Torrealba appeared in ten games for the Blue Jays after they signed him to a minor league deal last month. J.P. Arencibia has since returned from the disabled list, lessening the Blue Jays' need for catching. Torrealba last appeared in a game on September 15th.

In 212 total plate appearances with the Rangers and Blue Jays this year Torrealba has a .233/.297/.339 batting line. The Brewers will pay the 34-year-old a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary until he hits free agency at the end of the season. He joins catchers Jonathan Lucroy and Martin Maldonado on Milwaukee's active roster.

Quick Hits: Upton, Greinke, Escobar, Managers

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Stephen Strasburg may not be there, but the Nationals are going to the playoffs.  The Nats clinched a postseason berth with tonight's 4-1 win over the Dodgers and now have a magic number of eight to clinch the NL East.  This is the franchise's first postseason appearance since reaching the NLCS (as the Expos) in 1981, and the first time a Washington baseball team has made the postseason since the Senators played in the 1933 World Series.

Here's the latest from around the majors…

  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic talks to several executives and scouts about Justin Upton's trade value, with the general consensus being that the Diamondbacks can still command a high price for the outfielder, though Upton's disappointing 2012 campaign has hurt his value.  Opinion was split on whether the D'Backs or Rangers would have to add players in such a possible Upton-for-Elvis Andrus deal.
  • Upton discusses his season, his career development and his feelings about the trade rumors in an extensive profile by Robert Sanchez of ESPN The Magazine.
  • John Axford believes the Zack Greinke trade was the inspiration for the Brewers' surprising turn-around, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  Since Greinke was dealt to the Angels on July 27, the Brewers have surged back into the NL wild card race with a 32-18 record, including today's win over the Pirates.  "Personally, I thought it was going to be more motivation for certain guys," Axford said. "There wasn't ever a thought on this team that this was a lost season. It was disappointing for a while….But there's no guy on this team that's going to lie down and give up. It's shown recently."  
  • "The sense now is that some teams would still be willing to take [Yunel Escobar] on provided he delivers a proper penance first," writes Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi.  Escobar is scheduled to return on Friday from his three-game suspension for wearing eye black that contained a homophobic slur.  This incident could spur Escobar's departure from Toronto, especially since the Blue Jays have promising shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria waiting in the wings. 
  • ESPN's Jim Bowden lists ten of the top managerial candidates, a compilation that includes nine men who have never managed at the Major League level and two-time World Series winner Terry Francona.  Two names on Bowden's list (Tim Bogar and Dave Martinez) are reportedly the top candidates to become the Astros' new manager.
  • Jim Thome's quest for a World Series ring has surprisingly taken him to the Orioles instead of the Phillies, writes MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, but the slugger has dropped hints that 2012 may not be his last season.
  • Derek Jeter told ESPN's Rick Reilly (passed on by Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News) that he would potentially be open to playing for a team besides the Yankees once his current contract expires.  "Well, if I wanted to keep playing, yes," Jeter said. "It's a business. People forget that."  Jeter is under contract through the 2013 season with an $8MM player option for 2014; the shortstop turns 40 years old in June 2014.

Poll: Should Shaun Marcum Get A Qualifying Offer?

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Shaun Marcum’s an effective pitcher when healthy, but questions about his durability persist as he approaches free agency. One year after reaching the 200-inning plateau for the first time, Marcum has been sidelined for much of the season. The right-hander experienced shoulder stiffness at the beginning of the year, then missed two-plus months with elbow tightness in the middle of the season.

Marcum has pitched well overall, posting a 3.91 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 35.8% ground ball rate in 106 innings. His average fastball checks in at 86.6mph, which ranks 130th among the 136 starting pitchers with at least 100 innings this year. But Marcum never needed an overpowering fastball to succeed in the past, when he held his own against AL East offenses. He uses his fastball far less frequently than most pitchers, changing speeds to generate more than his share of swing and misses. This year he has a career-best 11.3% swinging strike rate.

However, he hasn't pitched particularly well since returning from the disabled list, and has not completed six innings in any of those five post-DL starts. The events of the last few months appear to have reduced Marcum’s chances of obtaining a qualifying offer from the Brewers after the season.

Not only has Marcum spent considerable time of the disabled list, starters such as Michael Fiers, Marco Estrada, Mark Rogers and Wily Peralta have emerged, lessening the impact of Marcum's health issues, Chris Narveson's injury, Zack Greinke's departure and Randy Wolf's ineffectiveness. While the Brewers figure to pursue pitching this offseason, they aren't desperate. They may decide against extending Marcum a qualifying offer in the $13MM range, even though it’d the only way for them to obtain draft pick compensation for the 30-year-old.

If the Brewers don’t consider Marcum a $13MM pitcher and suspect that the industry shares their view, it’d likely make sense to let the Turner Gary Sports client leave for no compensation. However, if they believe they could find trade partners for Marcum at that salary, extending a qualifying offer becomes less risky. In that scenario, draft pick compensation would be within reach. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, it’s almost time for the Brewers to decide…

NL Central Notes: Hart, Carpenter, Pirates

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The Brewers continue their push for the second NL Wild Card spot as they look to win their series against Mets this afternoon at Miller Park. However, they will have to do so without Corey Hart. Hart has been sidelined for the last six games since he partially tore the plantar fascia, the connective tissue that runs across the bottom of the foot, in his left foot a week ago. Hart did running drills this morning, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, and all did not go well. Hart, who was able to run in a straight line but suffered discomfort when making stops and turns, said, "It’s a little frustrating. Today was the first day I tried to run the bases, and it didn’t go as planned.” Elsewhere from the NL Central:

Jonathan Lucroy Projected To Miss Super Two Cutoff

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Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy projects to fall short of super two status by three days this coming offseason. It would cost him the chance at $2MM. The structure of Lucroy’s contract would change if he qualifies as a super two player this offseason, but it doesn’t look like he’ll have enough service time to earn the designation and the money that accompanies it. 

Lucroy will finish the 2012 season with two years and 134 days of service time and while it appeared that would be enough to qualify as a super two, CAA announced this morning that the cutoff now projects to be two years and 139 days. In other words Lucroy probably won’t earn the additional $2MM, according to the agency’s latest projections.

Before the season began Lucroy and the Brewers agreed to a five-year, $11MM contract that includes an option for a sixth year. The 26-year-old Sports One Athlete Management client has since posted a .322/.377/.512 batting line in 285 plate appearances. He also spent time on the disabled list with a broken hand.

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