NL Central Notes: Sandberg, Rasmus, Pirates, Arroyo
Here are some news items from the National League's middle division…
- Ryne Sandberg has turned down an offer to return as the Cubs' Triple-A manager, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat, and Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com reports that Sandberg won't be with the organization at all in 2011. Sandberg was heavily rumored to take over managing the Cubs after Lou Piniella's retirement, but Chicago instead gave the job to interim manager Mike Quade.
- A roundtable of Cardinals writers collected by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discussed the Colby Rasmus trade rumors and the majority don't like the idea. Comments range from "there would be no logic behind a trade" to "trading Rasmus would be incredibly stupid unless it’s an offer that’s so ridiculously good that it cannot be rejected."
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly discussed the team's manager search and other topics in a chat with fans on MLB.com.
- Steven Jackson, Brandon Moss and Justin Thomas can all become minor league free agents after being outrighted to Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. Sean Gallagher, who was also outrighted, can declare free agency on Saturday but Langosch says the Pirates will try to sign the pitcher to a contract before then.
- Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that the Reds want to work out a contract extension with Bronson Arroyo before Opening Day. "I don't want to go into the season negotiating," Sheldon said. "We'll try to [get it done] before the start of the season."
- Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times praises Milwaukee's hire of Ron Roenicke as manager.
- Former Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson has interviewed for the hitting coach job in Houston, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
Puerto Rican Links: Beltran, Delgado, Listach
'Tis the season for Puerto Rican players to head back to the island for winter ball and home cooking. Links are in Spanish…
- At the opening of a baseball academy yesterday, Carlos Beltran told Fernando Ribas Reyes of El Nuevo Dia that the Mets have invited the center fielder to meet with new GM Sandy Alderson. Beltran was non-committal about his approach, saying, "It doesn't matter what I think. The organization is going to do what they think is best for them. The way I can control it is to have a good year. If I do, I know there will be teams interested in me. For my part, I'd like to play in New York a few years more."
- In a separate piece, Carlos Delgado told Reyes he hasn't been approached by any major league teams so far this offseason. Delgado insisted he has no preferences about where he plays, and admited that he has had a few doubts about his ability to return to the majors.
- Pat Listach, former Nationals third base coach and recent candidate for the Brewers managerial opening, told Junior Lugo Marrero at Periodico La Perla that making the jump from base coach to manager remains one of his goals. At the moment, Listach is managing the Ponce Lions in Puerto Rico, and he described his style as that of "an aggressive manager who likes the hit and run and moving players around the bases." In the shorter term, Listach will be joining the Cubs as bench coach, reported Rhett Bollinger at MLB.com two days ago.
Bonser Elects Free Agency; Brewers Claim James
The A’s lost one right-hander to free agency and another one to a waiver claim, according to the team. Boof Bonser elected free agency after the A’s outrighted him to Triple-A, and the team lost Justin James when the Brewers claimed him on waivers. The A’s also outrighted outfielder Matt Carson to Triple-A, but Carson agreed to terms on a contract with the team.
Bonser logged 25 innings with the A's and Red Sox this year. The 29-year-old posted a 6.12 ERA, but his strikeout (6.1 K/9) and walk (2.9 BB/9) rates weren't bad.
James, also 29, made his big league debut with the A's in 2010. He pitched just 4.0 innings in the majors, but logged 39.1 impressive frames in the upper minors. James posted a 1.83 ERA with 11.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 between Double-A and Triple-A this season.
Brewers Decline Options For Zaun, Hoffman, Davis
The Brewers declined their 2011 options for Gregg Zaun, Trevor Hoffman and Doug Davis, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Milwaukee paid a total of $2MM in buyouts. Zaun got $250K instead of a $2.25MM salary; Hoffman got $750K instead of a $7MM salary and Davis got $1MM instead of a $6.5MM salary. All three moves were expected.
Zaun, who tore the labrum in his right shoulder this summer, has said he would like to play in 2011, but it probably won't be in Milwaukee. The Brewers have Jonathan Lucroy, George Kottaras and Mike Rivera behind the plate. Davis made just eight starts in 2010 because of injuries.
Hoffman picked up his 600th career save this year, but struggled early in the season, lost the closer's job to John Axford and pitched to a 5.89 ERA overall. In the highly unlikely event that the Brewers offer arbitration and Hoffman turns it down to sign elsewhere, the team would obtain a compensatory pick in next year's draft for losing a Type B free agent.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Blue Jays, Wood, Jenks
Congratulations to the 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants! Here are your links as the celebration begins…
- The Mets have not set up interviews for their managerial opening, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the team is still gathering information about the four finalists for the job. Bobby Valentine appears to be the favorite and Ron Roenicke, Joey Cora and Bob Melvin are also candidates.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Chris Toman of The Sports Network that he isn’t opposed to trading prospects for big leaguers.
- Angels GM Tony Reagins told Dan Woike of the Orange County Register that he'll be as patient as possible with Brandon Wood, who has struggled to hit in the majors and is now out of options.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says it would be "stunning" to see the White Sox offer Bobby Jenks $9MM through arbitration.
Valentine Leading Candidate For Brewers
A few weeks ago, we heard that Bobby Valentine was the favorite to manage the Marlins, but that's no longer the case. He's also voiced interest in the Cubs' managerial opening this past summer, and has been linked to the Mariners at times as well. However, according to this tweet from SI's Jon Heyman, Valentine is now the leading candidate to manage the Brewers.
Heyman informs us that Valentine is leading the way, followed by Joey Cora, Bob Melvin, and Ron Roenicke, in that order. In a separate tweet, Heyman says that Valentine has yet to receive an offer, and that Brewers' owner Mark Attanasio says no decision has been made.
As Heyman notes, if money becomes an issue, Cora may have a good chance of being hired. The 60-year-old Valentine has a career record of 1,117-1,072 as a manager for both the Mets and Rangers, but that experience would likely come with a higher price tag than a younger option like Cora.
Cafardo’s Latest: Bautista, Varitek, Montero
Let's check out the latest from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe….
- It's still up in the air whether Jose Bautista will go to arbitration this winter, or whether he'll sign either a one-year or multi-year deal with the Blue Jays. "Right now, there are no talks about a multiyear contract," said Bautista. "But I suppose we may hear something about that in December." MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith took an in-depth look at Bautista's arbitration case earlier this month.
- Cafardo speculates that the Brewers and Jason Varitek could be a good fit, since Milwaukee could use a veteran to mentor Jonathan Lucroy. Of course, the Brewers are probably hoping that the recently-signed Mike Rivera will fill that role.
- There is some doubt about whether Yankees prospect Jesus Montero will be able to handle a major league pitching staff. A "Yankee insider" tells Cafardo that he thinks Montero could be used in a big trade this winter, with Austin Romine waiting in the wings as a potential long-term backstop.
- Cafardo names a few candidates to replace Dave Eiland as the Yankees' pitching coach, noting that Scott Aldred appears to be the front-runner.
- Meanwhile, Curt Young looks like the favorite to become the Red Sox' next pitching coach. The Diamondbacks were "very interested" in Young, but ultimately ended up hiring Charles Nagy instead.
Odds & Ends: Crawford, Indians, Lopez, Brewers
A few links to check out after the Rangers picked up their first World Series win in franchise history…
- Torii Hunter is at the World Series for TV work, though he did mention liking the idea of Carl Crawford in an Angels' uniform according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). Hunter wouldn't confirm if he's been lobbying the soon-to-be free agent outfielder.
- In a mailbag piece, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer answers questions about the Indians chances of signing quality free agents and whether or not Javier Vazquez is a fit for them.
- FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that Giants' lefty reliever Javier Lopez will fall short of qualifying for free agency this offseason by just five days of service time. It's a shame he won't be able to cash in on his dominant postseason (5.2 innings, one hit, one walk, six strikeouts).
- Rosenthal also says that the Brewers are just doing their due diligence, and are expected to name a manager shortly after the World Series (Twitter link).
- Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune lists the hurdles the White Sox would have to clear if they want to acquire Colby Rasmus. He also noted that St. Louis had people watching ChiSox prospects at a recent Arizona Fall League game.
- Chad Jennings of The Journal News provide an offseason to-do list for the Yankees.
- MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli tweets that the announcement of the Orioles' coaching staff is being held up by Don Wakamatsu. He'll be their bench coach unless he lands a managerial gig elsewhere.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post explains what impressed him about Sandy Alderson's introductory press conference yesterday.
- Meanwhile, Newsday's David Lennon wonders if Alderson's hiring will boost ticket sales (via Twitter). Mets' attendance has dropped from an average of 51,165 fans per game in 2008 to 32,401 in 2010 despite the opening of CitiField last season. Obviously the economy is part of the problem.
- Jennings also passed along a lengthy quote from Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who explains his desire to make his team younger without sacrificing their ability to be competitive.
- Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle compares the path the Rangers and Giants took to the World Series to some of the moves the Astros made a few seasons ago.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braves, Rangers, Rays, Haren
The Phillies won their second World Series in franchise history two years ago today, beating the Rays in the first suspended game in series history. Game Five started on October 27th, 2008, and the two clubs played to a 2-2 tie through the first five and a half innings before rain forced the suspension. The game didn't resume until October 29th due to the weather, but when it finallly did the Phillies outscored Tampa 2-1 the rest of the way for a 4-3 final score.
There's no weather-related delay for these links; here's the best from around the web this week…
- Capitol Avenue Club provides a primer for the Braves' offseason.
- Pine Tar And Pocket Protectors explains how Mark Teixeira built the AL Champion Rangers.
- The Baseball Opinion re-lives Sandy Alderson's biggest trade.
- DRays Bay compiles Andrew Friedman's offseason to-do list.
- Meanwhile, The Process Report thinks about Nick Johnson as a cheap option for the Rays.
- Drunk Jays Fans reacts to the John Farrell hiring and more.
- Baseball Analytics breaks down Pat Burrell's resurgence.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness wonders if Ivan DeJesus should get a crack at the Dodgers second base job next year.
- Disciples of Uecker says it's time for Josh Butler to put up or shut up. The Brewers acquired Butler for Gabe Gross in 2008.
- Yankeeist wonders what would have happened if the Yankees managed to acquire Dan Haren this summer.
- SPANdemonium compares the Rangers, Rays and Royals.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Amateur Signing Bonuses: Brewers
Next up in our series looking at each team's spending on amateur prospects, the Brewers…
- Rickie Weeks, $3.6MM (2003)
- Ben Sheets, $2.45MM (1999)
- Ryan Braun, $2.45MM (2005)
- Prince Fielder, $2.4MM (2002)
- Mark Rogers, $2.2MM (2004)
The Brewers had a lot of high draft picks in the early-aughts, and they spent accordingly. Weeks was the second overall pick in 2003 after a season at Southern University that was straight out of a video game: .500/.619/.987 with 46 walks and 17 strikeouts in 50 games. He made his big league debut later that year but didn't stick until 2005. He finally put together a full, health season in 2010, hitting .269/.366/.464 with 29 homers.
Sheets, the tenth overall pick in '99, was really the first young player to come up and help get the Brewers back to respectability. He was an All Star as a rookie in 2001, and overall made four trips to the Midsummer Classic in his eight years with the team. Injuries derailed him starting in 2005, but he was always dominant before leaving as a free agent after 2008: 3.72 ERA, 7.6 K/9, and 2.0 BB/9 in 221 starts.
Braun was the fifth overall pick in 2005 and the third college third baseman drafted (behind Alex Gordon and Ryan Zimmerman), but he's since moved to left fielder. His Rookie of the Year campaign in 2007 featured a .324/.370/.634 batting line and 34 homers, and overall he's a .307/.364/.554 hitter in his four big league seasons.
High school first basemen aren't drafted in the first round all that often, but Milwaukee made an exemption for Fielder, who the chosen seventh overall in '02. He reached the big leagues three years later, and is a career .279/.385/.535 hitter in five-plus seasons. Fielder has a 50 homer season and two top-four finishes in the MVP voting to his credit.
Rogers was the fifth overall selection in 2004, but a series of arm injuries and setbacks kept him on the shelf from June 2006 through the 2008 season. He returned in 2009 and performed well (1.67 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 in 64.2 innings), then reached the big leagues this past September. Rogers struck out 11 and allowed just five baserunners and two runs in ten innings, putting himself in prime position to break camp with the team next season.
The Brewers have gotten a ton of return on these investments, with Rogers even coming back from major injuries to produce at the big league level. They haven't spent much on international free agents, but that should change after kick-starting their Latin American program earlier this year.