Front Office/Managerial Notes: Melvin, Padres, ChiSox
A few items about some shuffling in a few Major League front offices and some potential moves in the dugout for next season…
- Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said the club's postseason push is holding off discussions of a contract extension with GM Doug Melvin, writes Adam McCalvy and Jordan Schelling for MLB.com. "Doug, with everything going on with the team, doesn't want any distractions," Attanasio said. "After the season, I'm sure, it's something we could talk about. Obviously, we are very happy with Doug. We have one of the three best records in baseball." Melvin's current deal with Milwaukee is up after the 2012 season.
- The Padres have extended the contracts of A.J. Hinch, Jason McLeod and Fred Uhlman Jr. through 2013, according to a team press release. McLeod and Uhlman Jr. are assistants to the general manager and team vice-presidents, while Hinch is being promoted to that same position after serving as San Diego's VP of professional scouting.
- Kenny Williams said he didn't feel a change in leadership was necessarily needed in Chicago, reports MLB.com's Scott Merkin. The White Sox GM was non-committal about his team's offseason plans and the future of manager Ozzie Guillen, though Williams also noted the team hadn't held any formal organization meetings yet.
- The Marlins will interview third base and outfield coach Joe Espada and Nationals third base coach Bo Porter on Monday about the manager's job for next season, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Both men were candidates for the job last season before the club decided to bring Edwin Rodriguez back for 2011.
- The Mets have informed front office members Wayne Krivsky and Bryan Lambe that they won't be back in 2012, reports Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. The moves were expected, as both men were hired by ex-Mets GM Omar Minaya.
NL East Notes: Wang, Rollins, Nunez, Capuano
The Nationals have won nine of their last eleven games, including a four-game sweep of the Phillies. They'll try to keep their hot streak alive tonight against the struggling Braves, who hold just a two-game lead over the Cardinals in the NL wild card race. Some news from the NL East….
- The Nationals are in the "preliminary stages" of negotiations with Chien-Ming Wang about an extension, Wang's agent Alan Nero tells MLB.com's Bill Ladson (Twitter link).
- C.C. Sabathia thinks Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins may sign with the Giants in the offseason, reports Jon Heyman from Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Sabathia and Rollins are long-time friends and, as Heyman notes, Rollins was the first to predict that Sabathia would sign with the Yankees in the 2008-09 offseason.
- The Marlins may have been unable to deal Leo Nunez at the trade deadline due to the ongoing saga of Nunez's true identity, reports Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Within that same link, Dan LeBatard is reporting that Major League Baseball (who must've been aware of Nunez's issues, as the Marlins were) nixed a deal involving Nunez last July.
- Chris Capuano is interested in returning to the Mets next year but said he prefers to be a starting pitcher whenever he goes, reports Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
- Jose Reyes likes playing for the Mets but isn't sure how his free agency will play out this winter, reports Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. "This is the only team that I played [for] so far in my whole career," Reyes said. "I feel comfortable here. I feel good with the ownership. I feel like we are family and stuff like that. At the same time, this is a business. And to be honest with you, I don't know what's going to happen.
- Davey Johnson wants the Nationals to add some outfield depth this winter, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times explores the possibility that southpaw Mike Zagurski (dealt from the Phillies to the Diamondbacks earlier today) could end up returning to Philadelphia as the player to be named later in the deal, a rare "traded for himself" move.
East Notes: Collins, Epstein, Phillies
Yankees GM Brian Cashman's remarks regarding his feigned pursuit of Carl Crawford are creating some buzz today, unsurprisingly. Here are some other items of note out of the east …
- The Mets will decide whether they'll exercise manager Terry Collins' 2013 option within the next 10 days, a source tells Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. The club will also have to decide on whether to bring back all of Collins' coaches, whose contracts are expiring, except for hitting coach Dave Hudgens.
- Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told ESPNBoston.com that there's no "disconnect" between him and manager Terry Francona. The latter's job security has been a hot topic on talk radio shows and the like this week, what with the Red Sox owning just a two-game lead over the Rays in both the AL East and the AL Wild Card entering Friday's action. Boston, of course, appeared to be a lock for the postseason only a month ago.
- The Phillies will lead the Major Leagues in attendance in 2011, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. With the second highest payroll in the big leagues at $175MM, the great turnout will certainly help pay some of the bills. The Phils sold out their 204th consecutive home game on Thursday, a stretch that dates back to 2009, according to Salisbury.
Red Sox Tried For Capuano; Deal Unlikely
The slumping Red Sox are looking for pitching reinforcements and spent many days trying to obtain left-hander Chris Capuano from the Mets for cash, according to John Tomase of the Boston Herald. Boston’s lead over the Rays and Angels has shrunk to just 2.5 games after a 5-16 September slide.
The Red Sox would start Capuano Sunday against the Yankees if they complete a deal, but it appears that the Mets will keep the 33-year-old, who has a 4.47 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 175 1/3 innings this year. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com hears that the Red Sox aren't lkely to make any deals and Joe McDonald of ESPNBoston.com hears that talks are "dead." Boston wouldn’t be able to use Capuano in the playoffs – they’re simply interested in boosting their chances of reaching the postseason.
Jon Lester pitches Friday's series opener and he'll be followed by Tim Wakefield and John Lackey barring a change of plans.
Mets Notes: DePodesta, Rotation, Collins
The Mets will try to slow the Cardinals' bid for a playoff berth when the two teams take the field in St. Louis tonight. In the meantime, here are some Mets-related links…
- Mets executive Paul DePodesta told Bill Plaschke of the LA Times that he doesn't particularly want to become a general manager again. "From my perspective, it's not necessarily a great job," he said. DePodesta was the Dodgers’ GM in 2004 and 2005.
- GM Sandy Alderson said on last night's TV broadcast that he expects to have a similar rotation next season, according to Michael Baron of MetsBlog. Alderson is hoping for growth from Mike Pelfrey and Jonathon Niese and Baron is hoping that the rotation will go deeper into games.
- Alderson says that if the Mets make changes to spacious Citi Field for next year they won't be subtle, according to Andrew Keh of the New York Times. The Mets are interested in making the three-year-old park more fair and Alderson knows that "offense sells."
- It doesn’t appear that the Mets are going to sign manager Terry Collins to an extension in the near future, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The skipper is under contract in 2012 and the Mets have a team option for 2013.
Mets Rumors: Closer, Reyes, Wright
The Mets currently project for the 13th overall draft pick next June, same as this year. The latest on the club:
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson talked at length about closers yesterday, as usual leaving the door open for most possibilities. He explained to ESPN's Adam Rubin that the closer position "needs to be a point of concentration for us," and wouldn't rule out signing one of the big-name free agent closers. He added, "There are no concessions from me," implying he's not interested in signing a stopgap closer. On the other hand, a "cheap, proven veteran" is exactly the route Mike Puma of the New York Post expects Alderson to take after listening to the GM make the same comments. No matter what the Mets decide to do, it'll all be covered in detail at our @CloserNews Twitter feed and CloserNews.com.
- Alderson expects to know early on which direction the Jose Reyes situation is headed, he told Rubin. He won't count on an early resolution, but he admitted "everything will be contingent on how that turns out." Ruben Tejada appears to be Plan B for the Mets at shortstop, writes David Lennon of Newsday.
- Third baseman David Wright is showing greatly diminished range, a rival scout tells Andrew Keh of the New York Times.
Quick Hits: Pirates, Cubs, Werth, Byrdak
The Cardinals won and the Braves lost, so only 2.5 games separate the two clubs in the National League Wild Card race. Here's the latest news from around MLB…
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington didn't say whether he intends to offer arbitration to Ross Ohlendorf this offseason, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Ohlendorf would earn a raise from his current $2.025MM salary if the Pirates tender him a contract this winter.
- The Cubs told scouting director Tim Wilken that he'll be back in 2012, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. There had been some rumblings that Wilken would receive a four-year extension like the one director of player personnel Oneri Fleita obtained, but Wilken will return on a one-year deal.
- Giants officials acknowledged to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News that it will be hard to bring back both Jeremy Affeldt ($5MM option) and Javier Lopez (free agent) next year. The two left-handers could hit free agency this offseason.
- Jayson Werth told Bill Ladson of MLB.com that he still believes that the Nationals are headed for success. The outfielder hasn't lived up to his $126MM contract so far, but he says he has found his swing and regained his composure.
- Mike Mosa, the agent for Tim Byrdak, told MLBTR's Tim Dierkes that Byrdak's decision to sign an extension with the Mets had to do with the team's willingness to include an opt-out in his deal for 2011 (Twitter link).
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs explains that serious analysts don't believe "that awards voting should be done according to an ordinal ranking" of the wins above replacement statistic. WAR is a tool that guides baseball fans, not an absolute statement about value or ability.
- In this week's edition of Ask BA, Jim Callis of Baseball America explains that he doubts we'll ever see an international draft because of all the logistics that would be involved. Commissioner Bud Selig has long supported a worldwide draft, which will come up during this round of collective bargaining.
Quick Hits: Thome, Indians, Byrdak, Mets
Sunday night linkage..
- It's exceedingly rare for the Mets to grant an in-season extension to anyone, but Tim Byrdak was aggressive and approached the team with the idea, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
- However, it doesn't sound like more extensions with veterans are in the works, Martino tweets. General Manager Sandy Alderson stressed that locking up a lefty reliever was special circumstance.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti believes that Jim Thome can be a productive player in 2012, should he decide to continue playing, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- Even though Indians rookie Jason Kipnis appears to have the starting role at second base locked up for next season, he does not plan on thinking that way, writes Bastian.
Mets, Byrdak Agree On Extension For 2012
Mets GM Sandy Alderson announced that the team finalized a contract extension for the 2012 season with lefty reliever Tim Byrdak during today's game, tweets Newsday's David Lennon. The team has confirmed the move via press release.
The 37-year-old Byrdak signed a minor league deal with the Mets prior to the 2011 season, and has enjoyed a very strong year for the club. In 36 2/3 innings (68 appearances), the left-hander has posted career bests in ERA (2.95) and K/9 (10.8).
Byrdak has been particularly tough on lefties this season, limiting same-handed batters to a .204/.257/.323 triple slash line this season. He's posted a 5.50 K:BB ratio against lefties this season (33 strikeouts, six walks) as opposed to a 0.92 versus right-handed batters (12 walks, 11 strikeouts). He is represented by agent Mike Mosa, as shown in MLBTR's Agency Database.
Mets, Byrdak Close To Extension
The Mets are close to signing Tim Byrdak to an extension for 2012, reports Mike Silva of New York Baseball Digest. GM Sandy Alderson confirmed the contract talks to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York (Twitter link).
The 37-year-old Byrdak signed a minor league deal with the Mets prior to the 2011 season, and has enjoyed a very strong year for the club. In 36 2/3 innings (68 appearances), the left-hander has posted career bests in ERA (2.95) and K/9 (10.8).
Byrdak will earn about $1.2MM this season after incentives, and while Silva isn't sure about the terms the two sides are discussing for next year, he predicts that the deal will be for at least the same amount, if not more.