Olney’s Latest: Cashman, K-Rod, Rays, Managers
In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney spoke to executives that believe this will be Brian Cashman's last season as Yankees GM. His contract expires after the season, and it could just be a simple case of burnout. "I think maybe he's finally had it," said one GM. "That's a job that will take a lot out of you." Olney cites Cashman's recent stretch of brutal and uncharacteristic honestly as evidence, but also notes that there have been three other instances in which he's looked ready to leave, only to end up staying on three-year deals.
Here are the rest of Buster's rumors…
- A rival team official believes the Mets need to trade Francisco Rodriguez soon to keep his vesting option from becoming a problem. He's at 28 games finished now (needs 55 to vest a $17.5MM salary for next year), and the longer they keep him the less flexibility a team will have after acquiring him.
- The Rays have "sent signals that they're open for business" and are prepared to take offers according to rival executives. Olney notes that their tradeable pieces include Kyle Farnsworth and B.J. Upton.
- One GM told Olney that one position within the game without many young up-and-coming prospects is manager (Twitter link). That's why 80-year-old Jack McKeon and 68-year-old Davey Johnson landed jobs in the last week.
Cardinals Notes: Reyes, Reifer, Samuel, Brown
Let's check out a couple of notes on the Cardinals as they take on the Blue Jays at home..
- Roger Hensley of STLToday.com led a roundtable discussion on the idea of the Cardinals pursuing Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. Derrick Goold argues that such a deal is not realistic because the Mets are looking for a haul similar to what the Athletics were seeking for Matt Holliday. Most agree with Goold's view and are also doubtful that the club could afford to keep Reyes beyond this season.
- The club now finds themselves with a logjam on the 40-man roster, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cards could put reliever Adam Reifer, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, on the 60-day DL, but doing so would put him on the major-league payroll and start his service time clock. They could also drop Francisco Samuel or Andrew Brown, but they would risk losing them to another team. With five weeks to go before the non-waiver trade deadline, it appears that the Cardinals are shopping and their moves will reach deeper than the majors.
K-Rod Would Consider Trades To Yankees, Rays
6:06PM: Rodriguez described himself as "irritated" about the story describing his interest in a trade to the Yankees, tweets Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger. The closer reiterated that he wants to stay with the Mets.
8:13AM: Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez told Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News that he would consider accepting a trade to a contending team like the Yankees, even if it meant setting up rather than closing. Rodriguez says he’d “love to stay” put, but understands that the Mets may approach him about waiving the no-trade protection that allows him to block deals to ten teams.
"If I am going to be traded, obviously I want the opportunity to close out games, but if it's going to be good teams like the Yankees or the Rays, and it's going to be for two months, I can go out there and help them out," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez’s contract includes a $17.5MM option for 2012 that will vest if the right-hander finishes 55 games. He has finished 28 games, which puts him on a pace to finish 60. However, if a team with an established closer were to acquire Rodriguez, he would stop finishing games as frequently and the option might not kick in.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman said this week that he’s open to making trades with the Mets, though such deals are by no means easy. The Yankees are looking for a setup man who can restore depth to the team’s depleted ‘pen.
Quick Hits: Nationals, Padres, Drew, Quade
Some notes from around the majors….
- ESPN's Buster Olney is "85-95%" confident that Davey Johnson will be the next Nationals manager. Johnson is currently an advisor with the Nats and hasn't managed since 2000. SI.com's Jon Heyman says Johnson is "in the mix" and might take the job if offered but "he loves [Jim] Riggleman and is sensitive to [the] situation" concerning Riggleman's abrupt departure. (All Twitter links)
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also chimes in on the Nationals' managerial situation, noting that while Riggleman was wrong to leave the team, it was also unfair of Nationals management to leave Riggleman as a lame duck without a guaranteed 2012 contract. Rosenthal also reports that GM Mike Rizzo rarely communicated with Riggleman and has a similar lack of regular contact with his scouting department.
- “Given the division, if we were to get real hot over the next two weeks, a final decision might be delayed a week or two,” a Padres executive tells Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune about when the Friars will start looking to trade players. “But the day is coming.” Center figures Heath Bell, Ryan Ludwick and Chad Qualls are all sure bets to be dealt. Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson may stay put, however, since San Diego has no Major League-ready middle infield replacements in the farm system. Such a young player could possibly come back in any deal for one of those two veterans, but if you're a team with a good young middle infielder, you'd probably want to keep that player rather than move him for a Hudson or a Bartlett.
- Jed Hoyer says "nothing is imminent" and "the only thing that’s true [about various Padres rumors] is that people call us," reports Marty Caswell of XX1090 Radio in San Diego. (Twitter link)
- With David Wright cleared to resume baseball activities, ESPN New York's Rob Parker hopes the Mets won't abandon a much-needed rebuilding plan in pursuit of a longshot chance at the postseason.
- ESPN Boston's Jeremy Lundblad looks at J.D. Drew's struggles this season. With Drew and Mike Cameron providing a negative WAR, Lundblad argues the Red Sox will need to look for right field help, whether it's via trade or an internal option like Josh Reddick or Ryan Kalish.
- The Cubs will have to go on a tear in the second half of the season in order to save Mike Quade's job, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Even this might not be enough, since if GM Jim Hendry goes, so will Quade.
- In an appearance on Jim Rome's radio show on Wednesday (via Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post), Todd Helton said he thinks the Rockies need another quality starter to be World Series contenders. Colorado GM Dan O'Dowd recently stated his team might be in the market for pitching.
NL East Notes: Harper, Zimmerman, Reyes, Phillies
The Nationals announced that Bryce Harper, last year's first overall pick, and right-hander Brad Peacock will represent Washington at the All-Star Futures Game (Twitter link). Here are some more notes from the NL East…
- Ryan Zimmerman tells Tim Kurkjian of ESPN The Magazine that he still hopes to play his entire career for the Nationals. "I think it would be really cool to play 15 or 20 years in the same place and say that I was there when things were not so great," Zimmerman said. As Kurkjian shows, the Nationals have turned into a respectable team after struggling for years.
- Mets shortstop Jose Reyes told Aaron Taube of MLB.com that he isn't concerned about the fact that the Yankees aren't expecting to acquire him. "I don't worry about that. I play for the New York Mets," Reyes said.
- Phillies manager Charlie Manuel would like to see his team add a right-handed hitter with some pop, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News. Manuel’s wish may come true, as the Phillies are looking for just that and have checked in on the likes of Ryan Ludwick, Josh Willingham and Michael Cuddyer.
Cashman: Reyes To Yankees ‘Not Going To Happen’
GM Brian Cashman told Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News that the Yankees are not going to acquire Jose Reyes any time in the foreseeable future. Cashman said a move for Reyes is “just not going to happen" and explained that he believes in his club’s current shortstops.
"We have an everyday shortstop in Derek Jeter," Cashman said. "And I think we have an everyday shortstop that would be playing for a lot of clubs in Eduardo Nunez. The Yankees don't have a need now or in the future for a shortstop."
Jeter is on the disabled list with an injured right calf and should be ready to return before long. The 17-year veteran is under contract through 2013 and the 24-year-old Nunez won’t even be arbitration eligible until after ’13.
Cashman said he’s “not afraid” to deal with the Mets, but admitted that there’s added pressure when making a crosstown trade. The Yankees need a setup man, so Cashman has been making calls to determine who’s available.
Reyes has told the Mets that he does not want to negotiate an extension during the season. The 28-year-old will hit free agency for the first time this fall.
NL East Notes: Reyes, Werth, McKeon
The Phillies and Braves began the day ranked first and second in MLB in run prevention. The Phillies (240 runs allowed as of this morning) have Cliff Lee on the hill tonight and the Braves (252 runs allowed) surrendered just a single run against the Blue Jays this afternoon. Here's the latest on the other NL East clubs:
- As Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains, Mets GM Sandy Alderson has clearly become more enamored with Jose Reyes as the season has gone on and the shortstop has showed off his defense and athleticism.
- Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that agent Scott Boras did not solicit him before Werth left the Beverly Hills Sports Council for Boras late last season. "In no way was I being harassed or bothered or anything other than what I wanted," Werth said, in response to Jayson Stark’s recent ESPN article.
- Click here to see how Werth is faring relative to other new members of baseball's $100MM club and click here to check out our Agency Database.
- Managers around the league, including Terry Francona of the Red Sox and Mike Scioscia of the Angels, tell Joe Frisaro of MLB.com that they're impressed with Marlins skipper Jack McKeon, who is managing at the age of 80.
Quick Hits: Royals, Brewers, Hanley, Mets
Paul Konerko homered for the fifth consecutive game tonight, which gives him a total of 21 on the season and a share of the MLB lead. Here are tonight's links from around the Major Leagues…
- Royals GM Dayton Moore told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he'll remain open-minded about trades that will improve the Royals in 2011 and put them in a better long-term position. Mike Aviles, Wilson Betemit and Melky Cabrera are among the Royals who could appeal to other teams this summer.
- MLB officials have had internal discussions about 15 team leagues with no divisions, but the idea hasn't been discussed in collective bargaining with the MLBPA, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan (Twitter links). MLB is reluctant to push for such drastic change, but Passan hears that an NL team “will” move to the AL to even the leagues out at 15 clubs apiece.
- Brewers scouting director Bruce Seid told Adam McCalvy and Audrey Snider of MLB.com that Milwaukee has talked to top pick Taylor Jungmann since selecting him 12th overall and is prepared to continue negotiations in depth.
- Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest told Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post that he doesn’t want to speculate about Hanley Ramirez as a possible trade candidate. “We do say that some players are more or less likely to be traded than others, but we don't ever talk about anybody specific," Beinfest said.
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com that he wasn’t surprised to hear that Jose Reyes has decided against negotiating a possible deal in-season.
- Alderson added that the Mets’ record won’t necessarily dictate their willingness to trade Reyes (Twitter link). "Whether we’re winning or losing is a lot less relevant in Jose’s case,” he said.
Reyes Not Interested In Negotiating During Season
Jose Reyes is headed for the open market. The shortstop has told the Mets that he isn't interested in negotiating an extension during the season, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The Mets approached Reyes' agent only to learn that negotiations will have to wait until after the season, according to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
As recently as this morning it appeared that the Mets had interest in discussing a deal in the near future. COO Jeff Wilpon said today that he hasn't given up hope on re-signing Reyes, who is scheduled to hit free agency for the first time this fall.
If Reyes is waiting until after the season to negotiate, there's a good chance that he'll become available to all 30 teams. But if the Mets miss the playoffs, they could negotiate a deal during the month of October. Even if New York makes the playoffs, they would have five days of exclusive negotiating rights after the World Series ends.
Reyes has arguably been the best player in the National League to this point in the season. The 28-year-old leads the Senior Circuit with a .341 average, 12 triples, 54 runs, 103 hits and 4.2 WAR (according to FanGraphs).
Mets Rumors: Trades, Reyes, Beltran, Nimmo, Kazmir
After an off day yesterday, the Mets remain five games out in the wild card at 35-37 as Dillon Gee prepares to face the Athletics. The latest rumors around the club:
- Mets COO Jeff Wilpon told Dan Martin of the New York Post that GM Sandy Alderson will "have all the opportunity in the world to bring anybody he wants in." Alderson is restriction-free, but must bring ideas to his bosses on a case-by-case basis. Regarding the Mets' status as buyers or sellers, Alderson remarked, "The next three to four weeks will tell a lot."
- Asked by Martin if he had lost hope on keeping Jose Reyes, Wilpon replied, "Why would we? There's a long time between now and next year [and there are] a lot of things that can happen in a lot of different directions." Though he's been mum on the subject of his next contract publicly, the shortstop talks about the situation privately all the time, one friend told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Said the friend, "If the Mets think they're getting him for, like, $95 million, they're wrong. He's going to get paid. He is clear about that." Martino feels that even if Reyes gives the Mets a discount, he'll still require "well north of $100 million." Alderson said recently that the Mets will reach out to Reyes at some point.
- SI's Tom Verducci thinks the Mets will approach Reyes in July. A team source told him, "I'm sure there will come a point where we sit down and see what Jose wants. But there's nothing that says we won't try to keep the guy." The Mets would need to be overwhelmed with an offer of three top prospects to trade Reyes, in the opinion of Verducci.
- Martin talked to Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran, who said he is not worrying about trade possibilities.
- Mets first-round draft pick Brandon Nimmo "was asking for $2.5 million," tweets Baseball America's Jim Callis. Nimmo, drafted 13th overall, is committed to Arkansas. If Callis' rumor is correct, he's looking for $844K over slot.
- The Mets' front office wanted to annul the 2004 trade that sent Scott Kazmir to Tampa Bay for Victor Zambrano on medical grounds, reports ESPN's Adam Rubin. Mets employees believed the Rays did not supply the full trainers' log on Zambrano, who had elbow issues at the time of the deal. However, the Wilpons elected not to try to revise or undo the trade. Still, GM Jim Duquette isn't off the hook, because trading Kazmir for a healthy Zambrano wouldn't have been a good deal either.