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Odds And Ends: Hardy, Johnson, Mets

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More links as we await the next waiver trade…

  • The Brewers put off J.J. Hardy's free agency until after 2011 by keeping him in the minors for 20 days, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out. This should boost Hardy's trade value after the season, when the Brewers will presumably listen to trade offers, now that Alcides Escobar is contributing in the majors.
  • Randy Johnson expects to return to the Giants as a reliever, according to the AP (via FOX Sports).
  • MLB.com's Marty Noble suggests Jayson Werth and Derrek Lee would be good fits for the Mets this offseason.  

Odds & Ends: Mets, Reds, Halos, Skippers

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Another batch of links as the Braves and Phillies prepare to get underway on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball…

  • According to ex-Mets GM Jim Duquette, via Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News, the Mets have canceled their fall instructional league "in an apparent cost-cutting maneuver."  If they're making cutbacks in the minors, might they also have cutbacks in mind at the big league level?
  • According to Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Reds general manager Walt Jocketty reaffirmed Sunday that he currently has no deals in the works. The deadline for waiver trades is tomorrow, August 31.
  • Matthew Pouliot of NBC Sports continues his "Restoring the Rosters" series with a look at the Angels, who he ranks 10th among all MLB clubs with their impressive what-could-have-been roster.
  • Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune discusses some MLB managers who may be on the proverbial "hot seat."  Among the names?  Cincinnati's Dusty Baker, Cleveland's Eric Wedge and Houston's Cecil Cooper.  Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports goes more in-depth with the list.

Odds & Ends: White Sox, Twins, Mets

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Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention. I've just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story. I need all of you, to stop what you're doing and listen. Odds and ends post!!!

  • Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune writes that if White Sox GM Kenny Williams wants to make a move that could help his team, time is running out. Getting Jake Peavy back and healthy would be about as good of a pickup that a team could make this time of year.
  • The Star Tribune's Patrick Reusse says that Twins GM Bill Smith should have been operating like Cleveland's Mark Shapiro at this year's trade deadline, "looking to the future rather than the present."
  • Joel Sherman of The NY Post writes about the parallels between the current Mets club and the Orioles teams of the mid-to-late 90's. He also notes that the Amazin's should brace themselves for decreased ticket sales and a smaller payroll next year.
  • ESPN's Peter Gammons explains how teams took advantage of their payroll flexibility at the deadline.

Odds And Ends: Royals, Mets, Marquis

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More links for the early afternoon…

  • ESPN.com's Keith Law argues there's no reason for the Royals to consider extending GM Dayton Moore now. It could impede them in the future, and they're in no apparent danger of losing him to a rival club.
  • Author Erin Arvedlund told Ben Klayman of Reuters that the Wilpon family will be forced to sell the Mets.
  • The Mets, however, say the author's claim is "false and irrespopnsible," according to Jon Heyman of SI.com.
  • EPSN.com's Rob Neyer says MLB should change its draft if it makes sense to do so, but not just to make people feel better.  
  • Jason Marquis' team has made the playoffs every year of his decade-long career, as Tim Kurkjian of ESPN.com notes. Marquis is in the midst of a career year and about to hit the free agent market this offseason.

Report: Chris Carter Claimed By Yankees

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7:07pm: Buster Olney has some more color to this "he claimed, she claimed" story.

Olney writes in ESPN the Magazine, "The rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox burns strongly even when it comes to waiver claims.

"When the Mets and Red Sox worked out a trade for left-hander Billy Wagner earlier this week, Chris Carter, an outfielder-first baseman currently playing for Class AAA Pawtucket, became part of the deal as a player to be named headed to Boston. In preparation for the deal, the Red Sox placed Carter on waivers, with the intention of moving him on to the Mets.

"But the Yankees placed a claim on Carter — perhaps to create some 40-man roster discomfort for the Red Sox. In order to complete the Mets trade, the Red Sox are now pulling Carter back from waivers — and for the rest of the year, they must carry him on their 40-man roster.

"And Boston may struggle to squeeze bodies onto its 40-man roster in September. When Paul Byrd was a free agent, he informed teams that as a condition for signing him, he wanted a guarantee that he would be added to the 40-man roster for the final month. If Boston has made that same concession, the Carter claim by the Yankees might have made that just a little more difficult."

5:50pm: In what should come as a surprise to no one, Amalie Benjamin clarifies that the Red Sox have pulled Carter back, and will deal him in the offseason.

5:30pm: Because it wouldn't be a normal day without some bad news for the Mets, Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe reports on her Twitter account that Chris Carter, the more significant of the two players rumored to be headed to the Mets in exchange for Billy Wagner, has been claimed by the New York Yankees.

It isn't clear that this hurts the Red Sox any, since the trade is not dependent on Carter passing through waivers. Instead, the claim prevents the Mets from getting a first-hand look at Carter until after the season. Presumably, the Red Sox will pull him back, though they also have the option of working out a deal with the Yankees (not likely) or letting the Yankees have him for nothing (see previous parenthetical statement). So much for city unity.

Worth noting: the Yankees have the best record in the American League, meaning that 1) no one else in the AL claimed Carter, 2) if they hadn't claimed Carter, the Red Sox could have traded him to the Mets without any problem had the National League followed suit, and 3) the Yankees, apparently, weren't willing to show pity upon their injury-shattered New York brethren.

Stark On Holliday, Lee, Yankees, Hoffman

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ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that the Cardinals and Phillies may be better off letting their respective deadline acquisitions walk once they hit free agency. Here are the details and the rest of his rumors:

  • We know that Matt Holliday's interested in staying in St. Louis. But one AL exec doubts the Cards can afford to tie up $40-50MM per year in Holliday and Albert Pujols. It could work short-term, but could prevent the Cardinals from keeping Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. Plus, the pair of sluggers may not be worth a combined $50MM in a few years.
  • One team official believes Cliff Lee's agent will be looking for a $100MM payday once the lefty hits free agency after next season (assuming the Phils pick up his 2010 option). The official says the Phillies should consider letting Lee walk after next year, instead of committing long-term to him.
  • The teams that considered dealing for Johan Santana after the 2007 season aren't surprised to hear that he's having elbow trouble now, though it's not something they anticipated with any sense of certainty. However, Mets assistant GM John Ricco says he doesn't regret the way the team handled its ace.
  • There are increasing indications that the Yankees don't plan on being big buyers in the free agent market this offseason. The Yankees seem more likely to keep Johnny Damon and let Austin Jackson grow into a full-time player than pursue Matt Holliday or Jason Bay.
  • Stark hears that the Red Sox were the only team to claim Billy Wagner. We heard the Angels had interest, but apparently they never made a claim.
  • One executive believes AL teams would have very little interest in Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman has value because of his status as a Type A free agent, which could factor in to teams' claims.
  • Rival clubs expect the Blue Jays to try dealing Edwin Encarnacion after the season. He makes $4.75MM in 2010, so it won't be easy.
  • The Royals are still trying to deal Ron Mahay and at least one scout expects a team or two to have interest in ther veteran lefty.

Olney On Mets, Penny

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney says Omar Minaya will keep his job as Mets GM. However, Minaya has developed an uncanny- and unwelcome- knack for turning ordinary events into P.R. disasters. Should the team decide it wants someone else to represent the organization, Minaya suggests seven candidates, some of whom would almost certainly not be available:

  • Olney lists A's GM Billy Beane, Brewers GM Doug Melvin, former Mets manager Bobby Valentine, Cardinals manager and free agent-to-be Tony La Russa, former MLB manager Buck Showalter, Phillies exec Pat Gillick and Indians GM Mark Shapiro as candidates the Mets should at least consider inquiring about.
  • Brad Penny is a free agent and the A's are looking for veteran pitching. That's one possible match, but Olney has an even better one.
  • The Colorado Rockies could use another starter. Not only is Penny affordable, but he's had more success in the NL and it would give him the chance to compete against his former team, the Dodgers. As Olney shows, some bad blood may linger between Penny and the Dodgers.

Odds & Ends: Marlins, Rangers, Injuries

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Another round of links…

  • MLB.com's Joe Frisaro takes a more in-depth look at Marlins president Larry Beinfest's comments on the possibility of long-term extensions for pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson.  "With a new stadium set to open in 2012," Frisaro writes, "the Marlins are in a better position to sign players to multi-year deals."
  • Matthew Pouliot of NBC Sports continues his "Restoring the Rosters" series with a look at the Rangers' potential 25-man roster.  Pouliot is now halfway through the interesting collection of columns.
  • Bob Harkins, also writing for NBC Sports, suggests the Phillies are a good match for all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman, who has reportedly been placed on waivers by the Brewers.
  • Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post notes, via Twitter, that the payroll "just for Mets players on the DL would be higher than the total budgets of 17 other teams."  Tough times in Queens.
  • Ben Nicholson-Smith hosted his weekly live chat on MLBTR Tuesday afternoon.  If you missed it, we've got it archived for your viewing pleasure.

Odds & Ends: Peavy, Fielder, Mets, M’s

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A nice helping of links to get us going here Wednesday night…

  • According to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago, Jake Peavy is doubtful to make his White Sox debut on Saturday.  The newly acquired right-hander was unable to throw a scheduled side session Wednesday afternoon due to lingering elbow soreness.
  • Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel agrees with Dave Cameron's philosophy that the Brewers should trade first baseman Prince Fielder if they have no intention of improving their starting rotation through free agency this offseason.  "I understand the team would take a PR hit if they traded a star like Prince," writes Haudricourt,"but for the betterment of the organization, it makes sense to deal him if you can't improve around him."
  • FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says evidence suggests that the Mets, who have sent 19 men to the DL this season, are not taking care of their players. "The Mets can say what they want, writes Rosenthal.  "After a while, the disabled list does not lie."
  • Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune thinks the Mariners are finally moving in the right direction, and gives a good chunk of the credit to general manager Jack Zduriencik.  "Wait 'til next year now means something again for Mariners fans," says LaRue.

Odds And Ends: Perez, Greinke, Matsui, Magglio

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More links as another Met hits the shelf…

  • Oliver Perez will have season-ending surgery and, as Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post points out, the Mets now have about $100MM sitting on the DL.
  • Zack Greinke makes $100k if he wins the Cy Young Award. Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star thinks Greinke deserves it, but doesn't expect him to win it, so he suggests the rest of the Royals chip in to make sure their ace gets rewarded for his big year.
  • Magglio Ordonez keeps picking up the plate appearances and he's now just 59 away from assuring himself an $18MM payday in 2010. His option should vest sometime next month.
  • Hideki Matsui tells Newsday's Ken Davidoff that he'd consider playing with Ichiro. Davidoff suggests the White Sox and A's are possible fits for Matsui when he becomes a free agent after the season.
  • Be sure to become a fan of MLBTR on Facebook, where we're discussing Billy Wagner's future. If you don't already follow us on Twitter, you can start by clicking here.
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