NL East Notes: Marlins, Rodriguez, Davis
Links from the NL East, as the Mets and Braves start the first of two games at Citi Field…
- There is a sense that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria and president David Samson will be taking on bigger roles in making player personnel decisions, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (on Twitter). That would mean less autonomy for president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest and general manager Michael Hill, who are nominally in charge of baseball moves.
- Ivan Rodriguez will be a backup catcher for the Nationals for the rest of the season, but he says he'd like to play four more years in the Major Leagues, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- Mets first baseman Ike Davis told ESPNNewYork’s Adam Rubin that he won’t have surgery to help repair the left ankle sprain that has sidelined him since May (Twitter link).
- Click here to read about the Braves' starting pitching depth and how it could affect their offseason.
Jason Isringhausen Plans To Pitch In 2012
Jason Isringhausen told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com that he intends to pitch next year. The 39-year-old right-hander, who picked up his 300th career save this summer, hits free agency after the season.
Isringhausen has turned in a solid year for the Mets after signing a minor league deal last offseason. He has a 4.05 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.6 BB/9 and a 39.1% ground ball rate in 46 2/3 innings. Isringhausen didn't pitch in MLB last year, but his average fastball still reaches 90.6 mph. However, as Rubin notes, Isringhausen has a herniated disc that is pinching a nerve and leading to discomfort in his right foot, so he won't pitch for several days. He won't be tied to draft pick compensation after the season, as our latest projections show.
Isringhausen said last month that he isn't going to return to MLB for $500K. Check out CloserNews.com for everything you need to know about fantasy closers.
Five Non-Moves That Shaped The 2011 Season
Blockbuster trades and record-breaking free agent contracts are lots of fun, but not all rumors turn into reality. Some of the storylines that dominated MLBTR early on this season never actually happened. Here’s a look back at five of them:
- Giants don’t replace Buster Posey – Last year’s Rookie of the Year went down on May 25th. Since then, the Giants have seen their catchers hit .208/.272/.298 with five homers. The Giants wouldn’t necessarily be leading the NL West if they had acquired reinforcements, but I’m comfortable saying the first-place Diamondbacks didn’t mind seeing Brian Sabean roll out Eli Whiteside, Chris Stewart and Hector Sanchez instead of acquiring a replacement. Finding catching midseason is never easy and the Giants’ non-Posey catchers did limit the running game (34% of would-be base stealers caught), but the defending World Champions could have done better.
- Padres hold Heath Bell – It was a foregone conclusion that the Padres would trade Heath Bell this year. Instead of pitching for a contender, he’s playing out the season in San Diego, wondering how the Padres will handle him this offseason.
- Yankees don’t acquire starting pitching – Ubaldo Jimenez, Wandy Rodriguez and Hiroki Kuroda were all linked to the Yankees, who seemed to be in need of pitching depth from day one. 141 games later, Yankees starters lead the American League in K/9 (7.1), are second in xFIP (3.78) and fifth in ground ball rate (44.9%). Brian Cashman’s reluctance to overpay for pitching in trades has allowed Ivan Nova to blossom, but it hasn’t answered questions about who will follow C.C. Sabathia in New York’s playoff rotation.
- Rays stand pat – B.J. Upton, Johnny Damon, James Shields and Kyle Farnsworth all made regular appearances on MLBTR this summer, but they stayed put. Executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who spent the July 31st trade deadline having his appendix removed, added summer reinforcements by calling up hot-hitting prospect Desmond Jennings a week before the deadline.
- Mets hold Jose Reyes – It's easy to wonder what the Mets would have obtained for Jose Reyes if they had dangled him in early July. He was hitting .354/.398/.529 at the time and had yet to spend time on the disabled list this year. The Mets, who are expected to pursue Reyes when he hits free agency this offseason, held onto him instead of sending him to a contender. Though Reyes missed time in July and August, he would have provided a contending team with a boost (and provided the Mets with more prospects).
New York Notes: Cano, Johan, Reyes
The Yankees are waiting for the playoffs, while the Mets are jockeying for .500. The latest on New York's teams…
- Scott Boras client Robinson Cano told Ken Davidoff of Newsday, "I will make my own decision. I'm a grown man, and I can decide where I want to be, what I want to do." Cano has club options for 2012 and '13 that are likely to be exercised, so it's not quite time to worry about his next contract with the Yankees.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues has reservations about the Yankees spending big bucks on Yu Darvish if he's posted, but is intrigued by the righty.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman explained to John Harper of the New York Daily News why he was "very comfortable saying no" to the Mariners' request to include Ivan Nova or Eduardo Nunez along with Jesus Montero in his offer for Cliff Lee last summer. Montero's stock is higher right now, but the debate remains open as to whether the Mariners should have chosen him over Justin Smoak.
- Johan Santana is currently showing better stuff than he did last year, Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Santana, who had shoulder surgery a year ago, is the key to the Mets' 2012 rotation.
- The Mets shouldn't sleep on the Nationals as a potential NL East contender in the near future, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman adds that the Nationals are "routinely in the discussion" when he asks baseball executives to speculate on where Jose Reyes could sign this winter.
Mets Designate Mike O’Connor For Assignment
The Mets designated left-hander Mike O'Connor for assignment, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The move cleared a 40-man roster spot for September call-ups.
The 31-year-old appeared in nine games for the Mets and 39 games for their Triple-A affiliate this year. He posted a 5.22 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 60 1/3 innings at Buffalo, where he also spent the 2010 season. A year ago, he posted similar strikeout and walk numbers (8.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9) with an ERA of just 2.67.
Quick Hits: Mets, Darvish, Ozzie
A few stray items of note as a quiet Sunday winds down on this holiday weekend:
- A Mets official told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the organization's high-ranking officials have been discussing the possibility of going into complete rebuild mode in 2012 rather than piecing together a passable team and selling it to the fans as a playoff contender if everything breaks right. It's already widely accepted that the Mets will reduce payroll from this season's $140MM down to the $110-100MM range, but Sherman's source makes it sound like it could be even more than that.
- Is Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish worth the potential $100MM a team might have to spend to acquire his services? David Brown of Yahoo!'s Big League Stew looks at that question.
- One factor that could dissuade the White Sox from firing manager Ozzie Guillen is the possibility of him landing with the Cubs and helping to make them a winner, tweets Pedro Gomez of ESPN.com.
Quick Hits: Wilson, Santana, Mets, Soto, Chen
When George Kottaras hits for the cycle, left-hander Tom Milone homers on the very first pitch he sees in the Major Leagues and the Tigers come back from an 8-1 deficit for a 9-8 win over the White Sox, you know it's been a wild day in baseball. Let's end it off with some news items…
- The Rangers should offer C.J. Wilson a five-year contract worth between $92.5 and $97.5MM, writes Jean-Jacques Taylor for ESPN Dallas, but not any more than that since Wilson isn't quite one of the game's elite aces. If you think that Wilson isn't worth that kind of money, remember that unless C.C. Sabathia opts out of his deal, Wilson will be clearly the best free agent arm on the market this winter. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes thinks Wilson could even score a $100MM contract.
- Kaja Whitehouse of the New York Post isn't impressed by the Mets' plan of offering ownership "units" worth $20-$30MM to several different investors. She believes the club will find it hard to find investors willing to buy in without getting any say in the franchise's operations.
- Johan Santana threw 30 pitches for Class A St. Lucie today in his first minor league appearance since July 28, reports Adam Rubin for ESPN New York. Mets manager Terry Collins didn't rule out the possibility that Santana could pitch in a Major League game this season.
- The Cubs' new general manager may have a difficult decision to make about Geovany Soto, writes Patrick Mooney for CSNChicago.com. While Soto will have to rebound in 2012, it's hard to imagine any new GM immediately getting rid of a catcher who has performed very well in two of four Major League seasons.
- Bruce Chen tells Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that he wants to return to the Royals next season, what he's learned from pitching for 10 different organizations and how he wants to be like Jamie Moyer. Will MLBTR still be writing posts about Chen in 2025?
- Juan Rivera's performance for the Dodgers has convinced the team that it needs another big bat for next season, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. That big bat is intended for first base or left field, which would mean that the Dodgers would part ways with either Rivera or James Loney.
Heyman On Rangers, Mesoraco, Marlins
Jon Heyman breaks down the likely playoff teams at SI.com, where he also passes along some notes and rumors. The latest:
- The Rangers tried ‘extremely hard’ to obtain Carlos Beltran from the Mets before the Giants traded for him in July.
- Devin Mesoraco may be more ‘universally beloved’ by scouts than any other September call-up.
- Davey Johnson can manage the Nationals again in 2012 if he wants to, but Jack McKeon of the Marlins may not be so lucky.
- Heyman hears that the Marlins and McKeon have decided someone else will manage in 2012, though McKeon can remain with the organization in some capacity forever (Twitter links). However, McKeon told Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio that that's not the case (Twitter link).
- White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf wants to keep manager Ozzie Guillen and GM Kenny Williams together at this point.
Mets Notes: Reyes, Einhorn, DePodesta
A few items of note regarding the Amazin's as they take on the Marlins at Citi Field:
- In the wake of the announcement that the Mets' partial sale to David Einhorn fell through, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com wonders whether the Mets will be able to re-sign impending-free-agent shortstop Jose Reyes. The Mets' payroll is expected to be somewhere around $110MM in 2012, with $55MM already tied up in the combined salaries of Johan Santana, Jason Bay and David Wright.
- The Wilpons, the Mets' majority owners, interpreted Einhorn's interest in seeking pre-approval to become controlling partner five years from now as a sign of his true intent, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The deal was never a good one for the Mets, opines Heyman, who adds that a partnership is bound to fail when one side of it is banking on the failure of the other (Twitter links). I think Jon's on the mark with that.
- Mets vice president of player development and amateur scouting Paul DePodesta has come a long way from his portrayal in the book Moneyball as a number-crunching sabermetrician, writes Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres. I strongly recommend this piece, as Krasovic does a nice job depicting DePodesta's balancing act between evaluating numbers and old-school scouting.
Mets Acquire Rosario, Herrera To Complete Trade
The Mets announced that they acquired Adrian Rosario and Danny Ray Herrera to complete the trade that sent Francisco Rodriguez and cash to Milwaukee in July. The Mets and Brewers initially agreed that two players to be named would join the Mets in the deal, which is now complete.
Rosario, a 21-year-old right-hander, spent the 2011 season at Class A. He started 14 games and worked out of the bullpen for a 4.32 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9.
Herrera, a 26-year-old, left-hander, has a 3.94 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 93 2/3 innings of work for the Reds and Brewers in his four-year MLB career. He spent most of the 2011 season at Triple-A, where he posted a 2.20 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 61 1/3 innings.
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy first reported the deal (on Twitter).