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Hoyer “Closer” To Becoming Padres GM

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THURSDAY, 9:09am: Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune describes the Hoyer hiring as "imminent," but says no announcement is scheduled for today.

WEDNESDAY, 2:25pm: Both MLB.com's Corey Brock and ESPN's Buster Olney are reporting that San Diego is moving closer to naming Boston Assistant General Manager Jed Hoyer as their next General Manager.

Hoyer and Los Angeles Assistant GM Kim Ng have both been interviewed. It is unclear if anyone else has been interviewed, with San Diego staying quiet about the search.

Padres' CEO Jeff Moorad has said he'd like to name a GM prior to the World Series, so it is reasonable to expect an announcement sooner than later.

As for Kevin Towers, whom Hoyer would be succeeding, his destination remains unclear. Olney wrote last week that "it figures that Towers will take a job with the Yankees as a special assistant in the months ahead."

But Brock reports that Towers could "conceivably take a spot in the Red Sox front office — possibly as a special assistant or in the scouting department — if Hoyer is indeed hired by the Padres."

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Cardinals, Astros

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Here are some links to take you through the end of your workday, instead of, you know, working.

  • The Yankees aren't satisfied to simply win the 2009 World Series. They are concurrently planning to take 2010 as well, with Jon Heyman reporting that they are atop Matt Holliday's preferred list of teams, and Lohud.com's Chad Jennings writing that the Yankees should be meeting with Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman soon, though GM Brian Cashman wouldn't confirm it.
  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Jason LaRue would be a good fit for the Cardinals in 2010, and breaks down the other catching candidates as well.
  • Manny Acta had his second interview for the Astros' managing job, while Bobby Valentine and Bob Melvin are candidates to take Acta's former position as skipper for Washington.
  • Tim Wakefield had successful back surgery for the Red Sox, who have a number of 2010 contract options to consider, include Wakefield's. Alex Speier of WEEI.com runs it down nicely.
  • The Rays hired Derek Shelton as their new hitting coach. Shelton had been the hitting coach for Cleveland.
  • Former Mets' first base coach Tom Nieto is the new manager for Rochester, Minnesota's Triple-A farm team, among other minor-league hires.

Aroldis Chapman In New York

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Aroldis Chapman's agent Edwin Mejia changed his mind – he won't make MLB teams come to Andorra to see his client.  Instead, according to ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr., Chapman is set to arrive in New York today to visit with several GMs.

Arangure Jr. still sees the hard-throwing 21-year-old lefty getting a contract in the $40-60MM range.  He considers the Yankees and Red Sox top suitors for Chapman, with the A's and Giants in the mix.  The Angels, Mets, and Orioles are also interested, based on previous reports.  The Dodgers are not viewed as a serious suitor, according to one Arangure Jr. source.

Click here to read Keith Law's scouting report on Chapman for ESPN.

Odds & Ends: Sano, Towers, D’Backs, Fehr

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Links for Wednesday…

  • Kevin Towers has a standing offer from the Red Sox, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  For now, Towers plans on taking a few months off.  In contrast, a week ago ESPN's Buster Olney wrote that "there would appear to be excellent odds that Towers will land with the Yankees as a special assistant sometime in the months ahead." 
  • The Cubs' contract with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo is official.
  • Miguel Angel Sano received his U.S. work visa, according to SI's Melissa Segura.
  • The new Rays hitting coach is Derek Shelton, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic crafts an offseason plan for the Diamondbacks, who have a decent amount of money to work with.  We did our Offseason Outlook for the team back in September.
  • J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics says tendering a contract to arbitration-eligible right fielder Jeff Francoeur is probably worthwhile for the Mets.  I don't sense that non-tendering him is a serious consideration.
  • Donald Fehr will receive an $11MM parting gift when he steps down from his MLBPA position, says ESPN's Amy K. Nelson.  The players were mostly in favor of the decision, according to Curtis Granderson.
  • The Rangers met with Jim Crane's group Tuesday, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Two more potential investing groups are scheduled.
  • Backup catcher Mike Redmond told MLB.com's Kelly Thesier he plans on playing next year, whether or not it's with the Twins.
  • 41-year-old righty Keiichi Yabu also hopes to play in 2010, says NPB Tracker's Ryo Shinkawa.
  • Reliever George Sherrill has no hard feelings about the Orioles trading him to the Dodgers, says Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
  • MLB.com's Dick Kaegel talked to Zack Greinke, who was characteristically blunt.
  • In a Saturday post, Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts said he'd like to see how GM Ned Colletti handles the decreased payroll flexibility once his young players reach arbitration.  Weisman is even-handed in his assessment of Colletti, but here's a funny quote: "I don't laud him for retaining the young core of the team: Kershaw, Kemp, Billingsley, Broxton, Martin, et al. Knowing not to dump those guys is like knowing not to show up to work in your underwear."

Boras Discusses Johnny Damon

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We discussed Scott Boras' Matt Holliday–Mark Teixeira comparison yesterday.  Today let's check out Boras' take on another of his high-profile free agent clients – Johnny Damon.  Peter Botte of the New York Daily News has the quotes:

"Not that I've been thinking about this, but players who can get on the field every day and score 100 runs, how many guys do that?  Johnny just plays, and he's got the body type that allows him to do that.  If stem-cell research were around, you'd want to tap into that gene pool.  He's (35), but has a 30-year-old's body. He plays much younger."

The best part is definitely, "not that I've been thinking about this."  Also…is stem-cell research not around?  Boras may also use a possible run at 3,000 hits as a selling point, but even he can't pitch a four-year deal for Damon.

Damon, 36 in November, hit .282/.365/.489 in 626 plate appearances this year.  He played over 1,100 innings in left field, and UZR/150 found him below-average.  There's speculation the Yankees will re-sign Damon or Hideki Matsui on a one-year deal and use that player partially at DH.  Realistically, Damon's $13MM salary should be halved for 2010.

Holliday Prefers New York?

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Ken Davidoff of Newsday has a source who has told him that Matt Holliday's top two choices in free agency are the Yankees and the Mets, in that order.

Davidoff doesn't see the Yankees wanting to make another commitment of that level after signing Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett last winter. He also feels that winning the World Series would remove some of the pressure to sign the superstar left fielder.

Davidoff lists hitting at Citi Field as Holliday's main reservation about signing on with the Mets, but says that based on recent comments by Jeff Wilpon, the Mets could be willing to try anything and everything this offseason. "Anything and everything" will be expensive in Holliday's case, however. Remember that back in September, an agent told Jon Heyman that he estimated seven years and $147MM for Holliday, while Heyman himself ventured a guess of seven years, $120MM.

Holliday struggled (by his standards) in his brief American League tenure, posting a line of .286/.378/.454 with Oakland through 93 games this season. Since being traded to the Cardinals, however, Holliday exploded to post an incredible .353/.419/.604 line through 63 games.

It seems a bit early to begin making predictions, but since that's one of the fun parts about the offseason anyway, let's hear 'em. Does Holliday land with a New York club? Will he re-up in St. Louis? Or will we be surprised at what jersey he's wearing again, as we were when the A's acquired him last winter?

Odds & Ends: Mets, Yankees, Brewers

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A few links to browse while you recover from last night's 13-inning marathon in the Bronx….

  • The New York Post's Joel Sherman has a plan for the Mets' rotation: take advantage of spacious Citi Field by pursuing fly ball pitchers instead of the ground ball pitchers that everyone else will covet. Sherman's ideas include Jeremy Guthrie, Gil Meche, and Ervin Santana.
  • Adam Rubin at the New York Daily News hears that the Mets want to acquire a right-handed first baseman to complement Daniel Murphy in 2010. Rubin anticipates that the team's bigger move will be adding a power-hitting outfielder though.
  • Bill Madden of the New York Daily News expects the Yankees to re-sign either Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui as the team's regular DH, letting the other player go. Brian Cashman could then use that money to sign a left fielder who wouldn't be a defensive liability.
  • After the Cincinnati Reds hired Bryan Price as their pitching coach, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel becomes more confident than ever that Rick Peterson is headed for the Brewers' open pitching coach position.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Cardinals, Rangers

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Still tired from last night's NLCS?

This should brighten your morning…

  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo describes Jim Riggleman as "a terrific in-house candidate" for the managerial position.
  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak expressed "surprise" over Albert Pujols' lack of urgency to sign an extension.
  • NPB Tracker takes a look at possible acquisitions by the Hanshin Tigers, both from Japan and the United States.
  • The Rangers will begin meetings with groups interested in purchasing the team.
  • Carney Lansford, recently-fired hitting coach of the Giants, has some harsh departing words for San Francisco's hitters.
  • Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks the McCourt divorce could lead to big trouble for the Dodgers.

Odds & Ends: Heyward, Yankees, Astros

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Some more afternoon links…

  • Jason Heyward – probably the game's best prospect - looks great so far in the Arizona Fall League, according to Jason Grey of ESPN.com.
  • MLB.com's Mike Bauman says so far the Yankees' decision to commit hundreds of millions to C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett looks good.
  • As Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports, Ned Yost stressed his experience during his interview for the Astros' managerial opening.
  • James Schmehl of MLive.com suggests the Tigers should at least consider replacing hitting coach Lloyd McClendon with Rudy Jaramillo or another top batting instructor.
  • MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that the Rangers promoted four members of their front office.

Yusei Kikuchi To Meet With Seven MLB Teams

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NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman has the latest on amateur lefty Yusei Kikuchi, based on reports from Nikkan Sports and Sanspo.  Kikuchi still hasn't decided whether to start his career in MLB or NPB, but he's meeting with teams starting Friday.  He'll first meet with a dozen NPB teams, followed by seven MLB clubs.

Nikkan's list of MLB suitors: the Giants, Mets, Dodgers, Yankees, Rangers, Mariners and Indians.  MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince confirms the Indians' interest.  Newman tells us all about Kikuchi in this post.

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