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AL East Notes: A-Rod, Judge, Murphy, Rays

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Alex Rodriguez has been hired as a part of FOX Sports’ commentary team for the MLB postseason, and in a cross-promoting effort, A-Rod was welcomed on the NFL on FOX pregame show.  As a part of the festivities, Yankees third baseman tossed a football to analyst Jay Glazer, but he went a little high and the errant pass cracked a very expensive-looking monitor, as Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News writes.

After you enjoy that .gif once or twice, check out the latest from the AL East..

  • Chad Jennings of The Journal News looked at the Yankees’ options when it comes to right fielder Aaron Judge.  The 23-year-old obviously holds promise, but Jennings writes that Judge could headline a high-impact trade, possibly for a high-end starter or an established power hitter.  The Yankees balked at including Judge and other top prospects in their late July talks for Craig Kimbrel, so it remains to be seen whether they could have a change of heart this winter.
  • Daniel Murphy has a strong left-handed bat and defensive flexibility, which could help the Yankees, but the Yankees do already have Dustin Ackley and they have a bigger need for power hitting on the other side of the plate, Jennings writes.  Still, Jennings writes that it’s hard to ignore what Murphy is doing for New York’s other team.
  • Asdrubal Cabrera is expected to find a multi-year pact elsewhere but the Rays could bring back John Jaso or Grady Sizemore, just probably not both, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Topkin estimates that Jaso will be in range for a two-year, $10MM deal and that Sizemore could come much cheaper at $1MM.  “They certainly are going to want to test the market and see what’s out there, and we will continue to stay in touch with them. At the same time we are managing a payroll so we have to fit within those constraints. There aren’t going to be any early decisions, I imagine,” baseball operations president Matt Silverman said.

Heyman’s Latest: Greinke, Mattingly, QOs, Gordon, Anderson, Hunter

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Jon Heyman of CBS Sports kicks off Friday morning with a pair of columns — the first being a piece on Zack Greinke’s opt-out status and the second being his weekly Inside Baseball column. Heyman writes in the first piece that Greinke will indeed opt out of the remaining three years and $71MM on his Dodgers contract, as has been widely anticipated for the better part of a year. One general manager suggested to Heyman that Greinke will receive, “at minimum,” multiple offers of $125MM over the next five seasons. That GM wagered a guess at the winning bid: $150MM over five years. Heyman notes that while many teams — the Cubs, Giants, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, D-Backs and Rangers, among others — will be in the mix for Greinke this winter, the right-hander enjoyed 2015 with the Dodgers more than he enjoyed his first two seasons, and L.A. will attempt to bring him back. Per Heyman, Greinke didn’t mesh with Josh Beckett and Hanley Ramirez in previous years but had nothing but positive feelings about the 2015 campaign.

Onto some highlights from his second column…

  • There’s no certainty on the job status of Don Mattingly right now despite three consecutive division titles, Heyman writes. Mattingly is well-liked by the new Dodgers front office on a personal level, and the team is pleased with how he handled Andre Ethier’s shift to a part-time role, A.J. Ellis’ shift to a backup role in favor of Yasmani Grandal, and the emergence of Corey Seager over Jimmy Rollins late in the year. Mattingly’s people-managing skills are valued by the Dodgers, even if his in-game tactics aren’t quite as strong. Heyman notes that with the Dodgers unconvinced of Mattingly as their long-term option, they may allow him to interview with other clubs, and both the Nationals and Marlins would show interest.
  • The Orioles are believed to be hesitant to make a qualifying offer to Matt Wieters and will only do so if they’re convinced that he won’t take it. (I can’t imagine a Scott Boras client that plays a premium position in the midst of his prime age doing so under any circumstances.) The White Sox will make a QO to Jeff Samardzija, who will not accept it, as has been suggested multiple times over the past couple of months.
  • Colby Rasmus, on the other hand, is not expected to receive a $15.8MM qualifying offer from the Astros despite 25 regular-season homers and a strong postseason showing. Heyman writes that Alex Gordon will be “a name to keep an eye on” in connection with the Astros this offseason, as the team may look to inject its lineup with more on-base percentage and batting average than the 2015 crop. They’ll also look for more steady production at first and third base this winter after a season of boom-or-bust results from Luis Valbuena and Chris Carter.
  • The Dodgers are set on making a qualifying offer to Howie Kendrick and are also planning on making a QO to Brett Anderson despite his injury history. The latter of the two drew some surprise when Heyman shared it with execs around the league, though as he points out, L.A. is in need of pitching. If Anderson accepts — again, a scenario I find unlikely given his age and strong 2015 results — he’d solidify a spot in the rotation behind Clayton Kershaw. And, I’ll point out, Anderson’s 2016 salary would then check in just $3.4MM north of the $12.4MM he earned in total after receiving a $10MM base salary and earning another $2.4MM worth of innings-based incentives this season.
  • The Twins are willing to pay a premium to bring Torii Hunter back to their clubhouse if he’s willing to take a reduced role. Hunter, though, has been resistant to that idea in the past. He’s not yet decided whether or not he’ll return to the Majors for his age-41 season or call it a career.
  • Other qualifying offer notes from Heyman throughout the column indicate that Padres people have suggested that they’ll make a QO to Ian Kennedy, though rival execs remain skeptical. Current expectation in the industry is that the Mets won’t make a qualifying offer to Daniel Murphy, and the same is true of the Nationals with regard to Denard Span, who suffered through an injury-shortened season. Kennedy and Murphy seem like easy calls to decline the qualifying offer to me, whereas Span is a tougher case due to his age and injuries, which included season-ending hip surgery. I can see a case for Span taking the $15.8MM payday — the initial contract extension he signed with the Twins, after all, was only for $16.5MM guaranteed, though that rose to $25MM after his 2016 option was exercised.
  • The Nationals have received permission from the Giants to interview bench coach Ron Wotus to fill their managerial vacancy. Wotus has coached on the Giants’ Major League staff for the past 17 seasons and is a two-time Minor League Manager of the Year.

Outrighted: Rico Noel, Josh Wilson

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Yankees announced that they’ve outrighted Rico Noel off the 40-man roster. Noel received a September call-up from the Yanks based largely on his speed and appeared in 15 games down the stretch. Noel logged just two plate appearances but stole five bases in seven attempts. The 26-year-old outfielder has a career .248/.338/.300 in Triple-A and has stolen 51 bases in 61 attempts at that level.
  • As expected, the Tigers have outrighted infielder Josh Wilson, the club announced. He has already cleared waivers and elected free agency, per the release. Wilson is a veteran of eight big league seasons, but the defensive specialist hasn’t cleared 100 plate appearances in a given year since 2010. He put up a career-best .316/.350/.395 slash in his age-34 season for Detroit, but that came in just 41 plate appearances and is not well-supported by his sub-.600 OPS career batting mark. Wilson slashed a more typical .252/.316/.347 in his 293 plate appearances at the Triple-A level in 2015.

AL East Notes: Estrada, Orioles, Rasmus, Young

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Fangraphs’ Tony Blengino examines Marco Estrada’s curious skill set, pointing out that metrics such as FIP don’t give the soft-tossing righty full credit for his unrivaled ability to limit line-drives. Additionally, hitters league-wide do less damage on fly-balls hit off pitches thrown between 75 and 94 mph, Blengino notes, so Estrada’s lower velocity and extreme fly-ball tendencies actually work reasonably well together. With a lack of line-drives, more weak contact than average on grounders and limited damage on his glut of fly-balls, Estrada could be a huge bargain this winter if he can he had on a two- or three-year deal worth $8MM or so per year, Blengino writes. Blengino notes that Estrada “lives on the head of a pin,” and even minor changes in his arsenal could be significant detriments, but with a relatively minimal price tag, he concludes that Estrada is worth the risk in the aforementioned price range.

More from the AL East as the Blue Jays look to rally back against the Rangers in the decisive Game 5 of the ALDS…

  • The Baltimore Sun’s Eduardo A. Encina writes that Orioles GM/executive vice president Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter laughed off reports of tension between the two when asked about their reportedly strained relationship. Duquette characterized such reports as little more than gossip, while Showalter said that it’s healthy for the two to disagree. “We better disagree about some things and kick things around,” said Showalter. “I disagree with my coaches. They disagree with me. That’s the least of our challenges. Throughout the organization we have a healthy draw of opinions, almost too much sometimes.” Encina went on to look at some of the things that went wrong this year, noting that many within the clubhouse were furious to see Tommy Hunter traded shortly after the team strengthened the roster by adding Gerardo Parra. Players felt it was a cost-cutting measure when the team should be striving for the playoffs.
  • The Orioles made a run at Colby Rasmus as a replacement for Nick Markakis and Nelson Cruz last winter, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Baltimore was willing to match Rasmus’ 2014 salary of $7MM on a one-year deal but didn’t want to go beyond that point. When the Astros offered $8MM, the Orioles backed out of the pursuit. While many will look at Rasmus’ postseason heroics and chalk it up as another missed opportunity for Baltimore, Connolly points out that Rasmus’ marginal regular season production wouldn’t have been enough to make a big impact on Baltimore’s bottom-line results this season anyway.
  • The Orioles have offered 2016 contracts to each member of their 2015 coaching staff, Duquette told reporters, including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko (Twitter link). The Orioles are hoping to finalize each of those deals this week, he adds.
  • Outfielder Chris Young had a strong rebound season as a platoon outfield option for the Yankees in 2015, but the free-agent-to-be told Dan Martin and George A. King III of the New York Post a few days ago that it’s still too soon to tell whether he’ll be back in 2016 or not. Young said that he being with the Yankees from late 2014 through the 2015 season and made some adjustments in the Bronx that helped revive his production. However, I’d point out that as a free agent this time around, he’ll have a much stronger case than last winter. Fourth outfield types such as Rajai Davis and Nate McClouth have signed two-year deals worth between $10-11MM in total over the past few seasons, so Young will certainly be looking at an increase on his $2.5MM base salary from 2015.

East Notes: Braves, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees

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As the Braves remake their player personnel asset base, the team continues to make changes in other areas. Atlanta recently announced the hiring of Ted Simmons, Matt Kinzer, and Leon Wurth as MLB scouts. Simmons, an outstanding catcher in his playing days, recently served as a special assistant to the GM with the Mariners. Kinzer was an important Marlins scout, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today notes on Twitter, while Wurth recently finished a 13-year run with the Brewers. Also joining the Braves is former Fangraphs prospect analyst Kiley McDaniel, who’ll become the team’s assistant director of baseball operations.

Here are more notes from the eastern divisions:

  • The Phillies are working hard as they approach a key draft for the organization, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Philly holds the top pick in next year’s draft, and amateur scouting director Johnny Almaraz is continuing to canvas the crop of talent that will be making the leap to the professional ranks. Almaraz says that the team will be patient and allow players to develop before reaching a final decision. He added that the Phils will also look to be “creative” to take full advantage of their draft position and overall pool money.
  • The Red Sox announced a series of front office promotions today in the scouting arena. Most notably, perhaps, was the bump up of Eddie Romero to VP of international scouting. The team says that the 35-year-old Puerto Rican native has been with the Boston organization since 2006. Romero most recently played an important role in the team’s efforts to sign highly-regarded Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada. And as Ben Badler of Baseball America notes on Twitter, Romero has had a hand in adding several other key prospects as well.
  • While signing a second baseman is an obvious route for the Yankees to take in bolstering their chances in 2016, Chad Jennings of the Lohud Yankees Blog writes that it isn’t quite that simple. If the organization’s recent history is an indication, says Jennings, an in-house route could be more likely than a new signing, and the recently-acquired Dustin Ackley could pair with homegrown Rob Refsnyder, with Jose Pirela also on hand. “I think we have at least some comfort knowing that I have Ref [and] I maybe have Ackley if we get a better feel for what he can provide on the defensive standpoint,” explained GM Brian Cashman. “We have Pirela who had a hell of a year at Triple-A (but) has not really shown that yet at the Major League level. I think we have some candidates here that as we move forward, we can say we have something, unless something presents themselves as being better.”

East Notes: Rays, Yankees, Braves, Mets

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The Rays experimented with an unusual pitching strategy this season, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. The club limited their young pitchers to just five or six innings per start and despite a lack of star-studded depth, the Rays’ 3.63 ERA for starters was the sixth best in the league. On the downside, the bullpen was overtaxed and had a 3.93 ERA – good for 11th worst in the bigs.  President of Baseball Operations Matt Silverman says the plan needs some tweaking, and that could call for the rostering of more multi-inning relievers. Of course, the club will return four veterans next season in Chris Archer, Drew Smyly, Jake Odorizzi, and Matt Moore, so they may not employ the same strategy in 2016.

Here’s more from the AL and NL East..

  • Billy Eppler is off to California to serve as the Angels’ new GM, but Yankees scouts Tim Naehring and Jay Darnell won’t be following him, GM Brian Cashman says.  “That’s not true,’’ Cashman said, according to George A. King III of the New York Post. “They are under contract.’’  As for Eppler’s replacement, King lists former Yankees outfielder/director of pro scouting Kevin Reese and manager of professional scouting Steve Martone as a couple of strong possible in-house candidates.
  • Teams with managerial openings are not considering Braves first base coach Terry Pendleton or bullpen coach Eddie Perez at this time, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.  O’Brien personally feels that both Pendleton and Perez would make strong managerial candidates.
  • Earlier today we learned that the Mets will promote middle infield prospect Matt Reynolds to the playoff roster.  A 40-man move must be made in order to facilitate that move and Adam Rubin of ESPN.com (on Twitter) speculates that a pending free agent such as Eric O’Flaherty could get bounced.

Brad Johnson contributed to this post.

Cafardo On Cherington, Indians, Lackey

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The game is getting younger, but we saw plenty of older players make a difference in 2015, as Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes.  The list of impact vets starts off with Red Sox slugger David Ortiz who posted a .273/.360/.553 slash line with 37 homers, earning Cafardo’s “Old Guy of the Year” award.  Twins outfielder Torii Hunter was another older player who made his mark this year, though he may have had a stronger impact on his team off the field rather than on it.  That type of veteran leadership can be valuable for a younger team, Cafardo argues, and he hears from people within the Astros that they’ll be seeking a “older, Raul Ibanez type” in the winter.

Here’s more from today’s column..

  • Despite some speculation to the contrary, former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington says that he has not interviewed for the Phillies’ GM role.  Cafardo writes that he seems “content to sit out the year and regroup.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports recently noted that Cherington isn’t likely to try to get a GM job this offseason, but the Phillies job could be appealing to him, since he and Phillies owner John Middleton both went to Amherst.  If Cherington does take a GM job, he’ll want it to be with people that he trusts.
  • Cafardo hears that the Indians will continue to try and move a starting pitcher for a hitter this offseason.  Cleveland seemed more willing to move Danny Salazar than Carlos Carrasco later in the season, Cafardo says, and The Boston Globe scribe identifies the 25-year-old as a potential trade chip.
  • One major league source tells Cafardo that Cardinals pitcher John Lackey could be a fit for the Cubs next season as a free agent.  After all, Theo Epstein signed Lackey as a free agent in Boston and the veteran hurler is close with Jon Lester.  Lackey, who turns 37 in a few weeks, pitched to a 2.77 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 33 regular season starts.
  • Cafardo cautions us not to expect Xander Bogaerts and the Red Sox to work out an extension this winter.  Agent Scott Boras isn’t one to do team-friendly deals and Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tends to wait later in the arbitration process to discuss new deals.
  • D’Backs Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa offered up a strong endorsement of ex-Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, who is looking to repackage himself as a manager. “Ruben is a very smart baseball man,” La Russa said. “There’s no doubt in my mind he could be a very good major league manager. He’s an ex-player who understands the game.”
  • Tim Naehring, one of the Yankees’ top pro scouts, is a possibility to replace Billy Eppler as assistant GM in New York.  Brian Cashman adviser Jim Hendry and former big league outfielder Kevin Reese are other potential candidates for the role.

New York Notes: Warthen, Severino, Prado, Gardner

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Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen was overworked early in his career, writes Tim Rohan of the New York Times. Warthen figured he had torn his UCL back in 1975, but Tommy John had only received his eponymous surgery in 1974. Major league players were paid very little at the time so Warthen couldn’t afford the surgery or a year away from baseball. Instead he worked through the injury and his career ended a few years later at the age of 25. Of course, now it’s his job to make sure his young pitching staff remains healthy and productive for years to come.

Here’s more from that other New York club:

  • The Yankees were right to keep top prospect Luis Severino, writes John Harper of the New York Daily News. Severino was one name discussed with the Tigers for David Price. Notably, Price is now 0-6 in six postseason starts with a 5.23 ERA. Scouts believe Severino will soon be the Yankees ace, and he’s under club control for another six seasons. Per one scout, “If you’re talking six or seven years for Price…I’d take Severino anyway.“
  • GM Brian Cashman was loathe to part with Martin Prado in the offseason trade for Nathan Eovaldi, per Harper. His versatility and ability to match up against hard throwing left-handed pitching would have been useful for the club. The Marlins have him under club control for the 2016 season, but the Yankees are already paying $3MM of his $11MM contract. Personally, I see a swap for Prado as a worthy alternative to free agent Ben Zobrist.
  • After a miserable second half, the Yankees may consider trading Brett Gardner, suggests Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Gardner has a similar skill set to leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury, but both players disappeared in the second half of the season. If Gardner were to be traded, it could open the door for a power bat like Justin Upton or Yoenis Cespedes. One scout opined that an early season wrist injury and late season shoulder soreness could have affected Gardner’s play. He’s owed $36MM through 2018 with a $12.5MM club option for 2019 ($2MM buyout). He’ll also be paid a $1MM assignment bonus if traded.

AL East Notes: Wieters, Orioles, Yankees, Hendriks

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Only one World Series has ever ended on a caught stealing, and that rare event took place on this day in 1926.  The would-be base thief?  Of all people, it was Babe Ruth thrown out trying to steal second by Cardinals catcher Bob O’Farrell to end Game Seven and give the Cards their first World Series title.  This was one of a whopping five World Series-deciding games the Yankees have played on October 10 — they clinched victories in 1937, 1951 and 1956, and came up short in 1926 and 1957.

Here’s the latest from the AL East…

  • Will the Orioles issue a one-year, $15.8MM qualifying offer to Matt Wieters?  The Baltimore Sun’s Eduardo A. Encina and MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski each examine that question in separate pieces, as Wieters’ health status and underwhelming 2015 numbers could make $15.8MM too large a price tag for the O’s to potentially pay.  Wieters could take the QO in order to prove his value in 2016 and elevate his free agent stock for next offseason, though no player has yet accepted a qualifying offer (and it could be a particular surprise if a Scott Boras client like Wieters was the first to do so).  If Wieters did accept the QO, Encina notes that he’d be taking up budget room that could prevent Baltimore from re-signing Chris Davis or making another big free agent splash.  “Some in the industry believe the Orioles” are willing to go with a Caleb Joseph/Steve Clevenger catching tandem in 2016 rather than Wieters, Melewski writes, though in not making Wieters a QO, Baltimore would lose the chance at a first-round draft pick as compensation for Wieters signing elsewhere.
  • In another piece from Melewski, he cites Marco Estrada, Doug Fister and Ian Kennedy as possible fits for the Orioles this winter since it’s unclear as to whether the O’s will shop at the top of the free agent pitching market.
  • Brian Cashman will have to “get creative” to upgrade the Yankees given the number of big contracts already on the books, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News writes, such as how the GM added Didi Gregorius and Nathan Eovaldi last winter.  Feinsand also suggests four more ways for the Yankees to improve next year, such as deciding on who plays second base, finding playing time for Greg Bird, signing Justin Upton and staying away from David Price.
  • Liam Hendriks was a member of five different organizations between December 2013 and October 2014 but he has seemingly found some stability as an important member of the Blue Jays bullpen.  The Australian righty talks to Fangraphs’ David Laurila about his move to relief pitching, his increased velocity and the stress of switching teams so often within that 11-month span.

Managerial Notes: Mattingly, M’s, Girardi, Alomar

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Here’s a look at some of the rumors surrounding the game’s open managerial positions, including speculation about some current skippers…

  • Don Mattingly may be Jeffrey Loria’s preferred choice to manage the Marlins, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports.  Loria has “apparently developed a relationship with Mattingly, and is intrigued by the possibility” of having the Dodgers manager shift into the Miami’s dugout next season.  This would, of course, hinge on whether Mattingly is even available, though Heyman suggests that L.A. could look for a change at manager if the team fails to win at least one playoff round.
  • Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto said that managing is “more about environment, leadership and energy” than it is about an analytical background, telling reporters (including MLB.com’s Greg Johns) that “too much is made of analytics. That’s a little overblown.”  Dipoto’s ideal manager would blend both the old-school and new-school methods of thought: “It is not all about the data you’re provided or what you’re seeing with your eyes, it’s somewhere in between. A prerequisite will be to find someone who can balance those in an effective way.”
  • It was no surprise that Dipoto parted ways with Lloyd McClendon, Larry Stone of the Seattle Times writes, given that McClendon was likely not as receptive to analytics as Dipoto would’ve preferred.  Stone lists Bud Black, Scott Servais (who’s more likely to join the M’s as a front office member), White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing, Angels third base coach Gary DiSarcina and long-time Mariners Raul Ibanez and Dan Wilson as possible managerial candidates, though Angels special assistant Tim Bogar looks like the favorite, as was reported yesterday.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman told reporters (including George A. King III of the New York Post) that Joe Girardi’s job is safe for 2016.  “[Girardi] is signed for two more years and managed the team to the playoffs. It’s not his fault we didn’t hit. He managed a perfect playoff game,” Cashman said.  Girardi is under contract through the 2017 campaign and is owed $4MM in each of the next two seasons.  He is 735-561 with six postseason appearances (including the 2009 World Series title) over his eight seasons as New York’s manager, though this year’s AL Wild Card Game loss was the Yankees’ only playoff game since 2012.
  • The White Sox have spoken to Indians first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. about becoming the team’s new bench coach, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.  Raul Ibanez is also reportedly a candidate for the bench coach job.  Jim Margalus of the South Side Sox blog breaks down Alomar’s candidacy and wonders if the White Sox could install Alomar as manager if a slow start gets Robin Ventura fired next year.  Margalus also opines that Alomar may not want to commit to a coaching job quite yet since he could be a candidate for one of the open managerial spots around baseball.
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