Stewart Nearing Agreement To Become D’Backs GM
7:44pm: Stewart and the Diamondbacks are closing in on a multi-year agreement to make Stewart the new GM in Arizona, Nightengale tweets. An official announcement could come on Friday now, rather than Thursday, as had previously been reported.
6:01pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports now hear that Watson is likely to leave the Dodgers and accept an assistant GM position with the Diamondbacks (Twitter link).
4:26pm: Nightengale writes that the D’Backs are still hoping to hire Watson as an assistant GM, but he is expected to remain with the Dodgers.
2:52pm: Stewart says he is transferring his agency business to former teammate Dave Henderson, reports John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. That would presumably clear the way for Stewart to take the D’Backs job.
Though Stewart did not comment as to whether he had been offered the position, his comments certainly left the impression that he was preparing to take the reigns in Arizona. “As an agent, I’m not challenged every day,” he said. “But this job is 24 hours every day, and I’m looking forward to that.”
12:12pm: The job has “officially” been offered to Stewart, though discussions are still ongoing, tweets Nightengale.
12:01pm: Stewart tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he has yet to be told that he has been chosen for the position, but hopes that he is. “My name, Allard [Baird] and De Jon [Watson] are three names that are, as far as I know, are the last names that are left,” said Stewart. “I do know that by my last conversation with Tony [La Russa], he planned to let us know within the course of today. That does not mean it’s going to happen today but I know it was their plan to give us an indication. We’re sitting on pins and needles, too.”
11:29am: The team is “deep in negotiations” with Stewart on a contractual arrangement, but the sides have yet to reach agreement, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
10:29am: The Diamondbacks are set to offer the club’s open GM position to Dave Stewart, sources tell Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Stewart, 57, has long been said to be the top candidate for the post.
The former big league pitcher, coach, and assistant GM is currently a player agent. Stewart’s broad experience carries obvious appeal, and it surely does not hurt that he has a strong history with D’backs chief baseball officer Tony La Russa, his former manager with the Athletics.
It is not yet known whether an offer has formally been made, Heyman adds, let alone whether a deal has been worked out. This employment situation could be trickier than usual since Stewart would need to figure out what to do with his agency business. Of course, he has now had plenty of time to consider that question, and Stewart has indicated that he would be strongly inclined to take the job if offered.
Cuban Second Baseman Hector Olivera Defects
Second baseman Hector Olivera has defected from his home country of Cuba in order to pursue a career in the majors, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. Olivera will ultimately not be subject to international bonus pool restrictions, but still must go through the process of establishing residency in a third country, obtaining OFAC clearance, and being declared a MLB free agent.
The 29-year-old rated as the sixth-best player still plying his trade in Cuba, according to a recent ranking from Baseball America (subscription required). As Badler notes, however, Olivera comes with more than the usual uncertainty since he missed all of last season with a reported case of thrombosis in his left biceps.
But Olivera has come back strong this year, Badler explains, even if his overall production has not quite met the lofty standard he set previously. Generally, Olivera has shown pretty much everything you could want in a hitter. In a sample of his most recent 273 plate appearances, he not only has an attractive .316/.412/.474 line, but has swatted seven home runs and walked more times than he has struck out.
As Badler notes, Olivera has split his time between second and a DH role since returning from his injury. He will obviously have plenty to prove to scouts, though he does have prior international exposure. Olivera will surely hope to show that he is at full health and that his skills are still at their peak as he approaches age 30 (his birthday is in April). With an upcoming free agent market that is light on talent at second base, Olivera could provide an intriguing possibility for the many clubs that might be interested in a new addition at the keystone.
Braves Have Offered Permanent GM Job To John Hart
The Braves have offered the general manager job to John Hart on a permanent basis, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Hart, formerly the head baseball man for the Indians and Rangers, has already been named Atlanta’s interim GM after previously serving as a senior adviser.
Hart is still mulling the offer, according to Passan’s report. Were he to take over, Hart would be expected to “groom” assistant GM John Coppolella. The 35-year-old Coppolella could still be a candidate for the GM position if Hart declines. He remains with the organization after the dismissal of his boss, former GM Frank Wren.
One of the game’s most respected front office men, Hart played a key role in pioneering the use of early-career extensions during his time in Cleveland. He recently discussed the history and future of extensions — including, of course, the handful of significant offseason deals reached by Atlanta. He praised Wren at the time for crafting a strategy that enabled the Braves to lock up multiple talented MLB players for their primes. Of course, as club president John Schuerholz said earlier today, the team’s concerns with Wren’s performance seem to be rooted primarily in the areas of drafting and development.
Mets Extend Sandy Alderson, Retain Terry Collins
TODAY, 2:22pm: The Mets have officially announced that Alderson has been extended through 2017. The club also announced that Collins will return next year.
YESTERDAY, 2:32pm: Alderson’s new contract will cover the 2015-17 seasons, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter links). The extension will technically be for two years, as the club will exercise his option and two more years to the deal.
2:05pm: Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports that the Mets will announce an extension for Alderson after the season, and he adds that there will also be an announcement that manager Terry Collins has been retained (Twitter links).
1:38pm: Alderson’s contract extension will be for “about three years,” reports Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). However, the deal is not yet complete, and there are still details to be worked out, he hears.
1:25pm: The Mets will exercise their 2015 option on general manager Sandy Alderson and the two side are working toward a contract extension, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
Alderson, 66, was hired as the Mets’ GM following the 2010 season and signed to a four-year contract which contained the aforementioned option for the 2015 season. While the Mets have yet to have a winning season under his watch, Alderson has assisted the Mets in bolstering a farm system and stockpiling an enviable crop of young talent. Alderson acquired Zack Wheeler from the Giants in exchange for a two-month rental of Carlos Beltran, and he chose to trade R.A. Dickey rather than extend him following the knuckleballer’s Cy Young season in 2012. That move netted the Amazins top prospect Noah Syndergaard as well as current catcher Travis d’Arnaud. Last summer, after striking gold on a minor league pickup of Marlon Byrd, the Mets packaged Byrd and John Buck (also acquired in the Dickey trade) to land Dilson Herrera and Vic Black from the Pirates. Additionally, he appears to have made the correct choice in retaining Lucas Duda, rather than Ike Davis, as the team’s first baseman going forward.
Of course, not all of Alderson’s moves have panned out quite so well. The signing of Chris B. Young to a one-year, $7.25MM contract this offseason proved to be a failure, and while Bartolo Colon has pitched well enough to justify the first season of his two-year, $20MM deal, his $11MM salary for 2015 made him too difficult to trade this summer. Curtis Granderson‘s four-year, $60MM contract has the potential to be a negative, though Granderson is in the midst of a torrid finish, perhaps giving hope that he can be more productive in 2015 than he was in an up-and-down 2014.
Alderson’s largest move to date has been the eight-year, $138MM extension signed by David Wright. While “Captain America” looked well worth the money even in an injury-shortened 2013 — he batted .307/.390/.514 with 18 homers and 17 steals — Wright’s power vanished in 2014, which eventually proved to be his second straight injury-shortened season. The 31-year-old batted .269/.324/.374 with just eight homers this season as he battled shoulder and neck problems that finally caused his season to conclude on Sept. 8.
Volquez Hopes To Re-Sign With Pirates, Seeks Multi-Year Deal
Pirates starter Edinson Volquez is interested in re-signing with the Pirates as a free agent, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 31-year-old righty is also interested in achieving a multi-year deal in the coming offseason.
Certainly, Volquez has made good on the one-year, $5MM deal he signed with the Pirates before the season. He has worked to a 3.15 ERA over 185 2/3 frames, easily his most productive output since his emergent 2008 season. That is a factor in Volquez’s desire to return to Pittsburgh. “I think I signed in the right place with the right coaches,” said Volquez. “They made me a better pitcher this year. So, I’d like to stay here.”
On the other hand, Volquez made clear that he hopes to parlay those numbers into a multi-year commitment. “You always want to sign for more than one year,” he said. “Especially now that I’m 31 years old, I’d like to sign with someone for two or three years and stay a little bit longer.”
It remains to be seen what level of interest the Pirates have in a reunion. Ultimately, if Volquez finds other clubs willing to plunk down a significant guarantee over two or three years, it is hard to see the Bucs beating the market. As stellar as Volquez’s bottom line has been in 2014, he has succeeded despite a middling K/BB rate of 6.3 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9. With a .263 BABIP also playing a role in the outcomes, ERA estimators see little difference in Volquez’s performance as against recent years, when his earned run numbers came out less favorably.
Dan Haren’s 2015 Option Vests
7:41am: Haren insisted to reporters last night, including Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link), that he wouldn’t make a decision on whether or not to exercise his option until after the Dodgers’ season is over.
10:48pm: Dodgers starter Dan Haren now holds a $10MM player option for next season after notching his 180th inning on the year. By reaching that mark, he also triggered a $500K bonus (on top of $1.5MM in innings-pitched and games-started bonuses already met).
Haren, who just turned 34, joined the Dodgers on a one-year, $10MM deal that was filled with a variety of incentives. He has now achieved most of them, including the most valuable: the $10MM player option for next year. At one point, 180 innings seemed like a long shot, but Haren fought through a mid-season swoon and re-emerged as a much-needed piece of an injury-riddled rotation. Barring a decision to retire, Haren would seem to be fairly likely to take the option to continue throwing in his native California.
Of course, Haren could in theory still be tempted to test the open market. He has had an up-and-down year, but entered the day with a 4.14 ERA on the back of 6.9 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9. That strikeout total would be his lowest since he became a full-time big league starter back in 2005.
But Haren remains a solid innings-eater (at worst) with plenty of value. Though his days of logging well over 200 frames a year in the low-to-mid 3.00 ERA range are probably over, he has still managed to make 30 starts a year going all the way back to that ’05 campaign. And ERA estimators believe Haren to be as good or better than his earned run totals would suggest: this year, he owns a 4.19 FIP, 3.74 xFIP, and 3.80 SIERA.
Diamondbacks To Announce New GM On Thursday
Here’s the latest on the Diamondbacks’ search for a new GM following the recent removal of Kevin Towers from that role.
SEPTEMBER 22:
- The Diamondbacks will announce their new GM on Thursday, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter links). Dave Stewart is the heavy favorite for the job, although DeJon Watson is still under consideration. The team will also be promoting scouting director Ray Montgomery, according to Nightengale. In a third tweet, Nightengale says it wouldn’t be far-fetched to see Stewart named GM, Watson hired as an assistant GM, Montgomery promoted and Towers retained in a senior scouting capacity.
- Nightengale also tweets that while a decision won’t come until after the season, a managerial change appears likely given the team’s poor performance.
- Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes that Stewart, Watson and former Royals GM Allard Baird are the three finalists and runs down some of the qualifications of each candidate.
Earlier Updates
- Gary LaRocque will remain in his current position as the Cardinals’ farm director, the team confirms to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).
- The “strong industry belief” is that Dave Stewart will be hired as the Diamondbacks’ new GM, though Gary LaRocque may also join the organization in some capacity, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter links). LaRocque is also still a candidate for the GM job and he and Stewart may be the final two names in contention.
SEPTEMBER 19:
- The Diamondbacks completed the GM interview process today, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert tweets.
Reactions To & Fallout From The Braves’ GM Change
The Braves’ offseason has already begun with the firing of general manager Frank Wren earlier today. Here’s some more about the Braves’ decision and what’s next for the team…
- Interim GM John Hart, team president John Schuerholz and long-time former manager Bobby Cox met with the media to discuss the move. Schuerholz said he became concerned about the team’s dysfunction during the summer and felt a change was necessary before the end of the season (tweets from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale).
- Hart is happy in his interim GM role and he’ll stay as an organizational advisor after a new general manager is hired, though Schuerholz left open the possibility that Hart could still be the Braves’ full-time GM (tweet from David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
- Any decisions on Fredi Gonzalez and the Braves’ coaching staff will wait until after the new GM is hired. Cox praised Gonzalez’s work and feels he should stay on as the team’s manager (tweets from Nightengale).
- Bruce Manno, the Braves’ assistant GM and director of player development, was also fired, Schuerholz announced.
- Jeff Wren, Frank’s brother and a Braves scout and special assistant, has been fired, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter link).
- In a full column, Crasnick writes that the strained relationship between Cox and Wren has been evident since Cox omitted Wren from a list of people he wished to thank at his Hall of Fame induction speech. Cox will likely have a bigger role and voice going forward, Crasnick continues. He also notes that even if Gonzalez survives as the manager, there will assuredly be changes to the coaching staff.
- Assistant GM John Coppolella seems to be a top contender or even the early favorite to be Atlanta’s next general manager, as cited by Nightengale, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, ESPN.com’s Keith Law, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post (all Twitter links).
- Wren “excelled at the mid-level and low-level decisions but failed at the big ones,” Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. While Wren did a lot of good in his time with the club, he could only make so many expensive mistakes given the Braves’ mid-market payroll, and Wren threw away a lot of money on B.J. Upton, Dan Uggla, Kenshin Kawakami and Derek Lowe.
- Some in the Braves organization questioned the lack of veteran leadership on the current roster, David O’Brien writes in a summary of Wren’s tenure. Wren also made some questionable coaching hires and allowed some key members of the Braves’ baseball operations staff to leave for other jobs. Highly-regarded pitching coach Roger McDowell was prepared to leave for Philadelphia last winter before Schuerholz convinced him to stay.
- Even before the team’s 4-14 record in September, a high-ranking Braves source told Bob Nightengale that Wren and maybe Gonzalez would be fired if Atlanta missed the postseason.
- There’s already been speculation regarding Royals GM Dayton Moore returning to Atlanta, and Royals owner David Glass tells MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel that he wouldn’t stand in Moore’s way if he wished to leave. However, Glass also says he “can’t imagine” Moore wanting to leave, adding that the organization is committed to Moore, and he feels that commitment is mutual. As Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star points out (on Twitter), Moore has spent eight years with the Royals building toward what could be the team’s first postseason appearance in nearly 30 years, and it’d be a shock for him to leave that behind. He is under contract through 2016.
Yankees Designate Josh Outman For Assignment
The Yankees announced that they have designated left-hander Josh Outman for assignment in order to clear roster space for outfielder Eury Perez, who was claimed off waivers from the Nationals earlier today. Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network first tweeted that Outman was packing up his locker, bringing about speculation that he’d be the corresponding roster move for Perez.
Outman, who turned 30 last week, appeared in nine games for the Yankees, totaling 3 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball. He faced a dozen hitters and set down 10 of them, dropping his season ERA to just 2.86. However, Outman’s lofty walk rate — he 16 free passes in 24 2/3 innings with Cleveland before being acquired by New York — kept him in the minors for much of the season and caused sabermetric marks such as FIP (4.82) to predict his ERA to be a mirage.
Right-handed hitters have always given Outman trouble, but he’s been lights-out against lefties in his career, yielding just a .186/.254/.283 batting line. Outman will finish the season with less than five years of Major League service, meaning that he can be controlled via arbitration for the 2015 and 2016 campaigns.
Yankees Claim Eury Perez
The Yankees announced that they have claimed outfielder Eury Perez off waivers from the Nationals. Perez was designated for assignment last week when the Nats claimed Pedro Florimon off waivers from the Twins.
The 24-year-old Perez has a very limited big league track record, as he’s totaled just 13 plate appearances in 22 games with the Nats over the past two seasons. He’s spent most of his time in the Majors as a defensive replacement and/or a pinch-runner. Given Perez’s speed — he swiped 64 bases as a minor leaguer in 2010, 45 in 2011 and 51 in 2012 — it’s not surprising that he’d find himself in such a role.
However, it’s not surprising to see a team express interest in perhaps giving Perez a larger role; he’s slashed .310/.354/.411 in 844 Triple-A plate appearances and is considered to be a plus defender. Baseball America has ranked Perez among Washington’s top 30 prospects in each of the past five offseasons, and their most recent scouting report notes that some scouts give his speed a rare 80 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale.