Cafardo On Gonzalez, Rays, Davis, Ortiz
The Cubs and Red Sox are after managers that will take a lot of input from their front offices, writes Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. In fact, the two teams have quite a bit of overlap on their lists. Meanwhile, the Cardinals will also be looking for their next skipper and it'll be interesting to see what type of manager they look for. Cafardo writes that the important thing for the new managers in any of these cities is that they know the ground rules from the start. Here's more from Cafardo's Sunday column..
- A's lefty Gio Gonzalez remains a viable trade option for many teams, including the Red Sox and Marlins. Meanwhile, the Athletics probably aren’t ready to contend. The club appears to be buying time until they can build a new stadium in the San Jose area. Until then, they may be in the mode of developing players and dealing them for players who might emerge a few years from now.
- When all is said and done, the Rays are expected to be willing to deal right-hander Wade Davis this offseason. A major league source says that while Tampa Bay will listen on James Shields, Davis is the pitcher they will likely end up dealing for an outfielder or a catcher.
- Free agent David Ortiz seemed upset that the Red Sox did not re-sign him during the exclusivity period, but it made no sense for the club to do so with the veteran's limited options. While Ortiz wants a three-year deal, the BoSox can wait and survey the market before committing to a multiyear deal for the 36-year-old hitter.
- Red Sox assistant GM Allard Baird removed himself from the Orioles GM search this week and Cafardo wouldn't be shocked to hear of a new title for him within the Sox organization.
- Cafardo envisions Tim Bogar winding up with a significant role with either the Cubs or Red Sox.
- Former Rangers and Red Sox skipper Kevin Kennedy says that he enjoys his broadcast career but he sometimes gets the itch to return to the dugout. Kennedy says that he would even consider being a bench coach.
- Larry Bowa, currently working as an analyst for MLB Network, also has aspirations of managing in the majors again.
Minor Moves: Tobin, Downs, Rangers, Timmons
The latest minor moves from around MLB…
- The Rangers have outrighted Mason Tobin to Triple-A Round Rock, reports Drew Davison of The Star Telegram (all Twitter links). FOXSportsSouthwest.com's Anthony Andro says Texas offered the Rule 5 Draft Pick back to the Angels, but they declined. Tobin threw just 5 1/3 games for the Rangers before needing elbow surgery.
- The Tigers have signed Darin Downs to a minor league contract according to a tweet from Sosnicke Cobbe Sports. The 26-year-old lefty posted a 4.66 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 112 innings in the Marlins farm system in 2011.
- Pitchers Eric Hurley, Omar Beltre and Merkin Valdez and infielders Andres Blanco and Esteban German elected free agency, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The Rangers outrighted all five off of their roster earlier this week. Blanco posted a .605 OPS in 82 plate appearances as a utility player in 2011, but none of the others spent significant time in the Majors this past season.
- The A's announced that they signed infielder Wes Timmons to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training. The 33-year-old posted a .341/.420/.468 line in 401 plate appearances in the upper minors this past season.
- MLB granted free agency to 537 minor leaguers this week and Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the complete list.
Blue Jays Acquire Trystan Magnuson
The Blue Jays announced that they acquired Trystan Magnuson from the A's for cash. Toronto sent Magnuson to Oakland in last offseason's Rajai Davis trade and the A's designated him for assignment earlier this week.
Magnuson made his MLB debut in 2011, posting a 6.14 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 14 2/3 innings with Oakland. The 26-year-old British Columbia native also posted a 2.98 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 45 1/3 innings at Triple-A. He didn't pitch in a game after the A's placed him on the 15-day DL with right shoulder tendinitis in mid-August. Danny Farquhar, the other player sent to Oakland in the Davis trade, is back with the Blue Jays as well.
A’s Will Listen On Anyone But Weeks
The Athletics are willing to listen to trade offers for any player except Jemile Weeks, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The A’s aren’t sure where they’ll be playing in a few years, so their spending decisions appear to be on hold as they await word from MLB on a potential relocation to San Jose.
Though Oakland GM Billy Beane isn’t shopping his players, he’ll listen to proposals for Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, Kurt Suzuki and others. The A’s have more starting pitching than most teams and they may leverage their depth in trade talks.
If the A’s move to nearby San Jose, they would look to contend as their new park opened, likely in approximately three years, according to Rosenthal. However, if the A’s remain in Oakland, the team may strip down its payroll. I explained last month that the A's will be looking to restore outfield depth and improve their offense.
Minor Moves: Braves, Johnson, Orr, Blue Jays
Here are today's minor moves…
- The Braves signed outfielder Jordan Parraz to a minor league deal with an adjusted big league salary, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The deal includes an invitation to Spring Training
- Dan Johnson, who was outrighted earlier today, has elected free agency, according to the Tampa Tribune (on Twitter).
- Utility player Pete Orr re-signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (on Twitter). The deal includes an invitation to Spring Training.
- The Blue Jays signed 16-year-old right-hander Jesus Tinoco out of Venezuela, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. Meanwhile, the Reds signed 16-year-old righthander Soid Marquez.
- Here's a note for the diehard transactions fans out there: the Blue Jays actually released Adam Loewen, tweets Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (the team announced that it had outrighted Loewen this morning). The Blue Jays would have interest in re-signing Loewen to play at Triple-A if he doesn't find a better offer. Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi tweets that Loewen became a six-year minor league free agent.
- The A's signed right-hander Edgar Gonzalez to a minor league deal, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 28-year-old appeared in one game with the Rockies in 2011, but spent most of the season at Triple-A. He posted a 5.00 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 133 1/3 innings for the top affiliates of the Rays and Rockies.
A’s Notes: Willingham, Crisp, Matsui, DeJesus
All three of the Athletics’ starting outfielders hit free agency this offseason and with so much uncertainty surrounding the team's future, retaining the trio won't be easy. Here's the latest on the Athletics from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle:
- Agent Matt Sosnick told Slusser that the A’s “aren’t going to make an offer” to Josh Willingham unless they get a decision on their stadium situation first. It doesn’t appear that the A’s are currently able to offer a multiyear deal, according to Sosnick.
- Coco Crisp’s agent, Steve Comte, has a similar take on Oakland’s willingness to spend and says GM Billy Beane is limited by the the team’s uncertain stadium situation. “It is difficult,” Comte told Slusser. “I feel bad for any organization that is in the quagmire the A's are in because they do have to overpay to get good players to go there.”
- Crisp is looking to play for a competitive West Coast team and the Giants are a “viable” option for him, according to Comte.
- Slusser reports that Oakland's interest in bringing Hideki Matsui back has cooled off.
- The A’s are expected to offer Willingham (Type A) and David DeJesus (Type B) arbitration, as Slusser notes.
Dodgers Notes: O’Malley, McCourt, Silverio
It's a historic day for the Dodgers. Owner Frank McCourt, has agreed to sell the team. Here's the latest on the club's sale along with some updates on its roster:
- Red Sox chairman Tom Werner told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he's "very happy in Boston," but didn't explicitly rule out bidding on the Dodgers.
- Peter O'Malley told Shaikin that he hopes to assemble a group of investors and buy the Dodgers. O'Malley, 73, has spoken with commissioner Bud Selig about his plans and isn't worried about coming up with investors. The O'Malley family owned the Dodgers for decades and moved the team from Brooklyn to L.A. in 1958.
- FOX is not interested in buying the Dodgers and neither is Athletics owner Lew Wolff, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times (Twitter links).
- Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire is involved in a group that's interested in buying the team, according to Shaikin.
- Steve Dilbeck of the Times examines potential buyers for the team in detail.
- MLB has agreed to speed up the sale of the team by pre-approving bidders, according to Shaikin (on Twitter). However, MLB won’t guarantee McCourt a minimum sale price.
- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban repeated to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he's only interested in buying the Dodgers if they're available for less than $1 billion (Twitter link).
- The Dodgers announced that they added outfielders Alfredo Silverio and Scott Van Slyke to their 40-man roster. The move that will protect them from the Rule 5 draft.
- In case you missed it, Double-A right-hander Will Savage re-signed with the Dodgers on a minor league deal earlier today.
A’s Designate Trystan Magnuson For Assignment
The A's announced that they designated right-hander Trystan Magnuson for assignment. In corresponding moves, the A's reinstated left-handers Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden, right-handers Joey Devine and Evan Scribner and infielder Daric Barton from the 60-day DL.
Magnuson made his MLB debut in 2011, posting a 6.14 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 14 2/3 innings with Oakland. The 26-year-old also posted a 2.98 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 45 1/3 innings at Triple-A. He didn't pitch in a game after the A's placed him on the 15-day DL with right shoulder tendinitis in mid-August.
Quick Hits: Price, Aardsma, Willingham, Angels
Happy Halloween to MLBTR's readers! We've already seen C.C. Sabathia sign an extension and Tony La Russa retire today. Here are some more updates from around MLB…
- Rays left-hander David Price opted out of the contract he signed when Tampa Bay drafted him, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune. He's still under team control through 2015 as an arbitration eligible player, however. Price could earn $7-8MM in 2012 through arbitration according to MLBTR's projections, so declining his $2.433MM option was merely a formality.
- David Aardsma, who became a free agent today, wouldn't rule out returning to the Mariners, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (on Twitter).
- Agent Matt Sosnick told Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group that he expects Josh Willingham to sign a three-year deal and doesn’t expect his client to re-sign with the Athletics (Twitter link).
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Yankees executive Billy Eppler was the runner-up to Jerry Dipoto in the Angels' search for a GM (Twitter link).
- The White Sox announced that they hired Jeff Manto to be their hitting coach, Joe McEwing to be their third base coach and Mark Parent to be their bench coach (Twitter link).
- Dave Cameron introduces FanGraphs' top 50 free agents of the offseason. MLBTR's list of top 50 free agents is on its way as well.
West Notes: Matsui, Angels, Gibson, D’Backs
Here are a handful of interesting notes from around baseball's West divisions:
- The Athletics' interest in re-signing impending free agent DH Hideki Matsui is waning, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Oakland wants to get younger, according to Slusser, and Matsui, now 37, doesn't fit that bill. A return isn't entirely impossible, though, and A's GM Billy Beane will meet with Matsui's agent, Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group, next week.
- Angels owner Arte Moreno said that the Halos' 2012 payroll will be in the $130-140MM range, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), which would prevent them from pursuing any expensive free agents. In the Angels' installment of MLBTR's Offseason Outlook series, Ben Nicholson-Smith calculated that the Angels will have about $120MM on the books before accounting for players making the league minimum, so new GM Jerry Dipoto will have about $10-20MM to play with.
- Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson's 2013 club option vested when the Snakes reached the playoffs this year, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The D'Backs almost certainly would have picked up the option anyway considering Gibson's success in his first full season as skipper, but Arizona's postseason berth assured it. Gibson's coaches have all been extended through 2013, as well.
- D'Backs GM Kevin Towers will focus on position players this offseason rather than pitchers, according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com, with second base being a key spot of interest. It's been expected that Aaron Hill's $8MM 2012 club option will be declined, though Arizona would like to re-sign him, according to Gilbert.
- Towers doesn't expect to find a new vice president of scouting and player development, the position vacated by Dipoto, according to Piecoro. As well, Towers and Dipoto will hash out which executives the latter will be allowed to bring to Anaheim, with director of international scouting Carlos Gomez expected to be a person of interest in those talks. "That'd be a tough one," Towers said. "He's good. International guys are hard to find, especially young guys. He is under contract. I plan on offering him even a second year."