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Odds & Ends: Lee, Astros, Hermida, Rockies

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As Cliff Lee prepares to face the Yankees in the ALCS, he's trying not to think about his impending free agency, according to T.R. Sullivan and Bill Ladson. Still, Lee hinted to the MLB.com writers that winning the World Series with the Rangers this year would make it that much harder to leave Texas. Here are a few other links from around the league, as we count down the final 24 hours until the ALCS gets underway….

Hermida, Wolf Elect Free Agency

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Jeremy Hermida and Ross Wolf elected free agency today after the A’s outrighted them to Triple-A, according to the team. Left-hander Brad Kilby was also outrighted, but he did not elect free agency.

The A’s signed Hermida to a minor league deal in September, after he spent most of the season in the Red Sox organization. The 26-year-old posted an overall line of .216/.268/.351 in 239 plate appearances this year. Five offseasons ago, Baseball America ranked him fourth among all prospects, but Hermida has yet to be an impact player for a full major league season. He posted an .870 OPS in 123 games for the 2007 Marlins, but has struggled to match that level of production since.

The A’s acquired Wolf from the Orioles for Jake Fox in June. Wolf turns 28 next week and is coming off a season in which he threw just 12.2 major league innings. The righty posted a 4.26 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 this year. In the minor leagues, Wolf posted a 2.62 ERA with twice as many strikeouts as walks, so he appears to have some value as an organizational arm.

Athletics Notes: Payroll, Barton, Stadium

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Let's discuss the latest on the Athletics, with some help from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle…

  • The A's haven't set their budget yet.  Slusser expects payroll flexibility to be created by the team letting Ben Sheets leave, declining Eric Chavez's club option, and non-tendering Jack Cust and Gabe Gross.  We looked at the team's 12 arbitration eligible players a week ago and suggested that Jeremy Hermida, Conor Jackson, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Travis Buck may also be cut.
  • More uncertainty comes in the form of club options for Mark Ellis ($6MM with a $500K buyout) and Coco Crisp ($5.75MM with a $500K buyout).  Slusser writes that GM Billy Beane expects to have conversations about that next week.
  • Wrote Slusser: "Beane emphasized that he doesn't want to add power at the expense of defense, noting in particular that the team has no intention of moving Daric Barton from first base."  The A's could look at a slew of DH options beyond Cust.  But perhaps Beane's statement rules out a Carlos Pena reunion.
  • Beane is optimistic about getting approval for a new stadium, but it's only a gut feeling.  He believes MLB's blue-ribbon panel will issue its report soon.

Athletics Release Akinori Iwamura

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The Athletics released infielder Akinori Iwamura, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Iwamura would have filed for free agency a month from now anyway, but it makes sense to remove him from the 40-man roster now.

Iwamura, 31, was acquired by the Pirates from the Rays for Jesse Chavez in November.  The Bucs exercised Iwamura's $4.85MM option as part of the deal, making him their highest-paid player.  He was terrible for the Pirates and was designated for assignment by June.  Iwamura was released in September and signed with the A's.  He'll need to rebuild value with a minor league deal.

Odds & Ends: Gross, Cubs, Dunn, Ellis, Pujols

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Links for the final day of the 2010 regular season…

Rockies Interested In Martinez, Jackson

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Rockies manager Jim Tracy told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that the Rockies want to add an “impact bat” this offseason. According to Renck, Colorado has interest in Conor Jackson and will target Victor Martinez if the Red Sox don’t lock him up.

Jackson, a non-tender candidate, can play first base or left field; Martinez can catch and play first. The Rockies appear to want a right-handed complement to Todd Helton and Martinez, a switch hitter, would satisfy that requirement. But Colorado has Chris Iannetta under contract and a mutual option for Miguel Olivo's services, so the team isn't desperate for catching help.

Adding an outfielder is a priority for the Rockies, according to Renck. Seth Smith isn’t conisdered an everyday player because of his late summer struggles, so the Rockies will consider free agent outfielders and trades.

The Rockies already have two electrifying hitters: Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki, but Tulo told Renck that he’d like to see some of the organization’s young players improve so the Rockies can reach the postseason in 2011.

Diamondbacks Rumors: Reynolds, A’s, Drew

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Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse hears that Arizona’s payroll will sit between $50-60MM next year. The Diamondbacks started the season with a $75MM payroll, but shed considerable salary with a flurry of midseason trades. They now have just shy of $20MM committed to the 2011 team (not including potential free agents or arbitration-eligible players). Here’s the latest on the Diamondbacks:

  • Krasovic hears that the D’Backs considered offering Mark Reynolds to the A’s for Kevin Kouzmanoff and Vin Mazzaro before Kevin Towers took over as the team’s GM.
  • The club also talked to the Tigers about exchanging Rick Porcello for Stephen Drew earlier in the summer, but Detroit wasn’t interested.
  • Krasovic wouldn’t be surprised to see the Diamondbacks sell high on Kelly Johnson, who is heading into his final season of arbitration.

 

Odds & Ends: K-Rod, Angels, Tamura, Matsui

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Links for Wednesday, before the Giants ask Tim Lincecum to help extend their NL West lead…

  • Lawyers from the MLB Players Association and MLB will meet in New York tomorrow to discuss the union's grievance with the Mets. As the AP reports, the sides will discuss the team's decision to place Francisco Rodriguez on the disqualified list.
  • Top prospect Mike Moustakas told reporters that he and other Royals minor leaguers welcome the attention they're attracting this year. 
  • The Angels let scouting director Eddie Bane go, according to John Manuel of Baseball America. Bane was a candidate for the D'Backs GM job earlier in the month.
  • Japanese outfielder Hitoshi Tamura has interest in playing major league baseball, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The 33-year-old has 27 homers this year and represented the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks at the All-Star game.
  • Jason Varitek told reporters, including MLB.com's Ian Browne, that he's well aware of the fact that he may only have a handful of games remaining in a Red Sox uniform.
  • Through an interpreter, Hideki Matsui told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he'd consider signing with the A's if they expressed interest in him this offseason.
  • Todd Helton made it clear to Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he isn't retiring after the season.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic heard that Brandon Webb was throwing just 81 mph in his instructional league outing (Twitter link). Webb told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he had fun and felt good.
  • The D'Backs, who will see Webb and Rodrigo Lopez hit free agency this winter, will look to add starting pitching, but GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he believes starters may be easier to obtain through trades than major league free agency.

Odds & Ends: Beltre, Athletics, Gibson

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Links for Tuesday, as David Price tries to clinch a playoff berth for the Rays a day after tweeting that last night's attendance was embarrassing…

Free Agent Stock Watch: Justin Duchscherer

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The Athletics' last offseason was a risky one, with the team committing over $17MM to Ben Sheets, Coco Crisp, and Justin Duchscherer despite the trio barely playing in 2009.  Duchscherer was the least risky of the bunch in that the A's only guaranteed him $1.75MM.  The move did not pay off, as Duchscherer provided only 28 innings before undergoing season-ending hip surgery in June. 

Duchscherer told MLB.com's Jane Lee he's open to returning to the A's, but let's take a look at his situation as he heads to free agency again.

The Pros

  • Duchscherer told Lee, "When I'm healthy, I've always proven that I can pitch."  The 32-year-old righty made only 27 starts from 2008-10, but he posted a 2.60 ERA in those 169.6 innings.
  • The price will be right – after two lost seasons in a row, Duchscherer should be looking at a smaller guarantee or even a minor league deal this offseason.
  • Both of Duchscherer's hips and his pitching elbow have already been fixed, so as he says, "I can't imagine what else could go wrong."

The Cons

The Verdict

Duchscherer will still find a big league deal, but his base salary will be closer to $1MM this time.  A few weeks ago, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith listed 14 teams that might be interested in this type of starter during the offseason.

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