Odds & Ends: Bucs, Duchscherer, Astros
A fresh batch of links for Saturday afternoon…
- Perry Hill left his post as Pirates first base coach Saturday and, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, expressed unhappiness with the team's aggressive trading on his way out. The Pirates got rid of three-fourths of their infield (Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche) during the year.
- According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A's have not touched base with soon-to-be free agent Justin Duchscherer since the end of the season. GM Billy Beane plans to engage in some kind of discussions with the right-hander and his agent "soon." We profiled "The Duke of Hurl" about a month ago.
- Former Astros manager Phil Garner interviewed for the club's managing vacancy on Saturday afternoon, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). He was the seventh of 10 candidates to interview for the gig.
- Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the Royals have retained minor league right-hander Jairo Cuevas. The 25-year-old was eligible for free agency.
Odds & Ends: McCourts, Strasburg, Cotts
Some tidbits from around baseball as we enjoy Game One of the ALCS…
- Bill Shaikin and Harriet Ryan of the L.A. Times have some ominous news for Dodgers fans surrounding the separation of Frank and Jamie McCourt: his attorneys claim he is the sole owner of the Dodgers, while her lawyers say the team's ownership is split 50-50 between the soon-to-be ex-couple.
- On the night of Stephen Strasburg's professional debut in the Arizona Fall League, Jack Magruder of the Washington Times notes that Strasburg won't pitch much in the AFL.
- Reliever Neal Cotts doesn't know if the Cubs will non-tender him, but he is just focused on pitching somewhere in 2010 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July, reports MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel relates a nice anecdote about Craig Counsell to illustrate why he thinks the Brewers should bring back the veteran infielder in 2010.
- MLB.com's Mychael Urban praised the young, talented and affordable Oakland bullpen in his ongoing team report card series.
- Manny Acta and Bob Melvin "have to be 1-2" for the Houston manager's job thus far, says MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (via Twitter)
Offseason Outlook: Oakland Athletics
Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Athletics. Their likely commitments for 2010:
C – Kurt Suzuki – $410K
C – Landon Powell – $400K
1B – Daric Barton – $410K
2B – Mark Ellis – $5.5MM
SS – Cliff Pennington – $400K
3B – Eric Chavez – $12MM
IF – Gregorio Petit – $405K
LF – Scott Hairston – $1.25MM+
CF – Rajai Davis – $410K
RF – Ryan Sweeney – $410K
OF – Travis Buck – $410K
DH – Jack Cust – $2.8MM+
IF/OF – Eric Patterson – $405K
SP – Dallas Braden – $410K
SP – Brett Anderson – $400K
SP – Trevor Cahill – $400K
SP – Gio Gonzalez – $405K
SP – Vin Mazzaro – $400K
RP – Mike Wuertz – $1.1MM+
RP – Brad Ziegler – $405K
RP – Andrew Bailey – $400K
RP – Joey Devine – $410K+
RP – Craig Breslow – $422K
RP – Jerry Blevins – $405K
RP – Brad Kilby – $400K
Non-tender candidates: Jack Cust, Santiago Casilla
Other commitments: Jason Giambi – $1.25MM
The A's have about $30.8MM committed before arbitration raises to Hairston, Cust, Wuertz, Casilla, and Devine. Cust and Casilla are non-tender candidates, so we'll estimate a mid-$30MM commitment for 2010. According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, the A's entered 2009 with a $62.3MM payroll. There hasn't been any indication that the A's plan to be big spenders this winter, but if payroll is held steady GM Billy Beane would have roughly $25MM to work with.
The 2009 A's ranked 11th in the AL with a .328 OBP and last with a .397 SLG. The offense had more of a middle-of-the-pack performance in the second half, with Davis, Sweeney, Cust, and Barton leading the way. Despite the improvement, the most obvious area for improvement in 2010 is the offense.
The rebuilding thing to do would be to give Barton one more chance to prove he can hit outside of the month of September. Powerful prospect Chris Carter is another option. But there would be little harm in adding a 2010 stopgap, someone like Russell Branyan, Carlos Delgado, or Nick Johnson.
Third base is a similar situation – Brett Wallace may not be ready yet, and the A's can't count on Chavez. Why not entertain signing Adrian Beltre or Troy Glaus? Shortstop frontrunner Pennington is also unproven, but the free agent market isn't terribly appealing.
With Davis and Sweeney taking outfield spots, DH and left field are other possible areas to upgrade. MLB.com's Mychael Urban feels Beane is leaning toward tendering a contract to Cust, whose 25 home runs led the team (his .417 SLG was less inspiring). If Beane decides to make a change, he can choose from plenty of free agent DH candidates for the same $3-4MM Cust would make. We haven't heard anything about Hairston being a non-tender candidate, though he was awful in Oakland.
The A's have a stacked bullpen, especially if Devine comes back strong. One veteran free agent play for the rotation would make sense, someone like Erik Bedard, Justin Duchscherer, Randy Johnson, or Ben Sheets.
Though Oakland's veteran additions for 2009 didn't work out, fans presumably appreciated them taking a shot at contention. I think Beane should make a similar attempt to supplement the club for 2010; he could again do so without harming the long-term health of the franchise.
Offseason Outlook: Oakland Athletics
Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Athletics. Their likely commitments for 2010:
C – Kurt Suzuki – $410K
C – Landon Powell – $400K
1B – Daric Barton – $410K
2B – Mark Ellis – $5.5MM
SS – Cliff Pennington – $400K
3B – Eric Chavez – $12MM
IF – Gregorio Petit – $405K
LF – Scott Hairston – $1.25MM+
CF – Rajai Davis – $410K
RF – Ryan Sweeney – $410K
OF – Travis Buck – $410K
DH – Jack Cust – $2.8MM+
IF/OF – Eric Patterson – $405K
SP – Dallas Braden – $410K
SP – Brett Anderson – $400K
SP – Trevor Cahill – $400K
SP – Gio Gonzalez – $405K
SP – Vin Mazzaro – $400K
RP – Mike Wuertz – $1.1MM+
RP – Brad Ziegler – $405K
RP – Andrew Bailey – $400K
RP – Joey Devine – $410K+
RP – Craig Breslow – $422K
RP – Jerry Blevins – $405K
RP – Brad Kilby – $400K
Non-tender candidates: Jack Cust, Santiago Casilla
Other commitments: Jason Giambi – $1.25MM
The A's have about $30.8MM committed before arbitration raises to Hairston, Cust, Wuertz, Casilla, and Devine. Cust and Casilla are non-tender candidates, so we'll estimate a mid-$30MM commitment for 2010. According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, the A's entered 2009 with a $62.3MM payroll. There hasn't been any indication that the A's plan to be big spenders this winter, but if payroll is held steady GM Billy Beane would have roughly $25MM to work with.
The 2009 A's ranked 11th in the AL with a .328 OBP and last with a .397 SLG. The offense had more of a middle-of-the-pack performance in the second half, with Davis, Sweeney, Cust, and Barton leading the way. Despite the improvement, the most obvious area for improvement in 2010 is the offense.
The rebuilding thing to do would be to give Barton one more chance to prove he can hit outside of the month of September. Powerful prospect Chris Carter is another option. But there would be little harm in adding a 2010 stopgap, someone like Russell Branyan, Carlos Delgado, or Nick Johnson.
Third base is a similar situation – Brett Wallace may not be ready yet, and the A's can't count on Chavez. Why not entertain signing Adrian Beltre or Troy Glaus? Shortstop frontrunner Pennington is also unproven, but the free agent market isn't terribly appealing.
With Davis and Sweeney taking outfield spots, DH and left field are other possible areas to upgrade. MLB.com's Mychael Urban feels Beane is leaning toward tendering a contract to Cust, whose 25 home runs led the team (his .417 SLG was less inspiring). If Beane decides to make a change, he can choose from plenty of free agent DH candidates for the same $3-4MM Cust would make. We haven't heard anything about Hairston being a non-tender candidate, though he was awful in Oakland.
The A's have a stacked bullpen, especially if Devine comes back strong. One veteran free agent play for the rotation would make sense, someone like Erik Bedard, Justin Duchscherer, Randy Johnson, or Ben Sheets.
Though Oakland's veteran additions for 2009 didn't work out, fans presumably appreciated them taking a shot at contention. I think Beane should make a similar attempt to supplement the club for 2010; he could again do so without harming the long-term health of the franchise.
The Market For Orlando Cabrera
Orlando Cabrera didn't sign with the A's until Spring Training had begun, partly because teams were reluctant to give up a top pick for him. It doesn't look like this winter will be much easier for the shortstop, in spite of some clever negotating by his agent.
Cabrera projects to be a Type A free agent, but agent Dan Lozano added a clause in his client's contract that prevents the Twins from offering arbitration. This gives Cabrera leverage because teams won't have to forfeit a draft pick to sign him.
However, Cabrera had a pedestrian year at the plate, appears to be declining defensively and is far from the only shortstop out there. The soon-to-be 35-year-old hit .284/.316/.389 with twice as many strikeouts as walks for the A's and Twins. Those numbers wouldn't be bad for a strong defensive shortstop, but the former Gold Golver made 25 errors and posted a UZR/150 of -9.9.
The market for shortstops includes Miguel Tejada, who probably won't cost a draft pick, and Marco Scutaro, who probably will. Jack Wilson, Adam Everett, Alex Gonzalez and others could be on the market, too. So will any team be prepared to match the $4MM base salary Cabrera signed for last winter?
The Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tigers, Twins, Mariners, Nationals and Astros could all be looking for help at short this offseason (the Red Sox had some interest this summer). But with many free agents on the market and the possibility that the Rays and Brewers will make shortstops available via trade, Cabrera and his agent have another challenging winter ahead.
Odds & Ends: Fredi Gonzalez, Giants, Beane
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- The Marlins will retain manager Fredi Gonzalez, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets will look to take on overpriced players via trade this winter.
- A must-read from Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: his ten steps to re-boot the Pirates for 2010. Kovacevic again notes that closer Matt Capps will be on the trading block.
- RotoWorld's Matthew Pouliot looks at the performance of a couple of Alex Anthopoulos fantasy teams from ten years ago. My best pick from '99 was definitely Mike Sweeney.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has a transcript of yesterday's Brian Sabean/Bruce Bochy sit-down. Lots of good stuff in there.
- Tyler Bleszinski of Athletics Nation has part two of his Billy Beane chat. Beane seems interested in retaining free agent infielder Adam Kennedy.
- ESPN's Buster Olney wrote yesterday that "rival executives are already speculating about Kevin Towers' possible connection to the Texas Rangers if — and it's a big if — Dennis Gilbert's group wins the bidding for the team."
Odds & Ends: Kikuchi, Dye, Varitek
Links for Monday…
- Yakyu Baka translated a recent Yusei Kikuchi press conference. Kikuchi has yet to decide between the U.S. and Japan. The Mets and Tigers attended the conference.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis has the 2010 draft order, and he also explains which picks are protected from Type A free agent signings.
- Jermaine Dye talking to Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald on possibly finishing his White Sox career: "I don't really have a feeling."
- Talking to WEEI's Alex Speier, Jason Varitek would not address next season (he has a $5MM team option and $3MM player option). Manager Terry Francona made sure Varitek received an ovation yesterday.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan gives one-liners on 35 Rangers players.
- Tyler Bleszinski of Athletics Nation talked to A's GM Billy Beane. Beane chatted about Matt Holliday, stolen bases, and the first base depth chart, among other things.
- Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star tells us about new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times explains how advanced defensive metrics influenced the team's acquisition of Franklin Gutierrez.
- Outfielder So Taguchi hopes to play in 2010, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Sabean, Weeks
Tuesday linkage:
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke with commissioner Bud Selig, who was adamant that the Pirates are not pocketing their profits.
- Pirates starter Zach Duke was pulled last night from an 11-1 game, one out away from a complete game, with 103 pitches thrown. Talking to Kovacevic, team president Frank Coonelly "strongly rejected" the idea that manager John Russell made the move to weaken Duke's bargaining position at the arbitration table. Joe Posnanski questions Russell's explanation of his decision.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News feels that Giants managing partner Bill Neukom will retain GM Brian Sabean when that decision comes due in a week.
- Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks is strongly opposed to moving to center field, according to Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Weeks has explained his stance to GM Doug Melvin.
- Nomar Garciaparra told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle he hasn't thought about whether he'll play next year. Slusser says Nomar won't be back in Oakland, regardless.
- Reliever Doug Brocail is also undecided about 2010, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. An upcoming MRI on Brocail's shoulder will influence his decision.
Odds & Ends: White Sox, Phillies, A’s
Only a handful of games on the schedule tonight, but here are some links to make up for it….
- White Sox GM Ken Williams is let down by his team's performance this season, according to Chris De Luca of The Chicago Sun-Times. Players like Jake Peavy and Alex Rios were acquired with more than just 2009 in mind, but the Sox still hoped to earn a playoff spot in a weak division this year. Dave Cameron at FanGraphs and Rob Neyer at ESPN.com point out that the White Sox didn't underachieve, but rather performed almost exactly as expected. Whether Williams' disappointment will inspire any major offseason moves remains to be seen.
- Scott Merkin at MLB.com suggests one possible change for the 2010 White Sox: Matt Thornton replacing Bobby Jenks as the team's ninth-inning option.
- More potential musical chairs in the bullpen ranks from ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. He talks to one scout who suggests that the best closing candidate for the Phillies in October might not be Brad Lidge or Ryan Madson, but Chan Ho Park, if he's healthy. As a soon-to-be free agent, Park could certainly see his stock rise with a strong postseason.
- Buster Olney and ESPN.com take a look at what moves the Oakland Athletics could make this offseason. The theme is a familiar one in Oakland: veteran bargain hunting. Olney mentions Jermaine Dye and Miguel Tejada as two players in their mid-30s the Athletics might look into signing, and also thinks the A's will try to bring back Justin Duchscherer if they can.
- T.R. Sullivan at MLB.com writes that Nolan Ryan is interested in ownership of the Texas Rangers. Current owner Tom Hicks has expressed willingness to surrender controlling interest of the club.
Odds & Ends: Greinke, Rangers, A’s, Yankees
Some more links for the afternoon…
- Zack Greinke told WEEI.com's Alex Speier that he wouldn't have trouble pitching in any city except New York. The Cy Young contender sounds confident that he could thrive in other places, but suggested he might struggle if asked to pitch in the Big Apple on a regular basis.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan provides the names of some possible bidders for the Rangers. George Bush and Nolan Ryan don't appear to be candidates to buy the club.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says the A's could use some big bats next year. As Ken Rosenthal pointed out earlier today, Adam Kennedy's .767 OPS leads all A's with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.
- Matthew Pouliot of NBC.com's Circling the Bases continues to rank the offseason's top free agents. Carlos Delgado and Hideki Matsui place 40th and 36th, respectively.
- As Peter Abraham of the Journal News points out, Andy Pettitte will probably earn about $5MM in incentives before the season ends. Earlier in the month Jon Heyman of SI.com predicted this would happen.
- Abraham also notes that Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez were literally lined up to speak with Scott Boras at one point yesterday.