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NL East Notes: Minaya, Marlins, Phillies, Storen

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Though many felt that Omar Minaya left the Mets with a barren farm system and more than deserved his dismissal as GM in 2010, Michael Powell of the New York Times notes that many of the Mets’ key contributors in 2015 are from the Minaya regime. Minaya tells Powell that he takes pride in knowing that he helped lay the groundwork for the team’s current success, noting that he still gets excited seeing players like Jeurys Familia and Hansel Robles succeed. As Powell points out, those two pitchers, along with Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy, Wilmer Flores, Ruben Tejada, Juan Lagares, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and Jon Niese were all signed or drafted during Minaya’s time as GM. Minaya defers much of the credit to scouts such as Ismael Cruz, Rudy Terrasas, Ramon Pena and Larry Izzo, but the now-former GM nonetheless deserves credit for some of the talent he left for successor Sandy Alderson. “You’re just happy to be part of something that is working today; a story is not written by one man,” said Minaya, who is now a senior adviser to MLBPA executive director Tony Clark. “If I said I always knew all these kids would be this good, I’d be lying.”

Here’s more from the NL East…

  • The Marlins are playing for more than pride and third place in the NL East, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Though the playoffs, of course, are not a possibility for Miami, the team’s performance over the final 16 games could help shape the front office and owner Jeffrey Loria’s course of action this offseason. Frisaro notes that it’s “no secret” that the club is willing to trade Marcell Ozuna, but a dismal finish to the year could potentially leave the front office convinced that further changes are required and thusly place even more players on the trade block.
  • Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com spoke with Baseball America’s John Manuel about the pitchers that could be waiting for the Phillies at the top of next year’s June draft. As Salisbury notes, incoming president Andy MacPhail is known as a “pitching guy” and has in the past been quoted as saying, “Buy the bats. Grow the arms.” Manuel tells Salisbury that among single-digit picks in next year’s draft (i.e. those chosen picks 1 through 9), pitching is a strength. Florida left-hander A.J. Puk, high school lefty Jason Groome and high school right-hander Riley Pint make up the top three arms in next year’s draft class, Manuel tells Salisbury. Those interested in the Phillies and in next year’s draft will surely want to give the column a lengthier look.
  • Drew Storen expressed regret to reporters, including MLB.com’s Ben Raby, over his actions that led to a fractured thumb that will end his season. The displaced Nationals closer Storen broke the finger when slamming a locker door after surrendering a two-run homer to Yoenis Cespedes. “Obviously, I was a little frustrated with my outing, but I had no intention [of causing harm],” said Storen. “I’m not the type of guy to punch a wall or do something like that. It’s not what I was aiming for.” Storen dismissed the notion that he may have played his final game for the Nats, writes Raby — he’s been mentioned as a speculative trade candidate this offseason — instead stating that his focus is on getting healthy and supporting his Nationals teammates in the season’s final few weeks. Storen will be arb-eligible for the final time this offseason and due a raise on his $5.7MM salary. He’ll be a free agent following the 2016 season.

NL East Notes: Cespedes, Olivera, Phillies

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Yoenis Cespedes has been surprised with by the overwhelming manner in which Mets fans have embraced him, he told the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff on Wednesday, and the slugging outfielder is open to a return to the Mets in free agency. Cespedes called his time with the Mets thus far the best of his Major League career because of his production, the team’s overall play and the fact that as it stands, New York is playoff-bound. Cespedes revealed to Davidoff that he was the one who instructed his agents to approach the team about removing the contractual clause that would’ve only given the Mets five days to re-sign him this offseason. Cespedes admitted to Davidoff that he knew little about the Mets before being traded there, and it was news to him that the Mets hadn’t reached the playoffs since 2006. “This year will be the next time,” Cespedes confidently told Davidoff. Cespedes also spoke to Davidoff about his decision to sign with Jay-Z’s startup agency, Roc Nation Sports, last offseason, although he didn’t get into specific details about the switch.

Here’s more from the NL East…

  • Former Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski spoke with ESPN Boston’s Gordon Edes about the trade that sent Cespedes to the Mets, providing some insight into the final day of the non-waiver trade season. Dombrowski received an 8am phone call from Mets GM Sandy Alderson expressing serious interest in Cespedes after the Carlos Gomez trade fell through, he told Edes. His response was that Michael Fulmer would be the Tigers’ top target in talks, and Alderson replied that he’d keep in touch. At 1:30pm, Dombrowski received permission from Tigers owner Mike Ilitch to go ahead with a trade only if the return included the prospects atop Detroit’s list; there’d be no take-what-you-can-get scenario. Had their price not been met, “[W]e would’ve kept him,” said Dombrowski. Alderson had been told by Dombrowski that the Tigers would need to hear definitively within 15 minutes of the deadline, as a trade involving Cespedes would need commissioner approval due to his unique contract, and the final call conceding Fulmer was (obviously) made in time to complete the swap.
  • The Braves are easing Hector Olivera into things early in his big league career, writes David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta believes that Olivera will be in a better position to succeed in 2016 after playing winter ball in Puerto Rico and benefiting from a full Spring Training, so for the time being, they’re willing to give him a couple of nights off per week as he adjusts to life as a Major Leaguer. That’s less likely to be the case following this season, when Olivera will be counted on as a key fixture in the middle of the lineup.
  • Though Ruben Amaro Jr.’s tenure as Phillies GM hasn’t produced the results the organization hoped for when Pat Gillick stepped aside in 2008, former president David Montgomery believes that Amaro deserves respect for the work he put in over the years, writes Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Amaro took the blame for a good deal of the Phillies’ misfortunes, but Montgomery notes that the decision to continue acting in a win-now capacity stretched beyond Amaro. “We pushed it hard,” said Montgomery. “We were all involved in it, and I’ve said that many times, as far as trying to get one more after we got ’08. We were all in. We knew the risk. We knew the risk that when you trade your near-ready minor leaguers, there’s going to be a dip.”

Rosenthal’s Latest: Strasburg, Cespedes, Phils, Brewers, DePodesta

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Here are the latest notes from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:

  • The Rangers and Nationals had trade talks involving Stephen Strasburg over the winter, per Rosenthal. Nothing ever came close to getting done in those “wide-ranging” talks, in which Steven Souza (later dealt to the Rays) and Jurickson Profar (later scratched for the season) also came up. It’s not clear from the report what kind of scenarios were considered. Looking forward, it remains to be seen whether there will be any consideration given this winter to a deal involving the 27-year-old righty. Strasburg’s value is down, due both to an inconsistent 2015 season and to the fact that he now has only one season left before hitting free agency, but it’s still hard to imagine the Nats letting him go unless the return was rather significant.
  • The Braves could line up a pursuit of outfielder Yoenis Cespedes in free agency, a source tells Rosenthal. While it’s not hard to see the appeal — he’s a power bat at a position of need, and could line up with the team’s timetable for contention — such a move would still rate as a surprise. Atlanta only just got out from under the ill-fated Melvin Upton contract, which showed the risk of such a free agent signing given the team’s recent payroll restrictions, and Cespedes could well cost twice or more what Upton did ($75MM).
  • Early returns on the summer trade hauls of the Phillies and Brewers have been positive. There is some nice buzz around Philadelphia’s system, especially with all the depth its added in recent months and the intriguing players that came over for Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman. Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s return for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers has looked rather compelling, with Domingo Santana raking in his early MLB action and the trio of other players finishing strong at Double-A. (Remember: the key player in that deal, Brett Phillips, joined the MLBTR Podcast just after being swapped, as did righty Zach Davies, who is now in the big leagues after being acquired for Gerardo Parra.)
  • Mets VP of player development and scouting Paul DePodesta has been plugging away at that post for five years, and the fruits of his labors are now showing at the big league level. Rosenthal reports that the former Dodgers general manager “would consider returning to a GM’s role” with another organization, if the circumstances were right, though many still believe he’ll ultimately take over in New York for Sandy Alderson at some point.

NL East Notes: Papelbon, Braves, Harvey

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Jonathan Papelbon made his return to Philadelphia for the first time since being traded from the Phillies to the Nationals in July, and the outspoken closer didn’t pull any punches in criticizing his old team.  “I don’t know if I got a bad rep here or whatever, but I can promise you I was by far (not) the bad guy on this team.  I was one of the few that wanted to win.  I was one of the few who competed and posted up every day,” Papelbon told reporters, including Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News.  The closer’s issues extended well beyond the clubhouse, as “I think the blame goes all the way from the front office down to the bat boy.  When you don’t have an organization that wants to win, it’s pretty evident.  They go out and publicly say we’re not going to win.  What more – do you know what I mean?”

Here’s some more from around the NL East…

  • Fredi Gonzalez isn’t to blame for the Braves’ collapse, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes as part of a reader mailbag.  The fact that Atlanta extended Gonzalez and his coaching staff’s contracts in July just before the team started trading veteran players was a sign that the manager wasn’t going to be held responsible for how the purposely-weakened roster performed down the stretch.
  • Also from Bowman’s piece, he notes that the Braves will have roughly $25-$30MM in payroll space this winter and they’ll focus on upgrading the bullpen and perhaps adding a veteran arm to the rotation.  Such a starter would be of the mid-tier variety rather than an expensive ace, however.
  • The Braves would like to bring back A.J. Pierzynski as a backup catcher next year and Christian Bethancourt may be trade bait, though Bowman wonders if Atlanta would move Bethancourt when his value is at an all-time low.  Bowman suggests that free agent catching target like Chris Iannetta might be more realistic than a pricier option such as Matt Wieters.  The Braves would also have an interest in Jonathan Lucroy but there’s no sign the Brewers are making their catcher available in trade talks.
  • The Mets will be making a mistake if they trade Matt Harvey this winter, Joel Sherman of the New York Post opines.  Harvey is too valuable and too talented to move for anything less than an elite young talent, and since the odds are slim-to-none that the likes of Carlos Correa or Xander Bogaerts could be obtained in return, Sherman feels Harvey is still needed in New York since there’s no such thing as too much pitching depth.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/14/15

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Padres announced several roster moves, including the selection of right-hander Jay Jackson and infielder Cody Decker’s contracts from Triple-A.  Right-hander Casey Kelly and southpaw Robbie Erlin were also recalled from Triple-A, while Yonder Alonso was placed on the 60-day DL with a lower back strain.  Jackson and Decker are both reaching the bigs for the first time after long pro careers.  Jackson was a ninth-round pick for the Cubs in the 2008 draft and cracked Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list (at #98) prior to the 2010 season.  The righty has a 4.31 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 2.63 K/BB rate over 857 2/3 IP in the minors with the Cubs, Marlins, Pirates, Brewers and Padres.  Decker, a 22nd-round pick in 2009, has 154 homers and a .265/.348/.524 slash line over 2929 career PA in San Diego’s farm system.
  • The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Chase d’Arnaud from Triple-A.  In a corresponding move, second baseman Cesar Hernandez was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a dislocated left thumb.  D’Arnaud joined the Phillies on a minor league deal last winter and has hit .268/.317/.354 over 540 PA for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, playing mostly third and short over his 120 games.  D’Arnaud (the older brother of Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud) debuted in the Show by playing in 48 games for the Pirates in 2011 but has only appeared in 16 MLB contests since, and hasn’t recorded an official plate appearance since 2012.
  • The Astros have selected the contract of infielder Matt Duffy from Triple-A.  Duffy fills the 40-man roster spot left by Scott Feldman, who was moved to the 60-day DL due to his season-ending shoulder injury.  Not to be confused with the Giants infielder of the same name, this Matt Duffy was Houston’s 20th-round pick in the 2011 draft and is reaching the majors for the first time in five pro seasons.  Duffy hit .294/.366/.484 with 30 homers and 104 RBI in 557 Triple-A plate appearances this year and was named the Pacific Coast League’s MVP.

September Rule 5 Roundup

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This year’s Rule 5 draft class has shown that the Winter Meeting-capping selection process still has meaning. As Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper explained recently, a remarkably high-quality group of players swapped hands last December, and odds are that few of them will end up returning to their original teams.

For reference, here are the season’s leaderboards for the players who have accrued major league statistics, for both Rule 5 hitters and pitchers. Let’s have a look at where things stand with the season all but over (at least so far as Rule 5 roster considerations are concerned).

Keepers With Immediate Function

Far from clogging roster space, Odubel Herrera (Phillies), Delino DeShields Jr. (Rangers), and Mark Canha have all been heavily-used, productive contributors to their respective teams. Herrera, in particular, has been a revelation, tallying over three wins above replacement at 23 years of age.

On the pitching side of the equation, Mets selection Sean Gilmartin has been nothing short of excellent in his 45 2/3 frames with the club. The lefty has worked to a 2.56 ERA and seeming to be quite a useful asset moving forward.

Twins right-hander J.R. Graham, meanwhile, has exceeded Gilmartin in usage — he’s nearing sixty innings for a contending club — but hasn’t matched the results. Graham owns just a 5.09 ERA, though there are some signs of hope for the future. He has a respectable 7.3 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 to go with a 46.8% groundball rate, and SIERA values his contributions at a solid 3.76.

Needless to say, all of the above players will be retained by their new organizations. While many Rule 5ers who are successfully acquired end up back in the minors following their season of limbo, the odds seem good that all of these players will once again be significant pieces of their teams’ puzzles in 2016.

Little-Used, Future-Looking Assets

Of course, there are other Rule 5 selections who are now all but certain to be kept. But the road traveled by their teams involved much more difficult roster juggling. As with Adrian Nieto (White Sox) and Wei-Chung Wang (Brewers) last year, these players were not significant contributors at the major league level despite taking up active roster spots all season long.

25-year-old infielder Taylor Featherston has had at least some function given his valuable glove, but has slashed just .156/.210/.227 in only 141 plate appearances for the Angels. He makes for a nice analogue to Nieto, who similarly was considered a quality defender up the middle who wasn’t quite ready for MLB pitching, but managed to hold on all season long. Featherston could follow suit and return to the minors next year.

This year’s first overall Rule 5 pick Oscar Hernandez missed the beginning of the season for the Diamondbacks when he hit the DL with a broken hamate bone. He was activated in early July, just in time to spend the required ninety days on the active roster to complete a Rule 5 acquisition. He’s slashed just .107/.219/.143 in a meager 33 plate appearances since that time, so he’s all but certain to be sent down in 2016.

Orioles righty Jason Garcia has only thrown 27 innings, posting a 4.33 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9. Like Wang last year, a mid-season injury eased the active roster burden in his case. It’s not yet clear what will happen with Garcia next year, but it’s likely that he’ll go on optional assignment to develop as a starter.

Also set to be retained upon the conclusion of the 2015 season are lefties Andrew McKirahan (Braves) and David Rollins (Mariners). The two southpaws have had startlingly similar paths: PED suspensions that actually made it easier for their clubs to retain them, followed by fairly ugly earned run averages but reasonably promising peripherals in limited action. Both will cross the 90-day threshold this year, so they can be retained without requiring time on the roster to start 2016.

Still In Limbo

It is possible for a player to remain with a selecting team but still remain in limbo. That’s because of the aforementioned 90-day rule. Players that haven’t spent that much time on the active roster due to DL or suspension stints must first accrue the remainder in the following season before they can be permanently acquired. If and when they do reach that point, such players can be freely optioned to the minors by their new teams.

This year there is one such multi-year player: righty Daniel Winkler, was a Tommy John patient who was only just activated recently by the Braves after missing most of the year. Hhe’s yet to appear in competitive action for the Atlanta organization — in the minors or the majors — and had never seen big league action before the year. He’ll pick up just under a month of time on the active roster late this year, and will need to be on the club’s 25-man for about two months at the start of next season for his rights to be kept.

Already Returned

The ride was over months ago for a trio of hurlers: Jandel Gustave, Logan Verrett, and Andy Oliver. The first two were returned to their former teams, while Oliver hit free agency because he was a two-time Rule 5 pick. Interestingly, Verrett has played a reasonably significant role in the majors with his original team since being returned. He’s thrown 23 1/3 innings of 1.93 ERA ball, with 8.9 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9, for the soon-to-be NL East champs.

Quick Hits: Phillies, Puerto Rico, Park

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Phillies president Pat Gillick will officially pass the baton to future-president Andy MacPhail in roughly 45 days, writes Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer. However, the first decision of the MacPhail administration was made on Thursday when the club dismissed GM Ruben Amaro Jr. Kaplan provides a look at potential candidates and names Angels assistant GM Matt Klentak as a possible favorite. Klentak, 34, fits plurality owner John Middleton’s suggestion that MacPhail “hire himself.” Klentak was also a favorite of MacPhail while both executives were with the Orioles. Former Reds GM Wayne Krivisky, Royals assistant GM J.J. Picollo, and Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler are also names to watch.

  • Regular season games may return to Puerto Rico in 2016 for the first time since 2004, writes Bill Shaiken of the LA Times. Major League Baseball plans to honor Puerto Rican legend Roberto Clemente in a series between the Pirates and Marlins. Details are as yet unconfirmed per Shaiken’s anonymous source. The visit could include part or all of a four game set between the two clubs. Shaiken also writes about the history of talent development out of Puerto Rico. When the island was included in the Rule 4 draft beginning in 1990, clubs refocused international scouting efforts to Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, the unintended consequence weakened the popularity of baseball in Puerto Rico.
  • We learned earlier today about how Jung-ho Kang’s success could influence the earning power of fellow Korean star Byung-ho Park. Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes about the “paradox” or Kang’s success. When Yoenis Cespedes and Ichiro Suzuki were acquired from their respective markets, they were a relative bargain. They were followed by Jose Abreu and Daisuke Matsuzaka respectively. In both cases, the second player earned substantially more. As such, the Pirates may be pushed out of the market for Park. Sawchik does have a word of caution. Davenport translations suggest Park may only be a roughly .249/.323/.443 hitter with 24 home runs. Teams may want to be careful about investing Abreu or Matsuzaka money in Park.

NL Notes: Stanton, Phillies, Kang

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Dave Schoenfield of ESPN’s list of five stars who could be traded this offseason is topped by a provocative name: that of Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton. Schoenfield doesn’t suggest a Stanton trade is likely, only that it’s a possibility, given how unpredictable the Marlins can be. Schoenfield speculates that Dodgers as a potential match if the Marlins put Stanton on the market. Stanton has full no-trade protection, but might well be willing to waive it if the Dodgers were to deal for him, given that he was born and raised in Southern California. The Dodgers presumably would also have relatively little trouble absorbing Stanton’s enormous contract. Here’s more from the National League.

  • Now that the Phillies have dismissed Ruben Amaro, their open GM position should be an attractive one to potential candidates, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes. They have plenty of young talent, including Maikel Franco, J.P. Crawford, Aaron Nola and a host of prospects they acquired when trading veterans. They also have few troublesome contracts.
  • Pirates infielder Jung-Ho Kang is cutting a path for other players from the Korea Baseball Organization to come to the U.S., Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Kang has excelled in his first season in the big leagues, hitting .288/.358/.468 while also providing value on the bases and on defense. That’s led to 4.1 fWAR, so the $2.5MM he’ll make this season is a fraction of what he’s worth. The next Korean star set to come to the big leagues is Kang’s friend former Nexen Heroes teammate Byung-Ho Park. “(Park) has much more power than I have,” says Kang. The Pirates could be in the market for a first baseman this offseason and have scouted Park. The big contract it will surely now take to sign Park would, however, block top first base prospect Josh Bell, who hit well upon being promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis this season.

NL East Notes: Jennings, Gillick, Fernandez, Aardsma

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Having just begun to look for a new baseball operations leader, the Phillies have at least some interest in Marlins manager (and recent GM) Dan Jennings, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports (Twitter links). Philadelphia has yet to request permission to interview Jennings, who is not only still manning the dugout in Miami but reportedly has an offer on the table to step back into the GM role there. It’s a complicated situation already, but interest from the Phillies, who have quite an appealing GM opportunity up for grabs, would be an interesting wild card.

Here’s more from the NL East:

  • Outgoing Phillies president Pat Gillick says he’s not sure what he’ll pursue next, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. “At this point, I haven’t even thought about it,” said the long-time, 78-year-old executive. Gillick also acknowledged that he was not surprised that his replacement, Andy MacPhail, had decided to find a new GM rather than keeping Ruben Amaro Jr. “I don’t think … the public would really accept that,” said Gillick, who has long been a supporter of the deposed Amaro. “That wasn’t the reason the decision was made, but certainly the fans and the public play into every organization in the sports industry.”
  • The Marlins hope to avoid the recent Matt Harvey controversy with their own ace, Jose Fernandez, as Spencer writes. Both pitchers, of course, are in their first seasons back from Tommy John surgery. Fernandez himself says he does not foresee any difficulties in working out an approach before the season, noting that he expects the team will meet with his agent (Scott Boras, as with Harvey) and medical experts to arrive at an agreement. The young righty added that a plan was in place this year, had the Fish remained in contention, to help limit the strain on his recently-replaced UCL while maximizing his value to the club.
  • The Braves recently designated and then released right-hander David Aardsma, and he has penned an interesting piece on the subject at Baseball Essential. We cover an awful lot of DFAs here, and it’s easy to forget that there is a person involved who faces a potentially life-changing impact. Aardsma walks through the process from the awkward moment of hitting DFA limbo through the battle to stay prepared for another opportunity. It’s a great read and well worth your time.

Heyman’s Latest: Harvey, Cespedes, GM Openings, Offseason Decisions

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The Mets expect that they’ll receive calls on righty Matt Harvey, but have no intentions of discounting his trade value based on the recent shutdown controversy, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Harvey is reportedly displeased with some statements from the front office, per Heyman, though it’s far from clear whether there will be any long-term ramifications from the flare-up.

That’s just one of many interesting notes in a column that is chock full of information. Here are some more notable items:

  • Also in the news recently, of course, is outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who has thrived with the Mets and just tweaked his contract to make a re-signing possible. Heyman says that the movement on that front was generated by Cespedes’s side, with the team readily agreeing to the proposal. Steve Adams and I discussed this on Thursday’s edition of the MLBTR Podcast, generally agreeing that he’s unlikely to return despite that agreement given other needs and the presence of Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto, Juan Lagares, and Michael Cuddyer. But Heyman hears that New York is “expected to make a serious play” for the soon-to-be free agent. Certainly, that’s an important open market storyline to watch this fall and winter. Despite the presence of several other highly-regarded players on the coming market, Heyman says a deal of $175MM (or even more) for the Cuban star would not be surprising.
  • The Red Sox’ GM hiring appears to be wide open, with Heyman writing that Diamondbacks senior VP of baseball operations De Jon Watson presents one possibility from another organization and AGM Mike Hazen could be an internal option. Other names that have come up include the frequently-mentioned Frank Wren and Brewers VP of amateur scouting Ray Montgomery.
  • There is a “prevailing belief” that Reds GM Walt Jocketty will keep his position, says Heyman, though manager Bryan Price seems somewhat more likely to lose his job after a rough season. On the other hand, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale did suggest today on Twitter that Jocketty could be shifted into an advisory role, with Cincinnati hiring a new general manager.
  • Yankees GM Billy Eppler is seen as the favorite to take the GM position with the Angels, says Heyman. Rangers GM Thad Levine could also get a long look, per the report.
  • The Phillies’ GM position just opened, of course, and Heyman says it will be in high demand among young executives — not only because of Philadelphia’s resources, but because the new general manager could be handed fairly broad authority. Possible names have been filtering out since even before Ruben Amaro Jr. was let go, and Heyman lists Angels AGM Matt Klentak, Giants scouting director John Barr, Royals AGM J.J. Piccolo, and the aforementioned Levine as some of the possibilities.
  • Fans calling for the Braves to replace manager Fredi Gonzalez may not get their wish, says Heyman. Gonzalez is “said to be in no jeopardy,” per the report.
  • The Tigers have a lot of work to do under new GM Al Avila, and Heyman says their “winter wish list” includes an outfielder — possibly Cespedes, though he may be too expensive, along with two starters and several bullpen arms. Detroit expects to plunk down some cash in the offseason, he adds.
  • It’s always seemed likely that the Blue Jays would pick up their $12MM option over veteran righty R.A. Dickey, and Heyman says that is highly likely as things stand. Toronto will also at least attempt to retain lefty David Price, who has obviously been outstanding (even by his lofty standards) since being acquired at the deadline.
  • The Dodgers will likely extend lefty Brett Anderson a qualifying offer. The 27-year-old has been well worth the $10MM that Los Angeles paid him this year, putting up a 3.36 ERA over 158 innings — his highest tally since his rookie campaign way back in 2009. Given his age and the fact that he has a nice platform to work from, it would seem likely that Anderson will decline a QO (if extended), though he’ll face a crowded market.
  • Padres president Mike Dee tells Heyman that the organization is frustrated, but has good relationships in its upper front office and is looking forward rather than looking back at last winter. San Diego will need to make a permanent decision with its field staff, and is said to be undecided on whether to retain interim skipper Pat Murphy.
  • Meanwhile, the Padres are assessing “whether to tweak or completely retool” its roster. Interestingly, Melvin Upton has played well enough that he could end up with a regular role as a platoon partner in center alongside Travis Jankowski. San Diego will face a somewhat difficult decision on whether to make starter Ian Kennedy a qualifying offer, but it appears the organization is leaning towards doing so.
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