Phillies Rumors

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Nationals, Myers, Hudson

By Luke Adams 2 | October 15, 2009 at 9:01pm CDT

A slew of Thursday night links from around the majors….

Jon Heyman of SI.com reports (via Twitter) that coveted hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo appears likely to join the Chicago Cubs.
Byron Kerr of MASN.com doesn't expect Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo to name a new manager until at least November. According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, the team will consider Chip Hale, Bobby Valentine, Bob Melvin, and perhaps Dave Duncan (if he's available), in addition to interim skipper Jim Riggleman.
Meanwhile, another managerial search continues in Houston. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes that candidate Ned Yost thinks he benefited from a year away from a baseball job.
Todd Zolecki of MLB.com wonders if Brett Myers is done in Philadelphia. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says that even though Myers didn't make the team's NLCS roster, that doesn't necessarily mean the righty won't be back in 2010.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that it doesn't sound like Will Clark will be a candidate for the San Francisco Giants' open hitting coach position.
David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution follows up on the recent Tim Hudson speculation. O'Brien thinks the Braves and Hudson might be able to agree on a three-year deal worth about $27-30MM.
Eric Byrnes met with Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes and manager A.J. Hinch to discuss his future in Arizona, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.

Phillies Seeking Utility Infielder

By Zachary Links | October 10, 2009 at 1:50pm CDT

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel wants an upgrade at the utility infield position, writes Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Second baseman Chase Utley tends to run out of gas late in the season and a quality backup would go a long way towards solving that problem.

Utley's late-season performance took a dive once again this year as fatigue caught up with him. The 30-year-old hit .304/.423/.554 from the start of the year to the end of August. From September 1st to the end of the regular season, Utley saw his slash line dip to a putrid .193/.290/.325.

An improvement over Eric Bruntlett (.462 OPS in 2009) could also ease the workload of Jimmy Rollins. As Martino points out, someone with enough versatility could even spell Raul Ibanez in left field.

The article identifies two candidates who can fill that role in this winter's free agent class: Mark DeRosa and Marco Scutaro. While both players have experience at second-base, each were asked to play just a handful of innings at the position in '09.

What other free agent utility men should Ruben Amaro Jr. consider this winter?

Giants Rumors: Lincecum, Sanchez, Penny

By Tim Dierkes | October 5, 2009 at 4:22pm CDT

Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has the goods on the Giants, after speaking with GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy.

Technically, Sabean and Bochy's contracts are up at the end of the month. They don't have commitments for 2010 in hand, yet the expectation is that both will be back.
In discussing Tim Lincecum's upcoming arbitration case, Sabean referenced Ryan Howard's record first-time award ($10MM) from February of '08. Of course, with Howard, the Phillies screwed up by submitting only $7MM. Sabean wants to file his salary request for Lincecum before discussing a long-term deal, so as to not show his hand early.
Closer Brian Wilson is another first-time arbitration-eligible player, and you have to think he'll jump up to $5MM+.
The Giants would like to restructure Freddy Sanchez's $8.1MM option into a two-year deal, but seem confident in his return. Baggarly says they even consider the option as a fallback if the restructuring fails. I can't see Sanchez getting $8.1MM on the open market.
A Brad Penny return appears unlikely. If he sticks to the NL and the West Coast he'll be down to the Padres pretty much. It'd also be surprising to see the Giants re-sign catcher Bengie Molina, who wants a two-year deal worth more than $6MM annually.
Sabean wouldn't rule out trading a pitcher for a bat, but said he'd agonize over such a decision.
Brandon Medders, Justin Miller, and Ryan Garko are non-tender candidates. The Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner call-ups locked up two 40-man roster spots.
Quoting Baggarly: Sabean justified the $18.5 million contract he gave [Edgar Renteria] last winter by saying they needed a veteran shortstop."

Odds & Ends: Ankiel, Moyer, Griffey, Jays

By | September 30, 2009 at 8:17pm CDT

Another round of links, expertly prepared…

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch believes the Reds might have interest in soon-to-be free agent outfielder Rick Ankiel. The Pirates are also thought to have some level of interest in the former pitcher, who's hit 36 home runs in the past two years and boasts one of the best outfield arms in baseball. (That's looking on the bright side of things, of course).
As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark notes, Jamie Moyer's season-ending groin injury locks in his 2010 salary at $8MM. $6.5MM of that is base pay, and the other $1.5MM is available through performance-based incentives.
Ken Griffey Jr. side-stepped another retirement question when the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser spoke with him Wednesday. "It's not really up to me," he said. "Well, some of it is." Stay tuned this offseason for more on Junior's future plans.
According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, the Blue Jays have laid off nearly two dozen employees from the business side of their organization. Cost-cutting in the front office doesn't bode well for any kind of free agency exploits this winter.

Odds & Ends: Gillick, Moronta, Halladay, Rays

By Zachary Links | September 28, 2009 at 4:07pm CDT

Here are some choice links to kick off the afternoon…

Former Phillies and Blue Jays GM Pat Gillick is not interested in a return to Toronto, writes ESPN's Buster Olney. However, the 72-year-old would not rule out handling baseball operations for another team down the road.
Ben Badler of Baseball America reports that Eladio Moronta – one of the toolsiest players in Latin America – is now eligible to be signed, five months after being suspended for lying about his age.
Manager Cito Gaston doesn't see the Blue Jays holding on to Roy Halladay if the team doesn't make other improvements, writes Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun.
Russell Branyan could return to the Mariners in 2010, according to Larry LaRue of The News Tribune. Branyan was raking before the all-star break, posting .280/.382/.573 with 22 HRs before being bogged down in the second half by a back injury that cost him the month of September.
Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times asked and answered questions regarding what the offseason might hold for the Tampa Bay Rays. Amongst other things, Topkin says there is no way that the Rays will trade Carl Crawford, nor will they decline to pick up his $10MM option for 2010. Crawford is still a great value at that price as Fangraphs values his 2009 performance to be much higher than that.
Joe Maddon doesn't expect to make any changes to his coaching staff, writes Marc Lancaster of The Tampa Tribune. Maddon says he'll meet with his coaches at season's end, as they are all up for renewal.
If Dusty Baker has his way, pitching coach Dick Pole and hitting coach Brook Jacoby will return in 2010, says John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Under Pole's instruction, the Reds have seen their team ERA improve from 4.55 a year ago to 4.19 in 2009.
Brewers infielder Craig Counsell recently turned 39-years-old but still intends to play in 2010 according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Odds & Ends: White Sox, Phillies, A’s

By Luke Adams 2 | September 24, 2009 at 6:16pm CDT

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.

Cafardo’s Latest: Felix Hernandez, Red Sox

By Nat Boyle | September 20, 2009 at 10:05am CDT

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has his Sunday column up. Let's have a look.

Cafardo expects the Red Sox to make another push for Felix Hernandez in the offseason. Hernandez's price tag could prove too high for Seattle to retain him; however, they are open to extending him. Before the deadline, the Red Sox reportedly offered a 5-for-1 deal for the ace that Seattle turned down.
The Indians have yet to see dividends pay for the players they received for Cliff Lee. Cafardo writes, "Righty Carlos Carrasco is 0-2 with a 9.64 ERA (six homers in 14 innings); catcher Lou Marson is hitting .154; shortstop Jason Donald went on the disabled list in Triple A; and righty Jason Knapp underwent surgery to remove fragments from his shoulder."
Cafardo wonders if the Nats would've dealt Cristian Guzman had they known Ian Desmond would emerge as their shortstop of the future.
Chiming in on the Jason Bay or Matt Holliday discussion, Cafardo quotes scouts who seem to have him leaning toward Holliday as the better option, particularly for Boston.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Dodgers, DeRosa, Cubs, Managers, General Managers

By Mike Axisa | September 19, 2009 at 5:54pm CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive right on in…

Southpaws Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw are likely to start the first two games of the playoffs for the Dodgers, but Kershaw must recover from his dislocated non-throwing shoulder first. The back-to-back lefties would be a big advantage if LA played the lefthanded hitter heavy Phillies. Rosenthal also mentions that the Cardinals, despite being so righty heavy, have the second lowest team OPS (.675) against lefthanded pitchers in the National League.
Hiroki Kuroda would likely start game three for the Dodgers, followed by either Vicente Padilla or Jon Garland. Chad Billinglsey will likely be left out of the rotation.
The Cards have put their contract extension talks with Mark DeRosa on hold until the offseason, making it more likely that he'll become a free agent. The deal St. Louis originally proposed was less than the three-year, $17.5MM contract Casey Blake received as a free agent last offseason. DeRosa is a year younger now than Blake was then, but the offseason wrist surgery he is scheduled to have makes the situation cloudy.
The Cubs will be open to "anything and everything" this offseason, including trading Milton Bradley and/or Carlos Zambrano. Anything to improve the club, basically. However, perhaps the only way the Cubs could unload Bradley would be to take on another underachieving, overpaid player in return.
Zambrano has a full no-trade clause and is owed $54MM over the next three years, but he's still only 28-years-old and still incredibly talented. The free agent market for starting pitching is thin, which may work in Chicago's favor. Big Z might be appealing at the right price.
Ken Macha will likely remain with the Brewers, but at least four other managers are in danger of being fired. The list starts with Cecil Cooper of the Astros, and also includes Jim Riggleman of the Nationals, Dave Trembley of the Orioles, and Eric Wedge of the Indians.
Among general managers, Ned Colletti of the Dodgers, Brian Sabean of the Giants, and Dan O'Dowd of the Rockies are all without contracts for next year, and two of them are going to the postseason. The only GM that appears to be in jeopardy of losing his job is J.P. Ricciardi of the Blue Jays.

Scott Eyre Considering Retirement

By | September 19, 2009 at 4:57pm CDT

According to Scott Lauber of The Wilmington Journal, 37-year-old reliever Scott Eyre is considering retiring after this season.

Eyre was diagnosed with a "loose body" in his left elbow earlier this week and plans to undergo surgery in the offseason to repair it. If his rehab doesn't run smoothly, he's likely to hang up the cleats. Eyre has posted an impressive 1.61 ERA and 1.25 WHIP over 28 innings out of the Phillies' bullpen this year, holding left-handed hitters to a .207 batting average.

He has a 4.24 career ERA, 1.52 WHIP and four saves over 12 major league seasons.

Did Soriano Contract Help Phillies Win World Series?

By Cork Gaines | September 18, 2009 at 10:27am CDT

Following the '06 season, the Cubs signed Alfonso Soriano to an eight-year, $136MM contract. Among the teams interested in Soriano at the time were the Phillies.

Paul Hagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks back at that off-season and suggests that the non-signing allowed the Phillies to build the team that ultimately won the World Series.

The rumor was that the Phillies might be willing to consider a deal in the $100 million range…While there's no way of knowing exactly how the script might have played out had Soriano chosen red pinstripes, one thing can be said with absolute certainty: The money that would have been funneled to him would not have been available to spend elsewhere…Since then, they've tied up Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Brett Myers and Cole Hamels with multiyear deals. They made midseason trades that added significant contracts for Cliff Lee, Joe Blanton and Kyle Lohse. They increased the payroll when they acquired Brad Lidge…They've signed free agents (Raul Ibanez, Pedro Feliz, Chan Ho Park) to plug holes. They've been able to keep virtually every potential free agent and arbitration-eligible player they've wanted to.

Hagan makes a strong case. However, it should be noted that the best offer the Phillies reportedly made to Soriano was for only $73MM.

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