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NL Central Notes: Pirates: Cardinals, Reyes

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Links from the NL Central on the first day that Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder can sign with new teams…

  • The Pirates have holes at catcher, first base, shortstop and in the starting rotation, as Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains. Tim Dierkes looked ahead to the Pirates' offseason last month.
  • Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals should hire Terry Francona if he wants to manage in St. Louis. Francona is a candidate for the position, as Joe Strauss reported last night. The Cardinals begin the interview process today.
  • One team that inquired about Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo heard that he was next in line behind Tony La Russa, according to Peter Gammons of MLB Network (on Twitter).
  • The Reds don’t figure to pursue Jose Reyes, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Shortstop Zack Cozart is rehabbing his injured left elbow and should be ready by Opening Day.

NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Pirates, Astros

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Here's the latest on the Cubs and here's a look ahead to the Cardinals' offseason. Now for some notes from the rest of the division…

Minor Moves: Burton, Reyes, Wood

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Today's minor moves…

  • Jared Burton elected free agency, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon (on Twitter).  The 30-year-old right-hander showed promise out of the 'pen in 2007-08, but has appeared in just ten MLB games since 2010. He spent time on the 60-day DL with shoulder inflammation in 2011.
  • The Padres signed 16-year-old outfielder Franmil Reyes out of the Dominican Republic for $700K, tweets MLB.com's Corey Brock.  Baseball America's Ben Badler has more on Reyes.
  • The Pirates announced they've signed reliever Tim Wood to a minor league deal.  The 28-year-old had eight big league innings for the Bucs this year, and posted a 3.49 ERA, 6.2 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.4 HR/9, and 24 saves in 49 Triple-A relief innings for the Pirates and Rangers.

Outrighted: Thompson, Burton, Pirates, Tigers

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Players outrighted off 40-man rosters today:

  • The Reds announced that they outrighted Daryl Thompson and Jared Burton off of the 40-man roster.  Burton would have been arbitration eligible for the second time and MLBTR projected a salary in the $900K range for the 30-year-old.
  • The Pirates announced that they outrighted Brian Burres, Kevin Hart, Brandon Wood and Steve Pearce to Triple-A to create 40-man roster space.  All four players can now elect free agency.  Wood and Pearce would have been arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason, and though neither player projected to earn even $1MM, the Pirates decided to cut them loose instead of tendering contracts.
  • The Tigers outrighted catcher Omir Santos and lefty Brad Thomas, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck.  Thomas would have been arbitration eligible, but it was clear he wouldn't make it to the point of being tendered a contract after missing much of the season with an elbow injury.

Pirates Decline Options On Maholm, Snyder, Doumit, Cedeno

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The Pirates announced today they've declined club options on Paul Maholm, Chris Snyder, Ryan Doumit, and Ronny Cedeno.

The decision on Cedeno was the Pirates' one unknown.  Though a case could be made that the value of Cedeno's ability to play shortstop exceeded the $2.8MM net price of his option, the Pirates will aim higher than his .249/.297/.339 batting line.

For Maholm, the Pirates chose a $750K buyout over his $9.75MM club option.  The lefty told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "The day I was put on the DL, I realized my time in Pittsburgh was done."  Prior to that season-ending stint for a shoulder injury, the 29-year-old posted a 3.66 ERA, 5.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.61 HR/9, and 49.9% groundball rate in 162 1/3 innings.  As one of the ten best starters on the free agent market this winter, he's in line for a multiyear deal.

The Pirates' decisions to pay Snyder a $750K buyout over a $6.75MM option and Doumit a $500K buyout over a $7.25MM option were well-known.  Both players have offensive ability, and should be relatively popular on the free agent market.  Doumit's defense and durability questions will likely prevent a team from offering a full-time catching job, while Snyder will have to compete for one after missing most of 2011 with a back injury.

NL Central Notes: Pujols, Oswalt, Pirates, LaHair

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The Cardinals and their fans may still be celebrating Friday's World Series victory, but it won't be long before a pair of the club's most prominent members will face decisions on their futures. Cards president Bill DeWitt III spoke to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports about Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa, two men without contracts for 2012:

"I don't want to prognosticate at all, but in the next week or so we'll hear from [La Russa]…. Albert may take a little while, I guess…. Who knows? Maybe we'll get something done in the quiet period (during which teams are only permitted to negotiate with their own free agents). But if you've waited this long, you're probably going to see what's out there."

Here are the rest of the morning's notes and rumors from the NL Central:

  • Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is surprised by DeWitt's lack of urgency regarding Pujols, and wonders if it's a good idea to allow the slugger to be wooed by teams who may be more aggressive than the Cardinals.
  • Fielding Reds-related questions for the Dayton Daily News, Hal McCoy says it's unlikely that Cincinnati makes a play for Roy Oswalt.
  • The Pirates will likely look at second- or third-tier free agents, but they won't make a huge splash this winter, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Biertempfel says the Bucs will be shopping for a catcher, a first baseman, and starting pitching, naming Jason Varitek, Rod Barajas, Jeff Francis, and Chris Young as a few possible targets.
  • In a Twitter exchange, Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus discuss Bryan LaHair of the Cubs and former Pirates outfielder Lastings Milledge, two players being eyed by Japanese teams. Goldstein suggests the Cubs would like to hang on to LaHair, but hears rumblings that Milledge could sign in Japan as early as next week (all four Twitter links).

Quick Hits: Pirates, CBA, Cubs, Royals

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Some late-night links on this Saturday night …

  • The Pirates are considering exercising shortstop Ronny Cedeno's $3MM 2012 option, but they will likely pass on options for Chris Snyder ($6.75MM), Ryan Doumit ($7.25MM) and Paul Maholm ($9.75MM), according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. As well, Langosch adds the Bucs have interest in re-signing first baseman Derrek Lee but will probably allow Ryan Ludwick to walk in free agency.
  • MLB and the players union are close on a new collective bargaining agreement, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, although slotting for draft signing bonuses remains an issue of debate. Commissioner Bud Selig and some small-market teams are in favor of hard slotting, according to Heyman.
  • Cubs president Theo Epstein said he wants to talk to starter Carlos Zambrano before deciding how to proceed in handling the right-hander, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com, whether that be retaining Zambrano or trying to trade him. As well, Epstein hinted at one of the organization's overarching goals: "We're looking for assets," Epstein said. "We're going to scratch and claw and do everything in our power — in the Draft, internationally, small trades, waiver claims. We need to build assets because we don't have enough of them.
  • Royals GM Dayton Moore told Dick Kaegel of MLB.com that he will "explore trade possibilities to add a starter." Moore said the Royals probably won't try to sign a free-agent starter, however.

Quick Hits: Yankees, Pirates, Moyer, Oswalt

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C.J. Wilson wasn't at his best tonight in what may have been the final start of his Rangers career. He allowed five walks and four hits through 5 1/3 innings, but he allowed just two runs — enough to keep his team in the game and allow Texas to take a 3-2 series lead. Here are today's links…

NL Central Notes: Pujols, Pirates, Astros

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Let's turn our attention to the National League Central where we lead off with, who else, Albert Pujols..

  • If there was any doubt before, it's completely erased now: Albert Pujols is going to hit the free agent jackpot at the age of 31, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  One performance logically shouldn't have a great effect on a player's value, but Rosenthal argues that all it takes is one team to take a contrary position.
  • If, as expected, the Pirates move on without Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder, GM Neal Huntington said the team is "comfortable" with their internal options at catcher but will explore outside options as well, writes Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • The Astros have hired Bryan Lambe as an area scout, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.  Lambe and Wayne Krivsky, both hires of ex-GM Omar Minaya, were let go by the Mets exactly one month ago today.

Pirates To Decline Options On Snyder, Doumit

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General manager Neal Huntington said that the Pirates intend to decline club options for Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder after the conclusion of the World Series, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.  As Tim Dierkes wrote on Wednesday, both moves were expected.

Doumit's option would have paid him $7.25MM in 2012 and $8.25MM in 2013.  The 30-year-old has strugged to stay healthy in recent years, playing 75 games in 2009, 124 games in 2010, and 77 games this past season.

The Pirates acquired Snyder in a five-player deal last July.  The catcher's 2012 option would have paid him $6.75MM but he'll instead collect a $750K buyout.  Snyder saw action in just 34 games this season but has a career slash line of .271/.376/.396.

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