Cafardo On Drew, Reynolds, Gonzalez
In his piece on Don Mattingly's interest in a managerial position, the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo brings us some nuggets of information from around the majors:
- Stephen Drew is expected to be shopped by the Diamondbacks this offseason and "there should be" discussions with the Red Sox. Cafardo wonders if hitting in a more patient lineup could boost his OPS (.748 in 2009).
- More on the D-Backs as Mark Reynolds fell three days shy of being classified as a Super Two. Reynolds will earn $425,000 in 2010 instead of something in the neighborhood of $5MM.
- Cafardo suspects that Boston will go after Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez but asks, "do the Sox have enough players to give San Diego?"
- Twins pitcher Ron Mahay wants to stay in Minnesota but won't rule out a return to Boston.
- Speaking of returns, Mike Hargrove is campaigning for another opportunity in Cleveland but might be "too old school". According to a report from Terry Pluto earlier today, Hargrove has not been interviewed for the job.
- Cafardo says to look for former Padres general manager Kevin Towers to become an assistant or special adviser with another club. Towers said earlier this month that he doesn't want to be in an office if he isn't the GM.
Padres Notes: Gonzalez, Bell, Latos
A few weeks ago, when Kevin Towers said he expects the Padres to be "pretty good" in 2010, many scoffed at the notion. ESPN's Buster Olney teams up with Baseball Prospectus and a few other members of the ESPN Insider staff to take a look at the Padres, what went wrong, what to expect in the future, and why there may be some hope for the Friars soon. ESPN Insider is required, but here's the highlights for those without:
- No surprise to see Olney say that the divorce of then-owner John Moores hit the team hard. That's a large part of the payroll cuts, and being forced to part with both Trevor Hoffman and Jake Peavy.
- Olney says that after going 32-21 since July 28, it's unlikely that the Padres trade Adrian Gonzalez this offseason. The Padres do feel they have a chance to be good.
- Olney likens the Padres free agent spending this offseason to going into a candy store with 50 cents, only being able to buy one thing. To put it another way, the Padres have a little to spend, but can't miss like the Rays did with Pat Burrell.
- Marc Normandin Baseball Prospectus highlights the contributions of young talent, such as Everth Cabrera (16.4 VORP), Will Venable (14.9) and Kyle Blanks (9.8). While Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chase Headley have disappointed, Normandin points out Kouzmanoff's strong second half. To his credit, Headley goes unmentioned but has tallied a very nice line of .305/.378/.445 in 66 second half games himself.
- The report suggests fielding offers on Heath Bell in order to allow pursuit of top free agents such as Randy Wolf or possibly even John Lackey and Chone Figgins. Bell's value will never be higher, and according to the report, many in the San Diego area expect Kevin Towers to listen on the All-Star closer. Interesting thought, but it's hard to picture the Padres in serious talks for Lackey or Figgins.
- Miguel Tejada is also mentioned as a possibility through free agency, to compensate for a lack of power in the middle infield.
- If what Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus has to add to the report is true, the Padres may not be as in need of a frontline starter as some would think. Goldstein quotes one front-office official hailing rookie Mat Latos as a potential ace if his change-up develops more. "Seeing him in person was one of those 'holy [crap]' moments," the official said.
Heyman’s Latest: Mets, D-Backs, Indians
Jon Heyman takes a look at three teams that underachieved this season and how each might approach the off-season…
New York Mets
- Heyman thinks the payroll will be about the same next season, noting that any attempt to lower the payroll would be a tough sell to the fans.
- Needs include left fielder, first baseman, catcher, starting pitcher and overall depth.
- Mets are looking at Matt Holliday and Jason Bay and could target Adrian Gonzalez and Bengie Molina.
- Starting pitchers the Mets may pursue include Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Jason Marquis as well as Roy Halladay if he's available.
- Mets may try to move Luis Castillo and replace him with Orlando Hudson.
Arizona Diamondbacks
- Heyman hears the D-Backs will try to sign Brandon Webb to a new deal at slightly less than the $8.5MM option they have for next season.
- The D-Backs may try to re-sign Doug Davis, but that will still leave a couple of holes in the rotation.
- Arizona may try to fill the second base job via trade. Heyman suggests that Eric Byrnes and Chris Snyder could be trade bait and feels Byrnes could be moved for Castillo.
Cleveland Indians
- Heyman says the Indians need to replace Carl Pavano's ability to eat innings.
- The Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee deals saved the Indians $21MM, some of which could be used in free agency.
Other notes…
- It looks like Andy Pettitte will reach most of the incentives in his contract, nearly doubling his base salary of $5.5MM.
- Dan Uggla feels he will be traded this off-season and Heyman says the Marlins won't want to pay his arbitration figure.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Pitching, Rays, Padres, DeRosa
Let's see what Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has for us in his latest Full Count video…
- The free agent market for starting pitching doesn't look very enticing, but the trade market could be intriguing. Toronto will almost certainly field offers for Roy Halladay again, the Cubs could trade Carlos Zambrano, and the Braves could deal Javier Vazquez if they decide to keep Tim Hudson.
- The Astros might finally be ready to move ace Roy Oswalt. While he does have a full no-trade clause, Oswalt has told the club in the past that he'd be willing to consider moves to St. Louis, both Chicago teams, Texas, and Atlanta.
- Tampa Bay moved Scott Kazmir when his value was high, so perhaps it's unlikely they'd move B.J. Upton when his value is low. Regardless, many teams covet the elder Upton brother because at his best he's a righty slugger with superior defense in center field. In his place, the Rays could go in-house with Fernando Perez or Desmond Jennings.
- Keep in mind that if Tampa were to trade an outfielder, they might prefer to deal Carl Crawford. Upton is three years away from free agency; Crawford just one.
- The Padres' recent surge has GM Kevin Towers thinking the team could be a surprise contender next year. The question is this: how low will the team's payroll go? The subtraction of Brian Giles would leave the payroll in the mid-$30MM range, but there are some that believe the team will move either Adrian Gonzalez or Heath Bell and get down into the mid-$20MM range. Ownership has yet to give the front office a firm payroll number for 2010.
- The Cardinals want to re-sign Mark DeRosa, but his offseason wrist surgery changes the equation. DeRosa is fully expected to be ready by the start of Spring Training, but he'll come with some risk. If he was fully healthy, he would be nearly as coveted as Chone Figgins, but supply and demand will work in DeRosa's favor because there are very few quality third baseman available. Plus, he can also play a ton of other positions.
Orioles Will Not Part With Top Prospects
The Orioles are known to be looking for an impact, middle-of-the-order hitter, but according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun, team president Andy MacPhail says he has no plans to part with any of his top young players to acquire such a hitter.
"Personally, I don't see us giving up any key building blocks going forward at this stage of the game," MacPhail said. "I'm pretty optimistic that we're going to be able to acquire guys that are going to be meaningful improvements for us without having to sacrifice key guys."
Zrebiec says this effectively takes the O's out of the running for Adrian Gonzalez, should the Padres put him on the market this winter. This year's free agent class lacks proven middle-of-the order guys beyond Matt Holliday and Jason Bay, although the Orioles are set in the outfield for the foreseeable future with Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and Nolan Reimold.
"It could come either way. You just don't know how the offseason is going to evolve. One trade might start a set of dominoes going in a direction that you really can't anticipate in September. We're going to take a look at what options are available to us in terms of a bat."
"The important thing for us is pretty simple — you identify a pretty wide spectrum of players that are free agents or you think might be available and you make sure you have adequate scouting coverage on them," MacPhail said. "But every offseason, there are things that come about that you just don't anticipate. Our job right now is to make sure we got our scouts in the right places."
Padres Expect To Be “Pretty Good” Next Year
When the Padres won the NL West with an 82-80 record four years ago, the division was laughably weak. Now that the Dodgers, Rockies and Giants have improved, the NL West is home to three of the league's five best teams. The Diamondbacks should improve next year, so the division is no longer a joke, but that hasn't deterred Padres GM Kevin Towers.
"I think we might be pretty good next year," Towers told ESPN.com's Buster Olney. "I know that sounds pretty crazy."
Olney suggests the Padres will likely keep Adrian Gonzalez, whose 35 homers would appeal to many teams if the Padres decided to listen to trade offers. The Padres have improved pitching and, now that they're no longer responsible for Jake Peavy's contract, could be minor players in the free agent market.
Heyman On Rockies, Wagner, Gonzalez
Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Rockies are in contention because GM Dan O'Dowd has made more worthwhile moves than anyone in the last year. He acquired Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez for Matt Holliday, turned Luis Vizcaino into Jason Marquis and acquired Rafael Betancourt. Here are Heyman's latest rumors:
- O'Dowd's contract expires after the season, when Giants GM Brian Sabean and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti can also become free agents. One rival GM would be shocked if the Rockies didn't offer O'Dowd an extension.
- Heyman imagines the exact same scenario that Buster Olney brought up earlier today. The Red Sox could keep Billy Wagner to close next year while Daniel Bard sets up. This would enable the Red Sox to trade Jonathan Papelbon, who would bring in a nice return. Heyman says it's "mostly speculation" and reminds us that it's "far-fetched."
- The D'Backs put Chad Qualls on waivers. He's expected to be claimed, but the D'Backs aren't expected to move him.
- Some expect the Padres to listen to offers for Adrian Gonzalez after the season,
Stark On Wagner, Padres, Crawford
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark shows that a number of contenders have vulnerable-looking closers. The Cubs and Phillies two of many teams with shaky arms at the back of the 'pen. Here are the details and the rest of Stark's rumors:
- At least one scout believes John Smoltz would have been the perfect arm for the Marlins to add to their 'pen.
- However, clubs pursuing Smoltz heard that he wanted to start, at least for now.
- A scout who watched Billy Wagner throw has "no doubt" that Wagner could help a team win. The Rays and Marlins are thought to have interest in Wagner, but neither team would be likely to give up much of a prospect unless the Mets picked up salary.
- Stark hears that the Padres pulled Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez back off waivers after multiple teams claimed them.
- Mark Hendrickson cleared waivers, and can now be traded to any team. The Rockies were interested before the deadline, but they may decide to see where the Billy Wagner bidding goes before pursuing Hendrickson again.
- One rival GM considers the Cards "the best team in the league right now."
- The Royals don't seem interested in trading their top pitchers. They pulled Brian Bannister back from waivers and though Joakim Soria and Gil Meche are on waivers now, they aren't likely to be dealt.
- Clubs eyeing Carl Crawford believe the Rays are becoming less likely to deal him. Desmond Jennings could become the Rays' left fielder, but they'd probably have to be overwhelmed to part with Crawford.
- It's possible that Jamie Moyer could draw interest as a trade candidate after the season.
- One AL exec isn't sure Bryce Harper's the guarantee people perceive him to be.
- Stark points out that the Astros traded Ivan Rodriguez just as his incentives were about to start kicking in.
- An official of a team that inquired about Stephen Strasburg before the draft says that Scott Boras invoked Daisuke Matsuzaka's name without specifically saying he wanted $50MM for his client.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Nationals, Padres, Hardy, Smoltz
FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's dig in for some rumory goodness…
- This coming week may the biggest week in Nationals' history. In addition to Monday's midnight deadline to sign first overall pick Stephen Strasburg, the Nats could pick their next general manager as early as Tuesday.
- "The buzz in scouting circles" is that Diamondbacks executive Jerry DiPoto is the frontrunner for the job, but the team has given "absolutely no indication of its plans." Acting GM Mike Rizzo has "generally gotten good reviews."
- The Padres put both Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell on trade waivers Friday. Both are likely to be claimed, but don't count on either getting traded. The team says that the Jake Peavy trade has greatly reduced the pressure on them to move either Gonzalez or Bell.
- If either player is going to be moved, it would most likely happen in the offseason when the Padres could negotiate will all 29 other teams.
- If shortstop J.J. Hardy stays in Triple-A for more than 20 days, he'll remain under the Brewers control for two more years instead of one. Such a move would enhance Hardy's trade value, and it would be tough for him to argue it's unfair given his lack of production this year. However, if service time was an issue, the club should have demoted him a lot sooner.
- Marlins righty Anibal Sanchez was throwing 90-94 in his most recent rehab start, and his return would lessen the pressure on some of the team's other young starters.
- The Marlins and Cardinals are among the teams looking at John Smoltz as a reliever. The Cards are also looking at a number of other righthanded options for their bullpen.
Rosenthal On Bell, Mets, Padilla, Braves
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Dodgers were on the brink of acquiring Heath Bell before the July 31st trade deadline. The Padres will listen to offers for Bell and Adrian Gonzalez again after the season, but they're under less pressure to deal those players with Jake Peavy's contract off the books. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- The Mets are not considering replacing Omar Minaya with assistant GM John Ricco right now, but we could see Ricco deal with the media more.
- A pair of NL teams, possibly the Dodgers and Brewers, are "kicking the tires" on Vicente Padilla. Teams are more likely to wait for him to clear waivers than strike a deal now, however.
- The Braves offered Casey Kotchman to the Pirates for Adam LaRoche before acquiring LaRoche from the Red Sox.
- The Rays and Rangers have been claiming players off of waivers aggressively.
- Rosenthal notes that the Rockies' revamped 'pen has pitched well so far.