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Brandon Webb

Diamondbacks Rumors: Webb, Byrnes

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Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic spoke to General Managing Partner Ken Kendrick of the Arizona Diamondbacks about the team's future. Here are a few of the highlights:

  • The team has "every intention" of exercising Brandon Webb's $8.5MM option.
  • Like GM Josh Byrnes said earlier in the week, there's no guarantee the team will hang on to outfielder Eric Byrnes just because of his bloated contract. Kendrick said the deal "looks like a mistake."
  • The payroll for 2010 should be in the $75MM-$79MM range, after the team spent $73MM in 2009.
  • Josh Byrnes could then have up to $20MM to address the team's needs in the offseason. Piecoro suggests that might mean looking at "the bullpen, a vacancy in the rotation, and perhaps…a veteran position player."
  • Kendrick sees the bullpen as the main priority when adding new talent this winter.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Mets, White Sox

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Lots of teams are packing their bags today. But every trip has a destination…

  • Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette chats with readers. Among other moves, he expects the Pirates to shop Matt Capps.
  • The incomparable Marty Noble quotes a Mets official as saying, "There's more of an understanding now that we need to fix things on more than the Major League level."
  • Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune thinks Carlos Quentin could help himself from "a slight weight loss."
  • Nick Piecoro believes the Diamondbacks have no choice but to pick up Brandon Webb's $6.5MM option for 2010, which is actually an $8.5MM option minus a $2.0MM buyout Arizona can exercise.

Diamondbacks Seeking Veteran Reliever

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The Diamondbacks could have two potential holes to fill in their rotation depending on what happens with Doug Davis and Brandon Webb after the season, but GM Josh Byrnes also wants to add a veteran reliever according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.

"We've had our share of adversity this year, and in the bullpen it's not going to be a smooth ride for six months," Byrnes said. "We'd like to have people who can sort of understand that a bad game is going to happen but not let it happen too often and set an example that way."

Arizona's pen was supposed to be anchored by Chad Qualls, Scott Schoeneweis, Tony Pena and Jon Rauch, but Rauch and Pena were traded, Qualls battled injury, and Schoeneweis dealt with the unfortunate passing of his wife. The foursome combined for a 4.46 ERA in 163.1 IP for the D-Backs this season.

Looking the list of available free agents this offseason, could Bobby Howry or Octavio Dotel make sense? Maybe a Brandon Lyon reunion? 

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Webb, Soria, Red Sox, Pirates, Verlander, Felix

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On this date five years ago, Carlos Delgado hit his 300th career home run. He would go on to hit three more home runs that game to become just the 15th big leaguer to hit four in one game. Now in the final year of a five-year, $60MM contract, Delgado has a season average of .298 with four homers and 23 RBI in the 26 games he played before his hip surgery. Jon Heyman reported that the Mets are open to bringing him back next year. However, Adam Rubin wrote that the Mets will not offer Delgado arbitration. With one week remaining before the off-season starts for most teams, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • MLB Notebook looks at where Brandon Webb could end up if the D'Backs decline his option.
  • Royals Authority wonders if the Phillies would be a good trade partner to land Joakim Soria.
  • The Bottom Line writes that the Red Sox either have to re-sign Jason Bay or pick up Matt Holliday.
  • Bucco Fans says the Pirates have money to spend this off-season and speculates on where that money might be spent.
  • Jorge Says No! speculates on what it might take to sign Justin Verlander to an extension.
  • Prospect Insider looks at what it might take to sign Felix Hernandez to an extension.
  • Blogging Mets lists Omar Minaya's worst moves.
  • Sports: A Game Of Inches compares Jonny Gomes to Adam Dunn. Gomes will be arbitration-eligible after the season.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Odds & Ends: Webb, Chapman, ChiSox, Brewers

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Wednesday evening link session…

  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney thinks Brandon Webb is right in not accepting a compromise deal from the Diamondbacks.  He lists multiple teams that would be willing to offer the former Cy Young Award winner a lucrative one-year contract, including the Dodgers, Angels, Cubs, White Sox, Yankees and Red Sox.
  • Scott Merkin of MLB.com gathered this quote from White Sox GM Kenny Williams, regarding his outlook heading into the offseason:  "No. 1, I don’t like what I see on the free agent market, and what I do like, it’s going to cost you a No. 1 pick. "
  • According to Jorge Arangure of ESPN.com, Aroldis Chapman's agent will be present at Yankee Stadium this weekend to take in a game against the Red Sox.  Chapman, though, will remain in Andorra.
  • Arangure also "tweets" that Cuban first baseman Jose Julio Ruiz has finally become a free agent.  The 25-year-old hit .305/.408/.467 over 52 games in the Serie Nacional last season before suddenly defecting to the Dominican Republic.
  • According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, Brewers manager Ken Macha is likely to return for a second season.  GM Doug Melvin knows exactly where the blame should lie for his club's disappointing 2009 campaign, and it's not on the skipper:  "It came down to starting pitching," Melvin said Tuesday. "Overall, we lacked depth. When we had to reach down … (it wasn't there)."

Webb Not Interested In Restructured Deal

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We've seen speculation that the Diamondbacks could decline Brandon Webb's $8.5MM club option in hopes of negotiating a more favorable deal, as risky as that sounds.  Given the $2MM buyout, it's a net of just $6.5MM for the D'Backs in 2010.

Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic spoke to Webb today, and the pitcher said he is not interested in a restructured deal.  If the Diamondbacks decline the option, Webb will hit the open market.  Talking to Scott Bordow of the East Valley Tribune, Webb referenced John Smoltz's $5.5MM guarantee, noting that "he's got a little bit of age on me and my surgery wasn't even close to his."

Webb's preference is still for the D'Backs to pick up the 2010 option.  Despite what's been written I'd be surprised if they don't.

D’Backs Rumors: Snyder, Webb

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Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has the latest on the D'Backs' offseason plans…

  • Chris Snyder will undergo back surgery tomorrow and the operation figures to hurt the catcher's trade value. The D'Backs have relied on Miguel Montero this year, so they don't need Snyder as much as they expected to when they signed him to a $14.25MM deal last offseason. The contract and Snyder's .200/.333/.352 line would likely have prevented the club from trading the 28-year-old even if he wasn't having surgery tomorrow.
  • The D'Backs tend to avoid incentive-based contracts, but they may consider one if they approach Brandon Webb about restructuring his current deal. When Tim interviewed Josh Byrnes earlier in the year, the D'Backs GM said he prefers to avoid bonuses because he likes having a stable payroll and wants to avoid clubhouse distractions.

Odds & Ends: Webb, Griffey, Hoffman

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Links for Monday…

The D’Backs And Brandon Webb’s Option

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WEDNESDAY: The D'Backs are likely to take their time on the Webb option decision, says Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  Piecoro adds:

But for now, the organization seems to be operating under the assumption that Webb will be back in the fold next year, whether it's with the club picking up his $8.5MM option or negotiating some other type of deal.

MONDAY: The Diamondbacks "don't plan to pick up Brandon Webb's $8.5MM club option," according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).  Nightengale says they will instead try to negotiate a one-year deal.  Webb hopes to be ready for Spring Training after a recent shoulder cleanup.  Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic notes that the D'Backs have until five days after the World Series to decide between Webb's $8.5MM option and the $2MM buyout.

Despite the report, I'd be surprised to see the D'Backs decline the option.  After all, it is a one-year deal already, and a net of $6.5MM is quite reasonable for a pitcher of Webb's stature.  For the team to try to reduce the guarantee further would be unreasonable, and the D'Backs aren't high on incentive-based contracts.  Plus, GM Josh Byrnes had this to say a month ago about the option: "If it's close, he'll probably get the benefit of the doubt."

Stark On Free Agent Pitchers

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"I don't think there's one pitcher in this entire group I'd invest a lot of money in. Not one," said one general manager to ESPN's Jayson Stark. This year's collection of free agent pitchers doesn't have the star power that last year's CC Sabathia highlighted crop had, or that next year's group led by Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee will have, but there will still be plenty of money thrown around.

As Stark explains, club officials seem to be down on available starters this year, describing them as "risky," "weak," "terrible," and "mediocre" among other things. One AL executive said that "There are some guys in this group who are dependable. Except they're dependable to give you 5.00 ERAs and 180 innings. And that's not what you want to build a staff around."

Regardless, Stark ranks the top ten starting pitching options in this year's free agent class. Here's a roundup of his list, with quotes from various sources…

  1. John Lackey: "He's the best name on the list," one exec said. "But if Anaheim shies away from this guy or doesn't make a serious attempt to sign him, I'd have concerns. They know him better than everyone else. So that would send out some serious red flags for me."
  2. Randy Wolf: He's "durable, dependable and left-handed," one GM said. And he's also "two 190-plus-inning seasons removed from any health issues."
  3. Joel Piniero: One GM said "I'd have interest in Pineiro, but I'd never invest multi-years in that guy. Just too inconsistent a track record."
  4. Jason Marquis: "He's having a great year," said an official of one team. "But I'm just not sure how to look at it. Was this a turning point in his career? Or do you look at it as somebody who turned it up and figured it out when he had the most to gain? I really don't know."
  5. Rich Harden: "I'd be scared to death to commit years to this guy," one AL exec said. "He's been used kind of like Pedro [Martinez] was used in the past, where they're always trying to build in an extra day's rest. And he's just a five-inning guy, in the National League. He might strike out 10, but he'll only go five innings, so he still kills your 'pen. He'll get some money. I just don't see anybody giving him more than a year."
  6. Andy Pettitte: One exec described his situation as "will probably either stay in New York or shut it down."
  7. Jarrod Washburn: One GM said, "he's 35 years old, and [before this year] his last winning season was [2004]."
  8. Jon Garland: "He doesn't have the stuff the other guys on this list have, but he's proven he's durable, and durability counts," said an official of one team. "It's like they say in golf: Most putts that you hit short don't go in. Well, most pitchers that don't make a start don't win. This guy at least makes his starts."
  9. Doug Davis: "Made for the NL West."
  10. Brad Penny: An executive said "He's the kind of guy who, if you give him a multiyear deal, he'll crush your franchise. Is somebody going to sign him for four years and expect 120 starts? Good luck."

Stark also names several players he calls "X-Factors," which are guys who could enter the market with major question marks. Included in this group are Brandon Webb, Erik Bedard, John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, Brett Myers, and Vicente Padilla. We could even add Chien-Ming Wang's name to that list.

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