Cashman On Contract, Sabathia
MLB.com's Bryan Hoch talked with Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who is conducting the team's professional scouting meetings this week.
- Cashman's contract expires on October 31st, but he told Hoch, "It'll get done between now and October 31st, I'm sure. I can't promise, but I think that's what everybody expects. I know it's something that everybody has to follow. But that's not a pressing circumstance, as far as something I'm worried about right now." Cashman feels his deal can be hammered out over the phone.
- "I'm sure we'll talk before the World Series is over," Cashman said in reference to C.C. Sabathia's contract situation. Sabathia is expected to opt out of the four years and $92MM remaining on the contract he signed in December of '08, but he hopes to re-sign.
- Cashman said he's hopeful he has qualified people to take the place of Yankees executives Billy Eppler or Damon Oppenheimer if need be, as they have been granted permission to interview for the Angels' GM job. ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted Oppenheimer's resume today: he's a Southern California native with five World Series rings and one of the best drafts in history (2006). Click here to read Ben Nicholson-Smith's interview with Openheimer as part of our GM Candidates series.
Quick Hits: Red Sox, Rangers, Yankees
On this date in 1979, the Pirates beat the Orioles 4-1 to win the World Series in seven games. Willie Stargell, the '79 NL MVP, hit a two-run home run in the victory. Here are links for Monday night as we await the beginning of this year's World Series…
- Jim Callis of Baseball America envisions Matt Barnes and Anthony Ranaudo in Boston's 2015 rotation.
- Callis also explains that the Dodgers weren't sure what they had when they drafted right-hander Edwin Jackson in 2001. He was athletic enough to pitch or play in the outfield.
- Bob Simpson, a co-chairman of the Rangers' board, told reporters, including Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com, that the Rangers are committed to sustaining their current level of play.
- Victor Martinez told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he's prepared to catch in 2012. The switch-hitter didn't catch at all after August 4th because of a knee sprain, but he's willing to don the tools of ignorance again. Martinez's health will affect Detroit's level of interest in backup catchers this offseason.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests it will be hard to get the Yankees to offer C.C. Sabathia much more than Cliff Lee obtained from the Phillies ($120MM over five years). Sabathia is expected to opt out of the four years and $92MM remaining on his contract this offseason and though he enjoys playing in New York, it doesn't seem like he's going to give the Yankees a hometown discount.
- The Yankees favor Yu Darvish over C.J. Wilson of the Rangers, according to Sherman.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer is highly regarded by the Angels. The Orioles hold D'Backs exec Jerry Dipoto in similarly high esteem, according to Olney (on Twitter).
AL West Notes: Rangers, Wilson, Feliz, Angels, A’s
With tonight's victory, the Rangers became the first AL West team to win consecutive pennants since the A's won three straight American League titles between 1988 and 1990. Here are a few news items from around the division….
- Despite recent rumors, the Rangers say there's "no way" they'll throw money at CC Sabathia this offseason, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). If Texas does decide to go after a starter from outside the organization, it would probably be Yu Darvish.
- "[C.J. Wilson] wants $100MM, and he's not getting that from us," a Rangers source tells Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. The source says that if Wilson leaves Texas for free agency, Alexi Ogando and Neftali Feliz would both be converted into starting pitchers next season.
- The Angels may be close to a new television contract with FOX Sports, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. A filing from Major League Baseball (in the ongoing legal case with Frank McCourt) stated that the Halos are "expected to close a new transaction" in regards to a new TV deal. Shaikin hears from sources that "no deal is imminent" but FOX and the Angels have been in negotiations. Shaikin speculates that the contract could exceed the Rangers' recent 20-year, $1.6BB TV contract with FOX.
- The Athletics were denied permission to interview Reds pitching coach Bryan Price, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link). Price's contract in Cincinnati expires after next season.
- Athletics scouts were against the December 2005 trade of then-prospect Andre Ethier to the Dodgers for Milton Bradley, tweets Tom Krasovic of West Coast Bias.
Sabathia’s Agent Discusses Opt-Out Clause
Yankees ace CC Sabathia is widely expected to exercise his opt-out clause soon after the World Series, foregoing the final four years of his contract in search of an even larger payday. In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney spoke to Brian Peters, Sabathia's agent, about the situation….
"CC has been clear about how he feels about New York and the Yankees," Peters said on Saturday morning, "and we will exhaust all of our efforts to reach a new agreement (with the Yankees)."
When asked if negotations about a new deal with New York have started, Peters replied: "As of today, I've got nothing new to report."
Sabathia, 31, will be leaving $92MM on the table if he opts out. His ERA has gone down in each of his three seasons in New York (3.00 in 2011), and his strikeout (8.7 K/9) and walk (2.3 BB/9) rates this year were his best since 2008. Olney mentions that there was some concern in the Yankees organization about how the lefty's weight affected his command late in the season (4.30 ERA in his last nine starts), but there should be little concern about his durability; Sabathia has thrown at least 230 innings every year since 2007.
We heard the Rangers were preparing to "throw a boatload of money" at Sabathia earlier this week, and Olney speculates that the Cubs and Angels could get involved as well. MLBTR readers were pretty split when asked how much Sabathia's next contract will be worth about two weeks ago.
AL East Notes: Cashman, CC, Blue Jays, Darvish
There's no shortage of news regarding AL East ballclubs so far this offseason, not the least of which is the Orioles' search for a new general manager. Click here for the latest on that story, and here are some other interesting items of note:
- The Yankees will meet with GM Brian Cashman next week, and the sides are expected to hammer out a new contract without trouble, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Cashman's contract expired after this season.
- Separately, Sherman examines which teams could be in on the bidding for Yankees starter CC Sabathia in the likely event of the left-hander opting out of his contract. As well, Sherman raises an interesting point: If some team swoops in with six- or seven-year offer, will the Yankees match? A case could be made against it, as the Bombers already have a few risky long-term deals on the books.
- The Blue Jays do not require rival teams to seek permission to interview Toronto employees, explains Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. As we have already seen in a couple instances this offseason (and in offseasons past), many teams are not as liberal with this policy, but the Jays feel that they can attract strong employees with the promise of being able to move on if another opportunity arises.
- Orioles player development director John Stockstill is in Japan to scout Yu Darvish, among others, a club source tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Stockstill signed Koji Uehara, according to Connolly.
- Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com has compiled a retrospective of Theo Epstein's tenure as Red Sox GM, listing Epstein's best and worst moves in trades, free agency and draft picks.
Rangers Preparing To Bid For C.C. Sabathia
The Rangers are planning to extend an offer to possible free agent C.C. Sabathia, a source tells Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York. Texas will "throw a boatload of money" at Sabathia, according to Matthews' source, though this unidentified person believes Sabathia will ultimately remain with the Yankees.
Sabathia can opt out of the four years and $92MM remaining on his Yankee contract and is widely expected to do so in search of a longer-term and more expensive deal. It has also been expected that Sabathia will sign a new contract to stay in New York due to both his love of the city and the Yankees' need for a top-flight starter, but given the number of high-payroll teams looking for pitching, Sabathia will certainly get plenty of attention on the open market. Beyond the Rangers and Yankees, it wouldn't be surprising to see teams like the Marlins, Nationals or Red Sox check in on the big southpaw.
As Matthews notes, Sabathia fits Nolan Ryan's preferred model of an inning-eating "workhorse pitcher" and would be a more-than-fine replacement for C.J. Wilson, who could leave via free agency himself this winter. Sabathia would give Texas the unquestioned ace pitcher the club has lacked since Cliff Lee departed to Philadelphia last offseason.
AL East Notes: Sabathia, Burnett, Orioles
Two AL East front offices will have different looks next year, as Theo Epstein is heading for Chicago and the Orioles are searching for a new GM. Here's the latest on the division…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yankees will have to seriously consider going in another direction if C.C. Sabathia opts out of his contract and wants much more than $120MM over five years. Some teams (the Rangers, for example) can get by without elite starting pitching, as Sherman explains.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff explains what he'd do if he were running the Yankees this offseason. First, Brian Cashman and Sabathia would be back with new deals. Davidoff would also exercise the options for Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher, trade A.J. Burnett for Derek Lowe, acquire John Danks and sign David DeJesus and a lefty reliever.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun explains that most people who aspire to be a general manager would want the Orioles' GM job. It's no easy assignment (I examined the task in detail yesterday), yet only 30 GM jobs exist.
Yankees Notes: Cashman, Sabathia, Swisher
There's a 100% chance GM Brian Cashman signs a new contract with the Yankees before long, based on what Joel Sherman of the New York Post is hearing (Twitter link). However, many questions about the 2012 Yankees persist. Here's a look ahead at some of the team's upcoming decisions…
- The Yankees haven't had any contract talks with Cashman at this point, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Feinsand hasn't heard from anyone who thinks the sides will fail to reach a deal.
- C.C. Sabathia told Mark Hale of the New York Post that baseball is a business, while acknowledging that it would be difficult to leave New York. The left-hander will likely opt out of the four years and $92MM remaining on his seven-year, $161MM deal. Cashman says the Yankees haven't started talking extension with Sabathia.
- Manager Joe Girardi says he doesn't want to imagine his rotation without Sabathia, according to Feinsand (all Twitter links). Girardi says he's sure the Yankees will look to add top-of-the-rotation pitching even if Sabathia returns.
- Girardi says he expects Alex Rodriguez to start at third, rather than DH, in 2012, according to Feinsand.
- Sherman knows that it'd be easiest for the Yankees to pick up Nick Swisher's $10.25MM option and work Jesus Montero into the lineup, but he makes the case that Carlos Beltran is in many ways preferable to Swisher. It will cost more than $10.25MM to sign Beltran, who could obtain a three-year deal this winter.
AL East Links: Red Sox, Jays, Yanks, Sabathia, O’s
Some links from the only division with three 90-win teams in 2011…
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier reports that the Red Sox will not interview anyone for their managerial opening until the status of GM Theo Epstein is resolved. The Cubs have asked permission to talk to Epstein about their GM vacancy.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman reports (on Twitter) that teams are showing trade interest in Joey Votto, and "speculation around the game" is that the Blue Jays will be in the mix. Earlier tonight we heard that the Reds have not discussed trading Votto, however.
- Unsurprisingly, the Yankees are looking for starting pitching and left-handed relievers, tweets Heyman. Our free agent list shows a number of attractive lefty relief options.
- Amber Sabathia, wife of Yankees ace CC Sabathia, told Ken Davidoff of Newsday that her family is "definitely invested" in New York and that she considers it to be their home. Sabathia can choose to opt-out of his seven-year, $161MM deal this winter.
- MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli looks both back and ahead with regards to the Orioles front office. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail is stepping down when his contract expires at the end of the month.
Yankees Notes: Montero, Cashman, A-Rod, Sabathia
You knew there would be a lot of Yankee news the day after the Bronx Bombers were eliminated from the postseason. Ben Nicholson-Smith already gave us one batch of items out of New York today, and now here are a few more tidbits as the Yanks look ahead to next year…
- Jesus Montero may once again be trade bait this winter, writes John Harper of the New York Daily News. A group of scouts tells Harper that such pitchers as James Shields, Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, Mat Latos or Matt Cain could potentially be obtained in a deal featuring Montero. Harper also says "the early indications are the Yanks won't go to extremes to sign" C.J. Wilson as a free agent.
- Brian Cashman says that starting pitching is "always, always, always" the club's offseason focus and this year will be no different, reports Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. Cashman noted, however, that he doesn't expect next year's roster to be drastically different from the 2011 edition.
- With Alex Rodriguez's weak postseason numbers fresh in everyone's mind, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post and Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal both express worry about the six years and $143MM remaining on A-Rod's contract.
- Locking up C.C. Sabathia for more years and more millions could turn the ace into a Rodriguez-esque albatross on the Yankee payroll, warns Johnette Howard of ESPN New York.
- Which of New York's two big free agents is a safer signing: Sabathia or Mets shortstop Jose Reyes? Ken Plutnicki of the New York Times asks the question.