Gabe Gross Retires
Gabe Gross has decided to retire, reports Jon Johnson of The Enterprise Ledger. Said Gross:
"I just felt like my heart wasn’t into it. This and quitting football are the two hardest decisions I’ve ever made."
Gross signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in February, and after a March release he was ready to hang up his cleats. But then he took the Marlins up on an offer last week. When his Sunday physical was delayed, he thought about it for an extra day and decided to retire to spend time with his wife and two kids.
The 31-year-old finishes his career having earned approximately $5MM, including his signing bonus as the 15th overall pick out of Auburn by the Blue Jays in 2001. He posted a .239/.330/.385 line in seven seasons for the Jays, Brewers, Rays, and Athletics. Gross was involved in the 2005 deal in which the Jays also sent Dave Bush to the Brewers for Lyle Overbay.
Marlins To Sign Gabe Gross
The Marlins have signed Gabe Gross to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro (on Twitter). Like the Chris Sampson deal, this one is pending a physical.
Gross, 31, asked the Mariners for his release in March after having a poor Spring Training. He hit just .239/.290/.311 for the A's last year, and is a .239/.330/.385 hitter in 1,680 career plate appearances. Gross' defense in right field has been particularly strong, though.
Mariners Release Gabe Gross
Gabe Gross requested and has been granted his release from the Mariners reports MLB.com's Greg Johns (on Twitter). The outfielder hit just .077/.200/.231 in 23 at-bats this spring after signing a minor league deal last month.
Gross, 31, hit just .239/.290/.311 for the A's last year. He's a .239/.330/.385 hitter in 1,680 career plate appearances, though his defense in right field has been particularly strong.
Mariners Sign Gabe Gross
The Mariners have signed outfielder Gabe Gross to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to the team's official Twitter feed. Gross is represented by Moye Sports Associates.
Gross, 31, declared free agency after being outrighted off the Athletics' 40-man roster in October. The former first-round pick of the Blue Jays hit .239/.290/.311 with one home run in 105 games for the A's last season.
Gabe Gross, Jeff Larish Declare Free Agency
Outfielder Gabe Gross and infielder Jeff Larish declared free agency after being outrighted off the Athletics' 40-man roster according to a team press release. Righthanders Jon Meloan and Justin Souza were also outrighted, but remain in the organization.
Gross, 31, hit just .239/.290/.311 in 243 plate appearances this year after signing a one-year, $750K deal last offseason. Despite the down year, Gross said he would return to the A's in 2011 "with bells on." Larish, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Tigers in August and hit .175/.277/.333 in 65 plate appearances with Oakland.
Neither Meloan nor Souza appeared in the big leagues this year. The former didn't pitch at all due to Tommy John surgery, the latter managed a 4.33 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 49 relief innings, mostly at the Double-A level level.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braves, Rangers, Rays, Haren
The Phillies won their second World Series in franchise history two years ago today, beating the Rays in the first suspended game in series history. Game Five started on October 27th, 2008, and the two clubs played to a 2-2 tie through the first five and a half innings before rain forced the suspension. The game didn't resume until October 29th due to the weather, but when it finallly did the Phillies outscored Tampa 2-1 the rest of the way for a 4-3 final score.
There's no weather-related delay for these links; here's the best from around the web this week…
- Capitol Avenue Club provides a primer for the Braves' offseason.
- Pine Tar And Pocket Protectors explains how Mark Teixeira built the AL Champion Rangers.
- The Baseball Opinion re-lives Sandy Alderson's biggest trade.
- DRays Bay compiles Andrew Friedman's offseason to-do list.
- Meanwhile, The Process Report thinks about Nick Johnson as a cheap option for the Rays.
- Drunk Jays Fans reacts to the John Farrell hiring and more.
- Baseball Analytics breaks down Pat Burrell's resurgence.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness wonders if Ivan DeJesus should get a crack at the Dodgers second base job next year.
- Disciples of Uecker says it's time for Josh Butler to put up or shut up. The Brewers acquired Butler for Gabe Gross in 2008.
- Yankeeist wonders what would have happened if the Yankees managed to acquire Dan Haren this summer.
- SPANdemonium compares the Rangers, Rays and Royals.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Gross, Cubs, Dunn, Ellis, Pujols
Links for the final day of the 2010 regular season…
- Despite seeing limited action, Gabe Gross told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he would return to the A's "with bells on".
- Carrie Muskat of MLB.com writes that Cubs interim manager Mike Quade expects to return.
- Adam Dunn won't be getting a four-year deal from the Nats, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- Oakland hasn't decided what to do with Mark Ellis' $6MM option for 2011 but the A's do want the 33-year-old back one way or another, says Buster Olney of ESPN.
- A final announcement on the Brewers field staff is expected Monday, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.
- The Bucs may retain pitching coach Ray Searage, Pirates GM Neal Huntington told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- GM John Mozeliak told Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he plans to engage Albert Pujols and his camp in contract negotiations this winter, but they "have a number of other issues [they] need to get to first." Pujols' ten-and-five no-trade rights kick in today, and he has maintained that he will consider the club's long-term competitiveness when discussing a new deal.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that Orioles' president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail has no plans to approach owner Peter Angelos about a contract extension. His deal expires after next season.
- Carlos Zambrano wants to see the Cubs sign Adam Dunn this winter, writes Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report that the Yankees signed lefthander Naoya Okamoto to a minor league contract.
- The Detroit Free Press lists some of the Tigers' dead weight salary obligations. They owe Gary Sheffield between $1MM and $2.5MM annually until 2019.
- Meanwhile, Jim Leyland told Tom Gage of The Detroit News (Twitter link) that an "RBI bat" is one of the team's biggest needs this offseason, in addition to bullpen help.
Top Trade Chips: AL West
We've completed the National League, so now it's time to jump over to the so-called junior circuit…
- Angels: They moved three pretty good young players to get Scott Kazmir last season, so they might prefer to hold onto the rest of their top prospects. Their best chip is someone you may not have heard of, out of options catcher Bobby Wilson. He's on the 25-man roster but has barely played as the third stringer, yet how many teams would love to have a 27-year old catcher with a very good defensive rep, a .290/.345/.425 batting line in 820 Triple-A plate appearances, and six years of team control left? Pretty much all of them. He'll never clear waivers if the Halos try to send him back to the minors.
- Athletics: Oakland has plenty of young pitching, but Billy Beane likes to hang on to those kind of guys, and for good reason. With ten infielders on the 40-man roster, someone like Jake Fox or Eric Patterson could be moved, as could outfielders Travis Buck or Gabe Gross since Michael Taylor is coming fast. Plus there's always Ben Sheets.
- Mariners: Jack Zduriencik surrendered a good amount of prospect depth this offseason by acquiring Cliff Lee, but no one will argue with that move. Dustin Ackley, the second overall pick in 2009, will make Jose Lopez expendable in short order, and they could choose to make one of two minor league outfielders – Michael Saunders or Greg Halman – available. Seattle's best trade chip might be their potential ability to absorb some money.
- Rangers: Texas is absolutely loaded with young players, so they have plenty of pieces to offer. They can move Chris Davis because Justin Smoak is knocking on the door, or they could move Derek Holland because Martin Perez isn't too far away. They dangled Max Ramirez this winter, and outfielder David Murphy is about to get expensive through arbitration, so he could find himself on the block. Bottom line: the Rangers have the pieces to go out and get anything they need or want.
Athletics Sign Gabe Gross
The Athletics officially signed outfielder Gabe Gross to a one-year, $750K deal. He can earn another $250K in incentives. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported serious discussions Saturday night, with Jane Lee of MLB.com reporting the agreement and contract details.
Gross, 30, hit .227/.326/.355 in 326 plate appearances for the Rays last year, logging 638.6 innings in right field. He has experience at the other two outfield positions, and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle feels he's the favorite for Oakland's fourth outfielder job. Gross has struggled mightily against lefties in his career; he's hit 242/.338/.409 against righties the last three years.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Olney On The Damon Negotiations
When the offseason began, Johnny Damon was not interested in seeing offers for deals that would pay him less than the $13MM he made in 2009, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. The Yankees offered Damon $14MM over two years ealier in the winter and lowered the offer to $6MM for a single year recently.