NL East Links: Sizemore, Vazquez, Nationals
Three years ago today, the Marlins claimed Dan Meyer off waivers from the Athletics. The left-hander went on to enjoy a strong season out of Florida's bullpen in 2009 (3.09 ERA with 8.6 K/9 in 58 1/3 innings) before struggling in 2010. Here's the lastest from the NL East…
- The Mets are unlikely to target Grady Sizemore as a center field solution according to Andy McCullough of The Star Ledger (on Twitter). He says it's not much of a surprise given Sizemore's injury problems over the last three seasons.
- It's "50-50" as to whether former Expos and Marlins hurler Javier Vazquez will play in 2012, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The right-hander strongly prefers the east coast, and his return would depend on the team and its competitive environment.
- Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post broke down the Nationals' current payroll commitments. Tim Dierkes did the same and more in his Offseason Outlook post.
Quick Hits: Sizemore, Mariners, Reds
Congratulations to this year’s Silver Slugger winners. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Agent Joe Urbon told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that Grady Sizemore is "open to anything" and "not limiting his choices at all." Several teams have already expressed preliminary interest in the free agent outfielder. Ideally he would play center field, but he's open to playing left or right.
- Over at FanGraphs, MLBTR writer Mike Axisa explains why Andrew Brackman was the most expensive draft bust in baseball history. The Yankees cut ties with the former first round pick yesterday.
- Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner offers his offseason plan for the Mariners. It revolves around acquiring Joey Votto from the Reds and includes contract offers for former Seattle left-handers Jamie Moyer and Erik Bedard. In my offseason outlook for the Mariners, I suggested it makes sense for the team to pursue rotation and bullpen depth.
- Second baseman Brandon Phillips told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he has “some leverage” in contract talks with the Reds. Fay suggests Phillips is looking for a deal in the $38-62MM range. The Reds, who picked up Phillips’ $12MM option for 2012 earlier in the week, intend to continue discussing an extension.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told Fay that he remains hopeful that the team can reach a deal with Francisco Cordero. Jocketty nearly arrived at an agreement with the closer earlier this week, but the sides didn't agree to terms and the Reds declined their option on Cordero.
- The Fielding Bible recently announced its 2011 winners. Albert Pujols, Adrian Beltre and Troy Tulowitzki were among those rewarded for defensive excellence.
Red Sox Rumors: Sizemore, Shortstops, Sabathia
The latest Red Sox rumors, courtesy of Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald…
- The Red Sox are expected to explore signing free agent Grady Sizemore as a right field option, a team source tells Silverman. Sizemore would not rule out playing a corner outfield position for the first time in his MLB career, said agent Joe Urbon. An incentive-laden contract for Sizemore would likely include a player option, writes Silverman. Sizemore ranks 26th on my top 50 free agents list.
- Predict which top free agents the Red Sox and other teams will sign in our new contest for a chance to win awesome prizes.
- In declining Dan Wheeler's $3MM option yesterday, new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington said, "We didn’t feel like we could commit to that money this early in the offseason."
- Cherington hinted that the team's shortstop surplus could be helpful on the trade market.
- The Red Sox made no offer for Derek Lowe, said Cherington.
- The Red Sox were "expected to go after C.C. Sabathia hard, if only to drive his price tag in New York higher," hears Silverman. Sabathia completed a contract extension last night.
- Though Commissioner Bud Selig could step in as early as today to resolve the Theo Epstein compensation talks, Silverman doesn't think it's a hard deadline.
Indians Notes: Sizemore, Carmona, Lowe
The Indians started their offseason off with a few major moves today, acquiring Derek Lowe from the Braves, picking up Fausto Carmona's option and declining Grady Sizemore's. Here are some more notes about the Indians…
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he visited Sizemore's Arizona home to tell him that the Indians had decided to decline his option. The decision was "very difficult" for Antonetti, but he determined that there were better ways for the Indians to spend the $8.5MM they saved.
- The Indians will pursue a "quality outfielder" through free agency, Antonetti said. There's still a chance that the Indians will re-sign Sizemore.
- The Indians are expecting better results from Carmona in 2012, since the groundballer has bounced back from difficult seasons in the past.
- Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer says the Indians should make Michael Brantley their everyday center fielder and shop for a corner outfielder this offseason.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law breaks down the Lowe trade and says it helps the Indians, since they get another groundball pitcher who makes his starts. Lowe isn't much more than a back-of-the-rotation pitcher, Law writes, so Atlanta's willingness to part with him for salary relief and lefty reliever Chris Jones is understandable.
- Jason Roberts of FanGraphs explains that there's reason for the Indians to expect Lowe to rebound from his ugly 5.05 ERA in 2012.
- When I looked ahead to the Indians' offseason last week I explained that adding rotation depth was a significant part of the team's offseason challenge. Now that they've acquired Lowe and declined Sizemore's option, their next job will be to re-establish outfield depth.
Indians Exercise Option On Carmona, Decline On Sizemore
The Indians announced today they've exercised their club option on Fausto Carmona and declined their option on Grady Sizemore.
Carmona would have earned more than the $7MM option price as an arbitration eligible player, and the Indians made the expected choice to retain him.
Sizemore spent his entire career with the Indians, peaking in 2008 with a tenth-place finish in the MVP voting. Due to Sizemore's health concerns, the Indians chose a $500K buyout over a $9MM option for 2012. Sizemore has had several surgeries in recent years but expects to be ready for Spring Training, so he'll be appealing on a one-year deal to many teams.
Indians To Decline Sizemore’s Option, Exercise Carmona’s
The Indians are expected to decline their $9MM 2012 option on center fielder Grady Sizemore and exercise their $7MM 2012 option on right-hander Fausto Carmona, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Sizemore will be owed a $500K buyout.
Sizemore, 29, was a cornerstone player for the Tribe from 2005-08 (.281/.372/.496) but has seen his stock plummet after three consecutive injury-riddled campaigns. Bastian notes that the Indians will likely be interested in bringing back Sizemore on a lesser deal, and as Tim Dierkes wrote earlier today, the three-time All-Star should garner interest – perhaps in the form of an incentive-laden deal – from teams in need of help in center field.
Carmona, 28 in December, will apparently return for a seventh season in Cleveland. The groundballer (58.6% career rate) has seen pretty wild fluctuations in his yearly ERAs, although his FIPs usually sits in the mid-4.00s. He averaged 200 innings over the past two seasons, however, so the Indians are hoping that he can shoulder a similar workload again and pitch competently at what is a reasonable salary. The Indians also hold options on the right-hander for 2013 ($9MM) and 2014 ($12MM).
Last night we learned that all option decisions – regardless if it's team, player, or mutual – must be made by 11:59pm ET on Monday.
Quick Hits: Shields, Giambi, Sizemore, Beltran
After one of the greatest, wildest, sloppiest and most exciting games in baseball history, we're going to see a Game Seven tomorrow night. It will be the first seventh game in the Series since the Angels needed the maximum to beat the Giants in 2002.
As we prepare for the last game of 2011, here are some news items….
- In an interview with 620-WDAE radio (reported on by Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times), James Shields says he thinks the Rays will pick up his $7MM option for 2012 and he will pitch for the team next season. The Rays are a near-lock to pick up Shields' option but they could shop the right-hander for a trade this winter.
- Smith also notes that Shields' option could be worth as much as $8MM depending on an innings-pitched incentive clause and how Shields fares in AL Cy Young voting.
- Jason Giambi is considering declining his side of his $1MM mutual option for 2012, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post. We heard last month that the Rockies were going to pick up their side of the option, so the decision appears to be up to Giambi.
- If Grady Sizemore had played his exact career with another team and the Indians had a chance to sign him, the Tribe wouldn't even consider the move, argues Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. That's how Pluto frames the Indians' decision about Sizemore's $9MM option for 2012.
- The Red Sox and Giants will both be contenders for Carlos Beltran this winter, reports Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link).
- The Angels should rehire former scouting director Eddie Bane, opines Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles. Bane was fired by then-GM Tony Reagins last year but still has a good relationship with owner Arte Moreno and team president John Carpino.
- The week's minor league transactions are recapped by Matt Eddy of Baseball America.
- After getting burned on the Michael Gonzalez and Kevin Gregg signings, "it’s unlikely that the Orioles will spend big money on a closer" this winter, says Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com.
AL Central Notes: Cabrera, Jimenez, Sizemore
On this date in 2005, the White Sox won their first World Series since 1917, completing a sweep of the Astros behind a strong outing from Freddy Garcia. Here's the latest news from the AL Central…
- Royals GM Dayton Moore told Dick Kaegel of MLB.com that he expects to work out a one-year deal with Melky Cabrera instead of exploring a multiyear extension with the center fielder. Cabrera, who will be eligible for free agency after the 2012 season, posted a .305/.339/.470 line with 18 homers, 20 stolen bases and 201 hits in 2011. MLBTR projects a 2012 salary of $4.4MM for the 27-year-old.
- Rany Jazayerli explores the starting pitching trade market from the perspective of the Royals and lists A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Wandy Rodriguez and Ted Lilly as arms Moore could pursue. These possible targets have substantial contracts to go along with experience and some ability.
- MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian points out that Justin Verlander rebounded from a disappointing 2008 season to become one of baseball’s best pitchers and wonders if Indians right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez could experience a similar renaissance in 2012.
- Bastian also points out that Matt LaPorta doesn’t have a guaranteed job heading into Spring Training and notes that acquiring Mike Napoli would be tremendously difficult for the Indians.
- The Indians have talked to Joe Urbon, Grady Sizemore's agent, about re-negotiating the center fielder's $9MM option into a multiyear deal for similar money, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It doesn’t look like the sides will re-structure Sizemore’s contract, however.
Quick Hits: Padres, Orioles, Wilson, Sizemore
Here are some Quick Hits as the Rangers have evened up the World Series 2-2..
- Even though Padres GM Jed Hoyer and assistant GM Jason McLeod are headed to the Cubs, Baseball America's Jim Callis told Dan Hayes of the North County Times that the club should still be able to maintain their strong farm system.
- When speaking to reporters, Commissioner Bud Selig didn't rule out the possibility of a collective bargaining agreement announcement before the end of the World Series, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Orioles manager Buck Showalter is a big admirer of what the Blue Jays do which leads many to think that Tony LaCava will land the GM job, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. Jerry Dipoto is also in the mix for the job.
- C.J. Wilson is well aware that his scheduled start in Game 5 of the World Series could be his last with the Rangers, but his impending free agency is the furthest thing from Wilson's mind, writes Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest.
- Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster hopes that Theo Epstein sparks a cultural shift in Chicago, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- The Indians' biggest need this winter is a productive hitter that they can slide into the middle of the order, writes Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer. Preferably, that hitter would play first base, third base, left field, or right field.
- It could be worthwhile for a team such as the Giants to take a one-year flier on center fielder Grady Sizemore, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Shea also runs down his predictions for many of this winter's top free agents including Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and C.J. Wilson.
- If Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. lets Albert Pujols walk now after his mythical Game 3 performance an angry uprising from St. Louis fans is inevitable, writes Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Quick Hits: Messenger, White Sox, Indians, Rhodes
Some links from around baseball as we await Game Three tomorrow night..
- Former Mariners pitcher Randy Messenger has agreed to a contract to return to the Hanshin Tigers in 2012, a source tells Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Messenger’s agent Matt Sosnick confirmed that the deal is for one-year with an option for 2013. MLBTR has learned that the two-year deal could be worth just under $5MM.
- If the White Sox stick to their plan of cutting their $127MM payroll, with $89MM already tied to eleven players, it's likely that John Danks or Mark Buehrle won't start next season with the team, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin. The arbitration-eligible Danks would be one of the team's greater trade chips.
- Three days after the World Series, Indians GM Chris Antonetti will have to decide whether to exercise club options on center fielder Grady Sizemore and starter Fausto Carmona, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Picking up the options of both would cost the Tribe $16MM in 2012.
- Shortstop Rafael Furcal wrestled with the decision of whether or not to approve the deal sending him from the Dodgers to the Cardinals, writes Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times.
- After clearing waivers, Cardinals lefty Arthur Rhodes could have wound up with any number of teams, writes Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- Blue Jays skipper John Farrell gained valuable experience in his first year as a big league manager, writes MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm.