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Rosenthal On Oswalt, Giants, Kuroda, Chen

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports dishes the latest on several free agents…

  • The Nationals "plan a major push" for free agent righty Roy Oswalt, and Rosenthal considers the Rangers another potential player.  Nats GM Mike Rizzo explained his interest earlier this month.  Oswalt's agent Bob Garber told Jon Paul Morosi, "With Roy, home and family are very important to him.  It would be a bonus to be close to home, but nothing is off limits, in terms of either coast or the Midwest.  Ideally, yes, it would be great to be close to home, but it's not going to stop us, if it's the right situation. His goal is to get the ring. He doesn't have any jewelry right now. He's made a lot of money. At this point, it's about the ring. That's what he wants to take with him."  Oswalt lives in Mississippi.
  • Rosenthal doesn't see the Giants having the money to afford Carlos Beltran or Jose Reyes this winter.  This math was apparent in September, when GM Brian Sabean told reporters payroll would remain about the same, around $125MM.  The Giants currently have $81.683MM in contractual commitments for 2012, and if they tender the most likely nine of their 13 arbitration eligible players that's another estimated $38.7MM for a total of $120.383MM before minimum salary players are considered.  A few million for 2012 could be freed up by trading Jeff Keppinger and signing Tim Lincecum to a multiyear deal.  
  • Rosenthal feels that Hiroki Kuroda "might be more open to playing elsewhere, having gone through the experience of considering another team."  I ranked Kuroda 15th on my top 50 free agents list.
  • Wei-Yin Chen of the Chunichi Dragons is a likely free agent, writes Rosenthal.  Agent Alan Nero told Rosenthal Chen and Tsuyoshi Wada are drawing significant interest.  Last week, Chen said he was 50/50 on moving to MLB (link in Japanese, thanks to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker for the translation).  Chen controls the process due to a free agency clause in his contract, and he's only 26.  Newman tells me Chen topped out around 91 miles per hour this year, short of the 95 he reached a few years ago, but he's still interesting enough to fit in the middle of our top 50 list.  I ranked Wada 34th.

Yankees Notes: Kuroda, Darvish, Sabathia, Nova

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The Yankees will decline Damaso Marte's option, as expected. Here are some more notes on the club's pitching staff…

  • C.C. Sabathia's investment in the Yankees is not "in the same universe" as Derek Jeter's, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out. The Yankees are hesitant to tie themselves up with long-term deals, but there should be common ground for the Yankees and their ace. Sherman proposes a number of deals that could work for both sides, including a five-year, $125MM contract with a vesting option for a sixth year. 
  • Though the Rangers would have interest if Sabathia hits the open market, Sherman explains that they aren't likely to be among his most aggressive suitors.
  • The Yankees don't seem inclined to add three years to Sabathia's contract to keep him in New York, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Sabathia has four years and $92MM remaining on his current deal and he will likely opt out after the World Series. Sabathia's weight gives the Yankees some concern about another seven-year deal.
  • The Yankees are beginning their scouting meetings today, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com. Front office members will discuss possible acquisitions and provide GM Brian Cashman with the information he needs to create his offseason plan.
  • Marchand notes that free agent starter Hiroki Kuroda is a possible fit for the Yankees. Though Kuroda appears to prefer the Dodgers if he continues playing in MLB, the Yankees have had interest in him before. 
  • Rafael Soriano will not opt out of the two years and $25MM remaining on his contract, though there's nothing official yet, according to Marchand.
  • Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues explains that Yu Darvish makes sense for the Yankees because they can use their most abundant resource (money) to add a potential star who fits their offseason needs. Bidding on Darvish wouldn't require the Yankees to surrender a draft pick and wouldn't prevent them from bidding on free agent pitchers such as C.J. Wilson.
  • Ivan Nova remains an SFX client, after switching to Legacy Sports for two days, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). As MLBTR's Agency Database shows, Mariano Rivera, Francisco Cervelli and Eduardo Nunez are also SFX clients.

Dodgers Notes: Colletti, Kuroda, Barajas, Legal Ruling

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On this day in 1978, the Dodgers clinched the NLCS on Bill Russell's walkoff single in the 10th inning of Game Four.  It was the 19th National League pennant for the Dodgers' franchise, though the club would lose the World Series to the Yankees.

Some news from the modern-day Dodgers…

  • GM Ned Colletti broke down the Dodgers' roster and offseason plans in an interview with ESPN's Jim Bowden.  Colletti reiterated that signing Matt Kemp to a multiyear extension was "a priority" and extending Clayton Kershaw would also be explored through without as much urgency since Kershaw is under control through 2014.  Colletti said he "would entertain" locking up Andre Ethier as well, and though he noted that Ethier is "coming off an injury and a subpar season," the GM also said that Ethier isn't a candidate to be dealt.
  • Hiroki Kuroda "is an extremely loyal person to both the Dodgers and the city of Los Angeles and really doesn't want to play anywhere else," Colletti said.  He noted that Kuroda's daughters go to school in L.A. and the right-hander has bought a house in town.
  • Colletti also noted that the Dodgers would "probably let Tim Federowicz and A.J. Ellis handle the [catching] duties" next season.  As Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times notes, this would mean the team won't bring back Rod Barajas, who last month said he hoped to finish his career in Dodger blue.
  • Barring a surprise signing of Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, Mike Petriello of the Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness blog wonders where the Dodgers will find their desired middle-of-the-order bat this winter.
  • A bankruptcy judge has ruled that the Dodgers will not be able to obtain information from MLB's 29 other teams, reports Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.  Frank McCourt and his attorneys have stated that the Dodgers were being treated differently by Major League Baseball than other teams and were looking for documentation to prove this alleged double standard.

NL West Notes: Kemp, Kuroda, Goldschmidt, Rox

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The Diamondbacks, winners of the NL West in 2011, have pushed the Brewers to a decisive fifth game in the NLDS, and they may not have gotten there without the help of rookie slugger Paul Goldschmidt. Here's more on him and a few other items of note regarding NL West clubs …

  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said that extending Matt Kemp is an offseason priority but he won't set a firm deadline to get a deal done, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Last week, Kemp's agent, Dave Stewart, set an extension deadline of Opening Day 2012, and Colletti told Shelburne he too prefers to work out deals in the offseason, but he doesn't have any hard and fast rules: "I've done a handful of deals during a season, but the total number is very small compared to those that have been done in the offseason," Colletti said. "You take every situation case by case, you never say no to anything."
  • That Dodgers right-hander Hiroki Kuroda vetoed pre-deadline trades to the Tigers and Red Sox bodes well for Los Angeles' chances of re-signing the free agent, opines Jim Bowden of ESPN (via Twitter). We heard late last month that Kuroda is on the fence about re-signing with the Dodgers or returning to Japan.
  • The Diamondbacks were awarded an August waiver claim on White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, two sources tell Bob Nightengale of USA Today, but trade discussions didn't progress, as the South Siders were targeting Goldschmidt, whom the Snakes weren't interested in trading. Konerko, who would have had to approve the trade because of his 10-and-5 rights, said a deal was never brought to him — and he's not sure whether he would have accepted.
  • The Rockies haven't ruled out bringing back third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes first reported that Kouzmanoff had elected free agency today after being outrighted on Tuesday.
  • The Rox also are interested in retaining minor leaguers Jose Morales and Matt Daley, who were also outrighted, according to Renck (via Twitter).

West Notes: Kuroda, Lopez, Sanchez, Harden, Angels

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Here are some notes from both divisions out west…

  • Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda shrugged off speculation from the Japanese media that he'll return to Japan to pitch a farewell season with Hiroshima in 2012, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.  Kuroda put the odds of him pitching in MLB or going home next season at 50-50.
  • Expect lots of teams to talk with the agent of Giants reliever Javier Lopez, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney.  The 34-year-old has postseason experience and teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers, Brewers, and Cardinals have been after a good matchup lefty this year.
  • Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez expect to be ready for opening day but manager Bruce Bochy and GM Brian Sabean already have discussed the importance of covering themselves with other options at the position, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. 
  • Rich Harden would like to return to the Athletics and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle says that’s something that could happen.  The injury-prone veteran would likely sign for an inexpensive one-year deal.
  • With his strong work down the stretch, Jerome Williams has become the leading in-house candidate to assume one of the spots behind Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana in the Angels' 2012 rotation, writes Lyle Spencer of MLB.com.

Dodgers Notes: Barajas, Kuroda, Rivera

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Clayton Kershaw leads the league in ERA, strikeouts and wins. Matt Kemp leads the league in RBI and isn't far off in home runs (second) and batting average (third). We can debate the value of the traditional Triple Crown stats, but there's no denying that the Dodgers have serious contenders for the NL Cy Young and MVP. The latest links from Los Angeles…

  • Earlier in the season, the Dodgers' decision to non-tender Russell Martin and sign Rod Barajas seemed like a mistake, but as Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times shows, the two backstops have comparable offensive numbers. Martin maintains a 35 point edge in OBP, but Barajas has the superior OPS+ (96 vs. 91). Barajas, a free agent after the season, told Hernandez that he hopes to return to Los Angeles next year.
  • Hiroki Kuroda will obtain $175K for having pitched 190 innings and if he completes four more innings to reach the 200 inning plateau, he'll obtain $200K more, according to Hernandez.
  • Juan Rivera has hit well since the Dodgers acquired him from the Blue Jays and manager Don Mattingly says he should be a consideration in 2012, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Rivera would like to re-sign with the Dodgers and his skipper likes his versatility and power, so the sides figure to discuss a deal after the season.

Ned Colletti Talks Offseason

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Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times has a slew of information from Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti regarding the team's offseason plans. Colletti feels that his team's pitching and defense have been sufficient, but that the offense is lacking and needs to be bolstered:

"I say the most dramatic way we can improve the offense, that would be the way we would go," Colletti said.

Obviously, that could be an allusion to Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols, but the Dodgers' uncertain ownership and financial situations make a signing of that magnitude a stretch. Dilbeck points out that Colletti has never signed a player to a $100MM+ deal, and that Kevin Brown is the only player in Dodgers' history to receive such a contract. At the same time, however, Dilbeck also notes that the Dodgers do have $25MM in contracts coming off the books, so a run at one of the Top 2 free agents isn't necessarily unfathomable.

In the likely event that neither player comes to the Dodgers, Colletti says that James Loney is someone they'd "love to have back." Loney's overall numbers don't appear all that productive, but he's batting .355/.435/.653 with seven homers in his last 37 games. A strong finish could persuade the Dodgers to bring him back, although doing so would require giving him a raise on this year's $4.875MM salary — a risk given Loney's mostly underwhelming numbers.

Colletti also mentions re-signing Hiroki Kuroda as a priority; even if they were to retain Kuroda though, they'd require a fifth starter. Nathan Eovaldi and Dana Eveland can both be candidates, and of course the free agent market figures to offer plenty of low-budget reclamation projects that could be brought in to fill that role as well.

Beyond that, role players such as Tony Gwynn Jr., Casey Blake, Aaron Miles, and Juan Rivera may all return "in the right situation." For what it's worth, Gwynn told Dilbeck's colleague Jim Peltz that he hopes to return to the Dodgers next season.

Colletti On The Dodgers’ Offseason Plans

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Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti looked ahead to the 2012 season and discussed some of his winter priorities with MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.  The highlights….

  • Colletti said the team won't undergo any major changes, noting that the Dodgers can contend as long as the offense is consistent.  Indeed, L.A. is 30-21 since the All-Star break, with Juan Rivera providing the club with an offensive spark.
  • Colletti hasn't yet discussed next year's payroll with owner Frank McCourt, which the GM noted is "not unusual" given that it's still in early September.  
  • "Up there in the top echelon of priorities" is signing Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier to multiyear extensions.  We heard earlier today from Dave Stewart, Kemp's agent, that the Dodgers hadn't yet broached the subject of a long-term deal with his client.
  • Clayton Kershaw could also be an extension candidate but, as Colletti said, "it's less a priority for somebody with three years of arbitration."  Kershaw is due for a big pay raise this winter as he enters the arbitration process for the first time.
  • If Hiroki Kuroda doesn't return to Japan, Colletti said the Dodgers would be interested in bringing the right-hander back to Los Angeles.
  • James Loney's recent hot streak is "more indicative of him and how he's hit the rest of his career," said Colletti.  Loney has long been considered a non-tender candidate this winter since he's due a raise to around $6MM through arbitration and has a .711 OPS on the season, though he has a .382/.450/.629 line over his last 27 games.
  • "It's never been easy to build through free agency and I really don't like to do it," Colletti said.  "We do it when pressed, when we don't have a player coming through the system or on the Major League roster, but it's always more precarious than developing or trading."  That said, the GM didn't totally rule out the prospect of signing a big-hitting free agent like Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder.

Dodgers Links: Kemp Extension, 2012 Plans, Bonuses

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It was on this day 21 years ago that Orel Hershiser picked up the 20th win of his legendary 1988 campaign.  Hershiser threw a complete game, seven-hit shutout of the Reds for the 20th of his eventual 23 wins that season.  The nine shutout frames against Cincinnati represented innings 13 1/3-22 1/3 of Hershiser's record streaks of 59 1/3 scoreless innings.

Some modern-day news from Los Angeles….

  • Dave Stewart, agent for Matt Kemp and a former Dodgers star himself, tells Tyler Kepner of The New York Times that he hasn't received any word from L.A. management about a possible multiyear extension for the MVP candidate.  “If by some chance we’re able to get something long-term done, we’ll approach that when the ball club is ready to do it,” Stewart said. “But we’re preparing for a one-year contract and arbitration, if we have to. With the uncertainty of the ball club and ownership, really our only option is to sit and wait and hope that they come to us and want to talk to Matt about keeping him in Los Angeles for a long time.”  If the two sides stick to a one-year deal, MLBTR estimates Kemp's 2012 salary to be around $15MM.   
  • Kepner also has a larger profile of Kemp, detailing his rise from an unheralded sixth-round draft pick to arguably the best player in the sport.
  • MLB.com's Ken Gurnick outlines potential incentive clauses that Hiroki Kuroda and Jamey Carroll can reach in the season's closing weeks.
  • Ned Colletti and Don Mattingly both expect the 2012 Dodgers' roster to largely resemble the 2011 version, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.  Both men feel the team is "only a player or two away" from contention.

Dodgers Links: Kuroda, Bankruptcy

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The Dodgers will send Chad Billingsley to the mound against the Diamondbacks later tonight as they try to make some late-season noise in the NL West. Here's the latest from Dodgerland…

  • Hiroki Kuroda told Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times that he wants to win the World Series with the Dodgers, which is why he was unwilling to waive his no-trade before the deadline. "I wanted that feeling [of wanting to win] to remain important to me," said Kuroda. "I think your self-identity is defined by certain decisions you make. If you go back on them, you lose a sense of who you are."
  • Meanwhile, Steve Dilbeck of The Los Angeles Times says he doesn't expect Kuroda to re-sign with the Dodgers after the season. He believes the right-hander will return to Japan to pitch for the Hiroshima Carp again, where he was their "greatest, most beloved player."
  • Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times reports that the Dodgers and MLB have submitted a $150MM loan agreement to the U.S. Bankruptcy court, under which the league would loan the team the money it needs for the rest of the season at 7% interet. MLB will not be able to seize the Dodgers if they default. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross ordered the two sides to negotiate a loan geared towards saving the team money on interest last month.
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