Heyman On Strasburg, Lackey, Pedro
SI.com's Jon Heyman has a new column up.
- In talking to club execs who have spoken with Scott Boras about Stephen Strasburg, Heyman believes Boras does have $50MM in mind. Boras allegedly likened Strasburg to fictional pitcher Sidd Finch, with the plan being to shatter previous draft pick bonuses by using Daisuke Matsuzaka's contract as a model. One Nationals person told Heyman, "We'll pay the $10 million, and we'll get him signed." This much is clear: we'll have something off the field to talk about in August. For more Strasburg Mania, check out this article by Steve Henson at Yahoo.
- Heyman learned from Nationals sources that Stan Kasten and team ownership, not Jim Bowden, cut off the Aaron Crow negotiations at $3.3MM. Kasten's had many applicants for Bowden's GM job, but Heyman's sources expect Mike Rizzo to retain the gig.
- A Heyman source estimated that the Angels offered John Lackey four years and around $50MM. Talks are on hold given Lackey's elbow injury. He didn't want to negotiate during the season anyway. The latest report on Lackey's injury is pretty good.
- Pedro Martinez still wants $5MM, and is "willing to wait well into the season." Heyman believes the Dodgers, Indians, Pirates, Astros, and Mets are possibilities now.
Odds & Ends: Bowden, Stanton, Baker
Sunday night linkage…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Dodgers "will not restructure Juan Pierre's contract to make him go away."
- Murray Chass likes Jim Bowden, while Hal McCoy has a negative recollection.
- ESPN's Peter Gammons wrote about teams clamoring for Marlins prospect Michael Stanton last July.
- Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News talked to Baseball-Reference mastermind Sean Forman.
- Aaron Gleeman analyzes Scott Baker's new extension with the Twins.
- RotoAuthority recently looked at catcher tiers for fantasy baseball drafts.
Jim Bowden – GM Trade History
By our count, Jim Bowden made over 168 trades as GM of the Reds and Nationals over the years. MLBTR contributor Brendan Bianowicz compiled all of Bowden’s deals in this spreadsheet. Click here to see the other entries in the GM Trade History series.
Odds & Ends: Marte, Wilkerson, Bowden
Links for Wednesday as we enter the short post-Manny phase of the offseason…
- RotoAuthority has 18 undrafted players to watch for mixed leagues.
- WEEI’s Rob Bradford talked to Bill Lajoie, who was behind Boston’s acquisition of Andy Marte while Theo Epstein was on hiatus. Lajoie admitted he acquired Marte with the intent of flipping him.
- SI.com’s Melissa Segura writes about fraud involving Dominican prospects.
- Nothing cooking yet with the Red Sox and Jason Bay, says Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe.
- Jorge Says No! says shortstops Bobby Crosby and Khalil Greene are at the crossroads of their careers.
- WEEI’s Alex Speier notes that Boston outfielders Jeff Bailey and Brad Wilkerson have opt-out clauses if they’re not in the bigs by certain dates.
- Fire Jim Bowden has the ten best moves of their namesake GM.
- Nick Piecoro wonders if Randy Johnson took a subtle jab at Chris Snyder.
- Updated June draft order at Baseball America.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday looks at each team’s 2012 commitments.
Stan Kasten Performing GM Duties For Now
11:43am: Harlan says Nationals president Stan Kasten is performing the GM duties for the moment, at least as far as trades. Kasten didn’t offer much else regarding the search for Bowden’s replacement.
8:55am: The Washington Post has all kinds of reading material in the wake of Jim Bowden’s resignation.
- Thomas Boswell says Bowden shouldn’t blame the media. Bowden’s #1 job was to build a farm system, but the Nationals are in the bottom third of baseball in that regard.
- Barry Svrluga looks at Bowden’s significant moves as Nationals GM. Svrluga and Chico Harlan gathered quotes from many who worked with Bowden.
- Joshua Robinson and Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times note that baseball investigators have examined 6-8 teams’ dealings in the Dominican Republic – not just the Nationals.
- Harlan figures Mike Rizzo and Tony LaCava are candidates to replace Bowden.
Jim Bowden Resigns
7:52pm: According to Ladson, the Nationals were shocked by Bowden’s resignation. Manager Manny Acta and several players made complimentary remarks Sunday evening.
"The news caught me by surprise," Acta said. "It takes a lot of courage for him to do that. As a manager, I appreciate what he did if he felt that he was being a distraction here. I will always be grateful and have a soft spot for Jim."
9:48am: The Washington Post has provided a link to Bowden’s official statement.
9:04am: According to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, Nationals GM Jim Bowden has resigned.
ESPN.com has more, including quotes from Bowden. Most notably, Bowden says, "I’ve become a distraction," and, "my ability to properly represent the Washington Nationals has been compromised."
Finally, Bill Ladson of MLB.com captures a classic quote from the GM: "I have become a distraction. Unless you are Manny Ramirez, there is no place for distraction in baseball."
Odds and Ends: Bordick, Sheets, Bowden
Here are your Thursday links…
- Former MLB shortstop Mike Bordick has been hired by the Blue Jays as a minor league infield instructor.
- Richard Durett of the Dallas Morning News has the transcript of a radio interview with Rangers owner Tom Hicks. It sounds like his club will make another run at Ben Sheets once he’s back to full health.
- The Orioles and Cardinals might share players this spring, according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. "My gut is there would be nothing wrong with it,” said St. Louis manager Tony La Russa. "We’re in different leagues." UPDATE: That idea was shot down pretty quickly.
- Mark DeRosa told Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com that he left the Cubs on good terms. There were rumors of a feud between he and manager Lou Piniella.
- Contrary to some reports, the Nationals have absolutely not contacted Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava about possibly replacing Jim Bowden.
- Check out Tim’s interview with "The Yankees: Minors to Majors," a blog.
Odds and Ends: Mahon, Rijo, Bowden
A few bits of information from around the baseball world. More to come…
- The Diamondbacks made their first roster move of the spring Wednesday, when they demoted right-hander Reid Mahon to minor league camp. He was having major command issues during bullpen sessions.
- According to ESPN’s Jorge Arangure Jr., the Nationals have decided to fire special assistant Jose Rijo in the wake of the Esmailyn Gonzalez age-changing scandal. Rob Neyer wonders if GM Jim Bowden is next?
- Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune has compiled a list of the top 2010 free agents. John Lackey is his numero uno. You can also check out MLBTR’s constantly-updated list of the entire 2010 class right here.
- If you haven’t already joined the fun, add MLB Trade Rumors to your Twitter following. And if you’re feeling really adventurous, why not add your good friend Drew Silva?
Nationals Considering GM Change
According to John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus:
The Nationals, according to multiple industry sources, are strongly considering firing general manager Jim Bowden and replacing him with Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava.
This rumor first surfaced on Ed Chigliak’s Federal Baseball blog yesterday. Fire Jim Bowden rounded up a bunch of info on LaCava. I’ve heard the Nationals may also consider in-house candidates such as Deric Ladnier and Mike Rizzo.
Jim Bowden Under Investigation
9:02pm: Chico Harlan of the Washington Post report that some officials within the Nationals’ ownership, including Managing Principal Owner Ted Lerner, are "eager to cut ties with the general manager." They write:
"The Nationals, one source said, are encouraging the investigation to return an answer on Bowden so the parties can ‘go on their merry way.’"
Team President Stan Kasten has stated that he supports every member of the Washington Nationals, regardless of circumstance.
Lerner and his son, Mark, both declined comment, stating that Kasten’s response will stand as the Nationals’ statement on the issue.
The article also mentions José Rijo, who worked with Bowden in both Cincinnati and Washington. Rijo runs a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic and was responsible for brokering the deal for Carlos Daniel Alvarez Lugo, then thought to be a 16-year-old by the name of Esmailyn Gonzalez. Lugo was also four years older than he was believed to be when the contract was signed.
Rijo, a special assistant to Bowden, took a leave of absence and returned to the Dominican Republic this Saturday, but has not been fired. According to Kasten, no team officials have been punished.
MONDAY, 3:21pm: Bowden’s comment: "I’m innocent of any wrongdoing."
SUNDAY, 9:52am: According to SI.com’s Melissa Segura:
A federal investigation into the skimming of signing bonuses given to baseball prospects from Latin America is looking at Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden as far back as 1994, when he was GM of the Cincinnati Reds, according to a baseball executive familiar with the investigation.
The Bowden investigation is linked to the David Wilder scandal by way of a scout named Jorge Oquendo. The Chicago Tribune just posted new details on Wilder this evening. Segura doesn’t suggest it, but you have to think Bowden’s job is in jeopardy.