Larry Bigbie

On this date 27 years ago, the Padres signed Sandy Alomar Jr. as an amateur free agent. Now, the former catcher is one of four finalists for the Blue Jays managerial opening. Here are today's links, as the Phillies send the NLCS back to Philadelphia…

• Joe Beimel tells Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he'd like to return to Colorado next year: "The Rockies are my first choice. I definitely want to be back. But after the last two offseasons, it's hard to know what to expect."
• The Angels promoted Ric Wilson, making him their new scouting director, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
• Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon says the team completed its initial round of interviews and will narrow the group of candidates "by early next week," according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
• Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski says he's "optimistic" about reaching a deal with Jhonny Peralta, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck. The Tigers have a $7MM option for the infielder's services in 2011.
• Now that Detroit is presumably out of the running for Adrian Beltre, Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Tigers look like real players for Adam Dunn (Twitter link).
• Remember Larry Bigbie, the former first rounder who played parts of six seasons in the major leagues? He's making a comeback and was recently named to Baseball America's 2010 All-Independent Leagues Team.
• The Marlins outrighted Jay Buente, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (on Twitter). That means the 27-year-old righty is no longer on the 40-man roster.