Odds & Ends: Chen, Mets, White Sox
An action-packed set of links for Wednesday…
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report about MLB teams, the Cubs included, watching Chunichi Dragons pitcher Wei-Yin Chen's last start. It's possible Chen will be a free agent after the season. The Taiwanese southpaw has a 1.45 ERA this year and would be in high demand.
- MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone does not believe the team will non-tender starter John Maine after the season. Maine, coming back from a shoulder injury, may start Sunday.
- SNY's Ted Berg says this is a terrible time to trade Jose Reyes.
- R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay sees a trade more likely than a non-tender for catcher Dioner Navarro.
- Over at FanGraphs, Anderson notes that Kiko Calero (10.8 K/9) is a "nice sleeper candidate" among free agent relievers. Calero's strikeout rate ranks behind only Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez, Rich Harden, and Octavio Dotel among free agent pitchers with at least 40 innings.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com's Jason Beck the Magglio Ordonez vesting option situation "speaks for itself." 23 more plate appearances for Maggs, and the Tigers have him at $18MM for 2010.
- Among the topics in Mark Gonzales' Chicago Tribune White Sox mailbag: the Brandon Allen–Tony Pena swap and the possibility of the Sox pursuing Chone Figgins. In another article, Gonzales notes that Ozzie Guillen wants Freddy Garcia ($1MM club option) as his fifth starter next year.
- Jack Curry of the New York Times has the story on the Newark Bears, and independent league club that has chosen to stock its roster with recognizable former big leaguers trying to claw their way back to the Show.
- An AL scout told Tom Krasovic "Oakland got smoked" in the Scott Hairston trade. The Padres received pitchers Sean Gallagher, Ryan Webb, and Craig Italiano in the July 5th trade (Gallagher was named later).
- WEEI's Alex Speier says the Red Sox announced the signing of Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias to a four-year Major League deal beginning next year (it's worth $8.25MM).
Odds & Ends: Bumgarner, Rangers, Kim
Links for Tuesday…
- Giants top pitching prospect Madison Bumgarner surprisingly gets the big league call today, says John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. The bad news: Cy Young contender Tim Lincecum is out with back spasms.
- Evan Grant of D Magazine shows how little the Rangers got out of the 2002-05 drafts (including the "DVD" trio), yet they had the game's best farm system coming into the season.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo has the reverse standings, which give an idea of the 2010 draft order.
- Eddie Bajek looks at various scenarios where Placido Polanco could ascend to Type A status. It's a good reminder on how the Elias rankings come together.
- Tigers owner Mike Ilitch is behind the decision to let Magglio Ordonez's 2010 option vest, believes John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
- Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire finds the upcoming free agent class lacking in depth.
- East Windup Chronicle passes along a report suggesting Byung-Hyun Kim wants to make a comeback. Is he still represented by Scott Boras?
- Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee feels the team can win in 2010 with the same group, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune considers possible moves for next year.
- Brad Penny had a strong preference to pitch in the NL, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Twins players Mike Redmond and Carl Pavano lobbied Penny directly.
- Ben Kabak of River Ave. Blues expresses concern that Derek Jeter's next contract could approach $100MM.
The Week Ahead
Now that we've taken a look at the week that was, let's anticipate what lies ahead. There aren't as many pennant races to watch as usual this year, so keep your eye on the following stories as the week progresses:
- When Josh Beckett throws his first pitch tomorrow afternoon, his 2010 option will kick in for $12.1MM.
- Kevin Millwood will likely pitch against the Mariners on Friday. If he goes eight innings or more, he will have pitched 180 innings on the season and his $12MM option for 2010 will vest.
- One final option to monitor this week: Magglio Ordonez is a mere 27 plate appearances from seeing his $18MM option kick in for next season. It could happen this week, but, depending on playing time, Maggs may have to wait longer.
- For recaps of these options and more, check out Tim's post from earlier in the week.
- Tony Abreu filed a grievance against the Dodgers and Glen Perkins may file one of his own against the Twins. We'll see if either player reaches a resolution with his club this week.
- Don't rule out trades, either. Could the Rangers acquire an infielder? Could the Phils add a bench bat?
Gammons’ Latest: Iglesias, Magglio, Valentine
In his latest blog post at ESPN, Peter Gammons writes that the NL West has quietly become very competitive thanks to three California pitcher's parks that make it such a pitching dominated division. Through the help of scouts and team executives, he points out all the great young talent in the division, highlighted by the likes of Ubaldo Jimenez, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Pablo Sandoval, Troy Tulowitzki, and Mark Reynolds.
Here's a roundup of Gammons' rumors…
- Gammons jokes that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti "could be arrested for shoplifting," because in the last two seasons he's acquired Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake, George Sherrill, Jon Garland, Jim Thome, Doug Mientkiewicz, Ronnie Belliard, and Vicente Padilla while paying them approximately $2.7MM combined.
- The Red Sox will get their first look at Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias, who they signed for $8.5MM back in July, in the Arizona Fall League. Gammons spoke to an NL GM who said he would have given Iglesias $12MM if his team could afford it, because "Our scouts say he's the best defensive shortstop they've ever seen."
- If you're interested, you can see the full Arizona Fall League rosters here.
- Jim Leyland was never told anything about benching Magglio Ordonez so his $18MM option in 2010 wouldn't vest. "He's going to make it," Leyland says. "So anyone who said otherwise has egg on his face. Dave Dombrowski has never even mentioned the vesting option." Ordonez needs just 35 more plate appearances this season to lock in the option.
- Bobby Valentine's name was mentioned by Nationals' ownership during every interview they hosted while searching for a permanent GM, so he might be in the mix for their managerial job.
Vesting Options To Watch
A few vesting options to watch in September…
- Josh Beckett needs two more starts for his $12.1MM option to vest for 2010. It's not much of a story since the Red Sox would exercise that option anyway.
- The Rangers lose the ability to void Kevin Millwood's $12MM option for 2010 if he pitches 13 more innings this year. Back in March Rangers owner Tom Hicks said he wanted Millwood's option to vest, so he must be pleased with the pitcher's 3.61 ERA.
- Since he made the All-Star team, Freddy Sanchez's 2010 option for $8MM vests if he makes 159 additional plate appearances. That won't happen in one month. Sanchez's shoulder strain couldn't have come at a worse time.
- Magglio Ordonez's $18MM option for 2010 vests with 42 more plate appearances. He had 80 PAs in August with a .961 OPS, so Scott Boras will take issue with excessive benching.
Odds & Ends: Twins, Astros, Magglio
Some links for the morning:
- Richard Justice at the Houston Chronicle has a laundry list of ways to make the Astros a more interesting team, including making Jeff Bagwell the manager for the rest of the season.
- Bob Dutton at the Kansas City Star says sources have confirmed discussions involving an extension for GM Dayton Moore, but they caution that nothing is imminent just yet.
- Kelly Thesier at MLB.com gets Twins anchor Joe Nathan's take on the team's recent flurry of moves.
- With the recent claims on Rich Harden and Aaron Heilman, Toni Ginnetti at the Chicago Sun-Times gives a rundown of the decisions ahead for Cubs GM Jim Hendry.
- The Tigers have a decision to make on the future of Magglio Ordonez, whose 2010 option vests with just around 50 more plate appearances this year. Tom Gage at the Detroit News says that it appears the team will let the $18MM option exercise itself, and discusses the ramifications and reasoning.
- George Steinbrenner is on the verge of being sued by one Bob Gutkowski, who claims he came up with the idea for the YES Network, reports Richard Sandomir at the New York Times.
Odds And Ends: Perez, Greinke, Matsui, Magglio
More links as another Met hits the shelf…
- Oliver Perez will have season-ending surgery and, as Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post points out, the Mets now have about $100MM sitting on the DL.
- Zack Greinke makes $100k if he wins the Cy Young Award. Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star thinks Greinke deserves it, but doesn't expect him to win it, so he suggests the rest of the Royals chip in to make sure their ace gets rewarded for his big year.
- Magglio Ordonez keeps picking up the plate appearances and he's now just 59 away from assuring himself an $18MM payday in 2010. His option should vest sometime next month.
- Hideki Matsui tells Newsday's Ken Davidoff that he'd consider playing with Ichiro. Davidoff suggests the White Sox and A's are possible fits for Matsui when he becomes a free agent after the season.
- Be sure to become a fan of MLBTR on Facebook, where we're discussing Billy Wagner's future. If you don't already follow us on Twitter, you can start by clicking here.
Odds and Ends: Garland, Ordonez, Pettite, Peavy
Links from around the league on a slow Monday night…
- Keith Law of ESPN says that the Rockies should consider picking up Jon Garland.
- In the Detroit Free Press, Jamie Samuelsen argues that the Tigers should keep Magglio Ordonez in the lineup to maintain credibility with future free agents.
- When asked whether Andy Pettitte will be brought back by the Yankees next year, ESPN's Buster Olney writes that "given how he's throwing, I'm sure it will happen."
- And the White Sox's new acquisition, Jake Peavy, could start on Saturday against CC Sabathia and the Yankees, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
Odds And Ends: Gordon, Crow, Ordonez, Tate
Links for Wednesday…
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star says the Royals' decision to demote Alex Gordon has more to do with performance than service time.
- Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press says the Tigers had better win, especially since they'll be stuck paying Magglio Ordonez $18MM next year, "barring an influx of common sense."
- Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union-Tribune says Donavan Tate was eager and respectful throughout his first visit to Petco Park.
- Doug Tucker of the Associated Press reports that the Royals hope to start talking contract with top pick Aaron Crow now that they've seen what other first rounders signed for. Monday's deadline did not apply to Crow because he played independent ball this year.
Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Magglio, Marlins, Yanks
It's going to be a busy night, so I hope you've got a comfy chair…
- ESPN's Peter Gammons writes that the Nationals and Stephen Strasburg need each other. I have to agree with that.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck notes that the Tigers still have to make a roster move to get the newly acquired Aubrey Huff on the 25-man roster, but GM Dave Dombrowski confirmed it would not involve Magglio Ordonez.
- The Marlins signed second rounder Bryan Berglund for $572,500 according to Baseball America's Jim Callis, a touch over slot. We first learned of this signing over the weekend, but now we have a dollar figure.
- Callis also reports that the Yankees have signed 16th rounder Bryan Mitchell to a deal worth $800,000. Obviously, that's way over slot.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweets that 10 of top 15 picks were still unsigned when we woke up this morning, and that that's still the case with less than six hours until the deadline. Should be a fun night.
- Kiley McDaniel of BP says he was told that another club fired an international scout last week for bonus skimming.