Blue Jays Rumors: Barajas, Snider, Needs
The only MLB city not celebrating Thanksgiving today has, predictably, been the main source of Thursday's hot stove talk. In a series of Twitter updates, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com brings us a few more Toronto Blue Jays notes….
- It doesn't look like Rod Barajas will return to Toronto next year. The club plans to offer him arbitration, but the 34-year-old could have a multi-year deal lined up with another team.
- GM Alex Anthopoulos on Barajas: "We're going to keep the dialogue open. But, right now, I don't see there being good chances of Rod coming back."
- The Blue Jays have informed Travis Snider that he'll have to earn a spot on the team's Opening Day roster.
- The upshot of Barajas' likely departure and Snider not being handed a starting role? The Jays' two primary needs are behind the plate and in the outfield, with catcher being the club's top priority.
- Anthopoulos also cites the leadoff spot as something Toronto would like to address this winter.
Blue Jays Interested In Torrealba
We learned last week that Yorvit Torrealba was being pursued by his former club, the Rockies, as well as unnamed teams in the National League West and in the American League. Yesterday, the NL West team was confirmed to be San Francisco, and today Newsday's Ken Davidoff (via Twitter) revealed the American League team to be the Toronto Blue Jays.
MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweets that the Jays have made "multiple" inquiries about the catcher and are preparing to make an offer. Torrealba turned down a two-year/$4.5MM offer from Colorado earlier this month. Since the Giants are interested in Torrealba largely as a stop-gap starting option or as a backup depending on the progress of top prospect Buster Posey , Torrealba might be more interested in Toronto's offer with the promise of regular playing time.
Torrealba became the Rockies' everyday catcher in the second half of last season and in the NLDS after posting a .324/.373/.394 line in 160 plate appearances after the All-Star break. With Rod Barajas a free-agent, Toronto has a need at catcher with prospect J.P. Arencibia's progress stalled after a disappointing 2009 minor league campaign. It's unlikely that the Jays' contract offer would greatly exceed Colorado's given the red flags of Torrealba's career .706 OPS and the fact that he only threw out 14 percent of base-stealers last season.
Mets Notes: Holliday, Barajas, Pineiro
Lots of newsbits swirling about the Big Apple's non-World Series winners…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Mets will meet with Scott Boras tonight to at least get an idea of what it will take to sign Matt Holliday.
- As reported earlier today, the Mets weren't interested in Jason Varitek but were considering Bengie Molina at catcher. Sherman (also via Twitter) added Rod Barajas and Chris Snyder to the New York catching "wish list."
- SI's Jon Heyman (via Twitter) reports the Mets are interested in Joel Pineiro, but not at his reported demand of a three-year/$30MM contract.
- MLB.com's Barry Bloom figures that Gary Sheffield and Carlos Delgado are both done in New York after Mets GM Omar Minaya was very non-committal about the possibility of re-signing either of the two veteran sluggers.
- The Toronto Sun's Bob Elliott, however, thinks the Mets will at least "keep an eye" on Delgado's progress in winter ball (via Twitter).
Can The Blue Jays Re-Sign Scutaro & Barajas?
The Blue Jays would like to re-sign Marco Scutaro, Rod Barajas and John McDonald, but retaining the free agents may not be realistic. GM Alex Anthopoulos told Shi Davidi of the Canadian Press that he's not necessarily bringing them back.
"As much as I like John McDonald, Rod Barajas and Marco Scutaro, there might be alternatives that make this organization better and are the right alternatives for this team," Anthopoulos said.
Scutaro is one of the offseason's most appealing free agent shortstops. He hit .282/.379/.409 and was a solid defender, according to UZR/150, so he's in line for a raise from his 2009 salary of $1.1MM.
"We'd like to bring them back," Anthopoulos said, "(but) everything has to fit with respect to what the alternatives are and with respect to what their financial requirements are. I'm starting to get a pretty good handle on where their expectations are with respect to the market and what they feel their value might be."
Scutaro will be a Type A free agent, so the Blue Jays will obtain two top draft picks if he turns down an arbitration offer to sign elsewhere. Barajas will be a Type B free agent; the Jays won't necessarily offer him arbitration.
Davidi also reports that the Blue Jays won't bring Kevin Millar back for another season. The 38-year-old hit .223/.311/.363 in his lone season with the Jays.
Odds & Ends: Torre, Braves, Blue Jays
In the midst of a tight Dodgers-Phillies game, here are some news tidbits from around the baseball world….
- Before Game Five, Joe Torre said he wants to (and believes he will) be the Dodgers' manager next season, reports Mike Jensen of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Frank Wren is in a bit of a Catch-22 when it comes to re-signing Tim Hudson and Adam LaRoche, and/or trading Kenshin Kawakami or Derek Lowe for hitting help.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports that new Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has spent his first few weeks on the job talking to the team's coaches and players. After talking to pending free agents Marco Scutaro, Rod Barajas and John McDonald, Anthopoulos said he wants to speak to their respective agents in the coming weeks.
- As reported by Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Mark Cuban told a group of Pitt students that he won't be buying the Pirates.
- Speaking of Pittsburgh natives looking to be involved in MLB ownership, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan said that Pittsburgh lawyer Check Greenberg's investment team made with members of the Hicks Sports Group on Wednesday to discuss buying the Rangers.
- Tommy Rancel of the DRaysBay blog outlines why he thinks the Rays should look into signing Kelvim Escobar this off-season.
Mets Roundup: Madoff, Catchers, Jauss
The Yankees may be one win from the World Series, but there is a lot going on with New York's other team today.
- Ray Ratto of CBSSports.com writes about the news from court filings this week that the Mets may have gained $48MM in the Bernie Madoff swindle, rather than lost a previously-reported range of $300MM to $700MM. Unfortunately, this isn't necessarily good news. Those who lost money to Madoff are in the process of suing the Madoff winners, and the uncertainty over $48MM could complicate offseason plans for the Mets.
- Metsblog's Matt Cerrone believes the Mets will return Josh Thole to Triple-A for more seasoning, and find a defense-first catcher to split time with Omir Santos. He mentioned Rod Barajas specifically, who seems like the best fit for a team that could use some offense from the position, too.
- Licey Tigers manager Dave Jauss was in New York on Monday to discuss a position with the Mets. Jauss managed in the Montreal system, receiving the honor of Eastern League Manager of the Year in 1994.
Blue Jays Hope To Re-Sign Scutaro, Barajas
The Blue Jays would like to re-sign shortstop Marco Scutaro and catcher Rod Barajas, GM Alex Anthopoulos told Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun. Anthopoulos also said he will not learn his budget until later this month. Our recent Offseason Outlook suggests the Blue Jays will only have $10MM to spend unless payroll is increased.
Scutaro, 34 later this month, hit .282/.379/.409 in 680 plate appearances this year. His defense was average this year and above average last year, based on UZR/150. Coming off a career year, Scutaro figures to ask for at least $6MM annually. He's a projected Type A free agent, so the Jays will miss out on the chance to add two draft picks if they re-sign him.
Barajas, 34, hit .226/.258/.403 in a career-high 460 PAs this year. Among those with 400 PAs, Barajas' OBP was the worst in baseball. He had a pretty strong season defensively, though not quite on par with his arbitration-eligible teammate Raul Chavez. MLB.com's Jordan Bastian recently explained that the Jays may need to re-sign Barajas because prospects J.P. Arencibia and Brian Jeroloman need more minor league seasoning and Chavez might fit better as a backup. Barajas profiles as a Type B free agent, though it's not certain the Jays will offer him arbitration.
If Scutaro earns $6MM in 2010 and Barajas repeats his $2.5MM salary, the Blue Jays might not have much left to spend if they re-sign both. Anthopoulos could backload Scutaro's contract to create more payroll space in 2010, but going beyond two years on the 34-year-old would be dangerous.
Odds & Ends: Barajas, Red Sox, Acta, Orioles
Some links to read as we watch a couple mid-season signings dominate Game 2 of the NLCS…
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports that the Blue Jays have interest in bringing Rod Barajas back in 2010.
- As Alex Speier of WEEI.com notes, the Red Sox purchased the contract of 22-year-old indy leaguer Reynaldo Rodriguez from the Yuma Scorpions. Rodriguez has yet to establish himself at any one position, though he has been playing first.
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart says Manny Acta appeared to know the Astros from top to bottom after his interview for the team's managerial opening. It's no surprise that Acta knows so much; as MLB.com's Alyson Footer says, he spent 16 years in the Astros' system as a player and manager.
- Acta wasn't the only qualified candidate. Footer says Bob Melvin was also "hugely impressive."
- MLB.com's Spencer Fordin says the O's need an experienced starter and a corner infielder or two this offseason.
Odds & Ends: Towers, Ricciardi, Jenks, Barajas
Some links on a surprisingly busy Saturday morning…
- Here's a link to this morning's post containing comments from Padres CEO Jeff Moorad about the firing of Kevin Towers. It was quickly buried by the news of J.P. Ricciardi being let go, so you may have missed it.
- FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says that Towers "should be relieved to be out of an organization in which he constantly faced ownership interference, payroll reductions and other forms of nonsense."
- Stoeten at Drunk Jays Fans provides some fan reaction to the Ricciardi move. Moral of the story: it was a move that had to be made, but what took so long?
- MLB.com's Scott Merkin says that we could once again hear Bobby Jenks' name mentioned in trade rumors this offseason. The team has a capable replacement in Matt Thornton, and Jenks figures to get a raise on his $5.6MM salary through arbitration.
- Rod Barajas has interest in returning to Toronto next season, and indicated that he wasn't sure if the rift between players and manager Cito Gaston would influence his decision, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
Fixing The Mets
The New York Post's Joel Sherman offered up some suggestions for shaking things up in the Mets clubhouse this offseason. He worries that Luis Castillo won't be able to replicate his strong 2009 and that Jeff Francoeur (.826 OPS with New York) may not be able to build on his solid second half. Unsurprisingly, his chief concern is the Mets starting rotation.
However, Sherman suggests that the Mets first address their other holes before looking at starting pitchers, considering the weak crop available this winter:
"Put out strong one-year offers with a 2011 option to a group at each position. Say Rod Barajas/Bengie Molina/Miguel Olivo at catcher; Nick Johnson/Russ Branyan/Adam LaRoche at first: and Bobby Abreu, Mark DeRosa and Jermaine Dye for left field. The first guy to take the offer in each group gets the contract."
The Mets were linked to Bobby Abreu for some time last offseason, so it would make sense for them to re-visit that idea again this year. Adam LaRoche looks like a completely different player in Atlanta, posting .354/.432/.618 with 12 HRs in 49 games. Abreu projects to be a Type A free agent whereas LaRoche should be a Type B.
Should the Mets address their pitching woes via free agency? As badly as they need to bolster spots two through five, there won't be a great deal of options available. Would you extend multi-year deals to the likes of Rich Harden or Joel Pineiro? Should the Mets pick up where they left off last year and consider Randy Wolf?