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Yu Darvish

AL West Notes: Rangers, Wilson, Feliz, Angels, A’s

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With tonight's victory, the Rangers became the first AL West team to win consecutive pennants since the A's won three straight American League titles between 1988 and 1990.  Here are a few news items from around the division….

  • Despite recent rumors, the Rangers say there's "no way" they'll throw money at CC Sabathia this offseason, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). If Texas does decide to go after a starter from outside the organization, it would probably be Yu Darvish.
  • "[C.J. Wilson] wants $100MM, and he's not getting that from us," a Rangers source tells Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  The source says that if Wilson leaves Texas for free agency, Alexi Ogando and Neftali Feliz would both be converted into starting pitchers next season.
  • The Angels may be close to a new television contract with FOX Sports, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.  A filing from Major League Baseball (in the ongoing legal case with Frank McCourt) stated that the Halos are "expected to close a new transaction" in regards to a new TV deal.  Shaikin hears from sources that "no deal is imminent" but FOX and the Angels have been in negotiations.  Shaikin speculates that the contract could exceed the Rangers' recent 20-year, $1.6BB TV contract with FOX.
  • The Athletics were denied permission to interview Reds pitching coach Bryan Price, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).  Price's contract in Cincinnati expires after next season.
  • Athletics scouts were against the December 2005 trade of then-prospect Andre Ethier to the Dodgers for Milton Bradley, tweets Tom Krasovic of West Coast Bias.

AL East Notes: Cashman, CC, Blue Jays, Darvish

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There's no shortage of news regarding AL East ballclubs so far this offseason, not the least of which is the Orioles' search for a new general manager. Click here for the latest on that story, and here are some other interesting items of note:

  • The Yankees will meet with GM Brian Cashman next week, and the sides are expected to hammer out a new contract without trouble, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Cashman's contract expired after this season.
  • Separately, Sherman examines which teams could be in on the bidding for Yankees starter CC Sabathia in the likely event of the left-hander opting out of his contract. As well, Sherman raises an interesting point: If some team swoops in with six- or seven-year offer, will the Yankees match? A case could be made against it, as the Bombers already have a few risky long-term deals on the books.
  • The Blue Jays do not require rival teams to seek permission to interview Toronto employees, explains Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. As we have already seen in a couple instances this offseason (and in offseasons past), many teams are not as liberal with this policy, but the Jays feel that they can attract strong employees with the promise of being able to move on if another opportunity arises.
  • Orioles player development director John Stockstill is in Japan to scout Yu Darvish, among others, a club source tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Stockstill signed Koji Uehara, according to Connolly.
  • Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com has compiled a retrospective of Theo Epstein's tenure as Red Sox GM, listing Epstein's best and worst moves in trades, free agency and draft picks.

Quick Hits: Youkilis, Darvish, Angels, Selig

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Links for Monday evening…

  • If the Red Sox believe that third base prospect Will Middlebrooks is ready for primetime, then Kevin Youkilis might become expendable for them. If that's the case, then the Rockies would have interest, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter).
  • It might make more financial sense for Yu Darvish to wait until his contract expires in Japan to make the move to MLB, write Patrick Newman and Eno Sarris for ESPN The Magazine. However, Darvish might still push to be posted in order to chase the dream of winning a World Series.
  • Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles reports that the Angels will not renew the contract of long-time pro scout Rich Schlenker. The Halos have been purging their baseball operation department since Tony Reagins resigned as GM two weeks ago, cutting loose an assistant GM, a special assistant, and their player development director in addition to Schlenker.
  • "I thought it was constructive," said commissioner Bud Selig to reporters (including Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports) about his meeting with prospective Astros owner Jim Crane (Twitter link). Selig wouldn't comment any further as Crane awaits approval to take control of the team.
  • Selig told Passan and other reporters that his 14-man committee voted 14-0 in favor of expanding the playoffs (Twitter links). Passan hears that Selig considers ten-team playoffs to be one of his legacy items.

Blue Jays President Beeston On Darvish, Lee, Payroll

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Blue Jays president Paul Beeston sat down with Richard Griffin of the the Toronto Star to talk about the state of the club, free agents coming north of the border, and even his own contract.  Here are some highlights..

  • Beeston was reluctant to tip his cap on whether or not the Blue Jays will make a run at Yu Darvish, but he did say that "I think those people at Rogers who never heard of him before, now know this player is in existence."  Despite that, he has yet to inform ownership that he is ready to spend extra payroll dollars.
  • Beeston said that he's happy for the ex-Jays that made it to the postseason this year with other clubs.  Ultimately, he says that there's no way of knowing if the Blue Jays would have made it to the playoffs if they still had players such as Roy Halladay, Shaun Marcum, John McDonald, and Aaron Hill in the fold. 
  • When discussing Hill, Beeston said, "I think that [General Manager] Alex [Anthopoulos] had determined that he wanted to make a move with Aaron."  Toronto shipped Hill and McDonald to the Diamondbacks for Kelly Johnson in an August trade.
  • Halladay "made it quite clear" that he was not going to re-sign with the Blue Jays after the 2010 season.
  • The Blue Jays didn't make a serious run at Cliff Lee in free agency last year and Beeston believes that doing so would have been a "waste of time".
  • Even though the senior people at Rogers aren't baseball fans, Beeston still keeps them informed of major decisions.  For example, Beeston discussed the Halladay trade with management before pulling the trigger.   Beeston says that Rogers has yet to interfere with or object to a front office decision.
  • At a fan get-together in February, Beeston said that the club could possibly spend up to $120MM on payroll.  Beeston clarified those comments and says that the $120MM figure is in reference to salaries on the 40-man roster and not including draft bonuses and international free agency. 
  • That uptick in payroll could happen this year or next year.  Beeston plans on adding a big piece at the right time for the right price.  He later added that the team first has to show that they can contend before they can land the premier free agents on the open market.
  • The Blue Jays have built up the farm system and they're reassured of their talent by the amount of inquiries they get from other teams.  The Colby Rasmus trade showed that the club could afford to trade several attractive pieces without mortgaging their future.
  • Rumors of Beeston re-upping his contract through 2015 are not true.  In fact, he says that he hasn't talked to anyone about an extension of his current deal.
  • Beeston said that he sees an opening in the AL East because of the uncertainty in Boston, aging stars in New York, and limited capital in Tampa Bay.
  • Even though attendance in down in Toronto, revenue continues to grow for the organization.  The belief is that the pace will pick up once the team is contending again.

East Links: Marlins, Votto, Darvish, Cashman

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For the first time since 2005, there isn't a single team from either East division in the LCS round. That just means we're going to be hearing a lot more about them during the hot stove season. Here are some East Coast links…

  • Earlier today we heard that the Reds are expected to listen to offers for Joey Votto, and Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post thinks the Marlins may kick the tires (Twitter link). The Fish are expected to make a splash before moving into their new stadium, and Votto would certainly qualify. Click here for Tim Dierkes' Offseason Outlook.
  • Although the Marlins are expected to be quite active this offseason, Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel (via Twitter) doesn't expect them to be in on Yu Darvish as the club isn't terribly active in Asia.
  • No surprise here, but Yankees GM Brian Cashman says that he still wants to return next season, writes Chad Jennings of The Journal News. Cashman's contract expires at the end of the month, and ESPN's Buster Olney hears (on Twitter) that talks about a new contract are going smoothly. A deal could be done by the end of next week.
  • Jennings looked back at the trade deadline and asked if the Yankees missed an opportunity. He says it's easy to say they did in hindsight, but he agrees when Cashman says "I don't see there was any missed opportunity I could have done differently."

AL West Notes: Darvish, Larson, Mathis, A’s

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C.J. Wilson and Derek Holland will start the first two games of the ALCS for the Rangers, with Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison slated for Games 3 and 4 at Comerica Park.  Here's the latest from not only the Rangers, but the entire AL West….

  • Opposing scouts predict the Rangers will win the bidding for Yu Darvish, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  Several teams, including some of the biggest markets in the game, have been rumored to be pursuing Darvish this winter.  Nightengale's scout sources, for the record, unanimously predict "stardom" for Darvish if he jumps to the majors.
  • Mariners minority owner Chris Larson has seen his personal fortune "largely depleted" by the recession and a divorce from his wife, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.  Larson is the Mariners' largest minority owner, with a stake of 30.63% of the club, and Baker wonders if Larson's financial troubles will affect the team's payroll or force him to sell part of his ownership share.
  • The criticism from Angels fans about Jeff Mathis' poor hitting "has become an emotional drain" for Mathis, opines MLB.com's Lyle Spencer, who thinks the catcher would "settle in and be a fine total player" elsewhere.  Also as part of this mailbag piece, Spencer speculates about two outside-the-box candidates (Bud Black and Joe Maddon) with Angels ties as LAA's next general manager.  
  • The Athletics are expected to pursue Mike Aldrete as the club's new hitting coach, reports MLB.com's Jane Lee.  The A's can't officially talk to Aldrete, the Cardinals' assistant hitting coach, until St. Louis has been eliminated from postseason play.

Rosenthal On Darvish, Marlins, White Sox, Astros

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Let's take a look at what FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal has for us in his latest edition of Full Count..

  • It's expected that  C.C. Sabathia will opt out of his deal this offseason, but after that the most coveted pitcher this offseason might not be the Rangers' C.J. Wilson.  Rather, some say it could be Japanese hurler Yu Darvish.  Darvish is not a free agent, he'll have to be posted by his Japanese club and after that his rights will go to the highest bidder.  The process has backfired on MLB teams before, but Darvish is seen as different because he has lived outside of his comfort zone in Japan for virtually all of his life.
  • Improbable as it might seen, a rival GM says that there is logic to the Marlins making a run for either Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols this winter.  The Fish are moving into a new ballpark but there are still questions about whether they can sustain long-term success.  Either slugger would obviously be a major draw in tandem with Mike Stanton and that would surely get fans in the seats.
  • If Ozzie Guillen lands with the Marlins and Tony La Russa stays with the Cardinals, the identity of the White Sox's next manager could hinge on the type of team they field in 2012.  If they go all in, they'll likely want a veteran manager and if they go with a younger club they'll probably want a younger manager.  With Juan Pierre and Mark Buerhle approaching free agency and Carlos Quentin and John Danks as trade candidates, the time is now if the club wants to rebuild.
  • Baseball's biggest problem with approving Jim Crane as Astros owner stem from concerns about his past business practices and whether he would make a good long-term owner.  Crane's deal with the current owner Drayton McLane expires on November 30th and meanwhile, baseball's labor talks continue.  The players are reluctant to go to two additional wild cards unless there are fifteen teams in each league.  The easiest way to do that would be to shift the Astros to the American League, but for now the club remains on hold.

Olney’s Latest: Brewers, Darvish, Ethier

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In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about the plan Brewers GM Doug Melvin presented owner Mark Attanasio last fall. Melvin had found that trading Prince Fielder would not yield the kind of high-end pitching he sought, so he suggested that the club hold onto their star first baseman before he became a free agent and go all-in this year. Attanasio agreed with the strategy, and soon after came the Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke trades. One year later, Milwaukee has won the NL Central.

Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • The Blue Jays are viewed as front-runners for Yu Darvish by some within the industry. A few days ago we heard that Darvish was still undecided about coming to MLB.
  • Those close to Andre Ethier believe there's no chance he'd re-sign with the Dodgers after the 2012 season. If true, Olney says it would make sense for the team to try to trade him offseason. You can make a case they'd be selling low though, Either had a down season by his standards (.292/.368/.421 with 11 homers) and finished the year on the disabled list due to knee surgery.

East Notes: Blue Jays, Marlins, Nationals

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Here are a few items of note regarding the offseason plans for teams that reside in MLB's East divisions …

  • The Blue Jays will be more active on the trade market than in free agency this offseason, GM Alex Anthopoulous tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. “Philosophically speaking, if we want to improve the club, free agency is the last area I want to go to,” says Anthopoulos. Still, some in the organization feel the Jays need another starter, according to Davidi, and Yu Darvish remains a possible target. The Jays will also look to improve their bullpen.
  • The Marlins will interview Nationals third-base coach Bo Porter for their managerial vacancy this offseason, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Porter, 39, is considered a "rising star" among future managerial candidates, according to Kilgore, and could take over in Washington if Davey Johnson does not return as Nationals skipper in 2012.
  • As mentioned above, the Nationals could have a managerial vacancy of their own this offseason. Among the candidates to replace interim manager Johnson are first-base coach Trent Jewett, Triple-A Syracuse manager Randy Knorr, and Porter, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com.

Quick Hits: Wilson, White Sox, Cubs, Fielder

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Links for Thursday, before the Rays visit the Red Sox for a four-game series that's critical to the American League Wild Card race…

  • Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker hears that Yu Darvish is undecided on whether it's the right time for him to join an MLB team. The Japanese right-hander could be available via the posting system this offseason.
  • C.J. Wilson, who will hit free agency this winter, likes pitching under pressure in September, T.R. Sullivan writes at MLB.com. The Rangers left-hander has lowered his ERA (3.01) and walk rate (2.9 BB/9) this year, setting a career-high in innings pitched (209) with an improved strikeout rate (8.2 K/9) and an All-Star berth.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from someone close to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen that there’s just a 10% chance the skipper will return to Chicago next year. Though Guillen is under contract in Chicago, he appears to be tiring of his current role and his relationship with GM Kenny Williams appears “unsalvageable,” Rosenthal reports.
  • There’s almost no chance that the Cubs will have their next GM in place by the end of the month, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Morosi hears from one agent who expects the Cubs to try to get “the biggest name they can," and goes on to discuss some of the high-profile candidates who have been linked to the job.
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com suggests the Orioles, Rangers or Dodgers could sign Prince Fielder this offseason (Twitter link).
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