West Notes: Dodgers, Mariners, Padres
Clayton Kershaw will win the triple crown for NL pitchers and Matt Kemp homered and drove in three tonight in his quest for the batting triple crown. Here are some updates on MLB's West Coast teams…
- Dodgers owner Frank McCourt could look to attack the credibility of commissioner Bud Selig by claiming that the Marlins and owner Jeffrey Loria have had preferred treatment from MLB, according Bill Shaikin of the LA Times.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times shows that the Mariners' owners, many of whom are based out of Japan, are rarely heard from. Team president Chuck Armstrong is accountable for baseball moves, while financial decisions generally occur out of sight.
- The Mariners may have money to play with this offseason, according to Baker. Depending on the timetable and direction of their rebuilding program, they could spend to varying degrees this winter, so Baker runs through some possibilities.
- The Padres announced that they extended the contracts of Chris Gwynn, their director of player personnel, and Jaron Madison, their scouting director, through 2013.
Front Office/Managerial Notes: Melvin, Padres, ChiSox
A few items about some shuffling in a few Major League front offices and some potential moves in the dugout for next season…
- Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said the club's postseason push is holding off discussions of a contract extension with GM Doug Melvin, writes Adam McCalvy and Jordan Schelling for MLB.com. "Doug, with everything going on with the team, doesn't want any distractions," Attanasio said. "After the season, I'm sure, it's something we could talk about. Obviously, we are very happy with Doug. We have one of the three best records in baseball." Melvin's current deal with Milwaukee is up after the 2012 season.
- The Padres have extended the contracts of A.J. Hinch, Jason McLeod and Fred Uhlman Jr. through 2013, according to a team press release. McLeod and Uhlman Jr. are assistants to the general manager and team vice-presidents, while Hinch is being promoted to that same position after serving as San Diego's VP of professional scouting.
- Kenny Williams said he didn't feel a change in leadership was necessarily needed in Chicago, reports MLB.com's Scott Merkin. The White Sox GM was non-committal about his team's offseason plans and the future of manager Ozzie Guillen, though Williams also noted the team hadn't held any formal organization meetings yet.
- The Marlins will interview third base and outfield coach Joe Espada and Nationals third base coach Bo Porter on Monday about the manager's job for next season, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Both men were candidates for the job last season before the club decided to bring Edwin Rodriguez back for 2011.
- The Mets have informed front office members Wayne Krivsky and Bryan Lambe that they won't be back in 2012, reports Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. The moves were expected, as both men were hired by ex-Mets GM Omar Minaya.
Quick Hits: Epstein, Ozzie, Beltran
Links for Tuesday, as the Red Sox and Braves try to fend off several wild card challengers…
- Red Sox GM Theo Epstein failed to accumulate the necessary pitching depth, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Epstein has become a popular target this month, but the criticism holds more water for me if the author was pointing out the team's depth issues before the season or in July. Morosi, to his credit, questioned Boston's rotation in April.
- On a similar note, the John Lackey contract looks ugly right now. But it wasn't regarded that way when Lackey signed in December of 2009. In fact, ESPN's Jayson Stark did a poll of "20 wise baseball men" prior to the 2010 season, and Lackey's contract was voted the best signing of the offseason (right before Chone Figgins).
- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen hopes to learn about his future before leaving for a trip to Spain in early October, he told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Guillen has a year left on his contract, so the White Sox don't necessarily have to follow that timeline.
- Scott Boras will have lunch with the Giants' Carlos Beltran today to determine the right fielder's free agency goals, he told the Associated Press yesterday at the Moneyball premiere.
- ESPN's Buster Olney tells stories of how Padres GM Randy Smith came to acquire Trevor Hoffman from the Marlins, and how the Yankees considered trading Mariano Rivera before they realized what they had.
NL West Notes: Rockies, Stewart, Darnell, Giants
Some NL West notes for Sunday evening..
- More on Ian Stewart from Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post as the 26-year-old says that he's willing to take a significant pay cut to stay with Colorado next season. Stewart says that the club has made no indication of the future outside of telling him to be ready for Spring Training.
- The Rockies would "love" to sign Michael Cuddyer this winter, but Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post thinks they need to focus their offseason spending on pitching rather than offense, given the structure of the NL West. Renck says the club won't get C.J. Wilson, but should "relentlessly" pursue Wandy Rodriguez in a trade, and also do the same with Matt Garza and Carl Pavano. Colorado was Pavano's second choice last offseason after re-signing with the Twins, says Renck.
- Renck's colleague Jim Armstrong tweets that Ian Stewart isn't looking for a change of scenery and will report to the Instructional League on September 27.
- Padres 2008 second rounder James Darnell will miss the Arizona Fall League and undergo surgery to clean up his labrum, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times.
- Bill Neukom's departure from the Giants came down to money and management style, according to Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- In a Q&A with Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffery KNBR Radio, Larry Baer tells fans that the Giants mission won't change much. Baer reminds that his role isn't to evaluate player mechanics, but to make sure that the organization has the funding to field the best team they can to win.
- Earlier today, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti talked about the upcoming offseason.
Red Sox Notes: Fister, Harden, Adams, Orioles
The odds say the Red Sox have a 94.5% chance of making the playoffs, but I'm guessing that's not going to console most Red Sox fans. Boston leads Tampa Bay by three games in the Wild Card race, but that gap might have been wider by now if they had made different moves at the trade deadline. Alex Speier of WEEI.com has the details on the deadline deals that didn't happen…
- When the Red Sox made cursory inquiries about Doug Fister, it became clear that the Mariners were aiming high and looking for a right-handed bat. Since joining the Tigers, Fister has a 2.28 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 0.9 BB/9 in 51 1/3 impressive innings.
- The Red Sox were set to acquire Rich Harden from the A’s, but once they looked at his medical records, they were no longer willing to include both Lars Anderson and a player to be named. The PTBNL would have come from a list of high-upside players in the lower minors.
- Raul Alcantara, an 18-year-old Dominican who signed for $500K in 2009 and Brandon Workman, a second round pick in last year’s draft, would have been on the list.
- The Red Sox also kicked around the idea of acquiring Harden’s former teammate, Brad Ziegler, who ended up going to Arizona.
- The Padres weren’t thrilled with Boston’s prospects, so Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein never came close to completing deals for Mike Adams or other Padres relievers.
- The Orioles and Red Sox never exchanged names regarding a possible Koji Uehara deal.
NL West Links: Bauer, Broxton, Cook, Brach
It's Panda-monium at Coors Field tonight, as Pablo Sandoval hit for the cycle against the Rockies. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that Sandoval's cycle was the 25th in Giants history and the 10th since the club moved to San Francisco. If you had Sandoval and George Kottaras in a "who will hit for the cycle?" pool this season, you are now a multi-millionaire.
Some items from the NL West…
- Kevin Towers hinted to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the Diamondbacks may not call up Trevor Bauer in September. Towers thought the young prospect could have pitched too many innings for UCLA and in the minors this year.
- Jonathan Broxton will likely be shut down for the season after suffering a setback with his injured elbow, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. This probably also spells the end for Broxton with the Dodgers, as the right-hander is a free agent this winter. Don Mattingly was non-committal when talking about if Broxton could be back in L.A. next season.
- Aaron Cook isn't planning to retire and wants to pitch in the Majors next season, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Cook is set to start on Wednesday in the Rockies' last home game of the season, and it will likely be his last appearance with the team — Colorado is expected to decline Cook's $11MM option for 2012 and buy him out for $500K. MLB.com's Thomas Harding describes Cook's start as "a thank you for his long run with the organization," as Cook is the Rockies' all-time wins leader.
- The Rockies will install a humidor at their Triple-A stadium in Colorado Springs, reports Jim Krieger of the Denver Post. The team feels its pitching prospects can't properly develop by throwing in the thin air, and Colorado Springs' 6.41 team ERA this season is evidence.
- Brad Brach's journey from being a 42nd-round draft pick to pitching in the Padres bullpen is detailed by MLB.com's Corey Brock.
Quick Hits: Red Sox, Iannetta, Santana, Willis
Joey Votto celebrated his 28th birthday with a 3-for-4 performance today against the Rockies, including his 27th homer of the year. It wasn't enough, however, as Cincinnati dropped a 12-7 result to Colorado.
Some notes from around the majors….
- The Red Sox could use another solid starting pitcher but "for the moment don't feel there's anyone out there available who's better than what they have," a team official tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- The Rockies will give catcher Wilin Rosario a lot of playing time this month as they decide what to do with Chris Iannetta this winter, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. If Rosario plays well, Colorado may decide to deal Iannetta, who's due to make $3.55MM in 2012. Iannetta's name was mentioned in trade rumors involving the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Pirates and Padres at the July deadline.
- Johan Santana will probably not pitch in the Major Leagues for the Mets this season, reports Anthony DiComo for MLB.com.
- Dontrelle Willis probably won't be back with the Reds next season, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Willis has re-established himself as a big league starter this year but Fay figures that this progress has likely priced the southpaw out of the Reds' range.
- Another Red who likely won't be back in Cincinnati next year is Paul Janish, opines Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News. Despite some excellent glovework (a +11.6 UZR/150 at shortstop this year), Janish will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter and is probably a non-tender candidate with Zack Cozart taking over at short.
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune says several American League scouts have asked him about Jesus Guzman's fielding ability in recent weeks, a sign that AL teams could have an interest in Guzman as a DH candidate. Center discusses Guzman, Bud Black's status, a possible extension for Cameron Maybin and other Padres-related topics in an online chat with fans.
- Andruw Jones has been playing all season with a small tear in his left knee, reports Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. The Yankees discovered the injury during Jones' physical but signed the veteran outfielder anyway (both Twitter links).
Five Non-Moves That Shaped The 2011 Season
Blockbuster trades and record-breaking free agent contracts are lots of fun, but not all rumors turn into reality. Some of the storylines that dominated MLBTR early on this season never actually happened. Here’s a look back at five of them:
- Giants don’t replace Buster Posey – Last year’s Rookie of the Year went down on May 25th. Since then, the Giants have seen their catchers hit .208/.272/.298 with five homers. The Giants wouldn’t necessarily be leading the NL West if they had acquired reinforcements, but I’m comfortable saying the first-place Diamondbacks didn’t mind seeing Brian Sabean roll out Eli Whiteside, Chris Stewart and Hector Sanchez instead of acquiring a replacement. Finding catching midseason is never easy and the Giants’ non-Posey catchers did limit the running game (34% of would-be base stealers caught), but the defending World Champions could have done better.
- Padres hold Heath Bell – It was a foregone conclusion that the Padres would trade Heath Bell this year. Instead of pitching for a contender, he’s playing out the season in San Diego, wondering how the Padres will handle him this offseason.
- Yankees don’t acquire starting pitching – Ubaldo Jimenez, Wandy Rodriguez and Hiroki Kuroda were all linked to the Yankees, who seemed to be in need of pitching depth from day one. 141 games later, Yankees starters lead the American League in K/9 (7.1), are second in xFIP (3.78) and fifth in ground ball rate (44.9%). Brian Cashman’s reluctance to overpay for pitching in trades has allowed Ivan Nova to blossom, but it hasn’t answered questions about who will follow C.C. Sabathia in New York’s playoff rotation.
- Rays stand pat – B.J. Upton, Johnny Damon, James Shields and Kyle Farnsworth all made regular appearances on MLBTR this summer, but they stayed put. Executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who spent the July 31st trade deadline having his appendix removed, added summer reinforcements by calling up hot-hitting prospect Desmond Jennings a week before the deadline.
- Mets hold Jose Reyes – It's easy to wonder what the Mets would have obtained for Jose Reyes if they had dangled him in early July. He was hitting .354/.398/.529 at the time and had yet to spend time on the disabled list this year. The Mets, who are expected to pursue Reyes when he hits free agency this offseason, held onto him instead of sending him to a contender. Though Reyes missed time in July and August, he would have provided a contending team with a boost (and provided the Mets with more prospects).
Padres, Maybin Appear To Have Interest In Extension
WEDNESDAY: Maybin told Brock yesterday, "They've given me a great opportunity. When the season ends, we can discuss that more."
TUESDAY: The Padres and Cameron Maybin appear to have mutual interest in an extension, Yahoo's Tim Brown reports (Twitter link). Maybin, 24, is enjoying a breakout season with the Padres and now seems to be an offseason extension candidate. MLB.com's Corey Brock hears that some discussions about a possible deal have taken place, though no agreement is remotely close at the moment (Twitter link).
Maybin debuted as a 20-year-old with the 2007 Tigers, but frequent demotions to the minor leagues prevented him from picking up much service time. After this season, Maybin will have two years and 73 days of service time, which puts him on track for arbitration eligibility after the 2012 season and free agency after the 2015 season.
Maybin has been one of San Diego's most productive players since the Padres acquired Maybin from Florida for Edward Mujica and Ryan Webb last November. He has a .275/.332/.400 line in 476 plate appearances and UZR suggests he has been an asset on defense in spacious Petco Park.
Though Padres fans would no doubt like to see GM Jed Hoyer lock Maybin up to a team-friendly deal similar to the one Jose Tabata signed with the Pirates last month, the two outfielders aren't perfect comparables for one another. Tabata, who signed a six-year, $15MM deal, is a year behind Maybin in MLB service. Tabata will earn $11.5MM for his three arbitration years, which could be a point of reference for Maybin and the Padres. Unfortunately for Maybin, arbitration panels would penalize him for his spotty track record and modest career stats without rewarding him for his outfield defense.
Hoyer has signed one Padre to a multi-year deal since becoming GM, as our Transaction Tracker shows. He signed Jason Bartlett to a two-year, $11MM extension last offseason.
Outrighted To The Minors: Neshek, Pope, Walters
Here are the latest players to get outrighted to the minor leagues…
- The Padres outrighted Pat Neshek to Triple-A today, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). They had designated the reliever for assignment last Thursday.
- The Yankees outrighted Ryan Pope to Triple-A, reports Marc Carig of The Star Ledger (on Twitter). Pope was designated for assignment last week, when the Yankees needed 40-man roster space for Jesus Montero. The 25-year-old righty posted a 5.12 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings split between Double and Triple-A this year.
- The Blue Jays outrighted P.J. Walters to the minor leagues, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (on Twitter). Walters appeared in one game for the Blue Jays after they acquired him in the deal that brought Colby Rasmus to Toronto. In 51 MLB innings, the right-hander has a 7.24 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.