Odds & Ends: McLeod, Yankees, Wagner, Lyon
Let's check out some Wednesday evening links….
- Red Sox scouting director Jason McLeod is leaving Boston to become the Padres' assistant GM under Jed Hoyer, according to Peter Gammons of ESPN (via Twitter). This news prompted a slew of baseball writers across Twitter to praise the move, including Keith Law, Amalie Benjamin, Ian Browne, and Kevin Goldstein.
- Joe Girardi discusses the Yankees' 2010 roster in an article by MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. Girardi's quotes aren't overly juicy, but he mentions that he likes having some flexibility at DH to periodically give players like Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, and Derek Jeter a rest.
- Carrie Muskat of MLB.com talks to Cubs GM Jim Hendry about the offseason and the upcoming winter meetings. Hendry opines that "it'll be a good offseason of trades" and that plenty will be made throughout the winter.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution passes on some quotes from Billy Wagner, following the lefty's signing with the Braves.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law thinks Wagner's price was too high for Atlanta. Law also shares his opinions on some of the more notable arbitration decisions from around the majors.
- In a piece for River Ave. Blues, MLBTR's Mike Axisa warns the Yankees against signing Brandon Lyon, arguing that he's a "fringe reliever" in the AL East. We heard yesterday that the Yanks are interested.
- Speaking of Lyon, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reports (via Twitter) that the Phillies are also interested in the right-hander.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel thinks that the Brewers are one of the teams Randy Wolf described as aggressively pursuing him in an earlier story.
- John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle provides an interesting read about where revenue-sharing checks end up.
Multiple Teams Interested In Noah Lowry
1:45pm: Aside from the Pirates and Rockies, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says the Dodgers, Padres, A's, Mariners, and Reds are interested in Lowry.
10:56am: The Pirates are interested in free agent lefty Noah Lowry, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. As Kovacevic notes, the former Giant had forearm surgery in March of 2008, which the pitcher's agent later claimed was a misdiagnosis. In May of '09 Lowry had surgery to remove a rib to help with thoracic outlet syndrome. Earlier this month, Lowry's agent said his client is finally "completely healthy." Yesterday, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post noted the Rockies' interest in Lowry.
The first four spots in the Pirates' rotation appear set, with Paul Maholm, Zach Duke, Ross Ohlendorf, and Charlie Morton. Lowry could compete for the fifth starter job; the Bucs would have three lefties in the rotation if he won it. Lowry's best season came in 2005, when he made 33 starts with a 3.78 ERA. That campaign netted him a four-year, $9.25MM extension.
White Sox Rumors: Jenks, Gonzalez, Konerko, Pierzynski
MLB.com's Scott Merkin has a few White Sox hot stove notes…
- GM Kenny Williams is not shopping closer Bobby Jenks and has not had any offseason trade talks about him. However, Williams will listen at the Winter Meetings.
- Williams said he never heard of last month's rumor about three-way trade talks for Adrian Gonzalez involving the White Sox, Padres, and Angels. The rumor came from a source with no track record, and was quickly shot down, so it was never published on MLBTR. That doesn't mean we should rule out the possiblity of the White Sox being interest in Gonzalez, though.
- Williams is not thinking about extensions for Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski, who are signed through 2010.
Padres Do Not Offer Arb To Brian Giles
The Padres will not offer arbitration to Type B free agent outfielder Brian Giles, MLB.com's Corey Brock learned from GM Jed Hoyer. Backup catcher Henry Blanco, who is neither A nor B, also will not get an offer. Brock says the Padres would like to re-sign Blanco, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports believes he's close to a deal with the Mets.
Giles was an easy decision after he fell off a cliff in 2009, hitting just .191/.277/.271 in 253 plate appearances while earning $9MM. Giles dealt with a knee injury during the season.
Odds & Ends: Blue Jays, Mets, Padres
The Winter Meetings motor is getting revved up…
- Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star lists three misconceptions about the Roy Halladay situation.
- The Mets have added former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky to their front office, according to Ken Rosenthal's Twitter feed. Krivsky had been working with the Orioles.
- Corey Brock of MLB.com answers fan questions. Among other things, he believes Tony Gwynn, Jr. is a fourth outfielder, while Mike Cameron would be a good fit in San Diego.
- Despite the economic downturn, salaries went up league-wide in 2009.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Revenue Sharing, Bullington, Halladay, Mauer
On this date 18 years ago, Eddie Murray signed a two-year, $7.5MM deal with the Mets, the third of six teams he would play for in 21 seasons. In those two years, he would hit 43 home runs and post seasons of 115 and 111 OPS+. A week into this year's free agency, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- The Biz of Baseball looks at revenue sharing in baseball and why baseball no longer releases revenue sharing figures.
- DC Sports Plus evaluates the list of minor league free agent pitchers and who might get shots to stick with a big league club in the Spring.
- Royals Authority looks at what the signing of Bryan Bullington could mean for the Royals and whether he can contribute as a big league relief pitcher.
- River Ave Blues speculates on what the Yankees and Red Sox would have to give up to land Roy Halladay.
- MLB Notebook examines why the Tigers are looking to trade Edwin Jackson.
- UmpBump breaks down the Padres off-season needs and what San Diego needs to bring back should Adrian Gonzalez be traded.
- Jorge Says No! speculates on an extension that could work for both the Twins and Joe Mauer.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Odds & Ends: Johnson, Cabrera, Mets, Contreras
Here's some discount links on Black Friday…
- ESPN's Keith Law notes that the Marlins have a history of moving players early, and says that they could land two big league ready players and two Double-A prospects for Josh Johnson.
- There's no evidence to suggest that the Red Sox have approached the Tigers about a trade for Miguel Cabrera according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com.
- Bob Klapisch of FoxSports.com writes that it'll take more than one offseason to get the Mets back on track.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe says that next week's arbitration deadline will have a big impact on the Red Sox, and wonders if GM Theo Epstein has a trade for a shortstop in mind.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert says a marriage between the Diamondbacks and free agent Nick Johnson seems unlikely because the team has a little more than $10MM to spend and more pressing needs in the rotation.
- Jose Contreras met with officials from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of Japan's Pacific League, according to the AP (via NBCSports.com).
- SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that Jermaine Dye would like to go west, and suggests that he could be an alternative righty bat for the Rangers.
- Heyman also hears that the Blue Jays like Jesus Montero of the Yankees and Casey Kelly of the Red Sox, referring of course to a potential Roy Halladay trade.
- FoxSports.com's Dayn Perry takes a look at some free agents teams should avoid.
- R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs chimes on three recent moves: Dallas McPherson to the A's, Tug Hulett to the Red Sox, and Radhames Liz to the Padres.
Odds & Ends: Orioles, Padres, Theriot
Here are some links on an understandably slow Thanksgiving night…
- Baltimore GM Andy MacPhail tells Steve Melewski of MASN Sports that the Orioles are willing to offer a big contract under the right circumstances. MacPhail points out that the club offered $140MM to Mark Teixeira as evidence that they are willing to spend. Given their recent history, do you believe him?
- The Padres are keeping close watch on first round draft pick Donavan Tate, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The third overall pick is recovering after undergoing sports hernia surgery in October.
- Despite plans to shift Ryan Theriot from shortstop to second base, Cubs GM Jim Hendry tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that he has faith in the soon-to-be 30-year-old. Theriot has been told to prepare for a shift to the other side of the bag to make room for Starlin Castro. Recently it has been reported that the Cubs are interested in Mets second baseman Luis Castillo.
Padres Claim Radhames Liz
According to a team press release, the Padres have claimed righthander Radhames Liz off waivers from the Orioles. The 26-year-old appeared in two games for the O's in 2009, allowing eight hits and ten runs in just 1.1 innings. He made 17 starts for Baltimore in 2008, putting up a 6.72 ERA in 84.1 IP.
Prior to the 2008 season, Baseball America ranked Liz as the Orioles' number two prospect behind Matt Wieters.
Odds & Ends: Lincecum, Gonzalez, Damon
Let's check out some Wednesday morning links….
- With rumors of Tim Lincecum's arbitration filing abound, Dave Cameron at FanGraphs determines that the two-time defending NL Cy Young Award winner could realistically get about $12-14MM this year. Cameron notes that Lincecum's success isn't unprecedented; Roger Clemens took the baseball world by storm in a similar fashion over two decades ago.
- Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune believes there will be a time for the Padres to trade Adrian Gonzalez, but that it hasn't come yet.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports examines some of the more intriguing arbitration decisions around the majors.
- Johnny Damon isn't stressing too much over his future, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.
- Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News thinks Chone Figgins would look good atop the Phillies' lineup.
- Aiming to quell the concerns of Tigers fans, John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press points out a few reasons why the Miguel Cabrera trade rumors are lacking in substance.
- WEEI's Rob Bradford breaks down why Roy Halladay should be a priority for the Red Sox. In another article, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes that we should soon find out how badly the Jays and Red Sox want to get a deal done.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball provides an interesting read on the dissent between baseball's management and labor.