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Odds & Ends: Indians, Jeter, Ellis, Giants, Chen

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Happy 92nd birthday to one of baseball's all-time great pitchers, Bob Feller.  "Rapid Robert" piled up 266 wins and 2581 strikeouts in his Hall of Fame career.  In tribute to Feller, it's only appropriate that we start this batch of news items with something from Cleveland…

  • Infielder Drew Sutton is eligible for free agency after being outrighted to Triple-A by the Indians, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  The article notes that Andy Marte is expected to be removed from the Cleveland roster before the Rule 5 draft deadline.  Also from Hoynes (via Twitter), the Phillies claimed shortstop Carlos Rivero on waivers from the Tribe.  Rivero has a .676 OPS in 2156 minor league plate appearances, none above the Double-A level.
  • Hal Steinbrenner's recent comments about the Derek Jeter talks strike ESPN's Buster Olney "as if he's preparing the NYY fans for an ugly Jeter negotiation" (Twitter link).
  • Now that the A's have exercised Mark Ellis' option for 2011, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the team will look into an extension for the veteran second baseman.
  • Buster Posey and Brian Wilson are the key reasons why the Giants have a chance to win another World Series, says Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.  "How many teams can say, right now, they have zero interest in upgrading at the need-to-have positions of catcher or closer?", Morosi asks.  He cites just the Phillies and Twins, and even those two clubs come with question marks.
  • Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com thinks the Giants should sign Eric Chavez to a minor-league contract.  (Twitter link)
  • Bruce Chen wants a multiyear deal but the Royals are "unlikely" to make the left-hander such an offer, tweets The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton.
  • It could be a bad omen for David Ortiz's $12.5MM option that another slugging DH (Vladimir Guerrero) had his $9MM option for 2011 declined by Texas earlier today, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
  • Tampa Bay added Elliot Johnson to its 40-man roster, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.  Without the move, Johnson would've become a free agent.  Johnson had a breakout minor league campaign in Triple-A last season, posting a .319/.375/.475 line and winning the International League MVP award.
  • In response to a fan mailbag question about Adam Dunn, MLB.com's Bill Ladson warns about the dangers of the Nationals offering a long-term deal to a defensively-challenged slugger.  He points out how fans were also wishing the Nats signed Alfonso Soriano to an extension, but in hindsight Washington made the right move.
  • Nationals right-hander Collin Balester is looking for members to join his 'Movember' team.  Click here to sign up and join Balester in raising money and awareness in the fight against prostate cancer.

“Pretty Good Chance” Huff Remains In San Francisco

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Aubrey Huff and the Giants probably won't agree on an extension before the team's exclusive negotiating period with free agents ends on Sunday, but Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that there is "mutual interest" between both sides in Huff returning in 2011.

The one-year, $3MM contract that Huff signed with San Francisco last January was roundly criticized, but in the wake of his .891 OPS and his key role in the Giants' World Series title, it's safe to say that Huff and Brian Sabean had the last laugh.  Huff will be looking for a much bigger salary in his new deal, though since he's turning 34 in December, the Giants probably aren't interested in anything longer than a three-year pact at most.  There's also the presence of first base prospect Brandon Belt to consider; the 2009 amateur draft fifth-rounder advanced all the way to Triple-A in his first professional season, posting a 1.075 OPS at high A ball, Double-A and Triple-A Fresno.

Baggarly notes that Huff is looking for new representation.  This is the second time this year that Huff has changed agents, as he moved to SFX's Mark Pieper from ACES in August.  Baggarly says that Huff could also represent himself, which would likely mean "a quicker resolution" to an extension.

Odds & Ends: Crawford, Thome, Rowand, Greinke

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On this date in 1974, the Braves traded Hank Aaron to the Brewers for Dave May. Today, the Braves made some less memorable moves. Here are the day's links…

Giants Notes: Sabean, Bochy, Renteria

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You just won the World Series.  What are you doing next?  A few notes from the Giants' celebration…

Giants Don’t Intend To Trade Zito

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Giants GM Brian Sabean told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that he does not intend to trade Barry Zito this offseason. The Giants owe the left-hander $64.5MM over the course of the next three years – a lot of money for someone who hasn’t pitched like a $20MM player. Zito struggled down the stretch and is not on the Giants’ World Series roster, but Sabean says he likes having him on the team.

"We like Barry's contribution as far as the innings he pitches and the starts he makes," Sabean said. 

Zito, who is in the fourth year of his seven-year $126MM deal, logged just under 200 innings this season. He posted a 4.25 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 overall, but pitched to a 6.14 ERA in August and September. Zito makes his starts, but it's not as if teams are lining up to acquire the former Cy Young Award winner. The Giants couldn't trade him without taking on $40MM or more.

Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and last night's hero, Madison Bumgarner, occupy four spots in San Francisco's rotation. Sabean said lefty reliever Dan Runzler may get the chance to start, according to Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse (on Twitter).

Odds & Ends: K-Rod, Gibbons, Ricciardi, Uehara

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Links for Halloween Sunday, as we prepare to take in our last October baseball game of 2010….

  • SI.com's Jon Heyman says (via Twitter) the early feeling is that Francisco Rodriguez will be back with the Mets this year. There has been speculation that they would try to trade the closer following his late-season arrest, but that would have proven difficult with his contract. 
  • John Gibbons has informed the Mets that he's not a candidate for their managerial opening, tweets Bob Klapisch of The Bergen Record. The former Blue Jays' manager is happy with his role as Kansas City's bench coach.
  • The Mets are still trying to lure J.P. Ricciardi to their new front office, reports ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin.
  • Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com notes that it doesn't appear as if the Orioles have made much of an attempt to keep Koji Uehara. Uehara finished 2010 as the team's closer, but he is scheduled to be a free agent in the not-too-distant future.
  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun recaps the Orioles' coaching situation, and tells us that if Don Wakamatsu doesn't land a managerial job, he'll likely be Buck Showalter's bench coach. Showalter would like the coaching staff to be finalized by mid-week.
  • Dave Eiland, who was fired as the Yankees' pitching coach last week, told Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger that a reported falling out between he and Joe Girardi was "totally, absolutely false," and "ridiculous."
  • How potential free agents have been performing, and continue to perform, in the postseason will have an impact on the Giants' offseason decisions, Brian Sabean tells Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe, and Pat Burrell are a few Giants who are facing possible free agency.
  • Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer reminds Phillies fans that if Jayson Werth signs elsewhere, it wouldn't be the first time the club has lost a star outfielder to free agency. As Brookover notes, things turned out pretty well for the Phils in 2007, when Aaron Rowand signed with the Giants after having a career year in Philadelphia.
  • In a piece for the Detroit Free Press, Josh Huebner explains why signing Carl Crawford should be the Tigers' number one priority this winter.
  • Derek Jeter will likely still be playing shortstop in New York in 2011, but as Bill Madden of the New York Daily News writes, the Yankees view Eduardo Nunez as Jeter's eventual successor.

Odds & Ends: Crawford, Indians, Lopez, Brewers

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A few links to check out after the Rangers picked up their first World Series win in franchise history…

  • Torii Hunter is at the World Series for TV work, though he did mention liking the idea of Carl Crawford in an Angels' uniform according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). Hunter wouldn't confirm if he's been lobbying the soon-to-be free agent outfielder.
  • In a mailbag piece, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer answers questions about the Indians chances of signing quality free agents and whether or not Javier Vazquez is a fit for them.
  • FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that Giants' lefty reliever Javier Lopez will fall short of qualifying for free agency this offseason by just five days of service time. It's a shame he won't be able to cash in on his dominant postseason (5.2 innings, one hit, one walk, six strikeouts).
  • Rosenthal also says that the Brewers are just doing their due diligence, and are expected to name a manager shortly after the World Series (Twitter link).
  • Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune lists the hurdles the White Sox would have to clear if they want to acquire Colby Rasmus. He also noted that St. Louis had people watching ChiSox prospects at a recent Arizona Fall League game.
  • Chad Jennings of The Journal News provide an offseason to-do list for the Yankees.
  • MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli tweets that the announcement of the Orioles' coaching staff is being held up by Don Wakamatsu. He'll be their bench coach unless he lands a managerial gig elsewhere.
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post explains what impressed him about Sandy Alderson's introductory press conference yesterday.
  • Meanwhile, Newsday's David Lennon wonders if Alderson's hiring will boost ticket sales (via Twitter). Mets' attendance has dropped from an average of 51,165 fans per game in 2008 to 32,401 in 2010 despite the opening of CitiField last season. Obviously the economy is part of the problem.
  • Jennings also passed along a lengthy quote from Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who explains his desire to make his team younger without sacrificing their ability to be competitive.
  • Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle compares the path the Rangers and Giants took to the World Series to some of the moves the Astros made a few seasons ago.

Non-Tender Candidate: Mike Fontenot

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In mid-August the Giants struck a deal with the Cubs to acquire infielder Mike Fontenot in exchange for minor league center fielder Evan Crawford.  The Cubs chose to part ways with the 30-year-old who was unable to give an encore performance of his strong 2008 campaign.  In that season he delivered a slash line of .305/.395/.514 with nine homers.  His flat 2010 numbers with the Cubbies (91 OPS+) and the rise of Starlin Castro made Fontenot expendable. 

Fontenot didn't set the world on fire at the end of the Giants' regular season either, hitting .282/.329/.310 in 76 plate appearances.  While he has the ability to play shortstop and third base, his best position is second base.  Second base is, of course, already occupied by Freddy Sanchez, who is under contract through 2011.  While he could conceivably be a cheap alternative if the Giants choose not to retain Juan Uribe, his light-hitting and weak play at shortstop make that unlikely.

As for Fontenot, he earned $1MM and will head to arbitration this winter for the second time.  While he's not a bad utility option to keep around, the Giants could very well choose to non-tender him.  After all, they didn't exactly give up a ton to acquire him this year.  What do you think San Francisco will do with Fontenot?  Click here to vote, and here to view the results.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braves, Rangers, Rays, Haren

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The Phillies won their second World Series in franchise history two years ago today, beating the Rays in the first suspended game in series history. Game Five started on October 27th, 2008, and the two clubs played to a 2-2 tie through the first five and a half innings before rain forced the suspension. The game didn't resume until October 29th due to the weather, but when it finallly did the Phillies outscored Tampa 2-1 the rest of the way for a 4-3 final score.

There's no weather-related delay for these links; here's the best from around the web this week…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Adrian Gonzalez’s Trade Suitors

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The Padres' surprising 2010 campaign might ensure that Adrian Gonzalez at least starts next season in San Diego, since the club will want to see if they can capture the same lightning in a bottle in 2011.  But if the Padres fall out of contention early (as they were expected to do last year), the simmering Gonzalez trade market will again catch fire.

Don Norcross of the San Diego Union-Tribune recapped the difficulty — or impossibility — that the Padres will have in signing Gonzalez to the expensive, long-term contract that he'll no doubt command when he reaches free agency after the 2011 season.  Norcross named three "favorites" and two dark horses as possible homes for Gonzalez come Opening Day 2012, so let's take a closer look at these options…

  • The Red Sox.  Boston has been at the forefront of Gonzalez rumors for over a year, and there's no question the Sox will be involved in trade talks for the slugger right down to the wire.
  • The Giants.  Norcross somewhat surprisingly adds them to his favorites list, pointing out that Aubrey Huff could be moved to the outfield (if he's re-signed at all) to accommodate Gonzalez at first base.  It's hard to picture San Diego dealing Gonzalez to a division rival, plus San Francisco isn't the kind of big market that could afford A-Gon's future contract.  That said, the Giants are rewriting their own history right now in the World Series.  They might decide to just go for broke and acquire Gonzalez while their window of contention is open.
  • The Angels.  As Norcross notes, L.A. is close to home for the San Diego-born Gonzalez, and the Halos will pay the money for top talent.  Kendry Morales is relegated to the outfield or the DH spot in Norcross' scenario, but Morales could also be the centerpiece of the Angels' trade package to San Diego.
  • The Dodgers.  One of the darkhorse contenders depending on if a new owner takes control of the team and wants to make an instant impact.  Gonzalez could be in a new uniform well before the Dodgers' ownership situation is settled, so we can probably write off at least one L.A. team.
  • The Cubs.  Gonzalez himself has shown some interest in playing in Chicago, but the Cubs might be looking to add Adam Dunn to play first base this winter.

Besides these five teams, a number of other clubs can and will arise in the market depending on how this offseason pans out.  The White Sox might need first base help if Paul Konerko departs, and could be interested in a long-term answer at first anyway given Konerko's age.  Texas might try to undo their infamous Gonzalez/Chris Young for Adam Eaton/Akinori Otsuka swap in 2006 and make a play for the first baseman.  Teams like Toronto, Baltimore, Washington or Seattle don't seem like candidates now, but could dive into the free agent market next winter if they think they're close to contention.  Even St. Louis could be considered a possibility if they're unable to come to terms on an extension for Albert Pujols.

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