Odds & Ends: Yankees, Varitek, Sheffield
A few links to browse while we watch to see if the Phillies can finish off the last of the Division Series….
- Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues wonders how Johnny Damon's recent slide and Hideki Matsui's hot streak will affect the New York Yankees' decisions this winter.
- Josh Beckett wants Jason Varitek back in Boston in 2010, according to Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com.
- MLB.com's Kelly Thesier writes that Joe Mauer has spoken to agent Ron Shapiro about his contract status, but that there haven't been any "serious discussions" yet.
- Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports that Gary Sheffield wants to return to Florida. "It would be nice to finish my career with the Marlins," Sheffield said. "This is where I made a name for myself.''
- The Houston Astros aren't handling the managerial interview process well, according to Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle. Justice's pick for the opening, Jim Fregosi, wasn't one of the ten candidates announced by the Astros.
- Chris Ruddick of the Sports Network, via the Miami Herald, speculates on the next moves for St. Louis and Boston. He isn't opposed to letting Tony LaRussa and Matt Holliday walk, and suggests that Jonathan Papelbon could be shopped for a "young bat" this winter.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay writes that former Diamondbacks pitching coach Bryan Pryce is on the Reds' list of candidates for their pitching coach. The Brewers have also expressed interest in Pryce.
- Within a mailbag on MLB.com, Chris Haft writes that players like Matt Holliday and Jason Bay will be out of the San Francisco Giants' price range, and that the team is more likely to acquire a "hard-hitting utilityman."
Odds & Ends: Yankees, Varitek, Sheffield
A few links to browse while we watch to see if the Phillies can finish off the last of the Division Series….
- Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues wonders how Johnny Damon's recent slide and Hideki Matsui's hot streak will affect the New York Yankees' decisions this winter.
- Josh Beckett wants Jason Varitek back in Boston in 2010, according to Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com.
- MLB.com's Kelly Thesier writes that Joe Mauer has spoken to agent Ron Shapiro about his contract status, but that there haven't been any "serious discussions" yet.
- Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports that Gary Sheffield wants to return to Florida. "It would be nice to finish my career with the Marlins," Sheffield said. "This is where I made a name for myself.''
- The Houston Astros aren't handling the managerial interview process well, according to Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle. Justice's pick for the opening, Jim Fregosi, wasn't one of the ten candidates announced by the Astros.
- Chris Ruddick of the Sports Network, via the Miami Herald, speculates on the next moves for St. Louis and Boston. He isn't opposed to letting Tony LaRussa and Matt Holliday walk, and suggests that Jonathan Papelbon could be shopped for a "young bat" this winter.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay writes that former Diamondbacks pitching coach Bryan Pryce is on the Reds' list of candidates for their pitching coach. The Brewers have also expressed interest in Pryce.
- Within a mailbag on MLB.com, Chris Haft writes that players like Matt Holliday and Jason Bay will be out of the San Francisco Giants' price range, and that the team is more likely to acquire a "hard-hitting utilityman."
Discussion: Dan Uggla
His name is Dan Uggla, and he can be had for the right price this offseason. The 29-year-old Florida second baseman has 121 homers and an .826 OPS in his four major league seasons, but between his war of words with Marlins franchise player Hanley Ramirez and the $7-8MM he is likely to earn in arbitration, rumors have been swirling that the Fish are looking to move Uggla out of south Florida before he becomes too pricey for their taste.
FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal listed the Dodgers, Cardinals, Orioles, Twins, Giants and Diamondbacks as possible suitors for Uggla in an article last month. The Snakes may be out of the running now since, as reported by the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro, Arizona will likely look at internal candidates to play second base. Baltimore already has Brian Roberts entrenched at second, but if Uggla was interested in moving to third base he would surely become attractive to even more clubs.
Of the clubs on Rosenthal's list, Minnesota stands out since it's unusual for the small-market Twins to be looking at picking up high-priced talent, rather than moving it themselves. But with Target Field opening in 2010, the Twins may have some extra revenue to spend on both picking up the tab for Uggla and (the team's top priority) signing Joe Mauer to a long-term contract. Minnesota has holes at both second and third that Uggla could fill.
Would Uggla fit best on one of the aforementioned six clubs, or is there another team out there with both the money and the need for a slugging second (or third) baseman?
Odds & Ends: Fredi Gonzalez, Giants, Beane
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- The Marlins will retain manager Fredi Gonzalez, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets will look to take on overpriced players via trade this winter.
- A must-read from Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: his ten steps to re-boot the Pirates for 2010. Kovacevic again notes that closer Matt Capps will be on the trading block.
- RotoWorld's Matthew Pouliot looks at the performance of a couple of Alex Anthopoulos fantasy teams from ten years ago. My best pick from '99 was definitely Mike Sweeney.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has a transcript of yesterday's Brian Sabean/Bruce Bochy sit-down. Lots of good stuff in there.
- Tyler Bleszinski of Athletics Nation has part two of his Billy Beane chat. Beane seems interested in retaining free agent infielder Adam Kennedy.
- ESPN's Buster Olney wrote yesterday that "rival executives are already speculating about Kevin Towers' possible connection to the Texas Rangers if — and it's a big if — Dennis Gilbert's group wins the bidding for the team."
Giants Rumors: Lincecum, Sanchez, Penny
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has the goods on the Giants, after speaking with GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy.
- Technically, Sabean and Bochy's contracts are up at the end of the month. They don't have commitments for 2010 in hand, yet the expectation is that both will be back.
- In discussing Tim Lincecum's upcoming arbitration case, Sabean referenced Ryan Howard's record first-time award ($10MM) from February of '08. Of course, with Howard, the Phillies screwed up by submitting only $7MM. Sabean wants to file his salary request for Lincecum before discussing a long-term deal, so as to not show his hand early.
- Closer Brian Wilson is another first-time arbitration-eligible player, and you have to think he'll jump up to $5MM+.
- The Giants would like to restructure Freddy Sanchez's $8.1MM option into a two-year deal, but seem confident in his return. Baggarly says they even consider the option as a fallback if the restructuring fails. I can't see Sanchez getting $8.1MM on the open market.
- A Brad Penny return appears unlikely. If he sticks to the NL and the West Coast he'll be down to the Padres pretty much. It'd also be surprising to see the Giants re-sign catcher Bengie Molina, who wants a two-year deal worth more than $6MM annually.
- Sabean wouldn't rule out trading a pitcher for a bat, but said he'd agonize over such a decision.
- Brandon Medders, Justin Miller, and Ryan Garko are non-tender candidates. The Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner call-ups locked up two 40-man roster spots.
- Quoting Baggarly: Sabean justified the $18.5 million contract he gave [Edgar Renteria] last winter by saying they needed a veteran shortstop."
Odds & Ends: Marlins, Molina, Cueto, Astros
Let's check out some links to cap off the afternoon:
- Marlins president David Samson says that he is not aware of any talks with Bobby Valentine, according to Dan Gelston of the Associated Press. Current manager Fredi Gonzalez is signed through 2011. Gordon Edes of Yahoo Sports reports that Samson would not dispel speculation that Gonzalez' job may be in jeopardy.
- Bengie Molina wants to remain in San Francisco, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Molina is seeking a raise from the $6MM he made this season in a two-year pact. Baggarly says that the Giants are going to ask for a lower base, as the 35-year-old is likely to catch less games as time progresses. The article names Ramon Hernandez and Jason Kendall as veteran catchers who could replace Molina if he is not retained. Molina projects as a Type A free agent.
- As the season comes to a close, players are looking ahead to the prospect of playing winter ball. After logging 171.1 IP this season, the Reds are considering keeping Johnny Cueto from playing in the Dominican Republic, reports MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Meanwhile, the Mets' Bobby Parnell would prefer not to play winter ball after going through the grind of his first full big league season, writes Marty Noble of MLB.com. Manager Jerry Manuel says that not pitching in winter ball will not effect his candidacy as a starter for the Mets next season.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday posted selections from his Sunday Insider column. Davidoff says that Jim Fregosi – who worked with Houston GM Ed Wade in Philadelphia – appears to be a candidate for the Astros managerial position. Recently, Wade said that he doesn't expect Craig Biggio or Jeff Bagwell to become the team's next manager.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes via Twitter, "I will be very surprised if Rick Peterson is not the Brewers' next pitching coach. He appears to be the leading candidate by far."
- Haudricourt also tweets that Ryan Braun wants the club to capitalize on their "small window…to win"
Odds & Ends: Padres, Jays, Giants
A few links to start the evening….
- Bob Nightengale of USA Today believes the Padres would be making an epic mistake if they let GM Kevin Towers go. The odds of Towers being retained look "very slim," according to Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter).
- Earlier today we discussed reports of tension in the Blue Jays' clubhouse between players and manager Cito Gaston. Jordan Bastian of MLB.com relays reaction quotes on his Twitter from those involved. Vernon Wells says it's never been this bad in Toronto in the past.
- Keith Law of ESPN.com opines that Buster Posey's only weakness is his game-calling, which could only be fixed by gaining major-league experience with the Giants' staff. He suggests San Francisco save the money they could spend on Bengie Molina and hand the catching reins to Posey in 2010.
- As Tom Verducci of SI.com points out, the game now has a dominant group of young pitchers such as Felix Hernandez and Clayton Kershaw.
- Houston owner Drayton McLane tells MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that rumors of the Astros being for sale are "absolutely untrue."
Odds & Ends: Padres, Jays, Giants
A few links to start the evening….
- Bob Nightengale of USA Today believes the Padres would be making an epic mistake if they let GM Kevin Towers go. The odds of Towers being retained look "very slim," according to Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter).
- Earlier today we discussed reports of tension in the Blue Jays' clubhouse between players and manager Cito Gaston. Jordan Bastian of MLB.com relays reaction quotes on his Twitter from those involved. Vernon Wells says it's never been this bad in Toronto in the past.
- Keith Law of ESPN.com opines that Buster Posey's only weakness is his game-calling, which could only be fixed by gaining major-league experience with the Giants' staff. He suggests San Francisco save the money they could spend on Bengie Molina and hand the catching reins to Posey in 2010.
- As Tom Verducci of SI.com points out, the game now has a dominant group of young pitchers such as Felix Hernandez and Clayton Kershaw.
- Houston owner Drayton McLane tells MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that rumors of the Astros being for sale are "absolutely untrue."
Bidding On Jason Bay
WEEI.com's Alex Speier hears from multiple sources that the bidding for Jason Bay will reach at least four years at $14-15MM per season. The 31-year-old outfielder has been "pleasantly surprised" by his first contract year. Bay didn't know what to expect at the beginning of the season, but he's produced, as usual.
He has 36 homers and a .266/.385/.538 line that overshadows his 159 strikeouts and below average defense (according to UZR/150). A return to Boston appears to be a "legitimate possibility," but other teams will have interest if the two sides can't agree to a deal.
As Speier notes, the Angels, Cardinals, Giants, Mariners, Mets, White Sox and Yankees could all have interest in Bay and the resources to sign him.
Yahoo's Gordon Edes and MLBTR's Mike Axisa each compared Bay to Matt Holliday last month, so check out their articles to see how Bay fits in to the rest of the free agent market.
Odds & Ends: Sandberg, Yanks, Padres, Upton
Some links to read before the final weekend of the regular season…
- Ryne Sandberg tells Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times that his "ideal job" would be managing the Cubs.
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says C.C. Sabathia and Mike Mussina are the only two Yankee pitchers of the decade to deliver big seasons right after signing big free agent contracts.
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune says there's still a lot of uncertainty surrounding Padres GM Kevin Towers.
- USA Today's Bob Nightengale says (via Twitter) that the Giants expect Randy Johnson to retire after the season.
- Nightengale says teams expect the Rays to deal B.J. Upton this winter.
- Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle says the Giants need Bengie Molina and Buster Posey next year.
- Justin Masterson tells John Tomase of the Boston Herald that his former pitching coach, John Farrell, would make a good manager.