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AL Notes: Nolasco, Wren, Dipoto, Walker

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The Twins have announced that they’ve reinstated starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco from the 60-day DL and cleared space for him on their 40-man roster by placing lefty Logan Darnell (pneumonia) on the 60-day DL. Nolasco has not pitched since May, having missed most of the season with a right ankle impingement. He had surgery on his ankle in July to remove a bone fragment. Nolasco won’t return to his usual starting role — instead, he’ll pitch in relief for the remainder of the season, as MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger reports. His return gives him the opportunity to end a second straight disappointing year on a positive note. He’s almost halfway through his four-year, $49MM deal with the Twins (which includes a club option for 2018), and he’s now posted ERAs of 5.38 in 2014 and 5.51 in 32 2/3 innings this year.

  • The Red Sox’ new front office alignment — featuring Frank Wren as senior VP of baseball ops and reporting to president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski — can work, opines Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bradley notes that Wren had a tendency to be impulsive, but Dombrowski will rein in his reactionary impulses. Additionally, Bradley believes that Wren has a knack for scrounging for relievers and bench pieces, which can be of benefit to Boston. While he acknowledges that his defending of Wren is unpopular among Braves faithful (the Dan Uggla and Melvin Upton Jr. contracts still sting), Bradley adds that Wren never lost 90 games in a season with the Braves, who actually led the National League in victories from 2010-14 with Wren serving as GM.
  • Dombrowski says that he would love to add Jerry Dipoto to the Red Sox front office in a full-time capacity, but he’s presently waiting for the jobs for which Dipoto has applied to be resolved, tweets Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Dipoto, who is currently an adviser with the Red Sox, is known to have interviewed for the Mariners’ GM vacancy and was reported to be one of two finalists earlier today.
  • The Mariners aren’t completely ruling out the possibility that Taijuan Walker could make another start, but his season is likely over, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes. Walker isn’t hurt, but the Mariners want to be careful about his workload — he’s pitched 169 2/3 innings with the M’s this season after only pitching 129 innings total split between the Majors, the minors and the Arizona Fall League last year. “Ensuring that he’s healthy and goes into next season feeling good about what he’s accomplished this year, that outweighed everything else,” says manager Lloyd McClendon. If Walker’s season is over, it was a solid first full year in the big leagues for the former top prospect — he posted a 4.56 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 overall, but rebounded from a bumpy April and May to post a 3.26 ERA, 8.4 K/9 and just 1.2 BB/9 in his last 20 starts.

Heyman’s Latest: Samardzija, GMs, Ozuna, Managers, Giants, Iwakuma

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Despite a terrible second half following up what had been an already underwhelming season, multiple executives tell Jon Heyman of CBS Sports that they expect White Sox right-hander Jeff Samardzija to do just fine in free agency. As has been said on many occasions, scouts love Samardzija’s raw stuff and competitive nature, and as Heyman points out he’s a relatively low-mileage arm due to his days as a wide receiver and time spent in the bullpen early in his MLB career. Two execs told Heyman they expect Samardzija to top Ervin Santana’s four-year, $55MM contract, with one saying he should “blow it away.” Unsurprisingly, Heyman hears that the Sox will extend a qualifying offer to Samardzija. I’ll join Heyman and the execs to whom he spoke in saying I’d be shocked to see Samardzija accept.

More from Heyman’s latest Inside Baseball column…

  • Frank Wren is seen as a likely hire for Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, though Heyman notes that Wren may receive a role other than GM. Turning to other GM openings, Heyman lists Jerry Dipoto as the favorite for the Mariners’ GM gig and calls current A’s assistant GM Dan Kantrovitz a favorite for the Brewers. Milwaukee is said to be seeking someone who is extremely analytical, and they’ve felt that some who have interviewed haven’t fit that description well enough. Billy Eppler is still the favorite for the Angels’ slot, Heyman writes. He doesn’t list a favorite for the Phillies, though he again connects Angels AGM Matt Klentak and Royals AGM J.J. Picollo to the position. Also according to Heyman, Ben Cherington turned down an interview with the Mariners, as his current plan is to take some time away from the rigors of GM work.
  • Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recently wrote that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is very open to trading Marcell Ozuna, but president of baseball operations Michael Hill expressed a desire to keep the talented-but-struggling center fielder when speaking to Heyman. “He’s extremely talented and very much in our plans moving forward,” said Hill, although such a line is to be expected from an on-record executive anyway. Even if the intent is to shop Ozuna, Hill wouldn’t come out and say it.
  • Nationals skipper Matt Williams is “all but assured of a pink slip” following the season barring a miraculous playoff surge, per Heyman. On the opposite end of the spectrum is interim Phillies manager Pete Mackanin, who looks like he’ll be given a chance to shed the “interim” portion of his title in 2016. Brad Ausmus is indeed expected to be let go by the Tigers following the season, he also writes, and Ausmus could find himself in the dugout for the Padres if that comes to pass.
  • The Giants hope to add at least one, if not two starting pitchers this offseason, and a run at retaining Mike Leake appears to be one possible scenario. San Francisco is expected to work out a reunion with Tim Lincecum as well, he adds; the two-time Cy Young winner had hip surgery that ended his season earlier this month, though his surgeon strongly believes that the operation will help Lincecum restore some of his disappearing velocity.
  • Mariners ownership and those remaining in the front office want Hisashi Iwakuma back, so much so that they told other clubs at the deadline that they wouldn’t even consider trading him, Heyman writes. Iwakuma is keen on returning to Seattle as well, he notes. Of course, a run at Iwakuma would have to align with the thinking of whichever new executive steps into the GM’s chair.
  • Not that there should’ve been any doubt, but Heyman notes that the Blue Jays intend to pick up the club options on Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. That’s hardly a surprise, as the respective $10MM and $14MM options on the right-handed sluggers are probably two of the easiest option decisions you’ll ever see.
  • Joel Hanrahan isn’t in a rush to return from his second TJ surgery and may not attempt to pitch in the Majors again until 2017. Best of luck to Hanrahan, who has seen injuries destroy the past three seasons of his career.

Eppler, Brown Have Interviewed For Mariners’ GM Opening

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The Mariners are one of five big league teams looking for a general manager, though their search isn’t as far along as a team like the Red Sox or Angels, each of whom saw their previous GMs step down earlier than the Mariners fired Jack Zduriencik. To this point, much of the talk surrounding the Seattle GM vacancy has been preliminary and/or speculative in nature. Former Halos GM Jerry Dipoto is expected to interview, and the Mariners also have permission to interview Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler. Former Marlins GM Dan Jennings and former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd have been linked to Seattle, though Jennings has a standing offer to return to his post with the Fish once the season ends and he’s done with his rather strange and brief tenure as the club’s on-field manager. The Mariners are said to be seeking an experienced candidate, although there is of course the possibility that a would-be rookie GM could impress in an interview.

Here’s the latest on the search for a GM in Seattle…

  • The Mariners interviewed Eppler on Wednesday, reports George A. King III of the New York Post. The Mariners are the second team for which Eppler has interviewed, King notes, as he interviewed with the Angels in New York on Monday. Seattle has expanded its search to some degree, King adds, as they’re no longer set on a candidate that has prior experience. That would bode well for the likes of Eppler and Brown.

Earlier Updates

  • Seattle had interest in Athletics’ assistant GM David Forst, but it appears that the club won’t have the opportunity to consider him as a candidate due to Forst’s pending promotion, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, via Twitter. It was previously reported that Oakland intends to move Forst to the GM seat, with Billy Beane stepping into a president’s role, though the precise changes and timeline remain unknown.
  • Blue Jays special assistant Dana Brown will interview with the Mariners on Wednesday, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. A former scouting director for the Nationals, Brown drafted Ian Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman and several others while overseeing the Nats’ scouting operation. (Stephen Strasburg was selected under his watch as well, although he was seen as a slam-dunk No. 1 overall pick.) As MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm wrote in a 2011 profile, Brown actually oversaw Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos when the two worked together in the Nats/Expos franchise, even going so far as to promote Anthopoulous to coordinator of scouting with the Nationals. He rejoined Anthopoulos in 2010.

September Rule 5 Roundup

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This year’s Rule 5 draft class has shown that the Winter Meeting-capping selection process still has meaning. As Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper explained recently, a remarkably high-quality group of players swapped hands last December, and odds are that few of them will end up returning to their original teams.

For reference, here are the season’s leaderboards for the players who have accrued major league statistics, for both Rule 5 hitters and pitchers. Let’s have a look at where things stand with the season all but over (at least so far as Rule 5 roster considerations are concerned).

Keepers With Immediate Function

Far from clogging roster space, Odubel Herrera (Phillies), Delino DeShields Jr. (Rangers), and Mark Canha have all been heavily-used, productive contributors to their respective teams. Herrera, in particular, has been a revelation, tallying over three wins above replacement at 23 years of age.

On the pitching side of the equation, Mets selection Sean Gilmartin has been nothing short of excellent in his 45 2/3 frames with the club. The lefty has worked to a 2.56 ERA and seeming to be quite a useful asset moving forward.

Twins right-hander J.R. Graham, meanwhile, has exceeded Gilmartin in usage — he’s nearing sixty innings for a contending club — but hasn’t matched the results. Graham owns just a 5.09 ERA, though there are some signs of hope for the future. He has a respectable 7.3 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 to go with a 46.8% groundball rate, and SIERA values his contributions at a solid 3.76.

Needless to say, all of the above players will be retained by their new organizations. While many Rule 5ers who are successfully acquired end up back in the minors following their season of limbo, the odds seem good that all of these players will once again be significant pieces of their teams’ puzzles in 2016.

Little-Used, Future-Looking Assets

Of course, there are other Rule 5 selections who are now all but certain to be kept. But the road traveled by their teams involved much more difficult roster juggling. As with Adrian Nieto (White Sox) and Wei-Chung Wang (Brewers) last year, these players were not significant contributors at the major league level despite taking up active roster spots all season long.

25-year-old infielder Taylor Featherston has had at least some function given his valuable glove, but has slashed just .156/.210/.227 in only 141 plate appearances for the Angels. He makes for a nice analogue to Nieto, who similarly was considered a quality defender up the middle who wasn’t quite ready for MLB pitching, but managed to hold on all season long. Featherston could follow suit and return to the minors next year.

This year’s first overall Rule 5 pick Oscar Hernandez missed the beginning of the season for the Diamondbacks when he hit the DL with a broken hamate bone. He was activated in early July, just in time to spend the required ninety days on the active roster to complete a Rule 5 acquisition. He’s slashed just .107/.219/.143 in a meager 33 plate appearances since that time, so he’s all but certain to be sent down in 2016.

Orioles righty Jason Garcia has only thrown 27 innings, posting a 4.33 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9. Like Wang last year, a mid-season injury eased the active roster burden in his case. It’s not yet clear what will happen with Garcia next year, but it’s likely that he’ll go on optional assignment to develop as a starter.

Also set to be retained upon the conclusion of the 2015 season are lefties Andrew McKirahan (Braves) and David Rollins (Mariners). The two southpaws have had startlingly similar paths: PED suspensions that actually made it easier for their clubs to retain them, followed by fairly ugly earned run averages but reasonably promising peripherals in limited action. Both will cross the 90-day threshold this year, so they can be retained without requiring time on the roster to start 2016.

Still In Limbo

It is possible for a player to remain with a selecting team but still remain in limbo. That’s because of the aforementioned 90-day rule. Players that haven’t spent that much time on the active roster due to DL or suspension stints must first accrue the remainder in the following season before they can be permanently acquired. If and when they do reach that point, such players can be freely optioned to the minors by their new teams.

This year there is one such multi-year player: righty Daniel Winkler, was a Tommy John patient who was only just activated recently by the Braves after missing most of the year. Hhe’s yet to appear in competitive action for the Atlanta organization — in the minors or the majors — and had never seen big league action before the year. He’ll pick up just under a month of time on the active roster late this year, and will need to be on the club’s 25-man for about two months at the start of next season for his rights to be kept.

Already Returned

The ride was over months ago for a trio of hurlers: Jandel Gustave, Logan Verrett, and Andy Oliver. The first two were returned to their former teams, while Oliver hit free agency because he was a two-time Rule 5 pick. Interestingly, Verrett has played a reasonably significant role in the majors with his original team since being returned. He’s thrown 23 1/3 innings of 1.93 ERA ball, with 8.9 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9, for the soon-to-be NL East champs.

Cafardo On Chapman, Ausmus, Red Sox

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In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looked at some potential options Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski can explore to help bolster the team’s bullpen.  Among the many names listed is Craig Kimbrel, who might not be made available.  San Diego didn’t deal Kimbrel at this year’s deadline, but the Padres likely want to reload with major league players, so Cafardo wonders aloud if the closer could be moved if it helps them  at third base, in the outfield, or the rotation. Here’s more from today’s column..

  • Will the Reds deal Aroldis Chapman this winter?  If they do, it would require a blockbuster package, as Reds exec Kevin Towers tells Cafardo.  Last month, Cafardo heard that the Reds were asking for an “incredibly unrealistic” return when the D’Backs and other clubs came calling for the closer at the deadline.
  • If the Tigers dismiss manager Brad Ausmus, he might not be unemployed for long.  Cafardo hears whispers in the industry that he would be a strong candidate to replace Padres’ interim skipper Pat Murphy to take the position.  Ausmus was a special assistant in San Diego before taking the Tigers job, so there’s certainly a familiarity there.
  • Speaking of Detroit, Dombrowski has a history with Ausmus, so Cafardo throws out the Red Sox possibility.  A report surfaced last week that the Tigers were planning on firing Ausmus, but GM Al Avila quickly issued a statement declaring that no decision would be made until the season was through.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suspects that Ausmus will be dismissed.
  • Former Cubs manager Rick Renteria has had some “indirect feelers” from teams concerning managerial jobs, Cafardo writes. Renteria, of course, was displaced in Chicago last October when the club hired Joe Maddon.  Renteria is well-regarded around the game and the Cubs were effusive with praise for him when they let officially let him go on Halloween of last year.  The Tigers, Marlins, and Padres could all be possibilities for him, Cafardo writes.
  • Towers tells Cafardo that he has only heard about possible interest in him “through back channels” and has no idea if he’ll have a GM job next year. “I’m 53 and would love to get back in, but if it doesn’t happen I’m perfectly happy here with Walt [Jocketty]. It’s been fun going through our organization and evaluating our young talent.” Cafardo speculates that Towers, an Oregon native, could be a candidate with the Mariners.

AL West Notes: Melvin, A’s, Astros, Zunino

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At today’s press conference announcing his two-year extension with the Athletics, manager Bob Melvin acknowledged to reporters, including CSN Bay Area’s Joe Stiglich, that he recognizes the significance of being granted an extension despite the club’s last place standing. “It’s not lost on me that during a year like this, these are things that don’t typically happen, and I’m very fortunate and appreciative of that,” said Melvin. “The one thing the front office always has done for me here is given me good players. I believe we’ve underachieved this year, and I’m responsible for that.” Specifically, Melvin referenced the team’s struggles in one-run games, taking the blame for not using the right players to finish out such contests while preserving the lead. GM Billy Beane said that he closely examined his options when he initially hired Melvin and felt him the best person to guide the next generation of A’s players, and he feels that Melvin is still the best choice. As Beane explains, he didn’t want the question of Melvin’s contract status coming up next season, so he elected to proactively address the issue.

Here’s more from the AL West…

  • Beane also said today that he’s not planning on trading away the team’s best prospects this offseason, tweets Stiglich. Rather, the GM hopes to see his top talent develop into pieces that can contribute in the near future. If he holds to that approach, it’ll be slightly different than the one Beane has taken over the past 14 months or so. The A’s have traded many prospects since last July — most notably Addison Russell — although Beane has also added quite a bit of young talent, including Marcus Semien, Franklin Barreto, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin and Brett Lawrie (though Lawrie, of course, was not a prospect at the time of his acquisition).
  • Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle examines the way in which the Astros came to acquire prospects David Paulino and Francis Martes. The primary reason, Drellich writes, is a scouting system set up by director Kevin Goldstein in which he placed a greater-than-normal focus on scouting low-level minor leaguers due to the team’s standing when he assumed the role in 2013. GM Jeff Luhnow explained the idea behind the team’s scouting efforts. “We were, we knew we were in a position where we had a lot of already interesting prospects at the upper levels and we could afford to take some fliers on some guys that were further away,” said Luhnow. “…And as a result of (Goldstein’s system), we had good reports on players that maybe another organization might not have even seen, or might have had only one report on. Whenever you’re asking for the third player in the trade, and he’s a rookie ball player or a Low A ball player, those guys are far away. They’re — it’s like rolling the dice. But in the case of both Paulino and Martes, Kevin and his scouts did a tremendous job of identifying those guys.”
  • Although Mike Zunino won’t be called up to the Mariners this September and will instead report to the instructional league, Seattle is not giving up on the young catcher by any means, writes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. “Mike is still very much in our future,” manager Lloyd McClendon told Divish. “Going into spring training next year, I will consider him my everyday catcher. We thought this was the best path moving forward for his career.” Zunino is part of a Mariners catching contingent, which, as noted by Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan, is on pace for a historically bad offensive campaign. However, the former No. 3 overall pick has shown plenty of pop in his career and is a strong defender, so the Mariners are being patient in their hopes that he could yet turn into a strong all-around option at the plate.

Front Office Notes: Jennings, Brooks, Eppler, Nationals

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Dan Jennings has a standing offer from the Marlins to return to the GM seat, but has not yet informed the team whether he will accept, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Miami seemingly expects that Jennings will slot back in at that role, unless he is able to land a job elsewhere with more conclusive decisionmaking authority. As the Fish continue their front office maneuvering, the club has hired Marc DelPiano as VP of player development, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports on Twitter.

Here’s more on some front office and managerial situations around the league …

  • The Brewers are set to interview Pirates director of player personnel Tyrone Brooks for the open GM position in Milwaukee, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. We have heard some chatter about possible names to watch for the Brewers, but it appears that Brooks is the first reported candidate to receive an interview. Brooks has held his current role in Pittsburgh for about four years, overseeing an impressive delivery of young talent onto the big league roster. He gave an interesting interview with MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch back when he received that promotion, acknowledging at the time that he ultimately hoped to keep climbing the front office ladder.
  • Both the Mariners and Angels have been given permission to interview Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Eppler has long been considered a top general manager candidate, and interviewed with several teams in the past, so it’s no surprise to hear his name linked to multiple openings.
  • The Nationals have dropped two straight to the Mets in hard-to-believe fashion, squandering an opportunity to re-start the division race in the season’s final weeks. Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post encapsulates the situation well in his piece on the frustrating turn of events. Despite the obvious cause for disappointment, GM Mike Rizzo says there is no consideration to making a late-season change at manager. “Matt Williams is our manager,” said Rizzo, “and he’s going to lead us through this stretch. I’ve always supported him. We’re not going to talk about 2016 while 2015 is ongoing.” Rizzo himself is not believed to have any job security issues, says Svrluga, though he adds that the team’s ownership can be “opaque” in its decisionmaking.

AL West Notes: Dipoto, Zunino, Skaggs, Paulino

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Former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto is expected to be the first external candidate to interview for the Mariners’ GM vacancy, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Dipoto resigned this summer after a highly publicized feud with Halos skipper Mike Scioscia and has since taken an advisory role with the Red Sox. The Mariners fired Jack Zduriencik in late August and are said to prefer an experienced general manager to step into the GM’s chair.

Here’s more from the AL West…

  • Mike Zunino won’t return to the Mariners in 2015, writes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Instead of being recalled to the big league roster in September, he will report to the instructional league to “overhaul” his swing with hitting coach Cory Snyder and Edgar Martinez. The 24-year-old Zunino, formerly the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, batted just .174/.230/.300 in 386 plate appearances this season. Zunino unquestionably has power — he hit 22 homers in 2015 — and is considered a very strong defender, but he’s highly strikeout prone and has a career .193 average/.252 OBP. Many feel that he was rushed to the Majors, and for what it’s worth, he obliterated Triple-A pitching in a small sample after being demoted the day Zduriencik was fired.
  • Angels left-hander Tyler Skaggs — a player for whom Dipoto traded on two separate occasions — tells Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times the he, his agent, his doctor and the Angels will discuss an innings limit for 2016 this offseason. Skaggs will enter the 2016 campaign about 18 months removed from Tommy John surgery. The story, of course, comes in the wake of the Matt Harvey controversy — a scenario which Skaggs says he wants to avoid.
  • David Paulino, whom the Astros acquired in the 2013 trade that sent Jose Veras to the Tigers, has shown very serious big league potential and emerged as a “steal” for Houston, opines Fangraphs scribe James Chipman. Paulino has battled injuries throughout his pro career but has made huge strides with his fastball and curveball over the past nine months, writes Chipman. If he can hone his changeup, he’s a potential mid-rotation arm, but if not, he could still be a high-leverage reliever. Chipman’s piece includes video and a full scouting report.

Added To 40-Man Rosters: O’Brien, Stauffer, Hill, Baron, Ramirez

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With Triple-A seasons coming to a close, there’s been another wave of players whose contracts of have been selected to their respective teams’ 40-man rosters. Here’s a list of today’s 40-man moves…

  • The D-Backs announced that they’ve selected the contract of slugging prospect Peter O’Brien. The catcher-turned-outfielder was the key piece that Arizona picked up from the Yankees in last summer’s Martin Prado swap. The 25-year-old O’Brien batted .284/.332/.551 and belted 26 homers this season for Triple-A Reno. The knock on O’Brien has long been his lack of a true position. Arizona seemed to be of the belief that he could remain behind the plate, but that’s no longer the case, as he’s been shifted to the outfield. That thinking led the D-Backs to leave their catching vacancy largely unaddressed this winter, although the midseason acquisition of Welington Castillo has certainly shored things up on that front. Evan Marshall was moved to the 60-day DL to accommodate O’Brien’s addition.
  • The Mets have selected Tim Stauffer’s contract, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. Stauffer, who can serve in a long relief capacity for manager Terry Collins, began the season with the Twins after signing a one-year, $2.2MM contract as a free agent. The longtime Padres hurler got off to a dreadful start in Minneapolis, though, posting a 6.60 ERA in 15 innings before being released. Stauffer went to indy ball, pitching 16 innings for the Sugar Land Skeeters before the Mets signed him to a minor league deal. He notched a 2.48 ERA in eight Triple-A starts for the Mets.
  • The Red Sox have selected Rich Hill’s contract, as first reported by Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). The 35-year-old spent parts of three seasons in Boston from 2010-12 and had a 2.83 ERA in 54 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for the Red Sox and Yankees. He also had a brief stop in indy ball this season, pitching well in 11 frames for the Long Island Ducks.
  • The Mariners announced that they’ve selected the contracts of catcher Steven Baron and right-hander J.C. Ramirez. Baron, 24, hit .265/.334/.361 between Double-A and Triple-A this season, catching 28 percent of opposing base stealers. As for Ramirez, the 27-year-old has a strong 2.72 ERA at the Triple-A level this season and also worked to a 4.11 ERA in 15 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks. Seattle picked him up from the D-Backs in exchange for cash considerations in late July. Charlie Furbush was transferred to the 60-day DL in order to clear room for one of the two additions.

West Notes: International, Leake, Morneau

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Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times breaks down the international bonus pool game undertaken each year by major league clubs. The Mariners, for instance, were able to free some extra spending capacity in the recent Austin Jackson deal, taking a slot from a team (the Cubs) that had already committed to exceed its own limit and take on the resulting penalties. It’s a good breakdown of a somewhat convoluted system for those who wonder how it works.

Here are a few notes from out west to end the evening:

  • There appears to be some mutual interest in a continued relationship between the Giants and recently-acquired righty Mike Leake, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports on Twitter. Manager Bruce Bochy likes what he’s seen from the 27-year-old workhorse, who has pitched to a 3.16 in his 25 2/3 frames with his new club. And it appears that Leake is pleased thus far with his new environs. Of course, he figures to receive a wide range of interest on the coming free agent market. Though he’s never been a dominant pitcher, Leake offers a nice package of youth, health, and consistently solid production.
  • Rockies first baseman Justin Morneau discusses his latest comeback effort with MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby, saying that he understands the need to careful given his history of concussions. Those unfortunate injuries changed his career trajectory, of course, but he’s still a useful big league player at age 34. Morneau says he’s increasingly worked to take excellent care of his body as he’s gotten older, but like most regulars has always played through typical bumps and bruises. He will return to the open market after the season unless both he and Colorado exercise a $9MM mutual option.
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