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Perrotto’s Latest: Cubs, White Sox, Chipper, Josh Johnson

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The latest from John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus:

  • The Cubs are trying to sign John Grabow and Reed Johnson before they reach free agency.
  • Perrotto says those that know Chipper Jones believe he would actually retire after next season if he can't perform up to his standards.
  • There's a possibility the Marlins will try to deal Josh Johnson this winter even though he won't be a free agent until after 2011. Johnson is not anticipated to take a hometown discount to stay in Florida.
  • Perrotto expects Russell Branyan will re-sign with the Mariners before he reaches free agency.
  • Seems like pure speculation, but a Jake Peavy for Carlos Zambrano deal this offseason would not surprise some in Chicago.

Cafardo’s Latest: Felix Hernandez, Red Sox

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has his Sunday column up. Let's have a look.

  • Cafardo expects the Red Sox to make another push for Felix Hernandez in the offseason. Hernandez's price tag could prove too high for Seattle to retain him; however, they are open to extending him. Before the deadline, the Red Sox reportedly offered a 5-for-1 deal for the ace that Seattle turned down.
  • The Indians have yet to see dividends pay for the players they received for Cliff Lee. Cafardo writes, "Righty Carlos Carrasco is 0-2 with a 9.64 ERA (six homers in 14 innings); catcher Lou Marson is hitting .154; shortstop Jason Donald went on the disabled list in Triple A; and righty Jason Knapp underwent surgery to remove fragments from his shoulder."
  • Cafardo wonders if the Nats would've dealt Cristian Guzman had they known Ian Desmond would emerge as their shortstop of the future.
  • Chiming in on the Jason Bay or Matt Holliday discussion, Cafardo quotes scouts who seem to have him leaning toward Holliday as the better option, particularly for Boston.

Rosenthal On Junior, Twins, Cardinals

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears the Mariners will not reject Ken Griffey Jr. if he decides to return next season. Here are the details and the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:

  • Junior will decide whether he wants to return for another season after this one ends.
  • GM Jack Zduriencik says the Mariners will wait to hear from Griffey before proceeding with the rest of their offseason plans.
  • One source tells Rosenthal that the team would bring Griffey back if the 13-time All-Star wants to return. A second source suggests Griffey may be willing to take on a reduced role for a reduced salary.
  • Rosenthal suggests the Twins will need to add a veteran starter this offseason. He mentions Randy Wolf as a possible target for the club.
  • Orlando Cabrera and Joe Crede are free agents, so the team will likely have to re-structure the left side of its infield.
  • Rosenthal wonders how Cardinals pitchers will fare if highly-regarded pitching coach Dave Duncan moves on next year. 

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Zambrano, Johnson, Fielder, Felix, Braves

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On this date 39 years ago, the Mets purchased the contract of Dean Chance from the Indians. At the time, the Mets were 1.5 games back in the NL East. The former Cy Young winner would make only three relief appearances down the stretch and the Mets finished six games back in third place. Chance would subsequently be traded in the off-season and play just one more season. With only two weeks remaining before the start of most team's off-season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • Goat Riders of the Apocalypse feels the reports that Carlos Zambrano is largely responsible for the Cubs' failures this season are just PR by the Cubs to make it easier to move Zambrano this off-season.
  • Fangraphs makes a case that Nick Johnson's injury history could increase the number of teams that are interested in his services this off-season.
  • Dodgers Rumors wonders if Ned Colletti will be back next season as the Dodgers' GM and whether he deserves to be.
  • MLB Notebook breaks down the possibility of Prince Fielder being traded this off-season.
  • Jorge Says No! writes about the Mariners' inability to sign Felix Hernandez to an extension.
  • DC Sports Plus looks at some free agent starting pitchers that could help the Nationals next season, with John Lackey, Jason Marquis and Joel Pineiro at the top of the wishlist.
  • The Ghost of Midnight Graham suggests that teams avoid Pineiro this winter.
  • UmpBump takes a look at who might be playing first base for the Braves next season.

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: Abraham, Mariners, Free Agency

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A few tasty nuggets to fill the gap…

Branyan Wants To Return To Seattle In 2010

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Russell Branyan would like to return to Seattle next season, according to Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times. Branyan signed a one-year, $1.4MM deal with the Mariners last offseason, and has taken advantage of an increase in playing time in 2009, batting .251/.347/.520 with 31 homers.

"I'd love to come back here," Branyan said. "I enjoy playing in this ballpark, I enjoyed getting to play on an every-day basis this year. I'd be excited to entertain the option to come back here next year."

While the 33-year-old Branyan is currently on the disabled list and has slumped since the All-Star break (.193/.274/.414), his overall performance this season has exceeded expectations. If the Mariners were to re-sign him, they would certainly be giving more years and more money this time around to the career .234 hitter.

Odds & Ends: Rios, Hardy, Knapp

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A couple more links as the day winds down…

  • According to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune, one scout called Alex Rios "a teaser," and that he's the kind of the guy that "can get you fired." Kenny Williams sure hopes that's not the case.
  • Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider explains why the Mariners should go after J.J. Hardy. Something tells me we'll see quite a few more posts like this.
  • Jason Knapp, one of the prospects the Indians acquired for Cliff Lee, will have arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder to remove "loose bodies," according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. GM Mark Shapiro says they will not file a grievance.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Fielder, Nationals

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Links for Monday…

Heyman’s Latest: Jeter, Wagner, Delgado, Lackey

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No team is successful without good coaching and guidance, so SI.com's Jon Heyman pays homage to those who got the job done behind the scenes by naming his ten most unsung heroes of the 2009 season. Rangers' pitching coach Mike Maddux tops the list, and several other familiar names make an appearance.

Here's the rest of Heyman's rumors…

  • Heyman guesses that the Yankees will resign Derek Jeter for at least $60MM over three years once his contract expires after next season. That's a lot of scratch for a guy who would be entering his age-37 season.
  • The Red Sox have "every intention" of offering Billy Wagner arbitration, and barring something unexpected, Wagner has every intention of turning it down. He's projected to be a Type-A free agent, so Boston would walk away with two high draft picks in that scenario.
  • Out since early May with a hip injury, Carlos Delgado hasn't given up on the idea of playing again this year. The Mets would be happy to accomodate him, because according to Heyman's sources the team has thought about bringing him back on an incentive laden contract. A late season cameo would at least give them a look at what kind of shape he's in.
  • Stop me if you've heard this before: the Mets might consider Orlando Hudson this offseason if they can find a taker for Luis Castillo. That's what, three times in the last 24 hours?
  • The Angels tried to sign John Lackey for four years and $60MM last offseason. Given the lack of impact starting pitching available this year, Lackey's price has gone up.
  • In regards to Ken Griffey Jr. and his .214 AVG, Heyman says "this has to be the end, no?" Griffey hasn't said anything about his future yet, though.
  • Kansas City ownership has "often prevented its baseball people from making deadline trades in order to avoid the dreaded 100-loss season." This strategy probably works against them in the long run, but Heyman suggests it may "make them a tougher team than some also-rans who hit the wall."
  • There's no evidence that Lou Piniella is a candidate to be fired (his $4MM option for 2010 has already been picked up), but the question about whether he wants to return or not has to be asked. Sweet Lou's body language did not look good last weekend.
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