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NL Central Notes: Pujols, Pirates, Astros

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Let's turn our attention to the National League Central where we lead off with, who else, Albert Pujols..

  • If there was any doubt before, it's completely erased now: Albert Pujols is going to hit the free agent jackpot at the age of 31, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  One performance logically shouldn't have a great effect on a player's value, but Rosenthal argues that all it takes is one team to take a contrary position.
  • If, as expected, the Pirates move on without Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder, GM Neal Huntington said the team is "comfortable" with their internal options at catcher but will explore outside options as well, writes Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • The Astros have hired Bryan Lambe as an area scout, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.  Lambe and Wayne Krivsky, both hires of ex-GM Omar Minaya, were let go by the Mets exactly one month ago today.

Quick Hits: Pujols, La Russa, Red Sox

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A few stray items to pass along as the Cardinals close in on a 2-1 World Series lead over the Rangers …

  • Albert Pujols' snafu with the media following the Redbirds' loss in Game 2 wouldn't bode well for him in larger market like New York, opines Ken Davidoff of Newsday, so it may be in Prince Albert's best interest to remain in city like St. Louis, where he won't face intense media scrutiny.
  • Back on the field, Pujols dominated tonight's game in Arlington, leading Buster Olney of ESPN.com to muse that the Cards may no longer have any choice but to up their offer to their star first baseman as he embarks on free agency (Twitter).
  • Cardinals manager Tony La Russa wasn't entertaining questions pertaining to whether he'd manage again in 2012, tweets Olney. However, we did hear last week that La Russa has been hinting at coming back.
  • In an upcoming interview with Bob Costas of MLB Network, commissioner Bud Selig said he's confident the Red Sox will take care of any issues like players drinking in the dugout, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. So, it sounds like there won't be any league sanctions or policing related to the alleged transgressions.
  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle have been elected vice president of the Baseball Writers Association of America, according to the Associated Press. The VP of the BBWAA becomes the president after one year, putting Slusser in line to become the organization's first female president next year. So, congratulations to her. The BBWAA, of course, is the organization whose members vote for the Hall of Fame and various post-season awards.

NL Central Notes: Rasmus, Bourn, Dempster

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Weather permitting, we''re just a few hours from watching the Cardinals represent the NL Central in Game Three of the World Series in Texas. While we wait, let's round up some links on the Cards and a couple of their division rivals….

  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak discusses the Colby Rasmus trade with Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, noting that there was some internal opposition to moving the center fielder: "I'm not going to point anybody out specifically but there definitely was a robust debate internally on what we should do. But in the end, everybody believed it was what was best for the organization."
  • In a highly recommended piece at Bloomberg Businessweek, Rob Gloster revisits another July deal, providing an in-depth look at negotiations between the Braves and Astros for Michael Bourn.
  • ESPNChicago passes along a few quotes from Ryan Dempster regarding his future and the Cubs' new president. Dempster praised Theo Epstein and said he'd talk to the new front office regime before making a decision about his $14MM player option: "Hopefully it's not just picking up an option for this year, but I'll go out there and play the best I can and be here for a long time."

Quick Hits: Messenger, White Sox, Indians, Rhodes

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Some links from around baseball as we await Game Three tomorrow night..

  • Former Mariners pitcher Randy Messenger has agreed to a contract to return to the Hanshin Tigers in 2012, a source tells Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.  Messenger’s agent Matt Sosnick confirmed that the deal is for one-year with an option for 2013.  MLBTR has learned that the two-year deal could be worth just under $5MM.
  • If the White Sox stick to their plan of cutting their $127MM payroll, with $89MM already tied to eleven players, it's likely that John Danks or Mark Buehrle won't start next season with the team, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin. The arbitration-eligible Danks would be one of the team's greater trade chips.
  • Three days after the World Series, Indians GM Chris Antonetti will have to decide whether to exercise club options on center fielder Grady Sizemore and starter Fausto Carmona, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.  Picking up the options of both would cost the Tribe $16MM in 2012.
  • Shortstop Rafael Furcal wrestled with the decision of whether or not to approve the deal sending him from the Dodgers to the Cardinals, writes Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times.
  • After clearing waivers, Cardinals lefty Arthur Rhodes could have wound up with any number of teams, writes Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News.
  • Blue Jays skipper John Farrell gained valuable experience in his first year as a big league manager, writes MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm.

NL East Notes: Reyes, Johnson, Phillies, Sandberg

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Some news from the NL East…

  • Two Mets players "wouldn't be surprised to see" Jose Reyes sign with the Nationals this winter, tweets David Lennon of Newsday.
  • The Nationals are conducting a managerial search to abide by MLB rules, but Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweets that the job is Davey Johnson's if he wants it.
  • All six members of the Phillies' coaching staff have signed new contracts for 2012, according to a team press release.  This includes bench coach Pete Mackanin, who has been mentioned as a candidate to become the next Red Sox manager.
  • As Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer points out, the intact coaching staff means that Ryne Sandberg (who managed Philadelphia's Triple-A affiliate last season) isn't getting a promotion.  Gelb predicts that Sandberg will manage or coach somewhere in the Major Leagues next year, which would mean he'll leave the Phillies' franchise unless Mackanin gets the Boston job and Sandberg is promoted to bench coach.
  • Also from Gelb, he examines Ruben Amaro's plan to sign a proven closer if Ryan Madson leaves and compares it to how the Cardinals relied on unproven (and cheaper) closing options like Jason Motte and Fernando Salas to great success this season.
  • Despite the Braves' collapse in September, Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution thinks the club is close to a World Series.

Cardinals Notes: Pujols, Dotel, Wainwright

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With Game 2 about to begin, let's look at some news about the team that is three wins away from its 11th World Series title…

  • How would winning or losing the Series impact Albert Pujols' free agent decision?  FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi explores the question in this YouTube video.
  • Octavio Dotel told reporters, including Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link), that he would like to return to St. Louis next season.  Though Dotel could set a record by joining his 13th different franchise this winter, it's probably no surprise that he wants to settle down.  The Cardinals have a $3.5MM team option on Dotel for next season that can be bought out for $750K.  Dotel may be more valuable to the Cards on the open market given that he projects as a Type A free agent.
  • Adam Wainwright tried to convince the Cardinals into activating him for the postseason, a request that was emphatically denied, reports R.B. Fallstrom of the Associated Press.  Wainwright underwent Tommy John surgery in February and missed the entire season, though St. Louis GM John Mozeliak recently said that the team plans to pick up Wainwright's $21MM option for 2012-13, barring any medical setbacks.

Arthur Rhodes Wants To Pitch One More Season

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Veteran reliever Arthur Rhodes told reporters, including ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link), that he wants to pitch in 2012 and then retire.  Rhodes' preference is to pitch for the Cardinals in 2012, which would be Rhodes' 21st Major League season.

Rhodes, who will turn 42 on Monday, has pitched for nine clubs in his long career and will receive his first World Series ring this fall regardless of the outcome between the Cards and Rangers.  (Rhodes was released by Texas in August and then signed with St. Louis.)  Given Tony La Russa's love of situational bullpen use and the fact that Marc Rzepczynski is the only other lefty in the Cardinals' bullpen, Rhodes would seem to have a decent chance of returning to St. Louis next year. 

Rhodes has a 4.64 ERA in 51 appearances with the Rangers and Cardinals this year, and his ERA (4.15) and peripheral numbers have improved since his move to the National League.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Cardinals, Red Sox

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MLBTR has the rundown on your team's arbitration eligible players. Be sure to read Tim Dierkes' series for insight into how each team's offseason will develop. Here are the latest links from around MLB…

Arbitration Eligibles: St. Louis Cardinals

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The Cardinals' offseason has yet to begin, and once it does Albert Pujols will be the primary concern.  GM John Mozeliak will also have to address the situations of four arbitration eligible players, and we look at them today as we finish off this series.

Theriot projects for a $3.9MM salary and is likely to be non-tendered.  The statuses of Rafael Furcal, Nick Punto, and Schumaker will be factors, but Theriot makes too much money to continue on as a bench player and he's not the team's first choice at either middle infield position.  Schumaker is a non-tender candidate as well, though he's more versatile than Theriot and projects at a more affordable $3.1MM.  Motte ($1.7MM) and McClellan ($2.7MM) will be part of next year's club.  

If the Cardinals exercise their club options for Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, and Octavio Dotel, they'll have about $84MM in contractual commitments.  Add $4.4MM for Motte and McClellan and they're at $88.3MM before accounting for minimum salary players.  A $110MM payroll would leave over $20MM in flexibility.  One can certainly picture scenarios where a new Pujols contract fits in, though they'd probably have to take payroll a bit higher to sign Furcal and a few other minor pieces.  A trip to the World Series helps the payroll situation.

Heyman On Crawford, Pujols, Buehrle, Madson

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At least one Molina brother has been in six of the past ten World Series, as Jon Heyman points out at SI.com (that includes Yadier, who will play again this year). Heyman also passes along some hot stove notes; here they are:

  • Red Sox owner John Henry “threw $60MM into the air,'' by making it clear that he views the Carl Crawford signing as a mistake, according to one baseball person. Henry said on the airwaves of 98.5 the Sports Hub that he was not in favor of signing the left fielder for $142MM.
  • One agent says Albert Pujols should look for a six-year, $240MM deal in free agency. It’s hard to imagine anyone, even Pujols, signing for $40MM per year.
  • The White Sox are expected to try to keep Mark Buehrle on a two-year deal, according to Heyman. The left-hander profiles as a Type B free agent, as our rankings show.
  • Jayson Werth, who played with Ryan Madson in Philadelphia, is trying to sell the free agent closer on the Nationals. Keep in mind that the Nationals already have Drew Storen.
  • Zack Greinke told Heyman that he would have accepted a trade to the Rangers last winter, when the Royals were shopping him.
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