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Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Dodgers, DeRosa, Cubs, Managers, General Managers

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Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive right on in…

  • Southpaws Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw are likely to start the first two games of the playoffs for the Dodgers, but Kershaw must recover from his dislocated non-throwing shoulder first. The back-to-back lefties would be a big advantage if LA played the lefthanded hitter heavy Phillies. Rosenthal also mentions that the Cardinals, despite being so righty heavy, have the second lowest team OPS (.675) against lefthanded pitchers in the National League.
  • Hiroki Kuroda would likely start game three for the Dodgers, followed by either Vicente Padilla or Jon Garland. Chad Billinglsey will likely be left out of the rotation.
  • The Cards have put their contract extension talks with Mark DeRosa on hold until the offseason, making it more likely that he'll become a free agent. The deal St. Louis originally proposed was less than the three-year, $17.5MM contract Casey Blake received as a free agent last offseason. DeRosa is a year younger now than Blake was then, but the offseason wrist surgery he is scheduled to have makes the situation cloudy.
  • The Cubs will be open to "anything and everything" this offseason, including trading Milton Bradley and/or Carlos Zambrano. Anything to improve the club, basically. However, perhaps the only way the Cubs could unload Bradley would be to take on another underachieving, overpaid player in return.
  • Zambrano has a full no-trade clause and is owed $54MM over the next three years, but he's still only 28-years-old and still incredibly talented. The free agent market for starting pitching is thin, which may work in Chicago's favor. Big Z might be appealing at the right price.
  • Ken Macha will likely remain with the Brewers, but at least four other managers are in danger of being fired. The list starts with Cecil Cooper of the Astros, and also includes Jim Riggleman of the Nationals, Dave Trembley of the Orioles, and Eric Wedge of the Indians.
  • Among general managers, Ned Colletti of the Dodgers, Brian Sabean of the Giants, and Dan O'Dowd of the Rockies are all without contracts for next year, and two of them are going to the postseason. The only GM that appears to be in jeopardy of losing his job is J.P. Ricciardi of the Blue Jays.

Discussion: The Market For Joel Pineiro

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Joel Pineiro threw his first pitch as a major leaguer in 2000, as a member of the Seattle Mariners.  He stuck around in the Pacific Northwest for the next seven seasons, going 58-55 with a 4.48 ERA and a 5.9 K/9 over 996 innings (148 starts).  His best full season in Seattle came in 2002 when, as a 23-year-old, he finished 14-7 with a 3.24 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 6.3 K/9 and a 45.4% groundball percentage.  Pineiro was a much different pitcher back then.  He pitched mostly away from contact, and sought out high strikeout numbers.

These days you can find the right-handed Pineiro racking up gaudy groundball rates in St. Louis, under the tutelage of Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan.  He stands 14-11 this season with a 3.31 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 4.4 K/9 and a major league-leading 61.2% groundball percentage over 29 starts.  With a new style of pitching and some excellent season-long numbers, Pineiro enters free agency this winter. 

He's hoping to remain in St. Louis, where he has been able to revitalize his career, but the Cardinals probably won't have enough salary left for the right-hander if they opt to ink Mark DeRosa and/or Matt Holliday long term.  What other teams might have interest in the pitch-to-contact 30-year-old?  And what kind of contract can he realistically demand?  Kyle Lohse, for reference, was handed a four-year, $41 million deal in 2008 after posting a 3.78 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 30 starts.

DeRosa Open To Returning To Cubs

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You can argue that trading Mark DeRosa last offseason set the tone for the Cubs' disappointing season, as they lost not only his .800+ OPS and versatility, but his leadership and influence in the clubhouse as well. The Cubbies might have a chance to rectify that move this winter though, because according to Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun Times, DeRosa would be willing to return to Chicago's north side.

''I would definitely listen,'' said DeRosa, who was shocked and saddened by his trade to Cleveland on New Year's Eve, six months before the Indians traded him to St. Louis.

''Obviously, my allegiance lies here [in St. Louis], but once the season's over — I have no ill feelings towards anybody over there. I enjoyed my time there. I didn't agree with the move, but I didn't have any control over it.''

DeRosa is set to have offseason wrist surgery, but he told Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune that he wants to be considered a healthy player in free agency. That shouldn't surprise anyone.

"I wanted to be treated as a healthy player, and not a guy who has to go get surgery. Rickie Weeks and all these guys that have had it say it's not a big deal and they come back from it."

The Cardinals have already talked to DeRosa about a contract extension, but Sullivan says the team has decided to hold off until he has the surgery this offseason. DeRosa projects to be a Type-B free agent at the moment, and pulled in a very reasonable $5.5MM this season. Unless the Cards are really concerned about his wrist, there's no reason for them not to offer DeRosa arbitration, ensuring they'll at least walk away with a supplemental first round pick if he heads elsewhere.

Odds & Ends: Mateo, Sano, Crow, Ethier

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Some more links for the afternoon or, if you're on the East Coast, the early evening…

  • ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. hears that a vision issue could affect the status of the contract Wagner Mateo signed with the Cardinals earlier in the summer. If Mateo has a degenerative eye condition, the Cards may look to reclaim some of the $3.1MM they awarded the 16-year-old. Mateo's agent says it's a non-issue.
  • Miguel Angel Sano doesn't appear to be near a deal with any club, but Arangure Jr. hears that the shortstop seeks $3.2MM.
  • ESPN.com's Keith Law believes Aaron Crow's long holdout will hurt the pitcher more than it helped him. The Royals completed their deal with Crow just yesterday.
  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer knows it's painful for the A's to see Andre Ethier's 30-homer season in LA, but he reminds his readers that Milton Bradley helped the A's win a division title after Billy Beane traded Ethier to acquire Bradley before the 2006 season. 

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. 

Odds & Ends: Buchholz, Burnett, Yanks, Cards

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Some links as the weekend draws closer…

  • Thought the Red Sox were going to deal Clay Buchholz this summer? You're not alone. Buchholz tells WEEI.com's Rob Bradford he expected to be traded because of all the rumors.
  • Peter Abraham of the Journal News points out that one of the Yankees' biggest acquisitions of the year, A.J. Burnett, has pitched poorly over the course of his last nine starts. Now Burnett must prove to his teammates that he's ready for the Division Series.
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com says the Yankees' plan to add power pitchers to the rotation worked (even if Burnett has struggled lately). It's hard to argue with 94 wins in mid-September, but there's more to the Yanks than their rotation.
  • Verducci notes that some of the best free agent signings happened late last offseason and some of the worst ones were finalized early. Could we see GMs play the waiting game this winter? 
  • Joel Pineiro, Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa will have to wait until the season's over to sign their next contracts. Cards GM John Mozeliak told Bernie Miklasz that the team doesn't expect to negotiate deals with prospective free agents before the season ends.

Odds & Ends: Chipper, Ordonez, Schultz

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Links for Wednesday…

Joel Pineiro Hopes To Stay With Cardinals

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Starting pitcher Joel Pineiro, a free agent after the season, would like to remain with the Cardinals according to MLB.com's B.J. Rains.  Cardinals GM John Mozeliak prefers to wait until after the season to discuss an extension.  The righty, 31 this month, thrived this year after following pitching coach Dave Duncan's suggestion to throw a sinker.  Among those with 150 innings, Pineiro ranks first with 1.04 walks per nine innings, 0.33 home runs per nine, and a 61.3% groundball rate.  The result: a 3.21 ERA in 190.6 innings.

Pineiro's two-year, $13MM extension seemed reasonable when signed in October of '07.  He struggled last year, battling a groin injury and getting bumped from the rotation in August.

Eddie Bajek's latest Elias ranking projections placed Pineiro as a Type B free agent with 69.071 points.  At the time, the lowest Type A among NL starters had 74.840 points.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Schneider, Claggett

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A few links to start the evening off…

  • When asked if the Pirates might pursue a free agent this winter to address their lack of power, Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette said the team has indicated "that they will wait until they see which of the current players might take a step forward, then identifying needs." That sounds like a "no," or at least a "probably not."
  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson said he would not be surprised if Brian Schneider returned to the Nationals as a backup catcher next year, but he would have to take a big paycut. Schneider has already said he doesn't expect to return to the Mets next year, and after making $4.9MM this year, he should be prepared to take a big paycut wherever he goes.
  • The Yankees designated reliever Anthony Claggett for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Freddy Guzman, reports Peter Abraham of The Journal News. Claggett was originally acquired in the deal that sent Gary Sheffield to Detroit, and got annihilated in his brief callup (33.75 ERA & 5.62 WHIP in 2.2 IP) this year.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Fielder, Nationals

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Links for Monday…

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