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Quick Hits: McCutchen, Upton, Cameron

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15 years ago today, the Mariners' acquisition of third baseman Dave Hollins was completed when they sent a 20-year-old first baseman named David Ortiz Arias to the Twins.  Arias had just hit .322/.390/.511 for the Low-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.  By the following year Ortiz had dropped the Arias in his name and earned a September call-up.  Ortiz posted a .266/.348/.461 line in 455 games spanning 1997-2002 with Minnesota, battling wrist and knee injuries.  After the '02 season the Blue Jays reportedly expressed interest in Ortiz, but ultimately the Twins non-tendered him in lieu of a raise from his $950K salary.  New Red Sox GM Theo Epstein signed Big Papi for $1.25MM, and the rest is history.  Today's links…

  • The Pirates are far apart in contract talks with Andrew McCutchen, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden.  Bowden feels that a six-year deal in the $47-49MM range, plus a club option, would be a fair compromise.  In my opinion, there's a good case to be made for a McCutchen contract to exceed the $51.25MM Justin Upton received over six years in March of 2010.  McCutchen has played in over 100 more games than Upton had at that point, their offensive lines are very similar, and McCutchen plays center field.
  • ESPN's Keith Law discusses MLB's European presence and what must be done for further growth.
  • Answering a question from Craig Heist of WTOP about playing in Washington, Rays center fielder B.J. Upton said he'd love to remain in Tampa Bay but otherwise would like to play for the Nationals with old friend Ryan Zimmerman.  You can follow Craig on Twitter here; MLB.com's Bill Ladson transcribed the discussion.  Upton is heading into his last arbitration year and projects for a $7MM salary.
  • MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo names 20 young, next generation GM candidates.  To check out MLBTR's top 20 plus honorable mentions, click here.
  • Mike Cameron was consistently one of the best players in baseball when he was on the field, writes Dave Cameron of FanGraphs.
  • The Orioles will try Chris Davis at third base for the rest of the season, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  The 25-year-old was a key piece of the July 30th Koji Uehara trade with Texas.  With Mark Reynolds getting comfortable at first base, it's conceivable that the Orioles will sit out the corner infielder bidding this winter.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports chronicles how Joey Gathright went from being managed by Jose Canseco as a member of the independent league Yuma Scorpions to a minor league deal with the Red Sox.

Sternberg On Maddon, Friedman, Payroll

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Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg discussed his team’s "wonderfully improbable” playoff run with reporters tonight and Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times has the details, plus some personnel and payroll notes on the team:

  • Sternberg says he expects manager Joe Maddon to return to Tampa Bay after his contract expires in 2012.
  • No teams have asked permission to talk to Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman about job opportunities elsewhere, according to Sternberg. “Andrew is a partner here, he’s a partner of mine,” he said. “And he treats this organization even better than I possibly can. There's nothing to report on that.” 
  • Sternberg didn’t expect the Rays to be last in attendance, so there’s no guarantee payroll will rise above $41MM in 2012. "I don't know, but we’ve clearly fallen short on our financial projections,” he said.
  • There’s nothing new in terms of the Rays’ quest for a new stadium.

Rays Designate Rob Delaney For Assignment

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The Rays designated righty Rob Delaney for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for top prospect Matt Moore, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.

Delaney, 27, spent most of the year at Triple-A.  There he posted a 1.86 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, and 0.4 HR/9 in 67 2/3 relief innings.  He'd been designated and outrighted in May, but was re-added to the 40-man roster in July.

Moore, meanwhile, is the consensus best pitching prospect in the minor leagues.  The 22-year-old southpaw has won back-to-back minor league strikeout crowns, whiffing 210 across 155 innings at Double and Triple-A this year.  Moore's electric arm makes for an exciting bullpen addition to a surging Rays team that now sits 3.5 games back of the Red Sox in the wild card standings.

Rays Designate Mike Ekstrom For Assignment

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The Rays have designated Mike Ekstrom for assignment, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for Russ Canzler.

Ekstrom, 28, has appeared in just one game for the Rays this season, spending most of the year at Triple-A Durham, where he recorded a 4.35 ERA and 8.6 K/9 in 68 1/3 innings. The Rays claimed the right-hander off waivers from the Padres prior to the season.

The 25-year-old Canzler logged time at both infield and outfield corners for that same Durham club, hitting .314/.401/.530 in 549 plate appearances to earn the International League's MVP award.

Rays Notes: Moore, Roster Move

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Here's the latest on the Rays as they continue their late push for the AL Wild Card…

  • Joe Maddon said left-hander Matt Moore is "a possibility" to be called up later this month, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.  The Rays will need an extra starter after they play a doubleheader against the Yankees on September 21.  Besides Moore, southpaw Alex Torres is also being considered for the role.  Moore is the consensus top pitching prospect in baseball and one of the top-rated prospects overall — Baseball Prospectus and Keith Law had Moore ranked second behind only Bryce Harper, while Baseball America ranked Moore third behind Harper and Mike Trout.
  • Also from Topkin, the Rays will need to make a move on the 40-man roster to make room for Russ Canzler, the International League MVP.  Canzler and right-hander Dane De La Rosa will both be called up to Tampa Bay on Sunday.
  • Earlier today, MLBTR's Mike Axisa looked at how Casey Kotchman's breakout season will impact his stock on the free agent market.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Casey Kotchman

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357110821397_Mariners_at_Rays The Rays signed a middle of the order hitter last offseason, but it wasn't Manny Ramirez. After just five games with Tampa, Manny abruptly retired rather than face a second suspension for testing positive for a banned substance. The Rays filled Ramirez's roster spot by promoting Casey Kotchman from Triple-A, and five months later, he's the middle of the order bat the team thought it was getting in Manny.

Kotchman, still just 28, has stepped in and hit .312/.380/.429 in 487 plate appearances since being promoted. He isn't hitting for much power (just eight homers), but he's drawing walks (42) and putting the ball in play (55) while providing his usual strong defense. After years of struggling against left-handers, Kotchman is hitting a respectable .300/.336/.367 against southpaws this season. 

There are reasons to believe that the improved performance is unsustainable, however. Kotchman's batting average on balls in play (.341) is the highest of his career (by far) even though there's been no significant change in his batted ball profile. More than half of the balls he puts in play are hit on the ground, just a quarter are fly balls, and fewer than one in five is a line drive. It could work, but it hasn't for him in the past.

Low power first baseman usually aren't in high demand on the free agent market, especially ones with the proverbial "one good year." That said, Kotchman could be a nice, budget friendly alternative to stopgap first basemen like Derrek Lee, Lyle Overbay, and Carlos Pena. The Diamondbacks, Pirates, and Dodgers could all be looking for help at first this winter, and of course re-signing with the Rays is always a possibility as well.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Stark On Madson, Astros, Beane, Nationals

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MLB is building momentum toward two 15-team leagues with three five-team divisions per league, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. It doesn't appear that the players’ association will agree to expand the postseason unless owners agree to more balanced schedules and divisions, Stark reports. Here are the rest of his rumors…

  • It appears that the Tigers and Rays will pick up their options for Jose Valverde and Kyle Farnsworth, respectively, this offseason.
  • Two MLB executives predicted to Stark that Ryan Madson will sign a deal like the one Valverde obtained two winters ago: $14MM over two years plus an option.
  • Multiple teams have expressed concerns about Francisco Rodriguez’s off-field “baggage,” though K-Rod stands out as one of the best free agent relievers of the winter.
  • Stark hears that MLB has been slow to approve incoming Astros owner Jim Crane in order to apply leverage on Crane so that he’ll agree to move the Astros to the American League. Earlier today, Bob Nightengale of USA Today had a report that conflicts with Stark’s article.
  • Friends of Billy Beane say the A’s GM has legitimate interest in the Cubs GM job, though he has an ownership stake and lots of freedom in Oakland.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo will interview managerial candidates this offseason before deciding whether Davey Johnson will return as manager in 2012.
  • First base doesn’t appear to be a priority for Washington, but Rizzo says "you never want to say never” when it comes to possible offseason moves.

Five Non-Moves That Shaped The 2011 Season

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Blockbuster trades and record-breaking free agent contracts are lots of fun, but not all rumors turn into reality. Some of the storylines that dominated MLBTR early on this season never actually happened. Here’s a look back at five of them:

  1. Giants don’t replace Buster Posey – Last year’s Rookie of the Year went down on May 25th. Since then, the Giants have seen their catchers hit .208/.272/.298 with five homers. The Giants wouldn’t necessarily be leading the NL West if they had acquired reinforcements, but I’m comfortable saying the first-place Diamondbacks didn’t mind seeing Brian Sabean roll out Eli Whiteside, Chris Stewart and Hector Sanchez instead of acquiring a replacement. Finding catching midseason is never easy and the Giants’ non-Posey catchers did limit the running game (34% of would-be base stealers caught), but the defending World Champions could have done better.
  2. Padres hold Heath Bell – It was a foregone conclusion that the Padres would trade Heath Bell this year. Instead of pitching for a contender, he’s playing out the season in San Diego, wondering how the Padres will handle him this offseason.
  3. Yankees don’t acquire starting pitching – Ubaldo Jimenez, Wandy Rodriguez and Hiroki Kuroda were all linked to the Yankees, who seemed to be in need of pitching depth from day one. 141 games later, Yankees starters lead the American League in K/9 (7.1), are second in xFIP (3.78) and fifth in ground ball rate (44.9%). Brian Cashman’s reluctance to overpay for pitching in trades has allowed Ivan Nova to blossom, but it hasn’t answered questions about who will follow C.C. Sabathia in New York’s playoff rotation.
  4. Rays stand pat – B.J. Upton, Johnny Damon, James Shields and Kyle Farnsworth all made regular appearances on MLBTR this summer, but they stayed put. Executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who spent the July 31st trade deadline having his appendix removed, added summer reinforcements by calling up hot-hitting prospect Desmond Jennings a week before the deadline.
  5. Mets hold Jose Reyes – It's easy to wonder what the Mets would have obtained for Jose Reyes if they had dangled him in early July. He was hitting .354/.398/.529 at the time and had yet to spend time on the disabled list this year. The Mets, who are expected to pursue Reyes when he hits free agency this offseason, held onto him instead of sending him to a contender. Though Reyes missed time in July and August, he would have provided a contending team with a boost (and provided the Mets with more prospects).

Arbitration Eligible Players With Club Options

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Three pitchers have club options for 2012 yet are not named on our free agent list.  The reason?  They'd still be arbitration eligible if the options are declined.  Let's take a look.

  • James Shields, Rays: $7MM club option with a $2MM buyout.  This is a slam dunk, as Shields' arbitration salary would certainly beat the $5MM net price of the option.  Plus, exercising for 2012 allows the Rays to enjoy options for '13 ($7.5MM net) and '14 ($11MM net).  It should be noted that Shields' contract, signed prior to the '08 season, includes $6MM in performance bonuses.
  • Fausto Carmona, Indians: $7MM club option. Carmona signed three months after Shields, and his contract also provides the ultimate in team flexibility with three club options.  Carmona's 2012 option does require pause, but it's worth exercising as well.
  • Colby Lewis, Rangers: $3.25MM club option with a $250K buyout.  Coming from a $3MM salary, Lewis would obviously beat the $3MM net price of the option.  So this one will be picked up as well.

NL Central Notes: Barmes, Cardinals, Cubs, Garza

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Let's take a look at some news out of the NL Central, where the Brewers hold a comfortable 10.5 game lead over St. Louis..

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