Blue Jays Rumors

Odds & Ends: Halladay, Pujols, Mateo, Benitez

By Mike Axisa | September 25, 2009 at 7:38pm CDT

Here's a few links to check out as Roy Halladay makes what might be his final start in Toronto as a member of the home team…

MLB.com's Jordan Bastian spoke to Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston about Halladay, and what the offseason might hold for him. "If you didn't [have a shot at the playoffs in '10], I think you would maybe think about ''Maybe it is time to move him.'" He also added "I can't make those decisions. They're going to do what's right for the club and certainly Doc's got a little bit of say-so."
Rob Neyer of ESPN suggests that Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt wait a year before signing Albert Pujols to an extension because Pujols' value will never be higher than it is right now. What to do you guys think, any chance Pujols actually increases his value next season?
Yoel Adames of ESPN Deportes has some quotes from Edgar Mercedes, agent for Wagner Mateo, about a possible lawsuit against the Cardinals. St. Louis voided Mateo's $3.1MM contract earlier this week after finding "pre-existing injuries and physical defects."
Bob Nightengale of USA Today says that the "hottest rumor among baseball scouts is that Pat Gillick will be returning to Toronto to become president of the club, but not GM."
The Astros released Armando Benitez and the Braves released John Halama, according to this week's edition of minor league transactions, courtesy of Baseball America.

Odds & Ends: Astros, Girardi, Ricciardi

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 25, 2009 at 4:04pm CDT

Time for a round of afternoon links before the regular season's second-last weekend officially begins…

The Astros signed Korean infielder Chan Jong Moon to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Tom Singer. The 18-year-old high schooler is apparently a high-energy player.
Peter Abraham of the Journal News wonders if the Yankees would extend Joe Girardi's contract if the Yankees secure a World Series berth this year. Girardi's current deal expires after next season.
Joe Posnanski doesn't get J.P. Ricciardi, partly because people say wildly divergent things about the GM. Posnanski doesn't expect J.P. to be the person who will turn the Jays around in the tough AL East.
Tom Verducci of SI.com says it's time to think of Clay Buchholz as a number three starter. Meanwhile, Rob Neyer of ESPN.com wonders if Jon Lester is Boston's new ace.

Heyman On Pujols, Holliday, Acta, Cubs

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 25, 2009 at 2:44pm CDT

The Cardinals want to lock up Albert Pujols, but Jon Heyman of SI.com wonders if they can keep him and Matt Holliday. One GM says there's "no chance" the team can keep the two stars, despite owner Bill DeWitt's goal to "lock up both of them." Here are more details on the Cardinals' superstars, along with the rest of Heyman's rumors:

Heyman says it's illogical to expect Pujols to demand anything less than $30MM per season.
Holliday is "thought to be interested" in a deal comparable to Mark Teixeira's $180MM pact. No doubt Holliday would have interest in that kind of deal, but would any team consider it? (I doubt it.)
There are many reasons it makes sense for the Cards to try to lock up Holliday and Pujols. As Heyman says, such an attempt would show manager Tony La Russa, pitching coach Dave Duncan and the fan base that the team wants to win at all costs.
Heyman hears that the Astros will interview former Nats manager Manny Acta for their managerial opening.
Indians GM Mark Shapiro is facing pressure to fire manager Eric Wedge, especially now that the club has lost 11 straight.
Not surprisingly, two GMs consider Alfonso Soriano untradeable. He has $90MM remaining on his contract.
The Cubs would have to eat a "decent chunk" of Carlos Zambrano's contract if they decide to trade him. A trade doesn't seem likely, however.
If the Cubs deal Milton Bradley, Heyman considers the Padres a logical fit.
Execs around the league expect Roy Halladay to be on the trade market again this winter.

Odds & Ends: Jays, Zambrano, Harden

By Luke Adams 2 | September 24, 2009 at 8:57pm CDT

A few more evening links….

The Blue Jays have some uncertainty at catcher heading into 2010, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. With Rod Barajas poised to test the free agent market, Raul Chavez, Kyle Phillips, J.P. Arencibia, and Brian Jeroloman could all be in the mix for time behind the plate. GM J.P. Ricciardi also tells Bastian that Scott Downs and Jason Frasor could split closing duties in Toronto next year.
BP's Christina Kahrl at ESPN.com says so many factors stand in the way of trading Carlos Zambrano that the Cubs would probably have to accept "pennies on the dollar" to move him. She figures if they're looking to deal, the Cubs need to hope they receive interest from a starter-hungry team convinced that Big Z could be their missing piece, like perhaps the Mets.
Rich Harden has been shut down for 2009, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Has Harden thrown his last pitch for Chicago? He says he'd like to return, but Sullivan suggests that the Cubs likely won't offer more than a one-year deal. Check out Tim's rundown of this year's starting pitching free agent class for an idea of how Harden fits into the market.
R.J. Anderson at DRays Bay gets involved in the Felix Hernandez chatter by wondering if the Rays might try acquiring the Mariners ace this winter. It seems unlikely, but they apparently made at least one attempt prior to the trade deadline.
Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune chimes in on Ken Williams' assessment of the 2009 White Sox. Rogers points out that the Chicago GM should be blaming the team's $25MM payroll cut, or even himself for failing to acquire any talent that helped the 2009 team in the Javier Vazquez and Nick Swisher deals.

Cito Gaston’s Offseason Wish List

By | September 23, 2009 at 1:22pm CDT

Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun spoke Tuesday with Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston, who laid out his "wish list" for the upcoming offseason. GM J.P. Ricciardi (if he's still around) and the Jays' ownership group will ultimately make the final decisions this winter, but who knows a team's needs better than its skipper?

"A lot depends on free agency," Gaston said. "It depends on who leaves and who sticks around. We might need a new shortstop [if Marco Scutaro departs via free agency], we might need to replace Rod (Barajas) at catcher. And John McDonald is a free agent, also."

Gaston said he's hoping for "some help in the starting rotation" as well, and there should be a decent free agent market for mid-rotation starters.

To summarize, the Jays are at risk of losing Scutaro, who's having a fine season, first baseman-designated hitter Kevin Millar and, as Gaston mentioned, Barajas and infielder John McDonald. Toronto probably won't have a ton of payroll flexibility, but there's plenty of room for improvement and the club has a decent nucleus to work around.

Olney On Bradley, Jays, Wood

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 22, 2009 at 11:33am CDT

ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Rangers probably wouldn't welcome Milton Bradley back. Here's the latest on the now-suspended outfielder, along with the rest of Olney's rumors:

Olney says the Cubs will likely have to eat a huge portion of Bradley's contract to move him, perhaps as much as $18-19MM. The Cubs owe the 31-year-old $21MM over the next two years.
The Padres may be looking for a corner outfielder this offseason, so they could have interest in Bradley.
Olney says baseball people presume Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi will be fired. (What do you think?) If the Jays cut ties with their GM, Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken could be a candidate to replace him.
Clubs expect the Indians to consider moving Kerry Wood this offseason. Cleveland is rebuilding, so they'd presumably be happy to unload his $10.5MM salary.

Manager Rumors: Astros, Indians, Mets, Cards

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 22, 2009 at 10:06am CDT

The latest on some possible managerial changes…

Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle wonders if the Astros could pick former MLB manager Jim Fregosi to lead the club next season. Dave Clark, Manny Acta, Tim Bogar, Jeff Bagwell and Brad Ausmus could also be candidates to manage.
Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the Indians appear to be pressuring GM Mark Shapiro to fire manager Eric Wedge.
Edes says O's manager Dave Trembley and Nats interim manager Jim Riggleman have limited job security.
It's not likely that the Mets will fire Jerry Manuel and replace him with former manager Bobby Valentine. Edes' sources say it's not impossible, though.
Edes says Braves manager Bobby Cox will likely return next season, but suggests there's tension between Cox and Braves GM Frank Wren.
Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail says it's not enough for the Blue Jays to fire GM J.P. Ricciardi. If the Jays are going to clean house, Blair says they should fire manager Cito Gaston, too.
Cards manager Tony La Russa tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he doesn't want to think about his next contract yet. The longtime skipper is a free agent after the season.

Rosenthal On Pavano, A’s, Jays, Astros

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 22, 2009 at 9:03am CDT

As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out, closers Brian Fuentes and Ryan Franklin seem just as shaky as Brad Lidge these days. Rosenthal also covers some hot-stove themed issues. Here are the highlights:

Carl Pavano, who will earn close to $4MM this year if enough incentives kick in, could sign a one-year deal worth $5-7MM this offseason, according to an MLB executive.
Cliff Pennington's emergence suggests there's very little chance the A's bring shortstop Orlando Cabrera back after the season.
Rosenthal reports that the Blue Jays wanted pitcher-shortstop Casey Kelly more than any of the prospects the Red Sox apparently offered for Roy Halladay.
Rosenthal hears that the Astros are likely to hire an experienced manager to permanently replace Cecil Cooper. Former Astro Jeff Bagwell would be a tempting choice, and he would probably consider the job if the Astros were interested, but the team appears more likely to pursue skippers with significant MLB experience.
The Indians have lost 17 of their last 20 games under Eric Wedge, who will not likely be out of work for long if he gets fired.

Discussion: J.P. Ricciardi

By Luke Adams 2 | September 21, 2009 at 7:44pm CDT

Over the weekend, Ken Rosenthal speculated that Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi might be the only general manager in immediate jeopardy of losing his job. Ricciardi has been under scrutiny for much of the season, particularly at the trade deadline, when he made the biggest non-trade of the year, keeping Roy Halladay in Toronto.

The argument for letting Ricciardi finish his contract, which runs through 2010: The Jays have been one of the teams hit hardest by economic woes, cutting payroll from $97MM in 2008 to $80MM this season. They're playing in the toughest division in baseball, and still finished with at least 83 wins in each of the last three seasons, prior to a disappointing 2009. Plus, a handful of Ricciardi draft picks like Aaron Hill and Adam Lind have turned into rising stars.

The flip side? Toronto has yet to make a playoff visit during Ricciardi's tenure. They've seen the cash-strapped Rays leapfrog them, and now the young and talented Orioles are threatening to do the same. Ricciardi has made a habit of P.R. blunders, most memorably suggesting without prompting that Adam Dunn lacked a passion for baseball. And some of the contracts he has handed out, such as $126MM to Vernon Wells and $47MM to B.J. Ryan, are among the worst in the game.

Following the Jays' collapse this season and Ricciardi's inability to deal Halladay after very public sweepstakes, J.P.'s days in Toronto may be numbered. Tonight's discussion question has two sides: If it were your decision, do you let Ricciardi stick around for another year, or does he need to go as soon as possible? Conversely, if you're J.P. and you're given a reprieve, what moves do you make this offseason to save your job?

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

By Mike Axisa | September 19, 2009 at 5:54pm CDT

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.

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