NL Notes: Arrieta, Mets, Strasburg
Let's take a quick look at some notes from the National League …
- Recent Cubs trade acquisition Jake Arrieta is struggling with consistency even while flashing the potential to be a dominant starter, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Of course, as MLBTR's Zach Links noted back when he was shipped to Chicago, Arrieta was a nice buy-low, change-of-scenery candidate precisely because of his historical inability to harness his stuff.
- Looking forward to the club's right field opening in 2014, the Mets probably lack the top-end young bat that would be necessary to draw Giancarlo Stanton away from the Marlins, writes ESPNNewYork.com's Mark Simon. (Simon notes that catcher Travis d'Arnaud could fit the bill, but his struggles at the MLB level lower his value and he fills an obvious need for his current club.) Looking elsewhere, Simon tabs Shin-Soo Choo, Hunter Pence, Nelson Cruz, and recent Met Marlon Byrd as potential targets.
- Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg had his start skipped today after experiencing soreness in his right forearm, reports Tom Schad of MLB.com. Though manager Davey Johnson said that a medical examination revealed nothing of concern, the team is understandably proceeding with caution, even as it tries to hang on to the fringes of the Wild Card race. At this point, Strasburg has set himself up for a nice arbitration payday regardless of what happens over his remaining starts. He will enter the process for the first time with a career 2.95 ERA over 421 1/3 innings pitched, with 10.6 K/9 against just 2.5 BB/9, although his relatively low inning totals (he is at a career-high 170) and lack of wins this year (he has just seven) could limit his earning potential somewhat.
Managerial Notes: Girardi, Collins, Nationals
We've already seen one managerial change recently, with the firing of Charlie Manuel in favor of Ryne Sandberg. Elsewhere in the league, Davey Johnson is set to retire, and people have speculated frequently on the situations of Mike Scioscia and Ron Gardenhire. Here's a look at some more of the managerial situations around the league that will be heavily discussed this offseason…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that Joe Girardi will be a hot free agent this offseason and will likely be able to choose his destination if he wishes. Girardi could return to the Yankees, or seeing the opportunity to jump to his hometown, could pursue an opportunity with the Cubs even though Dale Sveum is still under contract. He could also look to fill Johnson's role in Washington — a position for which he applied in 2006. Within his piece, Rosenthal reports that Girardi's expiring three-year contract was worth a total of $9MM.
- One scout who spoke with Andy Martino of the New York Daily News offered high praise for the job Mets manager Terry Collins has done without much talent on his roster. "I think Terry has done a tremendous job," said the scout. "That roster is not good, but they’re obviously still playing hard for him. That’s not an easy thing to do as a manager." It is widely expected that Collins will be back with the team in 2014.
- The success the Nationals have shown in the past month makes inheriting Johnson's position "a dream job for some lucky baseball man who gets to succeed [him]," writes Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Diamondbacks third base coach Matt Williams is the name most frequently heard, but the Nationals own bench coach, Randy Knorr, is receiving increasing support internally, according to Knobler.
East Notes: Haren, Jeter, Abreu
The Yankees and Nationals discussed a possible Dan Haren deal last weekend, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports. The two sides never came close to making a trade, and Rosenthal suggests that money might have been part of the reason why — Haren would have only started three times for the Yankees (and wouldn't have been eligible for the playoffs, if the Yankees were to win a spot), but he was still due about $1.5MM in salary. The Yankees' interest stemmed from the recent troubles of Phil Hughes and David Huff.
- Yankees icon Derek Jeter should consider retiring, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman writes. Heyman argues that, after a season ruined by injury, Jeter faces a future in which he might just be a utility player, and that would be an undignified end to a great career. Playing well at shortstop at age 40 is very difficult, and Jeter will face an uphill battle if he tries to return next season.
- The Red Sox have joined the Giants as teams who are scouting Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu in the Dominican Republic, Dionisio Soldevila of ESPNDeportes.com tweets. We've already heard reports of the Red Sox's interest in Abreu, and Boston seems like a good fit for Abreu — the Red Sox have the financial resources to sign him, and Mike Napoli becomes a free agent after the season.
NL East Notes: Nats, McCann, Zambrano, Fernandez
Entering his final season as Nationals manager, Davey Johnson said that, in his mind, it was "World Series or Bust" for 2013. Today, the Nationals find themselves with a slim 1.6% chance of getting the second Wild Card spot in the National League, according to Baseball Prospectus. What went wrong in Washington? “We lost a few key players over the offseason and changed the dynamics of the bullpen. We had pretty much a set lineup and a had a different configuration on the bench. We still have a few little things to fix," Johnson said, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. "Starting pitching needs to be squared away. The bullpen is not nearly as efficient and effective as it was last year. And the bench has not been as productive. I still like the talent, but we lack some experience, as I talked about. I usually like to have my stacked hand before I make those predictions." Here's more out of the NL East..
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets that it is a fait accompli that Brian McCann will be playing for a new team in 2014 due to the presence of Evan Gattis and Christian Bethancourt in Atlanta as well as the Braves' tight budget.
- Pitcher Carlos Zambrano, who most recently played with the Marlins and Phillies organizations, is healthy and wants to play again in 2014, according to his agent Scott Shapiro (via a Heyman tweet). Big Z will play winter ball in Venezuela to prepare for next season, he adds.
- Paul Hagen of MLB.com wonders if Jose Fernandez's campaign might be the best ever put together by a rookie pitcher. The Marlins phenom had a 2.23 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in the 27 starts leading up to tonight's game.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Minor Moves: Wells, Ambriz, Watts, Liddi
Here are today's minor moves from around the league…
- Longtime starting pitcher Kip Wells has retired, although he's hoping to remain in baseball now that his playing career is over, ESPN New York's Adam Rubin tweets. Wells was released by the Angels in May, and was considering retirement as of early July. The righty pitched parts of 12 seasons, suiting up with the White Sox, Pirates, Rangers, Cardinals, Rockies, Royals, Nationals, Reds and Padres, and posting a 4.71 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 1,338 1/3 career innings.
- The Astros outrighted Hector Ambriz to Triple-A Oklahoma City, according to the International League transactions page. The 29-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment over the weekend after pitching to a 5.70 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 36 1/3 innings for Houston this season.
- The Nationals released catcher Kris Watts, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com (via Twitter). Watts, 29, hit just .211/.342/.328 in 43 Triple-A games this year. The former 16th-round pick is a career .250/.351/.372 hitter in 2,006 career minor league plate appearances between the Nationals and Pirates organizations.
- The Orioles announced that infielder Alex Liddi cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A. Liddi was acquired from the Mariners along with a No. 3 international bonus slot for the M's No. 2 int'l slot. Baltimore designated the 25-year-old for assignment last week to make a 40-man roster spot for Chris Dickerson.
- With Liddi in Triple-A Norfolk, there are two players in DFA limbo, according to the MLBTR DFA Tracker – James McDonald of the Pirates and Cody Ransom of the Cubs.
Steve Adams and Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.
NL East Notes: Bethancourt, Tejada, Zimmerman
The Braves will promote top prospect Christian Bethancourt today, according to Tom Hart of FOX Sports in Atlanta (Twitter link). The 22-year-old catcher hit .277/.305/.436 at Double-A Mississippi this season. While those numbers don't look tremendously impressive, Bethancourt turned it on after a slow start, batting .300/.339/.521 with 11 homers from June 13 on. He currently ranks as the Braves' No. 3 prospect and the fifth-best catching prospect in baseball in the eyes of MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. Here's more on Bethancourt and the rest of the NL East…
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman tweets that Bethancourt's promotion will allow him to get acquainted with the Majors, which is a good thing, as it's likely that he or Evan Gattis will be the Braves' starting catcher in 2014. In doing so, Bowman implies that Brian McCann is likely to sign elsewhere as a free agent. That thought has been echoed by others in recent weeks, including David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- The Mets will stall Ruben Tejada's promotion back to the Majors, writes Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, and in doing so, they will delay his free agency until after the 2017 season instead of the 2016 season. Tejada hasn't exactly torn the cover off the ball of late, as he's batted just .275/.324/.364 from July through Sept. 2 at Triple-A Las Vegas — one of the most hitter-friendly environments in all of professional baseball.
- Ryan Zimmerman has regained confidence in his throwing and believes he can continue to play third base for the Nationals, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Zimmerman concedes that he doubted his future at the hot corner earlier in the season. He tells Kilgore that his shoulder injuries in 2012 wore his right arm down to the point where he couldn't lift it above his head, causing him to develop bad throwing habits. He had surgery to repair the shoulder last October, but breaking those poor habits and rebuilding the strength in his arm has been a slow process, Zimmerman says. Ultimately, the decision on when to move to first won't be Zimmerman's, Kilgore writes. The team could even move Adam LaRoche this winter and make the switch in 2014.
Rosenthal On Angels, Gibson, LaRoche, Dodgers
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports brings us his latest edition of Full Count this weekend. Let's take a look inside..
- There's still a month to go in the regular season, but the Angels are already scouting pitchers they could go after in free agency or in trades. The needs in the rotation will be less glaring if they re-sign Jason Vargas – that would give them a front four of Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson, Garrett Richards, and Vargas. The Halos nearly traded Howie Kendrick for a package headlined by the Dodgers' Zach Lee in July and they could pursue something similar with teams deep in young starters this offseason, like the Nationals and Mets.
- A number of Diamondbacks players are frustrated with manager Kirk Gibson's changing lineups and they relate more with third base coach Matt Williams, but he could leave to manage the Nationals or another club once the season is through. However, the D'Backs have no plans to replace Gibson with Williams or anyone else.
- The first base free agent market will be thin this offseason with Justin Morneau, James Loney, and Mike Napoli headlining the class. The trade market doesn't look much better, but it does have a few options. Adam LaRoche of the Nationals figures to be among them as they look to move Ryan Zimmerman to first and Anthony Rendon to third. The Mets' Ike Davis will probably be another and he could benefit from a move to a more hitter-friendly park.
- The Dodgers will not lack rotation options next offseason – they'll try to re-sign Ricky Nolasco and they'll eventually get Chad Billingsley and Josh Beckett back. The team also has three minor league prospects in Lee, Ross Stripling, and Matt Magill, who figure to pitch at some point in 2014. The good news is that the Dodgers should be deep enough to give them time to develop.
Quick Hits: Rodriguez, Middlebrooks, Mariners, Haren
To round out the evening, here are a few links …
- The Red Sox had an opportunity to acquire reliever Francisco Rodriguez from the Brewers, reports CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler, but were unwilling to give up young third baseman Will Middlebrooks to do so. Leaving Rodriguez go to the division-rival Orioles, GM Ben Cherington determined that Middlebrooks could still contribute to the team this season. Of course, he has done just that, posting an excellent .972 OPS since being recalled on August 10th.
- Mariners manager Eric Wedge says that his team has "a lot of guys that have a good chance to be good ballplayers," reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, but says he is not sure "we have any superstars." Wedge went on to praise the organization's "volume" of talent. Though intended as a compliment, says Baker, these comments make clear that the team needs to jettison its "risk-averse financial approach" and act boldly on the free agent market to produce a real contender.
- Nationals' starter Dan Haren had a second straight disastrous outing today, once more failing to hang in past the third inning. While Haren had a chance to end his rocky season on a consistent high note after a solid run through much of July and August, his free agent value seems unlikely to make a real recovery at this point. It will be interesting to see how the market values once-excellent starters like Haren, Josh Johnson, and Roy Halladay, each of whom have suffered through miserable seasons in their walk years.
Nationals Claim Mauro Gomez
The Nationals announced, via Twitter, that they have claimed Mauro Gomez off waivers from the Blue Jays. The first baseman/third baseman was designated for assignment by the Jays on Tuesday.
Gomez, 28, hit .275/.324/.422 with a pair of homers in 111 plate appearances for the Red Sox last season before being claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays this April. In 453 plate appearances for Toronto's Triple-A affiliate this season, Gomes batted .249/.322/.521 with 29 homers. While his average and OBP were down from his career marks at Triple-A, Gomez's .272 ISO was an improvement. In 1436 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level, he owns a .289/.350/.542 slash line.
Primarily a first baseman, Gomez does have 89 games of third base experience at the minor league level, including 10 games at the hot corner in 2013.
Quick Hits: Hughes, Tanaka, Angels, Infante
A change of scenery could allow Phil Hughes to be more like the pitcher everyone thought he would be in 2007, but it's unlikely the Yankees will ever see that pitcher, writes Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger. Hughes could be given a qualifying offer this winter, but it seems more likely that this stage that the Bombers will simply let him walk rather than risk being on the hook for nearly $14MM. Here's more from around baseball..
- The Rangers aren't expected to make the same kind of push for Masahiro Tanaka that they did for Yu Darvish prior to the 2012 season, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports. Though they've scouted the right-hander, the Rangers don't see Tanaka as being a Darvish-caliber pitcher at the present. As Sullivan notes, Darvish had a 1.99 ERA in seven seasons in Japan, averaging 2.4 BB/9 and 8.9 K/9. Tanaka's Japanese stats - 2.32 ERA in seven seasons, 1.9 BB/9 and 8.5 K/9 – are similar, but reports suggest he doesn't have Darvish's overpowering fastball.
- In an article for ESPN Insider, Dan Szymborski examines MLB teams that have seen large drop-offs in a recent update to ESPN's Future Power Rankings scoring system, which projects overall franchise strength for the next five seasons. The Angels top the list following disappointing seasons by Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, but it's too early to declare that Pujols won't return to being an offensive contributor, Szymborski says. He also advises that the club make a play for free-agent pitchers such as Matt Garza or Hiroki Kuroda this offseason to bolster a struggling rotation. The Blue Jays, Brewers, Nationals and Reds round out the list.
- Omar Infante's new agent, Gene Mato, negotiated Anibal Sanchez's big five-year, $80MM deal with the Tigers this winter, MLB.com's Jason Beck notes. With a .319/.346/.453 line this year, Mato's new client could emerge as one of this offseason's top middle infielders, potentially complicating matters for the Tigers. Hernan Perez, 22, could be in line to inherit Detroit's second base job, but he may not be ready to do so by next season, Beck says.
Aaron Steen contributed to this post.