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Porter Joins Nats; Marlins Likely To Hire Rodriguez

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The Marlins definitely won't be hiring Bo Porter and Edwin Rodriguez's chances of remaining the team's manager are looking better and better. The Nationals announced that Porter agreed to be Jim Riggleman's third base coach, so he's no longer in the running for Florida's managerial opening. Meanwhile, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports that the Marlins are "expected" to announce that they will retain Rodriguez as manager.

Rodriguez, who appeared in 11 games for the Yankees and Padres from 1982-85, led the Marlins to a 46-46 record this year. He is the first Puerto Rican-born manager in big league history.

Porter spent last season on Arizona’s coaching staff, first as third base coach and then as bench coach. He arrived in Arizona after three seasons in the Florida organization, where he worked with current National Josh Willingham.

Odds & Ends: Wood, Dunn, Valentine, Hoover

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Links for Thursday, before the Rangers try to even out the World Series…

  • The Cubs would welcome Kerry Wood back to Chicago if they have enough money, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. The Yankees declined Wood's 2011 option yesterday, so he'll be free to sign with the team of his choice soon after the World Series.
  • Nationals manager Jim Riggleman says he wants Adam Dunn to re-sign in Washington, but points out that "there's going to be some pretty good talent out there" if Dunn leaves, according to Ben Goessling of MASNSports (on Twitter).
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel hears that the Brewers are open to hiring managerial candidates Bob Melvin and Joey Cora, though they’ll likely talk to Bobby Valentine about a potential deal (Twitter link).
  • The Phillies outrighted Paul Hoover off of their 40-man roster.
  • Former Braves and Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone told Gary Williams and Steve Phillips of SIRIUS XM radio that he’d have interest in becoming the pitching coach for the Yankees or Mets.

Manager & Coach Notes: Valentine, Riggleman, D’Backs

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While some teams continue looking for their new manager, other clubs are settling their 2011 coaching staffs.  Here's a collection of news items about both searches…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com (Twitter link) "keeps hearing" that Bobby Valentine is one of the finalists to be the next Brewers manager, though Rosenthal wonders if Valentine would take the job and if Milwaukee could afford him.  We heard yesterday that the Brewers had narrowed their search to four men, two of whom were Joey Cora and Bob Melvin and one of whom was suspected to be Ron Roenicke.  Valentine could be the mystery fourth man.
  • Jim Riggleman will manage the Nationals next season, according to a team press release.  The move was widely expected given Washington's 10-win improvement (from 59 wins to 69) in Riggleman's first full season as the team's skipper.  The Nats could have fired Riggleman and paid him a $100K buyout, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, rather than be on the hook for his full 2011 salary.  The team also has an option on Riggleman for 2012.
  • Arizona announced the hirings of Alan Trammell the new bench coach and Charles Nagy as the new pitching coach in a team press release.  The D'Backs also confirmed the hirings of Don Baylor and Eric Young as the hitting and first base coaches, respectively.
  • Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets that with Trammell leaving the Cubs for the Diamondbacks, there is a "door open" for Pat Listach to become his friend Mike Quade's bench coach in Chicago.  We heard today from ESPNChicago.com that Ryne Sandberg (a top contender for the Cubs' managerial job) wouldn't be staying with the Cubs as Quade's bench coach.
  • It sounds like something of a stock "never say never" answer, but Ozzie Guillen sounded open to the possibility of hiring Sandberg as the White Sox bench coach should Joey Cora become Milwaukee's manager.  Guillen made the remarks on WSCR-AM 670's "Mully & Hanley Show," and the news was reported by the Chicago Tribune.
  • Former Rockies manager and current Rangers hitting coach Clint Hurdle tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the Brewers didn't consider him to be a candidate for their managerial opening.  (Twitter link)
  • Fredi Gonzalez will bring back his old Marlins bench coach Carlos Tosca for the same job in Atlanta, reports David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Also, former Florida hitting coach Jim Presley is "a finalist" to take over as the Braves' hitting coach.
  • Presley could also end up as Baltimore's hitting coach, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com (Twitter link).  In other Oriole-related Rosenthal tweets, Billy Ripken and Mike Bordick are being considered for coaching jobs on Buck Showalter's staff, and Mark Connor and Rick Adair are the "leading candidates" to be, respectively, Baltimore's next pitching and bullpen coaches.

Vazquez Interested In Pitching For The Nationals

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Javier Vazquez has thrown the second most innings (2,320.1) and recorded the second most strikeouts (2,122) in all of baseball since the start of the 2000 season, but 2010 was the worst year of his career. His return engagement with the Yankees resulted in 157.1 innings of 5.32 ERA, 6.9 K/9, and 1.8 HR/9 ball, certainly not what they Yanks expected after trading three young players for him last winter.

After a performance like that, it stands to reason that Vazquez would have some trouble finding work for next season, but that hasn't stopped him from expressing interest in pitching for the Nationals according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. The Nats are one team that we know is ready to spend on pitching, and Javy has long preferred the East Coast so he could be close to his family in Puerto Rico.

Vazquez obviously will not approach the $11.5MM he made each year from 2008-2010, and a multi-year deal is unlikely as well. A pitcher with his track record is a nice candidate for one-year, low base salary contract, and the Nats are in the perfect position to gamble on deals like that. It's worth noting that his fastball velocity dropped off considerably this season, so perhaps all those innings are finally catching up to him at age 34.

I examined Vazquez's free agent stock a few weeks ago, and Luke Adams listed him as a pitcher that could benefit from a move to the NL.

Sosnick On Bruce, Willingham, Nolasco, Dunn

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Agent Matt Sosnick appeared on the Diamond Hoggers' Baseball Show today, and spoke at length about how he became involved in baseball, his experiences in the sport, and a few of his clients. Here are the highlights from the discussion, which you can listen to here:

  • Jay Bruce is open to signing a long-term contract with the Reds. "If the Reds felt the same way," Sosnick said. "We'd be open to doing something that was five or six years."
  • Sosnick acknowledged that locking up Joey Votto would likely be a higher priority for the club, but cited deals signed by Justin Upton and Troy Tulowitzki as potential starting points for a Bruce extension.
  • As we heard earlier today, Josh Willingham is interested in signing an extension with the Nationals. Sosnick feels that if Willingham were hitting the open market this winter, the 31-year-old could land a multi-year deal worth $10MM annually.
  • According to Sosnick, when the Giants made a push for Willingham, the Nats asked for either Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner in return.
  • Regarding a possible Ricky Nolasco extension, Sosnick says he and the Marlins agreed on the years, but were off by "about 20%" on salary. The two sides will resume extension talks in November or December, working on a one-year deal in the meantime.
  • Adam Dunn is not a Sosnick client, but the agent predicts that Dunn will receive about $40MM for three years this offseason.

Josh Willingham Hopes For Extension

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Josh Willingham isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2011 season and if it were up to him, he’d push that date back a couple years. Agent Matt Sosnick told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that Willingham would like to sign a multi-year contract this offseason.

“If he had his druthers, he'd sign a deal that took him through this year and into the next couple years,” Sosnick said, adding that no discussions have taken place so far. 

Willingham, who earned $4.6MM this year, would be happy to accept a one-year deal. He’d get a raise through arbitration, so his 2011 salary could approach $7MM. Willingham missed the last six weeks of the season to undergo surgery on the meniscus in his left knee. He ranked 5th among MLB outfielders (min. 400 PAs) in on base percentage (.389) and tenth in OPS (.848). The 30-year-old can hit, but injuries have limited Willingham in each of the past few seasons. 

Though he didn’t play anywhere but left field in 2010, Willingham has experience in right field and at first base. Sosnick says his client’s flexible.

"He'd be open to doing anything he could for the team," Sosnick said. "They could use him out of the bullpen."

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Wood, D’Backs, A’s

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Links for Wednesday, as the Yankees try to prolong their season…

  • Baseball sources tell Ken Gurnick of MLB.com that the Dodgers are likely to bring Trey Hillman aboard as their bench coach.
  • Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald wonders if Kerry Wood could have made a difference for the BoSox.
  • Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks are expected to name Ray Montgomery their new scouting director.  Montgomery has spent the last eight years in the Brewers organization.
  • Bryce Harper will bat seventh in his Arizona Fall League debut tonight, according to the Nationals Baseball Media Relations department (via Twitter).
  • The A's have announced several staff changes via press release.  Gerald Perry has been welcomed back as hitting coach in place of Jim Skaalen.  Joel Skinner, a longtime member of the Indians coaching staff, will take over as bench coach.  Former bench coach Tye Waller will be reassigned as the first base coach.  Waller replaces Todd Steverson who has been offered a position in the A's farm system.
  • Mark McGwire is on the fence about returning as the Cards hitting coach, Tony La Russa told Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch.
  • Former Angels scouting director Eddie Bane will join the Tigers scouting department, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (on Twitter).
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck introduces us to Tigers assistant GM Al Avila, the longtime Detroit exec who remains a GM candidate. The Tigers recently declined to let the Mets interview Avila. 
  • If you play fantasy baseball, head over to RotoAuthority, where Tim Dierkes examines the impact of Ted Lilly's new deal on the lefty's fantasy value.
  • It doesn't look like Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima will become available to MLB teams this year, according to reports passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (Twitter link).
  • Cubs GM Jim Hendry told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that he will "absolutely" welcome Ryne Sandberg back to Chicago's minor league system if the Hall of Famer wants to continue working his way to the major leagues. Sandberg, a finalist for the Cubs major league job, was disappointed when the team hired Mike Quade.
  • Brewers managerial candidate Pat Listach was pleased with his interview, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.

Nationals Sign Mike Rizzo To Five-Year Extension

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The Nationals signed GM Mike Rizzo to a five-year extension and promoted him to executive vice president of baseball operations and GM, according to the team. Rizzo, who turns 50 later this year, has been Washington's GM since August 2009 and has acted as GM since March of last year.

The Diamondbacks drafted Brandon Webb, Justin Upton, Stephen Drew and others when Rizzo was the team’s scouting director. Rizzo has continued drafting aggressively with the Nationals, selecting Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Bryce Harper (2010) with recent first overall picks. The Nationals have also drafted Drew Storen, Jordan Zimmermann and Danny Espinosa under Rizzo. 

Rizzo has signed Yunesky Maya, Joel Peralta, Miguel Batista and Matt Capps to deals that paid dividends for the Nationals. Maya climbed to the major leagues this year, Peralta and Batista pitched well and Capps made the All-Star team before Washington traded him to Minnesota for catching prospect Wilson Ramos.

Rizzo, who says he intends to improve Washington’s pitching this offseason, committed millions to Jason Marquis and Chien-Ming Wang last offseason, but neither pitcher has contributed meaningfully so far. 

Odds & Ends: Greinke, Marlins, McGwire, Daniels

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As Cliff Lee continues his domination of the Yankees, here's some news from around baseball…

Odds & Ends: Mets, Reds, Nationals, Cardinals

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Links for Monday, as impending free agent lefties Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte prepare to duel in New York…

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