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Mike Rizzo Chat At The Washington Post

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Chico Harlan of the Washington Post chatted with Nationals GM Mike Rizzo, and posted the full Q&A on his blog.  A few hot stove highlights:

  • Starter Scott Olsen had surgery in July to repair a small labrum tear in his pitching shoulder.  Having earned $2.8MM this year, the Nats would have to pay him at least $2.24MM in 2010 if they tender him a contract.  Rizzo said he's getting health reports on Olsen daily and the team will use the coming months to decide whether to non-tender him.
  • Rizzo says closer Mike MacDougal has "done a great job."  MacDougal represents another of the Nationals' many arbitration cases; he could earn $3MM+ in 2010.
  • The Nationals consider Jesus Flores (shoulder surgery) the everyday catcher in 2010, but still may bring in another backstop for insurance.
  • Rizzo seems satisfied with Elijah Dukes as the regular right fielder.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Towers, Marlins

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A few links on the second to last day of the regular season…

  • Even though they'll finish with the worst record in baseball, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo indicated that it's not a lock the team will draft Bryce Harper first overall next year, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Says Rizzo: "I haven't seen him yet. He certainly hasn't separated himself like [pitcher] Stephen Strasburg did last year."
  • CBSSports.com reports that Kevin Towers said he wasn't given a specific reason for his termination, but KT did say that he's "been around long enough to know why."
  • Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel says that Florida's final 2009 payroll was just under $35.6MM. Hanley Ramirez ($5.5MM) and Dan Uggla ($5.35MM) were the only Marlins to make more than $3.5MM this year.
  • Matthew Carruth at FanGraphs weighs in with his opinion of the Towers and J.P. Ricciardi firings.

Heyman On Best Moves & Managerial Changes

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Jon Heyman of SI.com ranks the best moves of the year and Matt Holliday figures in prominently. Heyman says the Rockies made the move of the year when the acquired Huston Street, Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Smith for Holliday. And Heyman says the Cardinals made the third-best move of the year when they acquired Holliday for Brett Wallace and two other prospects. Here's the latest on some managers and potential managers:

  • Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell appears to be the Indians' preferred choice to manage the club next year. In fact, he may be the only candidate they're seriously considering right now.
  • In all likelihood, the Orioles will replace manager Dave Trembley. He couldn't steer the team to a strong finish, so they could lose 100 games.
  • Jerry Manuel (Mets) and Ken Macha (Brewers) will likely return as "lame ducks" next year.
  • Nats manager Jim Riggleman has a chance at winning the permanent managerial job.

Heyman On Best Moves & Managerial Changes

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Jon Heyman of SI.com ranks the best moves of the year and Matt Holliday figures in prominently. Heyman says the Rockies made the move of the year when the acquired Huston Street, Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Smith for Holliday. And Heyman says the Cardinals made the third-best move of the year when they acquired Holliday for Brett Wallace and two other prospects. Here's the latest on some managers and potential managers:

  • Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell appears to be the Indians' preferred choice to manage the club next year. In fact, he may be the only candidate they're seriously considering right now.
  • In all likelihood, the Orioles will replace manager Dave Trembley. He couldn't steer the team to a strong finish, so they could lose 100 games.
  • Jerry Manuel (Mets) and Ken Macha (Brewers) will likely return as "lame ducks" next year.
  • Nats manager Jim Riggleman has a chance at winning the permanent managerial job.

Discussion: Washington Nationals

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The Washington Nationals are a series of contradictions, as Thomas Boswell points out in this terrific Washington Post piece. They are a large market, but spend like a small-market team. They have great young talent and more than 100 losses. The future is bright (Stephen Strasburg) and not-so-bright (if they don't put talent around him).

"We are tremendously excited. The next big step is right there to be taken," President Stan Kasten, who speaks for the team, told Boswell. "This is not a great year if you want a [free agent like CC] Sabathia or Mark Teixeira. But the players who are available are just what we need: a veteran starter in the rotation, two more arms in the bullpen and a middle infielder who helps our defense."

So who should Washington look to acquire? How close are they, really, to that next step? And if the team has more than 100 losses, isn't the next step more like 90 losses?

Odds & Ends: Tribe, Hudson, Riggleman

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A fresh roundup of links for Wednesday evening…

  • According to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, it's highly unlikely the Indians will look within to fill their managing vacancy.  Former Tribe pitcher and current Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell has been thrown around as a possible candidate by fans and media types in Cleveland.
  • David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution thinks impending free agent Tim Hudson is going to want to re-sign with Atlanta this offseason, even after they reject his $12MM 2010 option.  Hudson just built a dream home in nearby Auburn, Alabama and his wife is heavily involved in the community.
  • ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure goes in-depth on the Twins' signing of Miguel Angel Sano.  Arangure believes agent Rob Plummer did a fantastic job with the deal. 
  • Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports takes a cue from MLBTR's own Mike Axisa with a comparison of soon-to-be free agent outfielders Jason Bay and Matt Holliday.
  • As noted by Bill Ladson of MLB.com, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo indicated Wednesday that interim manager Jim Riggleman is a candidate for the permanent gig.  "Jim has done a great job. It's going to be an intense offseason and a busy," Rizzo said. "The ultimate goal is to make us a better ball club."

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Drew, Red Sox, Valentine

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Some more links to read as we ready ourselves for another Tigers-Twins game…

  • The Pirates just added Anthony Claggett to their roster, so he could make his debut with the club tonight, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • The Pirates won't bring back coach Rich Donnelly, but pitching coach Joe Kerrigan will return.
  • On the weekend, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported (via Twitter) that the D'Backs will listen to offers for Stephen Drew. Nightengale says the club wants pitching and suggests the Red Sox will likely have interest in Drew.
  • Rob Neyer of ESPN.com says it wouldn't make sense for the Red Sox to trade Clay Buchholz to the D'Backs to acquire Stephen Drew. Buchholz, after all, has shown that he can pitch in the AL East. The Red Sox need a shortstop, but Neyer doesn't consider Drew a proven player.
  • Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post reports that Bobby Valentine is "totally committed" to his new job as an ESPN analyst, though the former MLB manager acknowledged that he could manage in the bigs again at some point. 

Odds & Ends: Griffey, Harden, Guzman

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Let's have a look at a few evening links….

  • John McGrath of the Tacoma News Tribune notes that the uncertainty regarding Ken Griffey Jr.'s future with the Mariners could make for an uncomfortable PR situation, given Griffey's popularity in Seattle. We've already heard that Griffey would be open to returning and that the Mariners would not reject the idea. McGrath rightly points out though that it would be a mistake to bring the 39-year-old back as the same middle-of-the-order DH he was this year, since he has hit just .214/.323/.395. If the Mariners do retain Griffey, McGrath says it has to be a pinch hitter and part-time player.
  • After earlier reports that the Cubs might not be interested in retaining Rich Harden, we get a follow-up from Keith Law at ESPN.com wondering what type of deal Harden might get. Law compares Harden to Brad Penny, suggesting that, like Penny, the Cubs righty may not be able to secure a multi-year deal because of health concerns.
  • Bill Ladson of MLB.com blogs that Cristian Guzman is still unsure about playing second base for the Nationals in 2010. GM Mike Rizzo and interim manager Jim Riggleman requested the move, feeling that Guzman "no longer has the range to play shortstop."
  • The White Sox should consider keeping Jermaine Dye, according to Matt Meyers of ESPN.com. Although he acknowledges that the outfielder's declining slugging percentage and subpar fielding make for a scary combination, Meyers contends that Dye is a better fit in Chicago than anywhere else, since he could replace the departed Jim Thome as the team's full-time DH. Dye would like to return and Ozzie wants him back too, but the Sox aren't about to pick up the $12MM option just because it's the best fit for Dye.
  • Corey Brock at MLB.com talks to San Diego Padres' GM Kevin Towers about the focus on speed for the Padres. Towers believes there is such a thing as a "PETCO Park player," and that athleticism is a crucial characteristic for playing in the spacious ballpark. Given this approach, it'll be interesting to see who the Padres might target from this offseason's free agent pool.
  • Baseball America's Ben Badler tweets that the Pittsburgh Pirates' win this afternoon once again clinched the No. 1 pick for the Washington Nationals in next June's draft. The Pirates and Baltimore Orioles are still in the mix for No. 2.

Odds & Ends: Byrd, Livan, Marlins

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A couple of links to help you start off your Saturday night…

  • Rangers' manager Ron Washington wants to see the team bring back Marlon Byrd next year, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Bryd has said he wants to return to the team next year, but Sullivan says it's uncertain if Texas will be able to re-sign him, presumably because of their uncertain financial situation.
  • According to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, Livan Hernandez "believes he has six years left in his baseball career and wants those years to be with the Nationals." Livan's been a below league average pitcher for four years now, but if he can stick around for another six years, more power to him.
  • Marlins' closer Leo Nunez figures to stick around next year, even though he'll earn a hefty raise in arbitration says Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald. The bigger question might be what to do with ex-closer Matt Lindstrom, who will also be arbitration eligible for the first time. Lindstrom has a 5.79 ERA and has battled injuries this season.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Ankiel, V-Mart

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Another round of links as we head into the evening…

  • Nationals team president Stan Kasten told Bill Ladson of MLB.com Saturday that he feels his organization is headed in the right direction.  "I'm not happy about the season," said Kasten, "and it signifies a horrible year on the field, but it has not been a horrible year in terms of progress toward our goal."  The Nats are hoping to find a veteran arm on the free agent market this winter.
  • Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch believes super agent Scott Boras will be able to convince a GM to "wildly overpay" Rick Ankiel in a new contract this winter.  Boras is apparently trying to spin the outfielder as "a combination of Willie Mays,  Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio,[and] Duke Snider."
  • SI.com's Jon Heyman calls the Red Sox's acquisition of Victor Martinez "the best move any AL team made this summer."  V-Mart is batting .335/.403/.505 since arriving in Boston and has 102 RBI on the year.
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