Crasnick On Sheffield, Smoltz, Giambi, Pedro
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick presents some of the players, managers and executives who can start earning next year's job by finishing the season strong:
- Gary Sheffield is hitting well, but in the words of one NL official, "he has some explaining to do" if he wants a job next year after last week's drama.
- Barring a September collapse, Jerry Manuel seems likely to return next year.
- John Smoltz is "definitely interested" in pitching next year, according to his agent.
- Jason Giambi can prolong his career if he plays well for the Rockies this month.
- One NL exec believes Pedro Martinez can still contribute.
- Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi says he knows some people want him out of Toronto. However, Crasnick believes the GM has a strong relationship with team president Paul Beeston. Once Beeston hands authority over to a new president, Ricciardi could lose his job.
- Crasnick says managers Eric Wedge (Indians), Jim Riggleman (Nationals), Dave Trembley (Orioles) and Cecil Cooper (Astros) don't have much job security.
Nationals Sign Livan Hernandez
Livan Hernandez will return to the Nationals after a three-year absence. The club signed Hernandez to a Major League deal, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, so the Cuban righty returns to the organization that first acquired him more than six years ago. The Expos traded for Hernandez in 2003 and he stayed with the organization until they traded him to the D'Backs in 2006.
Hernandez has since played for three more teams, including the Mets, who released him last week. He has allowed 164 hits and 51 walks in 135 innings this year, striking out 75.
Odds And Ends: Cubs, Royals, Morgan
More links for the afternoon…
- MLB president Bob DuPuy confirmed to MLB.com's Barry Bloom that the Cubs should soon be sold to Tom Ricketts for about $900MM.
- Royals third-rounder Wil Myers told Matt Forman of Baseball America that it felt a little weird to face live pitching after a few months off. He still managed to hit a homer in his ffith pro at bat.
- You don't hear many Cardinals fans complaining about Matt Holliday, but how about Brett Wallace, the centerpiece of the trade that sent Holliday to St. Louis? As Baseball America shows with its latest Prospect Hot Sheet, Wallace homered five times this week.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post compares Nyjer Morgan to a number of leadoff hitters throughout history and shows that Morgan looks like a nice acquisition.
- The Nats introduced Stephen Strasburg to the fans at Nationals Park this afternoon, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Strasburg, Cordero, Swisher
On this date 25 years ago, B.J. Upton was born. The second overall pick in the '02 draft, Bossman Junior made his big league debut in 2004, but will be arbitration-eligible for the first time following this season. The Rays prefer to lock up their young players to long-term deals, but there has never been an indication that Upton is willing to sign long-term. With the signing deadline for most draft picks now past, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- The Biz of Baseball looks at how the slotting system held up with this year's draft (not very well).
- Capitol Avenue Club declares the winners and losers of this year's draft.
- Nationals Pride notes that the Nationals are two-for-two in their decisions affecting Stephen Strasburg.
- Center Field Gate likes the Stephen Strasburg deal, but wants to see what Strasburg can do before getting too excited.
- Sully Baseball notes that Stephen Strasburg needs to get past Betty White before he is worth $50M.
- Around the Majors looks back the Reds' decision to give Francisco Cordero a $46MM contract.
- 6 Pound 8 Ounce Baby Joba revisits the deal that brought Nick Swisher to the Yankees.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Nats President On GM Search
According to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, Nationals president Stan Kasten knows that Mike Rizzo isn't perfect, but he says he's the best candidate to lead the club forward. Not only does Rizzo have a background in scouting and a solid record as interim GM, he showed Kasten that he wants to become "much more adept sabermetrically."
Kasten started with 75 candidates for the job- including some unconventional ones- before narrowing the group down. Kasten says a number of his finalists were never named in media reports, which tended to focus on Jerry DiPoto, Jed Hoyer and Rizzo, the eventual winner. Kasten suggests that at least one of those men wasn't a serious contender for the job.
"Truthfully, we've seen names of guys who weren't really candidates," he said.
Kasten said he expects many of his finalists to become GMs in the Major Leagues before long.
Odds & Ends: Padilla, Riggleman, Cabrera, Twins
Some links to wrap up your Thursday night…
- Scott Miller of CBSSports.com notes that Vicente Padilla brings hefty baggage with him to Los Angeles. He points out that the circumstances are similar to the arrival of one Manny Ramirez last year.
- The Nationals will conduct a search for a permanent manager in the offseason, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Jim Riggleman, the interim manager, will be a candidate for the job.
- R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs discusses the success of of Everth Cabrera, whom the Padres swiped from the division-rival Rockies in the Rule V Draft.
- And the Twins signed a German player with a family background in ballet, according to John W. Miller of the Wall Street Journal.
Odds & Ends: Rizzo, A’s, Draft, Williams
Some tidbits from around the league on Thursday evening…
- ESPN's Peter Gammons outlines the methods Nationals GM Mike Rizzo used to land Stephen Strasburg. He also discusses the long road Rizzo has ahead of him.
- MLB.com's Mychael Urban writes that the Athletics are enjoying success despite trading Matt Holliday and Orlando Cabrera.
- Dave Cameron at Fangraphs argues that the draft should be "abolished" and offers a creative suggestion for how to replace it.
- MLB.com's Scott Merkin talks to White Sox GM Kenny Williams, who is happy with the team he has constructed. In fact, Williams says that he "would love to bring back this whole darn team."
Odds And Ends: Padilla, Strasburg, Gomes
Another round of links…
- Ted Green of the LA Times says Vicente Padilla will be an "angel" with the Dodgers because he has no other choice.
- As Monday night's deadline to sign picks neared, we had no idea whether Stephen Strasburg would sign. Neither did Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, so he wrote this story in case the Nats failed to sign him.
- We've heard lots of talk about Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang, but John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer wonders if the Reds could deal Jonny Gomes, who has 15 homers, to a contender.
- Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball shows how much teams spent on draft picks Monday and argues that the recommended slotting system isn't working as intended.
Odds And Ends: Rizzo, Rangers, Hall
More links for the morning…
- Adam Dunn tells MLB.com's Bill Ladson that it would have been wrong for the Nats to give the GM job to anybody but Mike Rizzo, who will be formally introduced in about four hours.
- Via Twitter, ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. reports that the Rangers signed Dominican righty David Perez for $425k.
- Bill Hall tells Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that he put too much pressure on himself after inking a $24MM deal with the Brewers.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff points out that the Mets can watch Jeff Francoeur play 40 more games before they have to decide whether to offer him a contract for next year.
- As Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker shows, Yusei Kikuchi is a Japanese high schooler who can throw 96mph and has attracted at least some interest from MLB teams.
Nationals Tab Rizzo As GM
8:55pm: We can close the books on this one for now: Bill Ladson at MLB.com reports that Mike Rizzo will be named the permanent general manager of the Nationals at a news conference on Thursday. The decision was apparently made earlier this week, probably in the thick of the Strasburg negotiations.
Rizzo has made some pretty sage moves for the Nationals so far, and it looks like he's taking the beleaguered franchise in a good direction. It's unclear how long he's been signed for or why previous news had suggested the complete opposite.
8:16pm: This story looks more and more dubious as the hours pass. Chico Harlan at the Post reports that Rizzo was seen loose and joking with Nationals president Stan Kasten pre-game today, and he's currently scheduled for a Friday fan Q&A on the Strasburg signing. Harlan also says that Rizzo was the sole negotiator of the Strasburg deal in its final minutes and that, at this point, "[Rizzo's] stock has never been higher." When reached for comment, Rizzo was "mum" on the current situation, Bill Ladson at MLB.com says.
3:04pm: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that though the Nats have not yet decided on a permanent GM, they will decide on one this week. The team will introduce Stephen Strasburg at a Friday press conference, so an announcement before then would be a surprise.
2:53pm: A source tells Chico Harlan of the Washington Post that the reports saying the Nats have decided to replace Rizzo with DiPoto are false.
"The decision has already been made," the source said. "And the best I can tell you- what's been written is 100% wrong."
The Nats have not told DiPoto or Red Sox exec Jed Hoyer of their decision, according to Harlan's source.
2:22pm: ESPN.com's Keith Law hears that the Nationals are not about to award Jerry DiPoto the GM job.
WEDNESDAY, 11:02am: Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports that D'Backs exec Jerry DiPoto has told friends he will accept the Nats GM job.
TUESDAY, 9:43pm: According to Gordon Edes of Yahoo.com, "multiple sources insisted" today that the Nationals are about to replace interim GM Mike Rizzo with Diamondbacks vice president Jerry DiPoto.
Rizzo has been busy since replacing Jim Bowden as GM earlier this year. He brought in Nyjer Morgan and fired Manny Acta. Most notably, perhaps, he has been given credit for engineering the signing of pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg.
DiPoto, who has been in charge of the Diamondbacks' pro scouting for four years, denied any knowledge that such a job change was imminent.