Possible Replacements For Bavasi In Seattle
John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that the Mariners already have a list of names that they are considering to replace the fired Bill Bavasi.
Yesterday, we saw several sources that speculated on the next GM. Hickey spoke with a former GM who came up with a list of eight names that could possibly fill the post.
- Kevin Towers, current San Diego Padres GM: Hickey notes that Towers has stuck with San Diego through a recent front office transition and may prefer to stay with the Pads.
- Brian Cashman, current New York Yankees GM: The M’s wanted to talk to Cashman in ’03 but were rebuked. They may get a better chance this time to land a GM that once said "who wouldn’t want [The Mariners] job."
- Kim Ng, Los Angeles Dodgers assistant GM: Was previously a candidate for the Dodgers job and is considered ready to be a GM.
- Jerry DiPoto, Arizona Diamondbacks director of player personnel
- Tony Bernazard, New York Mets vice president of player development: Previously a candidate for the Pirates job, Hickey wonders if Bernazard might want out with the Mets in flux.
- Chris Antonetti, Cleveland Indians VP of baseball operations: Hickey notes that Antonetti may prefer to stay in Cleveland, having previously turned down an offer from the Pirates to interview for their GM post.
- Mike Rizzo, Washington Nationals assistant GM and VP of baseball operations
- Dave Forst, Oakland Athletics assistant GM
Odds And Ends: Lo Duca, Cabrera, Nady, Bay
A few more minor notes from the MLBiverse…
- Jay Gibbons joins the Long Island Ducks.
- The Giants may have to trade for a long-reliever. Bruce Bochy admits that his team is without a long-reliever and will work to find extra innings from his middle relievers.
- With Paul Lo Duca coming off the DL, the Nationals will now have three catchers. Chico Harlan feels the Nats will hope that Lo Duca plays well in his return to increase his trade value.
- Nick Cafardo believes that the White Sox will let Orlando Cabrera walk at the end of the season as a free agent, feeling that their double-play combination of the future is in the system and not far away.
- Bob Smizik doesn’t see the Pirates landing any top prospects for Xavier Nady or Jason Bay, should they be dealt.
Odds and Ends: Bowden, Strasburg, Draft
Today’s link collection.
- Joel Sherman puts on his GM hat and proposes five trade offers the Yankees should make.
- Troy E. Renck doesn’t believe the Rockies are ready to start trading off veterans.
- Jon Heyman heard rumblings that Nationals GM Jim Bowden "could be in trouble."
- Dave Cameron discusses next year’s frontrunner for the #1 draft pick, college pitcher Stephen Strasburg. The pick could be made by Bill Bavasi’s replacement.
- The MLB draft is definitely gaining popularity, but Nick Friedell’s suggestions would provide a big boost.
Draft Day Roundup
The draft is just four hours away. We’ll be live-blogging it here at MLBTR. Here are today’s draft links.
- Baseball America’s brand new top 30 projections.
- According to Keith Law, Mariners doctors gave the thumbs up on Tanner Scheppers and the team could take him at #20.
- Law says the Nationals seem to be debating between Kyle Skipworth and Aaron Crow at #9.
- Law adds that first baseman Yonder Alonso has an $8MM rumored asking price, which could cause him to drop. Alonso is roughly the 11th-best player in the draft, combining various expert rankings.
- Speaking of huge demands, Buster Posey‘s people are floating $12MM. Perhaps for that reason, the Rays will go with Tim Beckham.
- The Pirates seem a near-lock to take Pedro Alvarez at #2.
- Jonathan Mayo is "fairly certain" the Reds will take Gordon Beckham at #7.
- Nick Piecoro tosses out some possibilities for the D’Backs at #26.
- Tom Haudricourt has three names for the Brewers at #16.
Odds and Ends: Alvarez, Zimmerman, Vizcaino, Hawkins
Some random musings around the league:
- As MLBTR noted before, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also believes the Pirates will take Pedro Alvarez if the Rays pass on him.
- Ryan Zimmerman may be looking for David Wright money (six years, $55MM), but the Nationals may be willing to pay him Ian Kinsler money (5 years, $22MM), according to Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post.
- In this piece by Tony Jackson on the LA Daily News, 39 year-old Jose Vizcaino may try to make a comeback in 2009. He’s currently a special assistant with the Dodgers.
- Troy Renck suggests the Rockies could be interested in LaTroy Hawkins if he continues to struggle for the Yankees.
By Nat Boyle
Cristian Guzman To Wait On Contract Talks
MLB.com’s Bill Ladson has some info on impending free agent shortstop Cristian Guzman. Apparently there will be no extension talks with the Nationals until after the season, a decision made by both sides. Ladson’s source indicates that Guzman might be willing to cut the Nats a break since he was injured for much of his current four-year deal. That break might translate to a two-year contract.
We’ll see if Guzman still feels the same after the season. In my Free Agent Stock Watch post on Guzman, I mentioned him as a cheaper alternative to Rafael Furcal. Furcal is looking questionable, and Guzman should be popular. Will he really forego a third year out of gratitude to the Nationals?
Gammons On Available Pitchers
ESPN’s Peter Gammons names ten starting pitchers who could be available in the coming months. We’ll try to devise a comprehensive list when we get to the position in our Trade Market series.
Gammons’ trade possibilities: Paul Byrd, Jeremy Sowers, Derek Lowe, Rich Harden, Odalis Perez, Brett Tomko, Jarrod Washburn, Zach Duke, Vicente Padilla, and Kevin Millwood. Byrd, Lowe, Perez, and Tomko will be free agents after the season. Sowers and Duke are the kids. Harden is the oft-injured ace. Washburn, Padilla, and Millwood bring burdensome contracts.
Gammons also five "unlikely, but not impossible" scenarios. He suggests A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Joe Blanton, Greg Maddux, and Ben Sheets could be moved under the right circumstances.
Odds and Ends: Pokey, Lowe, Boss
Before you fire up the grill, check out these links.
- Dayn Perry has an enjoyable series at Baseball Prospectus called Mock Blockbuster. He proposes trades that would benefit both teams. His latest: Greg Maddux and Brian Giles for Jordan Schafer.
- Rays Index wonders whether Eric Hinske or Gabe Gross could be expendable once Willy Aybar returns.
- Joe Capozzi remembers Mike Piazza’s five game stint as a Marlin.
- Pokey Reese sighting!
- Ned Colletti told struggling free-agent-to-be Derek Lowe the Dodgers aren’t slamming the door on him coming back.
- The Red Sox signed an Australian teen named Boss Moanaroa.
- Athletics Nation chats with Billy Beane.
- Jerry Reinsdorf hasn’t ruled out re-signing Joe Crede after the season.
- R.I.P. Geremi Gonzalez. I remember him as a bright spot on the ’97 Cubs. I mailed him a baseball card for an autograph, and it came back signed.
Draft Roundup
All kinds of draft links today.
- Baseball America explains the basics in their How The Draft Works column.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein gives his take on each of the first twelve picks.
- Keith Law: the Nationals invited Zach Collier to work out, the White Sox are eyeing Brett Wallace, the Marlins may like Eric Hosmer, and Tanner Scheppers is getting a second opinion.
- Jim Callis names high schoolers/Boras clients Hosmer and Gerrit Cole as possible wild cards who could head to college. Callis also talks about Casey Kelly as a possibility for Cincy.
- Derrick Goold on the Cardinals’ "signability board."
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braun, Holliday, Kouzmanoff, Greene, Sabean
Let’s take a look at what is being said about some recent rumors, trades and signings in the Blogosphere…
- Right Field Bleachers sees the signing of Ryan Braun and Corey Hart to long-term deals as a "must" for the Brewers.
- Brewers Nation sees the Braun deal as evidence that Prince Fielder will not sign an extension even if the two situations are very different.
- Oleanders and Morning Glories thinks that if Nats’ management was hoping to sign Ryan Zimmerman to a Troy Tulowitzki-type deal, Braun’s deal may have raised the bar.
- Squawking Baseball sees the recent trend in giving long-term deals to young stars and wonders if the absence of top-level free agents in a few years will drive up free agency prices. If that happens, players may stop signing these extensions and the market will correct itself…The point is valid, but these players will still become free agents eventually. The difference is only that they will be free agents in their age 30 season (approximately) instead of their age 28 season. If there is a correction, it will only be minimal and would only last a year or two.
- The Tribe Time Report explains why Matt Holliday would be a perfect fit for the Indians even if it is only for a season and a half.
- Friar Forum does not seem surprised about the notion of the Padres selling off pieces sooner, rather than later. However, they would be surprised to see Kevin Kouzmanoff moved, noting that it is much more likely that the slew of free agents-to-be will be shipped to other clubs.
- The Southpaw would love to see the Jays make a push for Khalil Greene, but their scenario is contingent on the Padres also dealing Kouzmanoff.
- Sorry we missed this before, but in light of Brian Sabean’s recent comments, I felt it was worth noting that Bucs Dugout has been running a series of polls to determine the worst GM in baseball. The finals featured Sabean easily out-distancing his opponent, Ed Wade of the Astros.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.