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Archives for September 2010

Pelfrey Open To Extension With Mets

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Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey is open to a contract extension with the club, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.  The righthander will be under Mets control until 2014 but would like to remain in Queens for even longer.

"I would be interested," the 26-year-old said about the possibility of a contract extension. "They'd have to bring it up, but I'm sure we'll explore it. I'm definitely open to it."

Despite Pelfrey's interest, the Mets have not approached Pelfrey about an extension.  The hurler will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter.  While Pelfrey seems to like the idea of signing a long-term deal which would buy out his remaining arbitration years and beyond, his agent Scott Boras probably feels differently.

Pelfrey's four-year, $5.25MM contract with New York expired prior to this season.  The righty is making just $500K for the 2010 season, his best to date.  Pelfrey has registered a 3.75 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 31 starts.

Odds & Ends: Pettitte, Marlins, Laird, Pirates, Ely

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Sunday links, as the Rays look to extend their league-best winning streak to five games….

Bonderman Not Expecting Return To Detroit

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When free-agent-to-be Jeremy Bonderman was asked whether he believes he'll be a Detroit Tiger next season, his response was candid. "In all honesty, probably not," the right-hander told Tom Gage of The Detroit News (Twitter link).

Although Bonderman was drafted by the Athletics, he was soon traded to Detroit and has spent his last eight years with the Tigers. The 27-year-old told Gage earlier in the month that he'd like to stay with the club if they want to bring him back: "I love the team, love the guys, love the organization from the owner down. It's been a great place for me." His latest comments, however, indicate that either he doesn't feel the interest is mutual or he's still considering retirement, as he suggested in July.

Bonderman has made 28 starts for the Tigers in 2010, recording a 5.18 ERA to go along with 6.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.

Cafardo On Diamondbacks, Lee, Ortiz, Byrnes

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In his latest column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo writes that the Phillies have to be considered World Series favorites heading into the postseason. Here are the other items of interest in Cafardo's piece:

  • Discussing his new team, Kevin Towers hinted that he may want to shake up the Diamondbacks' strikeout-heavy lineup: "Personally, I like contact hitters. I like guys with good pitch recognition. Strikeouts are part of the game, but if you have four, five, or six guys in your lineup, it’s hard to sustain any sort of rally."
  • According to Cafardo, moving Carlos Lee to first base helps the Astros by not only improving Lee's trade value, but also making their outfield more athletic. I agree on the second point, but I don't think Lee has any trade value until he improves his career-low .701 OPS.
  • Cafardo adds that if Lee can play first base for a National League club, there's reason to believe David Ortiz could do it too.
  • Former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes has spoken to six different teams about job opportunities in their organizations, and was asked for advice by a few clubs at this year's trade deadline. The Red Sox and Indians are among the teams interested in Byrnes.

Odds & Ends: Webb, Pirates, Ozzie, Pena, Mets, Lopez

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Some links to check out after the Rangers clinched their first AL West title since 1999…

Tigers Will Look To Sign Relievers This Offseason

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The Tigers bullpen was depleted by the injuries to Bobby Seay, Joel Zumaya, and Zach Miner this season, and even though Phil Coke and Ryan Perry have stepped up and gotten big outs for manager Jim Leyland, they're still going to look for relievers this winter according to MLB.com's Jason Beck. He notes that Detroit's bullpen seemed to lack "big-game experience," something they're sure to find on the open market.

"The free-agent market, we're going to look for some relievers," said Leyland. "We need help, and that's where we're going to get it, we think. We're hoping to get it through maybe some free agency."

Leyland did qualify his statement however, saying that signing some bullpen help was not a certainty. Clearly though, the bullpen is high on his list of priorities, and you can be sure GM Dave Dombrowski will oblige.

The free agent market offers plenty of relief help, none better than Rafael Soriano. Of course Detroit is set at closer with Jose Valverde, so chances are the club will pass on the Rays' ace reliever. J.J. Putz, Jesse Crain, Grant Balfour, Joaquin Benoit, and Matt Guerrier represent the best of the setup arms while Scott Downs and Arthur Rhodes highlight the lefthanded group. 

The Tigers have a boatload of cash coming off the books after the season, more than $50MM from the expiring contracts of Magglio Ordonez, Jeremy Bonderman, Dontrelle Willis, and Nate Robertson alone. If they want to make a big time free agent splash or two to help the bullpen, they'll certainly have the means to do it.

Brewers Sign Mark DiFelice

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The Brewers have signed righthander Mark DiFelice to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training next season according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. He is already pitching in the team's instructional league program in Arizona.

The 34-year-old DiFelice has not pitched at all this season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder. He proved to be a valuable setup man for the Brew Crew in 2009, turning in 51.2 innings of 3.66 ERA ball with an 8.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. DiFelice did that largely on the strength of a cut fastball, which FanGraphs says he threw a whopping 81.6% of the time.

The Brewers have had some success bringing back injured pitchers, most notably Chris Capuano this season.

Dipoto “Likely” To Remain With Diamondbacks

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4:46pm: Fanhouse's Tom Krasovic reports that Dipoto is likely to remain within the Diamondbacks organization.

Towers met with Dipoto for four hours and came away with a great impression and respect for the interim GM. He's told Dipoto that he'd like him to remain in the organization as the team's vice president of scouting and player development. Towers also said he liked the trades made by Dipoto in his run as general manager, and feels that Dipoto will be a permanent GM someday.

The decision is up to Dipoto now, but according to Krasovic, indications are strong that he will accept the position sometime within the next ten days.

9:23am: When the Diamondbacks gave their vacant general manager job to Kevin Towers earlier this week, interim GM and long time executive Jerry Dipoto informed the team that he would not remain with the club and move on. He may be changing his mind, however, as sources tell FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi that Dipoto and the D-Backs are in discussions to keep him in the organization in a "high-level position." One source even said the odds of him remaining were as high as 80%.

Club president Derrick Hall didn't offer a prediction as to whether Dipoto would return or not, but he is known to have a "great affinity" for him. Dipoto's familiarity with the organization could ease Towers' transition period. Morosi says that Dipoto could choose to remain if he buys into Towers' plan because he knows at some point another GM job will come his way. The Mets are far and away the most likely club to be looking for a new GM this offseason. 

One industry person told Morosi that Towers and Dipoto have different philosophies when it comes to assessing talent. In his ESPN chat earlier this week (Insider req'd.), Keith Law said that Towers' strength was "big league trades" while his weakness was "the draft and the farm system." He then called Dipoto "an excellent choice [at GM] for a team looking to rebuild its farm system through the draft," and said "he's a very open-minded guy with a strong interest in using data to increase the effectiveness of his team's scouting efforts."

Rosenthal’s Full Count: Beltre, Scioscia, Crawford, Lopez

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Ken Rosenthal has his Saturday Full Count Video up over at FOX Sports. Let's check out the highlights:

  • The Red Sox would love to keep Adrian Beltre around, but at the right price. The alternative is still attractive: shift Kevin Youkilis to third base, find a first baseman for a season, and then pursue one of the big-name free agents such as Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, or Prince Fielder. My own speculation here, but the Red Sox could of course look to trade for Fielder this offseason and then extend him.
  • Angels manager Mike Scioscia's ten-year contract extension with the Angels that he signed in 2009 is worth a whopping $50MM. Rosenthal had the dollar amount confirmed by two different sources. Scioscia can opt out after 2015, and each of the last three seasons is worth $6MM. That's one pricey manager.
  • If Carlos Lee's move to first base becomes permanent, the Astros will have an opening in left field for Houston native Carl Crawford. As Rosenthal points out though, it's pretty hard to envision the Astros outbidding other suitors like the Angels and Red Sox.
  • The Cardinals felt it was so important to get Felipe Lopez out of the clubhouse, that they forfeited the chance to acquire a supplemental round pick for him and simply released the infielder. The Red Sox reaped the benefits of that decision when they signed him for around $50K.

Manager & Coaching Notes: Astros, Cubs, Jays

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Lots of talk about managers and coaches floating around today; let's congregate them all in one place:

  • In this series of tweets, MLB.com's Alyson Footer tells us that the Astros offered their whole coaching staff two-year extensions. All were accepted, aside from Jeff Bagwell, who will decide on his in the offseason after talking more with his family.
  • Astros manager Brad Mills, who is signed through 2011 with a club option for 2012, will have his situation formally addressed this offseason as well. Footer thinks it's a formality, calling Mills "terrific" and saying he'll be in Houston beyond 2012.
  • Bob Brenly is not a candidate to manage the Cubs in 2011, writes MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Brenly doesn't feel that the situation is right for him on a personal or professional level. He will, however, still talk to other clubs.
  • Yankees third base coach Rob Thomson told Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links) that he hasn't heard from the Blue Jays about their managerial opening, and won't discuss it until the season is over. For now, he's staying focused on New York's postseason run.

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