In his first year back with Seattle, Griffey has a .221/.329/.399 line with 14 home runs and 43 RBI in 377 plate appearances. He has been the DH for 74 games and played 11 games in the outfield.

• Baltimore's Dave Trembley – "in imminent danger"
• Houston's Cecil Cooper – "appears a goner"
• Cleveland's Eric Wedge – his "future is very questionable"
• The Mets' Jerry Manuel – "forget it. He stays."

Miller also discusses the situation in Washington, D.C., where the Nationals must decide whether to retain interim manager Jim Riggleman.

Also of interest is Miller's mention of Bobby Valentine, who is about to leave Chiba Lotte in Japan after seven years. Miller says that Valentine is "the name to watch" on the managerial front. 

Who better to sort all of this out than our readers? First of all, who deserves to be out of a job when the 2010 begins? What should the Nats do with Riggleman? Where might Valentine find a job? Who will keep their managing job unjustly? Let's get at it in the comments section.

Williams says that he assured Thome that he would not be traded against his wishes. "He told me he was more interested in winning another ring than hitting 600 homers," the GM said. "We wanted to accomodate [him] so that he could finish the season the way he wanted."

Regarding Contreras, Williams says that manager Ozzie Guillen was not planning to start the pitcher down the stretch. "I thought this was a way to give him the opportunity to start and rebuild his value in the free-agent market," Williams said. 

According to Gammons, Rockies manager Jim Tracy, who "dealt with" Brad Penny when both were with the Dodgers, did not want the veteran starter on his staff although GM Dan O'Dowd had interest. So, O'Dowd turned to the White Sox for the starter he needed.

It would seem that the Braves have some decisions to make about their starting rotation going into next season. They currently have Hudson, Javier Vazquez, Derek Lowe, Kenshin Kawakami, Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson. 

According to Bowman, the Braves have a few different options. They could pay Hudson's $1MM buyout and let him go. They could attempt to trade Vazquez for prospects. They could even trade Kawakami for financial relief, though the return for him would be less than what Vazquez would bring. 

Bowman argues that if both Hudson and Vazquez stay with the Braves, Atlanta's rotation "would be deeper than any of the great ones it possessed during the 1990's." Do you agree? How should the Braves proceed?

• Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Phillies are still "mildly following" Nomar Garciaparra. Though Nomar would not be eligible to play in the postseason for Philadelphia, he might provide some depth down the stretch.
• Astros owner Drayton McLane "has fired more managers, general managers and coaches the last five years than any other owner in baseball," according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Justice posits that the axe might drop on someone new during the Astros' off day tomorrow. 
• The Tampa Tribune's Marc Lancaster talked to Rays owner Stuart Sternberg, who argued that the team's trade of Scott Kazmir was "not a salary dump" but "a reallocation of resources."

Kendall, who has caught the majority of Milwaukee's games for the last two seasons and is approaching free agency, has made it clear that he would like to return next year. "This is my first choice and they know that," Kendall said. "I really, really love it here."

Meanwhile, Rivera feels like he is ready for full-time duty. He is about to turn 33, but will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season. He hit well in limited duty last year and has hit .241 with 2 homers in 83 at-bats this year.

Salome has battled injuries this year, but posted a.360/.415/.559 line at AA Huntsville as a 22-year-old last season. According to McCalvy, he "should be ready to make the leap" from prospect to pro next year. 

McCalvy writes that the Brewers will not make any decisions until the offseason and that who will win the job is "anybody's guess."

• Keith Law of ESPN says that the Rockies should consider picking up Jon Garland.
• In the Detroit Free Press, Jamie Samuelsen argues that the Tigers should keep Magglio Ordonez in the lineup to maintain credibility with future free agents. 
• When asked whether Andy Pettitte will be brought back by the Yankees next year, ESPN's Buster Olney writes that "given how he's throwing, I'm sure it will happen." 
• And the White Sox's new acquisition, Jake Peavy, could start on Saturday against CC Sabathia and the Yankees, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. 

Sullivan writes that any team wishing to sign Harden will "probably" have to pony up $50-60MM over four years. That is a hefty sum for a starter who has made 20 starts in a season only twice since 2004. What do you think? Should the Cubs re-sign Harden? Should any team spend that much on a player with Harden's injury history? What other teams might be in the mix for Harden?

THURSDAY, 8:48pm: SI's Jon Heyman reports, via Twitter, that the Giants were the team that claimed Sheffield on waivers earlier this month.

6:23pm: David Lennon at Newsday reminds us that earlier this month, the Mets placed Sheff on waivers, but pulled him back when he was claimed. This means he cannot be traded; the Mets could release him or place him on irrevocable waivers and lose him if he is claimed.

5:57pm: Via Twitter, Sherman cites a Mets official who says that "Sheffield has not been released."

5:47pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post is reporting that Gary Sheffield and the Mets are at odds about his contract situation. Sherman cites "two sources" who say that Sheffield asked the team for a contract extension and was denied. The sources say he is now threatening to leave the team.

The two parties are now in discussions, according to Sherman, and the release of the aging outfielder is "a possibility." Sheffield was pulled from the roster for tonight's game, but Jerry Manuel said he pulled himself "to clear his head."

• 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.

The deal was initially reported to be for a player to be named later. As it turns out, the Padres had until September 1 to decide between a PTBNL and cash considerations.

• 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." 

Brock also notes that the Padres have signed reliever Rocky Cherry and sent him to Portland. Cherry most recently pitched in the Red Sox minor league system.

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.

• Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle writes that the Astros got good value in return for Pudge Rodriguez.
• John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer talks to Reds GM Walt Jocketty about the plan for his team's future.
• Kevin Kaduk at Yahoo.com argues that Scott Boras neither won nor lost the Strasburg contract negotiations. 
• Matthew Pouliot at NBCSports.com writes that the Royals "hit a new low" by demoting Alex Gordon.
• And Baseball America breaks down each team's total spending on the first ten rounds of the draft.