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Quick Hits: Pettitte, Granderson, Alomar Jr.

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Some late-night linkage for your reading pleasure as the Phillies and Rangers celebrate victories, and the Yankees appear poised to join them …

  • Former Yankees lefty Andy Pettitte is enjoying retirement is highly unlikely to return to pitching, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. "I feel the desire [to play] is gone," Pettitte said. "I am retired. I would never say never, but God would literally have to give me desire again… I’m really doing good. I just had a good peace about [retiring]."
  • Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News has an in-depth look at the three-way trade between the Yankees, Tigers and Diamondbacks following the 2009 season. There are some interesting insights within the piece regarding the relationships between the general managers, Brian Cashman, Dave Dombrowski and Josh Byrnes, and how they met face-to-face to complete the deal.
  • The White Sox will likely consider Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. for their managerial vacancy, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. We learned earlier today that Rays bench coach Dave Martinez is among the South Siders' primary targets.

AL West Notes: Angels, Beane, A’s Coaches

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A few items of note regarding AL West clubs, as the division's sole postseason representative, the Rangers, take on the Rays in Arlington.

  • Morale in the Angels' front office had waned under former GM Tony Reagins, who resigned Friday, sources tell Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, and the organization's direction seemed vague. Reagins may not have been ready for the job when he took over for former GM Bill Stoneman in 2007, Brown adds.
  • Elsewhere in Brown's piece, he reports that Stoneman, who has served as an advisor to the Angels since stepping down, will be part of the committee that searches for a new GM, but he will not return to the position, nor will Scioscia add that to his managerial duties. So, it seems certain the next GM will come from outside the organization.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com wonders whether A's GM Billy Beane could assume the GM role with the Angels. There'd be a lot to work through, as Beane is under contract through 2014 and wouldn't want to play second fiddle to Scioscia, but the Halos need another "significant voice," opines Rosenthal.
  • The Athletics will not bring back pitching coach Ron Romanick, hitting coach Gerald Perry and bench coach Joel Skinner in 2012, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Slusser speculates the A's will ask permission to speak to Reds pitching coach Bryan Price and Red Sox pitching coach Curt Young, who is under contract another year and might be a lame duck now that Terry Francona won't be back in Boston.

Central Notes: Fister, Pence, Cubs

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A few items of note regarding teams from MLB's Central divisions, as the Cards fall behind the Phils in Game 1 of the NLDS.

  • The Tigers preferred Doug Fister to Ubaldo Jimenez when they were shopping for a pitcher before the trade deadline, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Whether that's true, we'll probably never know, but Fister certainly pitched better for Detroit than Jimenez did for Cleveland after the deadline. The Mariners were originally hesitant to move Fister, according to Knobler, but Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski was persistent in pursuing the right-hander.
  • The Reds tried to acquire Hunter Pence from the Astros, according to Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News, and GM Walt Jocketty has said he thought he made a better offer to Houston than the one it eventually accepted from the Phillies. McCoy reports that the Astros wanted Devin Mesoraco and adds that lefty Aroldis Chapman was not available.
  • The Cubs remain in limbo while waiting to hire a new general manager, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, who notes that the fates of manager Mike Quade, his coaches, and several players are up in the air until someone takes the helm. The Cubs are unlikely to spend lavishly this offseason, according to Sullivan.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Roy Oswalt

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Late Thursday night, Phillies starter Roy Oswalt quietly joined the ranks of (likely) free agents. The right-hander is no longer considering retirement after this season, but the Phillies probably won't exercise their end of his $16MM mutual option for 2012, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, although they might be interested in bringing back Oswalt on a more affordable deal. To decline the option, the Phillies will have to pay Oswalt a $2MM buyout.

Oswalt, who turned 34 in August, joined the Phillies last season after ten years in Houston, where he was the staff ace. With the Phils, he's the fourth starter in an historically deep rotation, behind Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. No shame in being the fourth-chair violin in that orchestra.

Though he's 34 and has struggled with a back injury in 2011, Oswalt has been mostly sturdy throughout his career, making fewer than 30 starts only twice (2003 and '11) in ten full seasons. Along with that dependability, Oswalt has posted strong numbers: 3.22 ERA (3.35 FIP), 7.35 K/9, 2.09 BB/9 and a 47% groundball rate. Those figures earned him a five-year, $73MM extension with the Astros in 2006.

Since Oswalt makes $16MM this season, and the Phils won't be exercising their end of his $16MM mutual option, they obviously won't offer him arbitration. That will make him more attractive to suitors on the free-agent market, as any team that signs him won't have to forfeit compensatory draft picks (as MLBTR's latest Elias Rankings show, Oswalt projects as a Type A free agent).

As of now, it's tough to say what kind of contract Oswalt will be seeking this offseason, because we don't know how long he'll want to pitch. He has flirted with retirement before, so he might prefer to work on a year-to-year basis, not unlike the Dodgers' Hiroki Kuroda. In that case, there would be a lot of suitors for Oswalt's services, and he could probably sign with a contender for a salary in the neighborhood of Kuroda's $12MM. If Oswalt is happy with the Phils and wants to return to the stacked rotation for a year, he'd likely have to take a salary below market value — maybe $8MM or so — as the Phils are already on the hook for that $2MM buyout, not to mention their other financial commitments and likely pursuits of re-signing Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Madson, and extending Hamels.

If Oswalt wants a multiyear deal, there are two recent cases that make for interesting comparisons. Earlier this month, the Cardinals extended Chris Carpenter for two years and $21MM. I think Oswalt would have plenty of bidders at that price. Here's another: Two years ago, the Braves extended Tim Hudson, then only 16 months removed from Tommy John surgery, for three years and $28MM. Oswalt's eventual deal might compare favorably to either of those, since he will be negotiating with many teams rather than one, but they should provide a rough basis.

East Notes: Collins, Epstein, Phillies

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman's remarks regarding his feigned pursuit of Carl Crawford are creating some buzz today, unsurprisingly. Here are some other items of note out of the east …

  • The Mets will decide whether they'll exercise manager Terry Collins' 2013 option within the next 10 days, a source tells Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. The club will also have to decide on whether to bring back all of Collins' coaches, whose contracts are expiring, except for hitting coach Dave Hudgens.
  • Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told ESPNBoston.com that there's no "disconnect" between him and manager Terry Francona. The latter's job security has been a hot topic on talk radio shows and the like this week, what with the Red Sox owning just a two-game lead over the Rays in both the AL East and the AL Wild Card entering Friday's action. Boston, of course, appeared to be a lock for the postseason only a month ago.
  • The Phillies will lead the Major Leagues in attendance in 2011, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. With the second highest payroll in the big leagues at $175MM, the great turnout will certainly help pay some of the bills. The Phils sold out their 204th consecutive home game on Thursday, a stretch that dates back to 2009, according to Salisbury.

Diamondbacks Acquire Zagurski; Designate Vasquez

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The Diamondbacks have acquired left-handed reliever Mike Zagurski from the Phillies in exchange for a player to be named, Zagurski's agent tells Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Arizona announced it designated reliever Esmerling Vasquez for assignment in a corresponding 40-man-roster move.

Zagurski, 28, was among three players whom the Phillies designated for assignment last week. The southpaw pitched to a 2.65 ERA in 54 1/3 innings with Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season but has struggled in 37 career big league outings, posting a 6.82 ERA in parts of three seasons. His 10.2 K/9 rate is promising, but he struggles with his control (5.4 BB/9).

Arizona's magic number number to clinch the NL West is down to 1, but Zagurski, who will be added to the active roster for the regular season's balance, will not be eligible for the postseason roster.

Vasquez, 27, has posted a 4.66 ERA in 141 career Major League games, spanning parts of three seasons with Arizona. The Dominican right-hander was signed as an international free agent in 2003.

The Diamondbacks' active roster is currently at 33 after the moves. The 40-man roster is full.

Quick Hits: Oswalt, Dipoto, Conditioning

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The Phillies suffered their first sweep since August 2010 on Thursday night, but they got good news regarding the long-term outlook of one of their starting pitchers. More on that in this late-night grab bag of links …

  • Phillies righty Roy Oswalt's agent, Bob Garber, said that the 33-year-old is no longer considering retiring after this season, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Oswalt and the Phils have a $16MM mutual option for 2012, although Zolecki writes that it's unlikely the Phils will exercise their end of that deal. The Phils could bring back Oswalt on a lesser deal, however. In February, Oswalt, who has dealt with back injuries in recent years, said, "I'm going to play this year and see how it goes."
  • Diamondbacks senior vice president of scouting and development Jerry Dipoto has played an integral role in Arizona's resurgence this year, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The Snakes' former interim GM remained with the organization last offseason, even though he was a candidate for the full-time GM job and didn't get it. Dipoto was interviewed recently by Tim Dierkes as part of MLBTR's GM Candidates series, so be sure to check that out.
  • Teams are moving closer to monitoring their players' physical conditioning year-round, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, although the players' union likely won't care for it. Some executives are growing increasingly frustrated by players who report to Spring Training out of shape or let themselves go during the season, according to Olney.

Central Notes: Reds, Buehrle, Floyd

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Some late-night linkage regarding the Redlegs and Pale Hose:

  • Reds GM Walt Jocketty said that Cincinnati's payroll will increase in 2011, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, but they will only "bump it up a little." Fay speculates the Reds' payroll will increase from this year's $80.8MM to roughly $85MM in 2012, which would represent a similar hike from 2010's $76.1MM. Most of that, however, is accounted for in projected salary increases for players under contract. When asked whether he'd be shopping for big-ticket free agents this winter, Jocketty said "probably not."
  • White Sox lefty Mark Buehrle, an impending free agent, said moving to the National League is enticing to him, as it would represent a chance to face hitters who have seen him relatively few times, according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com. The 12-year veteran, who said he's willing to play for a few more years, has pitched exclusively in the AL Central, so those hitters have seen him a lot. Sounds like classic posturing, doesn't it? Buehrle, a Missouri native, has been rumored in the past to have designs on pitching for the Cardinals.
  • Buehrle's teammate Gavin Floyd could be a trade candidate this offseason depending on how the White Sox plan for 2012, writes Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Under team control through next season at a very reasonable price of $7MM (with a club option for 2013), Floyd would draw plenty of interest on the market.

East Notes: Blue Jays, Marlins, Nationals

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Here are a few items of note regarding the offseason plans for teams that reside in MLB's East divisions …

  • The Blue Jays will be more active on the trade market than in free agency this offseason, GM Alex Anthopoulous tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. “Philosophically speaking, if we want to improve the club, free agency is the last area I want to go to,” says Anthopoulos. Still, some in the organization feel the Jays need another starter, according to Davidi, and Yu Darvish remains a possible target. The Jays will also look to improve their bullpen.
  • The Marlins will interview Nationals third-base coach Bo Porter for their managerial vacancy this offseason, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Porter, 39, is considered a "rising star" among future managerial candidates, according to Kilgore, and could take over in Washington if Davey Johnson does not return as Nationals skipper in 2012.
  • As mentioned above, the Nationals could have a managerial vacancy of their own this offseason. Among the candidates to replace interim manager Johnson are first-base coach Trent Jewett, Triple-A Syracuse manager Randy Knorr, and Porter, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com.

NL West Notes: Kemp, Sanchez, Street, Villalona

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The first-place Diamondbacks had a magic number of 2 to clinch the NL West entering Thursday's action and could pop the champagne as soon as Friday. Here are some notes regarding three of the division's other ballclubs:

  • Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp, echoing what his agent said recently, told Beto Duran of ESPN 710 radio in Los Angeles that he hasn't yet begun discussing a possible contract extension with the club but he'd like to spend the rest of his career there (Twitter link). Kemp is eligible for free agency after 2012.
  • Giants lefty Jonathan Sanchez won't return in 2011 and may have thrown his last pitch for the Lads, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. The Giants may non-tender Sanchez, or, if they do go through the arbitration process with him, could decide to trade him for a bat, according to Baggarly. Sanchez, 28, dealt with injuries and ineffectiveness this season, making just 19 starts, while earning $4.8MM. Sanchez does possess a big arm, so he won't have trouble finding a new job if and when the Giants decide to move on.
  • The Rockies will seek a trade partner to offload closer Huston Street, perhaps in return for a starting pitcher, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. However, Renck notes it won't be easy to shop Street considering the depth of relief pitching on the free-agent market, so he could just as easily return to Colorado in 2012 (Twitter links).
  • Giants first base prospect Angel Villalona, who recently had murder charges against him dropped in his native Dominican Republic, has reportedly changed agents from Boras Corp. to Para Sports, tweets Baggarly. Para Sports represents Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon, as Baggarly notes, who also had murder charges against him dropped in the Dominican.

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