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Minor Moves: Juan Gutierrez

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We'll keep track of any minor transactions throughout the day right here…

  • The Royals have re-signed Juan Gutierrez according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy. The 29-year-old right-hander pitched to a 4.79 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 167 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks from 2007-2011 while briefly serving as their closer. Gutierrez posted a 10.45 ERA in 20 2/3 minor league innings this year while battling injury. Kansas City originally signed him last December.

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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Antonetti, Ortiz, Royals

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One year ago today, the Red Sox and Braves completed their September collapses on the final day of the regular season. Boston lost to the Orioles to allow the Rays to make the postseason while Atlanta fell to the Phillies, opening the door for the Cardinals to make their World Series run. With six days to go in the 2012 regular season, there are still six of ten playoff spots up for grabs and nine total teams within two games of them. Here's the latest from around the web…

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Astros Hire Bo Porter

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THURSDAY: The Astros officially announced that they've agreed to hire Porter.

WEDNESDAY: The Astros will name Nationals third base coach Bo Porter their new manager on Thursday morning, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Porter will remain with Washington until they complete their postseason run.

Porter, 40, has no managerial experience at the Major League level but has previously interviewed for the position with both the Marlins and Pirates. He's served as the Nats' third base coach since last season after holding the same position with he Diamondbacks in 2010. Porter served as Kirk Gibson's interim bench coach for part of that season as well.

Houston fired manager Brad Mills last month and has been run by interim manager Tony DeFrancesco since. GM Jeff Luhnow interviewed several candidates in recent weeks, including Rays bench coach Dave Martinez. DeFrancesco was also considered for the job on a full-time basis.

Quick Hits: Wolf, Taveras, Snider, Padres, Mariners

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The Orioles recalled Bill Hall today, placing Randy Wolf on the 60-day DL to create room on the 40-man roster. The 36-year-old southpaw has a torn elbow ligament, which usually requires Tommy John surgery. Wolf had the procedure back in 2005 and would likely miss all of 2013 if he has it again. Here's the latest from around the league…

  • Outfielder Willy Taveras is trying to get back to the big leagues after a year away from the game, writes MLB.com's Evan Drellich. "I just need a chance to get back in baseball. That's what I love, I love to play baseball," said the 30-year-old speedster.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos approached Travis Snider about a contract extension a few years ago, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Talks became less of a priority as the team focused on trading Vernon Wells and extending Jose Bautista, however.
  • Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune looked back at all the contract extensions the Padres handed out this year. Check out our Extension Tracker for the full list.
  • The Mariners have named Tom Allison their new director of pro scouting, the team announced. Allison had previously spent time in the Brewers' and Mets' front offices.

Hoyer: Cubs Will Be Active On Free Agent Market

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The Cubs are on pace to finish with the franchise's worst record in over 30 years, but that doesn't mean they will be passive this coming offseason as they rebuild. GM Jed Hoyer told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that the club will have financial flexibility and be active on the free agent market this winter.

“We will have financial flexibility,” Hoyer said. “We’ve been diligent to make sure we do have flexibility and we’re efficient going forward. We’ll obviously be active in the free agent market. That’s a big part of our research and work now is evaluating free agents. We have some money to spend and we’ll focus on it heavily.”

Chicago opened the season with a payroll north of $100MM, but pricey commitments to Carlos Zambrano and Marlon Byrd will come off the books this winter. Alfonso Soriano ($19MM) and Carlos Marmol ($9.8MM) figure to remain on the payroll next season, plus Matt Garza is heading into his fourth year of arbitration as a Super Two. He earned $9.5MM this year.

Hoyer and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein figure to seek short-term deals for any free agents, similar to the two-year, $10MM contract given to David DeJesus last offseason. Since they remain in rebuilding mode, any short-term commitments would be considered potential trade bait at next year's trade deadline as well.

Managerial Notes: Guillen, Valentine, Varitek, Rockies

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The 2012 regular season ends one week from today, and a slew of front office and coaching staff changes are sure to follow. It happens every year. Here's the latest managerial news from around the game…

  • The job of Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen "appears to be in serious peril," reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest appears safe, however.
  • "We've talked – not about that … Which makes me think I'm coming back," said Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine to WEEI.com's Alex Speier when asked if ownership has given him any indications about next year (Twitter link).
  • While the Red Sox and Jason Varitek are discussing a role in the organization, they are not talking about the manager's position according to Heyman.
  • Heyman hears that the Rockies plan to discuss their managerial position even though Jim Tracy agreed to an "indefinite" contract earlier this year. The club makes is sound like he is safe for the time being, however.

Coonelly: No Changes Coming For Pirates

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Pirates GM Neal Huntington and his front office staff have come under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks, as his club is mired in a second straight second half collapse that has them poised for a 20th consecutive losing season. Despite that, team president Frank Coonelly issued a statement endorsing Huntington and his staff on Wednesday. Here is the text, courtesy of Karen Price of The Pittsburgh Tribune Review:

“As soon as we finish this season as well as we possibly can, we will turn our full and total attention to evaluating why were unable to finish the job and what we must do differently to take the next step to becoming a championship team. There will unquestionably be changes made to the way in which we operate as a result of this thorough critical self-evaluation, but we will not be making personnel changes at the very top of our baseball operations department. Neal, [assistant GM Kyle Stark], [assistant GM Greg Smith] and [manager Clint Hurdle] are dedicated and intelligent baseball men in whom I have great confidence.

“Confidence in and support of Neal, Kyle and Greg should not be misunderstood with acceptance of another poor finish at the Major League level. We must understand why the quality of our execution and play deteriorated so markedly in August. Finishing was the focus from spring training but it certainly was not achieved.”

Last week we learned about a military-style training program implemented by Huntington and Stark for the club's top prospects. Few around the game will be surprised if the front office is overhauled, but Coonelly's statement suggests that the current regime will be given a chance to reap the rewards of a strong farm system that includes top pitching prospects Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon.

Huntington has been at the helm in Pittsburgh since the end of the 2007 season. The club has gone 330-561 under his watch with four last place finishes in five full years. Baseball America ranked the Pirates' farm system as the 26th best in baseball when Huntington was hired, and this past winter they had climbed to 11th. Five years is generally considered enough time to evaluate a rebuild though, and patience in the Steel City has certainly begun to wear thin.

The Latest On The Angels, Scioscia & Dipoto

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10:00pm: Dipoto weighed in with his sentiments on Sunday regarding Moreno's decision to retain him for a second season, writes Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times. The former Diamondbacks executive expressed that Saturday "was a nice day to get behind us and move forward from, to continue getting better as a group and play for this season, 2013 and beyond." The team enters Monday's play two and a half games behind the Athletics for the second Wild Card with only nine games remaining on the schedule. 

SUNDAY, 3:52pm: A day after owner Arte Moreno said Scioscia will return as manager, the Angels skipper told Lyle Spencer of MLB.com, "I have a commitment here. I love it here. I have a passion for it. I'm happy Arte feels the same way. We need to keep moving forward, getting better. There have been a lot of things floating around that weren't accurate. Now we can just concentrate on playing baseball."

Scioscia even addressed his relationship with Dipoto, "A lot of things being portrayed were inaccurate. The media can portray things any way you see them. You can portray a conversation as friction or two opinions. There's not a manager in baseball that doesn't have candid conversations with the general manager. Some people tried to portray my relationship with Jerry as something that's not accurate."

SATURDAY, 7:35pm: Moreno flatly told MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez that both Scioscia and Dipoto will be back next season. "These reports, wherever they're coming from, are [false]," he added.

12:19pm: The Angels ensured themselves of a winning season with last night's victory over the White Sox, but they remain 7.5 games back of the Rangers in the division race and 3.5 games back of a Wild Card spot. Earlier this week we heard that manager Mike Scioscia is "likely" to be the scapegoat if the club fails to make the postseason for a third straight year, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has more on the situation today…

  • Things between Scioscia and GM Jerry Dipoto are quite contentious. Communication between the two is strained, and the skipper briefly considered stepping down after long-time hitting coach Mickey Hatcher was fired in May.
  • At one point in August, Scioscia suggested to Dipoto that he should fire him if he was not satisfied with his job performance. Some in the organization believe it would be easiest if the manager simply left for another team.
  • Dipoto has more power than his predecessor (Tony Reagins) while Scioscia's pull within the organization has waned. The two disagree specifically about assistant GM Scott Servais, who Dipoto hired, and the team's recent emphasis on statistical analysis, among other things.
  • Scioscia is under contract through 2018 thanks to the ten-year, $50MM contract he signed prior to the 2009 season. He'll earn $6MM annually from 2016-2018.
  • Jeff Miller of The Orange County Register wrote more about the strain between Dipoto and Scioscia, though he believes the manager will be given one more year to turn things around.
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com says that owner Arte Moreno is not pleased with the job either Scioscia or Dipoto have done this season and is "expressing unhappiness behind the scenes."

Edward Creech and Daniel Seco contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Andrus, Blue Jays, Astros, Karstens

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Congratulations are in order for the Reds, who clinched their second NL Central title in the last three years with this afternoon's win over the Dodgers. Top offseason addition Mat Latos threw eight shutout innings in the win. Here's the latest from around the league as Saturday turns into Sunday…

  • The Rangers will not trade Elvis Andrus this winter, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). They haven't had any talks about moving him and don't plan to.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLB.com Gregor Chisholm that Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow are the only starters guaranteed a rotation spot next year (Twitter link). Both pitchers are signed to guaranteed multiyear contract extensions.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle that he will meet with owner Jim Crane and other front office members on Monday to "gauge the pace" of their managerial search.
  • Jeff Karstens has not started a game for the Pirates since August, and Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says (on Sulia) that it could be because the front office wants to get a longer look at some other starters. Karstens will earn $3.1MM this year and is a non-tender candidate.
  • Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times looked back at all the prospects traded by Ned Colletti during his tenure as Dodgers GM. Only two — Edwin Jackson and Steve Johnson — are playing important roles for contenders this year.

Rosenthal’s Full Count: Greinke, Dodgers, Pirates

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Here's the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, via his Full Count video…

  • The Dodgers did not try to acquire Zack Greinke before the trade deadline, but expect them to pursue him as a free agent this winter. They won't shy away from the best starter available despite concerns about his ability to pitch in a big market.
  • The Brewers spent roughly $180MM less on Aramis Ramirez than the Tigers spent on Prince Fielder, but Ramirez has provided similar production. The 34-year-old is hitting .299/.363/.536 with 25 homers and an NL-best 47 doubles.
  • Few in baseball will be surprised if changes are made to the Pirates front office given the club's second half slide and recent reports of Navy SEALS type training for their top prospects.
  • The Braves tried to acquire Greg Dobbs at the deadline, but the Marlins declined because they felt his presence was too important to the clubhouse. That was after the Hanley Ramirez trade, suggesting that other clubhouse issues exist.

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