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Ted Lilly

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Wood, D’Backs, A’s

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Links for Wednesday, as the Yankees try to prolong their season…

  • Baseball sources tell Ken Gurnick of MLB.com that the Dodgers are likely to bring Trey Hillman aboard as their bench coach.
  • Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald wonders if Kerry Wood could have made a difference for the BoSox.
  • Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks are expected to name Ray Montgomery their new scouting director.  Montgomery has spent the last eight years in the Brewers organization.
  • Bryce Harper will bat seventh in his Arizona Fall League debut tonight, according to the Nationals Baseball Media Relations department (via Twitter).
  • The A's have announced several staff changes via press release.  Gerald Perry has been welcomed back as hitting coach in place of Jim Skaalen.  Joel Skinner, a longtime member of the Indians coaching staff, will take over as bench coach.  Former bench coach Tye Waller will be reassigned as the first base coach.  Waller replaces Todd Steverson who has been offered a position in the A's farm system.
  • Mark McGwire is on the fence about returning as the Cards hitting coach, Tony La Russa told Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch.
  • Former Angels scouting director Eddie Bane will join the Tigers scouting department, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (on Twitter).
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck introduces us to Tigers assistant GM Al Avila, the longtime Detroit exec who remains a GM candidate. The Tigers recently declined to let the Mets interview Avila. 
  • If you play fantasy baseball, head over to RotoAuthority, where Tim Dierkes examines the impact of Ted Lilly's new deal on the lefty's fantasy value.
  • It doesn't look like Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima will become available to MLB teams this year, according to reports passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (Twitter link).
  • Cubs GM Jim Hendry told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that he will "absolutely" welcome Ryne Sandberg back to Chicago's minor league system if the Hall of Famer wants to continue working his way to the major leagues. Sandberg, a finalist for the Cubs major league job, was disappointed when the team hired Mike Quade.
  • Brewers managerial candidate Pat Listach was pleased with his interview, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.

Dodgers Sign Ted Lilly

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The Dodgers have signed Ted Lilly to a three-year, $33MM contract that was finalized today when the 34-year-old pitcher passed a physical.  Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) reports that Lilly has a full no-trade clause for the first two seasons of the deal, and the left-hander will receive a $3.5MM signing bonus to be paid out over all three years.  Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com broke the news of the agreement last Saturday, and MLB.com's Ken Gurnick was the first to confirm the dollar amount (both Twitter links).

Los Angeles acquired Lilly from the Cubs at the trade deadline this summer, and watched him post a 3.52 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in dozen starts (76.2 innings). He also threw his first complete game shutout since 2004 while in a Dodgers' uniform. Lilly just wrapped up the four year, $40MM contract he signed with Chicago before the 2007 season. 

Lilly projected to be a Type-A free agent, so the Dodgers will be forfeiting a chance at two high draft picks with the move. Of course they would have had to offer arbitration and Lilly would have had to turn it down for that to happen, and neither of those things was a given. 

Lilly was positioned to be one of the best free agent starting pitchers available, and Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (via Twitter) calls the signing a "bargain" for Los Angeles considering what Lilly could've earned on the open market.  Apparently he preferred to sign quickly, and given how the market played out last offseason, it's hard to blame him.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Choo, Nationals, Lee, Pujols

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Links for Tuesday night, as Cliff Lee and the Rangers look to advance to the ALCS….

Ted Lilly Seeks Three-Year Deal

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The agent for Ted Lilly anticipates mutual interest between his client and the Dodgers, but suspects other teams might make better offers.

“I’m just not sure the Dodgers at this point are going to get to a range that will be very easy for us to achieve come December,” agent Larry O’Brien told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. “I’m pretty confident that there’s a minimum three-year deal out there for Ted.”

Lilly, who turns 35 in January, has pitched well for the Cubs and Dodgers this season. He has an overall ERA of 3.71 with 7.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 186.2 total innings. He and teammate Hiroki Kuroda will be among the more appealing free agent starters not named Cliff Lee.

As Rosenthal points out, Lilly currently projects as a Type A free agent, but not by much. It may not matter, since the Dodgers would have to offer arbitration to obtain compensation picks and that doesn’t seem likely given their recent history.

Dodgers Notes: Gibbons, McCourts, Lilly

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Some news items as the Dodgers do battle with the D'Backs tonight…

  • Jay Gibbons is expected to be re-signed by L.A., writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.  Gibbons may get some interest from Japanese teams, but it seems likely the California native will stay close to home.
  • There has been no settlement yet in the ongoing McCourt divorce case, tweets the Los Angeles Times' Dylan Hernandez.  The trial continues on Monday.
  • The Dodgers could be setting themselves up for a future bad contract if they re-sign Ted Lilly to a long-term deal, warns Jon Weisman of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Lilly, D’Backs, Crawford

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On this date in 1990, the Dodgers signed Miguel Cairo as an amateur free agent. These days, Cairo's playing all around the diamond for the Reds, as they approach their first playoff berth since 1995. Here are today's links…

  • Pirates president Frank Coonelly has “veto authority, but he most definitely does not do any of the day-to-day GM work,” according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported earlier in the day that some baseball people see Coonelly as the team’s de facto GM.
  • Ted Lilly and the Dodgers have an understanding that they'll talk about a new deal after the season, when Lilly hits free agency, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
  • The D'Backs appear to want a GM whose forte is scouting and player development, according to Olney (on Twitter).
  • Houston native Carl Crawford told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he likes Houston and has nothing against the Astros. Crawford, who hits free agency this winter, says his friends see him playing for a winner. Despite their strong second half, the Astros are five games below .500.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that the Blue Jays are being "incredibly open-minded" as they search for their next field manager.

Dodgers Notes: Kemp, Ethier, Loney, Free Agents

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It's been an eventful week for the Dodgers, with news that Don Mattingly will replace Joe Torre as the team's manager. Let's check out a few more updates out of Los Angeles, as the club prepares for the offseason….

  • GM Ned Colletti says he doesn't intend to drastically overhaul his roster this winter, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. "A year like this makes you look at every aspect of the team and makes you more apt to listen [to trade overtures]," Colletti said. "But it won't make me aggressively tear it up."
  • Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times thinks that Colletti would be right not to move Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier, but argues that the club should look into dealing James Loney. He also suggests that signing a free agent outfielder should be the Dodgers' "only big winter expenditure."
  • According to Gurnick, Colletti would like to add a productive left fielder to replace Manny Ramirez. It's unclear whether the Dodgers will have the resources to bid on players like Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth.
  • Catcher and third base also may be areas that need to be addressed, says Gurnick. Rod Barajas will be a free agent, Russell Martin will be recovering from a broken hip, and Casey Blake could be shifted into a utility role.
  • The team is expected to try to retain free agents Ted Lilly, Jay Gibbons, and Barajas. They could also attempt to bring back Hiroki Kuroda and Vicente Padilla, depending on asking price and health.
  • A few longtime Yankees weighed in on Torre's decision to step down, as Chad Jennings of the Journal News writes.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Francoeur, Lilly, Loney

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On this date two years ago, instant replay was used for the first time in baseball history, resolving a fair or foul call on an Alex Rodriguez home run against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Third base umpire Brian Runge originally called the ball a homer, and that call stood upon further review. Numerous umpire gaffes have some clamoring for expanded use of instant replay, but so far Major League Baseball hasn't budged. 

Here's a look at what's been written around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Heyman On Fielder, Kemp, Mets, Jeter

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In his latest column for Sports Illustrated, Jon Heyman writes that the waiver trade deadline was a dud outside of the Manny Ramirez claim by the White Sox.  Even though the waiver trade deadline was somewhat quiet, this offseason should bring us plenty of interesting storylines.  Here's what Heyman has in hot stove news..

  • The Brewers are still holding out hope that they can re-sign Prince Fielder.  Meanwhile, others in baseball believe that they have virtually no chance of retaining the slugger.  Milwaukee's chances of hanging on to Fielder took a hit when the Twins re-upped Joe Mauer for $180MM.  Fielder wants at least that much but it's likely too rich for Milwaukee's blood. 
  • Heyman hears that Matt Kemp is seeking a deal with the Dodgers similar to Nick Markakis' contract.  Markakis inked a six-year, $66MM extension with the O's in January of 2009.  In fact, as a center fielder with power, Kemp sees himself as more valuable.  However, the soon-to-be 26-year-old knows that he won't get that kind of deal with the Dodgers.
  • Speaking of the Dodgers, Heyman says that it's tough to envision Ted Lilly approaching the $12MM salary he got from the Cubs.
  • Mets GM Omar Minaya has told friends that he enjoys scouting and talent evaluation.  Heyman wonders aloud if this is a precursor to Minaya has accepted that he will be assigned to a new position.  Some in the organization wonder if owner Fred Wilpon traveling to the minors with assistant GM John Ricco means that the Mets intend to elevate Ricco to the GM position.  It's possible, however, that Ricco was just assisting on a scouting mission.
  • It's hard to quantify Derek Jeter's value to the Yankees though early guesses of him earning $25MM per season in his next contract seem high at the moment.
  • Unsurprisingly, Heyman writes that Texas will non-tender Jeff Francoeur this offseason.

Dodgers, Lilly To Pursue Extension

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The Dodgers intend to pursue a multiyear deal with Ted Lilly, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the interest is mutual.  Rosenthal adds that Lilly wanted to sign with the Dodgers in the 2006-07 offseason, but they went with Jason Schmidt.

Lilly, 35 in January, has a 3.29 ERA, 8.5 K/9, and 1.4 BB/9 with six home runs allowed in six starts with the Dodgers since coming over from the Cubs on July 31st.  He made his season debut on April 24th due to arthroscopic shoulder surgery in November.  Lilly projects as a Type A free agent after the season, but it could be a moot point if his agents at Full Circle Sports Management hammer something out with the Dodgers before December.  Lilly's four-year, $40MM deal with the Cubs was signed in December of '06, a more freewheeling time for free agency.  He figures to accept fewer years, but probably won't take much of a salary cut.

Rosenthal also notes that the Dodgers "never engaged in serious discussions with the Padres" after the Friars won the claim on Hiroki Kuroda.

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