Rumors for September, 2010
Oakland A’s pick up manager Bob Geren’s option
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9/11 16:01: The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser says via Twitter that the option has officially been exercised for 2011.
9/11 15:32: According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, she tweets, “It sounds as if Bob Geren’s option has been picked up for next year.” An announcement from the team should come soon.
Geren, 48, is in his fourth season as the A’s manager. He has compiled a record of 296-329 for .474 winning percentage. He has not made the playoffs in his managerial career.
Mets assistant John Ricco not out of contention for GM job
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Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports said New York Mets John Ricco will not be the team’s next GM should the team fire current GM Omar Minaya. He added that the assistant GM is not quite ready to handle the role. However, the New York Daily News’ Andy Martino says that Ricco is not out of contention for the job at this time.
The Mets’ managerial position may be up for grabs too. Martino says incumbent manager Jerry Manuel is probably in his final weeks as manager, but the team has not yet determined his replacement. Martino confidentlly says, “it will certainly not be Bobby Valentine.”
Ken Rosenthal on Omar Minaya, Adrian Gonzalez, Detroit Tigers and Oakland A’s
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Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal’s Full Count Video:
- If the New York Mets decide to fire GM Omar Minaya, his assistant, John Ricco will not be the team’s next GM. The club has determined that Ricco is not quite ready to handle such a role.
- San Diego Padres owner said the team will not trade Adrian Gonzalez this winter. The Padres would like to keep the first baseman long-term and would be willing to give Gonzalez a three-year deal. However, Gonzalez would likely want something longer, and if the talks get out of control then he won’t be with San Diego for too long.
- The Detroit Tigers will be one team to watch this winter. The team only has about $54 million in commitments for next season. With that much flexibility, the Tigers could be players for Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn and Jayson Werth.
- The A’s don’t know if they’ll move their franchise from Oakland to San Jose, so their financial future is up in the air. With that said, the team has had difficulties attracting good free agent talent. One option for the A’s is to trade Vin Mazzaro to attract top name talent, but they’ll be reluctant to trade him.
Update – Jerry Dipoto and Kevin Towers top Diamondbacks GM wish list
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9/11 13:03: ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets:
The D-Backs aren’t going to spend a billion on their next GM, but if they decide they want Kevin Towers is going to be their guy, they’ll spend the $ necessary to hire him.Decision among Towers, DiPoto, Logan White,others likely to come within the next couple of weeks.
9/10 11:34: A Major League cource close to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports says the Diamondbacks are expressing significant interest in Kevin Towers becoming the Diamondbacks next GM.
Towers has yet to meet with club officials, and his salary will be one of the stumbling blocks.
“If the money’s right, he’ll go,” one source said . “He doesn’t like sitting on the sidelines.”
9/10 01:20: Interim general manager Jerry Dipoto and former San Diego Padres GM Kevin Towers top Arizona Diamondbacks’ GM wish list, according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.
Piecoro says the Diamondbacks have been more competitive since Dipoto took over the team in July. The Diamondbacks’ superiors have been happy with the job that Dipoto did at the July 31st trade deadline. Among Dipoto’s accomplishments this season include the: Dan Haren trade with the Los Angeles Angels, Edwin Jackson trade with the Chicago White Sox, Chad Qualls trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Chris Snyder trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
One drawback could be the ownerships need to separate itself from the previous regime and start fresh. If that’s the case then Dipoto would be eliminated from being the full-time GM.
Towers, 48, spent 14 seasons as the GM of the San Diego Padres, building four division winners. Piecoro points out that Towers has a reputation for making savvy trades – getting first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and pitcher Chris Young from Texas for pitchers Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka in 2006 is one of the best deals in recent history – and for constructing bullpens.
Towers point come cheap and there will likely be competition for his employments, perhaps with the New York Mets.
Another candidate would be 47-year-old Logan White. White is currently the assistant GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers and is regarded as one of the better talent evaluators in the game. He headed up the selections of Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Russell Martin, Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton and James Loney, among others.
Fake Cubs Press Release rips GM Jim Hendry
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It looks like a disgruntled fan had access to the press box at Milwaukee’s Miller Park, and decided to play a prank on Chicago Cubs’ GM Jim Hendry by inserting a game day press release describing a fake book authored by the GM.
The release said (via Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune):
“A new book certain to be a best seller” was the fake book title: “How to Finish Near Last Place with the Highest Payroll in the League.”
“Read in Jim Hendry’s own words how the Chicago Cubs managed to finish near the bottom of the National League Central; Division with the highest payroll in the National League.”
“Why I signed Milton Bradley!”
“Why I released Casey McGehee only to see him hit 20 home runs and drive in nearly 100 runs for a division rival!”
“Why I hired former Pittsburgh general manager Dave Littlefield, the man who helped make the Pirates what they are today, as my special assistant!”
“How I botched the recall of Micah Hoffpauir from our minor league team in Iowa by losing track of the number of days that he was in the minors!”
“Why I signed players to long-term contracts with limited trade options!”
The release ended with the sentence: “Reserve your copy today!”
About three dozen copies were inserted along side the Cubs and Brewers press notes.
Doubtful that Nationals will pick up Adam Kennedy’s option for 2011
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With the arrival of second baseman Danny Espinosa to the Washington Nationals, it now appears doubtful that the team will exercise Adam Kennedy’s option for 2011, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson says. The team option for 2011 is valued at $2 million.
“I haven’t played great, and it’s time to see what Danny can do,” Kennedy said. “I don’t have any problem with that at all. If I had started out a little better, things would have been different. It didn’t and I never fully recovered.
Kennedy was playing everday, but lost his job by late May to Cristian Guzman and then eventually Espinosa. The 34-year-old is hitting .252/.321/.335 with three home runs and 30 RBIs for the Nationals this year.
Former Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch to head Padres scouting department
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A source close to MLB.com said (via Barry M. Bloom) that the San Diego Padres are close to hiring former Arizona Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch to head their scouting department. The Padres and the Diamondbacks are working on the financials of the deal since Hinch is under contract with Arizona for two more years at a total of $1.3 million. If signed, Hinch will be the Padres’ vice president in charge of scouting.
“He’s been talking to other teams about front office and coaching positions,” GM Jed Hoyer said about Hinch. “Since nothing with us has been finalized, commenting about it would be inappropriate.”
Hinch, 36, was fired by the D-Backs on July 2 and replaced by interim manager Kirk Gibson. Since that time he has spent the summer talking with a number of Major League teams to determine his worth on the field and in an executive capacity.
Pittsburgh Pirates release INF Akinori Iwamura
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According to a tweet by Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Pirates have unconditionally released infielder Akinori Iwamura.
In a separate move, catcher Erik Kratz has cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Both Iwamura and Kratz were designated for assignment by the Pirates earlier this week. Iwamura, 30, was hitting .182/.292/.267 in 54 games for the Pirates this season. Kratz, 30, was 4-for-34 in nine games for the Pirates in 2010.
Detroit Tigers Jhonny Peralta to be with team in 2011?
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If the last 20-games for Jhonny Peralta are an indication of what he can provide to the Detroit Tigers in a full season, it would be a no-brainer for the team to exercise the shortstop’s $7.25 million team option for next year. Thought to only be a rental, Peralta has been hitting .360 with three home runs and 19 RBIs since August 19, according to Steve Kornacki of mlive.com.
Late last month, Peralta made his desire to stay in Detroit public.
“I want to be here,” Peralta said. “I hope they pick up the option. But I want to be here. I like everybody here.”
Given the lack of shortstop talent that will be free agents after this season, it would be a good invest for the Tigers to pick up the option rather than settle for someone like Miguel Tejada.
“I want to come back, and I know I can do a good job here,” Peralta said. “They give me a lot of confidence here.”
Entering Friday’s game, Peralta, 28, is hitting .254/.319/.410 between his time with the Indians and the Tigers this season. He’s making $4.6 million in the final season of his five-year contract.
Kansas City Royals sign former Dolphins QB Pat White
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According to a source close to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Kansas City Royals have signed former Miami Dolphins’ and West Virginia Mountaineer quarterback, Pat White to a Minor League contract.
The Royals understand that White is interested in returning to football, so the team will be flexible in letting him return to football if an opportunity arises.
White has been a pick in the baseball amateur draft multiples times, most recently by the New York Yankees in 2009 (48th round).
