Rumors for September, 2010
Hitoshi Tamura interested in playing for MLB
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33-year-old Japanese outfielder Hitoshi Tamura is exploring a move to Major League Baseball as a free agent this winter, according to a source close to ESPN.com and Jerry Crasnick.
Tamura is open to talking with all 30 clubs, but has an interest in singing with a club from the West Coast. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians are said to have scouted Tamura.
The All-Star from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawaks leads the team with a .324 batting average, .924 OPS, 27 home runs and 89 RBIs.
Will White Sox re-sign A.J. Pierzynski?
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Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski will be a free-agent after the season, and he isn’t sure if his future will be with the Sox or another team. There’s though that Chicago could shed some payroll for 2011, but sources close to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley say that general manager Ken Wiliams may have more spending money than what was originally thought.
If the team decides to not re-sign Pierzynski, they could go with rookie Tyler Flowers, but given his inexperience it may be tough for the team to hand over an experienced pitching staff to him. The team also would be playing Flowers more in the final month of this season.
Pierzynski has made it clear that he would like to finish his career in Chicago.
”Everyone knows where I stand with the White Sox and the people and the city,” Pierzynski said. ”I’ve never said that I don’t want to come back. The door is open. But we’ll see what happens. It takes two to do that, make it possible. We’ll see where it goes.
Next 5 games could be Jason Varitek’s last with the Red Sox
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Jason Varitek’s 14 year career with the Boston Red Sox is likely to coming down to five more games. The 38-year-old team captain knows that it’s unlikely Boston will retain him for next season.
“It’s there,” he said, according to the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham. “That’s obvious. I mean, I try not to think about it and I hope you guys don’t ask me too much about it over the weekend. But it’s there. Definitely, it’s there.”
Although Boston does not have a starting catcher set for 2011, the team is fully prepared to go into next season with Jarrod Saltalamacchia as the backup catcher. The team will need to figure out whether they are going to re-sign Victor Martinez to a long-term deal this winter.
It may not be easy for Varitek to be employed next season. Several catchers will hit the free-agent market in about a month including Yorvit Torrealba, Bengie Molina, John Buck, Miguel Olivo, David Ross, Matt Treanor and Rod Barajas. The Florida Marlins are looking for a full-time catcher, but they may try to acquire a younger backstop such as Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Napoli.
If these next five days are Varitek’s last in a Major League uniform, he’ll have accumulated more than 1476 games played, two World Series rings and $65 million in salary.
Los Angeles Angels RHP Scot Shields likely to retire
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The last link to the Los Angeles Angels 2002 World Series team, right-handed pitcher Scot Shields, is leaning towards retirement, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Mike DiGiovanna.
“I would say probably,” Shields said. “There’s a business and a personal side of it. From the business side, you look at the bullpen and you can see all the young relievers they have coming up.
Shields expressed his likelihood of retiring earlier this month. At the time he said his family will be a factor as to whether he’ll pitch again.
The 33-year-old was shut down after September 7 because of a sore elbow. He won’t pitch again this season.
“It was a lot of fun, and we had a lot of success as a team,” said Shields. “I was fortunate to be on a team that has missed the playoffs only three times since 2002. It’s always been fun to come to work here.”
MLB Manager Rumors: Ken Macha, Willie Randolph and Kirk Gibson
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Here are a few rumors regarding possible managerial changes from ESPN’s Buster Olney:
Brewers manager Ken Macha will unlikely be retained. Bench coach Willie Randolph could be Macha’s successor, but he’s not expected to take the job. Earlier this week, GM Doug Melvin said he would make his plans public regarding Macha’s future after the team’s final game.
There’s a high probability that Kirk Gibson will be retained as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ manager. Last week, source close to FOXSports’ Jim Bowden said that the Arizona Diamondbacks were beginning negotiations with Gibson. Should the negotiations go as planned, the team would remove the interim tag and make Gibson the permanent manager of the Diamondbacks.
Gene Orza, MLB Players Union Executive, to retire
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MLB Players Union Executive Gene Orza announced his retired today with plans to retire as of March 31, 2011, according to AOL FanHouse. Orza, currently the union’s chief operating officer, was the right-hand man to longtime MLBPA chief Donald Fehr. Fehr was replaced last year by Michael Weiner.
“Each day since Don Fehr’s resignation has only served to reaffirm just how fortunate the players are to have a person like Michael to succeed him, and seeing the enormously talented people he’s been able to bring on board — well, it’s simply time for the old to make way for the new,” Orza said in a statement.
Orza played a role in negotiating the 2002 compromise that lead to drug testing in players.
“For nearly three decades, Gene has represented Major League baseball players with unparalleled passion and determination,” Weiner said in a statement. “Every player in the game has benefitted from Gene’s intelligence, creativity and fortitude. Personally, I owe a tremendous debt to Gene for all he has taught me about being a labor lawyer and for all the kindnesses he has shown to my family and me.”
Will Texas Rangers $3 billion TV deal allow them to re-sign Cliff Lee?
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The Texas Rangers signed a 20-year extension with FOX Sports Southwest that will guarantee the team $3 billion, according to three high-ranking baseball officials close to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. That translates to $150 million a year before considering other sources of income such as MLB revenue sharing, ticket sales and concessions.
So what does this mean to the Rangers? Will the Rangers be able to re-sign Cliff Lee or bring in a big name such as free-agent outfielder Jayson Werth or Carl Crawford?
To put it in comparison, the big market Los Angeles Dodgers make about $45 million a year of their TV deal from FOX, and the Rangers’ deal is three times that.
New owner Chuck Greenberg smiled, but did not comment about the specifics of the deal.
“I think this franchise is in pretty good shape,” says Michael Young,
Washington Nationals unlikely to re-sign Adam Dunn
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According to sources close to MASN’s Ben Goessling, the Washington Nationals will unlikely re-sign Adam Dunn before he becomes a free-agent in about a month.
Dunn prefers a four-year deal, but is open to a three-year deal with the Nationals. The team is reluctant because they view his defense too much of a liability.
“I can tell you the only person in the front office who wants to resign him is the owner,” said one scout.
One source says he expects Dunn to get a four-year deal on the open market for something in the $60 million range.
Team sources says the Nationals are high on Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Carlos Pena and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth – both free agent after the season.
Adrian Gonzalez would be interested in Cubs if Chicago made an offer
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Could Adrian Gonzalez be in a Cubs uniform when he becomes a free agent after the 2011 season?
”There’s definitely a lot of positives about Chicago that if they made an offer, I would be interested in it,” said Gonzalez, according to the Chicago Sun-Times Gordon Wittenmyer.
Gonzalez could fetch a salary well into the eight-figures per season – a number that the small-market Padres could not afford. There were talks that Gonzalez was going to be traded last winter and had the Padres not been competitive this season, he likely would have been traded this summer, but all that changed when the Padres unexpectedly were at the top of the National League West.
”Chicago’s a great town, and they have great fans, and I like the fact that it’s a small ballpark. I know the wind can play against you, but it can play for you, too. There’s definitely some positives. And my wife loves Chicago, for the shopping.”
Gonzalez, 28, is making an affordable $4.75 million this season and is under contract for 2011 for $5.5 million.
Chad Tracy could be back with Marlins in 2011
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Third baseman Chad Tracy will be a free agent after the season, so with less than a week left in the season, he’s trying to show off his talents to his current team with the hopes that they’ll re-sign him. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says that Tracy is looking to make a strong final impression that could convince the Florida Marlins to bring him back in 2011.
“I don’t feel like I’ve played my best,” Tracy said. “I’ve done all right. I’d have liked to come in and gotten hot. I never really got hot. I never really got over that one-hit-a-game plateau. But I’ve played solid defense. I’d like to get hot before I leave.”
Tracy was signed by the Marlins on August 5 to add third base depth after Chris Coghlan suffered a knee injury during a pie celebration.
In 63 games with Florida he is hitting .240 with one home run. He is only 1-for-23 as a pinch hitter.
The Marlins are evaluating their options for left-handed hitters coming off the bench in 2011.
