Rumors for October, 2010
More wild-card teams and division series to be best-of-seven?
Posted by: | CommentsI
t’s possible that the baseball playoffs could expand in two years. According to the Associated Press, the player’s union says the members are open to adding more Wild-Card teams for 2012 and possibly extending the division series to a best-of-seven.
It’s also possible, but unlikely, that the players would agree to cutting the regular season from 162 games. Because a reduced regular season will cost teams revenue, it’s a path that Major League Baseball may not go down.
“There is sentiment among a substantial segment of the players to consider expanding the playoffs,” player’s union head Michael Weiner said.
The current labor contract expires on December 11, 2011 and bargaining will likely start in the first half of next year with the playoff topic likely to be discussed.
Jim Riggleman to return as Nationals manager
Posted by: | Comments
According to the Washington Nationals’ official Twitter account, the team has officially said that manager Jim Riggleman will return as field manager in 2011.
The announcement is more of a formality for the team since it was expected since September that Riggleman would be back.
“We haven’t announced a final call, but we’ve made a definite decision,” General Manager Mike Rizzo said in September. “We haven’t made an announcement to him or to the public.”
Riggleman made $600,000 this season and the team had the option to buyout his contract for next year for $100,000 if they chose.
“What we’ve always liked about, as in-game strategist, he’s really good about that,” Rizzo mentioned last week. “He’s as good as anybody. We’ve gone through some trials and tribulations this year, some real highs and some lows – both extremes.”
Cliff Lee’s wife not pleased with Yankees fans
Posted by: | Comments
A lot of teams in the Majors are thinking about bidding for Cliff Lee this off-season, including the New York Yankees. It’s clear that Lee will be the hottest free-agent this winter, and the pursuit of the left-hander will probably be fierce.
In an article published by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, it mentions that Lee’s wife Kristen was offended by Yankees fans while she was in the family visiting section at Yankee Stadium. Apparently the people near her were shouting obscenities to her, throwing her cups of beer and even spitting on her from the sections above.
“The fans did not do good things in my heart,” Kristen says. “When people are staring at you, and saying horrible things, it’s hard not to take it personal.”
This behavior from the Yankees fans might affect Lee’s decision to go to New York. According to Nightengale, Lee’s home in Arkansas is closer to Texas, and the Rangers have made very clear that they will bid strongly to land Lee for next season.
It’s possible that the Rangers could get Lee without being the highest bidder since they have the location and wife-friendly fans working for them. If Lee decides not to go with the Yankees, maybe their fans are the ones to blame.
Lee’s agent, Darek Braunecker, later told ESPNNewYork.com as reported by Andrew Marchand, “The story is not an issue to us.” Braunecker added, “Her experience in New York is certainly a non-issue. She enjoys New York as much as anyone enjoys New York.”
Phillies decline J.C Romero’s option for 2011
Posted by: | Comments
Philadelphia’s Inquirer Matt Gelb reports that Phillies will not be exercising their $4.5 million option on J.C Romero. The Phillies will pay the buyout of $250.000 and Romero will become a free-agent.
Romero, 34, has been pitching with the Phillies from 2007. This season he had 60 appearances, working for 36.2 innings, leaving an ERA of 3.68 with 28 strikeouts and three saves.
White Sox exercise options on Castro and Thornton for 2011
Posted by: | Comments
The Chicago Withe Spx just exercised their 2011 options on back-up catcher Ramon Castro and left-handed reliever Matt Thornton according to MLB’s.com Ken Gurnick.
Castro will earn a base salary of $1.2 million, while Thornton will have a base salary of $3 million.
Thornton, 34, finished the season with a record of 5-4 an ERA of 2.67 and 81 strikeouts in 67 appearances. Castro, 34, finished the season batting .278 with 8 HR and 21 RBI’s in 37 games.
Oakland expected to pick up options for Ellis and Crisp
Posted by: | Comments
The Oakland A’s are expected to pick up Mark Ellis and Coco Crisp’s options for 2011 according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney twitter account.
The A’s still have until the end of the World Series to make it official. If the A’s decides to pick up their options Ellis will be making $6 million while Crisp will make $5.5 million.
Exercising their option does not necessarily mean they the pair will be back for the 2011 season. The A’s could use them as a candidates for trade bait with other teams.
New York Yankees expect to sign Joe Girardi to a 3-year deal
Posted by: | Comments
According to Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman, the New York Yankees are expected to sign manager Joe Girardi to a three-year, $3 million per year deal. Heyman adds that the negotiations should not take long.
On Monday, George A. King III and Mark Hale of the New York Post speculated that Girardi was going to be offered a three-year deal.
Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman think very highly of Girardi, and they will want him to come back with the team. As for the coaches on Girardi’s staff, none are signed beyond the end of this month.
The 46-year-old Girardi is currently wrapping up a three-year, $7.5 million deal he signed in October 2007. King speculated last week that Girardi could get a three-year contract worth $3.5-4 million per season.
New York Yankees sign Wilmer Romero
Posted by: | Comments
According to a source close to Sports Illustrated’s Melissa Segura, the New York Yankees have signed center field prospect Wilmer Romero from the Dominican Republic’s La Academia. Financial information have not been disclosed but Segura expects the the bonus to be “significant.”
Scott Boras reponds to Phillies comments on Werth
Posted by: | Comments
Yesterday during a press conference, Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said that Jayson Werth did not have “an extraordinary year”. That comment did not sit too well with Werth’s agent Scott Boras, and he quickly made his opinion public.
“The only way to argue that Jayson had a decline in 2010 is to look at home runs, where he was down by nine,” Boras told CSNPhilly.com on Monday as reported by Jim Salisbury. “But so many other areas of his performance were up. A lot of people would say he had a better year in 2010 than he did in 2009.
“Compared to ’09, he was up 30 points in batting average, 15 in on-base percentage, 30 in slugging, 40 in OPS. He had fewer home runs, but he had 20 more doubles. He scored 106 runs. How many No. 5 hitters do that?
“His defense was better than it has ever been and when you look at his postseason contributions … If you really reflect on it, he had an equivalent year, a great year. This is not an athlete you can normally acquire.”
Salisbury says that Amaro’s contention that Werth’s season was not extraordinary came from the outfielder’s performance with runners in scoring position where he his just .186 in those situations, down from .279 in 2009.
Werth will be one of the hotter free-agents this winter and his price tag could be in the range of seven-years, $120 million.
Matt Sosnick: Dunn “is probably going to the Cubs”
Posted by: | Comments
There has been a lot of speculation about the future of Washington National’s slugger Adam Dunn. Previous rumors have the Angels, Tigers and the Cubs as candidates to sign the power hitting first baseman.
According to Fred Mitchel and David Kaplan of the Chicago Tribune Dunn’s agent Matt Sosnick said “I would say (Dunn) is probably going to the Cubs, and he’ll probably get three years and $40 million.”
The Chicago Cubs plan to get back into contention next year, and with that said, they are in the market for a free-agent first baseman – with Dunn being one of GM Jim Hendry’s top priorities this winter.
In August, center fielder Marlon Byrd voiced his opinion publicly that he wanted Hendry and the team to go after Dunn this winter, according to ESPN’s Bruce Levine.
“Definitely. You know the guys we’ve lost this year,” Byrd said at the time. “Quality guys like [Ted] Lilly [traded to the Dodgers] and [Derrek Lee [traded to the Braves]. You’re thinking you have to replace those guys. Our clubhouse is good, but we need some athletes out there. I have an idea who they should bring in, the type of players. I think I have an idea of who to bring in to help us win.”
