Rumors for October, 2011
White Sox could trade for Major League talent
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Chicago White Sox GM Ken Williams said that he won’t be in “shopping mode” this winter, but he’s not necessarily closing the door on a trade. According to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, the White Sox may make a trade if they could get a Major League ready player in return.
“Everyone I’ve heard speak on it is right. we have talented people, and we did not achieve what we wanted to based on some of those talented people not performing. But we’re in a position where we have to look at the future. So I will not be in shopping mode — I’ll be listening to see what the interest is in some of our players. Quite frankly, I don’t expect people to try to blow our doors down for some of our guys who had down years. Their value is going to be down a little bit.
“So what we have to do is weigh whatever they’re offering up against our chances are for the next season.
Because if we’re going to move our valuable pieces it’s going to be for major league ready talent so they can grow with this nice nucleus in place with [Dayan] Viciedo, [Tyler] Flowers, [Alejandro] De Aza, [Brent] Morel. And have to get [Gordon] Beckham back. We have a nice young, kind of youthful movement. Those players [coming in trades] would have to fit into that. Not A-ball players, AA type. They would have to be major-league ready and potential impact players. Will that happen? I don’t know, that’s why you go to the winter meetings [in early December] and you see what other teams would like to offer you. But I think shopping our guys is something we’re not going to be doing.”
“As long as I am in the chair we will be as aggressive as we can possibly be. If it turns out that we don’t believe that we can reasonably expect the talent we have to compete for a championship, we might have to dial it back and… move today’s talent for tomorrow’s talent to extend a longer run for us in the future. But none of that has been determined yet until we get a gauge on what other teams feel about our players.”
Van Schouwen added that possible candidates that could be moved include Carlos Quentin, Gavin Floyd, John Danks and Matt Thornton.
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Epstein named President of Baseball Operations for Cubs
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In a joint statement by the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox, the teams have announced that Theo Epstein has resigned from the Red Sox organization and has been named the President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs.
The sides have also come to an agreement regarding the process by which appropriate compensation will be determined, but the exact details are unknown at this time.
The official announcement will come on Tuesday, October 25.
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Blue Jays claim Jesse Chavez off waivers
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The Toronto Blue Jays have claimed right handed pitcher Jesse Chavez off waivers from the Kansas City Royals according to the team official Twitter account.
Chavez was designated for assignment by the Royals earlier this month. The right hander had a 10.57 ERA in 7.2 innings with the Royals in 2011.
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Pirates to decline option on Snyder and Doumit
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In an expected move, general manager Neal Huntington of the Pittsburgh Pirates said (via Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com) his club will decline the options for catchers Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder.
“I hate closing doors,” Huntington said, “but I think it’s realistic to assume that neither option is realistically in play at this point in time.”
Both catchers have a buyout in the contract. Snyder will be paid $750,000 while Doumit will be paid $500,000.
“We have some level of interest, in a vacuum, of keeping both players,” Huntington said, but it doesn’t seem likely that they would.
“The impact Snyder has had on our staff since he got here is measurable,” Huntington added. “That’s an important element for us to keep in mind. His impact is measured much more than just in batting average and home runs that he hit. If he gets healthy and is able to come back, those benefits are still tangible.”
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Yankees likely to pick up Swisher’s option
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According to Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com, the New York Yankees are likely to pick up the $10.25 million option on Nick Swisher for next season. Although they would probably do it at the last minute, which is three days after the conclusion of the World Series adds Matthews.
Swisher hit .260/.374/.449 with 23 HR’s and 85 RBI’s in 526 AB’s for the Yankees in 2011.
Matthews adds that if Eric Chavez finally decides to retire, the Yankees could consider veteran third baseman Casey Blake, in case the Dodgers don’t pick up his $6 million option to be Alex Rodriguez’s backup third baseman. Another option for the Yankees could be rookie Brandon Laird.
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Padres could name Josh Byrnes as team’s GM
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According to three sources close to the Associated Press, the San Diego Padres could promote Josh Byrnes to the general manager position if Jed Hoyer leaves for the Chicago Cubs.
In an email, Byrnes said, “Hopefully we’ll know soon,”, but when reached by phone, Hoyer said: `’I'm not commenting on anything.”
Byrnes, the team’s current vice president of baseball operations, had previous experience in the GM position when he worked with the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2005 to 2010.
Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated reported earlier that Hoyer will john Theo Epstein as one of his top executives once Epstein’s deal with the Cubs is finalized.
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Mets release Ryota Igarashi
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The New York Mets have released right handed pitcher Ryota Igarashi according to a Major League source close to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The right hander just completed a two-year, $3 million deal with the Mets.
Igarashi would not be eligible for free agency until his sixth year of Major League service in normal circumstances, but the Mets put a clause in Igarashi’s contract making him a free agent if the sides could not agree to a new deal after the expiration of the original deal says Rubin.
The 32-year old reliever was 4-1 with a 4.66 ERA in 38.2 innings throughout 45 games in 2011 with the Mets.
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Epstein to Cubs close but not done yet
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The Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox are close to completing a deal the will send Theo Epstein to the Chicago Cubs according to a source close to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports. An agreement could come as soon as today adds Rosenthal.
Epstein though, would not be the Cubs General Manager. he will take “a high-level executive role” above the GM level adds Rosenthal, and then they will hire Padres GM, Jed Hoyer, to become the Cubs new GM.
The deal between the Cubs and Red Sox has been dragging out for almost a week because the teams are working on a package deal in compensation for Epstein. According to Rosenthal, if both parties reach an agreement today, the official announcement will be held on Friday.
The Red Sox are expected to promote assistant GM Ben Cherington to replace Epstein, and the Padres will promote Josh Byrnes to be their GM. Padres assistant GM, Jason McLeod, is also expected to join Epstein in Chicago.
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Hiroki Kuroda could be a fit for the Yankees
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The New York Yankees are looking to upgrade their pitching staff this winter and according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com, they should take a look at Hiroki Kuroda who is a free agent.
Marchand says that Kuroda would fit the Yankees better than C.J. Wilson given the fact that he would be less costly in terms of years and money. The problem would be convincing him to play in New York because according to sources close to Marchand he wants to either stay in Los Angeles or go back to Japan.
Kuroda, 36, was 13-16 with a 3.07 ERA in 202.0 innings throughout 32 starts for the Dodgers in 2011.
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Padres had internal discussions about Lackey
Posted by: | CommentsJohn Lackey’s time in Boston could be up after the recent news of his drinking and playing video games during Red Sox games became public this week. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune (via ESPNBoston.com), the San Diego Padres have had internal discussions regarding a possible acquisition of the pitcher.
Such a deal would be likely only if the Red Sox absorb a lot of Lackey’s remaining contract. Lackey has three-years left on a five-year, $82.5 million contract ($45 million remaining), and such a contract would be difficult to completely swallow for the small market Padres.
The 32-year-old pitcher went 12-12 with a 6.41 ERA in 28 starts for the Sox in 2011.
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