Brewers Considering Options

Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin said he will explore the market for open managers for the 2009 season. "I owe it to myself and the organization to make sure we're not overlooking somebody else out there," said Melvin. There are several solid candidates available, aside from Svuem, who would really help the Brewers. It would be worth the Brewers while to contact the Dodgers about Don Mattingly, consider Larry Bowa, Buck Showalter, Leo Mazzone, and Alan Trammell about the possible opening. While Svuem is familiar with the team, he lacks the experience that all these guys have. 

The Brewers are expected to make a decision shortly after the World Series so they can use him in negotiations with players. 

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

The Race For Peavy Is Under Way

It appears that Jake Peavy is going to be the Johan Santana of 2009. The Yankees have already contacted the Padres about acquiring Peavy, and the talks have been described as preliminary. The Yankees definitely have the players to get Peavy, but they would probably have to part with both Robinson Cano and Phil Hughes, among other top prospects to land him. Aside from Peavy being an ace in any rotation, he is locked up at a relatively low price through 2012. Don't expect any trade for a while, probably not till the Winter Meetings, but every team on Peavy's list will likely contact the Padres. 

The Braves have also contacted the Padres about Peavy, who will likely have to offer Jair Jurrjens, Yunel Escobar, and Gorkys Hernandez, among others, to land him. 

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

Cubs Deny Mariners, Close In On GM

Mariners executives contacted Cubs president Crane Kenney hoping to get permission to interview Cubs GM Jim Hendry, who has one year left on his contract. The Cubs denied their request and appear to be closing in on a three year extension with Hendry, who has built this Cubs team to two division championships. While he has traded some strong prospects away, they have made pretty good drafting decisions and are ready for a long term run atop the division. Bruce Miles breaks down some of the good and bad moves Jim Hendry has made over the course of his time with the Cubs. 

Personally,  I think the best move he made was trading Bobby Hill, Matt Bruback, and Jose Hernandez to the Pirates for Aramis Ramirez, Kenny Lofton, and Randall Simon. 

One of his worst...probably trading Ricky Nolasco, Renyel Pinto, and Sergio Mitre to the Marlins for Juan Pierre. 

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

Randolph to Nationals?

Former Mets manager Willie Randolph may be up for another job in 2009, but as a base coach. While he prefers to manage, the only two jobs that are open are with the Brewers and Mariners, and it is likely the Brewers with bring back Dave Sveum so it is just the Mariners. The Nationals told Randolph that they were interested in hiring him, and while Randolph is interested, he is set to make 2.25 million dollars next season so he could sit out and wait for a job to open up next season. 

Randolph did an above average job for the Mets, who failed to make it to the playoffs despite leading in September. However, he will enter his next job more experienced, and a better understanding of the league, so he should fair well. 

The Nationals and Yankees are the only two teams believed to be pursuing him. 

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

Varitek to Blue Jays?

Jason Varitek is likely entering his last game as Red Sox. He hit .220 with 13 HR in 131 games this season. He's been declining for the past three seasons, and it is obvious in his power numbers and a forty point drop in his batting average. Varitek is making nine million dollars this year, but will likely have to take a major pay cut if he wants to play in 2009. He was in the bottom half in nearly every category when it comes to catchers, so he might earn nearly 2-4 million dollars for one year. With that said, the Blue Jays are in the market for a catcher and may look to Varitek's veteran know-how and leadership to help some of the Blue Jays younger pitchers.

According to a source, the Nationals and Mariners are also considering a run at a catcher. 

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

2008 Blogger of the Year

Hey everyone-

Late last night I received an email from Donnie Bailey of the Accredited Sports Blogs of America telling me that I have won Blogger of the Year 2008. The Accredited Sports Blogs of America, ASBA, is a third party group who rates and evaluates blogs across the web. I appreciate the support of my readers, particularly after the site hacking this summer.

Eli

If you would like to contact Donnie Bailey, whether it is to ask a question or register your own blog, email him at asbadonnie@gmail.com.

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

Rick Peterson to Rangers?

Pitching coach Rick Peterson is one of the most respected pitching coaches in baseball. He worked to turn around the Athletics and Mets pitching staffs, as well as the development of several prospects. Peterson said he was intrigued by the idea to help the struggling Rangers pitchers, and will likely get the job if he is serious about it. Peterson is set to interview Friday for the job, as well as former Mariners manager John McLaren, among others.

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

Delmon Young to Giants?

According to the Pioneer Press, the Giants and Twins match up nicely when it comes to a trade involving Delmon Young. The Twins and Giants are pretty close trade partners, having worked several deals like Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano. The Twins are reportedly willing to trade Delmon Young, who they feel is not going to live up to his 30-HR potential. A trade for Delmon Young wouldn't cost the Giants Matt Cain, but they could go out and get a couple young relievers, perhaps Sergio Romo and Alex Hinshaw, along with a prospect. 

The Mariners and Rangers have also shown interest in Young, as well as the Reds, but that was last offseason. 

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

Jake Peavy Trade Options

Just a day after the Padres said they would entertain offers for Jake Peavy, several scenarios have come out about where he could wind up. The Angels are one team that is possible, mostly because they have the prospects and it makes sense geographically. The Angels could offer Sean O'Sullivan, Brandon Wood, and Chone Figgins, along with another top prospect or two and would still be in decent shape for 2009. However, the Angels might lose several top position players this year, so it wouldn't make sense to throw away their future on one pitcher. 

Peavy's agent, Barry Axelrod, said Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, and St. Louis as cities Peavy would consider. With that said, the Braves are very possible spot for Peavy to land. If you don't recall from 2006, the Braves were very close to acquiring Peavy in a trade for Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a couple other top prospects. The Braves are looking to sign a pitcher this offseason and if they fail to sign one of them, preferably Derek Lowe, they might pursue Peavy. 

As for the other cities, it would be hard to see the Cubs, Dodgers, Astros, or Cardinals unload five of their best prospects for one guy, even if he is locked up through 2012. The Astros do not really have any legitimate prospects while the Cardinals do, but several are nearing the major leagues and they may not want to take several steps back to acquire one pitcher. As for the Cubs, they have several solid prospects, but Jim Hendry never really makes trades unless it overwhelmingly benefits him. 

I see a desperate team, who misses out on the free agents, attempt to make a move on Peavy. Other than that, he will likely stay a Padre.  

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

Uggla to Rockies?

The Marlins plan to shop some of their young talent this offseason and the Rockies have already named one of their targets: Dan Uggla. Uggla did pretty well for the Marlins this season hitting .260 with 32 HR in 146 games. He will likely look for 5-6 million in arbitration and the Marlins are not comfortable taking that type of salary on. The Rockies have several attractive players that could improve the Marlins, making a trade very plausible. 

The Marlins could go target Taylor Buchholz in a deal, along with Ryan Spilborghs in the outfield. As for another player in the deal, they could go after a minor league infielder. Someone like Jayson Nix could be available after the Rockies "gave up" on him early on this past season. Uggla is very athletic and could play several different positions for the Rockies - this move seems like a no brainer. 

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

Street to Indians?

According to Indians.com, Athletics closer Huston Street could be an Indians target this offseason as they look for a closer. The Indians plan to spend some money on the market this offseason, but will likely target an outfielder or second baseman with that money. The Athletics have shopped Huston Street around since last year, and he probably would have been traded by now if it weren't for the A's high asking price. 

The A's might have trouble trading him this offseason because they A's have a closer in Zeigler, and are shopping a closer who has failed to break twenty saves since 2006. The Indians would likely be willing to trade two or three prospects, but won't go past three, unless the prospects are low level with little upside. The A's are looking for a corner infielder this offseason as well as some pitching help. They would be smart to look at some of the arbitration eligibles available around the league in hopes of finding a bargain. Mark Teahen is a guy the Athletics could try to make a play for. He is young and has some upside, despite hitting just .255 this past season. 

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Dodgers Have Decision To Make

The Dodgers have three high priced players available this offseason: Derek Lowe, Rafael Furcal, and Manny Ramirez. While the Dodgers are a high market team with a lot of money, they cannot afford to pay all three of the players, especially with the current salaries they have on their payroll. It is obvious that they will likely talk with Ramirez and  Lowe first, before attempting to sign Rafael Furcal, mostly because he is injury-prone. The Dodgers will likely need to find replacements at both second and short, but could give one spot to Tony Abreu, who did very well before hitting the disabled list. It has also been rumored that they would trade Matt Kemp to bring in Robinson Cano.

While the Dodgers would love to give out a long term deal to Derek Lowe, they may be hesitant because of their recent history in signing pitchers long term. They busted with Jason Schmidt and busted a while back with Darren Dreifort, so signing the 35 year old might not be the best idea. They could go out and sign Jon Garland, while making a trade for another solid arm. 

Signing Manny Ramirez first would do wonders for the lineup, not to mention jersey sales. After the Dodgers acquired Ramirez, who hit .396 for the team, it also helped the guy hitting in front of him. Andre Ethier hit .377 with 9 HR after the team acquired Ramirez, so try to imagine numbers like that all season long. While I do think Manny has an attitude problem and a new deal could make him turn into the old, no hustle Manny, putting him in an NL lineup makes the Dodgers the favorites in that division. 

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.