LethalStriker Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Rangers decline Lance Berkman's option. With the shape that Berkman's knee has been the last few years, I would think this is probably it for him. Surprisingly the Indians have signed Jason Giambi to a minor league deal with a spring training invite for next season at age 43. Are they that incapable of finding anyone else to hit off of the bench for them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Well there is talk that Giambi would be some sort of player/coach so that might be why Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LethalStriker Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 I think that Giambi would be a great assistant hitting or something like that but I don't know if he is worth a roster spot next year. He'll probably go the Jake Taylor from Major League II route last year. Go to ST and get cut at the end of it and instead get a coaching job then midseason Francona has a heart attack where he's forced to take over as manager. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimLivingston Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 And then he'll convince the team to sign that Tanaka guy everyone's talking about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Lucia Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Other options exercised: Casey Janssen, Adam Lind, Mark Derosa in Toronto. All very reasonable. Other options declined: Mark Ellis, Chris Capuano, Munenori Kawasaki. All very logical. Kawasaki could come back to Toronto on a minor league deal. Boston will give qualifying offers to Ellsbury, Napoli, and Drew. No word on Salty yet. No surprises there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick B. Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 It's hard to believe I used to be as hardcore into baseball as I eventually became hardcore into wrestling. I used to know players by uniform numbers. Nowadays I don't watch too much and will tune in if the Cardinals make it to the postseason. I could rattle off most of the starting lineup from one of the first games I attended in '85: Coleman-McGee-Herr-Clark-Van Slyke-Pendleton-Ozzie-Nieto-whoever the pitcher was(Cox?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranesi Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 It's hard to believe I used to be as hardcore into baseball as I eventually became hardcore into wrestling. I used to know players by uniform numbers. Nowadays I don't watch too much and will tune in if the Cardinals make it to the postseason. I could rattle off most of the starting lineup from one of the first games I attended in '85: Coleman-McGee-Herr-Clark-Van Slyke-Pendleton-Ozzie-Nieto-whoever the pitcher was(Cox?). Can we say it was Bob Forsch? I freaking loved that guy when I was a kid. My favorite all-time "he can do anything you need him to do" pitcher...start? Sure. Long relief? No problem! Close a game. Sure thing, skipper! Pinch hit and bat around .250? Of course, I'm a baseball player, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick B. Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Could very well have been. I remember Tudor, Cox, Forsch, and Andujar from that time period. I know they still had Darrell Porter as a catcher but it was Tom Nieto in the game I attended. Got started on baseball in '85...heck of a near-miss to witness as a kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Yanks sign Jeter to a one year $12 million deal which overrides his $9.5 player option. I guess they figured it was easier than dealing with the PR of him declining his option and fans screaming about him possibly playing for another team EDIT - And deadspin points out that the new deal will count $2 million less against the luxury tax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Lucia Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I've been working on a bunch of shit today, so here's your daily dose of "options YAY!" Exercised: Brett Anderson, Coco Crisp, Wandy Rodriguez (player) Declined: Jose Veras, Kurt Suzuki, Chris Young, Ubaldo Jimenez (player), Johan Santana, Jason Kubel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 I've been working on a bunch of shit today, so here's your daily dose of "options YAY!" Declined: Johan Santana Now this is interesting. Johan had been saying "all the right things", so I'm guessing he's either going for one last shot with the Mets at a massive discount or he's done. Either way, he's done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Lucia Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 There's no chance in hell the Mets were paying Santana $25M coming off of major shoulder surgery. He'll get a one-year deal from a team, maybe a minor league deal, probably something incentive-laden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipGofern Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I've been working on a bunch of shit today, so here's your daily dose of "options YAY!" Exercised: Wandy Rodriguez (player) And if you ever want Exhibit 1A why giving out a player option is the dumbest thing ever, Wandy Rodriguez is your man. He made like 10 starts for the Bucs this season, then went on the DL complaining about "forearm pain." The team doctors didn't find anything wrong so he basically sat around for like 3 months until they finally sent him to James Andrews. Andrews also couldn't find anything and basically told him, "Rub dirt on it and take a lap." So Wandy comes back to Pittsburgh, throws a couple bullpen sessions then a couple minor league starts, says he's still hurt and punts on the season. Thank goodness Houston agreed to pay $5.5 million of the $13 mill this lemon is owed on the option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I've been working on a bunch of shit today, so here's your daily dose of "options YAY!" Exercised: Wandy Rodriguez (player) And if you ever want Exhibit 1A why giving out a player option is the dumbest thing ever, Wandy Rodriguez is your man. He made like 10 starts for the Bucs this season, then went on the DL complaining about "forearm pain." The team doctors didn't find anything wrong so he basically sat around for like 3 months until they finally sent him to James Andrews. Andrews also couldn't find anything and basically told him, "Rub dirt on it and take a lap." So Wandy comes back to Pittsburgh, throws a couple bullpen sessions then a couple minor league starts, says he's still hurt and punts on the season. Thank goodness Houston agreed to pay $5.5 million of the $13 mill this lemon is owed on the option. The guy made 30+ starts in 5 of the 6 previous seasons. Just because Andrews couldn't find anything doesn't mean nothing is wrong. Could he be faking? Sure. But he hadn't really shown any tendency toward that previously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Some guys do kinda flake out. It isn't unheard of. Not saying that's the case, but baseball players are an odd sort. I mean, who knows, maybe he had some bad stuff going on at home that wound up being a distraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Joe Nathan opted out and is now a free agent. If he can duplicate 2013, he'd be a great one year pickup for Detroit. I suspect he's looking for two or three though, at at least $10m per. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LethalStriker Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 I though that Nathan's deal was a team option not a player option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Lucia Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 It was a mutual option. With the state of this RP market, it made sense for him to opt out and try to get an extra year or two. Related: if you have a young, dominant closer (looking at you, Atlanta and Kansas City), it would be in your best interests to at least see what the market would bear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Tigers are hiring Brad Ausmus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 I think maybe Rippa and Joe might be the only other one's interested, but I suggest the folks here check out the Winter Meetings sim that Royals Review is holding here: http://www.royalsreview.com/2013/11/4/5061824/sb-nation-winter-meetings-simulation-open-thread They did this last year and it was pretty neat and they're doing it again this year. It starts today and ends Friday. They took one representative from each MLB SBNation blog (thank God they didn't contact Al Yellon to represent the Cubs) to act as that team's GM in this simulation. Some interesting moves thus far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Oh, and the Cubs are (duh) interviewing Torey Lovullo for the field manager position. Not sure why I didn't think about that before, but that's Theo and Jed totally tipping their hand for who they really want to hire. I'd still want Martinez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Lucia Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 That offseason sim is ridiculously fun. I'd love it if a site created an offseason sim program like the draft lottery and season simulations out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooseCannon Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Oh, and the Cubs are (duh) interviewing Torey Lovullo for the field manager position. Not sure why I didn't think about that before, but that's Theo and Jed totally tipping their hand for who they really want to hire. I'd still want Martinez. Please explain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 They're obviously familiar with Lovullo and they've interviewed at least two candidates who were highly qualified, but made no movement on either guy. Prior to now, Lovullo wasn't even on the radar, so why not go with one of the other guys unless they wanted someone else. Once the Red Sox won the World Series, they started blowing up Cherington's phone line to request to interview Lovullo, who also fits in with Theo and Jed's mindset. He's their guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Lucia Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Lovullo was denied permission to interview by the Sox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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