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Around the League October 2008 Archives

Around the League - October 31, 2008

The Mets picked up Carlos Delgado's option. It's worth $12 million, a relative bargain for his production. If he doesn't have a monster season to start out 2009, then expect him to be a potential target for teams at the trade deadline.

Rod Barajas' $2.5 million option was picked up by the Blue Jays. Fellow backstop Gregg Zaun didn't reach his vesting option, so he'll be a free agent. The exercise of Barajas' option by the Blue Jays means the thin catching market is slightly more thin.

Tim Wakefield will be back in Boston. Wakefield's contract is the only one in baseball that has a perpetual club option. Every time the Red Sox pick up his $4 million club option, another is automatically added for the following year. Basically, the Red Sox can control Wakefield at $4 million per for the rest of his career.

This isn't real important news, but Henry Blanco's option was declined. His club option was worth $3 million, a price the Cubs didn't want to pay their backup catcher. However, they're expected to re-sign Blanco at a discounted rate before the exclusive negotiation period ends in two weeks.

Jason LaRue was re-signed by the Cards. The new contract is worth $0.95 million guaranteed with an additional $50,000 in incentives, making it an even $1 million if he starts 60 games. LaRue was guaranteed slightly less last year ($0.85M), and ended up earning $50,000 in incentives for 40 games started. This is just another catcher that won't hit the market.

The Phillies had their World Series parade. I live in Philly, but didn't even risk going the 16 blocks to the parade line, as it was packed with over a million people estimated attending. All transit was eventually shut down, and I could hear the noise that far away. It's amazing how a championship brings out people that don't even know what the infield fly rule is.

The Phillies also have declined the options of So Taguchi and Tom Gordon. These last couple of moves by Pat Gillick were expected.

The Brewers have declined Craig Counsell's option. They will pay $400K instead of $3.4 million for the 2009 season. Counsell hits the open market after a disappointing season.

In AL West news, the A's have declined Alan Embree's option. It was for $3 million, and he was classified as a Type B free agent today, so it's likely the A's will offer arbitration and part ways. However, there's still that small chance Embree accepts arbitration. Either way, this was a move by the A's to try and get Embree for cheaper than the option. They also claimed Joe Dillon on waivers from the Brewers. Don't expect much to happen there.

I don't know if anyone else cares about this, but David Bell was named the manager of the Reds' AA affiliate. That's a pretty challenging assignment for a first-time coach, and the Reds are putting a lot of faith in him, considering he's only 36 and stopped playing after the 2006 season. Look for his name to become big in the Major League coaching ranks fairly soon.

The Diamondbacks exercised Jon Rauch's 2010 option. There was some questions about whether they'd decline the option and go to arbitration after that year, but I guess the Diamondbacks decided against it. He'll be a key player in the Arizona bullpen next year.

Around the League - October 30, 2008

The Tigers declined Edgar Renteria's option. The Tigers hope to re-sign Renteria for less than his $11 million option.

The Royals and Marlins lined up for a Leo Nunez for Mike Jacobs swap. Jacobs is eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason, while Nunez has one more year of pre-arbitration salary. Have to say the Marlins didn't get much of a return for a player who hit 32 long balls this season.

The Brewers are going to name Ken Macha their manager. This influences who the Rangers' pitching coach will be.

Japanese phenom Junichi Tazawa was not drafted in Japan. This opens up his choice to play in American immediately. He's been heavily scouted, so look for him to sign a big league contract similar to Cuban players like Kendry Morales and Alexei Ramirez.

The Phillies won the World Series. Blah blah blah.

This is a couple days old, but the Angels exercised options on John Lackey and Vladimir Guerrero, and declined the option on Garret Anderson. It's Angels news, so I thought I'd throw that in there.

The White Sox have declined the options on Ken Griffey Jr. and Toby Hall. No surprises there.

Chad Cordero was one of the Nationals that elected free agency today. He had been outrighted and declined the assignment in favor of free agency. Formerly a decent closer, it's been a long fall for Cordero.

Fernando Tatis will return to the Mets. Does it bother anyone else that he's one of those few hitters that has succeeded only after leaving Arlington? UPDATE: It's $1.7 million for one year.

Wily Mo Pena will return to the Nationals. Wily Mo hurt his rotator cuff, but, unlike Chad Cordero, had a player option to fall back on. He'll make $2 million next year and is a free agent after that.

Archives: October 2008