Offseason Notes for October 10th

What happens when Joey Votto stops being polite and starts getting real?

Assorted Headlines
Reds Willing to Part with Votto, Maybe
Cincinnati first baseman and handsome Italian gentleman Joey Votto is signed for $9.5M and $17.0M, respectively, in 2012 and ’13. After that, however, he’ll become a free agent — one who’ll be getting paid for producing six to seven wins per annum. Assuming a win is worth something like $6 million in 2014 (a conservative estimate, probably), Votto is likely to make considerably more on the open market than Cincinnati can afford. Buster Olney is hearing that, while Cincinnati won’t actively shop Votto, they’ll entertain offers for him. That may or may not be a distinction without a difference, I can’t tell.

Howard Has Ruptured Achilles, Likely to Miss Couple-Few Months
As you might’ve heard, Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard — whose five-year, $125 million extension begins in 2012 — has a ruptured Achilles and could miss the beginning of the season. Luckily for the Phillies, Howard’s likely replacement, John Mayberry, had a better season than Howard in 2011, with a better batting line (133 wRC+ vs. 123 wRC+) and more production overall (2.5 WAR vs. 1.6 WAR) than Howard.

Beltran-to-Yankees Talk: The First Volley
The New York Post‘s Joel Sherman believes the Yankees should pick up Nick Swisher’s option, re-sign Andruw Jones, and sign Carlos Beltran. It’s not entirely outside the realm of possibility. For example, in 2003, they signed every player in baseball.

Arizona Fall League
Arizona Fall League Action
This is the time in the show when we look at Arizona Fall League action.

Notable Performances
Here are some notable performances from said AFL action:

• With home runs on Thursday and Friday, Oakland outfield prospect Michael Choice, 21, now has as many home runs (three) as strikeouts. Choice has shown good power, but limited contact ability, so far in the minors.
• Arizona and Colorado third-base prospects, respectively, Ryan Wheeler and Nolan Arenado have shown the best contact ability so far, each having struck out just once in 18 plate apperances. Arenado, 20, posted an 8.1% walk rate and just 9.1% stikeout rate in 583 plate apperances in the High-A California League.
• Daryl Maday set an Arizona Fall League record Saturday by striking out six batters. That’s the encouraging news. The less encouraging news is that, at 26, he’s one of the older players in the league and, despite some decent seasons at Double-A, has had no success at Triple-A.

Prospecting: John Sickels on Minnesota
Prospect maven John Sickels has published his preliminary top-20 list for the Minnesota Twins. Below are some notable rankings, with comments from my own self.

2. Eddie Rosario, OF, Grade B/B+. Was ranked 16th in the organization by Sickels last year. In his age-19 season, managed to hit 21 homers in 298 plate apperances at Rookie-level Elizabethton.

3. Liam Hendriks, RHP, Grade B. Made way to majors by end of season, making four starts and doing this: 23.1 IP, 16.0% K, 6.0% BB, 46.2% GB, 3.77 SIERA, 3.66 xFIP, 91 xFIP-. Is Australian.

7. Aaron Hicks, OF, Grade B-. Was top prospect in Minnesota system, per BA, in both 2009 and ’10 — and second overall before the 2011 season — but hasn’t put tools together yet.

10. Brian Dozier, SS, Grade B-. Profiles as a borderline-average player in majors right now — by virtue of glove, if nothing else.

17. Max Kepler-Rozycki, OF, Grade C+. German — but, as is the case with many 18-year-olds, has showed no power whatsoever.