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The MLB Daily Dish is a daily feature we're running here at MLBDD and rounds up roster-impacting news, rumors, and analysis. Have feedback or have something that should be shared? Hit us at @mlbdailydish on Twitter.
Good morning baseball fans and Happy World Series day! Tonight, baseball is back on with the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets battling it out for baseball supremacy. Game 1's first pitch is at 8:07 PM EST on FOX.
In the rumor world, the Nationals may have finally decided on their next manager. Dusty Baker and Bud Black have been named the two finalists for the job and both will have their second interviews this week with a decision expected soon.
Speaking of the Nats, could they move both Jonathan Papelbon and Drew Storen? Patrick Reddington of Federal Baseball broke down some of the reports surrounding Washington.
Storen reportedly requested a trade after Papelbon was acquired before the non-waiver deadline, and the deal blew up in the Nationals' face when Papelbon decided to police 22-year-old NL MVP candidate Bryce Harper's effort late in the season, starting a dugout altercation which got unwanted national media attention and at least in part led to the veteran closer getting suspended for the remainder of the season, while all-but guaranteeing, according to most speculation, that he won't be back in D.C. in 2016.
Add to that the fact that in addition to Storen and Papelbon, Casey Janssen and Matt Thornton are expected to leave via free agency, and as Heyman wrote this week, the Nationals, "... really need a bullpen makeover," that includes innings seven-through-nine now, which could make for a busy and potentially expensive winter for Rizzo as he looks to rebuild/replace the entire back end of the bullpen from within or outside the organization.
With rumors circulating that an extension could be in the works for Josh Reddick, Jeremy F. Koo of Athletics Nation took a look at what a potential deal would look like for the A's outfielder.
What would be the most Reddick could earn if he had a perfect season with no injuries, putting up around 5 or 6 fWAR? I call that the Michael Bourn scenario. Bourn amassed 20.1 fWAR when he reached free agency after the 2012 season, and had 6.2 fWAR in his walk year. His reward was a four-year, $48 million contract with a vesting option for a fifth year if he has 550 plate appearances in his fourth year. By the time Reddick hits free agency after 2016, that will have been three years ago, so maybe bump that up to four years and $64 million with such an option.
What would be the least Reddick could earn if he had a poor but decently healthy season, putting up 1 fWAR? Reddick could be looking at a one-year contract to try to rebuild his value like Colby Rasmus, where he got $8 million after following a 5 WAR season in 2013 with a 1 WAR walk year in 2014.
As always, here are the important dates for the offseason.
Our own Matt Goldman put together a tracker for all the free agents this winter. Miiiight want to bookmark this one.
This Day in Baseball History: Two for the price of one today. In 1985, the Royals, behind Bret Saberhagen, beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-0 in Game 7 of the World Series. The following year, 1986, the Mets defeated the Red Sox 8-5 in Game 7 of the World Series.