Texas began the off-season by firing their General Manager and interviewing candidates to fill the position. Oakland Scouting Director Grady Fuson was given permission by the Athletics to interview for the GM position. The Rangers ultimately hired Cleveland GM John Hart, but they also offered Fuson a position as Assistant General Manager, which he accepted. Oakland was particularly upset by this development, because while they were willing to allow Fuson to take advantage of an opportunity that would provide him with a GM promotion, they were not interested in having their development staff bid out from under them.

The Athletics subsequently filed a grievance with the commissioner's office claiming the Rangers had participated in tampering. Oakland sought to receive compensation in the form of a player, particularly a top prospect, and reportedly more specifically third base wonder Hank Blalock.

Texas owner Tom Hicks was adamant that there had been no tampering, and that if they were found guilty, there was no previous standard for using players as compensation.

On Monday the commissioner's office settled the matter by fining the Rangers an undisclosed amount. Hicks should be pleased with this result, because while there may not be precedent for the use of player as compensation in MLB, it certainly exists in other sports, specifically the NFL. While I can't really comment on the fairness of the ruling without an amount, I think the loss of a player would have been a far greater incentive to avoid such tampering in the future.

In addition to the complaint filed by Oakland, the Cleveland Indians also filed a charge of tampering in relationship to the hiring of John Hart. They maintain that they granted Hart permission to interview for the GM position without waving their rights to possible compensation if Hart was hired.

Hart had two years left on his contract with the Indians. However, he had also let them know previously that he would be stepping down as GM, though at that time he was expected to stay on in a lesser capacity. To my knowledge this matter has not yet been resolved, though I expect if Texas is found guilty again, the fine will be less than for the Fuson incident.

The man Texas fired to start this whole incident, Doug Melvin, recently signed with the Red Sox as a consultant on player development. Boston's minor league system hasn't been overly prolific in turning out players in the last few seasons. The organization is hoping that Melvin will be able to make suggestions and possibly institute some changes that can help address that problem. Texas' minor league system has been kept up rather well, so Melvin could be a nice asset to the Red Sox.

Of course, the Red Sox are currently operating under an interim GM so there is a possibility that Melvin could eventually be given that position, though I consider it unlikely.

Birthday Updates

I'll close out today with several more age adjustments. I'm planning to comment on every player with a reported change in age and will likely spend a whole article on it at some point, but until then I'll continue to cover a handful on days when some of my other comments are a bit short.

Tampa Bay has suffered more than most teams following this wave of rapid aging by players returning for Spring Training. Wilmy Caceres underwent one of the most extreme age adjustments, going from 23 to 28. Caceres had been a top shortstop prospect for the Devil Rays. He still needed to work on his plate discipline, but at 23 he was in AAA with a promising career ahead of him. The discovery that Caceres is 28 means that his optimal window for development was expiring five years ago when he was signed by the Reds, rather than as was previously thought, just coming to a close as he prepares to enter the majors in the next season or two.

Since the organization has been counting on him, I can see them rushing him to the majors and giving him a chance to make or break it. Caceres will need to play very well in that tryout in order to secure a significant major league career, and since his plate discipline will likely never show much improvement, I don't expect him to succeed. We may see Caceres land a position on someone's bench as a minor league free agent in a few years, but I no longer see him as having any potential.

Meanwhile, second base prospect Ramon Soler also experienced a change in age, going from 20 to 24. Although this is not as dramatic as the 5-year gap from 23 to 28, it is still a considerable slap in Tampa's face. Soler has been moving through the minors slowly, missing all of 2000 to injury, and has not advanced beyond A ball at this point. Similar to almost every other Devil Rays' minor leaguer, he has troubles with the strike zone that will need to be resolved before he can be successful at the major league level. At 20, he had time to work out those kinks; now he will need to make rapid improvement to reach the majors.

The list continues with pitcher Jesus Colome gaining 3 years. Colome, who broke into the majors last season as a reliever, is now known to be 24 rather than 21. The right-hander hasn't shown overwhelming dominance but appeared to have considerable upside based on his minor league strikeout totals. In fact, many thought that Colome might be able to slide into the closer's role if Esteban Yan departs in a couple years, or even establish himself as a top starter if he could improve his repertoire. He should still have a solid career but doesn't have quite the upside formerly predicted.

Tampa Bay received one piece of good news as they discovered that closer Yan was actually a year younger than his listed age. Since he has his prime ahead of him and appears to have established himself as a closer last season, he's a valuable commodity. Yan would likely fetch a nice package on the trade market if the team decided to deal him. If they want to hold onto him for a few seasons, this development only reinforces his potential.