The Boston Red Sox became World Champions on Wednesday night, beating the Cardinals in the World Seriesin six games to close the book on the 2013 MLB season. The off-season is now upon us and, while teams can't start bidding on free agents for a few more days, they are already gearing up for 2014 by making decisions on options and comtemplating qualifying offers.
MLB offseason roundup: Options, qualifying offers & managerial interviews
The 2013 Major League Baseball season is over, but front offices are hard at work shaping their clubs for 2014. First on the to-do list is deciding on team options.
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AL East
The Champs are still shaking off their World Series-celebration hang-overs, but even now they are planning to get the band back together (or to at least get something in return if they can't). The Red Sox will extend qualifying offers to Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Napoli and Stephen Drew, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
The Blue Jays picked up their options for Casey Janssen, Mark DeRosa and Adam Lind and declined their option on Munenori Kawasaki.
AL Central
The Tigers interviewed Padres bench coach Rick Renteria for the manager's job. Renteria worked with Tiger's GM Dave Dombrowski as a minor league manager when the two were both with the Florida Marlins. The interview took place in California, where Renteria is recovering from knee surgery, according to Chris Iott of MLive.com.
The Indians have released troubled closer Chris Perez. The former All-Star has been declining over the past several seasons and he posted a career-worst 4.33 ERA over 54 innings in 2013. They have also added minor league pitcher Colt Hynes from the Padres to their system for cash considerations.
The White Sox exercised their option for reliever Matt Lindstrom, The righty threw 60 2/3 innings for the White Sox in 2013, posting an ERA of 3.12.
AL West
The Rangers have declined their option on Lance Berkman. The 37-year-old slugger played in just 73 games in 2013 thanks to a hip injury and he struggled badly in the second half, posting a .242/.340/.359 line for the season.
NL West
The Dodgers have declined their options on second baseman Mark Ellis and pitcher Chris Capuano. Ellis was solid as the Dodgers everyday second baseman, hitting.270/.323/.351 and getting the nod as a Gold-Glove finalist at second in 2013. However, with newly signed Cuban infielderAlexander Guerrero on board, Ellis doesn't appear to be needed. Capuano made 20 starts for the Dodgers, posting a 4.26 ERA over 105 2/3 innings.
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