In another thread, I put the odds at 60-40 that Wade will be replaced in the near future. Just a guess, and no real basis for it. It’s possible Wade is allowed to continue through the Rule 5 draft and/or roster building period. This isn’t the optimal time of year to replace a GM. But who knows?

Like a lot of posters, I like Friedman. But there are a lot of reasons to wonder if that is possible. I have heard the Thad Levine rumor, but I hope it’s not him. That’s probably not fair on my part, but I don’t like the idea of selecting someone out of the Rangers’ front office. I would be reluctant to hire an executive from a team in the same division, myself. As a sabermetric advocate, I would look at Paul DePodesta, the Mets’ Asst. GM, who also has experience as the GM of the Dodgers. It would be helpful to get someone who has experience as a GM, rather than just as an assistant. Hunsicker’s name has come up. But I don’t know if he still has the passion to be a GM. Tony LaCava, Asst. GM for the Blue Jays, was offered the Orioles GM job but turned it down. If the reason he turned it down is as reported—the owner wouldn’t give him free reign to fire front office executives—then maybe he is still available.

Another complicating factor, particularly if Crane targets another team’s GM, is that player compensation has become a significant issue this year. If I’m not mistaken, Selig will decide the Cubs’ compensation for signing Epstein as their GM. The Red Sox and Cubs couldn’t agree on the quality of player compensation. (The rumors had the Red Sox making some ridiculous demand, like asking for Starling Castro.) The Cubs and Padres are negotiating player compensation for the Padres loss of Asst. GM and GM to the Cubs (where they will be Asst. GMs to Epstein). The Marlins sent a decent prospect to the White Sox in exchange for signing Ozzie Guillen as manager. The Blue Jays reportedly told the Red Sox that they would require Buchholz as compensation if John Farrell (the team’s manager) is hired as GM for the Red Sox.

I think it’s fair to assume that Friedman would require the Astros to send some kind of player compensation to Tampa Bay. I have heard that Friedman doesn’t work on a written contract with Tampa Bay, but I don’t know if that affects the compensation issue.