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Quick Hits: Kikuchi, Grandal, Dodgers, Angels, Mets, Puig

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Yusei Kikuchi is on his way to Los Angeles to begin his meetings with prospective MLB teams.  The Japanese southpaw told Sports Nippon (hat tip to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times) that he hasn’t received any official offers from Major League teams, and he didn’t give away any hints about preferred decisions — Kikuchi only answered “of course” when asked if he was open to joining any of the 30 big league clubs.  The 30-day posting window for teams to negotiate with Kikuchi opened on December 4, and representatives from a wide array of teams are expected to make their pitches to Kikuchi in L.A.

More from around the baseball world….

  • The Dodgers are open to re-signing Yasmani Grandal, though on a one-year contract, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reports.  Los Angeles is hesitant about adding any new catcher on a longer-term deal, as catching prospects Keibert Ruiz and Will D. Smith are both approaching readiness for the majors.  To that end, the Dodgers only had interest in Wilson Ramos on a one-year contract, though they have been heavily linked to J.T. Realmuto (who is controlled through 2020) in trade talks.  Morosi figures that the Dodgers could consider moving pitching prospect Dustin May and one of Ruiz or Smith in any potential Realmuto trade package, though that wouldn’t be enough to meet the Marlins’ large asking price.  “The Dodgers were balking at the inclusion of at least one key player on whom the Marlins were insisting,” Morosi writes.
  • After signing Justin Bour, Angels GM Billy Eppler told reporters (including the Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher) that the team isn’t yet sure how the first base/DH playing time will be split up between Bour, Shohei Ohtani, and Albert Pujols.  Ohtani will miss at least some time at the start of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and will only be a designated hitter when he does return.  Pujols, meanwhile, underwent surgeries on both his knee and elbow last year, leaving it unclear how often the veteran slugger will be able to play first base.  “It’s difficult to forecast and we can’t accurately forecast plate appearances for either of those guys [Ohtani and Pujols].  What’s important is to approach those organically and see what the medical team says as we enter spring training, and see what we can do,” Eppler said.
  • The Mets have A.J. Pollock and “a couple [of] mystery options” on their list of center field targets, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets.  Given how aggressive Brodie Van Wagenen has been in his first six weeks as the Mets’ general manager, any number of free agent or trade possibilities could be on the radar.  Pollock would almost surely be one of the pricier options available, as his next contract is likely to cost more by himself than the $49MM in free agent dollars the Mets just spent to land Jeurys Familia and Wilson Ramos.
  • Yasiel Puig in a Giants uniform?  The idea isn’t as outlandish as it sounds, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle notes that new Giants GM Farhan Zaidi is “is open to dealing with his old team,” the Dodgers.  While it’s quite common for a new general manager to explore players from his former job, the arch-rival Giants and Dodgers have only completed three trades with each other since 1953.  Perhaps for this reason, there haven’t been any whispers about the Giants targeting Puig, though there is something of a fit on paper.  San Francisco is looking for corner outfielders while Los Angeles is looking to clear payroll and perhaps a spot in their outfield for a larger target, and Puig has been specifically mentioned as a potential trade chip.

Poll: Who Will Be The Next Top-10 Free Agent To Sign?

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A year ago on this date, only one of the top ten names on MLBTR’s list of the top 50 free agents of the 2017-18 offseason had decided on their team for the upcoming season.  That player, in fact, wasn’t technically even a free agent at all — Masahiro Tanaka decided against opting out of his contract with the Yankees, thus avoiding the open market altogether.

So, at least in comparison to the uniquely slow pace of last year’s offseason, we’ve already seen quite a bit of action on the free agent front this winter.  After today’s news of Wilson Ramos’ deal with the Mets, seven of the top 25 players in this year’s top 50 ranking have already reached agreements, including three members of the top ten — Patrick Corbin (#3) signed with the Nationals, Nathan Eovaldi (#7) re-signed with the Red Sox, and J.A. Happ (#9) has reportedly agreed to rejoin the Yankees.

There have been a lot of rumors swirling around the remaining seven players in our top ten, and it’s anyone guess as to which will be the next to sign.  Let’s take a look at where things reportedly stand with each member of this septet….

Bryce Harper: With Harper and agent Scott Boras reportedly looking for nothing less than the biggest contract in baseball history, it would admittedly be surprising to see the former Nationals outfielder come off the board next.  Harper, his wife Kayla, and Boras has reportedly held court with multiple teams in private meetings in Las Vegas, though the specific identities of these teams isn’t yet clear.  Teams like the Dodgers, White Sox, Phillies, and Cardinals are known to have some level of interest in Harper’s services, while we’ve also heard some teams (like the Nationals and Yankees) seemingly count themselves out of “Harper’s Bazaar,” as Boras calls it.  Speculative fits like the Cubs or Giants could also be out due to budget constraints.  Boras has a penchant for waiting until deep into the offseason to find a satisfactory contract for his clients, so I’d guess that we won’t know the identity of Harper’s next team before 2018 is over.

Manny Machado: The star infielder is set for in-person meetings with the White Sox, Yankees, Phillies, and at least one more team this week.  It’s impossible to mention Machado’s free agency without also mentioning Harper, as the two share many of the same suitors and it seems highly unlikely that one team would be willing to spend big enough to add both to the same roster.  Machado’s controversial history of overly-aggressive (or, as some might say, outright dirty) play has been a factor in his market, as was his October interview with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal about his admitted lack of maximum effort on some plays, and his admission that “I’m not the type of player that’s going to be ‘Johnny Hustle.’ ”  While questions about Machado’s personality are legitimate, especially as he is looking for a record-breaking contract, it’s also possible some teams are using Machado’s interview as leverage to try and lower his price tag.  We should know more about Machado’s status once these in-person meetings are complete, and if a team’s concerns about his work ethic are erased after a face-to-face meetings, it isn’t impossible that a signing could come before Christmas.

Dallas Keuchel: Another Boras client, Keuchel might not have quite as long a wait on the market since there has already been something of a run on free agent starting pitching, as Corbin, Eovaldi, Happ, and Charlie Morton have all found new teams.  On the trade front, there now seems to be less chance that the Indians could deal Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer, while the Mets’ flurry of acquisitions have made a Noah Syndergaard trade less likely.  Teams that missed out on these frontline arms may now be willing to meet Keuchel’s hefty asking price, and give up the draft pick compensation necessary to sign the lefty since he rejected the Astros’ qualifying offer.  Teams like the Reds, Braves, Padres, Blue Jays, Phillies, and Nationals have all been reported to have varying levels of Keuchel’s services.

Craig Kimbrel: Teams would also need to surrender a draft to sign Kimbrel since he turned down a QO from the Red Sox, and might also have to fork over the biggest contract ever given to a relief pitcher.  A big initial ask is a common negotiating tactic, of course, though even at a lower amount, Kimbrel and his representatives clearly see him worthy of a deal akin to Aroldis Chapman/Kenley Jansen money.  The Cardinals and Phillies have both been linked to Kimbrel, and the Red Sox may or may not still be in on their former closer.  The recent signings of Jeurys Familiar and Joe Kelly indicate that the bullpen market is starting to move, though Kimbrel is obviously in a higher financial level than those types of contracts.

Yasmani Grandal: The Angels, Astros, and White Sox have all been linked to Grandal, though Houston might be out of the catching market after signing Robinson Chirinos.  Chicago also recently added James McCann, though that isn’t quite as significant an obstacle to a future move for Grandal, should the Sox deal Welington Castillo and then install Grandal as the starter ahead of McCann.  Even before Ramos became a Met, Grandal’s biggest competition has likely been J.T. Realmuto, though teams have thus far balked at meeting the Marlins’ large asking price in a trade.  The Mets are one team that decided to simply sign a quality catcher rather than trade for Realmuto, and another backstop-needy team could do the same by inking Grandal, though he’s another QO free agent.  There has been some indication that the Marlins could decide by Christmas whether to keep or trade Realmuto, so once that decision is made either way, Grandal’s market will gain some clarity.

A.J. Pollock: Here’s another player who turned down a qualifying offer, and another with a pricey contract demand (reportedly in the $80MM range).  The Mets, Braves, Reds, and Astros are known to have interest in Pollock, plus with so many trade rumors swirling around other outfielders, more suitors could easily emerge as more outfield spots are created.

Michael Brantley: Machado and Brantley are the only two of these seven players who don’t have QO compensation tied to their services, which gives Brantley in particular a boost as he tests free agency for the first time in his career.  Furthermore, Brantley also appears willing to try playing first base, which adds a bit of extra versatility to his repertoire for any interested teams, even if Brantley would still primarily play as an outfielder.  What could dampen enthusiasm, however, is Brantley’s initial asking price, reportedly something akin to a $20MM average annual value over three years.  We’ve already heard that the Braves aren’t meeting that price, and other Brantley suitors like the Astros, Cardinals, and White Sox are also sure to aim for a lower number.

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Reaction & Analysis: The Wilson Ramos Signing

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The Mets’ busy offseason continued today with the news that the team has agreed with free agent catcher Wilson Ramos on a two-year, $19MM contract that contains a club option for the 2021 season.  Here is some of the early reaction to the deal, and its ripple effect on the rest of the catching market…

  • After speaking with Ramos and his camp during the Winter Meetings, the Mets came away “extremely impressed” by the catcher, according to SNY.tv’s Andy Martino (Twitter links).  It also didn’t hurt that Ramos was seeking a lesser contract than Yasmani Grandal, who is looking for a four-year deal.  Kevin Plawecki may now be the odd man out of New York’s catching mix, as Martino hears that the Mets are currently planning to use Travis d’Arnaud for the backup job behind Ramos, and Plawecki could now be a trade chip.
  • The Mets were heavily involved in trade talks for J.T. Realmuto, though ultimately didn’t want to surrender “significant talent off the Major League roster” in a deal, Martino tweets.  Names like Amed Rosario, Brandon Nimmo, and Michael Conforto had all been mentioned as possible targets for the Marlins, though Miami’s desire to land more than one of these players seems to have ultimately been the Mets’ breaking point in talks.  Martino also mentions that the Mets, Marlins, and Padres had some talks about a three-team deal that would’ve involved both Realmuto and Noah Syndergaard, with those negotiations lasting “up until the end of winter meetings and perhaps beyond.”
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post likes the Ramos signing, calling it “the right move” for the Mets rather than trade young players for someone like Realmuto.  The Mets can now keep Nimmo and company as potential trade chips for midseason additions, if such move are necessary.  If the Mets don’t end up contending, Sherman points out that Ramos himself could potentially be dealt at the deadline, as his contract doesn’t represent a long-term hit for either the Mets or any possible trade suitor.
  • According to Heyman, the Mets were Ramos’ first choice this winter.  The Dodgers also had interest, though only on a one-year contract, Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times tweets.  The Rays and Phillies, Ramos’ most recent teams, didn’t strongly pursue a reunion, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reports.  Philadelphia has youngster Jorge Alfaro, of course, while Tampa Bay made another addition behind the plate in acquiring Mike Zunino from the Mariners.
  • Zunino’s presence hasn’t kept the Rays from being involved in the Realmuto market, however, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes (Twitter link) that Tampa and the Dodgers are two of the teams still in the hunt for Miami’s All-Star catcher.  The Marlins continue to feel, however, that “they don’t have to do anything” in regards to a Realmuto trade, and could still end up keeping the catcher.  “This week will be telling if a trade is made or not,” Frisaro writes.

Red Sox, Nationals Only Two Teams To Exceed 2018 Luxury Tax Threshold

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TODAY: The final totals are in, as The Associated Press reports that the Red Sox will owe $11,951,091 in luxury tax payments, while the Nationals owe $2,386,097.  Boston will also lose ten spots in draft position, dropping from its original 33rd overall spot in the first round.

NOVEMBER 4: As was widely expected, the Red Sox and Nationals were the only two clubs who exceeded the $197MM luxury tax threshold this season, as MLB.com’s Jon Morosi confirmed (Twitter link) earlier this week.  The exact figures aren’t known, though as per the luxury tax calculations on Cot’s Baseball Contracts, Boston surpassed the threshold by slightly beyond $40.85MM, while Washington was just under $6.3MM beyond the tax line.  As a reminder, a team’s normal payroll is just pure dollars spent on player salaries in a season, whereas the payroll as calculated for Competitive Balance Tax purposes consists of the average annual value of player contracts, bonuses, and other expenses.

This is the second straight year that the Nats passed the luxury tax threshold, so their tax bill will consist of 30 percent of every dollar spent in overage (so around $1.89MM).  After exceeding the threshold in 2015 and 2016, the Red Sox ducked under the CBT line in the 2017-18 offseason to “reset their clock,” so they’ll be taxed at the first-timer rate of 20 percent of every dollar spent in overage.  By Cot’s numbers, however, the Red Sox surpassed the threshold by more than $40MM, so they’ll face a 62.5 percent surcharge on the overage.

This would work out to roughly $25.53MM in luxury tax payments and, perhaps more importantly, Boston’s top pick in next year’s amateur draft (currently the 33rd overall selection) would drop by 10 spots.  Since the Sox are so close to that $40MM figure, it’s possible there could be some other calculation or unknown payroll factor that got the club under the $237MM mark — we won’t know for certain about the draft pick or the final Competitive Balance Tax bill until the league makes an official announcement.  Had Boston stayed within the $20MM-$40MM range for payroll overage, they would have faced only a 12 percent extra in tax on top of their 20 percent first-timer percentage, putting them on the hook for approximately $12.672MM in luxury tax payments.

The Giants were right up against the $197MM line seemingly all season long, though by Cot’s calculations, they squeaked under the threshold by less than $1.6MM, thus avoiding their fourth straight year of tax payments.  San Francisco was very careful in trying to stay under the $197MM payroll line after a busy offseason, as the team made a pure salary dump of a trade with the Rangers in July to unload Austin Jackson and Cory Gearrin’s contracts, and also traded Andrew McCutchen to the Yankees on August 31 once they were fully out of contention.

The Competitive Balance Tax was a major subplot of the 2017-18 offseason, as one of the reasons behind the unprecedented lack of free agent activity was the fact that big spenders like the Giants, Yankees, and Dodgers all kept their spending in check (at least by their standards) in an effort to stay under the threshold.  For New York, this marks the first time since the luxury tax system was instituted in 2003 that the team will avoid making payments — the Yankees paid a whopping $319.6MM in total luxury tax payments from 2003-17.  The Dodgers have exceeded the threshold every season since 2013, as the Guggenheim Baseball Management ownership group made an initial big spending splash to bring the club back into relevance, though the Dodgers always stressed that they would eventually take a more measured approach to payroll.

The expectation was that, once these teams reset their spending clocks, it would open the floodgates for increased spending in a 2018-19 free agent market that has two players (Bryce Harper, Manny Machado) in line for record-setting contracts.  Those two superstars plus many other available big names like Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel, Yasmani Grandal, Craig Kimbrel, Josh Donaldson, Nathan Eovaldi, and many others makes this winter a particularly important time to have as much salary flexibility as possible.

Any team who exceeds the luxury tax threshold in three or more consecutive years must pay a 50 percent tax on the overage, so getting under the line carries some noteworthy savings.  Plus, as per the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that came into play for the 2017 season, a team that surpasses the $40MM overage figure (as it appears Boston has done) faces as much as a 90 percent tax on the overage, plus that 10-slot drop for their top pick in the amateur draft.

Those stiffer penalties surely also contributed to the Yankees, Dodgers, and Giants’ decisions, though it should be noted that the actual dollars paid in tax penalties aren’t overly pricey for such wealthy franchises.  While big spending is certainly no guarantee of success on the field, it usually does provide some level of competitive advantage — for instance, nobody in Boston’s organization is sweating that tax payment in the wake of a World Series championship, no matter if the final bill ends up at $12.672MM or $25.53MM.  (Even dropping from the 33rd to the 43rd overall pick is a pretty light penalty.)  As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes has written in the past, some “large market teams are treating the CBT thresholds as lines they absolutely cannot cross,” perhaps as an overall excuse to curb spending.  Only eight teams total have ever made tax payments, with two of those clubs — the 2004 Angels and 2016 Cubs — doing so only once.  Teams will have even more room to spend in 2019, as the luxury tax threshold is jumping up to $206MM.

In paying the tax in 2018, the Red Sox and Nationals will each face added penalties for pursuing free agents who were issued qualifying offers, and will receive limited compensation if their own QO free agent (Kimbrel for the Sox, Harper for the Nats) leaves.  If Boston or Washington signs a player who rejected the QO from his former team, the Sox/Nats would have to give up $1MM in international signing bonus pool money as well as their second-highest and fifth-highest picks in next year’s draft.  Should Kimbrel and Harper reject their qualifying offers and sign elsewhere, the Sox and Nationals would only receive a compensatory pick after the fourth round of the draft.

AL East Notes: Rays, Diaz, Bauers, Tribe, Elias, Jays

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Some items from around the AL East…

  • Thursday’s three-team deal between the Rays, Indians, and Mariners was a very notable swap for all sides, and while payroll concerns were a big factor for Seattle and Cleveland, the Rays’ role was apparently more baseball-centric, and all the more interesting given the team’s long-standing admiration for first baseman Jake Bauers.  As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes, Bauers had long been seen as the Rays’ projected first baseman of the future, and the 23-year-old only just made his big league debut in 2018.  New acquisition Yandy Diaz, however, adds a bit more positional flexibility as well as a right-handed bat to Tampa’s roster.  “Jake’s pretty special to us and our high opinion of him doesn’t change….We like him a lot,” Rays senior VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said.  “This was one (deal) where there was no high-fiving, just something we thought really made sense for us going forward. The Indians are getting a hell of a player. It’s going to be fun to watch his career progress.”
  • In more details on the trade, Topkin reiterated that Edwin Encarnacion isn’t likely to be flipped from the Mariners to the Rays, even though Seattle could very well trade Encarnacion elsewhere before Opening Day.  That fits with a report from Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who said that Encarnacion wasn’t originally a part of any talks between the Rays and Indians, who were initially planning to just swap Bauers for Diaz in a regular two-team deal.  Hoynes also “would not be surprised” if the Tribe acquires a veteran bat for pinch-hitting or part-time DH duty, to get some playing time when Carlos Santana is at first base and Bauers is deployed as a corner outfielder.
  • Mike Elias’ contract with the Orioles may be a five-year deal, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com has heard, though Kubatko noted that this hasn’t been confirmed by the organization.  It isn’t unusual, of course, for teams to not publicly release details on executive contracts.  Five years isn’t an uncommon contract length even for a first-time GM like Elias, especially given the large amount of work he faces in overseeing what should be a very extensive rebuild.
  • The Blue Jays are known to be looking for some veteran rotation help, though they apparently weren’t “serious bidders” for the recently-signed Charlie Morton or Lance Lynn, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes.  Morton signed a two-year, $30MM deal with the Rays that includes an option year, while Lynn reportedly got a three-year, $30MM commitment from the Rangers.  It would be somewhat surprising if Toronto signed an experienced starter to such a contract, either in price or perhaps anything longer than two years, given how the Jays are in a rebuilding phase.  The Blue Jays reportedly at least checked in on Lynn, though it isn’t surprising that they balked at giving him a three-year deal.  Toronto’s lack of moves on the pitching front makes them a team to watch as various hurlers continue to come off the board, particularly if the team is also weighing offers for Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez.

Baseball Blogs Weigh in: Kluber, Brewers, Shifts, Braves, M’s, NY

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This week in baseball blogs…

Submissions: ZachBBWI @gmail.com

Mets To Sign Wilson Ramos

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4:44pm: It is indeed $19MM guaranteed, tweets the New York Times’ James Wagner, who adds that Ramos will earn $8.25MM next season and $9.25MM in 2020. The contract also includes either a $10MM club option or a $1.5MM buyout for 2021. The max value is $27.5MM.

3:45pm: The Mets have reached an agreement with free-agent catcher Wilson Ramos, pending a physical, according to Andy Martino of SNY. Daniel Alvarez Montes of ElExtrabase previously reported the two sides had agreed to a contract. It’s a two-year pact, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. The deal is worth $19MM, per Jon Heyman of Fancred, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports Ramos will receive a $19.5MM guarantee and an option for 2021. Post colleague Ken Davidoff adds that Ramos could make up to $26MM.

[RELATED: Mets Depth Chart]

The Mets’ addition of Ramos takes them out of the running for Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, whom they had been aggressively pursuing this week, as Martino notes. They’re the second team to reportedly drop out of the Realmuto sweepstakes in the past couple days, joining the NL East rival Braves.

For the Mets, losing out on Realmuto means they’ll get to keep major league assets such as Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto and Amed Rosario, all of whom had piqued the Marlins’ interest in talks. At the same time, they won’t end up with arguably the majors’ best catcher. Still, while the 31-year-old Ramos’ isn’t the prize Realmuto would have been for New York, he should provide the team with a quality starter behind the plate.

Ramos, set to join his third NL East team (he was previously with Washington and Philadelphia), has batted .273/.317/.439 (103 wRC+) across 2,944 major league plate appearances, making him an easily above-average offensive catcher. Defensively, Ramos has caught a lifetime 32 percent of would-be base stealers, beating out the 28 percent league average, and earned positive marks behind the plate from Baseball Prospectus for the majority of his MLB career.

In 2018 – which he divided between the Rays and Phillies – Ramos enjoyed arguably his best offensive season, slashing .306/.358/.487 (130 wRC+) with 15 home runs in 416 PAs. Ramos also caught 29 percent of would-be base thieves and received decent overall grades from BP. It was clearly a strong rebound campaign for Ramos, who only appeared in 64 games in 2017 with the Rays as he worked his way back from the torn right ACL he suffered as a member of the Nats late in 2016.

Ramos has torn his right ACL twice in his major league career, which is especially troubling for an aging backstop. But he still doesn’t come with the injury concerns of fellow Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who missed all but four games last year as a result of a partial UCL tear, has only appeared in upward of 100 games twice in his career and, when healthy, hasn’t lived up to the hype he had as a prospect. D’Arnaud now figures to back up Ramos, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, calling into question what the Mets will do with fellow catchers Kevin Plawecki and Tomas Nido. Speculatively, the out-of-options Plawecki – a former top-100 prospect – could be a trade candidate.

Entering the offseason, MLBTR forecast a three-year, $36MM guarantee for Ramos, who will fall short of that with his new club. His departure from the open market easily leaves Yasmani Grandal as the premier catcher available in free agency. The Mets also had interest in Grandal, but as a qualifying offer recipient, signing him would have forced them to surrender their second-highest draft pick in 2019, $500K in international bonus space and a significant amount of their major league payroll room. Ramos only cost money, on the other hand, but his signing still counts as yet another major move in the Brodie Van Wagenen era. The rookie GM had been aggressive even before the Ramos agreement, as he acquired Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz and Jeurys Familia over the past couple weeks. Van Wagenen’s likely not done yet, either, as he attempts to construct a roster capable of trumping the sub-.500 versions the Mets fielded from 2017-18.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Notes: Reds, Giants, Marlins, J. Kelly

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On the heels of their fifth straight sub-.500 campaign, the Reds entered the offseason planning to post a higher payroll in 2019 than in years past. That remains the case, according to president Dick Williams, who said (via John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that “payroll will be up to levels we haven’t had before. We still have money to spend.” Williams’ comments imply the Reds will outdo their franchise-record Opening Day payroll from 2015, when they ran up a $115MM-plus tab, and Fay suggests they could ultimately climb toward the $130MM range. Moreover, even after acquiring righty Tanner Roark from the Nationals this week, the Reds remain “very engaged with multiple clubs” and are “talking trades with multiple clubs,” Williams added. Regardless of whether further upgrades come via trades, free agency or both, Cincinnati should still have enough money left to pick up an outfielder and find another starter to join Roark & Co. in its rotation, Fay posits.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • The Giants have been speculative suitors for outfielder Bryce Harper, arguably the preeminent player on the open market, but they aren’t “currently involved in discussions with most high-profile free agents,” Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group writes. Rather, in an effort to maintain payroll flexibility in 2020 and beyond, the Giants seem to be focusing on free agents who are likely to collect short-term contracts.
  • Trading catcher J.T. Realmuto would leave a gaping hole behind the plate for the Marlins, who wouldn’t be able to adequately replace him this offseason. But if the Marlins do go the expected route and part with Realmuto, they may add a veteran backstop to work with their young pitching staff, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com relays. President Michael Hill acknowledged the team’s desire for an experienced catcher, saying “a person who is going to take care of your pitchers as you continue to build” could help those hurlers “turn into the championship pieces you think they can be.” Miami could acquire Realmuto’s replacement in its forthcoming trade for him, though that’s not a must, Frisaro notes. Aside from Realmuto, the only other catcher on the Marlins’ 40-man roster is Chad Wallach, who has all of 21 MLB games under his belt. The lone somewhat battle-tested backup in the organization is Bryan Holaday, a recent minor league signee who has achieved minimal success across 606 trips to the plate in the majors.
  • Before he agreed to a three-year, $25MM contract with the Dodgers this week, hard-throwing reliever Joe Kelly drew interest from half the league (15 teams), according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Kelly revealed that the Dodgers were the first club to extend him a three-year offer.

Carlos Asuaje Nearing KBO Deal

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DEC. 16: Asuaje is “expected” to become a member of the Lotte Giants when they finalize a buyout from the Rangers, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.

DEC. 14: Infielder Carlos Asuaje is nearing agreement on a deal that’ll bring him to the Korea Baseball Organization, according to Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal (Twitter link). Terms of the prospective deal are not known.

Presumably, the Rangers are on board with this move. The Texas club paid $50K to claim Asuaje off waivers from the Padres just a few days ago, but it wasn’t entirely clear what role he’d play given the existing slate of roster pieces. Perhaps this move will allow the club to clear a tidy financial profit.

Now 27 years of age, Asuaje has seen action in parts of three MLB campaigns. He’s a cumulative .240/.312/.329 hitter in 586 plate appearances, with significant platoon splits. Asuaje is considered a solid defender at second base, but isn’t an option at short.

Needless to say, that’s not the profile of a regular major league asset, though certainly Asuaje could still carve out a steady role at the game’s highest level. For now, though, he’ll take the bigger payday and steadier work on offer in the KBO.

AL Notes: Manny, Yanks, Rangers, Rays, ChiSox, Eloy

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A date has been set for the previously reported Manny Machado-Yankees summit. He’ll head to New York to meet with the team on Wednesday, George A. King III of the New York Post relays. It’s reportedly one of four visits the superstar infielder will make around the league in the coming days. He’ll also sit down with the White Sox, Phillies and a mystery team.  [UPDATE: Machado will meet with the Phils on Thursday, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.  The White Sox meeting is likely to take place “early in the week,” as per Fancred’s Jon Heyman, which would seemingly place it on Monday or Tuesday ahead of Machado’s trip to New York.]  Machado’s meeting with the Yankees may give him an opportunity to clear the air with owner Hal Steinbrenner, who said last month it would be “essential” for the 26-year-old to explain his well-documented “Johnny Hustle” comments to GM Brian Cashman.

Here’s more on a few other American League clubs:

  • In the event the Rangers trade left-hander Mike Minor, who has drawn interest from at least one team, they’d “likely have to add another veteran” starter in response, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. The Rangers don’t want to overexpose their young pitchers at the major league level in 2019, per Grant, and losing their 2018 innings leader in Minor without replacing him would make that task more difficult. Texas did sign Lance Lynn this week, but he’d be the only strong bet to eat innings on a Minor-less staff. While Drew Smyly and Edinson Volquez have done it in the past, the former hasn’t taken a major league mound since 2016, and the latter last pitched in MLB in July 2017 – a month before he underwent Tommy John surgery.
  • Likewise, the Rangers plan to acquire bullpen help prior to spring training, according to general manager Jon Daniels (via Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram). The unit just lost its innings king from last season, Alex Claudio, whom the Rangers traded to the Brewers earlier in the week. Prior to that, the Rangers did reunite with Jesse Chavez via the open market, but they also saw Tony Barnette and the non-tendered Matt Bush become free agents.
  • An experienced closer is on the Rays’ wish list, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The Rays’ saves leaders from last season – Sergio Romo and Alex Colome – are no longer on the roster, with the former currently a free agent. Romo’s one of several established closers on the market, where Craig Kimbrel, Zach Britton, David Robertson, Andrew Miller, Kelvin Herrera, Joakim Soria, Cody Allen and Bud Norris are also among those seeking deals.
  • White Sox uber-prospect Eloy Jimenez has been playing in the Dominican Winter League, but Chicago will probably shut the outfielder down until spring training because of a quad injury, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets. Jimenez would have been done with winter ball in another week anyway, Levine notes, so this doesn’t seem like a particularly serious issue. As such, the 22-year-old Jimenez remains on track to make his much-anticipated big league debut sometime in 2019.

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