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Padres Marketing Grandal More Aggressively

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The Padres are becoming more aggressive in marketing catcher Yasmani Grandal on the trade market, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (Twitter link). Previous reports have indicated that the interest in San Diego catchers is strong, with Grandal, Rene Rivera and top prospect Austin Hedges all said to be generating calls.

The 26-year-old Grandal had a slow start to his 2014 campaign but finished quite strong with a .242/.356/.440 batting line in 222 second-half plate appearances. Despite playing his home games in the pitchers’ haven that is Petco Park, Grandal swatted 15 homers, tying him for eighth in the league among backstops. He also rates as a solid pitch-framer, though ESPN’s Keith Law (who also hears that San Diego has become more aggressive in trying to move Grandal) tweets that he still has work to do on his receiving skills, as Padres pitchers preferred throwing to Rivera.

Grandal is controllable through the 2018 season. The switch-hitting former top prospect has yet to string together a consistent run of success in the Majors, but he has the talent to do so and should be an attractive trade chip in an offseason environment that is exceptionally thin on catching options. While Hedges isn’t ready to take over as the everyday catcher just yet, Rivera’s surprising emergence last season likely makes it easier to shop Grandal. The team doesn’t necessarily need to move him, but it’s possible that the Friars feel Grandal’s value is near its peak due to his strong finish, his remaining team control and the dearth of available catching options. Moving Grandal appears to be be a more palatable option than entertaining offers for controllable arms such as Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner.

Some teams that have been linked to catching upgrades include the White Sox, Dodgers and Cubs, and the Rockies are known to have been looking for improved catcher defense as well. The Cubs do have Welington Castillo behind the dish, and I’m personally of the mind that they were interested in Russell Martin specifically rather than catching upgrades in general

Yankees, Dodgers In “Serious Pursuit” Of Andrew Miller

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10:53am: The Dodgers are also in serious pursuit of Miller, tweets Olney.

8:37am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that he just spoke with Miller’s agent, who confirmed the Yankees’ interest but said New York is one of multiple teams still in the mix and wouldn’t classify a front-runner.

7:47am: The Yankees are in “serious pursuit” of lefty Andrew Miller, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). Olney adds that given the teams that are showing the most interest in Miller, a four-year deal is likely, as others have indicated.

Miller was said last week to have multiple three-year offers already in hand, leading to further speculation that four years was the likely outcome. Over the weekend, reports indicated that he’d pared his list of possible destinations down to eight clubs, with AL East rivals Boston and Baltimore among the teams to have shown interest. On Saturday, Miller’s agent, Mark Rodgers, told the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo that the lefty was advancing toward a decision.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes pegged Miller for a four-year, $32MM contract in his free agent profile back in mid-October, but given the significant interest in Miller, it seems possible he tops that average annual value. If the Yankees are indeed the team to pay that premium, it could serve as an unofficial means of closing the book on their long relationship with David Robertson — the top reliever on this year’s open market. Robertson is known to be looking for a contract that tops Jonathan Papelbon’s record-setting four-year, $50MM contract, and he reportedly already has received a three-year, $39MM offer. By signing Miller, the Yankees could add a premium high-leverage lefty to pair with breakout rookie right-hander Dellin Betances and collect a draft pick when Robertson signs elsewhere.

Mets “Actively” Trying To Trade Veteran Pitching

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The Mets are “actively” trying to trade Bartolo Colon, Dillon Gee or Jon Niese, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports. No specific trade appears imminent at this time, however. One issue is that the only significant free agent starting pitcher to sign so far has been A.J. Burnett, leaving a glut of starting pitching on the free agent market. The Mets hope that the upcoming Winter Meetings will help clear a path for starting pitching trades.

It comes as no surprise that the Mets are proactively trying to deal a pitcher. The Mets have a strong core of young pitching that includes Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, and Noah Syndergaard, and if everyone is healthy, there’s currently no room for those four, plus all the veterans, in the big-league rotation (although Syndergaard could start the season in Triple-A regardless). As Davidoff notes, Colon, Gee and Niese don’t have a ton of value on their own, but the Mets could use one of them to acquire a role player or a prospect, while also clearing salary.

Colon has one year and $11MM remaining on his contract. With an excellent walk rate of 1.3 BB/9, he remained effective last season as a 41-year-old, although his advanced age and diminished velocity limit his value. Gee is projected to make $5.1MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility and had a solid but unspectacular 2014 season, with a 4.00 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 137 1/3 innings in the Mets’ rotation. Niese, who posted a 3.40 ERA in 187 2/3 innings, has two years and $16.5MM remaining on his five-year deal, which also includes options for 2017 and 2018.

None of the three have exorbitant contracts, but their trade value is, perhaps, limited in this market — as Davidoff’s colleague Joel Sherman recently noted, this offseason is a difficult one in which to trade pitching, not only because of the free agent options available, but because of more tantalizing trade possibilities, like Johnny Cueto and Cole Hamels. Teams attempting to trade back-of-the-rotation types might have a tougher time, at least until some of the bigger-ticket players find teams.

Quick Hits: Liriano, Miller, Papelbon

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Max Scherzer tops the list of free agents who could wait until the new year to sign, Jim Duquette writes for MLB.com. Perhaps it’s no surprise that three of the five players on the list, including Scherzer, are represented by Scott Boras, who often prefers to wait for the market to come to him. Duquette suggests that one potential late signee who isn’t a Boras client is Francisco Liriano, who has a qualifying offer attached and who has topped 163 innings in a season only once in his career. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.

  • Andrew Miller’s next deal will almost certainly be for four years and will set a record for a non-closer relief pitcher, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes. (Jeremy Affeldt’s current three-year, $18MM deal holds that record, Heyman notes.) Miller and his agent have pared his list of interested teams down to eight; their identities aren’t known, although Heyman notes that the Red Sox and Orioles have shown interest, while the Tigers are said to lack the necessaryfinancial means. A recent report from Baltimore, however, indicated that the O’s were out on Miller.
  • Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon appears to have little trade value and isn’t generating interest from teams like the Blue Jays and Astros, Heyman tweets. Despite being the subject of longstanding worries about his velocity and strikeout rate, Papelbon has gotten good results in each of his three seasons in Philadelphia, so as Heyman suggests, it might seem odd that there isn’t more of a market. His $13MM option for 2016, which will vest if he finishes 48 games next season, might be one source of concern, along with his vanishing peripherals.

Blue Jays Considering Signing Alberto Callaspo

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The Blue Jays are considering signing free agent Alberto Callaspo to fill their hole at second base, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The Blue Jays have already added Russell Martin and Josh Donaldson to their offense this offseason, but they’re still weak in left field and at second, where Ryan Goins currently tops their depth chart. The Jays also have Maicer Izturis, who will be returning from a significant knee injury.

Callaspo, 31, had a poor .223/.290/.290 season with Oakland in the last season of a two-year deal he originally signed with the Angels. He should therefore be available fairly cheaply, however, and Rosenthal notes that the Jays think Callaspo ought to rebound in 2015. Callaspo also ought not to require a multi-year deal, which means the Jays can keep second base clear for recently-acquired prospect Devon Travis in 2016 if Travis continues to hit.

Callaspo had back-to-back seasons of at least 2.9 WAR in Los Angeles in 2011 and 2012. At his best, the switch-hitter has generated value with an OBP-heavy offensive game and a good glove at both second base and third. He did, however, have negative UZR figures at second in both the last two seasons. Still, Toronto’s reported opinion that Callaspo is a good candidate to rebound appears to be well founded — Steamer projects he’ll hit .252/.326/.354 and be a win above replacement if given a full-time job next season.

Non-Tender Candidate: Alejandro De Aza

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Halfway through the 2014 season, longtime White Sox outfielder Alejandro De Aza looked like a probable non-tender after hitting .243/.309/.354 and getting eaten alive by left-handed pitching in a lackluster age-30 season in Chicago. De Aza made $4.25MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility, and there was little indication he would be worth a raise on that heading into 2015 and his likely decline phase.

USATSI_8067168_154513410_lowresA late-August trade to Baltimore and a well timed hot streak might have earned De Aza another season in the arbitration system, however. He hit .293/.341/.537 in 89 plate appearances with the Orioles, bringing hit 2014 total to a more respectable .252/.314/.386, then kept hitting in the postseason. De Aza is also a slightly above average defender in an outfield corner and can play center field, so he has defensive value to fall back on. MLBTR projects he’ll make $5.9MM through the arbitration process this offseason, and for the right team, he’s probably worth it.

The only question is whether the Orioles are the right team. The O’s are trying to re-sign a fellow left-handed outfielder in Nick Markakis, as well as DH/OF Nelson Cruz. They’ve also reportedly discussed Matt Kemp with the Dodgers, and they’re in on Torii Hunter and Melky Cabrera. How much worse De Aza is than someone like Markakis or Hunter could actually be debated, but any combination of Markakis, Cruz, Kemp, Hunter and Cabrera would make De Aza less useful to the Orioles.

On top of that, Baltimore faces a crunch of arbitration-eligible players, many of whom either are coming off very good seasons or have high salaries already. The Orioles’ 11 arbitration-eligibles (De Aza, Matt Wieters, Steve Pearce, Bud Norris, Tommy Hunter, Chris Davis, Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, Ryan Flaherty and Zach Britton) are projected to make a combined $56.9MM, and the Orioles could decide De Aza is a luxury they can do without, particularly if they splurge on, say, Markakis and Cruz, or at least feel it’s likely they’ll re-sign. They already have a lefty backup outfielder in David Lough who had a similar season to De Aza with the bat and will make near the league minimum in 2015, so heading into the season with De Aza on their roster only makes sense for the Orioles if they have a starting spot available for him.

The good news for De Aza (assuming he wants to be tendered — he might actually get slightly more than one year and $5.9MM on the open market) is that there’s little time before Tuesday night’s tender deadline for the Orioles to settle their outfield picture. If the O’s do strike out on Markakis, Cruz, Kemp or anyone else they might pursue, De Aza should have significant value for them. If they do tender him and then acquire more players who might make him superfluous, they would probably still be able to trade him, even though they wouldn’t be likely to get much back. The best guess here, then, is that the Orioles tender De Aza, and that’s reportedly the direction they’re leaning anyway. The Praver/Shapiro client probably ought to plan on heading into the season with Baltimore.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

MLBTR Originals

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A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR the last seven days scattered amongst the Thanksgiving leftovers, Black Friday shopping bags, and Cyber Monday ads:

Quick Hits: A’s, Rockies, Morales, Albers

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With the Winter Meetings just a week away, MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince names the top ten Hot Stove storylines heading into December. How the top-tier starting pitcher market shakes out heads the list, according to Castrovince, who notes the trade market for the likes of Cole Hamels, Jordan Zimmermann, and Jeff Samardzija will heat up once free agents Jon Lester and Max Scherzer sign. Among Castrovince’s other top headlines this month are whether the Braves trade Justin Upton and how the Red Sox and Dodgers deal with their surplus of outfielders.

Elsewhere in baseball on the final day of November:

  • After A’s GM Billy Beane signed Billy Butler to a $30MM deal and traded third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com isn’t sure what the plan is in Oakland.
  • The best way for the Rockies to become contenders is for Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki to be healthy and productive, but it would be daring for GM Jeff Bridich to trade the duo in search of salary relief to address areas of concern, opines MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby.
  • The market for Kendrys Morales has been quiet to date with only the Indians being linked to the free agent DH. CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman tweets, besides Cleveland, the Rangers and Royals are also taking a look at Morales while the Mariners and Blue Jays are possibilities, as well.
  • Left-handed starter Andrew Albers recently became a free agent and has drawn interest from a number of big league clubs, an industry source told Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Albers became a free agent when South Korea’s Hanwha Eagles declined the 2015 option on his one-year deal. The Canadian pitched to a 5.84 ERA in 146 1/3 innings, though he did make 27 starts and led his team with 102 strikeouts. BN-S writes Albers appears to be seeking a split contract with incentives.

Hart On Justin Upton, Lester, Gattis

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Braves President of Baseball Operations John Hart was a guest of Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette on MLB Network Radio’s “The Front Office” and addressed numerous topics. Here are the highlights (all links go to the Twitter accounts of Bowden and Duquette):

  • Hart said the Braves have not made one phone call on Justin Upton and do not plan to do so. Hart added signing Upton to a multi-year contract is “not out of the realm of possibility,” but downplayed its likelihood.
  • Jon Lester is probably the right player at the wrong time for Atlanta, according to Hart, but the bad contracts the Braves have to carry in Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton have affected the team’s offseason plan. In that same vein, Hart admitted the Braves will not be in the market for free agents who declined a qualifying offer.
  • Hart told Bowden and Duquette there are no active trade talks involving Evan Gattis and the club is toying with the idea of playing him in left field.

David Robertson Rumors: Sunday

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Earlier today, we learned an AL East GM wonders whether the Yankees, instead of trying to re-sign David Robertson, may opt to pursue Andrew Miller to form a lefty-righty closer tandem with Dellin Betances. Here’s the latest on Robertson, the top free agent reliever:

  • A baseball executive has told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com Robertson is said to have already received a three-year, $39MM offer making a four-year contract likely. Robertson reportedly is seeking a four-year deal in the neighborhood of $50MM.
  • Heyman reports the Yankees prefer not to go four years on Robertson, but may be forced to do so to keep up with the big acquisitions made by division rivals the Red Sox and Blue Jays.

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