Both the Angels and Dodgers have ongoing interest in free agent Chase Utley, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com tweets. A source tells Stark that the veteran would like to play in his native California, and it seems he’ll have options to do just that. Utley has been consistently linked to the Dodgers since they declined his $15MM option, and agent Joel Wolfe recently went on-record to state that five or six teams have expressed interest in Utley as a “mostly everyday infielder.” From my vantage point, the Angels have a clearer path to regular (or near-regular) at-bats for Utley. The Dodgers have multiple infield options, including Enrique Hernandez and Jose Peraza.
A few more notes on the free-agent market…
- Another former Phillies stalwart, Shane Victorino, is telling clubs that he intends to return to switch hitting in advance of the 2016 season, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. “I am finding out that not switch-hitting and not doing things from both sides of the plate had lots to do with the way my body has felt,” Victorino told Rosenthal. “Going back and doing things from both sides is such a good thing for my body now that I can physically do it again.”
- Within that same piece, Rosenthal notes that the Cubs are “busy” looking for a center fielder but are faced with relatively limited options. Dexter Fowler is a possibility for the Cubs but is currently exploring the open market. Signing Jason Heyward to play center field is an option, but the team would then need to address its rotation in a cost-effective manner by trading a young bat such as Jorge Soler or Javier Baez. If Soler ends up being the price to bolster the rotation, then the outfield would, of course, remain an issue.
- The Rangers still love Mike Napoli, tweets MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, but general manager Jon Daniels indicated today that his club may not have the “right spot” to fit Napoli into the mix next season. Sullivan’s Seattle counterpart, Greg Johns, however, tweets that Napoli could potentially be of interest to the Mariners, who have a need at first base after trading both Logan Morrison and Mark Trumbo this offseason. Napoli struggled for much of the season in Boston but was reinvigorated by a return to the Lone Star State, hitting .295/.396/.513 in 91 plate appearances with the Rangers. His cumulative .278/.391/.563 line against lefties last year indicates that Napoli, at the very least, is still a highly potent platoon option.
- Sticking with former Rangers, right-hander Colby Lewis tells Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram that Dr. Keith Meister gave him a “thumbs up” on his left knee (links to Twitter). Lewis has been working out and expects to be 100 percent for Spring Training. Many teams have contacted his agents at Octagon, says Lewis, though he remains hopeful that the Rangers will be interested after his latest knee exam. There’s some interest on both sides, according to Wilson.
- The Giants consider Jeff Samardzija and Mike Leake fallback plans in the event that they’re unable to lure Zack Greinke away from L.A., tweets Rosenthal. John Lackey, too, is a consideration for San Francisco. There’s no word yet on a decision from Greinke, who is said to be choosing between the Dodgers and Giants.
- In the wake of yesterday’s tender deadline, MLB.com’s Zachary Finkelstein identified five non-tendered players that are still worthy of roster spots and can be potential bargains for clubs in 2016 (and, in some cases, beyond). Henderson Alvarez tops the list and is followed by Pedro Alvarez, Chris Carter, Tyler Flowers and Neftali Feliz. Alvarez’s youth and track record, the power of Alvarez and Carter, the pitch-framing abilities of Flowers and still-strong velocity plus a nice finish for Feliz give some elements of value to each, he writes.
Cubs sign heyward, trade soler Baez and pierce Johnson for sonny gray.
It will take more that to get Gray.
Yeah, like Beane willing to trade him…. which he isn’t as he’s already stated, so i don’t get why people keep even bringing it up.
Nah dude that’s enough…
Not nearly enuf
A’s don’t accept that for Gray. You’d have to start with 1 of Schwarber, Russell or Bryant.
Plus if they did that, that would leave their outfield of Soler, Heyward and Schwarber, which isn’t fantastic defensively. Heyward loses a bit of his defensive value if he isn’t playing a corner. Then Soler + Schwarber at the corners is a Padres situation waiting to happen.
pretty sure soler can be a headliner, but the package would have to have a lot more quantity, a soler, gleyber torres, mckinney, baez, kyle hendricks package should be enough but cubs wouldnt do it. be pretty stupid if billy didnt take that package though.
Agreed. Soler can net #2 starter but not an ace
I don’t know about that. Not that Soler doesn’t have good value, but like a lot of Cubs players, rushing them all up at once exposed them and removed a lot of their value. Soler looks like he won’t hit for enough contact, Baez looks like a bust, Schwarber looks like an obvious DH…these guys don’t have the value they had last offseason by far. I’m not sure the three of them together nets you a young #2 type.
I don’t love Heyward as the long-term solution in CF for the Cubs. I agree that deal is probably not rich enough for the A’s taste. Plus, the Cubs can get quality MLB pitching with pieces in the farm system. I think a healthy Soler breaks out in 2016 with a .290/25HR season.
I’m not expecting that much from Soler. .270 and 20HRs is more attainable and still good. He hit 10 HRs and had a .262 BA in 2015 in only 366 ABs. Baby steps. He’s only going to be 24 years old in february. In the long run I hope he becomes the .290, 25-30 HR guy we all hope he’ll be.
I’m aiming high! Mallee is working with him over the winter to create more lift in his swing, which should translate more of that solid line-drive contact into home runs. He has a good, natural command of the strike zone, so an increased home run threat should lead to more walks as well, which will help bring up the average. .270/20HR is definitely more attainable, but .290/25HR is not unrealistic IMO.
Mostly, I think Soler has more value in RF than as a trade chip at this point. Soler and MiLBers for Shelby Miller doesn’t move my needle at all.
People seriously need to stop talking about Sonny Gray. Beane has already said trading Gray isn’t something he sees the A’s doing. So drop it already. Trade targets are and have always been Tyson Ross, Danny Salazar, Carlos Carrasco, Jose Quintana, Shelby Miller, and maybe Julio Teheran. Of those Quintana and Salazar are the best IMO. Then Ross and Carrasco. Then Miller and Teheran.
What they should do is trade Soler, Vogelbach, and Candelario to the Indians for Salazar. More than fair and it addresses 3 needs for the Indians. Soler is a young, high ceiling ML bat for the OF, Vogelbach is nearly ML ready and can be DH/1B with Santana, and Candelario is an option at 3B. Then sign Heyward and the OF will be Schwarber, Heyward, and Coghlan. I don’t get why the writer thinks if they trade Soler and sign Heyward the OF will still be a question mark. Schwarber, Heyward, and Coghlan is a pretty stout OF still. They still have an arsenal of OF prospects as well. Trade for Salazar, sign Heyward, and maybe even sign Samardzija. They can afford it if they structure Heyward’s deal they way I think they should. 10 year $200M deal with an opt out after 5 years. First 5 years pay an annual average of $17-18M. Last 5 years pay out about $22-23M annually.
You understand the a’s gave us Addison Russell and Billy McKinney for half a year of samardzija and hammel? Sonny gray isn’t moving anywhere
I love how Cub fans think one of Baez or Soler (or maybe even both) plus a prospect gets a deal done for Gray. Gray is literally the most valuable pitcher in all of baseball considering his ace level numbers, his cheap contract (he hasn’t even hit arbitration yet) and age.
Besides, Beane has said Gray isn’t being traded, so the Cubs would either have to give up some combination of Schwarber/Soler/Baez plus Mckinney plus two or three more prospects (depending on if Schwarber is in the deal). I don’t expect Russell or Bryant to be included in any deal, but one of them being included would probably be the only way to lower the amount of prospects being sent to Oakland in any hypothetical trade.
Maybe its because the Cubs committed highway robbery in that Addison Russell/Billy McKinney trade.
Well…
1. I don’t think informed cubs fans actually believe that.
2. No he isn’t. Chris Sale is more valuable than Sonny Gray.
After looking at their contract statuses, I’ll agree that Sale is probably a little more valuable in the fact that he is signed to a bargain deal through the end of the decade. However, I still think Gray could arguably be more valuable in the fact that he doesn’t have as much usage and that he at least has a solid track record in the postseason (although that’s only two games to Sale’s zero).
so…a 2 game sample size vs. a 0 game sample size….straws.
Not true. Sale only has a few years left on his deal. Gray is just as good of a pitcher, is under team control for longer, and will inevitably be cheaper than sale.
1. No. They are both controlled through 2019.
2. No, he isn’t. Sale has been a better pitcher.
link to fangraphs.com
Why are they talking about this again? Neither Sale or Gray will be traded. Both play for teams that are not in the rebuilding mode. With the high price of aces the cubs would need to over pay to get that type of talent. That is why the cubs will sign a player not trade away all their young players.
It will take more than that for Gray
Come on. Baez and Johnson? Try Baez, Johnson, Bryant, Russell, and Scwarber. Dudes not available, and more valuable than anything the Cubs have. Enough with the pipe dream.
I wish that be a gift from the Gods! Done deal now just the A’s to say yes lol
Alvarez is the puzzling one to me for sure. I know their are some injury concerns especially for a team that limits their payroll like the Marlins but he seems to have a lot of value with youth and upside. Hoping the Orioles grab him.
He’s one of the worst defenders in baseball and that saps his value. He can’t play for an NL team like the Pirates. I agree though, he has enough pop to be a solid contributor in the AL as a DH.
He was referencing Henderson Alvarez, hence the mention of the Marlins in his comment
Lol
they are a cheap team and dont want plan on contending so save themselves 4 mil. they really only had a year and a couple months of control assuming he’s back midseason.
trading soler actually wouldn’t create a hole. they would just be forced to move bryant to RF sooner than they wanted and then slot baez in at third with a castro/ la stella platoon at second and castro and baez giving russell days off. it really just is that simple. that move would actually improve their defense, bryant is better than soler and baez probably a slight upgrade over bryant. have alcantara as the utility guy on the bench as he can play of and IF and switch hits. all these shortstops has given them incredible roster flexibility and ability to micromanage for each situation.
They also have cogs, who put up a pretty solid season last year. Don’t want him as a full time RF, but another option to fill in there.
We learned to be patient now is still that time and Henderson Alvarez from Miami would be great forge team that learned it ok to wait
I’d take giavotella and the combo of cowart/ kubitza at 2nd and 3rd over utley
utley has much higher upside despite being far and away the oldest though.
Peraza: Rookie with virtually no major league experience but could benefit from an expanded audition. Probably not ready for everyday role this year, might be next if not rushed.
Hernandez: Can play any position except pitcher and catcher. Talent wasted if locked to 2B only because they could not find anybody else.
Utley: Experienced 2B who can be had on a one-year contract. Won’t block Peraza. Allows Hernandez to remain in valuable super-utility role.
Conclusion: Clear path to the Dodgers.
Utley: Was basically terrible all-around last season. It would be absolutely foolish to sign him in order to be anything other than a bench player.
Conclusion: Utley is done being anything more than a veteran providing leadership from the bench.
Then they should not be interested in Utley at all. Though apparently the Dodgers and several other teams are interested in him as a “mostly every day player.” Go figure. Go and figure.
could see him end up in SD, can play some first – not to mention a great guy to come in and the get clubhouse/dugout alive, young infielders will learn a ton from him & no ones knows he doesn’t have some bat left…totally healthy & ready to go
Depends if the dodgers want to give Guerrero another shot at third. If so turner could move over to second (where immediately he would become top 5 in the league offensively)
Guerrero might be able to play an adequate 3B, but more likely a substandard 3B. He might be able to bat his weight, but more likely, less. If the Dodgers aren’t looking to regress then they don’t throw the dice on Guerrero being an every day player.
Utley would be a great fit for the Angels. Even if he can’t play the field, he’s a platoon option at DH if Cron regresses for some reason.
I would rather them bring in Alvarez to dh
Would like to see Utley join the Pirates. Shift either him or Walker to 1B. Can use Harrison as a super utility once Kang returns.
The Pirates aren’t doing shit. Their still tryig to figure out how they lost the one game play off to the Cubs LMAO
Rather the Cubs try and pry Quintana from the Sox than Miller from the Braves, if they do go the route of giving up kids for proven pitching. Would love to see Heyward with the Cubs, in RF
Victorino is experiencing exactly what I excperienced when I stopped switch hitting after I broke my collarbone playing hockey. When you’re used to switch hitting and doing things evenly from both sides your body is balanced out, when you change that and start over loading one side it screws with your body big time.
My predictions: P. Alvarez to Seattle, C. Carter to Tampa, H. Alvarez to Pittsburgh, T. Flowers to Cincinnati, and N. Feliz to Boston.
Utley to San Diego would be great! An Eckstein type mentor who can bring winning experience to SD
If Hoyer and Cubs trade Solar after tasting what he can do or any of this group of future Super stars of young guys that for 2 yrs everyone been talking about even Beaz who reminds many of a young Zoberist why trade Theo taught us to be patient now wait for are pitching add one to please the lets make a deal guy who are blocked but this team as is can win a 100 next year if the kids aren’t traded specially Solar
Shock the world, and sign Cuteo, bring back Fowler and were done maybe work on mid rotation in the meetings. Add Mike L and were set next year is here. keep Solar