Here are some hot stove items from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe…
- The Royals and Phillies are among the teams looking at Braves outfielder Nick Markakis. “The money is an issue there, especially with the Royals,” Cafardo writes; Markakis is owed $10.5MM in each of the next two seasons and roughly $7.25MM remaining on his 2016 salary. Markakis entered Sunday hitting .252/.362/.348 in 185 PA, and his near-total power dropoff over the last two seasons has surely hurt his trade value, as MLBTR’s Connor Byrne pointed out earlier today. While both K.C. and the Phils could use help in right field, Markakis has delivered only replacement-level production this season, with an even 0.0 fWAR.
- The Reds’ Jay Bruce is another target for the Royals and other teams looking for a left-handed hitting outfielder. Bruce’s terrible defensive metrics (-9 Defensive Runs Saved, -34 UZR/150) have his overall value at below replacement level (-0.2 fWAR) though he’s enjoying a good year at the plate, hitting .270/.327/.518 with eight homers through 156 PA. Bruce is under contract only through the 2016 season, owed approximately $8.1MM more in remaining salary plus a $1MM buyout of a $13MM club option for his services in 2017. Cincinnati has been shopping Bruce for months, including one proposed offseason trade that nearly saw him get shipped to the Blue Jays.
- Jason McLeod, the Cubs’ senior VP of player development and amateur scouting, would eventually like to run his own front office but is content to remain with Chicago, having already turned down interviews with the Mariners and Padres in recent years. McLeod figures to be one of the game’s most sought-after GM candidates should he decide to pursue a general managing position. Between his stints running the scouting departments for the Cubs, Padres and Red Sox, several well-regarded young prospects and currently stars were drafted on McLeod’s watch.
- Cuban infielder Jose Miguel Fernandez is eligible to sign at any time, though he could possibly have to wait until the offseason simply due to awkward timing. Though Fernandez is 28, an eight-year veteran in Cuba’s top league and is pitched by his agent Alan Nero as a Ben Zobrist or Dustin Pedroia type of player, he won’t be able to immediately help an MLB club. Fernandez hasn’t played since 2014 so he’ll need some minor league time to get back into game shape.
- As per “a couple of GMs” and at least one AL talent evaluator, Tim Lincecum made a mistake in coming to the American League to sign the Angels. “I just don’t see his style of pitching at this juncture in his career working in the AL,” the evaluator said. “The designated hitter makes a big difference, and when you have a guy who relies on having to be pinpoint, that makes it a tough league to succeed.” Lincecum was known to prefer pitching for a West Coast team so his choices were somewhat limited in that sense, especially given that the two-time Cy Young Award winner also wanted to start.
- As of last week, Josh Reddick told Cafardo that there wasn’t any progress towards an extension with the Athletics. Much has changed, of course, since Reddick’s chat with Cafardo, as the outfielder suffered a fractured left thumb and will miss several weeks of action.
I don’t see how the Phillies and Markakis are a good match. The Phillies don’t need another slap hitter, they need someone to drive in Odubel when he gets on. I’d rather see Colby Rasmus (1.2 WAR, 8 HR) or just call up Nick Williams and hope he can hit .260 with some pop.
Cuz writers need to fill space
Lol
because cafardo
Nick Williams isn’t even hitting in AAA.
He still has the tool set and potential to be better– and more of a long term piece for the Phillies than Nick Markakis does. The Phillies just got out of multiple contracts for under performing veterans.
But you are starting his service clock when he clearly isn’t ready, waste of a year of control.
True but doubles will bring home speed runners home from first and Markakis can slap some doubles. But you at correct. Not a HR hitter much anymore.
Markakis is a good ball player, he has not hit but one home run, but he is consistent, the most consistent player the Braves have. I would not give him away, I for one hopes he stays in Atlanta unless quality is brought back.
If they eat all the money they might get an ok prospect. Maybe a top 200. Otherwise nope, he offers 1 thing, obp.
I would keep him then
I disagree with that though… He offers great defensive abilities (multiple Gold Gloves), great veteran leadership, and yeah, well OBP.
I’ve noticed ATL’s FO have been very crafty in getting back top rated prospects for players not deserving of the return. Examples being Swanson for Miller, Ellis and Newcomb for Simmons, two great Upton/Padre trades, etc. Wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Braves got back a Kyle Zimmer/Jake Thompson RHP… If they threw in Beckham or Castro.
Oh god, go homer somewhere else. He’s a negative with the glove. Atls front office has made 2 good trades, both with azl.
They have had 1 good trade. The Miller deal. Justin upton trade was ok. Bj upton trade was terrible. Look at what san Diego got for kimbrel, the braves included upton as a salary dump which is why they got such a light return. B.j as it turns out is more valuable right now than Markakis (shorter contract, better player+ can play center). The Miller trade most likely saved the front office asses.
Great defensive abilities? Have you seen him field recently?
The Kimbrel trade would only be terrible if they didn’t get the salary relief from it. The fact that Upton has rebounded a bit has no real impact, since it’s not like he suddenly has significant trade value. And it’s not like it’s a guarantee he would’ve rebounded with the Braves. They gave him more chances than he deserved. They also already have two players that can man center. Plus they got Wisler. At worst it’s a mediocre trade.
The Braves front office has made a couple celebrated trades. Specifically the two trades with Arizona. The Evan Gattis trade has turned out to be a good one so far. The Justin Upton deal is too early to really judge. Fried is still early in his recovery, but Mallex is already contributing. The Simmons deal is again too early to really judge, but people overrate the trade value of Simmons greatly.
The only trade that is terrible is Olivera. And a lot of that is because of events the Braves could not have predicted. Still at best it was a poor trade. But it’s definitely not their fault that his actions made it horrible.
I really doubt Coppy was in much danger prior to fleecing the Diamondbacks. Overall the trades have been fair to great with one serious backfire.
Why does a rebuilding team need salary relief? When their period for contention wasn’t until after said contract already expired? P.s they signed markakis before the trade so again why trade a guy for money after giving markakis 44 mil. Kimbrel had an off year and still got that return.
I don’t mean they would get fired, I mean as an organization when I said saved their asses.
A rebuilding team sometimes needs salary relief if they’re very burdened by multiple bad contracts to the point it might interfere with making moves that enhance the future. The Braves definitely qualify since at that point they had multiple bad contracts on the books. One of the burdens unfortunately was Kimbrel, since they don’t have enough payroll to pay a closer that kind of coin. I know I personally knew Kimbrel’s days were numbered the moment he signed that extension.
Getting some relief allows them to be more creative with trades. Like the Toussaint deal for example. They can put more into flip projects. It also gives them additional finances to devote to the upcoming IFA which they haven’t hidden their intentions on how active they will be in it.
The Markakis deal carried risk with it, but they obviously hoped his power would return after the surgery. If it did then the contract would’ve been fairly decent, It hasn’t worked out so far.
See none of this is correct. Teams operate on yearly budgets. They had already allocated said money to payroll(hence y they were able to do the Arroyo deal) so none of that money will be going to I.f.a that Will he off this year’s budget or next it has 0 to do with money saved. again what good would a fairly decent 4 yr contract do for a team 4 yrs away from contending. Kimbrels contract while not needed for them to have on budget had huge positive value. You seem to forget in that trade they took back 15 mil in payroll last year.
You assume all teams work the exact same way in regards to their finances, which is very untrue. And prior to the mass wave of trades the Braves were at or very close to their budget limits. They don’t make deals then the Toussaint deal is a lot less likely to happen..
The Markakis deal wasn’t a great one, but there was potential value in it. It’s cheap enough that he didn’t have to rebound hardcore for him to still be worth the contract. And last season he basically was worth the contract. This season he still could be. He also gives the team an additional veteran for the youngsters that are coming up (not a great idea to only have under 25s on the roster). And the Braves don’t have a fast rising right fielder coming up through their system. Plus if he rebound and his value grew then it would’ve gone from decent to an absolute steal.
Kimbrel’s contract had positive value, but that value is greatly diminished for teams that have less financial means. Paying 11-13 million to a closer is a luxury that they wouldn’t be able to really afford. Chances are they had no real intention of Kimbrel staying a Brave when they offered that extension.
These are businesses, yes they all generally operate the same. So you say the braves are a team with limited financial resources, and yet in signing Markakis are commited to paying the 34-35 year old version 22 million when they could be signing other pieces who offer more upside and aren’t already almost untradeable. Say they look good next year and can really contend in 2018. Yet they are giving Markakis is 1/10 the payroll for 1/40 the war. Are you saying freeman isn’t a leader? In sure you can find leader’s for less than 10 mil.
Freeman is only one player and he’s only 26. He seems to have leadership abilities, but that’s a bit much to pile on his shoulders. Like I already said it wasn’t a great move to bring Markakis on at this point, but it wasn’t a horrible one either. And they hoped he would improve as well, which is reasonable given the nature of his surgery. I would’ve preferred they went for others as well, but it’s not something I’m going to dwell on. But I also don’t think they expected to tear things down as much as they did either, so the signing looks more suspect because of it.
Even if they didn’t sign Markakis they still would’ve had to unload multiple players. Consider that this year they’re at 80+ million spent already. And they still have to play the remainder of the season which they’ll guaranteed have to pick up a few minor contracts along the way. Then they have the draft and IFA to deal with. It’s realistic that they could be putting 20-30 million into those. Only the front office knows how much their actual budget is this year, but it’s safe to say that if they do spend that much then it will be near the limit. So every dollar is going to count.
@cam Yep I have!
@theo2016 uhh yeah no. The trade with BJ was to get of him. Kimbrel was simply the Incentive. It was actually a good trade. The Braves new they weren’t going to be able to compete before Kimbrel would be gone. And now they have another really good closer (although he probably doesn’t work much) in Vizcaino.
J-Up trade was great. Mallex Smith, Licas Sims, and Max fried. Boom. Do you see what Mr. Upton is doing this year in DET? Good trade.
I don’t even need to explain the Miller trade. Probably the best trade in half a decade.
Gattis didn’t have tons of value, but they still got back Foltynewicz and Ruiz.
And Simmons again, didn’t have tons of value outside of his glove, and we got #17 rated prospect Sean Newcomb and Chris Ellis who is 7-0 in AA.
Was the Olivera trade a mistake? Yes. But they are still batting .833 with their rebuilding trades.
This is weird. I’m defending the Braves. Huh. Never really thought this day was going to come. Respect where respect is due I guess.
And every one appears to be forgetting the acquisition of Wisler from SD in one of those deals with the Padres. Wisler has performed very well so far in his short career.
Wisler is noting special, just running a low babip they 9 starts, summer months his e.r.a will shoot up. AA win loss record is useless babip and homer prevention luck with average stuff. What does uptown performance this year have to do with anything they traded one year of him, like I said that was fine. My point was they didn’t have to trade b.j. they could have kept him and got even better back for kimbrel. If they waited til the deadline the return could have been huge.
And by not including Upton they have to deal with not having as much money for IFAs. Upton’s contract would bust most (possibly all) of the potential spending they’re planning to do. Not a great idea then.
Or not signing Markakis… Like I said, 2015 payroll has nothing to do with how much they spend in 2017 I.f.a. if you think that is the case you are really misguided. They also took on the same payroll in maybin and quentin, then arroyo, that equals 27 mil, upton costs less than that.
And you are missing a lot. Upton would still be on the books this season. And the spending spree that they’re going on is happening this year.
Even if they didn’t sign Markakis that still would mean another 4.5 million gone from Upton still being a Brave. Plus they still would’ve had to bring in another right fielder, and their internal options for right field are bleak at best. So that adds in additional costs..
They have been trying to cut as much salary for 2016 as possible for this July when international free agency comes into play. That’s when they plan on exceeding their limits and spending big to snag Matian plus others.
They’re not as concerned with 2017 free agency since even more will be off the books (i.e. Swisher ,Bourn and Aybar). Plus they will have an enhanced budget from the move.
Agreed sir, for our team he is a great player.
As a Phillies fan I hope he stays in Atlanta too.
I don’t understand the Phillies front office. They seem to want to get all the outfielders they can who have no power. David Lough,Wil Venable,Peter Bourjos and Cedric Hunter are great examples of this. You would think that their playing in old Busch Stadium instead of Citizen Bank Park that becomes a launching pad when the weather gets warm.
The Phillies lineup already includes too many players who can’t hit for power.We need a Jay Bruce type of player,someone who can protect Franco in the lineup. Other teams are already pitching around him.
You are going on stats, sometimes that is not enough. The Braves would be stupid to trade for a top 200 prospect and pay any of his salary
they’re bad. Possibly histrionically bad.
So you think teams should give up talent and pay him roughly 30 mil because of what? His will to win? Yeah I’ll take my stats and logic.
Then you’re not taking a lot. Mostly stats.
I honestly think the phillies will spend money the next two years and they will be dangerous in 2018.
They should worry about locking up their own guys this off-season. Herrera, crawford, nola. Sign em up to extensions. I would probably go thru arb with Velazquez, more arm concerns to me. Franco is 50/50, as a first baseman he wouldn’t be a world beater.
I thought of something, they could move Franco to first. Then if it’s possible they would make a run at Machado in 2018.
That’s a bad idea. Name one player in the last decade who got tons of money and immediately were great that next season. They should keep focusing on their farm system and stock it with older more MLB ready prospects and then trade for some value. I agree they will be very good very soon. And just for the record, I’m not a Phillies fan. At all.
Herrera isn’t even arb eligible until 2018. Nola isn’t arb eligible until 2019. Crawford hasn’t even started his service clock yet.
None of those are players that you rush to lock up at this point, when you have the Phillies’ financial power.
Herrera will be super 2 and arb eligible next year. Secondly why would you let them build up counting stats to allow them more leverage in later negotiations. The longer you wait the more expensive they get. Look at the best contracts in baseball, rizzo, goldschmidt, sale, quintana, cutch, archer. You don’t wait until after they make millions because then they lose the incentive to take a first year couple mil overpay in exchange for f.a. yrs. Despite the Phil’s financial might, a lot of teams have that. It is always wise to create as much surplus value as possible and not dismiss it “because you can afford it”
If Markakis is really worth so little in a trade (I can see why he could be, unfortunately) just keep him. His contract, while not cheap or below market value, shouldn’t be a burden and you’ve got nothing in the minors to replace him at the moment. I guess I could see it if Olivera was somehow cleared of everything, proceeded to show some skills on the field and with the bat, and Mallex managed to prove he doesn’t ever need to go back to the minors. Other than that I don’t see any scenario that makes getting Markakis off the field and the books happening this season.
I could see Markakis to the Royals with the Braves taking back some money. More money better prospect. Won’t get a top 5 though.
Royals need a Right Fielder with bat to help lineup. Yanks have two perfect solutions. Carlos Beltran once great Royal comes home and prospect return isn’t as high if he waives no trade. Opens up spot in Yabkee outfield for Hicks and Arod everyday DH.
Or Brett Gardner and then move Gordon over to Rf.
Gardner return a little bit more in prospects.
Wow billysbballz….thanks for the very generous offer of a “prospect” for either our starting right fielder who is keeping the ball club afloat presently, or our starting left fielder who has a very friendly player team contract looking forward, for a “prospect/prospects”.
And, Hicks was brought in to be a switch hitting 4th outfielder and potentially injury replacement for last years 4th outfielder, Young who got very lucky and signed an over the top contract with Boston.
Guess you all in KC overvalue your your prospects just like the Bosox do.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That would be an Amaro deal !