Free agent right-hander Ivan Nova has received offers in the three-year, $36MM range, agent Greg Genske told MLB Network Radio on Sunday (Twitter link). Genske didn’t indicate whether richer proposals have come in, but 3/36 seems seems light for Nova – who MLBTR predicts will land a four-year, $52MM deal in a weak market. The former run-of-the-mill Yankees starter was highly effective down the stretch in 2016 as a member of the Pirates, with whom he logged a 3.06 ERA, 7.29 K/9 and .42 BB/9 in 64 2/3 innings.
More pitcher-related news and notes:
- Thanks to the extension they signed left-hander Madison Bumgarner to in 2012, the Giants have the ace under control at eminently reasonable prices through the 2019 season, during which he’ll turn 30. But San Francisco wants to lock up Bumgarner beyond then, as “solidifying that relationship long-term is a real priority for them,” Genske said (Twitter link). That jibes with what Giants CEO Larry Baer stated last month: “[Bumgarner has] been a tremendous asset for us. He’s done historic things. But, look, obviously, we want to make Madison a Giant for a long, long time to come – well-beyond his current contract.”
- The Indians’ Andrew Miller has turned into one of baseball’s most dominant late-game weapons, but his emergence as a reliever only came after he failed as a starter. With that in mind, Mike Petriello of MLB.com sees three struggling starters – the Yankees’ Michael Pineda, free agent Andrew Cashner and the Padres’ Jarred Cosart – as candidates to eventually follow in Miller’s footsteps. While Petriello acknowledges that a role change in 2017 is unlikely for Pineda, he argues that turning the hard-throwing 27-year-old into a reliever who relies on a fastball/slider combo would serve him well. Cashner also features a high-velocity fastball and a slider, but he has posted disappointing numbers as a starter while dealing with durability issues. Cosart, meanwhile, has difficulty in longer appearances. Opposing hitters have posted a .359 wOBA against him the third time through the order, up from .301 and .290 the first two trips, according to Petriello.
- Like Petriello, ESPN’s Keith Law is a proponent of moving Cashner to the bullpen (Insider required and recommended). While Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon will collect the most money among this offseason’s class of free agent closers, Law regards Cashner, Daniel Hudson, Greg Holland and Luke Hochevar as bargain alternatives to the high-profile trio. Going the trade route for bullpen help is also possible, of course, and Law wonders if the Indians will shop Miller – on whom they relied heavily this past season. Miller is due a palatable $18MM through 2018, but that’s not a pittance for a low-payroll club.
Surprisingly the first time I’ve seen the suggestion of dealing Miller. A team might pay a king’s ransom to be able to take him on at 2/$18m rather than giving Chapman or Jansen 5/$85m or whatever they will cost.
Well the Indians did pay a lot to get Miller but even the Indians did not pay the “Kings Ransom” that is so easily thrown around now. In fact why would anyone pay that rather then just buying a free agent and keeping the Kings Ranson prospects for other trades that would bring in the king
If Alderson can make it happen and acquire Miller to pair with Familia/Reed, that could be intriguing. Obviously, Cleveland would require top prospects. Maybe Flores/Smith/Gsellman gets it done? Obviously we don’t know what’s going to happen with Familia so Mets can hedge against losing him for the first few months assuming he’s suspended.
I’d say a lot more than that
There is no way the Indians would trade Miller for a package of prospects—honestly, where does that come from? This team has at least a 3 year window with their nucleus and youth…you’re dreaming large.
ramirez, kipnis, lindor in the infield. you would have to target their needs. conforto for miller makes sense.
No, that is absolute insanity.
for which side? I’m sure you are of the opinion that conforto isn’t enough but in reality he is an overpay. I just think the Mets would consider it, I don’t think they should though.
How does Conforto make any sense at all? They are pretty flush at the corners. Let’s look at this logically they have Brantley coming back, Diaz lurking in the minors, Zimmer is a top prospect, Naquin is probably better suited for RF. So their needs are not in the corner. If they do feel a need to upgrade they can easily be fixed pretty cheaply. Their major need is a legitimate cf seeing as though Zimmer had an off year. They can also attract a Beltran type DH if they can’t resign Napoli. Trading Miller is just kind of dumb seeing as they still have a two year window. He will still hold immense value next offseason. If you want to argue about small market teams continually needing to replenish well then maybe Shaw makes more sense. But no the Mets are terrible partner. The Indians pushed the Cubs to extra innings game 7 without a healthy and stretched out Carrasco/Salazar. One could argue that completely healthy they are pretty well set for next year if not for a minor tweak here and there.
Brantley is a big if. Zimmer plays center but still looks a ways off. and naquin had a babip fueled season. conforto is really good.
Sure Conforto has talent but he still hasn’t answered the question about his ability to hit lefties. We also forget that Ramirez saw time in left as did Diaz. Diaz is a tremendous hitter in his own right he just hasn’t received the same headlines as other Cuban prospects. Conforto could be good, but he still has major questions. So no way the Indians make that trade. They don’t need to make that trade. Internally those needs can be filled. So the bigger needs will be finding a cf. They truly don’t need to do much or make any drastic moves.
You would have to start with one of their controllable starters, like deGrom or Harvey but with their health in question I don’t think the Mets have enough to get a deal done. Miller is a 2.7 WAR.
Exactly, the Mets and Indians just aren’t a matchup right now, at all.
No team is going to trade a good young MLB starter for ANY reliever and definitely not one of Harvey or deGrom’s quality. Reliever WAR is a joke and has no correlation to contribution to wins, so that is a not a factor in any teams decision.
The Indians gave up prospects for Miller and they would be happy to get back what they gave up. Since he has one less year of control, they might not even get back what they gave up. While I don’t think the Mets would trade Flores or Gsellman just based on their own needs, a 3-4 player deal headed by Nimmo and Smith with a guy like Dunn or Kay or a couple of guys like Smoker and Flexen guys would undoubtedly get it done.
I agree, but Miller was the pitcher that made the difference for the Indians in the playoffs, he was the most valuable player they had.and the most valuable player the Yankees had
I’m a Giants fan, and I think CIN Michael Lorenzen has about as good a chance to become a future elite closer as anybody. Pineda, Cashner, Cosart, and Corbin might be others, but I keep thinking of Lorenzen.
And he’s such a great kid too. Lorenzen is going to be a nice piece in that pen.
Sure seems like a high character guy to me, too. If you’re around L.A., perhaps you know of him from Fullerton? Anyways, having a potential closer that bat .324 AVG/.872 OPS in college could also be interesting. I mean, maybe comes in to bat in the bottom of 8th innings more than a few times? I just tend to think he’s still improving in his pitching. He’s still getting better. 4-pitch mix. Solid velo and velo separation. As long as the Reds don’t yo-yo him back-and-forth to the rotation- like they’d tried with Chapman. I guess time will tell. Cheers.
I’m thinking Pineda is going to have a break out season next year. His peripherals are good, he just needs to finish better. He is a 3.5 WAR pitcher with a lot of upside. I could see him being another Porcello along with guys like Gausman, Teheran, Archer, and Ray.
Pineda sure could. His peripherals (FIP, xFIP, SIERA) all point to better performance than he had in 2016. He’s gotten his velo back. He had some really rough years due to injuries, so he could finally have the arm to finish strong in 2017. The fact is, I think highly enough of him that he stays in the rotation- not relieving or closing.
It would probably take Conforto and Nimmo to land Miller and then maybe add Wheeler too
Cleveland not making that deal, they would only want a healthy Harvey or de Grom on the Mets.
That trade would get laughed out of the building by Cleveland. Just stop stretching Mets fans, your team does not match up in trades with another team who has a similar contention window, teams in their positions don’t often make those deals, unless its a clear 1:1 swap.
Cleveland’s not going to trade their horse for a mediocre corner OF and prospects. They are going to want a everyday star player for him or else they’d just keep him.
Agreed. A deal of Miller to the Mets starts with one of their top four pitchers. At full health, I imagine Syndegaard would be the one who the Mets would be least likely to deal, so you’re talking a (must be for serious consideration) healthy Harvey, deGrom, or Matz. Once they settle on which pitcher, then you can start adding the necessary young guys. Conforto seems like an obvious piece to throw in, but by no means is he the centerpiece (nor is he just a “throw-in” piece).
The Mets wouldn’t offer it as its WAY too much for Miller. Start with what the Indians gave up and then go backward or downward from there.
And yet Miller proved just how dominant he is this postseason against some of the best offenses. Not saying the Mets should give up one of their starters, but considering Cleveland is probably in a win-now mode, it doesn’t make sense for them acquire prospects.
no… this is overblown. the above average everyday player with an additional 3 years of control more than miller is more valuable than Miller.
You are straight up crazy, but then all fans are when it comes to perceived value of their team’s players.
The Indians gave up 2 good prospects that were not MLB ready in Frazier (AA) and Sheffield (A+) and 2 low level minor league reliever prospects. Miller has less team control now, so if they get back what they gave up they will be lucky. Maybe Nimmo, Smith and Dunn or Kay. Certainly not Conforto and definitely not Wheeler.
nimmo isn’t on fraziers level of ceiling though. ( I don’t really like frazier as a prospect, future corner OF puts more pressure on bat), so I think you have to include another high upside guy, I forget that dsl ss name(not rosario).
Any word on who may want Hochevar?
Jbj for Miller
JBJ should be in SF. Giants need him. We can send Jalen Miller to Boston, no prob.
Why would Boston, a team trying to contend, trade an everyday starter for one prospect? Besides the fact that proposal is not nearly enough, Boston would prefer major league ready or established guys who can contribute. Boston balked on adding JBJ to a Chris Sale deal, doubt they pull a 180 and trade him for a prospect.
Yeah the Boston trade of JBJ to SF makes no sense for Boston needs wise… still expect him tied to a Chisox deal for Sale
I said years ago put Cashner in relief since the 2nd and 3rd time in lineup he gets into trouble
His worst innings are the 1st and the 9th in terms of ERA. In terms of # of plate appearances against him, it’s more that he gives up a little more solid hits, more doubles and hrs, late in his starts. I think the biggest factor for Cashner is rest. When he gets 5 days rest he is lights out. 2.70 ERA
Teams can’t afford to give a starter 5 days of rest. Presumably, shifting him to a reliever will lessen his work load and reduce the amount of rest he’ll need to be effective on a game-to-game basis.
Fifth starter makes more money than any reliever that is not a elite closer. Good luck getting those starting guys mentioned buying into converting over to a bullpen role.