A few notable agency changes from around the game that have been reported in recent days…
- Free agent outfielder Austin Jackson is now a client of Octagon, reports Tommy Stokke of FanRag Sports (via Twitter). After a pair of very nice seasons at the plate in 2012-13, Jackson’s bat has taken a significant step back, and while the resulting .260/.311/.361 batting line would cut it if he were still a premium defensive center fielder, metrics have soured on his outfield work along the way as well. Jackson also seems to have slowed down quite a bit, as the former 20-steal threat swiped just two bases in three attempts in 54 games with the White Sox last year before suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee that ended his season. Despite his veteran status, though, Jackson is still just 29 years old, so he’s certainly young enough for a career revival despite the lackluster play in recent years.
- Tigers closer Francisco Rodriguez is now represented by agents Rick Thurman and Cesar Suarez of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, per FanRag’s Robert Murray (also on Twitter). Rodriguez, the active saves leader, won’t see his current offseason impacted in the way that Jackson will by the switch, but he’s just a year removed from free agency after Detroit exercised his $6MM club option back in October. While “K-Rod” no longer boasts the mid-90s heater he did in his younger days, the 34-year-old (35 next week) has still delivered quality results over the past four seasons, turning in a 2.82 ERA with 9.4 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 230 innings. And while his K/9 rate dropped to a solid-but-career-low 8.0 in 2016, he also registered a career-best 54.7 percent ground-ball rate in 2016.
- FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Rangers prospect Joey Gallo is now represented by agent Scott Boras. Gallo has yet to establish himself in the Majors and has continued to post alarming strikeout totals to go along with his enormous power, but it should also be stressed that he he also only just turned 23 in mid-November. Gallo has received 80 grades on his power in scouting reports in recent years but will need to improve his contact skills to better tap into that ability, as he whiffed in nearly 35 percent of his plate appearances last year in Triple-A. Still, given his youth, there’s time for some improvement in that area, as even in his second tour through Triple-A this past year, he was more than four years younger than his average opponent. Third base no longer looks like a potential long-term home for Gallo in Texas due to the two-year extension signed by fellow Boras client Adrian Beltre, but the slugger could land across the diamond at first base and also see some time at DH in the next couple of years.
All of the changes reported here can be seen in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains representation information on more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players. If you see any errors or omissions, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.
Smart move is Yankees trade Gardner for Gio Gonzalez , then sign jackson to play LF with hicks and if jackson ends up sucking then call up frazier.
It’d take more than Gardner
Not necessarily.
Gardner and Jacob Lindgren how ever u spell his name
Still prolly not gonna cut it. Gio is a solid #3 pitcher, and these days, those are going for quite a bit more than an aging average at best outfielder and a young reliever
LOL Gardner is a very underrated outfielder. Gardner and lindgren is way more than enough for Gio but HES nothing but an aging back of the end rotation guy. Yankees should and will aim higher via trade or strike in free agency. They don’t need a guy like Gio
The Rangers will probably do the logical thing, which is trade Gallo. They aren’t about to stick around and see if he becomes nothing. Trade for pitching now is the answer
Adding Boras to the mix makes it even smarter to trade him otherwise you will overpay if you try to resign him once arb runs out
Stating that an agency switch means a player should be traded due to his earning capacity seven years down the line is a just a teeny smidge of a reach.
I think it’s more supplemental to the comment above.
@Steven Adams and soxfan1, it was meant to supplement it. Angels basically lost a year of Weaver because of Boras and might have lost more had Weaver not circumvented Boras for the 5 year deal. I’m sure there are more examples of Boras’ magic, but I am an Angels fan and don’t keep up with every team
A trade to the Yankees will be smart we need a young 3rd baseman with power.
A good trade partner for Rangers is TB, who has lots of young MLB ready pitching but needs to rebuild their hitting. Gallo and Jurickson Profar to Tampa would get the pitching Tx needs.
Not sure why the Nats would want Gardner. He can’t play CF anymore and that is what they need
This^^^^
Gio Gonzalez to the Yankee’s??? If he can’t get hitters out in the NL East, good luck trying to get hitters out in the AL East. Yankees can do much better than Gio.
I would like to see Ajax play CF in St.Louis and bat leadoff, he’s a good fit for a good price.