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Minor MLB Transactions: 12/30/16

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We’ll keep tabs on the day’s minor moves here:

  • Lefty Nick Greenwood has agreed to re-sign with the Twins on a minor-league arrangement, MLBTR has learned. The 29-year-old control artist has 36 MLB frames under his belt. He has allowed 21 earned runs on 38 hits and six home runs in that stretch, with just 17 strikeouts, but he also issued only five walks. Greenwood had spent his entire career with the Cardinals organization before 2016, when he hooked on with Minnesota on a minors pact after a brief indy ball stint. He showed well, especially over his 79 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level (where he worked to a 2.84 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9), but never got the call back to the bigs. Greenwood will hope to repeat that solid work and perhaps earn another shot at the majors in 2017.

Poll: Boston’s Catcher Of The Future

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Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart “has been told there will be no more experimenting with other positions” in 2017, writes WEEI’s Rob Bradford. His outfield experiment is seemingly over, meaning he’ll return to his original position of catcher and remain there exclusively for the foreseeable future.

Swihart, 25 in April, has long rated as one of the game’s best all-around prospects. However, questions surrounding his defensive prowess (and the presence of many other catchers on the Boston roster) led the Sox to try Swihart in left field last year. However, the experiment proved to be an ill-fated one, as Swihart suffered a severe ankle injury shortly into his first exposure to outfield work and wound up undergoing season-ending surgery to repair the matter.

That injury made the 2016 campaign an abbreviated and disappointing one for Swihart, who finished the year with a lackluster .258/.365/.355 batting line in just 79 Major League plate appearances to go along with a .243/.344/.311 slash in 122 PAs with Triple-A Pawtucket. Despite those offensive struggles and some apparent questions about his defensive capabilities, though, the Red Sox don’t appear to have soured on Swihart. On the contrary, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported again this week that the Diamondbacks inquired with Boston on both Swihart and Christian Vazquez and found president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski reluctant to deal either young backstop. That leaves the Red Sox with three catching options in 2017 and well beyond, creating for a somewhat uncertain outlook.

As Bradford writes, Sandy Leon will be given the first crack at regular playing time in 2017 as he looks to show that his 2016 breakout is sustainable. Leon finished the season with a sensational .310/.369/.476 batting line in 283 plate appearances, but his bat wilted in the season’s final month. In addition to that, Leon’s .392 average on balls in play appears entirely unsustainable, especially for a player that has such limited speed. Leon batted an incredible .366 on grounders putting him on par with burners like Billy Hamilton and Trea Turner. Meanwhile, the league as a whole batted just .239 on grounders, and one can reasonably expect a player with Leon’s lack of speed to check in below the mean over a larger sample of at-bats.

Nonetheless, Leon thwarted a stellar 41 percent of attempted stolen bases last season, and while he rated as a somewhat below-average pitch framer, per Baseball Prospectus, he has a strong track record in that regard when looking at his minor league career as a whole. At the very least, he could be a sound defensive option that hits from both sides of the plate, and he’s controllable through 2020. Certainly, there’s value in Leon, the question for Dombrowski & Co. is simply how much of his seemingly out-of-the-blue offensive gains in 2016 are sustainable.

Swihart figures to battle with Vazquez to see who will back up Leon to open the season, but if Leon sputters then either of the two promising young understudies could eventually find himself in a more prominent role with the Sox in 2017. Swihart does have a minor league option remaining, so he can be sent down without being exposed to waivers if the Sox wish to get him some more work both behind and at the plate in the wake of his truncated 2016 campaign.

As recently as the 2014-15 offseason, Swihart rated as the game’s No. 17 overall prospect, per Baseball America, who praised him as a potential two-way force behind the dish. Swihart didn’t begin switch-hitting or catching until he was about halfway through high school, and BA’s scouting report noted that the lack of lifetime experience in both regards always created the potential for some growing pains as he got to the upper levels of the minors and into the Major Leagues. “There’s a chance that his aggressive tendencies will be exploited by advanced pitching, which could result in a challenging transition to the big leagues after a lengthy apprenticeship in Pawtucket in 2015,” BA wrote at the time. But Swihart’s overall package of tools and athleticism undoubtedly remain appealing to both the Red Sox and to other organizations. It’s understandable, then, that Dombrowski and his staff aren’t exactly keen on trading him at all, let alone when his value is at a low point.

Vazquez, meanwhile, never generated the same level of prospect fanfare that Swihart did. However, he’s long been touted as one of the best defensive catchers in all of Minor League Baseball, and his superlative glovework gives him a high floor. He’s thrown out 44 percent of attempted base thieves at the Major League level and a similarly impressive 38 percent caught-stealing rate over the life of his minor league career. Vazquez has drawn consistently excellent framing marks throughout his minor league career and is a .273/.339/.379 hitter in 109 Triple-A games. He missed the 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery, but the procedure didn’t seem to have an adverse affect on his throwing in 2016, as he caught 19 of 47 runners between the Majors and Triple-A (40.4 percent).

BA’s most recent scouting report on Vazquez cites “sneaky” pop that could yield an annual home-run total in the low double digits, and he did hit 18 homers at Class-A back in 2011, though that’s the lone pro season in which he’s demonstrated significant power, and it’s quite a ways in the rear-view mirror at this point. Still, given his defensive ceiling, Vazquez doesn’t need to be a star at the plate to be a starter in the Majors.

To somewhat crudely sum things up, Leon has had the most success in the Majors, while Swihart has the highest offensive ceiling of the bunch and Vazquez has the best defensive skill-set. The Red Sox will devote countless hours of evaluation to answering this question (and likely have already been doing so for the past year), but let’s see what MLBTR readership thinks on the matter (link to poll for Trade Rumors app users)…

Twins Reportedly Asking Teams For Final Offers On Brian Dozier

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Brian Dozier’s name has been a focal point of the rumor mill for the better part of a month, but his prolonged saga may be drawing to a close, as La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Twins have asked interested teams to make their best offers for Dozier in the coming days. According to Neal, Minnesota doesn’t want the scenario to drag on too much longer and will prepare to open the 2017 season with Dozier as the second baseman if no palatable offer surfaces.

Neal suggests that the sticking point between the Twins and the Dodgers, who have long been the clear primary suitor for Dozier, has been that Los Angeles is seeking a straight up, one-for-one swap of Dozier and top pitching prospect Jose De Leon. The Twins, meanwhile, have understandably been insistent on the inclusion of at least one more well-regarded prospect. The Dodgers “haven’t blinked,” however, according to Neal. That lines up with this week’s report from FanRag’s Jon Heyman that the Dodgers aren’t willing to include any of Cody Bellinger, Yadier Alvarez or Walker Buehler alongside De Leon in a trade to acquire Dozier.

Other teams to express interest in Dozier at some point this winter include the Giants, Cardinals, Nationals and Braves, per Neal. However, there’s been very little chatter surrounding the Giants’ interest in recent weeks, while reports out of St. Louis and out of D.C. have suggested that interest from those teams may be somewhat overstated. ESPN’s Mark Saxon reported earlier this week that while the Cardinals may have some interest, they’re not actively pursuing Dozier. More recently, he tweeted that the Cardinals’ reported interest was part of the Twins’ effort “to extract max value from the Dodgers.” Meanwhile, Chelsea Janes from the Washington Post reported this week that any inquiries made on the Nationals’ behalf haven’t been serious in nature.

Atlanta hasn’t been mentioned too often as a potential landing spot for Dozier, though there’s certainly a reasonable fit there. Jace Peterson projects as the everyday second baseman at the moment, but Dozier’s bat would represent a marked upgrade. Adding Dozier would run somewhat counter to many of the Braves’ recent maneuverings on the trade market, which have generally taken a more long-term focus, though Atlanta did send three mid-level prospects to the Cardinals to acquire Jaime Garcia. Of course, Dozier would require top-tier young talent, and there’s been no indication that the Braves are willing to deal that type of talent for shorter-term gains.

While it’s certainly possible that one of these teams steps up and makes an offer to rival the Dodgers, or that another surprise suitor emerges from the woodwork, it seems that the likeliest scenario for a Dozier trade would simply be for the Twins and Dodgers to find a common ground. Neal notes that if the Twins were going to pull the trigger on a one-for-one swap, Dozier would’ve been dealt by now, which indicates that a trade would probably require L.A. to improve its current offer.

Considering the fact that Dozier is controlled for another two seasons at a total of $15MM, the Twins don’t need to simply take the best offer that someone puts on the table. While many point to Dozier’s prodigious second half in 2016, he’s somewhat quietly been a very good player for Minnesota over the past four seasons, averaging 4.1 fWAR and 4.5 rWAR per year in that time. The Twins could well hold onto Dozier until the trade deadline, when a larger market for his services — due to injuries to and/or underperformance from second basemen around the league –could emerge. Of course, in doing so, they run the risk that Dozier has another poor start to the season, as he did in 2016, or that he incurs an injury himself.

D-backs Notes: Wieters, Swihart, Vazquez, O’Brien Trade, Relievers

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The latest column from the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro is packed with quotes from GM Mike Hazen and info pertaining to the team’s offseason plans and 2017 outlook, with a heavy focus on the catching situation. Some highlights from the column, which I’d recommend checking out in its entirety…

  • The D-backs have already non-tendered Welington Castillo, signed Jeff Mathis and claimed Juan Graterol off waivers this winter, but Hazen tells Piecoro they’re still keeping an eye on the catching market, including Matt Wieters. “Matt’s a really good player and a good leader,” said Hazen. “We’ve kept up on everybody on the catching market.” Per Hazen, the likely course of action for the D-backs is to add a third catcher-capable player to partner with Mathis and Chris Herrmann in a “three-way system,” but that does not appear set in stone. “If we found more of a long-term replacement for the position, it could morph into something different,” said Hazen, though he did note that a long-term option is likelier to surface on the trade market than in free agency.
  • To that end, Piecoro again reports that the D-backs spoke to the Red Sox about catchers Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez. However, he also reports that Boston is considered “unlikely” to move either young backstop. It’s not surprising to see a new-look D-backs front office that contains former Red Sox execs Hazen, Amiel Sawdaye and Jared Porter all show interest in two of their former top prospects — especially when the Diamondbacks lack a clear long-term option behind the plate. Piecoro has already reported on Arizona’s interest in Swihart and Vazquez once earlier this winter, and it doesn’t seem like anything has changed since that time. Vazquez, a defensive standout with a perhaps questionable bat, is controlled through the 2020 season. Swihart carries a much higher offensive upside but isn’t as proficient as Vazquez with the glove. He’s controlled through 2021.
  • Hazen also tells Piecoro that catcher-turned-outfielder Peter O’Brien, whom the club recently designated for assignment, has drawn trade interest from both American League and National League teams. Hazen cited a need “to improve our defensive versatility and flexibility” as the driving factor behind removing O’Brien from the 40-man roster. The 26-year-old O’Brien has in the past posted impressive power numbers in the minors, but he’s never hit in the Majors and is also strikeout prone (32 strikeouts in 79 MLB plate appearances). Beyond that, scouts have long suggested that he’s a man without a position on the diamond, and the old front office regime had already moved him off his original position of catcher. Nonetheless, O’Brien has 50 homers across his past two Triple-A seasons plus another six big flies in the Majors in that time (albeit all in hitter-friendly settings).
  • The D-backs are still on the hunt for another bullpen arm but would like to keep the commitment to one year, Piecoro writes. Hazen explained to Piecoro that there are enough (relatively) young arms already in the organization that have piqued the interest that the front office doesn’t want to potentially block someone down the road by committing to a multi-year deal.

Who’s On First For The 2017 Rockies?

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The Rockies surprised most everyone when they signed Ian Desmond to a five-year, $70MM contract. But eyebrows really shot up when the team said that it intends to utilize the shortstop-turned-center fielder at yet another new position: first base.

While there’s little reason to suspect that Desmond isn’t capable of handling the position defensively, it’s a bit of an odd fit. Desmond has settled in as a solid-but-not-great hitter who contributes quite a bit on the bases, making for an offensive profile that isn’t substantially better than a variety of other players who are presumably available for much less money. His real value lies in the fact that he can do those things while also playing premium defensive positions.

It’s debatable just how good of an outfielder Desmond will be going forward, as his initially strong metrics slipped over the course of the 2016 season. He could probably still contribute all over the infield, too, as he retains the athleticism and arm strength that made him a quality shortstop in the not-so-distant past. (The miscues, alas, probably mean he won’t again play short unless a mid-season need arises.) That versatility led some to suggest that Desmond could sign as a Ben Zobrist-type, everyday utility player.

To be fair, Colorado could plan to keep Desmond at first for just a single season, shifting him back to the outfield in 2018. And the team could value the fact that he’d represent an option elsewhere if there’s an injury. But free-agent contracts are signed primarily for the contributions that a player provides in the early years of a deal, and it’s arguable that Desmond will represent a fairly middling overall option at first, which is traditionally the realm of quality batsmen who simply can’t field other positions.

Of course, the Rockies also still possess a seeming glut of left-handed-hitting outfielders. Desmond makes a good bit of sense as a right-handed outfield piece to join that mix, with one pre-existing player being cashed in via trade. Both Charlie Blackmon and David Dahl can handle center; Carlos Gonzalez is still viewed as an everyday corner piece; and Gerardo Parra was signed to be a heavily-used fourth outfielder. All four hit from the left side, as do other potential MLB options such as Jordan Patterson and Raimel Tapia.

So, whatever the team’s true intentions, it remains plausible to imagine that a trade will open up a move of Desmond to a corner outfield spot, with the Rockies adding another player (or multiple players) to play at first. The free-agent market remains chock full of possibilities. Mark Trumbo and Mike Napoli could be signed as everyday options, though only the former has clearly been linked to Colorado. We’ve heard of at least some interest on the Rox’ behalf in Chris Carter, who might conceivably take the lion’s share of the work while being paired with a lefty bat. Brandon Moss, Logan Morrison, Pedro Alvarez, and Adam Lind could represent left-handed platoon options, with any number of righties joining them to face opposing southpaws. Luis Valbuena and Trevor Plouffe are primarily third basemen, but could also represent fits. (Highly-regarded prospect Ryan McMahon could also be a factor at some point; the left-handed hitter only just turned 22, and didn’t exactly dominate at Double-A last year, but could conceivably be ready later in 2017.)

There are trade possibilities, too, whether or not that might come in a hypothetical swap involving one of the outfielders. Colorado has explored a deal for White Sox slugger Jose Abreu, who would represent a major acquisition. His teammate, Todd Frazier, is surely also on the blocks, and could conceivably be shifted across the diamond from third, though that’s pure speculation. It’s hard to see any other established regulars being made available at this stage; the Padres’ Wil Myers, for example, would probably only be dealt at a tremendous price. And other quality, controllable pieces likely wouldn’t be available unless the Rockies were willing to part with Dahl or a top prospect. But part-time options — most notably, perhaps, Matt Adams of the Cardinals — could well be had for a modest return.

Given the lay of the land, what’s your best bet as to how the Rockies end up filling their first-base job in 2017? (Answer options randomized; app users can weigh in here.)

10 Bounceback Hitter Candidates Still Available In Free Agency

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Recently, we took a look at 10 still-available pitchers who could offer bounceback opportunities at appealing price tags. Today, we’ll do the same from the position-player side. We’re looking for players who have been limited by injury or suffered dips in performance, but whose age and track record suggest that a turnaround could deliver plenty of value to their new organizations. Here are some of the interesting hitters who remain on the open market as 2017 beckons:

Chris Iannetta, C: Now 33 years of age, Iannetta has turned in two straight marginal campaigns with the bat. But he hit .238/.357/.386 in over 1,000 plate appearances from 2012 through 2014, with 151 walks to go with 251 strikeouts. Iannetta still draws free passes at a hefty clip, but suffered from low BABIPs in each of the last two seasons (.225, .266). Though he’s making more soft contact than he did at his best, Iannetta turned in a 34.9% hard-contact rate and 22.4% line-drive rate last year, both of which were near his career-best marks. Though he rated as one of the game’s worst framers in 2016, he was one of the best in the season prior.

Adam Lind, 1B/DH: From the same age bracket as Iannetta, Lind maintained his power (.192 ISO, 20 home runs in 430 plate appearances) last year with the Mariners, but posted an anemic .286 OBP. There were two main culprits: a .259 BABIP and 6.0% walk rate that represented nearly a 50% drop from his personal best (11.5% in 2015). While it’s unlikely that the left-handed slugger will again post such strong walk tallies, he ought to be able to rebound somewhat in that regard. And it’s reasonable, perhaps, to anticipate a bounceback in the BABIP department; Lind continued to make about as much hard contact as he did during his productive preceding seasons and maintained a fairly typical mix of grounders, liners, and flies.

Logan Morrison, 1B/DH: As with Lind, Morrison represents a particularly intriguing target since the market was so saturated with defensively limited slugger types. The 29-year-old has never been a consistent producer, and seemed headed for an early end to his time with the Rays after an abysmal start to the 2016 season. But he rebounded beyond any expectations over his final 303 plate appearances, slashing .275/.350/.498 and driving 14 home runs in that half-season of work. While hitting to the pull side more than ever before in 2016 (an even 50%), Morrison made hard contact at a personal best rate of 34.2% and left the yard on 15.2% of his flyballs, the second-best mark of his career. His final numbers could look even better had he not ended up requiring wrist surgery in September. The injury risk may harm Morrison’s stock further, but it also increases the potential payoff.

Billy Butler, DH: There isn’t much to love about Butler’s last three seasons, as he has been about a league-average overall hitter — well shy of what you’d hope for from a right-handed hitter who’s limited to DH duties. But he did show quite well in his brief stint at the end of 2016 with the Yankees and remains rather difficult to strike out (career 14.8% walk rate). Plus, Butler produced a strong 28.9% line-drive rate in 2016 while cutting back on an infield fly rate that had soared to 9.4% in 2015, perhaps suggesting he could turn back into a reasonably productive hitter — particularly given that he’s still just 30 years of age.

Trevor Plouffe, 3B: There’s no denying that Plouffe was banged up in 2016, as he was shelved at various times by intercostal and oblique strains as well as a broken rib. He finished strong, posting a .277/.345/.465 slash over his last 113 trips to the plate, and carried a slightly above-average .248/.312/.426 batting line while swatting 74 long balls over his prior four seasons. While there isn’t much reason to expect that Plouffe will be a top-quality regular, he has every chance of returning to being a useful player: he’s just thirty years old and rated as an average-or-better third baseman in 2014-15.

Luis Valbuena, 3B: The role of injuries is even more straightforward in Valbuena’s case, as he was humming along nicely (.260/.357/.459 with 13 home runs over 342 plate appearances) before he was cut down with a hamstring injury. Unlike Plouffe, he hits from the left side, enhancing his function. While the 31-year-old is not well-regarded with the glove, Valbuena can still play third base and has spent time in the middle infield as well (along with a brief foray into the corner outfield).

Chris Coghlan, INF/OF: A left-handed hitter with some defensive versatility, Coghlan has provided the Cubs with over 1,000 plate appearances of .264/.351/.441 hitting and 26 home runs over the last three seasons. Of course, that output came on both sides of his ill-fated stint with the A’s, where he slashed an anemic .146/.215/.272 to start the 2016 campaign. The 31-year-old Coghlan typically receives good marks in the corner outfield, saw spot duty in center earlier in his career, and is at least serviceable enough at second and third to have been utilized at both spots in recent years.

Desmond Jennings, OF: While things didn’t end well in Tampa Bay, Jennings is still just 30 years of age and isn’t far removed from being a solid, everyday player. He has plenty of experience in center field and has generally drawn strong reviews for his work in the corner outfield. Jennings has been beset by injuries over the last two years, and has been inconsistent at the plate even when healthy. But he managed a .150 ISO last year, even as his on-base numbers were doomed by a .243 BABIP, and could again be a solid asset if he can return to his career plate-discipline marks. Last year’s 9.3% walk rate matched his career numbers, though he jumped to a 25.8% strikeout rate in 2016 while posting a 12.0% swinging-strike rate that was about 50% higher than he had ever carried previously.

Austin Jackson, OF: 2016 was supposed to provide a bounceback opportunity for AJax, who’ll soon turn 30, but a knee injury ended his year after just 203 largely uninspiring plate appearances with the White Sox. Jackson’s power has fallen off a cliff, and he wasn’t running as much even before the injury, but perhaps a lengthy respite can get the still-youthful player back in physical form. He was nearly a league-average hitter with solid glovework in center as recently as 2015, so perhaps his forgettable stint in Chicago is more a blip than the start of a full-scale falloff.

Colby Rasmus, OF: Rasmus played well enough in 2015 to earn a qualifying offer after the season. His return to the Astros wasn’t nearly as productive, as he scuffled to a .206/.286/.355 batting line. But Rasmus was playing with a cyst in his ear, which was ultimately removed via surgery, and also underwent hip and core muscle procedures after the season, so perhaps injuries played a major role in his poor campaign. He also wasn’t helped by a .257 BABIP. Rasmus is still just 30 years of age and produced a strong .238/.314/.475 batting line with 25 dingers in 2015. There are other sources of potential value here, too: Rasmus has typically graded quite well on the bases, though he doesn’t attempt many steals, and metrics were quite pleased with his glovework in both the corner outfield and center in his most recent campaign.

Orioles Notes: Alvarez, Brach, Schoop, Hundley

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Orioles executive VP of baseball ops Dan Duquette has a long history of making significant roster moves late in the offseason, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes. It certainly seems that the stage is set yet again for the O’s to round out their 2017 mix in the new year, as the team is still looking to fill a need in right field and perhaps add one more power bat to the lineup. Here’s the latest out of Baltimore:

  • There’s nothing new to report on Mark Trumbo, who remains a seeming match to return to the O’s, but Kubatko notes that the club has remain engaged with lefty slugger Pedro Alvarez. Price will be a factor, of course, and it seems the organization may prefer to pursue some other opportunities before committing. But Alvarez would represent a solid platoon option at the DH slot and could conceivably even give the outfield a try, Kubatko suggests.
  • Baltimore also remains willing to deal set-up man Brad Brach, Kubatko notes. The 30-year-old entrenched himself as a key part of the O’s pen last year, throwing at least 79 innings for the second consecutive season and locking down a 2.05 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. Even after that impressive showing, MLBTR gives Brach a $2.9MM arb projection in his second season of eligibility, making him an affordable asset. Just what the Orioles are willing to consider with regard to a trade remains unclear; presumably, he’ll only be moved for a significant return.
  • While the O’s have more prominent extension candidates, the team would be wise to explore a deal with second baseman Jonathan Schoop, Rich Dubroff opines for PressBoxOnline.com. With three years of control remaining, now may be the optimal time to find value, he suggests. Even if Schoop isn’t a superstar, he’s a significant power threat and only just turned 25. It’s worth noting, though, that Schoop is already projected to earn $3.4MM through arbitration, and also is set to protect his downside through an agreement with Fantex. Those earning opportunities could certainly impact his willingness to take a discount.
  • The Orioles took a hard look at Nick Hundley before deciding instead to go with Welington Castillo behind the plate, Hundley tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter links). Hundley, who says he still views himself as a regular catching option, says that his camp “talked to the Orioles a lot” before Castillo became available.
  • In other recent news out of Baltimore, the club has been mentioned as a possible suitor for Mike Napoli and Kubatko recently broke down the possibilities in right field.

Nationals Reportedly Maintaining Interest In Matt Wieters

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5:08pm: Nothing has fundamentally changed about Washington’s stance with regard to Wieters, according to a report from Chelsea Janes and Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. If the veteran backstop lowers his asking price, both in terms of years and dollars, then the Nationals could conceivably bite, per the report. At present, though, the Nats still aren’t “heavily” pursuing Wieters.

9:18am: Catcher Matt Wieters has been connected to the Nationals on and off this winter (and was linked to Washington in the week he spent weighing a 2015 qualifying offer that he ultimately accepted, as well), and Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports writes today that the Nats are still interested in the longtime Orioles backstop. Washington joins the division-rival Braves in what looks to be a limited market for Wieters at this juncture, according to Heyman. He adds that while the Braves have been in touch with agent Scott Boras regarding Wieters, it’s not clear whether they’ll ultimately make a push to sign the former Georgia Tech standout.

The Nationals already have Derek Norris and Jose Lobaton set to shoulder the load behind the plate this year, though there were rumors shortly after the Norris deal that the Nats could still sign Wieters and possibly flip Norris elsewhere. The Washington Post reported shortly thereafter that the team had no intentions of pursuing Wieters or flipping Norris, though that was three weeks ago and a team’s plans obviously have some degree of ebb and flow over the course of a long offseason. ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote not long after that there was still “rampant” speculation throughout the industry that Wieters would end up in D.C. And just two days ago, MASNsports.com’s Pete Kerzel suggested that Wieters wasn’t a logical fit for the Nats, who are prioritizing pitch framing in their catchers.

Certainly, there’s been an excessive amount of back-and-forth when it comes to the Nats and Wieters, and I’d imagine that it’ll continue until he signs, be it with the Nationals or another team. I’ll add that it also seems at least plausible that the Nats could look to flip Lobaton rather than Norris following a theoretical Wieters deal. A switch-hitting catcher with one year of cheap club control remaining could hold appeal to clubs looking for some experience behind the plate but not wishing to allocate significant finances toward the need. That’s sheer speculation, though.

Heyman notes that on paper, the Rockies, D-backs and Mets all look like possible fits for Wieters, but there’s been little to no indication that any of the three will pursue him to this point. The Rockies have suggested that they’re comfortable with younger options Tony Wolters and Tom Murphy, while the D-backs are looking more at part-time options and the Mets are focused on improving the bullpen and finding a taker for Jay Bruce in a flooded market for corner bats.

In a recent poll, nearly 30 percent of MLBTR readers expected the Braves to ultimately sign Wieters, with the Rockies (18 percent) and Nationals (14 percent) standing out as the other most popular landing spots. Given the relatively limited number of teams looking to spend on catchers, it’s fair to wonder just how far Wieters’ market will drop. Boras has presumably been looking for a lucrative multi-year offer for Wieters in a season that saw him reestablish his durability behind the plate and also belt 17 home runs, but Wieters’ questionable OBP and pitch-framing marks have dampened interest in his services.

If Wieters is willing to take a one- or two-year deal, it’s easy to imagine a number of teams jumping into the mix. A one-year pact would allow him to enter next year’s free-agent market, where Jonathan Lucroy is the clear top asset. Wieters, though, could easily be the No. 2 catcher on the market, with only Welington Castillo looking like a possible threat to that status.

Blue Jays In Active Discussions With Jose Bautista

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The Blue Jays are engaged in active contract negotiations with Jose Bautista’s representatives, reports MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (on Twitter).

A return to Toronto would certainly make sense for Bautista and makes a fair amount of sense for the Blue Jays as well. The subtraction of Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Saunders from Toronto’s lineup removed quite a bit of offense, and while newcomers Kendrys Morales and Steve Pearce will compensate for some of that loss, the Jays still have a pair of question marks in each of their outfield corners. Reports have recently indicated that Bautista is willing to consider one-year proposals coming off an injury-hampered season, though at last check the Jays had yet to offer anything greater than the $17.2MM qualifying offer to Bautista.

The Blue Jays will have to decide exactly how much they can count on Bautista as an everyday outfielder at the age of 36. Defensive metrics have soured on him rapidly in recent years, though he also battled foot and knee injuries in 2016, which certainly may have impacted his defense. Then again, as a 36-year-old that has spent the past eight seasons playing on artificial turf, Bautista may simply be more prone to injury than he was even into his mid-30s, when he averaged 154 games played from 2014-15. That, too, will have to be a factor as the Jays weigh a potential reunion. And while the Blue Jays don’t technically need to forfeit a draft pick by signing Bautista, doing so means that they won’t receive the comp pick they expected when making a qualifying offer, so the team is in essence surrendering a pick in the 30 to 35 range of next year’s draft.

All of those factors, along with Bautista’s deteriorated (but still quite strong) production at the plate in 2016, are part of the calculus being weighed by president Mark Shapiro, GM Ross Atkins and the rest of the Jays’ front office. Bautista slashed .234/.366/.452 with 22 home runs and 24 doubles last year — production that rated 17 percent above the league average (per OPS+) and 22 percent above average (per wRC+) when adjusting for park and league. And, from 2010-15, Bautista was unequivocally one of baseball’s most feared hitters, batting a Herculean .268/.390/.555 (156 OPS+) and averaging 45 homers per 162 games played.

A return to Toronto would give Bautista the opportunity to reestablish some stock in a familiar and hitter-friendly setting while taking aim at another deep postseason run with the team for which he cemented himself as a star. Outside of the Blue Jays, it’s been a fairly tepid market for Bautista this winter — a scenario that is applicable to any number of the remaining corner outfield/first base type of sluggers on the market. Demand simply hasn’t materialized in the way that one might’ve expected, even for top-tier names. The Rays were somewhat speculatively linked to Bautista earlier this winter, and the Mets were said to have some interest before re-signing Yoenis Cespedes, but it’s been largely quiet on the Bautista front since he turned down a the qualifying offer back in November.

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