AL Notes: Chapman, Yankees, Encarnacion, Astros, Tigers
The Yankees believe that the Marlins‘ unexpected pursuit of Aroldis Chapman — Miami reportedly offered Chapman a five-year deal worth $87MM — forced New York to spend about $10-15MM more than they would otherwise have had to offer in order to finalize the deal, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Sherman also adds that the Yankees are still hoping to add a starting pitcher and multiple relievers (one of the left-handed variety), though the Cashman said earlier this week that he doesn’t anticipate adding a free-agent starter due to the high asking prices around the league (via Sherman’s colleague George A. King III).
More from around the American League…
- In an interesting read for Yankees fans (or for any fan, really), Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues examines the decision to re-sign Chapman from a variety of angles. Axisa questions whether the Yankees, who currently look to be a ways behind Boston in terms of expected 2017 performance, did the right thing in “paying a lot of money now to buy Chapman for the future” and notes the possibility that Chapman will be opting out of his deal just as the bulk of New York’s vaunted young talent is solidifying itself at the big league level. The move also flies somewhat in the face of the desire to get below the luxury tax threshold, Axisa observes, and there are of course ongoing public relations considerations due to last October’s domestic violence allegations.
- Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets that many in the industry still consider the Rangers to be the most logical landing spot for free agent Edwin Encarnacion. Texas reportedly feels that it doesn’t have the financial means to fit Encarnacion into the budget, but GM Jon Daniels and his staff have certainly made some creative value plays for free agents whose markets have crumbled a bit in the past.
- The Astros prefer not to move upper-level prospects in their search for rotation upgrades, GM Jeff Luhnow tells MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Houston has been asked about top prospect Francis Martes on numerous occasions, McTaggart writes, though Luhnow downplayed the possibility of dealing the right-hander. “The players we’re staying away from are the players that are probably going to start the year on the big league club and are key parts of the 2017 plan,” said the Houston GM. “Martes is a very valuable player, and very valuable players that are close to the big leagues get asked about a lot. That’s no different with him. It would take something significant for us to move him.” McTaggart also notes that outfield prospect Kyle Tucker is “generally considered untouchable.”
- The Tigers aren’t pursuing an Andrew McCutchen trade tweets MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. They’ve also yet to get involved with the recently non-tendered Ben Revere, tweets MLB.com’s Jason Beck. Detroit has a clear question mark in center field at the moment, but the team is also well-known to be striving to shed payroll and get younger. With that in mind, a pursuit of McCutchen never would’ve made much sense for GM Al Avila’s club, though Revere could be a low-cost option that would have plenty of surplus value in the event of a rebound from last year’s disastrous season.
Rangers Acquire Tyrell Jenkins, Brady Feigl From Braves For Luke Jackson
6:59pm: Texas has announced the deal.
6:11pm: The Rangers and Braves have agreed to a trade that will send lefty Brady Feigl and righty Tyrell Jenkins to the Rangers, according to reports from Tommy Stokke of Fan Rag (via Twitter) and Keith Law of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Righty Luke Jackson is heading to Atlanta, Law adds on Twitter.
It seems fair to characterize this as something of a change-of-scenery swap involving two similarly situated young righties. The 25-year-old Jackson and 24-year-old Jenkins each drew a fair amount of attention as prospects and reached the majors only recently. In both cases, limited exposure to the big leagues has led to questions as to whether (and in what role) they can stick.
Taken with the 45th overall selection in the 2010 draft, Jackson brings a big arm to the table but hasn’t yet found his bearings at the game’s highest level. Over 18 MLB innings in the last two years, he has allowed 17 earned runs on 27 hits and ten walks, while retiring just nine batters via strikeout.
Though he has shown swing-and-miss stuff at all levels of the minors, and delivers a mid-to-upper-nineties fastball, Jackson has also long struggled with control. He has walked 4.6 batters per nine in his minor-league career, and a full-time shift to the pen hasn’t really helped much. In his 46 1/3 innings at Double-A and Triple-A last year, Jackson issued 32 free passes, though he also racked up 59 strikeouts.
For Jenkins, who joined the Atlanta organization as a part of the Jason Heyward-Shelby Miller swap, the results have been good in the upper minors over the last two years. But that has come in spite of a lack of strikeouts and uninspiring peripherals. Last year, for instance, he struck out 5.9 and walked 3.8 batters per nine over 83 2/3 Triple-A innings. He did end with a 2.47 ERA, though, in large part because he limited opposing hitters to just three home runs.
The dinger suppression did not continue when Jenkins hit the majors. He was touched for 11 long balls in his first 52 MLB frames. Over eight starts and six relief appearances in 2016, Jenkins worked to a 5.88 ERA while allowing 33 walks and striking out only 26 hitters.
There’s another piece being chipped in by the Braves, in the form of the 25-year-old Feigl. An undrafted product of Mount Saint Mary’s University, Feigl has been limited to 72 1/3 professional innings — mostly in the lower minors — as he fought through Tommy John surgery. He has shown well when healthy, though, posting a 2.74 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
From Miller To Fenway: Tyler Thornburg Chats With Burke Badenhop
Burke Badenhop has thrown over 500 major league innings over eight seasons. He has been traded four times, signed as a free agent, and called more than a dozen Major League and minor league clubhouses home. We are thrilled to have Burke bring some of that unique perspective to MLB Trade Rumors.
This post is a part of MLBTR Player’s Perspective Series.
The Red Sox were the talk of the Winter Meetings yesterday after swinging a deal for superstar Chris Sale. Quickly lost in the shuffle, however, was a shrewd deal that Dave Dombrowski and Co. made earlier that morning to acquire righty Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers.
I know Tyler pretty well. We were Brewers teammates in 2013, share the same agents, and have even been off-season catch partners. To top it all off, the last reliever to have been traded from Milwaukee to Boston was … me! I caught up with Tyler a day after the trade to talk about his old club, his new club and a variety of things in-between.
BB: Obviously big news with Boston yesterday … can you believe they traded for Chris Sale?!
TT: [Laughing] No, I think I had actually maybe just gotten off the phone with some of the Boston media and happened to look at Twitter and see that. And then later on in the day, Mitch Moreland. It was definitely a pretty interesting day for them.
Did you have any notion that a trade was a possibility, being on a Brewers club that’s kind of rebuilding? Did you think this might happen, and how’d you find out?
I was definitely pretty surprised. I always felt like there was a chance that if the right offer came along, they would definitely pull the trigger. But I slept in, ended up rolling over, grabbing my phone, and had a ton of missed calls and texts, and kind of figured something had happened. So I just opened up my phone and saw a couple of messages saying “Red Sox,” and kind of figured it out from there.
Who was the first official person you heard from?
Honestly, all the text messages. And then I had a text message from David Stearns telling me to call him when I got this, so I made that my first call. But the first incoming was Dave Dombrowski and John Farrell.
As someone who has been traded four times before, and the most recent reliever prior to you to be traded from Milwaukee to Boston … it’s kind of an interesting call to get, right?
It really is. Especially going from such a small-market team to a pretty big one. So it’s definitely a huge jump in that regard.
What year were you drafted, Thorny?
’10
So Milwaukee’s all you’ve ever known … what did it feel like when you realized that Boston was the place you ended up going?
It’s definitely going to be weird with Boston as far as [being] used to the Arizona Spring Training and things in Milwaukee. I knew how everything worked, knew exactly what to expect. …
I actually thought about if I were to get traded a couple times, and there weren’t many teams that I was actually relatively excited about going to. Nobody really wants to get traded too much, especially when they’re comfortable where they are. But I’d definitely say the Red Sox were pretty high up on that list as far as being excited to go to that team.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12/8/16
Here are the latest minor moves from around the game:
- The Rangers have signed outfielder Cesar Puello to a minors deal, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. The deal includes an invitation to major league Spring Training. Still just 25, and once a well-regarded prospect with the Mets, Puello spent last year at Triple-A with the Yankees. He didn’t flash much power, but reached base at a prodigious .413 clip in his 289 plate appearances.
- Also receiving a non-roster invite is Ramiro Pena, who’ll join the Giants, per Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area (via Twitter). The 31-year-old will remain with San Francisco, which gave him thirty games of action in 2016. Pena actually hit quite well, posting a .299/.330/.425 slash. He has also been productive at Triple-A in each of the last two years. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see the seven-year MLB vet get another look at some point next season.
- Outfielder Matt den Dekker has joined the Marlins on a minor league deal, he announced on Twitter. The 29-year-old, who is a Florida native, has previously played with the Nationals and Mets. While he has received some major league time in each of the last four seasons, den Dekker struggled in 2016. He only received 39 MLB plate appearances, and posted only a .207/.292/.315 slash in his 421 trips to the plate at Triple-A.
- Catcher Johnny Monell is headed to Korea, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. He’ll join the KBO’s NC Dinos after wrapping up a two-year stint in the Mets organization. Monell never cracked the majors in 2016, but did hit a productive .276/.336/.470 with 19 homers in 461 plate appearances at Triple-A Las Vegas.
Angels Asked Cardinals About Kolten Wong
The Angels asked the Cardinals about second baseman Kolten Wong this week, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The Cardinals, though, greatly prefer to keep Wong, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch explained earlier this week. They see Wong’s defensive ability as a plus, manager Mike Matheny says.
“None of us have shied away from the fact that this should be a top-tier defender at second base,” says Matheny. “And we’re never going to back off that, and neither should he.”
The Cardinals would trade any player if offered the right deal. But, GM John Mozeliak says, “We’re not actively shopping him.”
Still, it’s easy to see why the Angels asked. They have an acute need at second base, and with Jedd Gyorko also in the Cardinals’ fold, St. Louis theoretically could afford to part with Wong. Wong’s big-league career thus far has been uneven, but his combination of defense and modest pop still make him an asset overall, particularly at the relatively low price $24.25MM over four years — that’s the guaranteed money he has remaining on the five-year extension he signed with the Cardinals in March.
Red Sox Designate Williams Jerez For Assignment
The Red Sox have announced that they’ve designated lefty Williams Jerez for assignment. The move clears roster space for first baseman Mitch Moreland, whose one-year deal is now official.
The Red Sox drafted Jerez in the second round in 2011. They added him to their 40-man roster after the 2015 season, in which he posted a 2.54 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 while pitching in the bullpen at three minor league levels, ending at Double-A Portland. But he didn’t fare as well in a return to Portland in 2016, with a 4.71 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 across 65 innings.
Padres Interested In Jose Iglesias, Hanser Alberto
The Padres have asked a variety of teams about potential shortstop options, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell tweets. One player who’s on their list is Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias, who Detroit GM Al Avila said yesterday was drawing interest.
Iglesias, 26, would give the Padres a defense-first option at shortstop, likely leaving the Tigers to entrust the position to Dixon Machado. Iglesias has two years of control remaining, and is projected to make $3.2MM this year through the arbitration process. He batted a modest .255/.306/.336 in 513 plate appearances last year, but, as usual, he produced good value with his glove, with an 11.6 UZR and +3 Defensive Runs Saved.
Cassavell adds that the Padres are still have interest in Hanser Alberto of the Rangers, who has lately been mentioned as a possible trade fit for San Diego for outfielder Travis Jankowski. Like Iglesias, Alberto profiles as a defense-first shortstop. He’s inexperienced, however, and hasn’t hit at all in his brief big-league opportunities, batting .194/.204/.226 in 162 plate appearances in the Majors. He is, however, likely quite familiar to Padres GM A.J. Preller, who was in the Rangers organization when Alberto signed in 2009.
Nationals Discuss David Robertson With White Sox
1:24pm: The Nationals tried to expand the Eaton deal to include Robertson, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. The White Sox turned them down, however, so the two sides will discuss a Robertson deal as a separate proposition.
11:05am: Here’s the latest on the Nationals’ hunt for a closer, with details trickling in from various reporters, including MASN’s Mark Zuckerman. A new entry to the list of possible closers the Nationals are considering: David Robertson, who Zuckerman says the Nats have discussed with the White Sox. The White Sox are by now very familiar with the Nationals’ farm system after the Adam Eaton deal and the Chris Sale negotiations, so one might think the two sides could piece together a deal if there are additional prospects the White Sox like. At last check, though, the White Sox planned to wait to see where Kenley Jansen landed before striking a deal.
As with the Cubs’ deal for Wade Davis, trading for Robertson (who has two years and $25MM left on his contract) could be a way for the Nationals to avoid paying the exorbitant prices top closers like Aroldis Chapman and Mark Melancon have received on the open market, and that Jansen will likely receive. Robertson is, however, coming off a modestly disappointing season in which he posted a 3.47 ERA and a healthy 10.8 K/9, but with 4.6 BB/9. Robertson can block trades to five teams, but according to Cot’s Contracts, the Nationals are not among them.
As previously noted, the Nats did bid on Jansen, and they met with Jansen’s representatives this week. They join the Marlins and Dodgers in pursuit of the star closer. They’ve also talked with the Rays about a deal for Alex Colome. The 27-year-old Colome just had a brilliant 1.91 ERA, 11.3 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 season while saving 37 games for Tampa Bay. Acquiring Colome would likely require a steeper prospect price than acquiring Robertson, however, due to his low cost and four years of control remaining.
East Notes: Chapman, Marlins, Nationals, Eaton, Yankees, Gardner, Mets
Aroldis Chapman agreed to an $86MM guarantee from the Yankees last night, but the Marlins offered him a bigger guarantee of $87MM, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The Yankees’ deal contains additional value for Chapman in the form of an opt-out clause after three years, and the terms of the Marlins’ offer might have been different. (FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that the salary distribution in the Yankees’ deal, which includes a large signing bonus, was better, and Chapman also liked the no-trade clause.) Still, last night, Chapman specifically cited a desire to return to the Yankees as a key reason for his decision. Here’s more from the East divisions.
- The conventional wisdom was that the Nationals paid too heavily for Adam Eaton this week, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post writes. One key to the trade from the Nationals’ perspective, though, is that the organization had changed its mind about Lucas Giolito, with one team official telling Svrluga, “He’s not going to be what I thought he was going to be.” Also, Eaton (who is controllable for the next five years) offered the Nationals a long-term outfield solution that Andrew McCutchen wouldn’t have — McCutchen would have been eligible for free agency after the 2018 season, at the same time as Bryce Harper, and the Nats would have been forced to address two outfield positions at once.
- GM Brian Cashman says the Yankees have completed their biggest moves this offseason, “unless I trade (Brett) Gardner,” as related by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (on Twitter). Hoch adds that Cashman has rejected trade offers for third baseman Chase Headley. The Yankees, of course, have agreed to terms with Chapman and Matt Holliday to upgrade their bullpen and DH spot. The Yankees have listened to offers for Gardner this week.
- With the Winter Meetings in the books, the Mets will now attempt to trade Jay Bruce or another outfielder, and they’ll try to add relief pitching on short-term deals, ESPN’s Adam Rubin tweets. Earlier this week, the Mets reportedly were interested in a Curtis Granderson / Brad Brach deal with the Orioles that would have addressed both needs, but that trade seems unlikely.
Marlins, Dodgers, Nationals Vying For Kenley Jansen
THURSDAY, 12:39pm: If the Marlins don’t land Jansen, they could turn to another free agent, Neftali Feliz, according to MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (on Twitter). The 28-year-old Feliz is coming off a good year with the Pirates (3.52 ERA, 10.2 K/9, 3.5 BB/9) and has closing experience. He should also be considerably cheaper than Jansen.
7:50am: Rival executives don’t expect the Dodgers to match the Marlins’ offer, per Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
7:15am: The Nationals are now “making a push” for Jansen, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links). However, the Nats are “uncomfortable” with the financial commitment it would take to land him, tweets Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. The club has previously used deferrals as a way to help sign big-money players like Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, but that’s unlikely to work this time, per Rosenthal.
WEDNESDAY: The Marlins have made an offer of five years and more than $80MM to free agent closer Kenley Jansen, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan tweets. The Marlins were reportedly the runners-up to acquire Aroldis Chapman, who agreed to a five-year, $86MM deal with the Yankees late tonight. Now, with Chapman off the table, it appears they’re trying to lure Jansen with a similarly huge offer. Barring an unforeseen turn of events, Jansen seems likely to pick the Marlins (where he’d be reunited with former manager Don Mattingly and teammates Dee Gordon and A.J. Ellis) or re-sign with the Dodgers.
Jansen doesn’t have Chapman’s spectacular velocity, but he’s a dominating reliever in his own right — he’s coming off a season in which he posted a 1.83 ERA, 13.6 K/9 and an incredibly low 1.4 BB/9 in 68 2/3 innings with the Dodgers. He’s had a much quieter career than Chapman has, but there’s no arguing his tremendous career numbers, including a 2.20 ERA, 13.9 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.
Still, it’s somewhat surprising to hear that he’s received at least one contract offer similar to Chapman’s deal, which broke the previous record for a relief pitcher contract by $24MM. The recent offers he, Chapman and Mark Melancon have received have been stratospheric, reflecting a trend throughout the industry of increasing salaries for dominant relievers.
It’s also somewhat odd that the Marlins (who won just 79 games last season and recently lost former ace Jose Fernandez under tragic circumstances) are ready to make such an enormous investment in a closer, even a great one. Jansen, who rejected a qualifying offer from the Dodgers, would also cost the Marlins their top 2017 draft pick, No. 13 overall.