Twelve rookies have drawn attention as potential impact players in 2017, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes in his latest notes column. Several baseball people give their input on the players, ranging from Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi to “rookie” (though a longtime veteran of Cuban baseball) Astros first baseman Yulieski Gurriel. Here’s some hot stove news from Cafardo…
- The Royals have interest in veteran right-hander Doug Fister. Kansas City is known to be looking for rotation help since the tragic death of Yordano Ventura. Fister (who celebrates his 33rd birthday today) posted a 4.64 ERA, 5.74 K/9 and 1.85 K/BB rate in 180 1/3 innings with the Astros last season. The Padres, Marlins, Pirates and Mariners have all been linked to Fister at various times this winter, though several of those clubs have made other additions to their rotation and may no longer have interest.
- The Royals have several notable players hitting free agency next winter, and “the feeling is the Royals will re-sign at least one of their key hitters, likely Eric Hosmer,” Cafardo writes. Hosmer is a somewhat surprising name to potentially be staying put given that he is represented by Scott Boras, who would usually put a price tag on his client that would be out of reach for the mid-market Royals. Then again, Cafardo also notes that while Kansas City has the pieces to be a contender this season, “if they’re out of the hunt at the trade deadline…look for a major fire sale.” To tie those two items together, the Royals could free up money to re-sign Hosmer if they dealt some other pricey contracts. (One would think Hosmer would also want to be assured that the Royals’ deadline deals were made with an eye towards reloading for 2018 or 2019.) K.C. already locked up one long-term piece by signing Danny Duffy to a five-year extension last month.
- Jason Hammel would also be a fit in Kansas City but Fister would seem to have a much lower price tag at this point, as “Hammel believes he should receive at least a three-year deal.” Given the lack of clarity in Hammel’s market this winter, it would be quite surprising to see a team make that long a commitment to the right-hander, who is entering his age-34 season.
- The Mariners were linked to Hammel earlier this winter, and Cafardo reports that Seattle offered Hammel a one-year deal with a $10MM option for 2018. This offer came “very early” in the free agency process and no longer appears to be on the table. The M’s have since acquired Yovani Gallardo and Drew Smyly, so they no longer seem like candidates for Hammel’s services.
- Shane Victorino recently underwent minor surgery to remove a cyst under his arm, which has put the veteran outfielder’s plans to pursue a comeback attempt via a minor league contract “on hold.” Cafardo reported three weeks ago that a team had offered Victorino a contract but he hadn’t yet informed his agent whether or not to accept.
Very glad we didn’t end up getting Hammel
What team are you talking about?
Did you read the article?
Didn’t answer the question
Hosmer should be the LAST guy the Royals keep to build around. Mediocre first basemen are a dime a dozen and Hosmer is gonna want big money. He had a negative fWAR last year! Build around Moustakas and/or Cain who at least give you above average defense at premium positions whether or not they hit. Let Hosmer and Escobar walk.
The Nick Cafardo link is a great read. At the end of the piece he also posted a chart/graph of the longest consecutive winning and losing seasons in MLB history
The “Go-Go” White Sox had the 4th longest run in MLB history from 1951-1967. Unfortunately, it was in an era when each league champ were the only playoff qualifiers, directly heading to the World Series at the conclusion of the regular season. The White Sox run also happened to overlap the longest winning season streak in MLB history, the 39-year run by the Yankees from 1926-1964. The White Sox only made the postseason once during their streak, winning the A.L. pennant in 1959 before losing to the Dodgers in the World Series. Meanwhile, the Yankees won 19 World Series titles in their 39-year run.
Damn Yankees! lol
Can you take me high enough?
Fister is a smart pick up. Ground ball pitcher in a big park, and can also eat up a lot of innings out of the pen, if put there. Plus price is right for small market KC.
Robert Gsellman will make a bigger impact than Lucas Giolito.
Robert Gsellman will almost certainly have a bigger impact with the Mets in 2017 than Lucas Giolito will have with a rebuilding White Sox team.
Gsellman is already penciled into the Mets rotation as their 5th starter and would move up the rankings with any continuing health issues to those ahead of him. Giolito is not listed in the White Sox likely opening day rotation and will most certainly begin the season at AAA Charlotte, at least until one of their veteran starters is traded.
I wondering if Boras has lost his touch. Many of the ‘household’ names he represents are signing later and later into the offseason. If I’m Wieters (which I get that I’m not), I’d be furious at how poorly Boras has misread his market. This seems to have happened every offseason for the past 3-4 years. It seems that front offices have figured out that his tactics are just that and are going more and more off of advanced analytics.
Boras plays a different game than most of the other agents. He likes to shoot for the moon. For the top tier he very often succeeds, and that’s why he’s hired. Sometimes that approach, when the product is flawed/older, really fizzes out when the ask is way beyond the real demand.. Stephen Drew was a good example after 2013, as was Johnny Damon after the 2009 season. Wieters could be the next.
The chasm between Hosmer as the perceived superstar, and his actual displayed baseball skill is as wide as any player I’ve ever seen in the modern stat era.
Yeah, downvote the obvious truth….like a downvote means crap.
“Mid-market Royals” Lol. If Royals are mid-market, what is a small market?
Green Bay Packers?