An unanticipated series of factors led starter Jason Hammel to sign with the Royals, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star writes. That included not only the fact that Hammel surprisingly reached and then remained on the open market, but also the untimely death of young Royals righty Yordano Ventura. First and foremost a human tragedy, Ventura’s passing also left the organization in need of another starter for the coming season — an uncomfortable situation which Hammel thoughtfully acknowledged in his introductory remarks. “I feel like I need to express my condolences to, first of all, Royals Nation and the Ventura family,” he said. “Just because, I truly feel that if that unfortunate passing doesn’t happen, you guys aren’t talking to me.”
Here are a few more notes on the free-agent market…
- Coco Crisp doesn’t have a job for the 2017 season yet, but he tells John Hickey of the San Jose Mercury News that he isn’t ready to retire and hopes to latch on with a club. “Physically, I’m good,” says Crisp. “There’s nothing that would keep my from playing. My neck feels better, my body feels good.” Crisp’s agent, Steve Comte, tells Hickey that he has spoken to multiple clubs and continues to do so in hopes of securing a new contract for the 37-year-old outfielder. Crisp hit .231/.302/.397 with 13 home runs (plus two in the playoffs) last season and could conceivably help a club as a fourth outfielder and veteran influence. He has struggled against lefties in recent years but has logged a respectable .236/.324/.368 slash against righties (96 wRC+).
- The Yankees discussed a potential Chris Carter trade with the Brewers before the slugger was non-tendered by Milwaukee, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney. Had that deal come to fruition, the Yankees would likely have been on the hook for an arbitration salary near $8MM for Carter, who instead agreed to a one-year, $3.5MM free-agent deal with the Yanks earlier this week. Certainly, that could’ve had a trickle-down effect on the Yankees’ offseason, as those talks would’ve occurred prior to the Yankees’ signing of Matt Holliday to a one-year deal. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times spoke to Carter’s agent, Dave Stewart, who wouldn’t directly comment on how the Rays’ bid compared that of the Yankees (Twitter link), though Stewart did note that Carter “felt the opportunity was the same.”
- Topkin also tweets that the Rays are among the teams keeping tabs on free-agent outfielder Sam Fuld. The 35-year-old Fuld missed the 2016 season due to shoulder surgery and had a poor year at the plate in 2015 with the A’s, but he provided Oakland with solid defense and baserunning that season. Fuld can almost certainly be had on a minor league deal and would give Tampa Bay some depth behind current starters Colby Rasmus, Kevin Kiermaier and Steven Souza. Corey Dickerson figures to see some time in the outfield as well, and non-roster invitee could make the Rays’ roster as a right-handed-hitting complement to Rasmus. Utilityman Nick Franklin, too, could see some time in the outfield. None of those alternatives can play center field, though, so adding Fuld would give the Rays a veteran fourth outfielder while Mallex Smith gets some more work at Triple-A.
- The Nationals “checked in on” first baseman/outfielder Brandon Moss before he signed with the Royals, reports Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Moss would at least have represented a quality bench piece for the Nationals, whose depth is an issue, as FanGraphs’ Dave Cameron wrote last week. The lefty swinging Moss could theoretically have shared time (and provided insurance) for right-handed-hitting first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and left fielder Jayson Werth — a possibility that led MLBTR to guess that Moss would land in D.C. at the outset of the offseason.
- Thirteen teams attended the workout hosted by free agent lefty Jon Niese earlier today, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). The 30-year-old Niese, hoping to demonstrate his health for interested parties, threw a 40-pitch bullpen session for the scouts in attendance. Niese struggled through the worst season of his career in 2016 but was a solid fourth/fifth starter for the Mets for several years prior to the down season. He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus late in the year.
Crisp is not on this list FYI
mlbtraderumors.com/2015/03/2016-17-mlb-free-agents…
Crisp come back to Oakland :(
I could see Crisp landing in Baltimore. A switch hitting outfield platoon with some speed would be a nice fit.
He might still be after more than 2- 3m, more than think he’s worth at this stage of his career. Shame for a guy who played full tilt so long. Not many these days as hard nosed attitude that Crisp had who sacrificed their body like he did and it has shown last handful of years.. Speed has lost a step and he’s not as good in the field as once was, plus the arm was never there.
baltimore would be a nice spot for his power to finish his career, but don’t count of GG caliber defense from him in CF anymore.. he’s a LF now with a really bad arm.
A bad arm and he does not hit lefties all that well. Okay, but not great.
Plus, the O’s don’t need a Lf’er, they need a Rf”er
How many platoons does Baltimore need for the outfield?
Baltimore needs all of the platoons. They’ve got a fever, and the prescription is more platoonery.
Crisp’s family live in So Cal, Palm Springs area, he’ll likely want to stay on the west coast if possible. He actually helped coach my sons team a few years back. Great guy!
Good for Hammel. Class move.
crisp was amazing with RISP last year for oakland and cleveland – even in the playoffs. couple big homers in series clinching games too (vs BOS
I’m pretty interested in Niese out of the pen. Still generates grounders and would be helped by a HR suppressing atmosphere. I’d be happy if the Halos gave him a shot at the rotation (along with the plethora of others) and had him out of the pen if he didn’t make the cut.
Trust me he is a real Loooser. He gets frustrated when things dont go right for him (defensively or Umpire’s calls) and melts down. You dont want or need him.
AND blames the defense for him sucking.
He was able to get Rizzo out twice in huge spots in the 2015 NLCS- so there’s hope there?
Always liked Coco, but he’s definitely nearing the end, if not there already. His bat is below average, he’s become a liability in the field with poor range and a poor arm.. but.. he’s a veteran and that will probably eek him out a few more dollars.
He shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near CF – and his bat is just too light to carry at a corner spot.
“There’s nothing that would keep my from playing. My neck feels better, my body feels good.”
******keep me******
Coco Crisp is like a con man. “I’m totally healthy. No problems at all.” Then you sign him and he plays 25 to 30 games a year
Fuld is lefty, FYI. Not a platoon option for Rasmus.
One of the great defenders of my lifetime though, I hope he makes it back to the bigs.
Crisp would be a nice pickup for the Padres if they did decide to keep Margot in AAA to delay his clock. He would be the veteran 4th outfielder to mentor the young starters Renfroe, Jankowski
Jankowski
The app keeps cutting my comments short, annoying.
Sebastian?
Jankowski shouldn’t be a starter. He really isn’t very good at hitting. He’s a perfect fourth outfielder.
So a section on Lind and butler
Sam Fuld is 35 years old??? Time flies when you aren’t paying attention.
on top of the money savings, the Yankees also saved a minor league player or two (who they would have traded for Carter) and a 40 man roster spot which they would have needed to place Carter on before the Rule V draft and potentially one more player who they wouldn’t have been able to protect.
After looking at it closer, I’m not hating on the Chris Carter signing as much as I was previously. Depth is always good. Hope that contact rate soars.