Some of the same teams to have looked into other free agent first basemen — the Red Sox, Angels, and Mariners — have each contacted Lucas Duda as well, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). While he is arguably best served as a platoon option, it’s worth noting that Duda has generally been quite a productive offensive player and could represent a more affordable target than some other sluggers. The 31-year-old could turn into an excellent value if he’s able to approach the kind of output he sustained from 2014-15 and also demonstrated in the first half of the 2017 campaign.
Here are some more notes on free agents:
- Righty Chris Tillman will pursue a one-year deal, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). That’s a sensible strategy for a hurler that had been on track for a nice, multi-year deal before a disastrous 2017 campaign. Tillman, who is still just 29 years of age, dealt with shoulder problems and stumbled to a 7.84 ERA over 93 frames. Still, he seems like a prime target for organizations that need innings and can afford to roll the dice a bit.
- Veteran outfielder Melvin Upton intends to play in 2018, agent Larry Reynolds tells MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link). The 33-year-old appeared briefly at Triple-A last year but missed most of the season due to injury. He had enjoyed a renaissance with the Padres in 2015-16 before scuffling upon a mid-season trade to the Blue Jays. It’s certainly possible to imagine an organization giving him a shot at earning a bench role in camp.
- The Orioles and Braves are interested in righty Peter Moylan, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). Moylan, a 38-year-old Aussie, has befuddled hitters for three years running, compiling a 3.46 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 over his past 114 1/3 innings since beginning an unlikely comeback. Moylan had signed with the Braves as a minor-league player/coach in 2015; he has excelled all the more since going to the Royals for the ensuing season and led the American League in appearances in 2017. While clubhouse presence is a factor that’s difficult to assess from the outside, Moylan also promises to make a tangible off-field contribution to whatever team lands him.
- There’s some interest on the market for former Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Still just 28 years of age, Rosario has starred as a first baseman for Korea’s Hanwha Eagles over the past two seasons. In over one thousand trips to the plate in the KBO, Rosario owns a .330/.390/.625 slash with 70 home runs and just 151 strikeouts. His market will surely be limited since he’s evidently no longer a real option behind the dish, but the power has always been tantalizing and he ought to be worthy of an opportunity in Spring Training, at the least.
Peter Moylan would be a great pickup for any team, despite his age he clearly is still reliable and can give teams a great option out of the pen
No knocking the guy, but he’d be a fair back end guy on some teams at a 1y deal and no different than a few others.. such as Blaine Boyer who had decent numbers other than a cpl of blowup games.
Neither will get much other than half a million and Boyer last year had to settle for a MiLB deal and earn his way back to the majors.
@johnsilver Explain why Moylan should only get the minimum. Go and check his strand rate for inherited runners scored this year. The guy has been underpaid and has had to fight just to get a spot on the roster for most of his career and still has excellent stats, yet they pay other so called ‘upper echelon’ relievers way overs. Moylan’s excellent season was also aided by a great catcher in Salvador Perez.
Boston need Morrison,Santana or Hosmer! JD Martinez LF wt Nunéz at 2b!! Trade Bradley for prospects and sign a outfield
An entire outfield?
Yes–I think they can get Tropicana’s turf outfield for an AAV of $4 Million
It’s not worth that
Maybe the Trop’s outfield would take an incentive-laden deal
about how many years you think it’ll get? i say they shouldn’t give it more than, say, 5 years.
I knew when I saw Moylan’s name as a free agent that the Braves would want him back. I wouldn’t give him more than a one year deal, personally.
If the Padres lose Chacin I’d definitely like to see them pick up Tillman on maybe a 1 year 6 mill contract to eat innings.
Richard and Chacin to eat up innings this year while Lamet, Perdomo, and a 5th guy look to cement themselves as long term options going forward.
Tillman is exactly the type of player the Tigers should sign as a scratch ticket.
I think the Orioles end up re-signing him.
If the mariners get duda, we would probably need to find him a platoon partner, no?
Motter could be it if it was a light platoon.
Motter is a terrible hitter. .410 OPS against lefthanded pitching, so he wouldn’t be much of an asset in a platoon with Duda.
I WANT THE POWER!
I would rather the Angels bring in CarGo to play first, than Morrison or Duda. Cron and Valbueno both need to be shipped off to another team.
Morrison has his 2017 being one of only a couple decent seasons going against him. Duda is pretty much a walk machine. Neither scare me if they’re hitting 6th to 8th in the lineup. It would actually give them a good OBP boost. But my preference is Santana. In any case, just gonna by after these guys shows they’re going to bring in a lefty first baseman and will make Cron an expendable asset to include in a package for perhaps another hitter or a SP.
RyAn, I would rather have Hosmore. The Angels seem to be more interested in just bringing in a stop gap, to give Thais more time to develop. CarGo to me makes the most sense in that case. Rather than this constant platooning at first base.