2:47pm: Other clubs with some level of interest include the Astros, Orioles, and Rockies, per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). Colorado GM Jeff Bridich has previously indicated a desire to “continue conversations” with CarGo, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post tweeted yesterday, though he did not commit to anything beyond that.
12:46pm: Though Carlos Gonzalez hasn’t drawn a huge amount of headlines coming off a down season in the final campaign of his seven-year deal with the Rockies, he’s generating a fair bit of interest from clubs looking to take a flyer on the former MVP candidate, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Gonzalez is likely to sign a short-term deal to rebuild his value, and Crasnick notes that the A’s, Blue Jays, Rays, Giants and Royals are among the clubs that are “believed” to be keeping tabs on him.
Gonzalez, 32, struggled to a ghastly .221/.299/.338 slash in the season’s first half before erupting with a .314/.390/.531 slash, 21 doubles and eight homers in the second half. That surge was fueled largely by a mammoth spike in CarGo’s BABIP (.390 following the All-Star break). While that level isn’t sustainable over a full season, the fact that Gonzalez’s hard-contact rate spiked by nearly eight percent from the first half to the second half suggests that there was more than mere good fortune at play in his late rebound.
Defensively, Gonzalez hasn’t graded out as an elite right fielder by any means in recent years, but he’s been a bit above average per Defensive Runs Saved and a bit below average in the estimation of Ultimate Zone Rating. Statcast rated him one out above average in the outfield this past season.
Of the teams listed, the A’s are a bit of a surprise, given their desire to add a controllable right-handed-hitting corner bat. However, they do have outfield space to spare, and Gonzalez could be a nice value play for them on a short-term deal. From a hitter’s standpoint, the Coliseum isn’t necessarily a great place to go try to put up big numbers, though Gonzalez is plenty familiar with the setting from his days in Oakland early in his career.
The Rays are an even more curious fit given their payroll crunch, though if the team sheds a significant amount of salary and looks to rebuild, they could reallocate some resources to a one-year pact for Gonzalez with the intent to flip him at the nonwaiver deadline. It’s a similar story in Kansas City, where they have space in the outfield but are reportedly on the path to a rebuild.
The Jays have been eyeing left-handed bats and some outfield help, so there’s certainly a reasonable match there. San Francisco, of course, just missed out on Giancarlo Stanton and will be looking to bolster its offense in other manners now. Depending on the price point at which Gonzalez and agent Scott Boras ultimately settle, other teams could well jump into the mix and hope to sign the Gonzalez that hit 65 homers from 2015-16 as opposed to the one that struggled in 2017 and 2014.
Sign that dude Billy!
He’ll go to the A’s, rake for a few months, then get traded to a contender at the deadline.
This would be the best possible outcome.
Agreed, but on a noncontending team. Gotta make these kind of moves/risks to try to upgrade your farm. The A’s seem like they’re going to compete in the next year or two, so if he plays well they can use him, if not they can flip him/benchhim, even if it’s not for much.
Sign him now? Hey Billy, Why did you trade Cargo in the first place??
He got peak era Matt Holiday back.
I mean, kind of. He got 93 games of peak-era Matt Holliday, in which he gave up 5 years of controllable Carlos Gonzalez and peak-era Huston Street. Then when Holliday was well below his career averages (and hated Oakland so much he later put them as the ONE TEAM on his no trade list) he shipped him to St. Louis for a whos-who of baseball studs; Clayton Mortenson, Shane Peterson and Brett Wallace.
A great trade to unload Dan Haren and obtain CarGo in the first place, turned into a couple of horrific deals.
As an A’s fan, I agree. In hindsight, it was a terrible trade.
CarGo would be a hard sell considering he struggled even at Coors over the first half of last season. I wouldn’t give him more than one year at $8M.
I wouldn’t give Carlos Gonzalez the MLB minimum. He’s done.
He should retire.
I mean, worth giving him another shot is reasonable. He’s just one season removed from a 298, 25 homer, 100 RBI season, along with good defense. Saying he’s done after one bad season, after having an amazing season is unreasonable.
Hard sell on the numbers. The 2nd half surge was due to a change in bat grip and he did publicly say his biggest change was he actually started getting good sleep. He was going to bed at 3-4 AM after night games and he said once he started getting good sleep his season turned around.
cards could take a risk on him.
They definitely need to add another outfielder.
WHY? They have way too many OF now! A lot better than Cargo!
this is the move the jays need to consider if they think they might be in it. sign cargo to a 1 year deal. it makes sense for both sides. he gets to rebuild his rep and the jays only invest one year try and make a push and when they fall out of it, flip him and JD at the deadline.
They’re not gonna trade JD at the deadline my bet is that they sign him to a
3 year 67.5M dollar contract because of the recent Stanton trade and then they’ll sign Cargo to a 1 year 10M dollar contract. The reason they would give him a 10M dollar contract so they can lock him up for sure because no other team will or would give him 10M dollars and he’ll be on a almost contending team. That’s how this works and if the Jays are completely and I mean completely out of contention then they trade him at the deadline. That’s how a GM should.
So you agree they should get him and flip him if out of playoff contention. great. As for Donaldson, you are likely shy on the per year figure. if he has something between 2015, 2016 and 2017, he’s getting a minimum of 24 per season on only a 3 year deal and likely closer to 26+.
A smart team would snag Carlos for 1/$10-$12m with the plan of flipping him + $2m-$3m for a couple of solid prospects. I wish the Mets would consider this because I’m on not a big fan of Dom Smith…but they are too cheap and will blame not wanting to block Dom…even though they are looking for a platoon already for him.
Out of all the teams listed I would be surprised if he doesn’t go to the Giants or the Jays. Toronto is probably the best fit. The Jays need a LH RF and the Roger Center would be good for his stats.
That makes complete sense from both a player and team standpoint right now. So it’s likely the jays won’t be the receiver of Cargo.
Hahhaha
Certainly no reason for the Royals to be interested. They already have 5-6 guys who can play corner OF
OMG Giants stay away from these left handed power hitters that does not work in your home park. not to mention hes 32. they have to go younger than that. need right handed power at third and center. its not that hard
Barry Bonds would disagree.
Cargo plays rf and dom smith plays 1B. Signing cargo shouldn’t have any effect on what happens with dom smith.
The Mets aren’t that smart tho. I unfortunately have been a diehard Mets fan my whole life and truly believe Sandy isn’t going to do a DAMN thing.
Wilpons need to sell the team.
I think the Mets would prefer Jay Bruce. Known commodity that has proven himself in NY and is familiar with the team.
change.org/p/fred-jeff-wilpon-owners-of-the-ny-met…
Sign the ballot to try and make a difference.
That petition is closed, start a new one and market it.
I’d be surprised is the Rockies sign him back. Cargo is a very streaky hitter. When he is on a hot streak there’s no one better. He has one of the prettiest swings in MLB. Unfortunately when he goes cold at the plate it is not a pretty sight. There’s not a whole lot of in between for Cargo at times. He is either red hot or ice cold. HE is above average defensively, and in that arena performs consistently. He doesn’t let struggles at the plate affect his defense. I think he would do well for a change of scenery.
Don’t know why, but I can just see him signing with the Blue Jays.
The Astros seem to be a good fit for Cargo. Houston could use a left handed power bat to replace what we expected Beltran to be. Also as a stopgap for Tucker in the future
I think this has an A’s contract written all over it. Perfect place for Cargo to sign on a cheap 1 year deal .
The only reason the Giants are kicking the tires on CarGo is because he is a FA OF who was not offered the QO. He could be willing to sign a 1 or 2 year deal for a $7.5M AAV which is right up their alley despite the fact he’s less than ideal in their park.
This would be a nice pick-up for the Indians if they can keep Bruce or Santana. But doesn´t seem to be getting mentioned. You could split DH responsibilities between him and Brantley to keep them healthy and just let Encarnacion play 1st.
I’d bring back Bautista over this guy at least he’s got arm