The Rangers talked to the Pirates about acquiring right-hander Gerrit Cole, but those discussions didn’t go anywhere, TR Sullivan of MLB.com reports (Twitter link). Given that the Rangers are in need of starters even after signing Doug Fister and Mike Minor, the possibility of them turning back to old friend and top free agent Yu Darvish has come up. General manager Jon Daniels revealed Monday that the Rangers and Darvish still have a strong relationship even after they traded him away last July, Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram tweets. For his part, Darvish is interested in a reunion, agent Joel Wolfe told Wilson and other reporters (Twitter link). The potential of Texas deploying a six-man rotation doesn’t necessarily appeal to Darvish, though, despite the fact that he spoke in favor of that setup on multiple occasions in the past. “He’s one of those guys that would rather pitch on short rest than long rest,” Wolfe said.
More from the majors’ West divisions:
- The reigning World Series champion Astros at least made an effort to acquire 2017 NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag (Twitter link). The two sides never came close to a deal before the Yankees landed Stanton, however, Heyman adds. Notably, the Astros were one of four teams to whom Stanton would’ve accepted a trade. He also would’ve added another terrifying force to an all-world lineup headed by AL MVP Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa.
- Meanwhile, the Giants would’ve had Stanton had he been willing to waive his no-trade clause for them. Executive vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean addressed his team’s failed pursuit Monday, saying his only “angst” stems from his belief that Wolfe didn’t make it clear that the Giants and Cardinals were just fallback options for Stanton (Twitter link via Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News). While the Giants were prepared to take on $230MM of Stanton’s $295MM contract to acquire him, that doesn’t mean they’re going to go into free-spending mode now that he’s out of the mix. Rather, they’re “back to being payroll conscious,” Heyman tweets.
- Sabean also spoke on the subject of free agency and indicated that the Giants aren’t going to sign any players who rejected qualifying offers earlier this offseason. That could rule them out for rumored targets such as center fielder Lorenzo Cain and third baseman Mike Moustakas. Signing either of those players would cost the Giants not only money, but their second- and fifth-highest draft picks in 2018 and $1MM in international bonus pool money. “If you’re asking me personally, my vote would be a no, being that we wouldn’t want to get involved with somebody like that,” said Sabean, who highlighted the importance of having the second pick in every round of the next draft. GM Bobby Evans shares similar feelings, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. While the Giants seem set to use those picks, they’re listening to offers for the No. 2 selection in this Thursday’s Rule 5 draft, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.
- The Padres “remain in constant communication” with free agent righty Jhoulys Chacin’s camp, GM A.J. Preller revealed (Twitter link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). A deal is not imminent, though, Cassavell adds. Chacin turned in a quality year with the Padres last season and should earn a nice contract as a result.
- Athletics executive VP Billy Beane announced after the season that they’re hoping to sign some of their best young talent to contract extensions this offseason. That remains the case, Beane told reporters. Beane added that picking up a veteran starter is a low priority for the A’s, saying they’re “not overly impressed with guys that would be available to us” (Twitter links via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and Jane Lee of MLB.com).
A’s should just using internal pitching. Only pitching they should purse in my opinion is Vargas
I remember the last time the Astros were in Stanton talks
Me too. He didn’t want to play for Houston and went to the Yankees instead, just like Giancarlo Stanton.
baseball-reference.com/players/s/stantmi02.shtml
That’s ok – Mike Stanton ended up on Astros TV post-game shows the last couple of years – does a great job!
My God can they suit talking about Stanton and talk about other things. Who cares that the Astros, Giants and Cardinals didn’t get him. It’s old news
A’s should go after both Ozuna and Piscotty and give their fans something to cheer for. They’re almost at the brink of contention and adding those two to the OF mix certainly trends things upward for them.
I like Billy Beane more everyday, saying, “not overly impressed with guys that would be available to us” in terms of top tier starting pitching on this year’s market. Regardless whether the team is a small, mid, or big market, I don’t think that Arrietta, Darvish, Lynn, or Cobb are going to do much to push anyone over the hump or into the playoff picture so I don’t think they are worth the price tags they come with.
Welcome back home Yu!!!!! Your A true Ranger for life. We will never let you go anywhere again. We welcome you back with open arms.YUUUUUUUUU #11
His what is a true Ranger for life?
Yu need to get up off your knees, man. It’s embarrassing.
Iffy at best. He does not put hitters away, he toys with them & gets himself in trouble. He flopped on the Big Stage in the playoffs. Iffy, I tell you.
Get it done John Daniels….. Bring YU back Home where he wants and needs to be.
It will take $100-$120 Million to refuge Yu, we can do better.
It’s odd for the A’s to say “their not overwhelmed by the talent available to them”…what were they in previous years when they signed these awful players?
How can one not be overwhelmed by the force that is Billy Butler?
Colon, Kazmir, Rich Hill, Petit. Pretty good free agent signings at the time imo
I like Huntingdon pretending he doesn’t want to trade Cole until the big FA pitchers are off the pitching. Smart.
The A’s have to have young talent on less expensive extensions among other things to compete. I bet Beane has a 4/5 year plan. He came so close. I know he is hungry after whiffing on the Cespedes and Donaldson trades.
darvish isn’t worth mega money imo
Good news for Giant’s fans with them saying no to any player with a QO. They can re-load and still compete while building the farm back up at the same time.
Man… If we ( Rangers ) could have signed re-signed Darvish a week or 2 ago, I wonder if Ohtani would have considered us more?
Would love for Texas to just go all in. Sign Darvish and Cobb. Would make for a very strong rotation.
Darvish
Cobb
Hamels
Perez
Minor/Fister*
*Loser to the pen