Right-handers Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn entered the offseason regarded by many as the third- and fourth-best options on the starting pitching market (in varying order) behind fellow righties Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta. And like virtually every other free agent (relievers aside), they’re still struggling to find teams willing to meet their asking prices. FanRag’s Jon Heyman reports in his latest notes column that one GM tells him Cobb is still seeking a contract of four to five years in length at an annual rate of $15MM or more. (Presumably, Cobb’s camp would want a higher annual value on the shorter pact.) Lynn, meanwhile, is believed to be seeking a “at least four years” at $15MM+ annually. The Brewers, according to Heyman, are monitoring the free-agent market with an opportunistic eye and believe both Cobb and Lynn to be more plausible targets for them than the more expensive Arrieta. MLBTR recently penned Free Agent Profiles on both Cobb and Lynn, taking a lengthier look at each right-hander’s strengths, weaknesses, market and earning capacity.
A bit more from around the league as players, agents, media and fans all await… well, anything:
- Also via Heyman, Eduardo Nunez is seeing his market “heat up” a bit. There are as many as eight teams that have shown interest in Nunez of late, including the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Giants, Braves, Brewers and Royals. (Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area recently suggested that a reunion with San Francisco wasn’t likely, implying that Nunez can receive superior offers elsewhere.) Heyman joins others that have recently reported that Nunez is on the Mets’ radar as a second base option. The Yankees, Red Sox, Braves and Brewers all make varying degrees of sense as well, though it’s tougher to see a clear fit with the Jays, Giants and Royals for various reasons. Toronto has already added Aledmys Diaz and Yangervis Solarte this winter (with Troy Tulowitzki and Devon Travis both still on board as well), while the Giants picked up Evan Longoria and are reportedly striving to remain under the luxury tax threshold. Nunez would almost certainly put them over, as they’re within less than $5MM of that point at present. As for the Royals, they could use a versatile infielder, but they’re also gearing up for a rebuild.
- Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald takes a look at the latest on Christian Yelich’s trade market, reporting that the Marlins have informed Yelich’s camp that they’ll entertain offers on him but are not making any promises of a trade. Miami has made its asking price on Yelich a bit more realistic in recent weeks, other teams tell Jackson, but they’re still seeking top-tier talent and looking for multiple prospects from the top 10 of potential trading partners (as one would expect). Both Jackson and Heyman (in a separate article on Yelich) suggest that the Marlins are eyeing talent that is in Double-A and Triple-A, as opposed to high-upside talent that is further down the minor league pipeline. Both reports confirm that the Marlins did indeed ask the Braves about Ronald Acuna (as MLB Network’s Peter Gammons previously reported), only to be rebuffed.
- If no offers from MLB teams materialize for Ichiro Suzuki, it seems as though he’ll have the opportunity to continue his playing career in Japan. Both the Chunichi Dragons and the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball have already shown some interest, according to reports from the Kyodo News and reports from Japanese media outlets including Sponichi and Nikkan Sports. MLB.com’s Barry Bloom recently spoke with Ichiro’s agent, John Boggs, about his market this offseason, with Boggs stating that he still had hope of an offer from an MLB team eventually surfacing.
Braves have enough talent to get yelich without parting with acuna. It would be wise for the marlins to seek alternative ways to make a trade with the braves without including him. We can offer 3-4 strong prospects all at a double A or higher lvl, and 1 or 2 could be elite status… again all without including acuna. By the time the marlins are decent again, yelich could be gone from the braves anyways. So instead of seeking 1 player to build a team around, they could easily have 3
I just don’t get why the Braves would part with 3 or 4 top 10 prospects when the Braves aren’t looking to truly compete for another couple of years. As a Phillies fan tho I’d love to see you guys give up Gohara, Allard, Wright, and Riley for him after losing 12 prospects this off season already. It’d be counter-productive to your rebuild, which is why I love it!
The 4 guys u listed wouldn’t be traded. And we have an overload of pitching prospects. In fact, our current major league roster is starting to get crowded with young talent that is showing signs of success. They all won’t be able to pitch at the same time, so to get a player like yelich makes a lot of sense for the braves. Riley is off the table I’m sure. Braves consider him the best 3B prospect period… rather that’s reasonable or not
You wouldn’t get Yelich without trading any of those guys. Then there’s also the fact the Marlins DON’T want Riley because that’s their strongest position prospect wise, and Brian Anderson is already in the big leagues.
If you honestly think that you can get Yelich without trading any of those guys you are insane. If Acuna is off the table then no one else in there prospects can be off the table for Yelich or you just won’t get him.
If those guys and Acuna are all off the table, then there is no deal bravesfan. Don’t overestimate prospects. They are just a bunch of names on a list that are ranked by a few people’s opinion. Some match the hype; most don’t. I don’t think the Marlins want the used jockstraps of Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine for one of the better, younger and cheaper OFers in the MLB.
The tone in my text is not what I meant when I wrote that out. I meant not all those guys are on the table nor would it take all those guys to make a trade happen. . I do firmly believe some of those guys would have to be offered to make a deal happen. But they are not necessarily the ones that have to be offered
I think the issue is that it has been reported a couple places that with the exodus of position players in Miami they are looking for high level position player prospects that are near MLB ready. With Atlanta and Miami both being pitching heavy in the top of their systems it has made it harder for them to match up as trade partners. Riley is a decent prospect, but not quite the type of position player they are looking for as a centerpiece, hence the request for Acuna.
And don’t get me wrong, I think they can still work out a deal with arms involved who Miami could then flip, but for now I think that’s why things seem to be progressing slowly as they field other offers.
Bravesfan, I’m a Mets fan. I remember saying we had too much pitching depth and we needed to trade some. We traded Fulmer (who wasn’t even listed as a top prospect) to get Cespedes. Still a great trade but I learned there is no “too crowded” with major league pitching lol.
Marlin fans thought the trade market was sky high for Stanton
and Ozuna
and it didn’t happen! Don’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen again !
The plan calls for contention in 2018 or 2019, not farther down the line. They’ll be heavy players in the FA class after 2018 season with loads of money coming off the books after 2018.
$116mm to $36mm as of today. That’s enough to be a player for any top FA, or two.
The fact that Florida even asked about Acuna is laughable.
Because any great business deal started off with, “I’m not interested in your best asset. Let’s talk about something worse.”
The fact that you would make that sentence permanent on the Internet is laughable.
nothing is permanent on the internet
Hey Phillie, finally someone that thinks like I do. If we do get Yelich and even wild card does it bring us a World Series, no it does not. The Players we give up could put us in the World Series in a year or two though. I would walk away from it unless one top 100 and Blair, Demetria, Wiseler, etc
Can we have Gohara back that was the dumbest trade Dipoto made.
Can we have Wainwright back from the Cardinals? Sadly this type of thing happens
Are you the GM
The Robles, Soto. M. Taylor talk for Yelich and Realmuto is much more to my liking.
Yellich is very good. But im missing the wouw factor. Hope the braves dont make any wierd trade for him. If its like the shelby miller trade .. than oke
Pache will be just as talented.
So why dont the Braves submit an offer
Very off topic but we’re did Chris Young the OF sign?
He hasn’t yet, still a FA.
Probably on the guest signature line on his receipt from Ruby Tuesday’s.
Lol
Squirrel!
Can someone please pick up Ichiro
Yeah that would be good to see (and hopefully for the team picking him up).
Why??
I always thought Ichiro would be a fit for the Giants. Spot starter. Pinch hitter. Pinch runner. Defensive replacement. Likely sells a bunch of merchandise. I can’t see how he would be worse than Mac Williamson or Jarrett Parker on a one year deal.
But it could be the end of the line in MLB.
Pass on all four pitchers except for Maybe Darvish and that is only for a short reasonable contract which means pass.
If the Brewers could get Lynn on a 3yr/39M type deal with a CLUB option for a 4th I think they should jump on that. I know his price probably isn’t down to that point yet but Lynn has been extremely solid the last two years. Will eat innings and would slot in nicely next to Anderson/Nelson at the top.
Article suggested he’s wanting 4+ years at 15M+\yr… Why on Earth would he accept 3/39 (13M/yr)???
Because no one will pay him 4/60+.
Which is why I want Cobb if he drops a bit. He seems more likely to (and less deserving to) drop his price a bit. Him and a 2B such as Walker, or even Nunez, and I think we could be competitive for quite a few years, considering our pitching and outfield prospect talent. I’d also like a better 1B, but that’s not happening with Thames in the fold.
Chatwood got 3/39. I am certainly not a very big fan of Lance Lynn, but he is absolutely worth more than Chatwood. 4/45 sounds reasonable. Though if I was an AL club I wouldn’t touch Lynn.
I strongly disagree with Lynn being worth more than Chatwood.
FortheloveofGod, man, DON’T believe the hype! NEVER acquire an ex-Cardinal. Didn’t we already learn our lesson, after Braden Looper and Jeff Suppan? As soon as Lynn would join the Brewers, a) he’d go back to being the underperforming whale he used to be, b) he’d start tipping his pitches, and c) he’d go on a Molior-esque DL stint. Sign Cobb, to be our #3, and also keep him away from Maddon.
So you’re argument against Lynn is possibly getting hurt? Your solution is to go after Cobb? Boy the irony.
No my argument is against ex-Cardinals. Besides, I kind of like Cobb. And since Maddon seems to think he’ll be able to buy Cobb pretty easily with Jim Hickey as the pitching coach, it would be nice to jump in there for once and take a guy away from the Cubs.
Allard, Gohara, Pache and Muller for Yelich should get it done.
As a braves fan, I think u are right. But I think we should keep allard and throw in someone like Ian Anderson. I just think allard is gonna be the next TG. Anderson might be a bit young for what hey want, but the rest of your offer totally makes up for that. I hate to let go of pache also. God I think he’s gonna be good also. But I think he’s gonna have to be including for this trade to happen without acuna
Pretty lofty comparison for Allard in Glavine. But I doubt Allard isn’t included. Marlins biggest need is SP’ing and getting elite prospects back for Yelich will be their main objective especially if Braves draw a line and remove Acuna from trade discussions.
Yea I get it. Strictly my opinion. The kid had a natural gift and looks to be legit. We have enough pitching in the farm to make this trade happen though without emptying our future
If it hurts to include him, he probably needs to be included or Marlins say No.
The Marlins biggest need is outfielders. After Yelich, can you even name an OFer? Since they will still need to cut more salary to get to the $85-90 million payroll figure they keep mentioning even if they trade Yelich, signing FA OF is off the table.
In 4 trades this offseason the Marlins picked up 2 starting pitchers that will play for them this year for sure, 2 more that are real close, and 3 others that are further away. Pitching is still an issue down the road, but 8 of your top 10 prospects are pitchers.
Eh, just go bring Johnny Gomes out of retirement and have him cover all 3 outfield positions. Problem solved.
I think I’d MUCH rather keep Gohara and trade away Allard. Gohara has a higher upside. I may be in the minority this season, but Gohara is my preseason pick for rookie of the year.
I also definitely think that Pache would be sent to Miami too. With Yelich, Inciarte and Acuna locked down for several seasons it would only make sense.
I don’t see how gohara has more upside. He’s older and fat. Lol I think allard has more upside.
While anything can happen and I take all prospect rankings with a grain of salt, the 2018 MLB prospects rankings of top left handed pitchers put Gohara at #4, Allard at #7, Fried at #10 out of all left handed pitching prospects in the minors. They always adjust the rankings this time of year starting with the top ten of each position (one by one). Both are still rated as 55 fv prospects, although as you mentioned Allard is the younger by eleven months. Both are still very young though at 20 (Allard) and 21 (Gohara) so not sure age is a major factor for either.
Supposedly the knock on Gohara at one time was his lack of conditioning and his control. From my understanding he has drastically improved both the last two years. His stats including peripherals, even at the major league level, look great. I love the 70 grade fastball and the 65 grade slider.
Don’t get me wrong I still like Allard, but those two well above average pitches for Gohara (combined with Allard’s well established back injury issues) mean my vote for a now goes to Gohara.
Why would they want the guy who plays flute for Jethro Tull?
I am cooling a bit on trying to acquire Yelich. Pache is potentially as good and fits our timeline of being competitive in 2019. Ruiz will be ready for 3B, Pache, Inciarte, Acuna in the OF then get a top of rotation arm(s) via the free agent market and Alex Jackson behind the dish.
Personally I have concerns about Pache’s bat (although I do know that he is working hard on his swing) and about Jackson’s defense. At absolute best I see Alex Jackson as very similar to Evan Gattis. I’m not convinced that is the type catcher Atlanta will need to have starting if they plan to be competitive.
Sub Fried for Pache and Bingo.
I’d like to see the DBacks trade Greinke as a part of a Manny Machado deal with Baltimore and then sign Lynn to a 4-year $50MM deal.
I’d like a date with Hayden Panettiere. We’ll see who gets what they want first.
Out of all actresses you could have picked, you picked her?? Lol I mean she’s pretty but come on man. There are a lot of better options lol
She has a kid by one of the Klitschko brothers, so she’s pretty much “bored” out at this point. Probably not much you can, eh, do for her at this point. 🙂
I don’t think Lynn gets 4 years in this market
She’s married to a 6’6″ former Ukranian boxer — good luck with that.
If he dies, he dies
Good for iIchiro, hope he plays baseball professionally until he’s 50 years old.
He is a living legend, no doubt about it.
Would be cool for the fans in Japan to see him finish off his career where he started, with Orix.
From what I understand, Ronald Acuna was included in a conversation about the Braves acquiring Yelich and Realmuto….. not just Yelich. If that is true….. it’s a more reasonable request
It would take a lot more then just Acuna to get Yelich and Realmuto a lot more.
Acuna is considered a super prospect. Ie he’s light years ahead of other elite prospects the braves current have. I wouldn’t say it would take a lot more, but a couple of the right pieces could get a deal done. As a braves fan, I still don’t think we trade acuna…
Don’t get top prospect this year confused with uber-prospect.
70/60/60/55/50 and overall 60. Do you know who those prospect ratings belong too?
Yelich to the Jays for SS Bo Bichette, SP Sean Reid Foley, OF Teoscar Hernandez, and OF Joshua Palacios. Comments?
Insert Rowdy and conner greene instead of the latter two and that shoudl work.
For yelich realmuto and Castro plus money not for just yelich that’s way too much
lmao that definitely seems about right just for Yeli. If you want castro plus money to cover half of his contract, you would probly have to addd vlad jr
People are acting like yelich was the mvp who hit 350/480/650 ridiculous. sub 300 hitter a plus defender in left that is it . Herrera from the Phillies is better then yelich and you wouldn’t give up that much to get him
Yelich has 5 years of control for 53m, and he’s the definition of consistency. That’s where a lot of his value comes from. He’s a 290 hitter with a 370 obp, can hit 20hrs, drive in 80+, GG defense at LF, and not even in his prime yet.
At what exactly is Odubel Herrera better than Yelich? He plays CF a bit better, that’s about it. Yelich isn’t even a CF.
herrera and yelich are very similar; yelich is slightly better and without the maddening mental lapses and occasional bizarre at bats that cause a co-worker to call him O-dumbell.
You’re insane.
We can end the debate with this..nobody would chose Herrera over Yelich, contracts aside.
Herrera ba is better he is top 10 in babip same age as yelich and costs 3mm this year with 3 additional years and he can play a solid cf. There is a comparison and the point of Marlin’s asking for an outrageous package is just ridiculous.
I think other teams could beat that offer. Marlins in my opinion should insist on a major league starter or st least one who is ready to compete for one as part of a package for Yelich. The Braves match up well if they weren’t in the same division. Marlins can’t worry about the divisional trade though in my opinion with the lackluster returns the fans perceive they got for their stars.
Teams don’t make moves based on what fans perceive, they make moves that they perceive will make their team better in areas of need.
Bo is a long way from the majors. Alford, Reid-Foley, Urena, and Hernandez might work. Fills the needs and is high enough quality that are MLB ready or close.
To answer the post from @mjmmorales117 below, Marlins have no real need for Tellez. He can’t play OF and he would be 3rd on the depth chart behind Bour and Cooper at 1B.
Alford and Greene plus throw in player at most if yelich could play cf he could bring back more but as a lf the Marlin’s are trying to get more then the Jay’s would get for Donaldson 2 years ago.
More and more, I think the Rockies and Marlins are a good fit on a Yelich deal. The Rockies have a top prospect (Brendan Rodgers) to offer, and some upside arms in the low minors.
And Yelich fits their contention window, which is open right now.
Brendan Rodgers will be their starting SS soon enough. Trevor Story can’t hit, and led the league in SO.
Brendan rodgers is here for 10 in a row!!!
I think Rodgers is at least mid-2019 away from contributing. He might be ready to be the full-time starter when 2020 opens.
The Rockies just spent a ton of money on the bullpen for the next three seasons, and Arenado is a free agent at the end of 2019. Blackmon is in his last year of team control.,
They need to make hay right now.
Just not sure that an OF is a position of need for the Rockies.
2017 bWAR for reference here:
Blackmon (6.5) (and he is a free agent after 2018)
Parra (0.8)
Desmond (-0.8)
Tapia (-0.1)
Dahl is coming off an injury that cost him 2017, effectively.
I’m not sure there is a position more in need for this team, to be honest.
I hope the Giants eventually make an offer to Ichiro.
To me, it makes a ton of sense. They need the depth in the OF, they need a quality pinch hitter and defensive replacement and they need a low cost signing to accomplish all of those needs. Ichiro is a perfect fit.
I like your idea. They are looking at Duggar as the heir apparent in CF. Ichiro could be a mentor.
Leaving the mentoring/coaching/leadership aside, Ichiro still has a little left in the tank, relative to what he could be signed for. His recent contracts in Miami were 1 yr deals at $2 million. I’m of the belief that he could be signed for 1-1.5 million, on a 1 year deal. Considering the Giants options, that’s a bargin.
Wouldn’t touch Cobb. Bad injury history and due for a big regression
Marlins asking for MLB ready OF prospects rather than prospects further down the chain. Now, where have we heard that before?
Braves should sign Moustakis then trade, Riley, Newcombe, Tehran and Fried for yelich
Braves better not sign moustakis. Fat and overrated. I promise u whoever signs him will regret it. And today, the only one I’m ok with the braves trading from your list is Tehran and I highly doubt he would somehow get included in a offer to the marlins for yelich. Tehran will bring in a few descents prospects later in the season
‘Fat and overrated’ – my middle-school band’s name. Mous still has a few good years left in the tank and he could be a nice fit in a down market if he’s not holding out for a 5-year deal. He’s going to want too much of an investment for ATL to be contenders despite needing someone until Riley is ready, but someone like NYY or even BOS could do much worse. He’d be an interesting cost-effective alternative to JD Martinez, if Martinez thinks he can seriously attain $150M+.
Sorry for the double post
Yankees being interested in Nunez is in my opinion a figment of bored media sports writers this winter. While offensively Nunez may not be bad defensively he is a disaster and no team knows that better than the Yankees and their fans. The first time he were to boot a play defensively in pinstripes he would be booed off the field.
No reason for the Braves to acquire Yelich.
You are right, because they are not close enough to contending for adding him to matter. Maybe in 2020.
I think they are a lot closer than that. With acuna coming in, all the top pitching propects being very close, oh plus freeman,ender,albies,Swanson,camargo,folty
Next offseason we make a splash for 2019
Please jays just roll with Diaz and Splatter as super utility guys. There’s no need to overpay for another one whose coming off a career half season and has a decent chance to have the worst season of the three
Most fans and local sportswriters always misjudge trade value. Did anyone think the giants had the farm to land Longoria and McCutchen? Teams value players differently, teams scout players differently. Contracts are another issue entirely that people don’t seem to understand. It’s not just paying for performance. It’s paying for things like attendance drawing, marketing, merchandise, and of course random intangibles. Nobody knows this better than this year’s free agent class, who have little to no market value.
If Cleveland trades for Machado, Braves could trade I.Anderson,Allard,Ruiz and B.Wilson for J.Ramirez.
Trade with Brewers//////////Newcombe,I.Anderson,Wisler,Demeritte and Ruiz FOR D.Santana and T.Shaw!