Here’s the latest hot stove buzz from FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman in his weekly look at all 30 teams…
- Yu Darvish is still on the radar for both the Cubs and Dodgers, though with some caveats. Chicago “seem to be hoping that Darvish will choose them for reasons that are not economic,” which implies that Darvish would drop his asking price to play for a World Series contender. In the Dodgers’ case, there is “some ambivalence by at least some” at the ownership level about bringing Darvish back in the wake of his well-publicized struggles during the World Series.
- “The overwhelming belief is that Chase Utley will be back” with the Dodgers for another season. Utley, who turned 39 last month, hit .236/.324/.405 in 353 PA in 2017, with most of those plate appearances coming against right-handed pitching. Beyond his lefty bat and backup capability at first and second base, Utley is also regarded as a strong leader within the Los Angeles clubhouse.
- “Royals ownership was more than willing to move on” from Eric Hosmer, though GM Dayton Moore is trying to do what he can to retain the core members of their 2014-15 pennant winners. Moore is still hoping that Hosmer can be re-signed, though some cuts may need to be made to the K.C. payroll to facilitate the first baseman’s return.
- The Yankees continue to monitor the infield market for second base or third base help, and discussed Mike Moustakas earlier this week. Moustakas would cost significantly more than some of New York’s other targets, however, which doesn’t fit the Yankees’ plan of getting under the luxury tax threshold unless they can move other salaries.
- Earlier reports indicated that the Giants were willing to pay up to $230MM of the $295MM owed on Giancarlo Stanton’s contract, though Heyman writes that San Francisco was actually willing to absorb all $295MM. Some “not upper-tier” prospects also would’ve gone to the Marlins. Since Stanton wasn’t willing to waive his no-trade clause to join the Giants, of course, it ended up being a moot point. The Cardinals were willing to take on roughly $265MM of Stanton’s deal and offered the best trade package in terms of prospects, according to a source who had seen the proposals Miami received from the Cards, Giants, and Yankees.
- The Marlins have received just “limited interest” in Starlin Castro in trade talks, and may have to eat some of the $22MM remaining on his contract in order to complete a deal. Castro has already switched uniforms once this winter, going from the Yankees to the Marlins as part of the Stanton trade, and he has already asked Miami’s front office to be dealt.
- Melky Cabrera has drawn some interest from the Marlins, Royals, and Pirates. There hasn’t been much news on the veteran outfielder this winter, with only the Orioles (also mentioned here by Heyman) previously reported to have discussed Cabrera’s services.
- Jarrod Dyson’s asking price was in the area of a two-year, $14MM deal, though the speedy outfielder has been receiving one-year offers “for less than a third” of his hoped-for dollar figure. The Blue Jays, Giants, Mariners, and Orioles have been linked to Dyson at various times this winter, though the first three of those teams have since addressed their outfield needs with other players.
- Heyman adds Jaime Garcia’s name to the list of veteran starters receiving consideration from the Orioles. Garcia posted a 4.41 ERA, 2.02 K/BB rate, and 7.4 K/9 over 157 innings for the Braves, Twins, and Yankees last season. As noted by Heyman, the O’s are particularly stringent when it comes to pitchers’ medicals, which could be an issue in Garcia’s case — the lefty has a history of shoulder problems and a Tommy John surgery on his record.
- The White Sox are looking for DH help, but they don’t appear to be looking at the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp as a trade possibility.
I don’t know what significantly more is in this market. The way it’s headed Moose could fall into the Yankees lap for a figure they’re comfortable with.
I would much rather see them sign Frazier over Moustakas. Frazier will be cheaper and will take a year or two less on a contract (because Moustakas is almost 3 years younger). They match up well with their bats, but Frazier has the superior glove. Plus, Frazier has already proven he can play in New York. I like Moustakas, I just prefer Frazier. Also, I have read somewhere that Frazier is capable of playing 2nd. That could come in handy if Andujar proves to be ready and Torres needs a bit more polish in the minors.
I like Frazier as well but the team needs a lefty bat to balance the lineup. I think Moose could end up on a one year deal with some team and try again next year for a multi year contract.
Chino not seeing that at all he’s in a market where he’s probably the best 3B competing against Frazier, Escobar and Nunez. If he takes a 1 year deal he’s now competing with Machado and Donaldson among others. You think he will get a better deal next year?
He possibly could only because he won’t have a QO attached to him next year. Machado and Donaldson will (unless they’re both traded midseason).
Maybe but Machado wants to play short and Toronto may resign Donaldson. Or maybe teams who are saving for next years free agent crop may sign Moose if they lose out on the top free agents.
I agree on Frazier….something you may not know about him, but he can actually play anywhere on the diamond, except catcher. I imagine he could do that too. The guy also has a tremendous clubhouse presence and work ethic. Honestly, I’d like to see him sign a three year deal at $21M. His kind of versatility and Pop are ideal for the Yankees, and that kind of leadership is worth quite a bit with a young club.
O’s prediction…
Bundy 13-10 3.80 ERA
Gausman 14-11 3.95 ERA
3 thru 5….. 18-40 5.80 ERA
O’s go 67-95….. unless something happens FAST.
Ya. But they will get some top prospects for machado in july…
Unless Machado has a year like he did last year, then no, he’ll net nothing in return
they will net some good prospects but remember he is a rental so it will closer to the J D Martinez deal then the Christian Yelich deal
@Tony
Jimmy John’s Fast?
That’s pretty accurate.
If they can get a 5.8 out of 3 through 5 that would be a massive improvement over last year. And last year they were 1 1/2 games out of the wild card at the end of August. 3 through 6 last year:as starters Miley 5.61, Helickson 6.97, Jimenez 7.20, Tillman 8.12.
Yikes
Cross the White Sox off the “Potential Matt Kemp Landing Spots.” 30 more teams to go!
30?
ATL is just fine without him. 29.
Still uhhh….
Math isn’t really your thing, is it?
lol maybe they are thinking some overseas teams don’t want him either? Trying hard to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Hes on the Dodgers. 31 other teams, and Heyman has ruled out the White Sox. My math is just fine. Thank you.
Except there aren’t 31 other teams. There are only 30 teams in the MLB.
I think your Math is pretty bad.
Stymeedome. There are only 30 teams in mlb. – 1 white sox leaves 29. -1 Atlanta leaves 28. You could probably add NY Yankees n Cubs to the list. 26 counting and minus LAD leaves 25. How’s that Math.
It’s ok a Yankee fan yesturday said if the Yankees didn’t play game 7 at the Astrodome last year they would have won the WS.
We all understand your guys thinking.
*facepalm*
Well I mean if the Yankees didn’t they might have that AstroTurf is pretty brutal from what I hear.
He is already on the Dodgers so you can also cross them off the list of teams he could be traded to.
Read the full post, I never guaranteed a WS– of any kind. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/01/al-notes-yanks-cashman-rays-angels-tribe.html I said HOU deserved to Win because they earned their Home-Field advantage, and I certainly didn’t guarantee a NYY win against HOU G7, @NYY and –especially — if the series went to LAD. I was just trying to ask:
Why couldn’t HOU hit in NYY?
Why couldn’t NYY hit in HOU?
That’s it. ALCS was a Home/Away Split unlike any.
You act like I’m Rex Ryan guaranteeing Super Bowl Rings over here, and making it look like I know nothing, because of 1 typo, writing Astrodome.
Houston fans never gave me 1 problem in that thread. They saw the credit I gave and understood the question.
I consider HOU, some of classiest fan-base I’ve encountered here considering they’re on Cloud-9 right now, their team is set up well.
The only thing I disagree with, is dynasty talk, because of how hard it is to accomplish in MLB, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility because their team has a bright future.
Who knows? If NYY is out of it, I’ll be rooting for HOU to do what hasn’t been in a while. Don’t ever anonymously quote me again to make NYY fanbase look bad… We have enough NY fans, here that make us look bad bad, lol. (There’s 1 in particular that comes to mind.. verrrry cocky…. That’s not me, and it will never be me, Lol)
Read the full post, I never guaranteed a WS– of any kind. I said HOU deserved to Win because they earned their Home-Field advantage, and I certainly didn’t guarantee a NYY win against HOU G7, @NYY and –especially — if the series went to LAD. I was just trying to ask:
Why couldn’t HOU hit in NYY?
Why couldn’t NYY hit in HOU?
That’s it. ALCS was a Home/Away Split unlike any.
Um…There’s 30 teams in MLB not 32. Your math is still wrong. You’re welcome.
Except the Yankees wasn’t in the World Series last year! Duh!
I’m still trying to figure out what this 31st team is
Over seas?
And I guess the 32nd team would be the Dodgers, his current team.
Don’t even bother Bastros88
Some people you just can’t reach. Haha
All the minor league triple a teams counted as 1.
It’s the September Dodgers……
Cross the White Sox off the “Potential Matt Kemp Landing Spots.” That’d be 28. Then if you factor in The Braves, that would be 27.
I think the white sox are the perfect fit for Kemp. Low payroll right now, and LA would have to send over quality young talent to get a deal done.
depends on what you mean of quality young Talent when’s the last time one of these salary dump trades actually needed something that’s helped at the major league level.
How do you feel about the dig on MLBTR’s arbitration estimates?
If I were the cubs I would just pay Cobbwhat he wants. Let someone else pay Darvish
Agree 3/45-50 Cobb looks better than 6/150-160 darvish
Except Darvish is really really good
Disagree. Cobb good but not that good. If your talking getting back to Post season n maybe even back to WS will need Darvish. Might as well pay the man.
Cubs didn’t just get to World Series with arrieta but won it. 2 road victories . Darvish well …. not so much.
Cobb turned that down already. Wants 5 at 20AAV. He is probably going to get 4/64 or more.
The cubs are just cheap. I dont think ive ever seen a team with so much money be so miserly. Its like that super rich guy you see washing his car as the station with a squeegee (sp) because hes too cheap to wash his car.*
* point of order if you live in oregon where you apparently cant pump your own gas the change the story to rich guy who makes the attendant wash car with squeegee while tipping a quarter.
yeah those Lester and Heyward deals definitely signify the cubs are cheap. 155 million and 184 million are chump change. its not like the cubs would like to avoid paying another starter into his mid to upper 30s or anything. plus why would they want to leave themselves ample room to stay under the luxury tax for in season additions? soooo cheap
Ummmmm, lulzwat?
Pirates going all in on a Melky Cabrera signing! Championship!
Maybe Melky @ Marte can compare PED’s
I think the Cubs would be better off with Cobb. He’s pitched for years in the AL East, is younger and won’t be as expensive. 5 years is too damn long for Darvish or Arietta.
Agreed, I’m tired of hearing about him. As I’m sure quite a few are.
Darvish is better than Cobb.
It sucks losing a draft pick to sign Cobb, but at this point 4 years at $70M is solid. I’d be content with a rotation of Lester, Hendo, Q, Cobb, Chatwood & Monty filling in when needed.
@Rondon Darvish was already offered 6 years. He didn’t take it. I don’t think 5 is even close.
outinLeftfield… Hmmm. I hadn’t heard that. I knew the Brewers offered 5. I think 5 is too much and 6 is ridiculous. IMO that’s the crux of what is holding up the FA market. These guys want deals that are just too damn long and teams are tired of carrying dead weight on the back end.
Really wish the Cubs would just move on from Darvish. If he wanted to be a Cub he would be. I have thought all along Arrieta is a better pitcher with better numbers and has proved he is a big game pitcher. I believe his experience in free agency will have him coming out with something to prove and a chip on his shoulder. He was a huge part of our success and would be going forward. With our other moves bringing Jake back would prime us for another run at 100 wins.
Yes, why don’t they re-sign The Jake?
Darvish is better than Arrieta.
agreed, but neither guy is going to get anything close to what they were hoping for
ChiSoxCity… Not in the post season.
If they move on and no one meets his demands, Cubs could get that discount. They won’t drop out because of the fear of someone getting him cheaper, especially if it’s LA or Milwaukee.
Sorry that darvish isnt aware how much of a priveledge it is to play for the cubs. He should definitely take less money to play for them.
I would be content if Jamie Garcia signed with the O’s
Me too (O’s fan here) but I think the strict medical exams (which I support) will keep it from happening.
Sim Simma! Who got da keys to my beemer
Frankly I’m not really sure how the Giants have “addressed their outfield needs” with their platooning of several players being the supposed answer. If they are just dead set on remaining below the luxury tax threshold then I suppose they really don’t have any viable choices. That being said, they definitely didn’t address their CF need though.
What’s wrong with Duggar and Slater? Duggar’s defense is rated plus plus. He has plus plus speed. He continues to adjustments with bat to add more power.
the Giants probably think they’ve found solutions in left and center. where they still have big holes is their rotation. Bum is probably going to bounce back but Cueto and Samardzja looked really shaky by the end of last season. their young pitchers didn’t impress
Huh? Cueto has blister issues all season, so he never really got it going. Stratton posted 3.6 era for the second straight season.
The youngsters will provide the defense and if it fails they will be shopping mid season for a center fielder.
I wonder what Hosmer would do if both the Royals and Padres moved on? I get holding out for best offer but at some point can’t expect teams to keep waiting around.
I’m sure Matt Kemp only wants to go to a Baseball town
Matt Kemp will go wherever the Dodgers send him. Unless he wants to forfeit that bloated contract.
Pardon the cynicism, but the idea that the Yankees would be in on Moose seems like something Boras whispered into Heyman’s ear. Moose makes zero sense for the Yankees. He’s a low OBA guy, he’s going to cost far more than Fraizer and for a much longer term, will blow up their planning for the luxury that, and he’s not that good. Other than that, it’s a perfect fit….
I think the connection stems from his left handed pull power and the idea that Moose would sign a pillow contract.
Yankees don’t lack for power, and a pillow contract would have to be at a comparatively low value to stay away from luxury tax.
No one said they lack for power. It was a reference to lefty pull power playing at Yankee Stadium and how they target players who have it.
And of course the pillow contract would be relatively low, as they often are.
38 home runs, not that good?
38 HR with a.314 OBP. and 1.8 bWAR. Career OBP .305. OPS+ of 96. Not worth what Boras is asking. MLBTR predicted 5/$85M, but that was before this offseason got started.
Folks need to remember that’s 38 HRs in Kaufman Stadium, maybe the worst homerun ballpark in the majors. Put him in Yankees Stadium and you can potentially add 7 to 10 more homers to that total…..not to mention the extra walks he is bound to pick up. You could expect his OBP to go up 50 points if he is a Yankee.
If these stats mean anything …. http://www.espn.com/fantasy/baseball/story/_/page/mlbdk2k16_parkfactors/which-parks-most-least-favorable-fantasy-baseball-hitters-pitchers-mlb
….then Moose is a Yankee next year and might even challenge Judge for the HR crown.
38 x (1.354/0.839) = 61 HRs
Forget what I said earlier, his OBP would be at least 100 points higher. Put him and Judge back to back and you will flush the opponents bullpen real quick.
No way the Yankees don’t sign him. It’s a guaranteed trip to the WS.
A 100 point OBP jump? Guaranteed WS appearance? Wow, imagine how good they would be if Moose was actually above average. Historical.
Chris Carter hit 40 homers a couple years ago. and could barely find a job last year.
“Melky Cabrera has drawn some interest from the Marlins, Royals, and Pirates.”
Translation: The Royals showed a tiny bit of interest so the agent is claiming the Marlins and Pirates are interested to create the impression of a market for him.
As a White Sox fan, I’m more than willing to take on matt kemp. An outright trade for him as a “need” is asinine. If the dodgers want to dump salary and attach a decentish prospect then I’m all for it, but there are so many FAs that could fill that DH void for 1/6 the cost
if Kemp is moved it would be a salary dump with a prospect. however I don’t know not just would give up anyone to valuable just to rid them of the contract.
Seems as if Boras has been dropping hints to Heyman again. Trying to build up bidding for some of his players. He needs a bidding war and so far it’s not happening. Good luck.
The White Sox ought to consider a trade for Starlin Castro to play 3B and also look into re-signing switch-hitting Melky Cabrera to DH on a short term contract. Instant offense for 2018 and perhaps 2019 while also adding two veteran flip candidates over the next couple of seasons until more of their remaining elite positional prospects are ready for prime time. Re-upping with 3B Todd Frazier to a short term FA contract could also be considered if a deal with the Marlins for Castro isn’t feasible.
This could make the White Sox more interesting in the short term and a potential wild card contender while also doing nothing to hamper their long term goal of becoming perennial championship contenders beyond 2019.
You realize Wild Card Standings are calculated from top to bottom not the other way around right?
the White Sox can sign or trade for anyone they want guy, the white Sox are not making the postseason.
Why though? I don’t see it. Castillo’s Bay is going to stay in the lineup when he’s got the day off from catching, which means he will DH. They got Matt Davidson at 1B/3B/DH. Abreu at 1B, Moncada at 2B. And Yolmer Sanchez at 3B. Not to mentionTyler Saladino who can play all those positions. In the outfield, Delmonico, Garcia, and I’m not entirely sure who else they got, but I’m pretty sure they’re going to want to use some guys already in the system to test them out and see what they got. I’m not sure how far Eloy Jimenez is but he’s also an option. I don’t see a reason to sign Castro or Frazier. I haven’t check the ChiSox depth chart in the outfield, but if I was Hahn, I wouldn’t sign Cabrera either.
Bat
Castro and Cabrera won’t make the Sox contenders. Also, spending money and prospects on marginal players year after year is the main reason they have to rebuild. Hold your horses and be patient.
Melky around 175 hits every year. why hasn’t anyone signed him yet?
adding a few veterans to stay respectful isn’t a bad idea but if you think that the White Sox have even the littlest chance of being a wild card team you’re out of your mind. they are 2019 at the earliest.
They like me. They really like me!
Pirates wouldn’t spend when they still had a chance. Why would they dish out the 8-10 million dollars for Cabrera after it’s too late?
Agree, maybe they’re trying to take advantage of a lack of market for Cabrera? Try a 1-2 year $4M with incentives type contract? My guess is if he did sign, he’d play a corner to start and finish on the bench by the end of his contract. Or he’s lights out early and the dump him at the trade deadline.
Darvish isn’t going to be on the Dodgers’ radar unless they can shave the payroll significantly somewhere and with nobody begging to take Kemp off their hands even at pennies on the dollar, it’s going to be a very unlikely reunion. Not that many Dodger fans are begging to see Darvish return anyway.
memories of Darvish’s WS meltdown will not go away. very bad optics for Dodgers to bring him back under any circumstances. I still think he was tipping pitches in the WS. the guy has been elite and probably still will be somewhere else next year. too bad.
In a case of stinkatude of such historic proportions, the reason why it happened doesn’t matter a whole lot. He might feel he’s got unfinished business in LA, which is possibly why he hasn’t signed elsewhere yet, but if he got his wish he might be sorry. If he came back he’d be major boo-bait in Dodger Stadium, and not for no reason.
I’d pull the offer to Hosmer if I’m the Royals since he wants to play games.
Unlikely and odd, but any chance the marlins deal Castro right back to the yanks? If they eat some of the contract, it actually makes some level of sense. I just can’t see it happening, but on paper it doesn’t seem so far fetched.
Doubtful but it’d be pretty funny if that happened. Imagine the conspiracy rhetorics that would stem from that, oy vey
Theories**
rhetorics***
They won’t. They won’t because there is another team out there that really wants him and is willing to pay him what he wants but they have to complete the rest of their offseason free agencies deals and trades before they can pull the trigger. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the Giants next year.
Why would the Giants want Castro? Panik is better, cheaper, and younger.
My bad…..was reading on my phone with my bad eyesight and I thought it was Hosmer they were talking about.
the money just isn’t there for these FAs. in particular, the years. the deals are going to get made but the contracts are going to be shorter. not surprised if Arrieta and Darvish are not signed well into spring training.
Hey does anybody know if the Orioles are playing ball this year?
This organization should market themselves as “the team that has no interest in winning “
At least that message would be somewhat humorous.
Boras is going to have to find homes for his players. I read today that Hosmer is looking for more than seven years. Now that is Boras talking.
If they’re going to bring back utley please don’t give him any at bats in the post season… it was hard to watch Roberts throw him up there again and again
The Yankees need to Sign Frazier back on a 1-2 year contract. Then do the obvious and sign Machado next winter. Frazier has said he’d be willing to move around in positions. He served the Yankees well the time he spent in New York. He could be the utility man, and a good one, in year 2 and beyond.
Wow the pirates have interest in an outfielder what is life
Well, if the Dodgers want to free up money to sign Darvish maybe the Braves could take back Matt Kemp and his $43 million contract. How about Matt Kemp, Alex Verdugo, Walker Beuhler and Edwin Rios for Nick Markakis, Jose Ramirez and Sam Freeman. The Dodgers move well under the luxury cap, they save enough to sign Yu Darvish, they get one year of Markakis and two solid low cost relief pitchers and save $33 Million. The Braves return the Kemp contract, an MLB#33 rookie right fielder (Verdugo), MLB#13 RH Pitcher (Beuhler) and LA#15 AAA-Edwin Rios 3B/1B.
This trade would make Anthopolous and Friedman heroes! Dodgers solve financial issues and move ahead of the Astros. Atlanta would totally recover from the International Free Agent scandal (That is the way I would sell it to ownership and fans). Dodgers can now afford to sign Yu Darvish. The Braves get three top prospects, each almost or MLB ready, for $27-33 Million or for 9-10 million each. The Braves would trade Kemp paying 39-42 $MM.
You aren’t going to get 3 top prospects for Matt Kemp’s salary. That’s not Chris Davis’s salary you’re taking on, it’s Matt Kemp. That’s a ridiculous scenario for many reasons. Darvish alone isn’t worth giving up Verdugo and Buehler so why would you trade them for the privilege to sign them? And you threw in Markakis’ junk salary that no one wants. If Markakis was a FA this year he wouldn’t get more than 5mil though that’s pretty trivial in your proposed deal. They could put together a package with Verdugo and Buehler and look at a guy like Archer who would be a hell of a lot less expensive.
I can’t imagine why the White Sox wouldn’t look at Kemp as an option. The Dodgers system is pretty good. Taking on some of that salary would allow them to buy a prospect. You don’t even necessarily have to keep Kemp if it’s an issue. The prospect matters more.
White Sox DH? Adam Lind. Put a veteran I. That role to complement the young dudes elsewhere in the lineup.