Some items from around the AL East…
- Chris Sale is only under contract through the 2019 season, and his potential future in Boston “could be the key to the entire offseason” for the Red Sox, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. The Sox are sure to discuss an extension with Sale this winter, though if they don’t feel the southpaw will be staying beyond the coming season (or the team is wary of spending big money on Sale over the long term), then Mastrodonato believes landing another frontline pitcher will become an immediate priority. If the Red Sox are able to extend Sale or believe they’ll be able to re-sign him next offseason, starting pitching likely won’t be a pressing priority this winter. In my opinion, I’d guess the Red Sox would pursue some type of controllable starter regardless of what happens with Sale, given that Rick Porcello will also be a free agent next winter and Eduardo Rodriguez’s injury history makes him a bit of a question mark for 2019.
- Also from Mastrodonato’s piece, he notes that the Red Sox will be bringing Blake Swihart to Spring Training as a catcher. With Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon ahead of Swihart on the catching depth chart, the team experimented with Swihart as a utility player last season in an attempt to get him into the lineup, with unremarkable results. While Swihart will continue to get some work at multiple positions, his trade value would be maximized if he could stick behind the plate. Swihart has been the focus of trade rumors for well over a year, and the Red Sox were known to have a very high asking price in talks with other teams as of last May. Those demands seemed high at the time, given Swihart’s struggles to break through as a Major League player, and he did little to raise his stock over the rest of the season.
- The Yankees “pushed hard” to acquire infield prospect Yu Chang from the Indians when the two teams were discussing the Andrew Miller trade in the summer of 2016, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Chang has made steady progress since, with MLB.com currently ranking him as the sixth-best prospect in the Tribe’s system following a .256/.330/.411 performance over 518 PA at Triple-A last season. It isn’t known if New York still has Chang on its radar, though with the Yankees recently showing interest in trading for one of Cleveland’s top starters, Chang could become a target again if the two clubs expand talks into a multi-player trade. Pluto also notes that other teams have called the Indians about Chang in trade discussions.
- Tuesday is the deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, and the Blue Jays are one of several teams that face losing at least one player, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes. With newly-acquired Tyler Thornton requiring Rule 5 protection, Toronto currently has 36 players on its 40-man, with Davidi figuring that pitching prospects Hector Perez, Patrick Murphy, and Yennsy Diaz will account for three of the four open spots. This leaves multiple Rule 5-eligible prospects vying for just one roster spot, though the Jays could also create more space with trades or releases before Tuesday’s deadline. Yangervis Solarte is a likely non-tender candidate, for instance, and there has been speculation has the Jays could part ways with former top prospect Dalton Pompey, who is out of options and seemingly buried on Toronto’s depth chart. Davidi’s piece also contains a broader overview of the challenges that teams face when they have a surplus of minor league talent at one or more positions, as a club can risk losing or overlooking someone simply due to lack of playing time, only to see that player blossom elsewhere.
Indians arent trading Yu Chang. Given Francisco Lindor has only 3 arb years left the uncertainty around his long term outlook with the club would make the Indians reluctant to deal him. They already dealt a decent SS prospect in willi castro to the tigers and could always put Chang at 2B which is a need for the Indians.
That being said. I do think the Indians approach the Padres about their OF depth and RP depth. Renfroe or Reyes would be of great interest to the Indians along with Yates, Stammen, Stock.
That being said would the Indians do a Renfroe, Stammen, Stock trade for Shane Bieber and Nolan Jones?
Kluber and Chang to the A’s for Puk, Barreto, Canha and Fowler?
Puk was the guy they needed in tgeir WildCard game. With Olsen and Chapman Puk fits. Kluber doesn’t fit with the current crop. You add Kluber you lose a prospect and then they regress back to where everyone thought they should and tgen they are stuck with an aging veteran instead of a high potential top of the rotation arm.
Bird in the hand. Klu-Bot is a proven top of the rotation arm right now – the odds that Puk becomes that, are slim.
As an Indian fan I have little interest in Canha. Fowler and Barreto have struggled in their time in the majors. Fowler is interesting as is Puk. I would not do that trade for Kluber let alone having to add Chang.
Baseball rosters are change.
He who handles change wins.
No big secret…..
I’m registering an account on BrainyQuote.com just to post this. Beautiful.
I’ve chuckled at several of your comments in this thread. Bravo.
Pull the trigger before Davis leaves. The future is now!
Swihart, Holt, Devers, Travis for Goldschmidt and a prospect. Then Eduardo Rodriguez for Michael Wacha.
…you’re forgetting the part where the D-Backs give them Grenkie, pay 25M a year of his salary, and insist on Tzu Wei Lin……..
Red Sox just need to focus on their bullpen and maybe resign Eovoldi (or someone similar). Otherwise, Red Sox will be just fine for another year. Would love to see some extensions.
Sale, Porcello and Bogie all in contract years……all 3 could be HUGE, much better than they were this year……ya, I think the Sox are pretty well set (tho I think one gets re-upped)……they could use another starter (who couldn’t? the Yanks need 3)…need another reliever or two (who doesn’t?)…..health…..just about no one figures to regress (JD MAYBE)……Mookie might even get better……….Benetendi/Devers almost certainly will……
Leave it to the Red Sox to demand top talent from other organizations in return for their junk, this time in the guise of Blake Swihart. Cause as everyone knows, .230 hitting catchers with no power are in great demand across all MLB—IF someone is absolutely desperate for a backup or a backup TO the backup.
The Swihart haters should at least get his history right.
2015 was to be his AAA year. Instead he was forced to have 300 PA’s at C for the Sox because of Vazquez’s TJ surg. He hit .278 and was ok at C except for a couple of games trying to catch the knuckle ball.
2016 was again to be his AAA year, but because of issues with Rusney , he was shifted to OF where he hit .258 in less than 100 AB’s before FXing his ankle. He lost the rest of 2016 and most of 2017 to injury.
Out of options he had to be carried as a 3rd C in 2018. Blake is much better as a left handed hitter but because of the fact that Moreland/Holt were available he tended to get his AB’s from the RT side in 2018.
I do not know whether he will succeed but a lot of teams see the tools and know that he has never been given a chance to succeed. That is why he has trade value.
If the Red Sox ask too much, they don’t get a trade. They’ve made tons of trades, I guess they find common ground somehow despite their overevaluation of their prospects.
The Jays will likely protect Jordan Romano, Travis Bergen & Corey Copping as they all have equal shots of pitching for the big club at some point in ’19. I bet they want to protect Forrest Wall, too, so that means 3 from the 40-man have to go, and I reckon Solarte & Pompey & Mark Leiter are goners.
That would mean they’d be exposing Max Pentecost, Jon Harris & Jacob Waguespack, which wouldn’t be huge losses since acquiring Thornton is an upgrade over JH & JW while the Jays have Jansen/McGuire/Maile in the catching pipeline behind Martin.
Solarte is a good piece, can’t beleive they couldn’t sign and spin him into a prospect via trade. All depends on Solarte’s price I guess. Otherwise he’ll be gone. Pompey should have been gone years ago and Leiter doesn;t belong in the majors.
The Jays don’t need 4 catchers on the 40 man roster. Cut Maile. Dangle Martin via waivers since no one will claim him, and put McGuire in the minors. Problem solved.
Solarte is not a piece unless he’s snacking.
Moviejay is correct; expose all but Harris.
I like Harris but truth be told, not as much as I like Max Pentecost. He is a late bloomer and injury has held him back and eventually he’ll hit the bigs and be very good. Not Johnny Bench good, but perhaps Ernie Whitt good.
Would someone claim him based on his AA .252 10Hr 52 RBI .684 Ops last year?
Pentecost is a lost cause. Can’t rake in the minors as an older’ish player. Was a mistake to draft a catcher that had TJ surgery just before the draft. Typical Anthopoulos and company logic at the time.
Age 26 and not ready for AAA. He’d be lucky to be Julio Mosquera.
Yu Chang?
Any relation to Donna Chang?
I think Chuck Chang is a distant cousin.
Yu Chang Clan?
ey Changri la
She’s not Chinese; I was duped!!
What would YOU give up to get Blake Swihart on your team?
A cherry slushy and a bag of bbq corn nuts
Aaron Judge, Gleyber, Andujar, Severino, Sanchez and maybe some international bonus money. I don’t see how any MLB team can win without him.
The rosin bag
AL East Notes
All teams need pitching of some type. This is what I feel are biggest weakness:
BOS – 2B
TBR – C
NYY – C
TOR – LF
BAL – C
Rays just got Zunino. Their biggest need is actually a DH. They want to upgrade Crohn with Nelson Cruz.
Bos will be fine at 2B. If Pedey can play 90 games with lots of rest they will fill in with Holt/Nunez. They also have Lin/Hernandez at AAA. Cora will not play Pedey much if at all in Tor/Tampa with the turf. If Pedey can’t come back there will be loads of 2B available in June.
Bos does not need Goldie. Moreland / Pearce (and Sam Travis at AAA) will be fine for 2019. Devers/Chaivis/Dalbec/Casas are all 1B/3B/DH options for 2020 and beyond.
The Blue Jays acquired Tyler Thornburg, huh?
Kluber trades this is what I feel a 2 time Cy Young Winner with 3 years of a very club friendly contract should bring back.
Brought up in several sports shows fans throwing out trade rumors are not taking into account the actual money saved with the cost friendly Kluber contract. What is the actual amount he would be worth on the open market if you had to pay for him 3 year 75 mil I would guess would be the ballpark.
Padres
Franmil Reyes
Mackenzie Gore
Josh Naylor
Brad Wieck
Yankees
Kluber & Alonzo
Miguel Andujar
Clint Frazier
Jonathan Loaisiga
Deivi Garcia
Greg Bird
Atlanta Braves
Ozzie Albies
Austin Riley
William Contreras or Drew Waters
Jessie Biddle
Adam Duvall
Nobody wants Alonzo
If Kluber was a FA you’d be giving him much more than that. He’s a 100 million dollar pitcher on the open market and that’s not even up for debate
If the Red Sox ask too much, they don’t get a trade. They’ve made tons of trades, I guess they find common ground somehow despite their overevaluation of their prospects.
I’d be signing Sale. The guys a gamer and the Red Sox have a team mixed with young and veteran major leaguers. The back end of the deal is not guarantee but the front end keeps this team capable of anything. You have the payroll who better than this guy? I don’t know this I’m just speculating but Sale dealt with a bad White Sox team I think being in a winning environment somewhere will be a big factor for him. I’d go at him now and see where he and his agent see his market going forward