Veteran slugger Nelson Cruz seems likely to draw quite a few looks from American League clubs. Per Jon Heyman of Fancred, the White Sox “are a player” in that market, while the Astros also have some interest. Either club would have some open DH plate appearances for the 38-year-old Cruz, who turned in a .256/.342/.509 slash with 37 long balls this past season in Seattle. That homer total, remarkably, was Cruz’s lowest in the past five seasons. During that time, he’s averaged 41 big flies per season while generally producing 45 percent more offense than a league-average hitter (by measure of OPS+). Houston GM Jeff Luhnow recently discussed a desire to add to an already imposing lineup, and Cruz would certainly fit the bill in that regard.
Some more early notes on the free-agent market…
- The Yankees’ interest in Patrick Corbin is widely known, though general manager Brian Cashman made the fact a bit clearer at this week’s GM Meetings, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Asked if the Yankees were interested in retaining lefty J.A. Happ, Cashman acknowledged having spoken to Happ’s agent — though the agent he mentioned, John Courtright, actually represents Corbin. Both players were already locks to be on the Yankees’ radar this winter, so the slip hardly reveals any new information. That said, Davidoff suggests that the Yankees haven’t been deterred by anything they’ve heard from Corbin’s camp yet, adding that Yankees bullpen coach Mike Harkey was Corbin’s pitching coach in Arizona from 2014-15. Harkey, Davidoff continues, has already offered a positive endorsement in Corbin’s favor.
- Former Astros utility man Marwin Gonzalez is the most versatile defender in free agency this season, and Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that he’s garnered at least some level of interest from nearly every club in the game. As a switch-hitter with at least a league average bat and the capability to play as many as six positions (all four infield slots and both outfield corners), “Swiss G” is indeed easy to imagine fitting onto virtually any team’s roster. Meanwhile, former Pirate Josh Harrison, a quality defender at second base with experience at third base and in the outfield corners, has generated some interest from the likes of the Yankees, Reds and Nationals, among others, per Heyman. Both players’ versatility should serve them well this winter.
- Free agent catcher Robinson Chirinos has drawn some early interest from the Twins and the Braves, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. The 34-year-old Chirinos hit the market after the Rangers declined his $4.5MM option. Chirinos’ .222/.338/.419 slash was a departure from his career year in 2017, but he did slug a personal best 18 home runs in 2018. Over the past four seasons in Texas, he’s hit .233/.337/.456 with 54 home runs in 336 games played. Chirinos’ strikeout rate at the plate and caught-stealing rate behind the plate both went in the wrong direction this year (in fairly significant fashion), but his track record at the plate is strong for a catcher, even if he’s never been regarded as a great defensive option.
If Brian Cashman signs Patrick Corbin, JA Happ, and if Jordan Montgomery who is my favorite Yankee pitcher recovers from surgery sooner than expected and has a good year, the Yankees could very well be World Series contenders. If possible, trade Justus Sheffield, Clint Frazier, Chance Adams, and Domingo German for DeGrom or Bumgarner
How many lefties do you want?
True. But there’s not many pitchers in the market
That would seem to be enough for mad bum but not deGrom.
I think the Yankees should trade Torres or Andujar if they can get a good pitcher
I guess you are not a Yankee fan? Trade Torres huh?
Trading Torres would be a big mistake
Have you ever heard Jordan Montgomery speak? He has the brain of a 2×4.
How does that make sense. Is the poster not a Yankee fan for wanting Degrom, the best pitcher on the planet last year?
Andujar is a better overall player. Torres is homerun or strike out and I don’t see him being the all star everyone predicted
Then you need to go back and watch the game tape lol. GT is a stud. Give it time. This isn’t the Lakers where we talk about trading future all stars for vets. Cash is gonna keep the cream of the crop.
I agree that that offer gets Madbum and not Degrom
hes far from the only one. ahem. avi garcia.
Have you ever heard any of them speak…we pay to see them play, not write the Gettysburg address!
Andujar isn’t a better player right now. If you want to say he’s a better hitter, fine, but the guy is as bad as it gets in the field.
No way Andujar is better the Torres, Torres will become one of the games top 10. Just improves every year, ball just jumps off his bat
He was an all-star this year.
Why does it matter how many lefties are in the rotation? If they’re good who cares lol
“How many lefties do you want?”
As many as possible to neutralize LH pull hitters that get HR’s out of routine fly balls at Yankee Stadium.
You can’t really consider DeGrom and Bumgarner the same
deGrom is not on the market anymore, the Mets are going for it next year.
The same mistake they made last year. Thing is they were a lot better off going into 2018, and see how that turned out. The Mets are the perfect definition of insanity..doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.
Guess you guys that don’t know Yankee stadium don’t know but the more left handed pitching you have the more the “short porch in right” is negated for right-handed batters!
If you don’t know, don’t comment!
Do you mean it’s negated for left-handed batters? Like that the short-porch is not an advantage when there is a lefty pitcher on the mound? The ideal matchup for a batter in Yankee Stadium is you being a lefty hitter against a righty pitcher
Nothing wrong with this comment except from Yankee haters.
A stronger pitching staff would navigate them through the playoffs…..remember this was a 100 win team in 2018.
Stronger pitching, makes them as much a contender as anyone at this time of the year!
No way thats gonna get you Degrom… they are not that stupid.. Frazier is too injury prone (worthless).. Yanks have to part with either Torres /or Andujar along with Sheffield plus 2 top prospects..
Why would the Yankees want to give up all that talent for 2 years of DeGrom?
Seriously. deGrom is an amazing pitcher. But show me where a rookie who has had as much success as Andujar or Torres were part of a trade for a FOR starter, not to mention a top 50 prospects and 2 more “top” prospects?
I’m not talking about guys who were traded as a minor leaguer and THEN had a great rookie year, I’m talking traded with over 100IP or 500 AB of success already. I just don’t see why anyone would think Andujar or Torres plus Sheffield and 2 top prospects is realistic.
Andujar is a DH
The Yankees are already World Series contenders, they just need to re-tool their pitching staff, and they’re good to go…Which, there are the players available, and they certainly have the money to do so..
C – Sanchez/Romine
1B – Voit/Bird
2B – Torres
SS – Gregorius
3B – Andujar
OF – Gardner/Frazier
OF – Hicks
OF – Judge
DH – Stanton
SP Severino
SP Corbin (Everyone knows it’s a formality)
SP Tanaka
SP Sabathia
SP Adams
SP Sheffield/Loaisiga/German
Bullpen: Chapman, Betances, Green, Holder, Kahnle, etc.
If thwy only sign Corbin, then their remaining weaknesses are pretty clear, they will still need some more bench depth and another big arm for the pen or two.
Unless you actually think the Yankees are only going to add Corbin this off-season, then I could see how one might think they won’t be WS contenders..However. the likelihood of Corbin being their only addition, much less their only high profile addition is extremely slim, virtually nil.
So, they’ll add Corbin, and possibly even another starter, they’ll add another big arm for their pen, and they might even add a 1B, alongside a veteran utility man.
The Yanks will be just fine, they will use their money to re-tool and cover up their current lack of depth, and with their core they’ll certainly be a force in the AL. Idk, if it’ll be enough to surpass the Red Sox for the division crown, but it’ll certainly be enough to win a Wild Card spot..
I’m quite a bit more concerned with my beloved Braves. It’s a crucial time during their rebuild, and they have some money to spend. Although, even though they have some money to spend, they still need to spend it extremely wisely.
Of even more importance is sorting through their upper level prospects, especially their pitching prospects. AA, Fast, and company has to identify which young starters to keep, and which should be used to help fill other holes..It’ll definitely be an interesting off-season for the Braves, and with the addition of Fast, hopefully the Braves can make all the right moves to stay atop the NL East!!
Besides Patrick Corbin, and JA Happ, what other pitchers can the Yankees sign and afford that are available
Didn’t Gregorius just have TJ?
If they want DeGrom, they have to start with Torres or Andújar
Frazier brain is concussed, and adams, german are relievers. your not getting Madbum and definitely not Degrom
Harrison was left off the list of top 50 Free Agents and not even a mention in the “honorable mention” category .. maybe an oversight since his option decision by the pirates came late. Marwin is a great player.too
He’s on the list under Honorable Mentions. It’s possible he wasn’t in an original draft and was added later, but he’s on there.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/11/mlb-free-agent-predictions-2019.html
Glad you mentioned that. We specifically discussed Harrison the day his option was bought out and agreed to put him on the Honorable Mention list. That change just apparently didn’t get in there, ha. I went and added him.
But, he’s coming off a .290 OBP and probably the worst overall offensive performance of his career, hasn’t played shortstop since 2014 and really only has one quality offensive season in the past four years.
I won’t be shocked if he out-earns some players on the list — particularly in the final 5-6 spots — but none of us felt strongly enough about his chances of doing so coming off a .293 OBP and 80 OPS+. He’d be a nice utility piece for a number of clubs, though. There are more than 50 useful free agents every winter, so some decent players just get left off.
I wonder where the limit is for a guy like Corbin? Great talent. Great 2018. But hardly a track record that says more than $20-$24 mil per imo. Even that is a bit risky as he’s already 29. Generally speaking, 32-33 is right around the age where a lot of pitchers start to slip and need to try and re-invent themselves. CC went thru it and there were a couple of years where he simply wasn’t worth his pay. I hope the Yanks don’t feel pressed to go beyond 5 years.
I feel like CC’s struggles were more related to health than anything else, with knee and back issues slowing him down. Once that stuff got sorted out he has been an above average pitcher.
I have no problem with bringing at all. He had health issues but it also took him a year or two to transition from being a 94-95 mph guy to working more off-speed and throwing around 89-91 mph. Some vets transition easy. Some struggle. But CC has been solid to slightly above average the last two years and fits well as a #5 guy.
I almost hope the Yanks carry a guy like German who can take the ball when CC only goes 5 IP. He can give you a solid 3 innings, if not close the game. As good as our pen is, they were really taxed last year.
His struggles were more related to age, albeit wear and tear on the body….but when you fastball drops 6-7 miles an hour on the average, you need to change your pitching repertoire which he as done.
That was my point. Signing Corbin past his age 32/33 season might be risky because that’s usually when a lot of pitchers start to lose their stuff and need to transition into finesse/contact guys. It took CC a couple of years (some because of health which is a HUGE risk factor for pitchers with 1,000 +IP on their arm) a lot of it because his FB lost it’s pop.
To his credit, Corbin isn’t dependent on velocity as he normally sits around 89-91, His health should be something to factor in since he’s had TJ already.
I hope the Braves stay away from Chirinos. While Chirinos doesn’t appear to have any discernable spilts, Braves should be on the lookout for a solid defensive catcher that hits lefties well.
I’m really afraid the the odds are more favorable that Chirinos is a brave instead of Realmuto, Grandal or Ramos.
Really going out on a limb there…
LOL yeah
Man, you nailed it.
As soon as I saw this I thought, wait, isn’t he a righty? Didn’t the Braves learn last year that their catchers couldn’t hit RHP’s? Now they want to add one to not be a lefty/righty platoon with Flowers, but his defensive metrics are worse than Suzuki, his oWAR is worse than Suzuki, and there is no way he is as well liked as Suzuki (everyone loves Kurt)?
I just don’t understand this. If you don’t want to solve the positions inability to hit righties, then just re-sign a guy that already has great chemistry with the club and be done with it. I would put money on it that Suzuki would like to come back, and probably for roughly the same as Chirinos.
Why not just bring back McCann? He probably has enough left in the tank to form a solid platoon with Flowers. At this point in his career I am sure he isn’t expecting anything more than a 2 year contract in the $15m-$20m range.
I think McCann would be a great fit for the Braves in a platoon of sorts. It would probably be a popular move with the fan base as well.
I can see Nelson Cruz on the Sox. Back to back with Abreu is pretty dangerous.
the cruz/white sox fit is interesting with the presence of daniel palka. i wonder what they see for palka’s future role, strict platoon? abreu successor? nothing?
Easy: non-tender Avi and play Palka in RF.
having seen palka play RF, i don’t think that’s an ideal plan (not that Avi at $8M is ideal either). palka’s bat is very good at mashing righties though. would definitely be cool if cruz ended up being their 3rd best FA signing. stove is scorching right now after those united center photos.
They could always make RF a platoon. Non-tender Avi since the $8m is kind of pricey for a guy only hitting against lefties (there are more righties in the league). They could always use the right-handed hitting part of the platoon as an average defender but decent hitter against lefties.
I’d say platoon role at best. Outside of hitting the ball really, really hard, he doesn’t really have any baseball skills.
Not to mention the fact that there’s no point in adding Cruz unless you get someone like Bryce too. Adding a 38 year old DH doesn’t do anything for the team unless they’re legitimately trying to contend within the next 2 years.
The only reason I would be perfectly fine with them adding Brantley/Cruz/Donaldson is if they sign Machado or Harper. You add one of the big guys and then another complimentary piece and a couple of arms to go along with that crappy division, you suddenly have a shot to compete next year.
Of course, that all hinges on them signing a big free agent.
It would probably be bad for the Pirates (the way Jagr and Max Talbot signing with the Flyers haunted the Penguins in 2011) but I’d like to see Cincinnati’s own Josh Harrison sign with the Reds.
His family always turned out in big numbers to see him play when the Pirates visited.
Seems like a nice fit.
That’s because Josh Harrison grew up in Cincinnati and his family still lives there!
Not sure who started the “Swiss G” nickname for Marwin, but literally no one has ever called him that.
Never had anyone in Houdton ever called him that. Its MarGo or MarWinning.
It’s dumb but if they’re going to use it, at least make it “Swiss Gs.”
Pretty sure his agent gave him that name.
If the Yankees wanted an even more ridiculous offense, defense be damned, they would put Nelson Cruz in pinstripes. A lineup consisting of Judge, Stanton and Cruz would make ME personally crap my pants.
I would hope they would play Stanton in the OF before Cruz. They did let Beltran play the field a couple of years ago, though. He might as well have just been a statue out there.
I don’t understand why the Astros didn’t offer Marwin the QO. Boras is his agent. He would have almost certainly declined.
I wanted the draft pick. On the rare chance Marwin accepted the offer, I would only consider it a mild overpay.
I feel the same way about Morton. However, there may be medical issues.
Yep, didn’t understand either of those as well. But they had to be thinking, and worrying about payroll, if both accepted. 34 million is a lot, and I think they like their chances to get Morton on a 2 year deal at a lower rate.
And, with Kemp, Gurriel etc on board, no need to fret over losing Marwinning and paying him that much.
I agree. Morton surprises me more. $17M/1 year is not bad at all. It would also make it easier to depress his value and make it easier to resign him.
Maybe it’s health. I also have another theory. Lunhow seems to treat over 30 vets with an extreme amount of respect. I wonder if he let Morton go so that he could get one last big paycheck as thanks for the incredible value the team got out of 2/14. It’s a theory not based on evidence. Just trying to understand why.
Let me guess, Chirinos will cost less than Suzuki would to resign. If the Braves repeat in 2019 it would be a miracle.
It just simply cannot be that much. The WAR is close. Age is the same. I would be willing to bet Suzuki would even take less to stay in Atlanta.
Maybe this is just chatter to let the Marlins know the Braves have no problem saying no to a Realmuto trade if they don’t like the package.
No.
Braves sign Brantley for a couple of years for around 13 mil a year.
Trade Riley, Soroka, and alex jackson for JT
sign some bullpen arms in FA (cody allen?)
allow young pitchers to develop and see who is for real on rotation
trade for a veteran starter with postseason experience at trade deadline if needed
Yankees should be talking to the Nats about Scherzer. He’s one of the top 3 pitchers in the game and with Harper leaving town (it’s a matter of time) maybe Scherzer will be available. Nats could sure use a 2nd baseman, catcher, SP and any other young prospects that’s the Yankees could offer up. Rizzo would be real wise to listen to the offers!!
If I remember correctly when Scherzer signed with the Nats his contract had a ton of deferred money. I don’t think there is a team out there that would want his contract as it is. I am pretty sure it was something like $210 million spread out over 14 years at $15 million a season. He is still a great pitcher but he is only signed through 2022 and still owed around $165m. That is if he is the pitcher with the contract I am thinking of.
He’s 42 per the next 3 years with deferments thru 2028.
Go look at his AL vs NL numbers… considerable difference. All-Star tier in AL, true ace in NL.
At 35-38 at that money and AL uptick, that’s steep.
ANyone know for sure if the Yankees are planning to stay under the Luxury tax level in 2019? thx,
Chirinos, unfortunately, is the type of player Braves’ fans have come to expect. Hopefully if there’s any seriousness to this, he’s just a minor league depth piece & not looked as a compliment to Flowers.
Batting Lineup (When Everyone Is Healthy)
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. 3B Manny Machado
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. CF Bryce Harper
6. C Gary Sanchez
7. SS Adeiny Hechavarria
8. 2B Gleyber Torres
9. 1B Luke Voit
Bench (When Everyone Is Healthy)
Nick Hundley
Greg Bird
Ronald Torreyes
Aaron Hicks
Starting Rotation (When Everyone Is Healthy)
1. Patrick Corbin
2. Luis Severino
3. J.A. Happ
4. Masahiro Tanaka
5. C.C. Sabathia
Bullpen (When Everyone Is Healthy)
Sonny Gray
Chad Green
Justin Wilson
Tommy Kahnle
Dellin Betances
David Robertson
Aroldis Chapman