Even after agreeing to sign standout Korean infielder Ha-Seong Kim on Monday, the Padres aren’t planning to move 2020 NL Rookie of the Year contender Jake Cronenworth away from second base, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune hears. It’s unclear how the Padres will fit Kim in on a regular basis, then, as they have Cronenworth at second, shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and third baseman Manny Machado on the left side of their infield, and Eric Hosmer holding down first. But the Padres – like the division-rival Dodgers – are simply looking to stockpile as much talent as possible, per Acee, and will worry about who plays where when the time comes. That strategy has worked for the stacked Dodgers, who have owned the National League West since 2013 and just took home a World Series title during the fall.
- Almost two months into free agency, catcher J.T. Realmuto still hasn’t signed anywhere. However, he remains a priority for the Phillies and their new front office consisting of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Sam Fuld, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The Phillies’ goal of re-signing Realmuto is no surprise, as he continued his run as the majors’ premier catcher in their uniform over the previous two seasons, though it remains unclear how much the team is willing to spend this offseason. Arguably the top position player in free agency, MLBTR projects Realmuto will haul in a five-year, $125MM contract before the 2021 campaign. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco ran down potential fits for Realmuto this past weekend.
- Blake Snell may not be the last high-profile veteran the Rays move in a trade this winter. Center fielder Kevin Kiermaier is now on the block, Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggests. It’s unknown if teams are interested in the soon-to-be 31-year-old Kiermaier, but even if they are, the three-time Gold Glove winner is not going to bring back a big-time return after a third straight below-average offensive season. With a guaranteed $26MM left on his contract (including a $2.5MM buyout for 2023), Kiermaier doesn’t possess a team-friendly deal.
- The Yankees benched catcher Gary Sanchez in five of their seven playoff games during the fall, and he’s not sure of the reason. Sanchez told Marly Rivera of ESPN.com that “they never told me why I was benched. I didn’t know why I wasn’t playing.” Sanchez noted that he continued to support the team despite losing playing time to backup Kyle Higashioka – ace Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher – and he “had a respectful and very positive conversation with [manager Aaron] Boone” after the season. Sanchez was a trade/non-tender candidate earlier in the offseason, though the Yankees and GM Brian Cashman have stuck by him since then and may give the 28-year-old another shot as their starting catcher in 2021. While Sanchez batted a miserable .147/.253/.365 in 178 plate appearances last year, he was among the majors’ most productive offensive backstops as recently as 2019.
Your Honor, ladies and gentleman of the audience, I don’t think it’s fair to call my clients frauds. Sure, the blackout was a big problem for everybody. I was trapped in an elevator for two hours and I had to make the whole time. But I don’t blame them. Because one time, I turned into a dog and they helped me. Thank you.
Very good Louis. Short but pointless.
I think you guys are making a big mistake. I do mostly tax law and probate stuff occasionally. I got my law degree at night school.
Well that’s fine Luis..we were arrested at night
I liked your “One betting disc, please” post too!
Tom Brunansky was my brother’s favorite player growing up.
Kiermaier gone, kinda surprised he was not packaged w Snell somehow (even w a third team). Have Margot or Arozarena for CF. KK still contributes, someone should snag him. Cubs?
The Cubs?
They’re trying to sell everything they can.
Did Arozarena’s legal problems clear up?
Yeah, the legal charges were dropped. MLB could choose to suspend him, but I don’t think that will happen.
They can still suspend him even though the charges were dropped. It wouldn’t be the first time a player was suspended and he wasn’t convicted of the crime.
Neither Chapman nor German was charged with a crime, but both were suspended. The reports from Mexico weren’t clear. One paper said Arozarena was arrested for trying to abduct his daughter; the other said he was charged with “violence against a woman.” I can’t imagine how he could escape a suspension.
Sanchez had no idea why he was benched???? Maybe that .147/.253/.365 slash line had a little something to do with it. Inconsistent AND clueless….wow, what a skill set to have.
@86mets
I don’t often agree with Mets fans but when I do I usually regret it, Lol. Really Sanchez belongs in the circus instead of on the diamond because he’s quite the clown.
He didn’t say he had not idea, only that they never gave him a reason. Sanchez can easily guess his average and plate blocking were the cause.
They didn’t NEED to give him a reason tho… He hit .147, does he really need a verbal reason for the benching? He should be smarter than that where he understands that his bat is actually hurting the team in a short-series setting.
He also struck out every 3rd plate appearance. I suppose this is what happens when athletes are coddled all the time…
Next Sanchez headline reads: Sanchez has no idea why NYY cut him loose
I’d encourage you to consider following the link and reading the cited article before commenting. It might make your remarks more relevant:
“What crossed my mind was that I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know why I wasn’t playing, if it was my defense or because I wasn’t hitting. That was what I was thinking about. So that’s where you start forcing things more than you should, and that’s when you make mistakes. I would have liked someone to tell me, “This is what’s happening — this and that,” and one has to understand and accept that as a man. You focus in that you have to improve this and that. But no one explained to me why.
… “And now I have to listen to all the negative comments, everything that everyone has to say about me, because the truth is that I played badly at the plate. That is why I have to take everything anyone says. Let them say what they want; I deserve it. That will make me better and stronger.”
Why does it matter to him if he got benched die to his lack of hitting or due to his lack of defense? If he knows they are both problematic areas than work on them harder! Don’t just work on one of the two, if you already know that both aspects stink! If you got a little bit more then you’re still gonna be on the bench because your defense sucks. And vice versa. A reason is not needed when you already know what’s broken!
*hit (not “got)
not inconsistent…consistently bad…
Depends on what you mean by consistently bad . If you mean just in 2020, okay. If you mean throughout his career, no.
In 2019. with only 446 plate appearances, he led all catchers in HR, was tied for second in RBI, and was tied for sixth in Runs.
how could Gary Sanchez be surprised he wasn’t playing haha. No way he could have caught Cole or anyone else in must win playoff games
Check out Cole’s 2020 #s when Gary catches him and when Higgs catches him. Stark is a word that hardly does it justice…
they don’t need to move Cronenworth’s position if he wolnt be on the team anymore
Remember when people thought Gary Sanchez was the next yogi Berra? Lol huge ego and lazy work ethic put him in a position where he could be a back up or on the way out of the league.
But if you need a guy to sucker punch a guy who is already on the ground, Sanchez is your guy.
As laughable as the Yogi Berra comparison is, he was legit one of the better catchers in the league just a few years ago. His bat was that good.
Unfortunately there’s not much value in a bat-first catcher that can’t hit for a reasonable average. His raw power and history will at least keep him in the league for a while but the last few years have been quite the fall.
Exactly. His laziness was well documented as far back as AA ball in ’15.
Will be tough to unload KK on his own. With Snell it was much easier.
If the Angels were dead serious about run prevention, KK in center and Trout in left with Snell on the mound would’ve done it. But absorbing KK’s contract would’ve meant a much lesser talent return to Tampa Bay.
Snell really isn’t that good, people keep talking about his number in World Series against dodgers without mentioning that they barely faced him if ever. Mookie was the only player to consistently see him and do damage against him in regular season. Snell has had 1 great season to his name with so many mediocre outings that you have no idea which snell your getting. Angels should be in on darvish and Contreras as it fill 2 holes for them, something around adell and Chris Rodriguez?
Snell is very good. You must have a high bar.
Snell has a 3.8 era over 4 seasons with a fip hovering around 3.9/4 which equates to a 3/4….patino has more potential to be a legitimate ace than snell does. Plus the other arm they got looks like he can be as good if not better than snell.
Snell’s ERA is 3.24 and his FIP is 3.51. He’s got top 3 whiff inducing stuff in the game. He’s a 1/2
Can’t bash Snell for being inconsistent then say they should have got Darvish instead lol
Snell was great in ’18 and ’20. Injury riddled and definitely inconsistent in ’19, but his stuff is excellent. Not very good?
The only way to unload KK’s contract is by swapping a bad contract out…
Odor or Andrus anyone??? Hahaha
Oh come on Gary. Self reflection is key!
Yeah, he sure had a rotten season.
Maybe things have changed? But, I do think managers used to tell players when they were being benched. Just respectful, man.
Now, I don’t think Boone is actually a manager in that sense. He does what he’s told. Ya know? But no reason not to talk to Gary personally.
There should always be communication between coaching staff and players but for Gary not to have had a clue as to the reasoning is just ridiculous.
Players sometimes say odd things out of frustration. A couple years ago Asdrubal Cabrera complained that no one had told him he was being moved off short stop. Which was odd since the entire baseball world knew that A. Cabrera no longer had the glove for the position and that B. Rosario, a SS was being called up to start any day. It was like, was a conversation even necessary at that point?
That’s Sanchez for ya. His Yankee leash is short now. A bad first half in ’21 and the Yanks should move on. His defense isn’t good enough for a starting catcher anyway.
I am predicting that Cronenworth heads to the Cubs in the Darvish deal. He takes over their 2b job and leadoff spot. Hoerner moves to LF and Bote is the utility infielder. So, technically the Padres wouldn’t be moving Cronenworth off of 2b. He just wouldn’t be their 2b.
Very possible but I think Hoerner would likely be tried in CF with Happ sliding into LF where he profiles much better, defensively.
Would Cronenworth be a part of the Darvish deal if Cubs are looking for MLB experience?
There’s a good chance.
No chance.
Read the room, Gary
Reds Castillo to Padres for gore and cronenworth. Reds even throw in tucker Barnhart if it helps
They don’t need another pitcher and those two for Castillo is ridiculous and won’t happen.
Nobody’s going to give you anything for KK, so they can pay him 24/2, when you can have Jackie Bradley (whose basically the same guy) for free, and have to pay him half of that (and maybe only for 1 year).. And JBJ doesn’t spend 1/3 of the year on the IL.
A perfect opportunity for Dombrowski to grab some prospects from TB (a #1 farm system that just got better) and take KK off their hands. Philly could use a CF, and certainly DD is familiar with KK.
This feels like the most realistic path to a Kiermaier trade. KK will definitely have demand since at least a few teams could use a starter quality option at CF, even one that is very much glove-first and injury prone, and JBJ is the only affordable option in free agency.
The question of a return is an interesting one. His contract is not quite bad enough that I think you would get an exciting haul for taking on his contract. On the other hand, he feels overpriced by about $10 Mil or so, so they will probably have to include someone decent.
A perfect opportunity for Dombrowski would be to just sign JBJ. Get the player he knows that plays elite defense and if they get lucky has a few good weeks with the bat.
Agree with Cronenworth at chicago cubs in a Yu Darvish deal
Not going to happen.
From an article written this am…? Cronenworth might not even be a Padre for much longer for all we know. I question the purpose of posting this now, before the Darvish trade…unless…
Reportedly the Padres did not include Cronenworth in the deal, but the full details haven’t been announced yet and it would definitely make sense to trade him after signing Kim.
I would like to see Cronenworth turn into a super utility infielder that gives the regulars a day off per week. Hosmer, Kim, Tatis and Machado around the infield with Cronenworth as insurance for injuries.
Just reported that Campusano isn’t part of the trade. It would be very surprising to see neither Campusano nor Cronenworth in the trade. Myers doesn’t make sense due to his contract and Pham is probably older than makes sense for the Cubs at this point. I am not familiar with Pham’s contract though.
Yeah, you’re probably right. I was pretty convinced that Campusano would be traded, and Cronenworth is probably the odd man out with Kim on the team. I do like Cronenworth though, so I’m hoping he can stay in San Diego.
Based on the newest info, it doesn’t appear the Cubs will get Cronenworth or any of the Padres top 5 prospects. Davies is in the deal though. Too bad, he seems like a very consistent and underrated guy because he doesn’t light up the radar gun. He pitches similar to Maddux and Hendricks. Good for the Cubs though getting him.
I’ll believe it when i see it. these “insiders” are wrong often enough.
Reportedly, at 10am, before the Darvish trade was really happening- w his personal catcher, who is capable of being a decent everyday catcher, being involved in the deal… Pads have to give up something decent or this is a disgusting money dump n Cubs better go all in w the rebuild if they dont get something as useful as Cronenworth back
With all of these moves-
1-Are the Dodgers still the division winner in 21?
2-who are the next 3 NL West division winners?
1-LA
2-LA,LA,LA
These same padres fans just days before were saying snell sucks and darvish is too old and now they are saying World Series champs lol I remember hearing the same last deadline and guess what?
After reading the article about Gary Sanchez’s talk with ESPN, his comment makes more sense then prior to. He did hit a homerun in the playoff game against Cleveland and though he did strike out three times in game 2 against the Rays, he wasn’t the only one that had a bad game at the plate.
All that being said, I understand the flip side of that. Still, the I agree with him that the coaching staff should have explained his benching. Yes, he was terrible during the regular season, but the team still played him full time. To have that same team change their minds during the postseason without discussing that change with the player in question is a bit irresponsible.
It could be argued that him being benched should speak for itself, but I doubt that’s a good example of positive communication with your players.
It is what it is and how everyone treats the issue will, of course, vary from person to person. So to conclude my comment, I digress.
If he had a Derek Jeter track record,id agree the coaches should give him a reason.But not a guy who struggled the way he did,147 speaks for itself.If you’re a minor league player hitting 147,you should be worried about losing playing time,even more so at the major league level,especially in the playoffs.
I agree with Jacob, the ESPN article did make some points a little clearer.
I would argue that Sanchez was one of the best offensive hitters, and the best among all catchers, prior to the 2020 season. A spark from him (like what Higashioka did do, was not far fetched.
He’s vastly overrated, his power being the main asset. His wRC from 18-20 is 99. And he’s not a particularly good backstop.
He’s not horrible at defense, but yea, I was saying offense. In fact, since they started changing his stance and other aspects he has neglected other points of catching and strangely became worse because of all this “work”
Clearly Tatis is being traded to the Reds, for Mahle, and Brandon Bailey. Welcome to Cincy Mr Tatis!
Would like the Giants to sniff around a KK deal if they sweeten the pot with an upside prospect, would be ideal in the OF, Yaz to right
Guy hits 147 and doesn’t know why he was benched…. sometimes a good look in the mirror will let ya know there’s a problem.
4/80 with a fifth year option sounds about right in this depressed market. The Pightin
Phil’s shouldn’t get into a “Posey” situation…..
I’m thinking the Jays will have offered at least 100/5. I think JTR will get a nine figure deal from someone. Not saying it’s a great decision, but suspect someone will offer $100 million
Sanchez couldn’t figure out why he was benched!!??
Guess he has taken too many
foul tips to the head…..
The question is, whose next to dump salary?? I believe Houston is contemplating. STL might be another one..
I’m really surprised that SD is giving up Davies in the Darvish deal. With Clevinger out for the year and Lamet being a huge question mark, I thought they would have done all they could to keep Davies even if it meant moving Paddock. 2020 Darvish is an upgrade over Davies but not a considerable one. Davies has been one of the most underrated pitchers the last two seasons. He should fit in nicely with the Cubs.
Doesn’t Davies only have one year of control left?
Correct that’s probably why they didn’t care too much to give him up. Rotation will still be Snell, Lamet, Darvish, Paddock, Gore/Lucchesi/Morejon/Weathers. Any of this guys should be a solid 5 and not to mention next year they will be able to add Clevinger, that’s nasty and downright scary.
Its funny that not only does Sanchez not know why he was benched in the playoffs but that he apparently needed the team to explain it to him…
Oh Gary you didn’t say that.
Sanchez didnt know why he wasnt playing? Is that what I just read?
Time for the discussion with SD for Judge,Sanchez for Gore,Trammel,Campusano and Will Myers
Kiermaier would make sense for Houston, Toronto, or NY Mets as a CF upgrade.
If the Cubs are moving contracts, the Yankees should check in on Rizzo and/or Contreras. Include Voit, Andujar, Schmidt, whatever it would take for Chicago to take Sanchez with em.
That’s a huge overpay, STD.