The Red Sox are showing “serious interest” in right-hander Jake Odorizzi, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. This isn’t the first link between the two sides, who were connected in the rumor mill just a few weeks ago. Odorizzi endured a subpar, injury-shortened 2020 with the Twins, but he is an accomplished starter who has ties to Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. The hurler pitched in Tampa Bay from 2013-17, when Bloom was part of the Rays’ front office. Odorizzi had a good run with the Rays during those years and continued to pitch well in Minnesota from 2018-19. Based on what the 30-year-old Odorizzi has done so far, he would be a welcome addition to a Boston rotation that’s in dire need of help. Elsewhere…
- The Tigers signed Robbie Grossman on Tuesday, but fellow outfielders Adam Duvall and Nomar Mazara were on their radar before then, Jason Beck of MLB.com tweets. Both Duvall and Mazara became available when their respective teams (Braves, White Sox) non-tendered them last month. Neither player performed as well as Grossman did in 2020, however. Grossman’s tool aren’t flashy, but he’s a smart player who takes what he’s given. He owns a .359 OBP across the last six seasons, a skill he flashed again last season with a solid 10.9 percent walk rate. He also avoids mistakes in the field: as Beck points out, Grossman’s 231-game active errorless streak ranks second among outfielders. It should be noted, Grossman’s total package brings a decidedly different skill set from either Duvall or Mazara, both of whom are known more for their power.
- The Orioles have reason to believe Cole Sulser can return to form as the guy they installed as their early-season closer in 2020, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The 30-year-old Sulser was a casualty of a roster crunch in Tampa, and the Orioles benefited by claiming him off waivers. The season started well for Sulser as he became a multi-inning weapon for manager Brandon Hyde, but in a freak accident at home, Sulser broke some toes on his right foot. It wasn’t enough of an injury to keep him from the diamond, but perhaps it should have been as he struggled with his command the rest of the way. Sulser finished with a 5.56 ERA/4.91 FIP/5.87 SIERA and an unsightly 17 percent walk rate. Back at full health, the Orioles expect Sulser to once again be a weapon for them out of the pen.
Duvall and Mazara make much more sense for Detroit at this point in their rebuild
How so? I wouldn’t want to build a team around any of them. Grossman makes sense for Comerica Park and its expansive outfield. Contact, line drives, OBP, all things that Grossman brings to the table.
they arent competing this year and probably wolnt be that great in 2022 either, so it really doesnt matter.
Given the three they were looking at, Grossman is probably the best choice. But Really!!!??? Why would you choose from these 3?? There are better options!
“Neither player performed as well as Grossman did in 2020”..
How do either player make more sense than Robbie??
Duvall was better, and Mazara fits better with the general age of the team.
How was Duvall better? Whose to say they didn’t offer Duvall? What does general age (31 compared to 29) have to do with anything?? He’s still a FA after 2022. Mazara stunk last year.
There’s nothing wrong with giving these younger guys/prospects competition in-house.
You’re reading or seeing things that aren’t being said. DarkSide said Mazara fits better with the general age of the team, not Duvall. Mazara is 25. Mazara has shown upside, whereas Grossman is a borderline defensive replacement level – 4th OF.
“Mazara stunk last year”, OK, now do Grossman pre-2020, or would that not fit the narrative you’re trying to push?
Yeah, Mazara never lived up to the hype, but all this nonsense about how Grossman is somehow more sensible for the Tigers is just insanity.
So how does he make more sense? Because he’s 26. That’s it? Upside?? He’s had multiple opportunities throughout his career and has yet to capitalize; which is why he’s in the position he’s in. Grossman is not a Pudge Rodriguez type move, he’s creating competition throughout the depth chart (like Schoop & Cron). And he’s improving the OF, team, and OBP.
@bob fans like dark side and Alex think when teams are going through a rebuild that all 26 players on the roster should be 23 years old. They don’t understand the need to sprinkle in veterans. Grossman is a solid signing for DET
Mazara has similar upside to what JD Martinez had when the Tigers acquired him at age 26 – a prospect with raw power who had to date failed. grossman has zero potential to be more than what he already is. No power, bad defensive metrics, and an OBP roughly of league average.
You’re looking at this, like this is a building block move.. it’s not. It’s a stop-gap that creates competition. This is just like Cron, Romine, and Schoop signing.
I agree with you on Nomar – if he had team control-, but he doesn’t. So, the margin of error is higher if they don’t trade or extend him, to maximize the value like they did with JD. Maybe they offered Nomar a similar deal and he turned it away, or it was pending before Grossman agreed?? We don’t know, and speculation just creates that much more disputation.
Grossman has indeed little room for improvement, but just because he was pretty, pretty good last year. His OBP was clearly above-average, as was his defense.
Detroit has enough inconsistent OFers with projected upside in Jones, Reyes and Cameron (with only the former not being youngish anymore). The Tigers certainly hope that R. Greene develops into an MLB regular over the next two years, while Grossman is under contract.
By the way, I really like that the Tigers obviously do not overemphasize power hitters anymore (Torkelson aside). Unless Cabrera and Candelario implode, there are three solid OBP producers in the lineup.
Gruß,
BSHH
Grossman has indeed little room for improvement, but just because he was pretty, pretty good last year. His OBP was clearly above-average, as was his defense.
Detroit has enough inconsistent OFers with projected upside in Jones, Reyes and Cameron (with only the former not being youngish anymore). The Tigers certainly hope that R. Greene develops into an MLB regular over the next two years, while Grossman is under contract.
By the way, I really like that the Tigers obviously do not overemphasize power hitters anymore (Torkelson aside). Unless Cabrera and Candelario implode, there are three solid OBP producers in the lineup.
Gruß,
BSHH
I agree. It’s an underrated concept, but ceiling mostly matters if you have control. It’s a bit like signing a pitcher coming off of arm surgery. If year 1 is mostly a rehab year, and you have a 2nd year option on him, it might make sense.
If it is a pure one-year contract, you able basically footing the bill for his rehab work, so that he and his future employer will benefit from it.
Mazara has one year of arbitration eligibility, so any contract signed could technically be a two year contract. Thus giving them more than one season to see if he could turn into the player the Rangers thought he could.
Grossman’s signing isn’t a bank breaking deal that precludes the Tigers from signing anyone else. Other than JaCoby Jones there are no locks in the Tigers OF so they could certainly circle around to Mazara, Duvall, or someone else
I would agree, but BR says he is a FA after 2021. They’re usually pretty good with that.
My mistake if that is the case. However, Mazara will still come cheap enough that signing Grossman would have no real barring on the teams ability to sign Mazara
Obviously because mazzara is younger hits more home runs drives in more runs And the bat is about the same if not slightly better They are both left handed so I much much more would have preferred nomar Mazara over Grossman. Actually I would have loved If they signed Eddie Rosario That would have been awesome But all and all it is what it is.
@jrod JD Martinez is the exception not the rule. You can’t model things after a lightning in a bottle scenario. Also JD Martinez became elite because of the mental aspect of his gm not the physical nature. The guy has come out and said many times that what made the difference was how he went back to the drawing board studied and analyzed his swing and made multiple adjustments. He changed up his swing path, his bat plain, and pre-load positioning.
I think Grossman is a good sign. He could have a good year in Detroit getting a chance to start. Seen it many times before, a good veteran gets a chance to play everyday and has a career year. I like the signing
In the end Detroit is gonna lose a lot of games so it doesn’t really matter who they signed out of those 3 of’s cause none of them are good enough to make a big impact.
None of Grossman, Mazara, or Duvall would be part of any rebuilding process, but the Tigers still have to play games while rebuilding. And they took the guy they felt was the best overall player from the three. to be a stopgap.
I hope the Rangers aren’t out on the rest of the good SP’ers on the market. I’d love either a Paxton, Sugano, Odorizzi, or Walker still.
Were the rangers in on sugano? I heard the Giants weren’t willing to spend on MyTeams app. Don’t understand that with all the money coming off the books next year. He would be a solid piece to any club for the next 3 to 4 years at 10 mill a year
Yeah, they were. There were several connections to Sugano until they signed Arihara last month.
Who doesn’t want to see Walker (a) Texas Ranger?
Me.
I’m (a) Jay Walker
I know who does. – every editor who writes headlines for baseball articles.
Gross man makes no sense for a team that lacks power and difference makers at the plate….
As it states in the article, Grossman has a 231 consecutive game errorless streak. Defense is still an IMPORTANT part of the game, even though it’s not as glamorous as power offensive #’s. Especially for a rebuilding team that’s got a young but unproven starting rotation.
Detroit had a team obp .299 these last 2 seasons. This move makes blatantly obvious sense for DET.
Would you prefer them sign Nelson Cruz and trade for Joey Gallo?
Hey, thanks for the non sequitur, but nobody said a word about Gallo or Cruz except for you, and if you think a team that’s in the position that the Tigers are gives a flying F about team OBP during a rebuild, well, shame on you.
Mazara is 7 years younger.
Mazara has shown upside.
Mazara has control for a couple more years, right?
Mazara can come cheap.
Mazara has shown improving defense in the past couple years despite the bad offensive year in a SUPER small sample size in ’20.
Mazara could be part of the future w/ the Tigers.
Mazara, if he gets back at minimum to what his baseline was in ’19 and before, would have solid trade value at the deadline.
Grossman has good defense, OBP, but has only been a career backup/part time player. He’s much older, and nobody is going to pay for him in a deadline deal, nor will Grossman be a part of any future plans as the rebuild wraps up.
– Non sequitur -Habs93 “makes no sense for a team that lacks power and difference makers at the plate” . Thereby Cruz and Gallo comment.
Part of the future? He has zero years of team control. Maybe, DET offered Mazara??
Just because your 7 years younger, doesn’t mean literally anything when it comes to competition.
He’s cheaper than Grossman?? How do you know that? Maybe because he’s less productive than Grossman..
We’re you this upset about Cron and Schoop too???!
The Tigers have their own version of Mazzara in Goodrum. Goodrum has shown better defense and is a switch hitter. His offense was decent more recently. Would prefer to see him get playing time over Mazzara.
The Mets could use Odorizzi to eat up some quality innings as the 4th or 5th starter. This would allow them to have money for Bauer as well. This would also allow them to keep Lugo as the bullpen ace. They need SP more than they need Springer in CF. Sign JBJ or trade for Kiermaier while taking on most of his salary and likely getting a better prospect in the trade.
deGrom, Bauer, Stroman, (Syndergaard), Odorizzi, Peterson, Matz, Gsellman.
They’ll be able to get odorizi from Boston at the trade deadline.
Grossman is a great tradeable player, where as Mazara is not. Duvall’s price should be higher so that makes Grossman a good sign. Also, Detroit might be more competitive in 2022.
Grossman is not “great”, has never been even “decent”, until this past year, and NOBODY is going to trade for him, please spare us that imagination.. Mazara makes sense for all the reasons I listed below:
Mazara is 7 years younger.
Mazara has shown upside.
Mazara has control for a couple more years, right?
Mazara can come cheap.
Mazara has shown improving defense in the past couple years despite the bad offensive year in a SUPER small sample size in ’20.
Mazara could be part of the future w/ the Tigers.
Mazara, if he gets back at minimum to what his baseline was in ’19 and before, would have solid trade value at the deadline.
Grossman has good defense, OBP, but has only been a career backup/part time player. He’s much older, and nobody is going to pay for him in a deadline deal, nor will Grossman be a part of any future plans as the rebuild wraps up.
Grossman at best gets you a lottery ticket at that price.
Grossman at best gets you a lottery ticket??
How do you know that?? lol
I can speculate too.. hmm- let’s see, Grossman gets you at-least Shea Langeliers.
Serviceable player, good fit for Comerica Park, possible lottery ticket potential if he lights it up in CoPa. As funny as that last comment sounds, I think Grossman is a solid fit for Comerica Park and could be a trade candidate if he repeats last season (which is not out of the questions because of fit with the ballpark).
After all these years of suffering in a canyon called Comerica Park and people are still clamoring for power over Defense? Are you nuts? Tigers need defensive minded, gap hitting guys who have some speed and don’t strike out a ton. They aren’t changing the dimensions so change the team to fit the park. Not rocket science!!
I could not agree more!
Yeah, in a rebuild David. This team needs 2 things: to continue developing their young prospects, and to continue acquiring/signing assets that can be moved for other pieces that further cement the depth of their rebuild.
Mazara would at least fit part 2 of that, (if he regains his pre-2020 form we can choose to keep him, or flip him at the deadline), whereas Grossman does neither.
Are you from the future?? What else can you tell us? Because it’s crazy to me, you just know Grossman can’t ever be moved.
Alexander/Bob, you’ve both clearly got the Tigers at heart – but I’ve got to fall on the Grossman side of the argument. It’s all the little things that you’d hope would make an impression on the youth movement. No errors, plate discipline, intelligent baserunning, a cheeky steal here and there. A determination to use every drop of his talent. A gamer.
You’re right to point out he’s a whisker above league average but IMO the Tigers are paying half that salary for his output & the other 90% (copyright stolen) for tutorials for the up and comings…
There’s a football ooops soccer phrase. You need two or three guys to play the piano, you need the rest to carry it around…..
I agree.
I hope all is well, on the other side of the pond! Another lockdown..yikes.
Thanks Bob. Always had a soft spot for the Tigers & the City of Detroit. Had a great time in Detroit in 2013. I went to the ALDS – met some great people.
Plus it’s a “twin” city to my own, Coventry, home of Triumph, Jaguar and a few others now gone.. Motor cities both – culturally hugely diverse – and hugely challenged by some questionable decision making.
Regardless – Grossman is a really good pick up – he’ll teach the kids when to go all in and when to hold. He is error free (subjective) and baseball intelligent (also subjective). And I really don’t want a 17 dynamic stat on either….
Take care & thanks for your kind thoughts on lockdown in London….
Oh and a PS – on Grossman, I’m guessing the dimensions of Comerica are similar (apart from the foul ground) to the colosseum in Oakland. He’s a canny clever astute player. And he is capable of hitting into or manouvreing into gaps Personally – and this is a punt in the dark – I wouldn’t be unhappy to see him lead-off by example….
The concept of “clubhouse” guys is – in my not so humble opinion- SILLY.
1) That’s what you pay coaches for – why expect a player to do THEIR JOB FOR THEM
2) Good behavior and obeying coaches should be AUTOMATIC and EXPECTED AT ALL TIMES. Something you do, not something you choose to do.
Nailed it, dk!
When there is an advantage to be had, I think a smart GM builds a team to be a “best-fit” for the stage they play on most often. This is a good fit for Detroit
Comerica Park has been a league average park since they moved the fences in a decade ago. They lack power. They have improved team speed. They could definitely us Cron back if healthy.
All this mindless “analysis”, it boils down to these factors:
Mazara is 7 years younger.
Mazara has shown upside.
Mazara has control for a couple more years, right?
Mazara can come cheap.
Mazara has shown improving defense in the past couple years despite the bad offensive year in a SUPER small sample size in ’20.
Mazara could be part of the future w/ the Tigers.
Mazara, if he gets back at minimum to what his baseline was in ’19 and before, would have solid trade value at the deadline.
Grossman has good defense, OBP, but has only been a career backup/part time player. He’s much older, and nobody is going to pay for him in a deadline deal, nor will Grossman be a part of any future plans as the rebuild wraps up.
well said
Mazara has zero years of team control. He’s younger, but he’s also had similar opportunities as Robbie, and has been less productive.
I don’t think this is a building block type of move like you’re suggesting. It’s a driving piece that creates competition throughout the depths. Similar to Cron, Romine, and Schoop
You bet….
Odorizzi is eggsactly what the Red Sox need. Their staff is fried. Even if he gets shelled once in a while, he’ll easily win a dozen games. That’s enough bad yokes for today.
I doubt any team will sign Mazzara to a long term contrct so Tigers can still sign him in a year ir two if they want.
Absolutely!
To be honest, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he signed on a minor league contract.
I am glad the Orioles are not giving up on Sulser. Could not believe Tampa cut him. At the beginning of last year he was solid. He definitely was solid in Tampa.
I was kind of surprised at the time as well because he was a very good reliever but they took him off the 40 man roster to bring Yandy Diaz off the IL and Baltimore claimed him off waivers. An approximate projection of close to his Tampa Bay numbers in terms of K% and BB% sounds likely to me
Odorizzi has been mostly durable throughout his career and is a consistent middle of the rotation starter, Definitely something the Sox need.
He’s like Rick Porcello 2.0. Definitely could use those innings this year.
I agree. The only negative (relative to cost) is that his HRs are a bit high.at ~ 1.3/9 over the past 5 years. That might hurt at Fenway Park. Past that, he has a 3.88 over the 7 years prior to 2020, and with very little variance. And typically at about 165 IPs.
He had some injuries in 2020, not likely to recur. That said, MLB-R has their prediction as $39M/3, which seems really high.
Pre covid sure, now I’m liking 3/30 but I guess we’ll see how it plays out. Someone needs to start signing these guys so the market kicks off. Only a few months away from spring training.
I’m just curious what direction are the Red Sox going in? What I mean is they seem to be in on some decent players/pitchers but I’m not sure if they are truly trying to contend in a strong AL West(minus Orioles)or are they adding players for 2022 and beyond?
They will keep payroll well under the luxury tax. Acquire players that contenders may be willing to give prospects up for, and build from within. That’s why Bloom is running the show. Big market team with a small market mentality for an extended period. They’ll take on a bad contract if prospects are involved and flip said bad contract paying some of it down for additional prospects. Simple,effective, and smart. Few players if any are untouchable. Competitiveness is secondary to building.
I think they’ll compete, and very likely make the playoffs. With a decent year from JDM & Benni, they could be the best offensive team in the league.
The downside is obviously the rotation. Just winging it here, but they have Sale (80 IP), ERod (100), Eovaldi (120). So they might have about a FTE of 1.5 very good SPs. Houck & Pivetta maybe 100 each, so the equivalent of 1 FTE #4.
I think what we have will look good, but what have is pretty thin. At a minimum, we need two decent+ SPs.. Ideally, we need Odorizzi, Sugano & Hill.
If we did, with our hitting, we should be in every game. And we need at least one high-quality RP, plus maybe one more RP that is at least dependable.
Hopefully the Mets can sign Odorizzi and trade for Carrasco instead of signing Bauer (with his crazy price tag).
Say what you will about Dave Dombrowski but if he were still Tiger GM, the Tigers would’ve been much closer to being a contender than they are now.
Al Avila runs the Tigers in the same manner as the “Same Ole Lions”.
I’m right there with you on Avila.. I flat out don’t think he’s the man for the job. I would love for them to hire Chris Antonetti and Co or Erik Neander.
But, I believe Chris Illitch and Mike Illitch are different style owners w/ vastly different MO’s. To be honest, it felt to me as if Dave Dombrowski had a blank check. Where Avila has a $65m budget, including Miggys.
I’m trying to look at this move as positive as possible. The OF was flat out dreadful, these last few years. It’s refreshing for me to see a player with an above average OBP. I would love to see Schoop and Cron back, and this gives me hope that more is to come. I honestly did not think they would’ve even consider adding an OF; after the news DET never offered Dahl. I think someone like Kurt Suzuki, Ramos, or Molina would be a fantastic investment-leader for Jake Rogers. I believe all three of these positions could be had for less than Jordan Zimmerman’s previous AAV.
GarryHarris5 hours ago
Say what you will about Dave Dombrowski
——————————————————
Much like with the RS, his later Detroit drafts left a lot to be desired. From 2011-2015, they got almost nothing in the draft. And he left them two really bad contracts in Miggy and VMart.
I don’t much of Avila so far, but I doubt Detroit was going to be any good.
Wow.
To see Tiger fans argue about players at this level…….
How far we have fallen……..
I officially challenge Al Avila to a beer chugging contest.
He needs to prove he is really GM material!
I do not even get my hopes high with Bloom. It’s like we give everything the college try but come up short
Is it the good ole college try, or does Bloom put a umber on a player and stick with it?