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Yankees, Giants Expected To Pursue Jung Hoo Lee

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South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee is one of the more intriguing players who’ll be available in this year’s free agent class. The Kiwoom Heroes will make him available to MLB teams via the posting system at some point in the next few weeks.

In an appearance on the MLB Network this afternoon, Jon Morosi suggested the Yankees and Giants are likely to pursue Lee once his free agency opens (X link). It’s not surprising that either team would have interest. Previous reports have indicated San Francisco and New York had done scouting work on Lee during his run in the Korea Baseball Organization. He fits the profile that both teams are known to be targeting this winter.

Lee, 25, is a left-handed hitting center fielder. A hit-over-power offensive player, Lee posted an OPS north of .900 in each season between 2020-22. He won the KBO MVP award with a .349/.421/.575 showing in ’22 but had a disappointing platform year. Lee’s power production plummeted; he hit only six home runs while slugging .455 over 86 games and 387 trips to the plate. His season ended in July when a left ankle injury required surgery. That came with an estimated three month rehab process, so it’s not expected to affect his availability for Spring Training.

While that’s clearly not the season Lee envisioned preceding his jump to the majors, he’ll still be a target for various teams. He’s atypically young for a free agent. Evaluators praise his pure contact skills and strike zone awareness, although there could be some division among teams about whether he projects as an MLB center fielder. Lee’s fringe power would be more alarming if a club feels he’s a better defensive fit in the corner outfield.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters at the GM Meetings they’d like to add two outfielders — ideally ones who hit from the left side. Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has suggested that adding athleticism to their outfield is an offseason priority. Not coincidentally, those clubs are generally speculated as strong fits for Cody Bellinger. Lee is a riskier bet without a body of work against big league pitching but isn’t going to approach Bellinger’s contract.

Of course, there’ll be more teams involved once the posting process gets underway. The Padres have previously been tied to Lee, while teams like the Mariners, Nationals and Royals make sense on paper. Seattle needs corner outfield help and is looking for high-contact hitters. Washington and Kansas City have short-term uncertainty in the outfield and could view Lee as a candidate for a free agent strike as they look to pull out of rebuilds. Given his youth, he’d align better with their competitive timelines than would most free agents.

Josh Donaldson Open To Playing Another Season

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Josh Donaldson returned to free agency at season’s end. The veteran third baseman had finished out the year with the Brewers after being released by the Yankees in late August.

The 2015 AL MVP tells Josh Wegman of The Score that he’s open to a return for what would be his age-38 season. A potential 14th big league campaign would seemingly be his last, as Donaldson indicated he’d be unlikely to continue into 2025.

“If it’s a situation that I feel (comfortable in) then I’m definitely up for playing one more year,” Donaldson told Wegman. “But I think after this upcoming season, that would be my last season no matter what. I would like to play one more year and go out on a good note and then that’d be it.”

Donaldson isn’t going to be a priority target for teams coming off the worst season of his career. He had hit .142/.225/.434 in 34 games for the Yankees. Donaldson had a pair of lengthy injured list stints, losing time to hamstring and calf injuries. His production in Milwaukee was slightly improved but still below average. Over 17 contests with the Brew Crew, he managed a .169/.290/.390 showing. He finished the year with a bizarre .152/.249/.418 batting line over 189 plate appearances. A staggering 13 of his 25 hits for the season were home runs.

While he still brings some power potential from the right-handed batter’s box, Donaldson’s offense has skewed toward an extreme three true outcomes approach. He surely won’t repeat a .115 batting average on balls in play, but he’s also striking out more than he did earlier in his career.

In July, Donaldson acknowledged some uncertainty about playing beyond 2023. He’s apparently now willing to do so, although it’s possible he’d be particular about a destination. Donaldson understandably didn’t seem enthused about the idea of signing with a non-competitive team. At the same time, he indicated the calculus for competitiveness would be his subjective perception of a team’s chances as opposed to general consensus.

“For me to believe that the team has a chance to contend, I wouldn’t say that everybody has to have the thought of that team contending,” Donaldson said. “I would definitely want to feel like the team has a chance to win.”

It isn’t clear if he’d have any appetite for a minor league deal if no team were willing to guarantee him a roster spot. Donaldson’s contract with the Brewers was a non-roster deal, but Milwaukee called him up after five tune-up games in Triple-A.

Matt Chapman is the headliner of this winter’s free agent third base class. Jeimer Candelario is the clear #2 option, while Justin Turner and Evan Longoria are veteran righty hitters who could rotate through the corner infield and designated hitter. Gio Urshela has a chance at a two-year deal. Brian Anderson, Mike Moustakas and Eduardo Escobar are among the depth options.

Athletics Sign Osvaldo Bido To Major League Deal

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5:10pm: The A’s have now officially announced their signing of Bido.

3:45pm: The Athletics and right-hander Osvaldo Bido are in agreement on a major league deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided.

Bido, now 28, took an unusual path to the majors. He was signed by the Pirates as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic at the age of 21, while many amateurs sign when they are 16. Despite the late start, he climbed up the ladder and was called up to the majors in 2023, making his big league debut at the age of 27.

He appeared in 16 games for the Pirates, including nine starts, tossing 50 2/3 innings with a 5.86 earned run average. His 20.3% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate were both close to league average, but a low strand rate of 62.5% may have pushed some extra runs across, which is why his FIP was 4.10 and his SIERA 4.63. The righty also threw 62 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level this year with a 4.16 ERA there. The Bucs non-tendered him last week, sending him directly to free agency without exposing him to waivers.

Though Bido didn’t dominate in the bigs, there were some encouraging signs. Per Statcast, his 4.4% barrel rate was quite good, placing him in the 92nd percentile. His average exit velocity and hard hit rate were also better than the median. He still has a couple of options and less than a year of service time, so the A’s can utilize him as a depth piece with roster flexibility going forward.

The A’s need pitching help about as much as any club, having posted a collective 5.48 ERA in 2023, besting only the Rockies and their 5.68 mark in that department. Since the A’s play in a pitcher-friendly setting and the Rockies the opposite, that points to Oakland having the worst pitching staff in the majors in the most recent season. FanGraphs credited Colorado’s staff with a collective 5.9 wins above replacement on the year but pegged the A’s at just 1.7.

Pirates Sign Gilberto Celestino To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates have signed Gilberto Celestino to a minor league deal, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The outfielder will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Celestino, 25 in February, had a challenging year with the Twins in 2023. He suffered a tear of the ACL in his left thumb and underwent surgery in March. He was on the injured list until the middle of June, at which point he was optioned to the minors. He played 55 Triple-A games, hitting just four home runs but walking more often than he struck out. That led to an unusual batting line of .243/.392/.389 and wRC+ of 106. He was outrighted off the roster in October and was eventually able to elect free agency.

Originally an international amateur signing of the Astros, he went to the Twins in the 2018 Ryan Pressly trade. As a prospect, he was generally praised for his defense, speed and ability to get on base but there were concerns about a lack of power. Those concerns have generally been borne out as Celestino has never hit more than 10 home runs in a season. He got 409 major league plate appearances over 2021 and 2022 but hit just .222/.292/.300. His Triple-A work has been more impressive, as he’s hit .261/.385/.408 at that level over three separate seasons.

The Pirates have Jack Suwinski in center field and Bryan Reynolds in left. Right field is a bit more open, with players like Joshua Palacios, Henry Davis, Ji Hwan Bae and Canaan Smith-Njigba all posting lackluster results at the plate in 2023. Celestino is capable of playing all three outfield spots and could try to force his way onto the roster, either in that right field competition or for a fourth outfielder gig. Celestino is still fairly young and has just over a year of service time, meaning he could be retained for future seasons via arbitration if things click with the Pirates. However, he is now out of options, giving him less roster flexibility going forward.

Spencer Turnbull Awarded Full Year Of Service For 2023

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Free agent right-hander Spencer Turnbull has been retroactively awarded a full year of service in 2023 despite being on optional assignment from mid-August until the end of the season. The MLB Players Association released a statement from Turnbull on the matter, relayed by Evan Drellich of The Athletic, explaining the issue. “At the time I was optioned in August 2023,” the statement reads, “I was dealing with a foot injury. I raised this with the Club. After further review of my medical condition, the Club has now agreed to reverse the option and I am receiving full major league service for the 2023 season.”

Turnbull, now 31, seemingly butted heads with the Tigers a couple of times in the past year. He was initially optioned to the minors in May but that option was rescinded less than a week later, with Turnbull instead being placed on the major league injured list due to neck discomfort. “After Spencer left the room I got a call from him directly in which he disclosed some neck discomfort,” president of baseball operations Scott Harris said at that time. “As soon as we heard that, we set up an appointment for him with our doctor. We also had him see a specialist out of state. We had those doctors discuss what’s going on with his neck. They confirmed the injury and we placed him on the injured list as of Sunday.”

He was later transferred to the 60-day IL and wasn’t reinstated until the third week of August, when he was promptly optioned to the minors again. Shortly thereafter, reports emerged that the relationship between the pitcher and the club was fraught, with Turnbull referencing a cracked toenail at that time. Turnbull was just non-tendered by the club last week and reports emerged that he had asked to be traded prior to the deadline in early August. But no deal came together and he stayed on the roster until the non-tender last week.

There are multiple issues at play here. Injured players at the big league level are supposed to be placed on the major league injured list and cannot be optioned to the minors when they are hurt. While on the IL, they continue to collect major league service time and pay. With Turnbull optioned for the final month-plus of the season, he finished just shy of five years of service. By now getting that extra option reversed, his service time will go beyond the five-year plateau.

That is important for Turnbull on a couple of fronts. For one, players with more than five years of service can’t be optioned to the minors without their consent. Prior to this ruling, Turnbull was still going to have an option year remaining in 2024, allowing a club to sign him but keep him as depth in the minors in they wanted. That will no longer be on the table. Secondly, if Turnbull eventually spends all of 2024 in the majors or on the IL, he will get beyond six years of service and qualify for free agency again. Prior to today’s change, a club could have theoretically signed him for 2024 and then retained him via arbitration for 2025, since Turnbull would have been just shy of six years in that scenario. All in all, Turnbull has gained some more control over his future than he would have otherwise had.

Prior to the odyssey of being optioned and then landing on the IL and then the second option, Turnbull’s 2023 season began terribly. He made seven starts to begin the campaign and had an ERA of 7.26. That was on the heels of missing the entire 2022 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he had a good run prior to that. From 2019 to 2021, he threw 255 innings with a 4.13 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate and 50.3% ground ball rate.

Cardinals Name Daniel Descalso Bench Coach

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The Cardinals announced Monday that they’ve hired former infielder Daniel Descalso as their new bench coach. Last year’s bench coach Joe McEwing will join the Cardinals’ front office as a special assistant to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. The Cardinals still expect to make further additions to the coaching staff this winter, the team noted.

Descalso, 37, spent five years in a Cardinals uniform from 2010-14 and appeared in parts of 10 MLB seasons between St. Louis, Colorado, Arizona and Chicago (Cubs). He spent the 2023 season as a special assistant in the Diamondbacks’ baseball operations department. This will be his first professional coaching assignment.

It’s the third time in the past two offseasons the Cardinals have effectively installed one of their former players as manager Oli Marmol’s bench coach. The Cards briefly hired Matt Holliday in that role last November, but Holliday had a change of heart just months after being appointed to the post, citing a desire to spend more time with his family as the primary reason for his resignation. Holliday spent eight years playing for the Cards, of course. McEwing, meanwhile, played for the Cardinals in both 1998 and 1999. As with Descalso, Holliday was slated to be a first-time coach with the Cardinals. McEwing had spent more than a decade on the White Sox’ coaching staff.

In 1079 Major League games, Descalso tallied just shy of 2900 plate appearances and posted a .235/.320/.362 batting line. He played every position on the diamond other than catcher and center field, with the bulk of his time coming at second base, third base and shortstop (in that order).

Marlins Exploring Market For Catching Upgrades

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Marlins catchers were the least productive group of backstops in the National League last year, batting a combined .200/.272/.298. Jacob Stallings and Nick Fortes caught every inning for Miami in 2023, but Stallings was non-tendered last week as the Fish look to turn the page and bring in a more productive all-around option. Newly hired president of baseball operations Peter Bendix addressed the need when chatting with reporters — link via Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald — plainly stating that the Marlins need catching help this offseason and that adding multiple catchers to bolster the organizational depth would be “ideal.” He added that the Fish are open to both trades and free-agent options at the position.

That’s not necessarily an indication that the 27-year-old Fortes is on borrowed time with the organization. While he hit just .204/.263/.299 in 323 plate appearances last year, Fortes grades out as a superlative defender and has multiple minor league options remaining. Depending on the magnitude of the seemingly inevitable catching additions Miami makes, he could be in a timeshare, a strict backup role or even retained as depth in the upper minors.

Also under consideration (but not on the 40-man roster) is 24-year-old prospect Will Banfield, the No. 69 overall pick in the 2018 draft. Banfield went through Double-A for a second time in 2023, turning in a respectable .258/.302/.472 slash with 23 home runs. He rarely walks and might never be reliable to post even an average on-base percentage in the big leagues, but Banfield had a power breakout in ’23 after being labeled a glove-only catcher throughout most of his time in the minors. He’s not yet on the 40-man roster and is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, but if he goes unclaimed he could be in line for his big league debut at some point in 2024.

Still, it’s clear that Bendix and his staff will need to bring in catching help at some point. The free-agent market isn’t especially deep at the position. Mitch Garver is the top offensive option available, though he’s coming off several injury-shortened seasons and might be used in more of a hybrid catcher/DH role wherever he signs. Alternatives include Gary Sanchez, Victor Caratini and Tom Murphy. There are several glove-first options available (e.g. Austin Hedges, Roberto Perez), but their generally lackluster offensive track records would only position Miami to find itself with subpar production similar to that which they endured in 2023.

The trade market could feature a few more interesting alternatives. There are some notable change-of-scenery candidates like San Francisco’s Joey Bart and perhaps St. Louis’ Ivan Herrera, neither of whom has a path to regular at-bats thanks to the respective presences of Patrick Bailey and Willson Contreras. The Twins are looking to scale back payroll and had a breakout 2023 showing from Ryan Jeffers, which likely makes veteran Christian Vazquez available. He’s still owed two years and $20MM. Vazquez had a tough year at the plate in 2023 but was only a bit below the league average at the plate from 2019-22. That, of course, is simply a speculative handful of names rather than any kind of comprehensive rundown of potentially available names.

In terms of payroll, the Marlins might not have much space with which to work. Roster Resource currently projects them at just over $96MM — about $14MM shy of where they wrapped up the 2023 season. But in addition to help at catcher, the Marlins could also stand to explore upgrades at shortstop and in the outfield, to say nothing of some moves to deepen the rotation mix.

While the starting staff has long been a strength in Miami, it’s not quite as robust as it once was. Sandy Alcantara will miss the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Pablo Lopez was traded to the Twins in last winter’s Luis Arraez deal. Top prospect Jake Eder went to the White Sox in exchange for Jake Burger. Fellow prospects Max Meyer and Sixto Sanchez have been injured. The Fish still have a talented rotation group — Jesus Luzardo, Eury Perez, Braxton Garrett, Edward Cabrera, Trevor Rogers — but they’re not as flush with arms as they once were. That’s significant both because it creates a possible need to add to the group and also reduces the ease with which they can trade from their stock of arms in order to address other deficiencies, such as the glaring need at catcher Bendix recently referenced.

Mets Sign Cole Sulser To Minor League Deal

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The Mets announced that right-hander Cole Sulser has been signed to a minor league deal with an invite to major league Spring Training.

Sulser, 34 in March, began the 2023 campaign with the Diamondbacks. He made three appearances in the early going but a right shoulder strain landed him on the injured list in early April. He returned to make one more appearance at the end of July before getting designated for assignment. The Rays put in a claim but kept Sulser on optional assignment for the final two months of the season and then outrighted him as the offseason was kicking off.

Despite the mostly lost season, he’s not too far removed from an excellent 2021 season. Sulser threw 63 1/3 innings for the Orioles that year with an earned run average of 2.70. He struck out 28.4% of batters faced while walking 8.9%. The last two campaigns haven’t gone his way with injuries playing a role. A lat strain cost him over a month in 2022 as his ERA jumped to 5.29, which was followed by another injury-marred year in 2023. He was able to finish strong, however, posting an ERA of 3.86 over 18 2/3 innings at Triple-A Durham after the waiver claim.

There’s plenty of uncertainty in the Mets’ bullpen, with Adam Ottavino having opted out of his deal while the club non-tendered Trevor Gott, Jeff Brigham and Sam Coonrod last week. Edwin Díaz will be back in 2024 but he’ll be returning from missing all of 2023 due to knee surgery. If Sulser is healthy and resembling his 2021 self, he could earn his way onto the roster. He still an option year and has less than four years of service time, meaning he could be retained for future seasons via arbitration if things go especially well in the year to come.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto Officially Posted By Orix Buffaloes

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November 20: As expected, Yamamoto has been officially posted, as relayed by Joel Sherman of The New York Post. The posting window begins a 7 am Central on November 21 and goes until 4 pm Central on January 4.

November 17: Yoshinobu Yamamoto is one of the offseason’s most talked-about free agents, and he’ll finally be fully available to Major League teams in a few days’ time.  ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (via X) that Yamamoto is “expected to be posted” this coming Monday, so his negotiation window to speak with MLB teams will officially begin on November 21.

It is widely expected that Yamamoto will shatter the record for the largest contract ever given to a player coming from Nippon Professional Baseball to the majors for the first time, with MLB Trade Rumors projecting a nine-year, $225MM deal for the right-hander.  Because Yamamoto is only 25 years old, it is quite possible that he might seek an opt-out clause or two in his eventual contract, allowing him the chance to re-enter the market in a few years’ time in search of an even larger deal after he has established himself as a frontline Major League pitcher.

Yamamoto has been utterly dominant over his seven seasons with the Buffaloes, posting a 1.82 ERA over 897 innings.  With a 26.43% strikeout rate and small walk (5.9%) and home run (1.03%) rates, Yamamoto’s numbers are pretty eye-popping across the board, leaving scouts and evaluators with little doubt that he’ll be at least a solid big league pitcher with a clear ceiling as a potential ace.  Since Yamamoto is so young, there should be plenty of prime years left, and there is much less wear-and-tear on his arm than most other premium free agent pitchers in history, considering how it is very rare for players to be available to the open market at age 25.

Technically, Yamamoto is not a completely free agent yet, as per the rules of the MLB/NPB posting system.  Come Tuesday, Yamamoto will have 45 days to negotiate with Major League teams, giving him until January 4 to sign a contract to come to North America.  Yamamoto would return to the Buffaloes for the 2024 NPB season if no deal is reached within that 45-day window, yet with so much interest in his services, it certainly feels like he has pitched his last game in a Buffaloes uniform for the foreseeable future.

The Buffaloes are entitled to a posting fee once Yamamoto signs, so a Major League team will have to pay up some extra money beyond whatever they give to Yamamoto himself.  The Buffaloes will receive 20% of the contract’s first $25MM in guaranteed money, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and then 15% on anything beyond the $50MM mark.  Should Yamamoto land that projected $225MM deal, then, that would mean a $35.625MM posting fee to the Buffaloes — not a bad payday, yet a bittersweet one considering that the Osaka-based team is losing such a proven star.

The Phillies, Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Tigers, Cardinals, Cubs, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Giants, Padres, and Dodgers have all been linked to Yamamoto to varying degrees, whether it has been club officials or scouts on hand in Japan to see the righty pitch in person, or offseason reports indicating that Yamamoto is high on a team’s list of priorities.  It seems entirely possible that Yamamoto’s list of suitors could be even longer, given the somewhat unique opportunity to sign an elite pitcher at such a young age.

Negotiations will begin in earnest Tuesday, with quite a bit of impact on the overall pitching market.  Because Yamamoto’s free agency would come with a hard deadline, it is possible some of the other top arms on the market might wait until after he signs, to better gauge the field of remaining suitors.  With so many teams in need of pitching, missing out on Yamamoto could make teams more eager (and thus more willing to spend big) to acquire one of the other pitchers left.  Some reports have suggested that Shota Imanaga, his representatives, and NPB’s Yokohama DeNA Baystars might wait until after Yamamoto is off the market to go ahead and start Imanaga’s own posting window.

Submit Your Questions For This Week’s MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!

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On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll frequently answer questions from our readers and listeners.  With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.

Whether it’s a question about a recent transaction, a future transaction or anything else offseason related, we’d love to hear from you!  You can send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it.  iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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