Here are three things we’re monitoring in the baseball world today…
1. Teoscar nearing decision?
A couple of reporters yesterday, Marino Pepén and Moises Fabian, suggested that the market for Teoscar Hernández is nearing resolution. The Red Sox, Dodgers and Angels have been connected to the slugger and it seems those three teams are still at the table. Hernández is coming off a bit of a down year but it’s possible that the pitcher-friendly home park in Seattle played a role in that. From 2020 to 2022, he hit .283/.333/.519 for the Blue Jays for a 133 wRC+. After being traded to the Mariners, he hit just .258/.305/.435 for a 105 wRC+ last year, but he had a 126 wRC+ on the road and 81 at home.
2. One week left for Imanaga:
Left-hander Shota Imanaga’s posting window is open until January 11, giving him just one more week to work out a deal with interested clubs. Reporting from yesterday suggested that the Yankees may not be that excited about the southpaw, though clubs like the Giants, Red Sox and Cubs appear to still be in the mix. Imanaga has a 3.18 ERA over his career in Nippon Professional Baseball but is coming off two straight seasons at 2.80 or lower.
3. Extended DFA limbo continues:
Players designated for assignment are normally required to have resolution within a week but this clock is paused between Christmas and New Year’s. As mentioned in yesterday’s Opener, right-hander Ryan Jensen was been waiting to find out his status since December 20 and no news arrived before end of day yesterday. Just behind him, catcher Donny Sands and infielder Diego Castillo were designated for assignment December 22 and are still waiting for answers.
I wonder if Imanaga’s “big deal” will be as advertised. A lot of large market teams have backed off.
Really thought the dam would break this week. Hasn’t happened. Maybe slowest week so far. This has been a very boring off season
Steve – I think it’s all about perspective.
The trades of huge name players like Soto, Glasnow and Sale.
The signings of huge name players like ERod, Gray, Nola, Ohtani, Yamamoto, etc.
Seems active to me.
The biggest FAs left are Boras clients. Don’t be in a hurry for them to sign.
Joe – I never understood why he employs this stalling tactic. Does it really work more often than not?
If I’m running a MLB team, and I have a hole that needs to be filled, I’m not gonna pass up other opportunities just to wait around for Boras clients.
I would basically tell Boras, if I can’t sign your client by January 10th I’m moving onto somebody else.
Why not? Teams have the leverage, not players. Teams can always acquire other players or go with what they’ve got, but players always need a job.
I agree with you. I wouldn’t let him hold my team’s plan hostage.
@fever pitch
He seems to usually do well with this tactic, although it feels like every year there is one Boras client that gets royally shafted.
More – My only guess is that he can read teams that have such an obsession with his player that he knows they will wait it out.
Certainly didn’t happen with JD, as Dombrowski got a very good deal on that contract which was signed February 26th.
FPG… It’s a strategy that works for him and his clients. Of course, there is sometimes an odd man out who gets screwed – Stephen Drew, Conforto, etc. His player clients know the risk of being represented by him but he comes through more often than not.
Blue Jays kinda need a Teoscar-type bat. If KK and Varsho cover a great deal of the OF the Jays can stomach Teoscar playing out there if Springer can’t.
If the Jays are getting over the top it will be their complementary players having great years like the Rangers had last year.
Rangers could hit, Jays hitting is a big question from cleanup onward. Big differences comparing both teams.
Wander is cooked with new details that are coming out about payments. He’s done. Vasquez level done.
This is the slowest moving offseason of all time, by a mile. At least we know Imanaga has to sign in a week. Will the Cubs do ANYTHING? Jeez, what a disappointment for Cub fans unless they get off the couch. I hope for Belligner and Stroman reuinions, or Chapman.
Swanson was a good signing last year that showed some willingness to spend, would be surprising to see them do very little this year. Losing Bellinger/Stroman without replacing them would be a big step backward, even if Counsell was a good hire.
I’d be happy with Stroman if it was 3 years in the 15-17 million AAV range.
Chapman only makes sense if the Cubs deal Morel and they think he can move to first in the near future. Chapman, Morel and Wisdom potentially in the same line up makes me want to vomit.
My hopes is Bellinger and Hoskins, Hicks and ideally a starting pitcher on a 2 year deal. I wish the Cubs would have nutted up for Giolito.
I shudder when I think of Giolito pitching half his games in Wrigley. For that matter, I shudder to think of Giolito pitching half his games in Fenway. I’m not sure Imanaga would be any better than Wicks. If the Cubs play in those waters Montgomery would be my pick. Dude just knows how to pitch. In an interview Hottovy just came out and said his wish list includes 1 starter and 2 Bullpen dudes. Mine too. I don’t think they need Bellinger and Hoskins, But I do think they need one of them. But both would be nice on shorter deals.
Do they need both, probably not but it never hurts to grab a guy like Hoskins on a one year deal for insurance.
Giolito to me could be Steele 2.0. He has swing and miss stuff but tries to be perfect and nibbles too often. Just let him throw his stuff, work with Gomes and remind him he has two gold glove middle infielders, three over and if PCA and Madrigal are on the field, two additional great defenders.
I agree on Imagana being similar to Hicks.
I would rather the Cubs went after a guy like Luzardo or Cease. With the stipulation it didn’t cost PCA, Horton or Ferris. I think the Cubs have enough prospects to get it done. If it costs any of those 3 the Sox and Marlins can keep them. They could make a deal for decent veteran starter without having to trade any of those guys. Bieber would be a target then or somebody like him. Cleveland would probably like Alcantara or Caissie but I would rather deal Alcantara. Caissie is LH and has more power in the long run I would think. Plus some other P’s would get it done. I think this will drag into Feb.
See that’s funny because I think Alcantara is going to be better than PCA.
Giolito is off the board so it doesn’t matter now. Bieber is intriguing but I hate the idea of giving up any prospect(s) for one year of control. Highly regarded prospects that is.
If I had a choice, and I could either sign Giolito trade at least two of our top prospects for Cease, I’d take Giolito.
I would entertain the idea of taking Moncada and Cease for a greatly reduced package.
Bader just got 10 million…
People are greatly undervaluing Straw, I brought up the Cubs should take on Shaws contract to reduce the prospect capital in a trade for Naylor, I think the Cubs could have easily flipped Straw by adding a small amount of money or just let him be the fourth outfielder for a bit then flip him.
Moncada is another Madrigal, IL fodder and expensive. At least Madrigal is cheap. Alcantara may well be better than Caissie, But except for Mervis, Where is the LH power in the Cubs system? They have tons of RH bats. If you trade Caissie you better sign Bellinger and hope to God he stays healthy. there’s a chance the Cubs could make Caissie a 1B maybe to fight it out with Mervis. Although Alcantara may be better, He is not more valuable to me. And Alcantara might fetch a bigger prize if you’re right but I get your point.
Yeah I don’t really care about the production with Moncado, it’s taking his contract so you don’t have to pay an arm and leg prospect wise for Cease. Cubs frankly could give him a look in the spring and then release him or flip him for at least a small amount of salary relief.
I’m very anti giving up top prospect for minimal control, especially since Cease isn’t the missing link on this team. I’d take on salary to offset the prospect cost. With the said however, I’d give up a haul for Robert and Cease.
The off season is going slow because everyone thinks that they are worth 30 to 40 million a year!
I agree, the Imanaga market is slow and teams are backing off because the Dodgers decided to go off the rails with Yamamoto. No one wants to pay market value for a question mark.
It’s also not just the Dodgers screwing up the market, how much did the Cardinals give for Lynn? 15 million to IFK? Phillies shelling out 175 million for a middle of the rotation starter? It’s ridiculous.
I’ll take Yamamoto and his contract all day over Lynn, Gioloto, etc.
If Hernandez signs with the Angels I hope the Braves could swing a deal with the Angels to get Addel to be the 4th OF.
I think he could be a nice change of scenery type that Seitzer could eork some magic with.
Id love the braves to finish off their offseason by making a trade for willy adames if the price is right! Then sign a guy like pillar to be their 4th outfielder and call it an off-season!
Imanaga would be a solid fit for the phillies
Red Sox: Four years and $72 million for Hernandez.
I like the idea of a righty bopper in that lineup, I just wish he could play better defense. But I guess you can’t have everything.
He might not be a big bopper anymore. His OPS+ has declined from 146 to 131 to 128 to 106. Even if he reverts back to 110-115, he doesn’t strike me as much of a bargain. I’d save my ammo for pitching.
According to sportstrac Red Sox are 77 million below luxury cap. They aren’t that far behind the other teams in Al east. Lock up Montgomery and Hernandez, hope story bounces back to some form, and that team can compete for division
Does a “pitcher friendly ballpark” cause all of the strikeouts? Maybe the “marine layer” shrinks bats or puts a moisture sheen on them that causes the ball to just slip off? According to Mariners stats, they have as much of a problem hitting singles as they do homers!
Totally get your point, but when it’s a tougher park to hit in, guys can press more, which can lead to other areas being impacted. Drops in confidence are damaging. Theres a reason guys go to more hitter friendly parks and stats improve beyond what would be expected just from the fences being closer. The hitting backdrop also matters in terms of picking the ball up.
He was 217-263-380 in seattle and 295-344-486 on the road. Thats a huge difference.
Mariners have been looking for power since Felix Hernandez rookie year in that park. Time and time again they’ve acquired guys with power who have struggled in Seattle. They don’t seem to have a problem developing pitching though.
That ballpark is not conducive to power.
Nelson Cruz hit 84 of his 163 Home Runs in 4 seasons as a Mariner at T-Mobile Park which is basically an outlier as the record holder for Home Runs there is Kyle Seager with 94 and that was over his 11 year career
Hernandez is another classic case of the 3-outcome player we see more and more in the analytics era, though in his case the outcomes are more like two since his BB rate is below average. As a fan I don’t see much appeal in a player with his batting profile but with launch angles and exit velocity being all-important now, he’ll get paid.
Why sign Hernandez for 4/80 when you can still sign Duvall for 1/8?
Sshh…I’m hoping he’ll fall to ATL for OF4 (Kelenic emergency relief fund), but he’ll get a deal somewhere. I’d be shocked if he can’t find a multi-year deal (with a player or vesting option), especially if Hernandez gets 75M.
Yeah, we should bring back segregation. Idiot…
Feel like I’ve been saying the same thing for weeks, but Twins still need SP BADLY! Would love to see them sign Stroman, Imanaga, or trade for Luzardo or one of the young controllable starters from Miami. Not sure any of these actually happen, but it doesn’t change the fact we lost 3/5 of our rotation this offseason and need reinforcements if we’re going to repeat as the central champs… A bit of BP help wouldn’t hurt either…Aroldis Chapman please:)