Johnny Cueto’s Agent On Cardinals, Market
The Winter Meetings in Nashville are nearly through and many of the open market’s starting pitchers have found their homes for 2016 and beyond. However, one of this class’s very best, Johnny Cueto, is still searching for his big payday. Cueto is a bona fide ace with years of experience at the head of the Reds’ rotation, but a number of his expected suitors have already allocated major funds towards the top of the starting five. Even though some might have the impression that Cueto’s market is shrinking, agent Bryce Dixon told MLB Trade Rumors in a 1-on-1 interview that he doesn’t see things that way.
“You can always add an ace pitcher to your staff. All thirty teams can use a Cueto,” Dixon told MLBTR on Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee. “So, yeah, there are teams like the Diamondbacks that have added a [Zack] Greinke and a [Shelby] Miller, so maybe their appetite for him has lessened but, no, I don’t view the market as shrinking up. I’m still finding interest and there still seems to be enough out there for him to land comfortably with a team.”
So far, Cueto has yet to receive an offer that clearly separates him from the second tier of starting pitchers and Dixon says that he is comfortable in waiting. A few weeks ago, Cueto’s camp was handed a sizable offer from the Diamondbacks, one that was worth $126MM over six years, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (on Twitter). Some observers suggested that the offer was a strong one given Cueto’s second half issues and 50/50 showing in the postseason, but Dixon says that he did not discuss the offer at length with the pitcher before they turned it down.
Dixon concedes that the Diamondbacks are one club that does not have a clear fit for Cueto at this stage, but, on paper, the Cardinals do stand out as a team that would have the need and the resources required to sign the veteran. Still, some outsiders have suggested that unpleasant history between the two sides could get in the way of a union. In 2010, the Reds and Cardinals got into a brawl and, in one exchange, Cueto kicked catcher Jason LaRue in the head while wearing spikes. The impact of the kick left LaRue with concussion issues that forced him to retire at the end of the 2010 season. The brawl may still be fresh in the minds of some Cardinals fans, but the Cardinals organization has not brought up the incident in their talks with Cueto’s camp.
“I can’t speak to how the Cardinals feel. ..Obviously [Johnny] regrets how the fight went down,” Dixon told MLB Trade Rumors on Wednesday afternoon. “He’s expressed regret over it in the past. He loves pitching in the NL Central. He’s the best pitcher of our era in the NL Central. It would be a good marriage [between] Johnny and the Cardinals. I think once the fans got past the fight and they saw what a gamer Johnny is and what he could bring to the team, I think they would be able to embrace him now, though I don’t think that they’ll do that overnight.”
Dixon went on to explain that the circumstances of the brawl were complicated. Cueto was pushed up against the screen and, feeling trapped, he made a split-second reaction that he deeply regrets. For a time, the fight may have defined him as someone who is angry or violent, but those who work with and around Cueto, he says, can attest to his mellow character and positive attitude. Ultimately, Dixon can see the Cardinals being a great landing spot for his client.
“Johnny’s best friend is Brayan Pena (Pena signed a two-year deal with St. Louis this winter). Johnny would love to pitch to him and a catcher like [Yadier] Molina, so I think it would be a good fit. Whether the Cardinals step up with the necessary resources, that remains to be seen. But he has no problem towards the Cardinals and the manager of that [2010 Cardinals] team [Tony La Russa] is with the Diamondbacks organization now. He came down and met Johnny and they had no problem. It’s in the past. It’s unfortunate that it happened, but, on our side, we’ve moved on,” said Dixon.
Dixon could see Cueto forming a strong rotation alongside Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha, and Carlos Martinez, but he could also envision his client looking good in Dodger blue next to Clayton Kershaw in L.A.’s rotation. Those are just two of the fits that Dixon can see for Cueto at this stage and he’s still willing to wait for what he feels is an appropriate pact. When asked to put a timetable on a Cueto signing, Dixon indicated that it could happen in a matter of minutes or a matter of weeks. One option he’s not considering at this time, however, is a one-year pillow deal to allow Cueto to cash in next winter.
“I don’t think we’re going to have to go down that road. We’ll remain flexible but I don’t anticipate something like that,” he said.
West Notes: Cueto, Puig, Rangers, D’Backs, Phillips, Padres
The Dodgers have “joined the fray” on free agent righty Johnny Cueto, per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. It’s not immediately clear whether that indicates any stepped-up interest on the part of the Dodgers, who were previously said to have reached out to Cueto’s representatives recently. Indeed, agent Bryce Dixon told MLBTR’s Zach Links yesterday that he saw L.A. as a good fit. As Heyman adds, there are “a couple other” unnamed organizations also “in the mix” for Cueto at present.
Here are a few more notes from the game’s western divisions:
- Scott Miller of Bleacher Report takes a close look at Yasiel Puig‘s standing in the Dodgers organization. He speaks extensively with both Adrian Gonzalez and A.J. Ellis (among others), who provide fascinating insight into the strained (but, perhaps, not-yet broken) relationship between Puig and his teammates.
- With the Rangers reportedly adding reliever Tony Barnette, there’s yet more reason to believe the club could strike a deal involving one of its young pen assets, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. The Diamondbacks have widely been tabbed as one pursuer, and Grant says that Arizona is eyeing late-inning hurlers Shawn Tolleson and Keone Kela. Though the D’Backs are said to be hesitant to part with young righty Archie Bradley, Grant says that exactly who Texas is eyeing in trade talks.
- The Diamondbacks have talked to the Reds on multiple occasions about second baseman Brandon Phillips, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Arizona’s win-now moves could help persuade Phillips to authorize a deal there, suggests Rosenthal, though MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweets that the veteran has not been approached to discuss his no-trade rights.
- As with the Barnette signing, bringing in Christian Bethancourt isn’t necessarily just an isolated move for the Padres, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune explains. The move leaves the club with four catchers on its 40-man roster, and the two most recent additions — Betancourt and Josmil Pinto — are out of options. San Diego was “shopping” both Derek Norris and Austin Hedges over the week, per Lin, who suggests that it wouldn’t be terribly surprising to see one of them dealt.
Diamondbacks Still In On Mike Leake
DEC. 10: The D-backs circled back with Leake’s representatives last night, reports MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (Twitter link). GM Dave Stewart spoke highly of Leake to Fanragsports.com’s Jack Magruder (Twitter link), who echoes Gilbert’s report that the D-backs are still in the mix.
DEC. 9: Right-hander Mike Leake has been an oft-cited target of the Diamondbacks, but ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that Arizona is no longer pursuing him. It was reported early on Tuesday that the Diamondbacks (and Cardinals) were interested in Leake.
Given the day’s events, though, it perhaps comes as no surprise that Leake is no longer in the Diamondbacks’ plans. Arizona continued revamping its starting pitching with a huge trade to acquire Braves righty Shelby Miller, who will join Zack Greinke atop a new-look rotation. The commitments the Diamondbacks have already made to improve their pitching have been substantial, in terms of both dollars and young talent.
Leake, 28, is among the year’s younger free agents and is coming off a solid season and a nice three-year platform spent mostly with the Reds, but his market hasn’t fully come together yet as much of the early focus this offseason was on top names like David Price, Greinke and Jordan Zimmermann. The crowded trade market has also perhaps slowed some of the traction on Leake, though with Miller and those three aforementioned free agents (plus Jeff Samardzija, John Lackey, Hisashi Iwakuma and J.A. Happ) off the board, Leake is increasingly becoming one of the more desirable free agents on the market.
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.
Fernandez Notes: Marlins, Diamondbacks, Giants
The Marlins seem unlikely to trade Jose Fernandez, or make other major moves, before the end of the Winter Meetings, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald writes. “I think that’s a possibility, and we’re not upset,” says Marlins executive Michael Hill over the possibility that they’ll leave Nashville mostly empty-handed. “I don’t think we’d be disappointed, because it’s not over.” Hill adds that the Marlins are looking for starting pitching, but could also pursue bullpen upgrades if they deem the cost of acquiring pitching too high. Here are a couple more notes on Fernandez and the trade rumors swirling around him.
- After making a very costly trade for Shelby Miller, Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart should follow his plan to its logical conclusion and find a way to trade for Fernandez also, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan writes. The Miller trade and the Zack Greinke signing indicate that the Diamondbacks believe they can be competitive for the next three seasons, after which Miller and Patrick Corbin can depart. Arizona has an option on Paul Goldschmidt for 2019, and then he can leave, too. Stewart’s trade of Aaron Blair and 2015 No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson show that he lives in the moment, which makes Fernandez a perfect fit. The Diamondbacks could include Corbin, Braden Shipley, Archie Bradley and others in a five-for-one or six-for-one type of deal to make a trade happen, Passan suggests. (That might not be too farfetched, as the Marlins and Diamondbacks reportedly discussed a deal centered on Corbin and Swanson before the Snakes dealt Swanson to Atlanta.) That would give the Diamondbacks a top three of Greinke, Fernandez and Miller, making them terrifying — at least in the short term.
- The Giants are still looking for another starting pitcher. That pitcher could come via trade, and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the Giants would be “all in” on Fernandez (who they’ve recently discussed with the Marlins). The price for Fernandez appears, obviously, be extremely high, and the Giants don’t have an exceptionally strong farm system, so making a trade work would probably tricky even if the Marlins were clearly willing to make one.
D-Backs, Rangers Meeting To Discuss Potential Pitching Trades
The Diamondbacks and Rangers will meet today to discuss potential trade scenarios surrounding the Rangers’ stock of quality relievers and the D-backs’ new surplus of starting pitching options, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reported earlier today that the two sides have been discussing a potential deal. Jack Magruder of Fanragsports.com hears that Archie Bradley isn’t likely to be traded by the Diamondbacks after the team already parted with Aaron Blair (Twitter link).
Keone Kela, in particular, is drawing league-wide interest, according to Grant, though it’s difficult to envision the Rangers willingly parting with five years of the standout rookie, barring a substantial return. It was recently reported that the Rangers were open to including breakout closer Shawn Tolleson in trade talks, and the team also has an impressive stockpile of arms with considerable club control, including Jake Diekman, Sam Dyson and Tom Wilhelmsen (in addition to Kela and Tolleson).
Arizona has a number of mid-rotation options that could be of interest to the Rangers, including Rubby De La Rosa, Chase Anderson, Zack Godley and Robbie Ray, with right-hander Braden Shipley representing a high-quality, upper-level prospect that could contribute in the near future. (Although, the Rangers would presumably want more immediate rotation help were they to deal from their impressive bullpen.)
Of the pitchers listed from either team each (with the exception of Wilhelmsen) can be controlled for at least three more seasons, so either club could be picking up a relatively long-term asset should the two sides agree to a swap involving Major League parts. Suffice it to say, the specific permutation of a trade between the two sides is impossible to peg at this juncture, making speculation a perhaps futile (but nonetheless entertaining) endeavor. General managers Jon Daniels and Dave Stewart will have no shortage of options to discuss, but the two do indeed seem to be a good fit on paper.
West Notes: Giants, Gordon, Giles, Santiago, Wilson, Rangers, DBacks, Padres
The Giants are seen as the frontrunner for outfielder Alex Gordon by some “rival evaluators,” ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. One other possible target for GM Bobby Evans and co. is Dexter Fowler, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Of course, we’ve also heard San Francisco connected to some of the other top free agent outfielders available, so there still seems to be plenty of uncertainty and opportunity for the organization in that area.
More from out west:
- The Astros are “still trying to pry” young closer Ken Giles away from the Phillies, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. He’d cost some significant prospects if a deal is struck, Heyman suggests.
- The Angels are receiving the most hits on lefty Hector Santiago, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports on Twitter. He certainly represents an interesting chip after putting up 180 2/3 innings of 3.59 ERA pitching last year. The Orioles are among “many” clubs that have inquired on Santiago, Heyman tweets.
- Teams are not showing much of an appetite for C.J. Wilson, Gonzalez adds. Los Angeles would need to hold onto about $15MM of Wilson’s $20MM salary to get something done, which wouldn’t offer enough salary relief to make sense.
- The Rangers and Diamondbacks have been talking about a possible deal, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Arizona “may have extra pitching,” suggests Sullivan, in light of its two major recent rotation upgrades. Meanwhile, Heyman says on Twitter that the D’backs might be hunting for relievers, which could be a target area with Texas.
- It does not appear as if the Padres intend to utilize Jon Jay in left field, writes Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune, meaning the team will be looking for another option there. GM A.J. Preller discussed the possibility of Hunter Renfroe stepping in there, but it seems as if he won’t be an option until the middle of the season at the earliest. That could leave the organization searching for an outside addition.
Reported Asking Prices For Jose Fernandez
TODAY: The Marlins “discussed a deal” with Arizona that would have brought back Corbin, Swanson, Inciarte, Blair, and infielder Brandon Drury, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald writes. That deal only “collapsed” when Arizona struck its trade with the Braves, he says, and the talks could illustrate a real willingness to trade Fernandez.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports adds (Twitter links) that at some point in the talks, Miami sought a six-player return that would’ve included Corbin and three other players who played in the majors last year for Arizona.
YESTERDAY: The asking price on Jose Fernandez is known to be sky-high, but reports tonight in the wake of the D-backs’ Shelby Miller blockbuster further illustrate the unlikely nature of a Fernandez trade. According to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, the Marlins were working on a trade with the Diamondbacks that would’ve included Patrick Corbin and Dansby Swanson in talks for Fernandez (Twitter link). Beyond that already-steep starting point, the Marlins asked that three other prospects be included in the deal, he adds.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Repbulic tweets that the package the D-backs sent to Atlanta to pry Miller away — Swanson, Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair — “would not have come close” to what the team would’ve needed to acquire Fernandez from Miami, citing D-backs officials.
Similarly, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports (also on Twitter) that the Marlins asked the Dodgers to include not one or two but all three of Julio Urias, Joc Pederson and Corey Seager in addition to another pair of players. While reports earlier today indicated that L.A. was attempting to get a third team involved to find a creative means of acquiring Fernandez, that price tag seems like such a lofty starting point that it’s tough to even imagine talks becoming serious in nature.
Many will scoff at the reported asking prices listed here, but the Marlins have little incentive to trade Fernandez now without an offer that is impossible to refuse. We also don’t know whether other pieces were in play that would’ve gone from Miami to those clubs.
Realistic asks or not, the Marlins are placing an almost unmatchable asking price on Fernandez, it would seem, which lines up with most reports from the past few days. While he’s an oft-mentioned name, the most common refrain connected to Fernandez is that the Marlins aren’t trying to move but are instead simply open to being overwhelmed by an offer for their young ace. It’s easy to forget that Fernandez is still just 23 years old — younger than NL Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant. And, to this point in his career, Fernandez has pitched to a 2.40 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 44.6 percent ground-ball rate.
Three years of affordable control over a 23-year-old starter with that track record of dominance ranks among the most valuable commodities in all of baseball, although one can only wonder how high the asking price would’ve been had the Marlins kept Fernandez in the minors for a couple of weeks to open the 2013 season. Because Fernandez was a 20-year-old that hadn’t pitched above Class-A Advanced at the time, no one would’ve questioned the move, and Miami could have subsequently delayed Fernandez’s free agency until after the 2019 season. Instead, Fernandez received a full year of service time in 2013 and is now on track to become a free agent after 2018.
Diamondbacks Acquire Shelby Miller
WEDNESDAY: The teams have officially announced the deal.
TUESDAY: After more than a week of rampant speculation, the Shelby Miller blockbuster that many anticipated has arrived. The Braves on Tuesday reportedly agreed to send Miller and left-handed relief prospect Gabe Speier to the Diamondbacks in exchange for outfielder Ender Inciarte, right-handed pitching prospect Aaron Blair and shortstop prospect Dansby Swanson, the latter of whom was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft back in June.
Miller, 25, has been one of the hottest commodities on the trade market for the past seven to 10 days. The D-backs will control him for at least three seasons via the arbitration process — he’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn just under $5MM next season — and he’ll give Arizona another potent arm to pair with Patrick Corbin and newly signed ace Zack Greinke atop a dramatically improved rotation.
As many as 20 teams reportedly checked in on Miller, who will ultimately spend just one year in Atlanta after being the main piece received in last winter’s Jason Heyward blockbuster with the Cardinals. The former first-round pick and top 10 prospect enjoyed a strong season in 2015 with the Braves, compiling a 3.02 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a career-best 47.7 percent ground-ball rate in a career-high 205 2/3 innings. It should be noted, though, that Miller’s dominant overall numbers are propped up, to some extent, by an unsustainable 1.48 ERA through his first 10 starts. While Miller was still very solid after that stretch — he logged a 3.77 ERA with a 122-to-55 K/BB ratio across his final 138 1/3 frames — fielding-independent-pitching metrics peg him as more of a mid- to upper-3.00s ERA type of pitcher. Whether he looks more like the front-line arm he appeared to be in 2015 or the steady mid-rotation arm those metrics peg him to be, Miller unequivocally has value, but the Diamondbacks have indeed paid a steep price to acquire his services.
Inciarte (pictured below) is the Major League ready piece of the deal for Atlanta. He’ll bring five years of club control to the Braves and can immediately slot into center field there, although he also has extensive experience at both corner positions. Inciarte, 25, was largely unheralded as a prospect but has batted a combined .292/.329/.386 in his first two Major League seasons, including a stellar .303/.338/.408 line in 2015. Inciarte is an elite defender at any of the three outfield spots; he’s amassed 52 Defensive Runs Saved in just 1972 innings at the Major League level or, if you prefer, +33.7 runs, per Ultimate Zone Rating. While he lacks much in the way of power and may see his surface-level rate stats decline by moving away from the hitters’ haven that is Phoenix’s Chase Field, Inciarte will help the Braves’ chances both in 2016 and into the next planned phase of the team’s status as contenders.
Swanson, 22 in February, is barely six months removed from being the first overall pick in the 2015 draft. A shortstop out of Vanderbilt, Swanson spent the summer playing with Arizona’s short-season Class-A affiliate in Hillsboro, where he batted .289/.394/.482 in 22 games/99 plate appearances. His inclusion significantly enhances the deal for Atlanta, who recently parted ways with shortstop Andrelton Simmons. While Swanson won’t be ready to jump to the Majors in 2016 — at least not early on — he gives the Braves a potential Simmons replacement at some point in the 2017 or 2018 season and joins 18-year-old (19 in January) Ozhaino Albies as an elite shortstop prospect rising through the ranks of the Atlanta farm system.
MLB.com rated Swanson as the No. 10 prospect in all of Major League Baseball at the end of the season, and Swanson unsurprisingly ranked as the organization’s top prospect according to both that outlet and Baseball America. BA’s scouting report noted that Swanson has no weaknesses in his toolkit, calling him a prototypical No. 2 hitter that has 15-homer pop with plus speed and a future as a solid, if not above-average defender at shortstop. MLB.com notes that most scouts think he can stick at shortstop, adding that he has off-the-charts makeup and could be in the Majors by 2018. As a bonus for the Braves, Swanson’s Georgia roots — he attended high school in Marietta — figure to make him popular with the Atlanta fanbase.
Blair, 23, is a little more than two years removed from being a first-rounder himself (albeit, a compensatory first-round pick). Arizona selected him 36th overall in 2003, and he currently ranks 61st on MLB.com’s Top 100. BA rated him as the D-backs’ No. 2 prospect, trailing only the aforementioned Swanson. The Marshall University product split the 2015 season between Double-A and Triple-A, pitching to a combined 2.92 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. BA notes that he has a 91-95 mph heater with heavy sink that generates plenty of grounders in addition to a curveball that misses bats and a changeup that he uses to pitch to contact. MLB.com and BA both agree that Blair is nearly big league ready and should debut in 2016, with both calling him a potential mid-rotation starter.
In addition to Miller, the D-backs will receive the 20-year-old Speier, who spent this past season pitching at Class-A, where he recorded a 2.86 ERA with 7.4 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 44 innings of relief work. Speier, a 19th-round pick in 2013, is already plenty familiar with being traded. He was originally selected by Boston but traded to the Tigers a year ago (almost to the day) alongside Yoenis Cespedes in exchange for Rick Porcello. Detroit shipped him to Atlanta a couple of weeks ago in the Cameron Maybin trade, and he’s now on the move for the third time in less than three full years as a pro.
By making this trade, the Diamondbacks have exhibited their clear desire to win now. The presence of Greinke, Corbin and Miller atop their rotation gives Arizona arguably the best rotation in the National League West, but the price they’ve paid is sizable. Perhaps more notably, it continues to display that GM Dave Stewart, VP De Jon Watson and chief baseball office Tony La Russa value draft picks in a considerably different manner than a number of their baseball ops peers around the league. Arizona forfeited its 2016 first-round pick in order to sign Greinke and has now traded the 2015 top pick (Swanson) in addition to its 2014 first-rounder, Touki Toussaint, in a deal that many felt amounted to a salary dump to rid themselves of Bronson Arroyo‘s contract. With this recent string of moves, the D-backs have moved three of their past four highest draft picks and foregone the right to pick 13th in next year’s draft.
Of course, Arizona will now have an impressive rotation trio to support MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt and the underrated A.J. Pollock, who will now probably share the outfield with David Peralta and Yasmany Tomas with Inciarte in Atlanta. The D-backs are aggressively branding the 2016 as an “evolutionary” year, and the moves they’ve made bear out the fact that the coming seasons will carry significantly greater expectations than the team has had in quite some time.
For the Braves, the move further adds to the ever-growing stockpile of young talent that president of baseball operations John Hart and GM John Coppolella have accumulated over the past calendar year. While the loss of Miller undeniably hurts the club’s pitching staff, one could potentially make the argument that the addition of Inciarte to the 2016 roster offsets much of the value the team is losing by subtracting Miller’s highly talented arm from the roster. And, adding a pair of high-impact prospects, one of whom (Blair) could make an impact as soon as 2016, further accelerates the rebuilding effort to align with the club’s stated desire of contending in 2017 — the first season of the newly constructed SunTrust Park.
The huge stockpile of minor league talent and the shedding of sizable financial commitments — Miller could potentially earn $8-9MM in 2017 depending on his 2016 results — will position Atlanta to be aggressive on both the trade and free-agent front. The Braves, after all, have just $46MM committed to four players in 2017 and only three that will be eligible for arbitration (none of whom should command anything close to a prohibitive salary).
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that Miller was going to Arizona (Twitter link). Joel Sherman of the New York Post added that Inciarte and others were going to Atlanta (also on Twitter). The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro reported that Swanson and Blair were in the deal (Twitter link). Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reported that Speier would also go to Arizona.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Reactions To The Shelby Miller Trade
Here’s a collection of reactions to the Diamondbacks’ shocking trade of outfielder Ender Inciarte, pitching prospect Aaron Blair and 2015 No. 1 overall draft pick Dansby Swanson to the Braves for pitchers Shelby Miller and Gabe Speier.
- The Braves’ return for Miller was gigantic, ESPN’s Keith Law writes (Insider-only). Law notes that he’s a fan of Miller’s and that the trade and the Zack Greinke signing make the Diamondbacks much better next season, but that the price the Diamondbacks paid was “comically high.” Swanson is a polished and very talented college player who could move through the minors quickly, the way Michael Conforto and Kyle Schwarber did. Blair gets plenty of ground balls and has “a hint of Brandon Webb” to him. And Law writes that he would rather have six years of Blair or five years of Inciarte for the three years of Miller the Diamondbacks will receive.
- The deal “looks like a clear, obvious mistake” for the Diamondbacks, FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan writes. If they can make the playoffs a few times or win a championship with Miller, the deal will have worked out well (as, Sullivan suggests, the Royals’ then-controversial trade for James Shields did). But Miller isn’t an ace, says Sullivan, and some of his impact will likely be muted by the loss of Inciarte in the outfield. And then there’s Swanson, who’s the kind of prospect who can be the main piece in a deal for an ace, and Blair. Arizona’s front office hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt that it can properly value its young players, Sullivan writes.
- The Diamondbacks don’t care that executives around the game think the Braves won the trade in a rout, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. (“Worst trade I’ve ever seen,” said one.) The trade helps the Diamondbacks become contenders, and with Miller joining a core that includes Greinke, Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock, they’re too good to become next year’s Padres — a team that swings for the fences but misses spectacularly.
- Swanson joins Adrian Gonzalez and Shawn Abner as the only first overall draft picks to be traded while still in the minors by the teams that drafted them, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo writes. (Gonzalez, the No. 1 pick in 2000, was one of three players the Marlins traded for Ugueth Urbina in 2003. The deal was a lopsided one on paper, but Urbina did help the Marlins win the World Series that year.) Swanson’s situation is unusual in that he could be traded at all — it’s been just six months since the Diamondbacks drafted him in the first place. Last December, the Padres agreed to trade Trea Turner to the Nationals as part of the Wil Myers deal, but due to a rule that draftees could not be traded until a year after they signed, he had to remain in the Padres organization until June. MLB changed that rule so that newly drafted players could be traded after the World Series, and Swanson is just the second player to be traded under those circumstances, following pitcher Logan Allen, who went from Boston to San Diego in the Craig Kimbrel deal.
Outfield Rumors: Giants, Cespedes, Ozuna, Royals, D-Backs, Angels
The Giants are monitoring the market for outfielders, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. San Francisco is prioritizing Jason Heyward, Alex Gordon and Dexter Fowler over Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes for defensive reasons, Morosi adds. That rationale is a bit odd, considering the fact that Cespedes is generally regarded as a stellar defender in left field. Heyward and Fowler, of course, are better fits to see occasional or even regular time in center field than Cespedes would be. But, with Angel Pagan under contract for 2016 and Hunter Pence entrenched in right field, left field would seem to be an area of need.
Here are a few more notes on the outfield market…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Giants, Angels, Tigers and Royals have been the most interested clubs in Cespedes’ market thus far in the offseason. However, Sherman adds that the Royals quickly came to realize that Cespedes is going to be beyond four years. It should be noted, of course, that Detroit general manager Al Avila said yesterday that his team is not in the mix for either Cespedes or Gordon. (Though that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some earlier talk between the two sides, and, as Sherman notes, the Tigers could circle back if Cespedes’ market doesn’t pick up.)
- Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna has drawn trade interest from “at least seven to 10 teams,” Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. Spencer adds that an eventual trade of Ozuna seems to be likely.
- Royals GM Dayton Moore told reporters today that the club feels Jarrod Dyson will likely get a chance to hold down a regular job in the corner outfield, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. Filling one corner outfield spot from within would obviously reduce the team’s needs and potentially increase the team’s flexibility to spend on another outfielder.
- Diamondbacks outfield prospect Socrates Brito is “getting some play” at the Winter Meetings, Jack Magruder of FanRag Sports tweets. The 23-year-old reached the majors last year, slashing .303/.324/.455 in just 34 plate appearances, and has shown an intriguing power/speed combo in the minors.
- Angels GM Billy Eppler has spoken to the agents for all of the major free-agent outfielders — including Heyward, Cespedes and Upton — according to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times (Twitter link). However, DiGiovanna cautions that we shouldn’t expect the Halos to set the market by being the first to agree to a major deal for an outfielder.
- Via, MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli (Twitter link), Orioles GM Dan Duquette said that his club has been “aggressive” in its efforts to add a left-handed hitting corner outfielder.
- The Twins had interest in Rajai Davis two offseasons ago when he signed with the Tigers, and they have some interest again this winter, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). However, their interest is somewhat limited, he notes, as a fourth outfield type isn’t a high priority for the team right now. Davis is said to be in talks with the Indians.