Padres, Dodgers Nearing Matt Kemp Trade
The Padres are nearing a trade that would land them Matt Kemp from the Dodgers, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes. The two teams are “exchanging final information” before completing the deal, Heyman says. Friedman said in this evening’s press conference that it was “definitely possible” a trade involving an outfielder could happen soon, via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register on Twitter.
The Dodgers have asked for catcher Yasmani Grandal and pitchers Joe Ross and Zach Eflin, although it’s unclear if that’s what they’ve actually received. Friedman said (via the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin on Twitter) that the team was still looking for a catcher to join A.J. Ellis, so Grandal would make sense as a trade acquisition. A deal would help clear a logjam in the Dodgers’ outfield, which also includes Yasiel Puig, Joc Pederson, Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier and Scott Van Slyke.
Meanwhile, Kemp would give the Padres a big offensive boost. As Heyman notes, the Padres tried to sign Pablo Sandoval and Yasmany Tomas this offseason, and Kemp provides them with a backup plan. The outfielder is owed $107MM over the next five seasons.
If the deal is completed tonight, it would cap a wild day for the Dodgers that also included a seven-player deal that sent Dee Gordon and Dan Haren to the Marlins, a trade for Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick, a not-yet-official trade for Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, and a rumored four-year pact with Brandon McCarthy.
Pirates, Neil Walker Have Discussed Extension
The Pirates have spoken to second baseman Neil Walker about an extension, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. The negotations are not active at the present time, however, and the two sides aren’t close regarding the financial terms of a potential deal.
“We would love nothing more than to have Neil Walker end his career as a Pirate,” says Bucs GM Neal Huntington. “We understand he’s a really good player. We understand the local implications and the local ties he has.”
Walker, a Pittsburgh native, had an outstanding season in 2014, hitting .271/.342/.467 in 571 plate appearances. On its face, though, an extension would seem tricky for the cost-conscious Bucs. They control Walker for the next two seasons, with Walker being projected to make $8.6MM in 2015; after those two seasons, Walker will be 31, and the Pirates are probably unlikely to be highly motivated to commit to him beyond that point. He’s already a marginal defensive second baseman and might have to move elsewhere within the next couple years, which could become a problem if his offense slips. And with his arbitration-year salaries already so high, there’s no financial reason for him to settle for a cheap long-term deal.
Dodgers Designate Ryan Lavarnway For Assignment
The Dodgers have designated C/1B Ryan Lavarnway for assignment, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The Dodgers claimed Lavarnway from the Red Sox last week.
The 27-year-old Lavarnway .283/.389/.370 in 257 plate appearances for Triple-A Pawtucket in 2014. He has a strong minor league track record as a hitter, with a .375 career minor league on-base percentage, and could potentially help a team in need of a right-handed bat for its bench.
Justin Masterson Close To Deal With Unknown Team
Justin Masterson is close to a deal with an unknown team, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Masterson has most strongly been connected to the Red Sox of late, with the Tigers and a variety of other teams showing interest.
The Red Sox recently made Masterson a one-year offer with the idea of using him as a starter. A one-year deal would give Masterson the opportunity to rebuild his stock after a disappointing and injury-wracked 2014 season and hit the free agent market again next offseason.
East Notes: Yankees: Byrd, Orioles
Now that David Robertson has agreed to terms with the White Sox, the Yankees should forget about traditional closer usage and instead use their best relievers situationally, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes. Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances don’t have significant track records as closers, but established free agent closers like Jason Grilli and Sergio Romo aren’t better pitchers than Miller or Betances. So if the Yankees sign someone like Grilli or Romo, they should treat them only as potential options to pitch in save situations, not as closers in the usual sense. Here are more notes from the East divisions.
- Marlon Byrd is a good fit for the Orioles, but the Phillies shouldn’t give him up freely, Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com writes. Byrd is a quality hitter on a reasonable and relatively short-term contract, so his age (37) should not be a major detriment. If the Phillies can’t get the right return for Byrd, they shouldn’t trade him, Seidman suggests. The two teams met to discuss Byrd yesterday.
- Orioles manager Buck Showalter marvels at this offseason’s spending by Baltimore’s fellow AL East teams, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com writes. “They run out of money yet? God bless them, that’s the system. If we were in their shoes, we’d do the same thing,” says Showalter. “We just have to be good at some things that allow us to compete with them.” The Orioles have been relatively quiet this offseason while the Red Sox have spent heavily on Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval, the Blue Jays on Russell Martin, and the Yankees on Andrew Miller.
NL Notes: Hahn, Cardinals, Pirates, Phillies
The Padres would be willing to trade pitcher Jesse Hahn in order to add a hitter, Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown tweets. Hahn, 25, had a relatively promising rookie season with the Padres in 2014, posting a 3.07 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 73 1/3 innings, most of them in the starting rotation. Hahn also got plenty of ground ball outs in his rookie season and got impressive results with his changeup. While he likely wouldn’t lure a top hitter on his own, he would certainly have appeal for most potential trading partners. Here are more notes from the National League.
- The Cardinals are looking for a right-handed first base option to pair with Matt Adams, but there’s a chance they might find that option within the organization, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes. One possibility would be to use Stephen Piscotty, a third baseman and the Cards’ top prospect. Xavier Scruggs, who hit .286/.370/.494 for Triple-A Memphis last season, is another possibility.
- The Pirates lost Russell Martin earlier this offseason, but they’re currently satisfied with newly acquired Francisco Cervelli along with Chris Stewart at catcher, MLB.com’s Tom Singer writes. “Francisco was an aggressive get for us. We feel very comfortable with his defensive side, and we think his bat has an upside. If Opening Day were tomorrow, we’d feel very comfortable with our catching mix,” says GM Neal Huntington. That’s not surprising, given the lack of remaining options on the free agent market. The Pirates also have prospect Elias Diaz, who should be ready for the big leagues after another year or so in the minors.
- Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg is ready for the team to rebuild, Ryan Lawrence of the Daily News writes. “[Y]ou have to start somewhere. Like the bullpen last year was young players that had to prove something,” says Sandberg. “They had energy and youth on their side and they were successful. To have that a little bit more on the field on a regular basis, and to get that process started building a new core group, I think that’s necessary.”
D-backs Unlikely To Make More Big Moves
Here’s the latest from GM Dave Stewart and the Diamondbacks, via Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic:
- The Diamondbacks don’t look likely to use the salary they cleared by trading Miguel Montero on significant moves for the rest of this offseason. (The team did, of course, already sign Yasmany Tomas.) “It’ll be a better market next year,” says Stewart. “I’d like to see where we’re going to end up. Let’s see where we are once we get out of spring training. I think we’re going to be a better team.”
- Montero’s departure leaves the team without a key left-handed bat, but Stewart isn’t thrilled with his options right now for finding another. “This move didn’t dictate whether we go out and get a lefthanded bat,” he says. “There’s just not a lot out there.”
- The Diamondbacks are not interested in Chase Headley, Stewart says. They also do not sound interested in Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, both of whom are returning from injury.
- The D-backs like James Shields, but Stewart says he has not reached out to Shields’ camp this offseason.
Reactions To And Fallout From The Jon Lester Deal
Here’s a roundup of reactions from around the web on the Cubs’ $155MM deal with Jon Lester:
- Adding Lester is huge for the Cubs, but they’re at least one more good starter away from contention, ESPN’s Keith Law writes (Insider-only). Brandon McCarthy would be a good fit, Law suggests, or they could trade young hitting for another starter. Even if the Cubs’ core of young hitting needs another year to develop before the team can contend, though, Lester figures to age well and should still be pitching at a high level in 2016.
- The Lester deal gives the Cubs more credibility, new manager Joe Maddon told reporters, including MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat. “It definitely makes it more believable to everybody else in that [clubhouse],” Maddon said. “I’ll stand up and make the same speech regardless, but when you have it backed up by that particular kind of presence, it adds to it. … Having people like that in the room definitely helps other guys believe this is possible.”
- The deal is an awkward one for the Red Sox, tweets Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan. They could have offered Lester far less last spring than their losing bid this time around, and he would have accepted.
- The Red Sox still have to upgrade their rotation, and their missing out on Lester by $20MM is a bad sign, ESPN Boston’s Gordon Edes writes. It will be hard, Edes writes, for the Red Sox to have a rotation without Lester as good as the one they could have had if they had signed him.
- Lester becoming a Cub shifts the balance of power in the NL Central, and the New York Post’s Joel Sherman wonders (via Twitter) if it will be what causes the Reds to begin rebuilding.
- On a related note, Lester’s contract sets the standard for extension talks between the Reds and Johnny Cueto, who is eligible for free agency after 2015, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Rosecrans also notes that, with Lester heading to Chicago, the Red Sox figure to be clearly in the market for starting pitching, and there might be a match between the Red Sox and Reds, who could offer Mat Latos or Mike Leake.
East Notes: Myers, Desmond, Young, Morse, Orioles
The Rays have received some trade inquiries about Wil Myers, but do not seem apt to deal him, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. “The guy we saw last year was injured and didn’t really have a chance to demonstrate what he has,” says Rays executive Matt Silverman. “We look at him as a rookie of the year who really missed most of the season and expect him to be back in that form as a formidable bat in the middle of the lineup who also plays a pretty good outfield.” The Rays are widely expected to deal an outfielder this offseason, but that will likely be David DeJesus or Matt Joyce; as Topkin notes, trading the 2013 ROY-winning Myers after a down season would be selling low. Here are more notes from the East divisions.
- Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond does not want to be traded, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson writes. “Do I want to be a National [beyond 2015]? Yes,” says Desmond. “Do I think, at this particular moment, I will be, I don’t know.” Desmond and the Nationals have been unable to settle on a long-term extension, and he’s now one of several key Nats who’s eligible for free agency after the 2015 season.
- The Orioles still have interest in Delmon Young as a right-handed power source but could pursue Michael Morse (to whom they’ve previously been connected) as a backup plan, ESPN’s Jayson Stark tweets. Another possible option for them could be to acquire Allen Craig in a trade with the Red Sox. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo adds (via Twitter), however, that the Orioles are not close to signing Young. Young and Morse are both poor defensive players, but they’re coming off strong offensive seasons — Young hit .302/.337/.442 in a part-time role with Baltimore in 2014, while Morse batted .279/.336/.475 in 482 at bats with the Giants. (Before that, the Orioles acquired Morse for their stretch run in 2013, and he collected 30 plate appearances for them.) With Nelson Cruz gone, the Orioles could have either player pick up at bats at DH, while occasionally playing an outfield corner. Morse would likely be the more expensive of the two, with MLBTR’s Jeff Todd predicting Morse will get a two-year, $22MM deal.
Mariners Again Interested In Dayan Viciedo
The Mariners have renewed interest in outfielder Dayan Viciedo, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. The White Sox have reportedly told teams that Viciedo is available via trade.
The Mariners’ recent attempts to find an outfielder (a position where they’re thin, especially after trading Michael Saunders to Toronto) have, at least so far, come up short. They’ve reportedly bowed out on Matt Kemp, and Dutton writes that their negotiations with Melky Cabrera have reached an impasse. The Mariners also reportedly spoke to the White Sox about a Viciedo trade last July.
Viciedo, 25, is a right-handed hitter with good power, with 21 home runs last season. But he hit just .231/.281/.405 in 563 plate appearances in 2014, and he’s also a weak defender in either outfield corner. The Mariners would likely be hoping for improvement if they acquired him. He’s projected to make $4.4MM through the arbitration process next year, and he has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining after that.