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Cafardo’s Latest: Ortiz, Buchholz, Pomeranz, Papelbon, Haren, Preller

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Here’s the latest from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:

  • The Red Sox are in reasonable position to welcome David Ortiz back to the fold if he chooses to delay retirement. Cafardo points out that there could be many factors getting in the way of an Ortiz return, like the fact that Ortiz retired in the first place, or that his return would have luxury tax ramifications for the club. But the team has avoided substantial commitments to players who might get in his way, and even Mitch Moreland, recently added on a one-year deal, might be more of a replacement for Travis Shaw’s work at first base than Ortiz’s at DH. And Ortiz, of course, recently penned a provocative Instgram post expressing excitement at the Red Sox’ acquisition of Chris Sale.
  • The Red Sox would prefer to trade Clay Buchholz, but they would generate more interest from other teams if they were to make Drew Pomeranz available instead, Cafardo writes. Buchholz is set to make $13.5MM next year, while Pomeranz will make about $4.7MM, as MLBTR projected. (I’d add that Pomeranz is also controllable through 2018, while Buchholz is not.) The medicals on both pitchers “probably aren’t that great,” a rival executive says. Buchholz missed time in 2015 with an elbow injury, and Pomeranz had a forearm issue last year.
  • It doesn’t sound like Jonathan Papelbon will pick a new team anytime soon. According to his agent, Seth Levinson, Papelbon is dealing with a family matter, and wants to be dedicated to that issue until it’s resolved. “We hope that people can respect his privacy during this time,” Levinson says.
  • The Diamondbacks recently added retired righty Dan Haren as a “pitching strategist,” but D’backs manager Torey Lovullo says not to expect Haren to be in the public eye. “I think he’s going to be somebody behind the scenes, and that’s by his choice,” Lovullo says. “He wants to just remain behind the scenes and help our pitchers be successful. I think he has an attachment to Arizona. … So I think there’s a good starting point for him to come in and come up with a game plan as to how to reach some of these guys and how to help them as quickly as possible.”
  • Rival front offices have been careful in making trades with Padres GM A.J. Preller, who recently served a 30-day suspension over a failure to disclose medical information. “I think it’s just human nature to keep your eyes open when dealing with him at least for a while,” says one executive.

Poll: Which Big Winter Meetings Signing Was The Best?

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The Winter Meetings saw a pair of high-profile trades, but also four free agent signings in excess of $60MM. Of the four teams to open their checkbooks, which made the best move?

Aroldis Chapman, five years, $86MM, Yankees. The Yankees brought back their former closer to rejoin Dellin Betances to form perhaps the best setup/closer tandems in baseball. There’s no questioning Chapman’s dominance, and a lefty with three-digit heat and a 15.5 K/9 is a unique asset indeed. But the Yankees also gave Chapman an opt-out after three years, one that presumably won’t require him to forgo his $11MM signing bonus. And they gave him a no-trade clause through the first three seasons as well, plus a limited no-trade through the last two. As Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues pointed out after the deal, it’s possible the opt-out will arrive just as the Yankees have assembled their best team in years. Then there’s also Chapman’s troubling personal history.

Dexter Fowler, five years, $82.5MM, Cardinals. The Cardinals filled their center field vacancy with Fowler, who batted .276/.393/.447 last season with the Cubs. In so doing, the Cardinals also avoided a trade market that’s been ugly for buyers, as the Nationals’ trade for Adam Eaton perhaps demonstrated. The Cards are buying Fowler’s age-31 through -35 seasons, years in which an athletic player might well remain productive. They did give up the 19th overall pick in the draft with the signing, though, and even the Cardinals have characterized the dollar figure required to land Fowler as “over the top.”

Ian Desmond, five years, $70MM, Rockies. In what was surely the most surprising of the four signings, the Rockies landed a veteran leader who reinvented himself as an outfielder in an excellent comeback season in Texas. Desmond’s defensive flexibility will give the Rockies options as they build their team for the years ahead, and his 20-homer offense should benefit from Coors Field. The Rockies did, however, give up the first protected pick of the draft — No. 11 overall — to make the signing, costing the team eight-figure value not already included in the contract. And the team didn’t look like a contender in 2016 and might or might not be one in 2017, raising questions about whether now was the right time for them to pursue this kind of veteran talent.

Mark Melancon, four years, $62MM, Giants. The Giants were expected to pursue a closer, and they dodged higher-dollar targets like Chapman or Kenley Jansen (and the loss of a draft pick Jansen would require) to sign the 31-year-old Melancon. Melancon’s results in the last four seasons are indisputably terrific — the highest ERA he’s had in that time has been 2.23. He also has terrific control (with a 1.5 BB/9 last season) and routinely posts great ground-ball numbers (54.2% last year). He doesn’t have a typical profile for a dominant closer, however, with only modest velocity (91.8 MPH average fastball velocity last year, down about a mile from 2013) and a strikeout rate that’s only a bit more than half of Chapman’s. Long-term reliever contracts have historically been dicey propositions, and it remains to be seen if Melancon can dodge the trends. Melancon’s deal also contains considerable value not included in the $62MM total in the form of a no-trade clause and an opt-out after the first two years.

What do you think? Which team’s new contract is the best of the four?

Central Notes: Burton, Moncada, Brewers

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Former Twins and Reds reliever Jared Burton is attempting a comeback, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune tweets. Burton last pitched in the Majors in 2014 and pitched 16 innings in the minors in 2015 before being suspended for 50 games to start the 2016 season after testing positive for the second time for a drug of abuse. He’s now 35. The righty has pitched parts of eight seasons in the big leagues, with a 3.44 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

  • Both the White Sox and Red Sox organizations believe new top prospect Yoan Moncada can be an impact player, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune writes. He’ll still have work to do, however, as his first taste of big-league action late last year (during which he struck out 12 times in 20 plate appearances) showed. “They were coming down, finishing him off underneath the hands down and in,” says White Sox manager Rick Renteria. “He’s a 21-year-old man who has not seen that type of bite coming from pitchers, and it’s probably changing the lane in which he’s looking for that particular type of slider, where he has to get it out and away.” Kane also reports that after learning the White Sox had acquired Moncada, Jose Abreu sent Moncada a congratulatory text message. The two played together in Cuba with Cienfuegos in 2012, when Moncada was 17.
  • The Brewers lost Miguel Diaz as the top overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday, as Minnesota selected Diaz and then traded him to San Diego. Diaz appeared to be a good prospect, but GM David Stearns says the organization left him unprotected because of his lack of experience, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. The 22-year-old Diaz had elbow surgery in 2015 and only pitched his first full minor-league season in 2016, when he posted a 3.71 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 94 2/3 innings for Class A Wisconsin. “He’s never pitched above the Midwest League. It’s very unusual for guys to be able to make that jump,” says Stearns. “We have to be prepared for that but it would be the exception to the norm if someone is able to make that jump successfully and contribute at the Major League level.” Of course, a Rule 5 pick doesn’t have to succeed for his original team to lose him. Before Stearns joined the Brewers organization, the team selected Wei-Chung Wang, a pitcher who had even less minor-league experience than Diaz now does, in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft. Wang pitched poorly in the Majors in 2014 and hasn’t yet returned to the big leagues, but the Brewers did manage to keep him.

White Sox Asked Astros For Musgrove, Martes, Tucker In Return For Jose Quintana

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During the Winter Meetings, it emerged that the Astros had asked the White Sox about lefty Jose Quintana, and that the Astros believed the White Sox’ price to be too steep. Today, Peter Gammons tweets that the White Sox asked the Astros for big-league righty Joe Musgrove plus their top two prospects, righty Francis Martes and outfielder Kyle Tucker.

The White Sox’ ask continued their pattern of aiming high (which has worked twice so far this week) and suggests it might be true that, as has previously been reported, the White Sox see no pressing need to trade Quintana, who is controllable at reasonable prices through 2020. The 27-year-old Quintana has emerged as a workhorse, throwing 200-plus high-quality innings in each of the last four seasons. Last season, he posted a 3.20 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 208 frames.

The 24-year-old Musgrove had a successful rookie season last year, posting a 4.06 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 62 innings. Baseball America ranked him the No. 86 prospect in baseball heading into the season.

Martes has emerged as the Astros’ best prospect since arriving from the Marlins’ system in the Jarred Cosart deal in 2014. The 21-year-old posted a 3.30 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 125 1/3 innings at Double-A Corpus Christi in 2016, winning praise from MLB.com (which ranks him the No. 29 prospect in the game) for his 93-95 MPH fastball and filthy curveball.

Tucker was the fifth overall pick in the 2015 draft, and MLB.com now ranks him the No. 50 prospect in baseball. The 19-year-old held his own at Class A Quad Cities in 2016, batting .276/.348/.402, then hit very well in a small sample after heading to Class A+ Lancaster.

5 Key Stories: 12/3/16 – 12/9/16

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Here are the top stories from a week dominated by the Winter Meetings:

"<strongWhite Sox land huge bounties in Sale, Eaton trades. Usually, it’s the teams acquiring veterans who receive the most attention and praise in the offseason, but that wasn’t the case this week. First, the White Sox turned down a remarkable package of Victor Robles, Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez for Chris Sale so they could take a deal that was arguably even better from the Red Sox, nabbing Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech. Sale will join Rick Porcello and David Price in a loaded Boston rotation.

Then, the White Sox got Giolito and Lopez (plus another pitching prospect, Dane Dunning) anyway when they sent Adam Eaton to DC to fill the Nationals’ center field vacancy. “The weird part for me is that we walk around here, you have a lot of people congratulating you — kindly, with well-intentioned congratulations — whether it’s scouts, or executives from other clubs,” White Sox GM Rick Hahn told a group of reporters, including MLBTR’s Steve Adams. “It’s a little awkward, because we traded Chris Sale. That’s not something you feel great about. That’s not a feather in your cap, so to speak, but this is where we are.”

Yankees agree to sign Chapman to the largest reliever contract ever. The Yankees agreed to terms with flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman on a record-shattering five-year, $86MM deal that includes a no-trade clause for the first three years and an opt-out after the third year. The Marlins’ heavy involvement in the closer market reportedly drove Chapman’s price upward, and there are questions about whether it makes sense for the Yankees to sign an expensive reliever who can opt out just as the team’s strong core of young talent begins to make an impact.

Closer carousel keeps spinning. Kenley Jansen remains a free agent and will be the next to grab headlines when he signs, but several other closers picked new teams this week. Before Chapman’s deal, Mark Melancon was briefly the highest paid reliever ever, thanks to a $62MM deal from the Giants. The Cubs acquired Wade Davis from Kansas City for blocked outfielder Jorge Soler. And the Diamondbacks signed Fernando Rodney. MLBTR’s Jason Martinez recently examined the closer market in the wake of all those moves.

Rockies agree to sign Desmond. The Rockies agreed to sign infielder/outfielder Ian Desmond to a surprising five-year, $70MM deal, giving up the 11th overall pick in next year’s draft in the process. Desmond appears slated to be the Rockies’ first baseman, but that could be subject to change, as the team has been closely connected to free agent Mark Trumbo, the signing of whom could bump Desmond to the outfield. If Desmond were to head to the outfield, they could trade an outfielder such as Charlie Blackmon.

Cardinals sign Fowler. The Cardinals took decisive action to address their center field vacancy this week, landing Dexter Fowler to a five-year, $82.5MM contract with a full no-trade clause. The Cards might not be done making big moves, either — they could pursue another big-name free agent, like Trumbo or Edwin Encarnacion.

These were, of course, far from the only significant moves this week. For many more, check out our Newsstand, which contains notes about Rich Hill to the Dodgers, Wilson Ramos to the Rays, Carlos Beltran to the Astros, Carlos Gomez to the Rangers, Matt Holliday to the Yankees, Tyler Thornburg and Mitch Moreland to the Red Sox, Steve Pearce to the Blue Jays, Joaquin Benoit to the Phillies, and more.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Yorman Landa Passes Away

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Minor league pitcher Yorman Landa passed away last night, the Twins announced. The cause of death was a car crash in Landa’s native Venezuela, the Pioneer Press’ Mike Berardino writes. Landa’s father was driving and his car struck a fallen tree. Landa was 22.

“The Minnesota Twins are deeply saddened by the heartbreaking loss of Yorman Landa early this morning in Venezuela,” said Twins executive Derek Falvey in a statement. “On behalf of the entire baseball community, we send our sincerest condolences to the Landa family as well as Yorman’s many friends, coaches and teammates.”

The Twins originally signed Landa in 2010. They had recently non-tendered him, but they re-signed him to a minor league deal just this week.

Landa pitched in 2016 in the bullpen for Class A+ Fort Myers, demonstrating control problems but also strikeout ability. He ranked 20th in MLB.com’s list of the Twins’ top 30 prospects, with MLB.com noted his mid-90s fastball and potential to become a big-league setup man.

Diamondbacks Sign Fernando Rodney

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DECEMBER 9: Arizona appears to have acknowledged the signing via Twitter, with a clever nod to Rodney’s post-save, arrow-shooting celebration.

Jack Magruder of Fan Rag tweeted the details of the incentives clause, which he says maxes out at $4MM. That includes $250K apiece if and when Rodney reaches 40, 50, and 60 appearances, with a $500K payout if he gets to 70.

DEC. 7: SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Rodney’s deal would max out at $5MM if all of the incentives are reached.

DEC. 6: The Diamondbacks have agreed to a one-year deal with free agent reliever Fernando Rodney, Jon Heyman of FanRag writes (Twitter links). Rodney will receive $2.75MM guaranteed, plus considerable incentives, and he’ll open the year as the Diamondbacks’ closer. Heyman had previously tweeted that the Diamondbacks and Padres were in talks with Rodney, who is an Octagon client.

It was a tale of two seasons for the Rodney in 2016 — he was brilliant for the Padres to start the year, allowing just one earned run through 28 1/3 innings in San Diego, but then he allowed twice as many walks in 36 2/3 innings after a trade to Miami. His 5.89 ERA, 10.1 K/9 and 6.1 BB/9 in Florida led the Marlins to decline his 2017 option, which was effectively worth $4.5MM after incentives.

Where that leaves Rodney for 2017 is unclear — on one hand, he has closing experience, can still strike batters out and induce grounders, and managed to post a reasonable composite line in 2016 (3.44 ERA, 10.2 K/9, 5.1 BB/9). On the other hand, he faded down the stretch, walks too many batters, and will be 40 in March.

In any case, the Diamondbacks didn’t have an established closer, so the deal provides both player and team with an opportunity. Rodney can reestablish himself as a big-league closer. The Diamondbacks, who don’t appear likely to contend, can either keep him for the year or attempt to trade him, much as the Padres did last season — San Diego received a decent starting pitching prospect, Chris Paddack, when it dealt Rodney last June.

Padres To Acquire Rule 5 Picks Miguel Diaz, Luis Torrens

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TODAY: Cincinnati will pick up infielder Josh VanMeter from the Padres in the trade for Torrens, per club announcements. The 21-year-old struggled after a promotion to Double-A last year, but earned that bump up with a strong .267/.355/.443 batting line over 401 High-A plate appearances. Notably, he ended up hitting 14 total home runs in 2016 — a rather significant tally for a player who had hit just three total long balls as a professional coming into the year.

YESTERDAY: The Padres will acquire the top two Rule 5 Draft picks, righty Miguel Diaz (in a trade with the Twins) and catcher Luis Torrens (in a trade with the Reds), MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo writes (Twitter links). (Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper tweeted that the Reds would trade Torrens to San Diego.) The Padres already had the third Rule 5 pick and used it to select infielder Allen Cordoba, so it appears they’ve ended up with the first three Rule 5 picks.

The Reds will receive a player to be named and cash from the Padres. The Twins will receive a player to be named or cash, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune tweets, and they’ll also get Rule 5 pick Justin Haley, who the Padres had previously acquired from the Angels. Diaz and Torrens were previously with the Brewers and Yankees, respectively. Haley had been with the Red Sox.

That’s all incredibly confusing, so here’s a different way of representing where each player went this morning:

Diaz: Brewers –> Twins –> Padres
Torrens: Yankees –> Reds –> Padres
Haley: Red Sox –> Angels –> Padres –> Twins

The 22-year-old Diaz ranked 21st on MLB.com’s list of the Brewers’ top prospects. He throws in the mid-90s from a three-quarters arm slot, and he has the makings of a good slider, according to MLB.com. He’s a bit small, at 6’1″ and 175 pounds, and he’s had elbow trouble in the past. He fared well for Class A Wisconsin in 2016, however, with a 3.71 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 94 2/3 innings.

Torrens, 20, ranked as the Yankees’ 17th-best prospect. The Yankees signed him out of Venezuela for $1.3MM in 2012. He hasn’t hit much, batting .250/.350/.337 in the lower levels in 2016, and his experience is limited, due to shoulder troubles that cost him much of 2014 and all of 2015, but MLB.com praises his work behind the plate. He seems hard-pressed to stick in the Majors all season, but perhaps it’s not out of the question he could make the Padres out of Spring Training as Austin Hedges’ backup.

Angels Asked Cardinals About Kolten Wong

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The Angels asked the Cardinals about second baseman Kolten Wong this week, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The Cardinals, though, greatly prefer to keep Wong, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch explained earlier this week. They see Wong’s defensive ability as a plus, manager Mike Matheny says.

“None of us have shied away from the fact that this should be a top-tier defender at second base,” says Matheny. “And we’re never going to back off that, and neither should he.”

The Cardinals would trade any player if offered the right deal. But, GM John Mozeliak says, “We’re not actively shopping him.”

Still, it’s easy to see why the Angels asked. They have an acute need at second base, and with Jedd Gyorko also in the Cardinals’ fold, St. Louis theoretically could afford to part with Wong. Wong’s big-league career thus far has been uneven, but his combination of defense and modest pop still make him an asset overall, particularly at the relatively low price $24.25MM over four years — that’s the guaranteed money he has remaining on the five-year extension he signed with the Cardinals in March.

Red Sox Designate Williams Jerez For Assignment

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The Red Sox have announced that they’ve designated lefty Williams Jerez for assignment. The move clears roster space for first baseman Mitch Moreland, whose one-year deal is now official.

The Red Sox drafted Jerez in the second round in 2011. They added him to their 40-man roster after the 2015 season, in which he posted a 2.54 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 while pitching in the bullpen at three minor league levels, ending at Double-A Portland. But he didn’t fare as well in a return to Portland in 2016, with a 4.71 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 across 65 innings.

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