Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Dodgers Notes: Treinen, Greinke, Free Agents

By | at

The latest from Chavez Ravine…

  • The Dodgers have interest in Blake Treinen, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link).  Treinen was non-tendered by the Athletics earlier this week in the wake of a rough 2019 season and a projected $7.8MM arbitration salary, though Treinen figures to get a lot of attention on the open market since he’s only a year removed from an all-world performance in 2018.  The former A’s closer would be a particularly good fit for a Dodgers team that got somewhat shaky results from Kenley Jansen and Joe Kelly last year.
  • This offseason could be “the perfect storm” for the Andrew Friedman-led front office to finally splurge on a major free agent, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes (subscription required).  While L.A. has been in the mix for several big names over the years, the Dodgers’ biggest expenditures under Friedman have come in the form of re-signing its own players to free agent contracts or extensions.  With the likes of Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, Stephen Strasburg, or even Josh Donaldson (who is comparatively much less expensive than the first three) all available in free agency, and such talents as Francisco Lindor or Kris Bryant available in trades, Rosenthal feels “the only debate for the Dodgers should be over which superstar they should acquire.”
  • Rosenthal’s piece an interesting companion to this what-if item from his Athletic colleague Andy McCullough, who looks back at everything that could have been different for the Dodgers if they had re-signed Zack Greinke in the 2015-16 offseason.  It would’ve been another case of Friedman being willing to spend on a known quantity, as he had tabled a six-year offer worth close to $160MM to the free agent righty, only to be shocked when the Diamondbacks blew away expectations by offering Greinke $206.5MM over a six-year pact.  “Had it been closer, I think it would have been a really difficult decision,” Friedman said about the opportunity to counter Arizona’s offer.  “I’m not sure how things would have played out.  But it was a pretty seismic gap.”  The fallout of Greinke re-signing with Los Angeles would’ve been immense, though given how the club was able to re-invest that planned money into some other noteworthy players, it’s not a slam dunk that having Greinke would have meant a World Series title over the last four years.

Twins To Re-Sign Michael Pineda

By | at

The Twins have re-signed right-hander Michael Pineda to a two-year deal, Pierre Noujaim of FOX 9 Minneapolis reports (Twitter link).  The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reports that Pineda will earn $20MM on the deal, which will become official after Pineda passes a physical.  Pineda is represented by ISE Baseball.

Pineda will exactly double the two-year, $10MM deal he originally signed with Minnesota in the 2017-18 season, a contract that was really a one-year pact given that Pineda had undergone Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2018.  This new contract also comes in the midst of some extenuating circumstances, as Pineda is still in the midst of a 60-game PED suspension and will miss the first 39 games of the 2020 season.  That 60-game absence was originally an 80-game suspension, reduced on appeal since Pineda (who turns 31 in January) was able to provide evidence that the hydrochlorothiazide found in his system wasn’t being used as a PED masking agent.

While this situation could have made some teams wary about Pineda’s 2019 performance, and perhaps paved the way for him to return the team that knew him best, there was ample interest in his services.  Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News reports that the Blue Jays, Giants, Rangers, Braves, and White Sox also looked at adding Pineda in free agency.  MLBTR ranked Pineda 17th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, and his contract fell just shy of the $22MM we projected he would land on a two-year deal.

In the wake of his TJ surgery, Pineda delivered arguably the best season of his career in 2019, posting a 4.01 ERA, 8.6 K/9, and 5.00 K/BB rate over 146 innings.  It wasn’t an entirely smooth year, since he had two minimal injured list stints (for a triceps strain and knee tendinitis), and Pineda also had one of the game’s least-impressive spin rates.

Still, a 2.7 fWAR season coming off Tommy John surgery is certainly sturdy, and the Twins can expect even more from the righty once he returns in May.  While multiple injuries and issues with the home run ball have dimmed the profile of a player who was considered one of the sport’s top pitching prospects, Pineda looks like a very solid mid-rotation candidate in this next phase of his career.

Facing one of the more dire pitching situations of any contender heading into the offseason, the Twins have now brought back both Pineda and Jake Odorizzi, who accepted the club’s one-year, $17.8MM qualifying offer.  Getting Odorizzi and Pineda back at reasonable prices before the Winter Meetings is already a nice result for Minnesota, who still have up to two more rotation spots to fill beyond ace Jose Berrios.  The next arm could come at a much higher price, as the Twins are making a push to sign Madison Bumgarner, and they also made Zack Wheeler an offer before Wheeler signed with the Phillies.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Seibu Lions Sign Cory Spangenberg, Sean Nolin

By | at

The Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball have signed infielder Cory Spangenberg and left-hander Sean Nolin, as per a team announcement (hat tip to NPBTracker’s Patrick Newman).

Spangenberg elected free agency after being outrighted off the Brewers’ 40-man roster at the end of the season, and he’ll now look to become the latest player to pursue an opportunity in Japanese baseball rather than vie for a minor league deal in North America.  Never a big performer at the plate over his six MLB seasons with the Padres and Brewers, Spangenberg hit only .232/.277/.358 over 102 PA last season and provided little more than defensive cover at second base, third base, shortstop, and left field.  Spangenberg has a healthy .301/.362/.433 slash line over 2350 minor league plate appearances, but he didn’t hit much (.704 OPS) over 1380 PA at the big league level.

Nolin was also a touted prospect early in his career, and is perhaps best known as one of the four youngsters sent by the Blue Jays to the Athletics for Josh Donaldson back in the 2014-15 offseason.  His Major League resume consists of just 31 1/3 total innings from 2013-15, however, as injuries have plagued Nolin’s career, including a Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2017 season.  Nolin has spent the last two seasons pitching in independent ball, the Mexican Winter Pro League, and in the minors with the White Sox, Mariners, and Rockies farm systems.

Nats Owner Lerner: “We Really Can Only Afford To Have One Of” Rendon Or Strasburg

By | at

Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner expressed doubt about his franchise’s ability to re-sign both Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg this offseason, as Lerner told NBC Sports Washington’s Donald Dell. (Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington has early details about the interview, which will take air in full on Dell’s show on December 17.)

“We really can only afford to have one of those two guys,” Lerner said.  “They’re huge numbers. We already have a really large payroll to begin with….We’re pursuing them, we’re pursuing other free agents in case they decided to go elsewhere.  Again, it’s not up to us.  We can give them a great offer — which we’ve done to both of those players.  They’re great people.  We’d be delighted if they stay.  But it’s not up to us, it’s up to them.  That’s why they call it free agency.”

MLBTR’s ranking of the winter’s top 50 free agents (which, incidentally, predicted both Rendon and Strasburg would wind up back in D.C.) projected Rendon for a seven-year, $235MM deal and Strasburg for six years and $180MM.  That works out to a little more than $63.57MM in average annual value if the Nationals were to land both players at those projected prices, and since Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez estimates the Nats’ current luxury tax number at just under $135.32MM, that would bring the total to roughly $199MM.

This leaves Washington with some wiggle room under the $208MM luxury tax threshold to add more roster upgrades beyond only Rendon and Strasburg, though surpassing the tax threshold seemingly wouldn’t be a problem since the Nats were willing to pay the tax in both 2017 and 2018.  By ducking under the threshold last season, the Nationals would again be charged at the “first-timer” rate of a 20 percent tax on the overage of any payroll that falls between $208-$228MM.  Since Adam Eaton, Anibal Sanchez, Sean Doolittle, and Kurt Suzuki could all come off the books after the 2020 season, the Nationals could potentially even get back under the 2021 threshold ($210MM) or at worst pay another minimal penalty by staying within the $210-$230MM range.

Of course, the Nats would further shave more money off their payroll with other moves, or Rendon and Strasburg could also end up costing more money than our projected figures.  But, strictly speaking, there isn’t any real financial barrier preventing the club from re-signing both players.  Lerner’s declaration could be something of a tactic, Dybas writes, since it would be “poor negotiating” to “flatly state the organization is going to find a way to pay both….Being in between serves multiple needs: It keeps the door open on each player; it stirs the market without roiling it; it prepares fans for an outcome they don’t prefer.”

While the Nationals haven’t been afraid to spend big on free agents or player salaries in general, they face a unique situation in having two star players (both represented by the same agent, Scott Boras) hit the open market at the same time.  Several teams have already been linked to both players, including some of the game’s wealthiest franchises — the Dodgers have spoken to both, while the Rangers have interest in Rendon, and the Phillies and Yankees are known to be interested in Strasburg.  Since the bidding will be high for both players, the Nats could re-direct their resources towards one player in particular if the price tag for the other becomes truly untenable.

Orioles Notes: Gonzalez, Adeiny, Infielders

By | at

The latest from Baltimore….

  • Fredi Gonzalez has been hired to join the Orioles’ coaching staff, the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli reports.  Gonzalez will work in the general role of Major League coach; as Meoli puts it, “González will influence several areas of the Orioles while sharing some responsibilities with major league field coordinator/catching instructor Tim Cossins, who did those jobs last year while serving as [Brandon] Hyde’s de-facto bench coach.”  Best known for his time as the manager of the Marlins (2007-10) and Braves (2011-16), Gonzalez spent the last three seasons back in Miami as the Marlins’ third base coach.
  • The Orioles have “definite interest” in Adeiny Hechavarria, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports.  The veteran hit .241/.299/.443 over 221 combined plate appearances between the Mets and Braves in 2019, with the bulk of that offense (1.039 OPS over 70 PA) coming after Atlanta signed Hechavarria as extra depth during the late-season stretch run.  Of course, Hechavarria is far better known for his glovework than his bat, with +20 Defensive Runs Saved and a + 2.5 UZR/150 over 6761 career innings at shortstop.  The 30-year-old was available on a minor league contract for the Mets last winter, and could likely be signed for a similar non-guaranteed deal this offseason.
  • Hechavarria would help address Baltimore’s middle infield situation, which GM Mike Elias described (along with back-of-the-rotation pitching) as offseason “priorities” when talking to reporters earlier this week.  Since the rebuilding O’s aren’t going to break the bank for veteran help, Kubatko lists a few lower-cost veterans that might potentially fit what the team is looking for, though he notes that even moderately-priced options like free agent Brock Holt or the recently non-tendered Yolmer Sanchez could be too pricey for the Orioles.  Jose Iglesias doesn’t appear to be on the Orioles’ radar, as Kubatko writes that “a poor off-the-field reputation…persuaded the Orioles and some other teams to stay away” from the former Reds and Tigers shortstop in the past.  The O’s did make an infield signing earlier today by adding Dilson Herrera on a minors contract.

AL Central Notes: Tsutsugo, Lindblom, Royals, Indians

By | at

Past reports have already linked the Blue Jays and Marlins to Yoshitomo Tsutsugo’s market, and now MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that three AL Central teams are also in the mix.  The White Sox, Tigers, and Twins all have some interest in the Japanese slugger, who has hit 185 homers for Yokohama since the start of the 2014 season.  Tsutsugo’s left-handed power would fit in any of the three teams’ lineups, though his limited defensive capability as a first baseman or outfielder could see him mostly play first base if he wound up in Minnesota, since Nelson Cruz is locked into DH duties.  Chicago could deploy Tsutsugo along with Jose Abreu in the first base/DH mix or play Tsutsugo in the outfield on days when Yasmani Grandal is getting a DH or first base day, while Tsutsugo would simply step right into an everyday role for the hitting-starved Tigers.

Any team that signs Tsutsugo will have to pay his former team, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, a release fee that will be determined by the size of Tsutsugo’s eventual MLB contract.  The 30-day posting window for Tsutsugo to find a contract in North America ends on December 19, so there is still lots of time for one of his five known suitors or perhaps other teams to strike a deal.

Here’s more from the AL Central….

  • Morosi reports on another potential Detroit target in another tweet, noting that the Tigers and Angels are two of the teams interested in Josh Lindblom.  The right-hander is looking to return to the majors on the heels of two outstanding seasons in South Korea’s KBO League, and some very impressive spin rate numbers on his four-seam fastball.  Morosi writes that Lindblom has already received multi-year offers from more than one team, which isn’t surprising given how Lindblom would be an inexpensive yet high-ceiling addition to a lot of pitching staffs (such as rebuilding teams like the Tigers or hopeful contenders like the Angels).
  • The Royals announced their 2020 coaching staff under new manager Mike Matheny, with a few new faces in the mix and some familiar faces returning in some different roles.  Pitching coach Cal Eldred and hitting coach Terry Bradshaw will remain in their positions, while Pedro Grifol moves to bench coach from his past quality control/catching coach job, and Vance Wilson goes from bullpen coach to third base coach.  Rusty Kuntz will become the Royals’ first base coach for the third time in his 12-year stint as a member of the K.C. organization, while Larry Carter will take over as bullpen coach after 22 years in various minor league roles for the club.  John Mabry joins the staff as a Major League coach, after working under Matheny as the Cardinals’ hitting coach when Matheny was the St. Louis manager.  Former coaches Dale Sveum and Mike Jirschele will remain with the Royals in as-yet-unassigned new roles.
  • The Indians’ homegrown pitching has been the backbone of the team’s success in recent years, and The Athletic’s Zack Meisel (subscription link) looks at how the organization has been able to turn the likes of Corey Kluber, Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, and other relatively unheralded — none were drafted before the third round by the Tribe or other teams — arms into top-flight hurlers.  Ruben Niebla, formerly the minor league pitching coordinator and now the big league team’s assistant pitching coach, has been a key figure in the system of finding what works for each pitcher, getting the pitcher to buy into the strategy, and then tailoring that development through all levels of the pitcher’s trip up the organizational ladder.  “That communication is vitally important to us, that we make sure we have continuity and the same message as he goes through. There’s no confusion. It’s clear,” Niebla said.

Rangers Sign Nick Ciuffo, Wei-Chieh Huang To Minors Deals

By | at

The Rangers announced that catcher Nick Ciuffo and right-hander Wei-Chieh Huang have been signed to minor league contracts.  The two players and utilityman Rob Refsnyder (whose signing was reported last week) will all receive invites to the big league Spring Training camp.

Chosen 21st overall by Tampa Bay in the 2013 draft, Ciuffo has yet to deliver on that potential, with just a .248/.293/.344 career slash line over 1844 minor league plate appearances and 19 MLB games on his resume.  That said, Ciuffo doesn’t turn 25 until March, and he has displayed a knack for throwing out baserunners and framing pitches.  He represents a no-risk depth option for the Rangers, though Texas already has multiple glove-first backstops in Jose Trevino and Jeff Mathis.

Huang returns to the Rangers after being non-tendered earlier this week, a move that was more about clearing roster space than saving money since Huang isn’t arbitration-eligible for several seasons.  The righty only just made his MLB debut in 2019, appearing in four games and tossing 5 2/3 relief innings.  Acquired in 2018 as a player-to-be-named-later in the trade that sent Jake Diekman to the Diamondbacks, Huang has some interesting potential as a relief or swingman piece, though he exhibited severe control problems as he climbed up the organizational ladder in 2019.  Huang issued 25 walks over 31 Triple-A innings, and five free passes over his brief time with the Rangers.

Mets Sign Jarrett Parker, Max Moroff

By | at

The Mets have signed outfielder Jarrett Parker and infielder Max Moroff to minor league deals, the team announced.  Parker and Moroff will both be invited to the team’s Major League spring camp.

Parker, who turns 31 on New Year’s Day, was a second-round pick for the Giants in 2010 who only developed into a part-time option for San Francisco over 135 games from 2015-17.  After sitting out the 2018 season entirely, Parker signed a minors contract with the Angels that resulted in a .266/.394/.535 slash line and 24 homers over 424 Triple-A plate appearances, plus five MLB appearances.  The left-handed hitting Parker can play center field in a pinch and saw some action at first base for Triple-A Salt Lake in 2019, though the bulk of his experience has been as a corner outfielder.

Moroff brings added defensive versatility, as he has extensively played both middle infield spots as well as third base and even some work in both corner outfield positions.  While the 26-year-old Moroff hasn’t been able to offer is much hitting, as he has only a .183/.277/.319 slash line over 244 Major League PA with the Pirates and Indians since 2016, and also hasn’t done much at the plate at the Triple-A level.

Brewers Sign Justin Grimm

By | at

The Brewers have signed right-hander Justin Grimm to a minor league contract, as per the club’s Twitter account.  Grimm’s deal contains an invitation to the Brewers’ big league Spring Training camp.

Grimm bounced between the Indians, Dodgers, and Reds last season without appearing in the majors for any of the three teams, breaking a string of seven consecutive seasons of MLB action for the 31-year-old.  Grimm pitched in 21 games (17 1/3 innings) for the Royals and Mariners in 2018, posting an ungainly 10.38 ERA while issuing 14 walks against only 11 strikeouts.

Best known for his days in the Cubs bullpen, Grimm had a 3.82 ERA over 235 2/3 innings for Chicago from 2013-17, including a 1.99 ERA in 2015.  His performance tailed off in 2017, however, and between his 2018 struggles and even a lack of success at the Triple-A level in 2019, Grimm will need a big spring to win himself a job on Milwaukee’s Opening Day roster.

AL East Notes: Avisail, Pedroia, Johnson, Orioles

By | at

Avisail Garcia has been a popular figure in the first weeks of free agency, and his list of suitors includes Garcia’s most recent organization.  “There is interest, and engagement” from the Rays in a reunion with Garcia, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes, updating his own report from late October that originally detailed the potential for another contract between the two sides.  Garcia was a nice low-cost buy for Tampa last offseason, as the outfielder inked a one-year, $3.5MM deal with the Rays and hit .282/.332/.464 with 20 homers (good for a 111 OPS+ and 112 wRC+) while posting slightly above-average hard-hit ball numbers and defensive metrics in right field.

This solid but unspectacular season might keep Garcia within Tampa Bay’s rather limited price range, as MLBTR predicted only a two-year, $12MM deal for Garcia this winter.  A bigger question could be where Garcia fits into a Rays outfield that already has Tommy Pham, Kevin Kiermaier, and Austin Meadows, though the right-handed hitting Garcia is a nice complement amidst lefty swingers like Meadows and first base/DH options like Ji-Man Choi and Nate Lowe.

Here’s more from around the AL East…

  • While Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia intends to resume his career in 2020 after multiple knee surgeries, “the most optimistic projection for Pedroia would be playing for the Sox in late May or June,” Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe hears from multiple sources.  Pedroia has appeared in only nine games over the last two seasons, and with so much uncertainty around his availability, second base is a clear area of need for the team this winter.
  • Both Abraham and WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford were surprised by Boston’s decision to waive left-hander Brian Johnson earlier this week, though Johnson remained with the Red Sox (and outrighted off the 40-man roster) after going unclaimed.  Johnson is also out of minor league options, which dimmed his value to other teams, Abraham hears from an evaluator.  The timing of the move may have been tactical on the club’s part, Bradford notes, as Johnson was waived not long after other teams had set their 40-man rosters in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, and thus didn’t have the space to spare on a southpaw who pitched well in 2017-18 before struggling last year.  The transaction caught Johnson himself by surprise, as he told Bradford, though “in the grand scheme of things I’m just not on the 40-man.  My goals don’t change.  I have the same goal going into spring training, fighting for a job either in the bullpen or starting.”
  • Some of the offseason’s early moves have seemingly removed two potential Orioles trade partners for Trey Mancini or Mychal Givens, the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli writes.  Mancini could have been a possible long-term piece for a White Sox team that appears ready to start competing, but Chicago’s extension with Jose Abreu and signing of Yasmani Grandal (as a part-time first baseman and DH, to go with his catching duties) would seem to limit Mancini to the outfield for the Sox, a less-than-ideal defensive fit.  As for Givens, the Braves had interest in the right-hander at the trade deadline but have now addressed their bullpen needs by signing Will Smith and re-signing Chris Martin and Darren O’Day.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top