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Mariners Avoid Arbitration With Jesus Sucre

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The Mariners have avoided arbitration with catcher Jesus Sucre by agreeing to a one-year, $630K deal, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports (Twitter link).  The contract will pay Sucre $300K if he is sent to the minors.

Sucre was arb-eligible for the first time this winter, and he slightly exceeded MLBTR’s projection of a $600K salary.  As a Super Two player, Sucre still has three more arbitration years remaining beyond the 2017 season.

Sucre, 28, appeared in just nine big league games in 2016 after suffering a fractured fibula in winter ball and then spending much of his time in the minors after his return from the disabled list.  He’ll likely be the top catching option at Triple-A once again, as Mike Zunino and Carlos Ruiz will handle Seattle’s regular catching duties.  Over 264 career plate appearances in the majors, Sucre has a .209/.246/.276 slash line.

Red Sox Exercise Club Option On John Farrell For 2018

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The Red Sox have picked up their 2018 club option on manager John Farrell’s contract, president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski told reporters (including WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford).  2017 was the last guaranteed year of Farrell’s contract, so he avoids any lame-duck status due to the Sox making the early decision to exercise the option year.

Farrell’s four years as Boston’s manager have been something of a roller-coaster, as the club won the World Series in his first season but then stumbled to last-place finishes in the AL East in both 2014 and 2015.  That latter season was particularly trying for Farrell both on and off the field, as he took a leave of absence from August to the end of the year in order to get treatment for lymphoma (which thankfully went into remission last fall).  Last season, Farrell led the Sox to the AL East title and, despite a rather ignominious sweep at the hands of the Indians in the ALDS, Boston certainly looks well-positioned to contend in 2017 and into the future.

Farrell has a 339-309 record as Boston’s skipper, and a 493-479 career record as a manager, counting his two seasons as the Blue Jays’ manager in 2011-12.

Nationals Attempting To Acquire Both Chris Sale, Andrew McCutchen

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7:22am: The Nationals regard Robles as an integral long-term piece and are unwilling to trade him for McCutchen, writes Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. A deal could still happen in spite of that, Janes notes. Further, contrary to an earlier report, the Nats never planned to non-tender Espinosa.

12:02am: The Nationals have been linked to a pair of potential blockbuster deals with the White Sox for ace lefty Chris Sale and the Pirates for former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen, though apparently in the Nats’ view, the possible trades aren’t an either/or proposition.  Washington think they have enough prospect depth to manage both trades, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link), and are trying to work out deals with Chicago and Pittsburgh.

While the Nationals have been no strangers to big moves over the years, landing Sale and McCutchen would be quite a coup for GM Mike Rizzo.  Doing so without trading Trea Turner (who the Nats have already balked at including in a Sale deal) would be more impressive, though Washington has several other strong young talents both in the minors and on the big league roster.

Lucas Giolito, Victor Robles, Reynaldo Lopez and Erick Fedde are each ranked within MLB.com’s top 100 prospects in all of baseball, while less-heralded but still notable youngsters like Dane Dunning, Carter Kieboom or Austin Voth would also draw trade interest.  There’s also A.J. Cole, a former top 100 prospect who hasn’t shown much in limited big league action, or perhaps hard-throwing reliever Trevor Gott.  Looking to the big league roster, McCutchen’s acquisition would push Turner back to shortstop and make Danny Espinosa expendable, while the Nats could also deal from the back end of the rotation and try to move Gio Gonzalez or a younger arm in Joe Ross.

There’s no shortage of interesting names in the Nationals organization to speculate about as trade chips, though it would seemingly take several of them to land both Sale and McCutchen.  (In fact, it’ll take several just to pry Sale out of Chicago given how the White Sox have a huge asking price on their ace.)  McCutchen’s price is lower due to his rough 2016 season, though the Pirates still want premium young talent in return.

Even if one or both of these trades don’t work out, anything seems on the table for the Nats at this point, given how they’ve also been linked to free agents like Dexter Fowler, Ian Desmond, Carlos Gomez and Mark Melancon.  Signing a free agent might be preferable than dealing away multiple young players, though at a greater financial cost than one guaranteed year for McCutchen and Sale’s team-friendly contract.

NL East Rumors: Mets, Orioles, Chapman, Ross, Coppolella

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The Mets offered one of Curtis Granderson or Jay Bruce to the Orioles in exchange for “a high-end reliever,” ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin reports, though talks didn’t go anywhere.  Based on that description, one would think the Mets were asking about Brad Brach, Mychal Givens or maybe even ace closer Zach Britton.  While the O’s are indeed looking for right field help, it’s understandable why they didn’t accept that offer.  Here’s more from around the NL East…

  • The Marlins will make a strong push for Aroldis Chapman, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports (Twitter links).  Miami is also looking at Kenley Jansen (and is thought to be willing to make him a very big offer), though the team would prefer to keep the 14th overall pick in next year’s draft, whereas Chapman can be signed without draft compensation.  The Marlins are open to a number of bullpen options, though they’re prioritizing signing a reliever over trading for relief help.
  • Some in the Nationals organization question Joe Ross’ toughness, MASNsports.com’s Pete Kerzel writes, due to the amount of recovery time Ross needed to return from a shoulder injury last year.  Ross was posting strong numbers in the Nats rotation before inflammation in his throwing shoulder sidelined him from July 2 to September 18.  Ross also has his supporters in the front office and in general, the Nationals don’t want to trade him, though he is one of several potential trade chips who could be included as part of a package for one of Washington’s multiple high-end trade targets.
  • The Braves have been linked to the likes of Chris Sale and Chris Archer in trade rumors, though while GM John Coppolella admits to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that “we want to add an ace,” this desire is “a want, not a need. So if a great opportunity comes along, we’ll be ready to strike. But we don’t need to force the issue.”  O’Brien speculates that Sale might be the only pitcher the Braves would be willing to give up a package of young players and prospects to land.  Atlanta has already bolstered its rotation by adding Jaime Garcia, Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey this winter, and the team is also looking to add another veteran on a minor league deal to compete with Mike Foltynewicz, Josh Collmenter and others for the fifth spot.
  • In other division news from earlier today on MLBTR, the Phillies are close to a deal with Joaquin Benoit and we collected more items from Citi Field in an edition of Mets Notes.

Marlins Believed To Be Willing To Offer Five Years/$80MM To Kenley Jansen

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The Marlins are perhaps the most surprising team bidding on the offseason’s top free agent closers, though other teams believe Miami is ready to back up its desire for a bullpen upgrade with some serious money.  According to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link), rival teams believe the Marlins are willing to offer Kenley Jansen five years and $80MM.  Since Jansen rejected the Dodgers’ qualifying offer, signing the closer would also cost Miami their first-round draft pick (14th overall), but the Fish are prepared to lose that pick to bring Jansen into the fold.  The Marlins themselves say they’re still discussing the matter.

Jansen was first linked to the Marlins a few weeks ago, with MLBTR’s Steve Adams noting that it was just one offseason ago that the Fish signed a big qualifying offer free agent in the form of Wei-Yin Chen (who was also, interestingly, signed to a five-year, $80MM contract).  Miami also had to surrender a draft pick to sign Chen, though it was only a second-rounder, as the team’s first-round pick was protected.  It would be a much taller order to surrender the 14th overall selection, which is why perhaps it’s somewhat curious that the Marlins seem to be primarily targeting Jansen over Aroldis Chapman or Mark Melancon, both of whom were dealt last season and thus weren’t subject to the qualifying offer.

While five years and $80MM would be the biggest contract ever signed by a closer (at least until Chapman signs), it is actually a bit less than MLBTR’s projection for Jansen, which was five years and $85MM.  Chapman was pegged at five years/$90MM and Melancon for four years/$52MM, though Melancon has reportedly already received four-year offers topping $60MM from the Nationals, Giants and an unknown third team, who could possibly be the Marlins.  If Miami is indeed the mystery team, I wonder if the Marlins would perhaps just boost their offer to Melancon (to $65MM? $70MM?) with the logic that it would still be cheaper than what they’re reportedly willing to give up both financially and draft-wise to land Jansen.

Though the Marlins have a larger need in the rotation than in the bullpen, the team’s plan is to double down on its relief strength in order to shorten games and take pressure off its pen.  The Fish have already signed Edinson Volquez and they’ve been linked to such other relatively inexpensive starting options as Doug Fister, C.J. Wilson, Travis Wood and Dillon Gee as they look to rebuild the rotation on a budget while saving its big dollars for an ace closer.

Dodgers Shopping Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy

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The Dodgers are shopping Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy and others, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (Twitter link).  Roster flexibility is one factor in these trade explorations, as Los Angeles currently has 39 players on its 40-man roster.  Rich Hill could fill that last open spot, as the Dodgers are reportedly close to a deal to re-sign the veteran lefty, though the team would need more room to make further acquisitions.

Dealing the likes of Kazmir or McCarthy obviously carries more import than simply clearing roster space, as a glimpse at the Dodgers roster reveals several major league and minor league names on the 40-man that could reasonably be designated for assignment.  Moving either veteran starter would be significant for the team’s 2017 rotation plans and potentially payroll, though it is quite possible L.A. would have to eat some money to facilitate a trade, especially with McCarthy.

After missing almost all of 2015 and most of 2016 recovering from Tommy John surgery, McCarthy managed 10 games (nine of them starts) for the Dodgers, though he also spent time on the DL with a hip injury.  Since signing a four-year, $48MM deal with the Dodgers in December 2014, McCarthy has pitched just 63 innings of 5.29 ERA baseball for the club, and he is still owed $10MM in each of the next two seasons.  The starter-thin market this winter could generate some interest in McCarthy’s services if other teams believe he is healthy, though that could be a tall order, given the righty’s lengthy list of injuries both in recent years and throughout his career.

Kazmir also has a pretty checkered injury history and dealt with another DL trip in 2016 due to thoracic spine inflammation.  The lefty made just one outing after August 22, as his season was essentially ended by the injury.  Kazmir threw 136 1/3 innings in his first season as a Dodger, posting a 4.56 ERA, 2.58 K/BB and 8.8 K/9 and his highest BB/9 and HR/9 totals since 2010.  It was probably a combination of these only-decent numbers and his season-ending DL stint that led Kazmir to not opt out of his contract, so he is still owed $32MM over the next two years.

With Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda and Julio Urias penciled into the rotation, Kazmir and McCarthy project to fill the other two spots (with Hill either replacing one altogether or moving one to the bullpen).  Alex Wood, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Jose De Leon and Ross Stripling some of the other arms available as potential rotation depth, which is very necessary given the incredible number of pitching injuries the Dodgers faced last year.

Dan Duquette On Trumbo, Machado, Britton

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The Orioles have “made a couple offers to” free agent slugger Mark Trumbo, Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette told reporters (including Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun and MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko), though despite ongoing talks, an agreement has yet to be reached.  “We’ve had several conversations with Mark Trumbo, but we haven’t been able to cinch a deal with him….We’ve had a dialogue going with them for several weeks,” Duquette said.

Though there was mutual interest in a continued relationship between the two sides prior to the end of the season, there hasn’t been much news about Trumbo and Orioles until now.  Duquette said during the GM Meetings that the club was looking to prioritize defense and add a left-handed hitting outfielder, neither of which describe what Trumbo brings to the table. Duquette cited outfield defense again today, though Trumbo could also fill Baltimore’s hole at designated hitter.  As I noted in my free agent profile of Trumbo, his value could greatly improve if a team uses him in a first base/DH role rather than as a corner outfielder.

Right field is the specific need for the O’s, as Duquette said Hyun Soo Kim and Joey Rickard could handle left field in a platoon and the team hasn’t put much thought into moving Chris Davis from first base into right.  As for other internal options, Duquette also cited youngster Trey Mancini as having the hitting potential to possibly handle regular DH duty.

Trumbo has received some interest from the Rockies this winter, though Colorado would have to give up a hefty draft pick price (the 11th overall selection in next year’s draft) to sign Trumbo, who rejected the Orioles’ qualifying offer.  That same QO status is a consideration for the O’s as well as they explore re-signing Trumbo, Duquette noted, as is the changing nature of the qualifying offer system in future years under the new collective bargaining agreement.

Aside from Trumbo, Duquette also discussed such topics as the team’s needs in right field, catcher (either as a starter or platoon partner with Caleb Joseph) and the potential use of the upcoming Rule 5 draft to procure more young talent.

Duquette also denied a rumor about an extension between Manny Machado and the Orioles, saying that the two sides hadn’t had any talks.  Most teams wait until after the bulk of the offseason work is complete before entering into extension negotiations, so we might not hear about anything with Machado until Spring Training at the earliest.  The superstar third baseman is projected by MLBTR to earn $11.2MM in arbitration next season, and the O’s control Machado through the 2018 campaign.  With Machado hitting the open market at age 26, the sky is the limit for the size of a potential extension — Baltimore would likely require something north of a $250MM guarantee.

In a radio appearance with Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link), the executive VP also commented on the attention being drawn by closer Zach Britton.  “There’s a lot of interest in Zach Britton. Personally, I like Zach Britton on our club, but there are teams interested,” Duquette said.  Britton is also due for a hefty arbitration payday ($11.4MM) in the wake of his excellent 2016 season, and there has been speculation that the O’s could sell high on Britton now given the large demand for relief pitching this offseason.  One would think it would take a pretty significant offer to pry Britton out of Baltimore, as Duquette has said both here and in prior interviews that he wants to keep the closer.

Nippon-Ham Fighters Planning To Post Shohei Otani After 2017 Season

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The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters are planning to post two-way superstar Shohei Otani after the 2017 season, according to a report from Sponichi (Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports has follow-up tweets).  Should the team follow through next winter, Otani would immediately become one of the most sought-after members of the 2017-18 free agent class.

Since the Fighters have five remaining years of control over Otani before he was eligible to come to North America as a full free agent, this move comes as quite a surprise.  Otani just turned 22 last July and he helped lead the Fighters to the 2016 Japan Series championship after an all-around spectacular season.  Not only did Otani post a 1.86 ERA, 11.2 K/9 and 3.87 K/BB rate over 140 innings, he also hit .322/.416/.588 with 22 homers over 382 plate appearances as a designated hitter.  In Otani’s four professional seasons, he sandwiched a good year at the plate in 2014 between mediocre hitting performances in 2013 and 2015 before his superstar-level breakout this year.

Otani has long drawn the attention of MLB scouts, and he even considered foregoing Nippon Professional Baseball altogether in order to go to the majors as a teenager before agreeing to accept being drafted by the Fighters.  The right-hander has a four-pitch arsenal that includes a fastball that has topped out at 102mph, though he generally throws it in the 95-97mph range.  As a hitter, Otani swings from the left side and has displayed tape-measure power.

At the end of the 2017 season, Otani will be 23 and will have played five seasons in NPB, which would’ve made him eligible to sign with any team as an international free agent under the old rules of the collective bargaining agreement.  (Though he would’ve been subject to the existing posting rules for Japanese players.)  Under the new collective bargaining agreement, international players will only be ineligible from the stricter international bonus pool system if they’ve played six years in a recognized top league (like Cuba’s Serie Nacional) or are older than 25; years old.  It isn’t yet clear whether those rules apply to just Cuban players or to all international talents.  In any case, the overall stricter international signing policies have created some debate about when and how Otani would be impacted, though Passan tweeted earlier this week that some adjustments could be made to accommodate Otani or other Japanese players.

Assuming some adjustments are indeed made to allow Otani to be posted normally, any MLB team willing to cough up a $20MM posting fee to the Fighters will be eligible to negotiate with Otani.  Once he agrees to a (no doubt very sizeable) contract with a North American club, only the team that actually signs Otani would pay that $20MM fee to Nippon-Ham, leaving the Fighters with relatively little financial incentive to be posting their best talent.  One would think that Otani has perhaps requested to be posted, hence the early decision by the team.

Twins Sign Ben Paulsen To Minors Contract

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The Twins have signed first baseman/outfielder Ben Paulsen to a minor league deal, 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson reports (Twitter link).  The contract contains an invitation to Minnesota’s big league Spring Training camp.

Paulsen was outrighted off of Colorado’s 40-man roster in September and granted free agency after the season.  The 29-year-old saw regular action for the Rockies at first base and in left field in 2015, when he hit .277/.326/.462 with 11 homers over 354 plate appearances, but he appeared in just 39 games last season and spent the bulk of 2016 at Triple-A.  Of Paulsen’s 517 career PA in the bigs, 458 of them have come against right-handed pitching (he has a .758 career OPS against southpaws) and he has significant home-away splits — an .810 OPS at the batter-friendly Coors Field and a .705 OPS on the road.

With Joe Mauer locked into the Twins’ first base job, Paulsen can provide some left-handed hitting depth, or an alternative to Byung Ho Park (a righty bat) or the switch-hitting Kennys Vargas at DH.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Solarte, Astros, Rays, De La Rosa, A’s

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The latest column from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal explores how the luxury tax threshold’s relatively small annual increases as per the new collective bargaining agreement could lead to teams placing an even greater importance on locking their young talent up to long-term extensions.  Rosenthal also shares some hot stove buzz…

  • The Padres are “aggressively” shopping Yangervis Solarte.  The third baseman has posted solid numbers over the last two seasons, including hitting .286/.341/.467 with 15 homers over 443 plate appearances last year.  The 29-year-old Solarte is projected by MLBTR to earn $2.7MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility, and his three years of remaining team control would make him an intriguing trade chip for teams in need of infield help.
  • The Astros are continuing to “pay really close attention” to the Rays’ starting pitchers, according to sources.  Houston has made several lineup upgrades (Brian McCann, Josh Reddick and now Carlos Beltran) this offseason but Charlie Morton is the only addition to a rotation that underachieved in 2016.  Tampa is widely expected to deal at least one of Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, Alex Cobb or Drew Smyly this winter.  The Astros are known to have interest in Archer, though he would command the highest price of the lot.
  • Jorge De La Rosa is telling teams that he is willing to pitch as a multi-inning reliever.  De La Rosa pitched three games in relief last season, his first bullpen outings since 2009.  The veteran southpaw posted a 5.51 ERA, 1.71 K/BB rate and 7.3 K/9 over 134 innings for the Rockies in 2016, so between those lackluster numbers and his age (he turns 36 in April), it isn’t surprising that De La Rosa is willing to be flexible to increase his market.
  • Dave Kaval’s new role as the Athletics’ president could potentially lead to some changes in how the A’s do business.  With Kaval looking to secure a new ballpark in Oakland and generally trying to change the club’s profile, a “more of the same” deal of a star for prospects (i.e. dealing Sonny Gray) wouldn’t help Kaval’s objectives.  That said, Rosenthal writes that “it’s difficult to imagine” the change in management having any impact on how Billy Beane does business.

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