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Tigers Looking To Trade For Closer

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The Tigers raised eyebrows across baseball this offseason with their decision to install rookie Bruce Rondon as their closer.  Now, they are having second thoughts about that plan and pushing hard to find a closer via trade, major league sources tell Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.

The Nationals could afford to part with a reliever, after the signing of Rafael Soriano bumped back Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard, but so far they are telling teams that they have no interest in moving anyone in the pen.  The Red Sox have an extra closer in Andrew Bailey but the Tigers have yet to contact Boston about him.

Detroit could use Rick Porcello to land a ninth-inning option, but they'll want a strong closer in return given his strong play in spring training.  There are also two unsigned closers in Jose Valverde and Francisco Rodriguez, but they don't seem terribly interested in either one.

Central Links: Furcal, Drew, Crosby, Kazmir

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Some late-night links pertaining to baseball's two Central divisions…

  • Cardinals shortstop Rafael Furcal is going to visit Dr. James Andrews to have his problematic elbow re-evaluated, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. However, GM John Mozeliak isn't second-guessing the decision not to operate on Furcal following the 2012 season.
  • Hummel's colleague, Derrick Goold, writes that while the Cardinals had interest in Stephen Drew this offseason, Drew's decision came down to the Athletics or Red Sox because Furcal's presence didn't allow the Cards to guarantee Drew playing time.
  • MLB.com's Adam McCalvy profiles Bobby Crosby and his decision to make an attempt at a Major League comeback with the Brewers. Crosby was persuaded to pursue a comeback by his father, former Major Leaguer Ed Crosby. McCalvy notes that Crosby's agent, Paul Cohen, has orchestrated successful comebacks for clients Gape Kapler, Jim Edmonds and Troy Percival in the past.
  • Another comeback story — Scott Kazmir — is taking things slowly with the Indians, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Kazmir will work on his breaking pitches in a minor league "B" game Wednesday as he builds confidence in the pitches in a low-pressure setting. Kazmir has fired four scoreless frames with four punchouts for the Tribe thus far.

Cafardo On Red Sox, Vazquez, Stanton, Cano

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that even though the 2013 Red Sox may not knock your socks off, they could still be extremely effective.  In theory, Boston could have used their wiggle room on the likes of Josh Hamilton, Adam LaRoche, and Cody Ross.  Instead, the club's shopping spree yielded Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, David Ross, Stephen Drew, and Ryan Dempster.  However, the BoSox have set themselves up for bigger things in the long run and they could still be competitive in '13.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • The Red Sox, Nationals, Yankees, Orioles, and Brewers had major interest in free agent pitcher Javier Vazquez before knee surgery put his season in jeopardy. “Never say never,” said a major league source close to the hurler, “but we won’t see him in the immediate future.”
  • One AL executive cautions not to rule out the Tigers as a major player for the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton when the time comes. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has strong ties to the Marlins from his time with them and may have the chips to get a deal done.  Detroit could use third baseman/outfielder Nick Castellanos, outfielder Avisail Garcia, righty Rick Porcello, and others to entice Miami.
  • One NL executive says that he is envious of the position that Robinson Cano finds himself in.  “He’s going to have the Yankees and the Dodgers offering him a record amount of money,” said the exec.  GM Brian Cashman says he has already offered a “significant” contract, but there's no reason for the Scott Boras client to take the deal when considering how much the Dodgers may be willing to bid.
  • Royals outfielder Jeff Francoeur had the worst WAR among everyday players last season, but at age 29, he feels that he is just entering his prime.  It appears that the Royals would be willing to move him and his strong arm in the outfield could attract interest.

Quick Hits: Indians, Red Sox, Santana, Cubs

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The Indians have a new-look offense and Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer examines it in detail following a busy offseason for GM Chris Antonetti. After signing free agents Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds and Michael Bourn, the Indians have more speed and power than they did in 2012. "I don't think we'll be entirely reliant on any one way to score runs," Antonetti said. Here are some more links from around MLB…

  • The Red Sox are looking good after completing last summer's blockbuster trade with the Dodgers, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe writes (on Twitter). Not only did the Red Sox send the cumbersome contracts of Carl Crawford and others to Los Angeles, they obtained promising right-handers Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster in the deal.
  • Questions surround Johan Santana and Frank Francisco, the Mets' two highest-paid pitchers, Ken Belson of the New York Times writes. Santana, who will earn $25.5MM this year, didn't arrive to Spring Training in top form, and Francisco, who will earn $6.5MM, could also open the season on the disabled list.
  • Carlos Villanueva told reporters that he signed with the Cubs as a free agent because he likes the direction of the franchise (video link via the Chicago Tribune). Villanueva said he seeks information on people running teams, just as Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer do their homework on players.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Cano, De La Rosa, Red Sox

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Here’s a look at the American League East..

  • Ken Davidoff of the New York Post opines that the Yankees and Robinson Cano need to take a season-long break from their contract talks.  With Cano confessing that the negotiations are starting to get into his head, it would be in the best interest of both parties to table everything for a good seven or eight months.  At this point, however, there’s no indication that they’ll do that.
  • Fireballing right-hander Rubby De La Rosa, who came over in the blockbuster deal with the Dodgers, looks to be a gem for the Red Sox, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.  De La Rosa won’t be with the varsity squad to start the season, but the BoSox are high on him nonetheless.  “He’s got electric stuff,” Dustin Pedroia said. “We’re glad to have him. You can never have enough pitching, and it’s pretty exciting, the guys we got in that trade. They’ve got some great stuff. Getting young talent like that, especially pitching, those are prized pieces. This will be huge for our team.” 
  • Rob Bradford of WEEI.com wonders how good of a first baseman offseason acquisition Mike Napoli can become.  So far, Napoli is getting strong reviews from infield coach Brian Butterfield.

Quick Hits: Braves, Red Sox, Barton

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We can expect Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Clayton Kershaw to be among the game's best players in 2018, Dan Szymborski of ESPN Insider writes. Szymborski’s 30-player list includes many established MLB stars and some minor leaguers who have yet to make an impact at the highest level. Here are some more links for Thursday afternoon…

  • Scouts say the Braves are looking for a left-handed hitting bench player, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). The left-handed hitting Jordan Schafer and the switch-hitting Ramiro Pena are internal candidates to make the Braves as bench players.
  • Red Sox manager John Farrell said no third base additions are "being contemplated or imminent," Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports (on Twitter). Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reported this morning that there’s a belief free agent third baseman Scott Rolen would be interested in talking to the Red Sox.
  • Athletics first baseman Daric Barton didn't expect that Oakland would want him back this offseason, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Barton, who hit just .204/.338/.292 in 46 games last season, re-signed with the A's on a non-guaranteed $1.1MM deal.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AL East Notes: Chamberlain, Damon, Rolen

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MLBTR’s Offseason in Review series began today with a look at the Rays’ busy winter. Here are some notes from the rest of the AL East…

  • The Yankees are tired of the physical and verbal risks surrounding Joba Chamberlain in the view of Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The team expects to benefit from having Chamberlain in the bullpen this year, but won’t want to invest multiple years in him when he hits free agency next offseason.
  • Teams were once willing to overlook Johnny Damon’s below-average defense to obtain his bat, but Damon hit poorly in 2012. As Sherman notes, teams like the Yankees want offense, yet are passing on the 39-year-old because of doubts regarding his ability.
  • The Red Sox haven’t called on free agent third baseman Scott Rolen, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. However, there’s a belief that Rolen would be interested in talking to the Red Sox. It’s not something the Red Sox are expected to consider unless Will Middlebrooks’ wrist injury turns out to be more serious than initially anticipated.

East Notes: Blue Jays, Marlins, Mets, Napoli

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 Here are a few notes from the AL and NL East..

  • Justin Germano appeared to have a shot at a job in the Blue Jays rotation when the Jays signed him in November, but now he's nowhere near the rotation picture, MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm writes. After the acquisitions of Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey, the Jays don't have as much need for the journeyman, who struck out 52 batters and walked 21 while posting a 6.20 ERA in 69.2 innings with the Cubs and Red Sox last season. "Obviously nobody knew they were going to do what they did," Germano says. "It's not the most ideal situation for me but I'm happy to be here, and I hope I can be part of this team because they're going to do some good things this year."
  • Mets general manager Sandy Alderson, whose first big move upon taking the reigns in New York was to ship out star outfielder Carlos Beltran to San Francisco for pitching prospect Zack Wheeler, has been validated by the results, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.  While Wheeler has yet to make his regular-season debut with the Mets, the young righty's continued development and increasing "notoriety" has already led Alderson to feel what he described as a "kind of a confirmation."
  • Tim Dahlberg of the Associated Press wonders whether the Marlins' Jeffrey Loria is the worst owner in sports history.  Dahlberg cites the trade of Johnson, Buehrle and Jose Reyes to the Jays, and points to Buehrle and Reyes' backloaded contracts to suggest that trading them was part of the plan all along.
  • Mike Napoli has previously explained how surprised he was to learn that he had a potentially serious hip condition known as avascular necrosis.  As reported by ESPN's Gordon Edes, Napoli was not and is not experiencing any symptoms: "I really didn't know what was going on.  I don't feel anything. … I'm doing everything, and I feel great."  After his original three-year, $36MM deal with the Red Sox was undone when his physical revealed the condition, Napoli instead agreed to play for Boston on a one-year, $5MM deal with incentives that could bring the total value to $13MM.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Chamberlain, Drew

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There's no denying that David Ortiz has been the game’s top designated hitter over the course of the last decade. You arrive at the same conclusion whether you use home runs, OPS or wins above replacement; no one has been better than Ortiz. Yet the rest of the designated hitters in the AL East aren't nearly as imposing: Adam Lind, Luke Scott, Travis Hafner and Wilson Betemit. Here are the latest links from the division…

  • MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner told reporters, including Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, that he has his doubts about the Yankees’ plans of avoiding the MLB luxury tax by 2014 (Twitter link). "I imagine Mr. Steinbrenner is sincere when he says that, but like a lot of things, I’ll believe it when I see it," Weiner said, in reference to managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner.
  • Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues expects some team to give Joba Chamberlain the chance to start next offseason, when the right-hander hits free agency. Axisa suggests a two-year, $10MM deal such as the one Carlos Villanueva signed could be enough to land Chamberlain. Don’t expect the Yankees to sign him for that kind of money, though.
  • The Red Sox didn't sign free agents just to trade them midseason, Nick Cafardo writes in a mailbag at the Boston Globe. However, Cafardo could imagine the Red Sox trading Stephen Drew if Jose Iglesias blossoms into a passable offensive contributor.

Transaction Retrospection: The Bailey-Reddick Trade

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MLBTR is launching a new series entitled "Transaction Retrospection" in which we'll take a look back on trades that have taken place to see how the players involved — including low-level minor leaguers — have fared in new settings and how the involved teams have been impacted. Remember that you can always look back at the players involved in transactions and check in on them yourself using MLBTR's Transaction Tracker.

Oftentimes, as spectators of the game, we focus on the immediate impact of trades rather than the long-term impact that some major transactions have on the teams involved. For example, while some undoubtedly remember all of the players involved in last year's Andrew Bailey–Josh Reddick trade between the Red Sox and Athletics, the majority of fans likely can't name all five players. The immediate impact was apparent in Reddick's success and Bailey's injuries, but there's more to this trade than just those two names.JoshReddick

The Athletics traded Bailey and Ryan Sweeney to Boston in exchange for Reddick, Miles Head and Raul Alcantara. Reddick's breakout and Bailey's breakdown are well-known, but let's look at each player's individual progress to date:

The Major League Side

  • Andrew Bailey: Bailey was supposed to take over as Boston's closer, but he would end up requiring thumb surgery in Spring Training and spend more than four months on the disabled list. Upon returning, he pitched to a disastrous 7.04 ERA in just 15 1/3 innings, walking eight and striking out 14 along the way. Bailey remains under team control through the 2014 season, so he'll have plenty of time to redeem himself and make this trade look better for Boston. However, he's been replaced as the closer following the offseason acquisition of Joel Hanrahan.
  • Ryan Sweeney: Sweeney went homerless in 219 plate appearances, batting .260/.303/.373 along the way. He played his typically strong brand of defense in Boston, posting an 11.6 UZR/150 and saving five runs over his 467 1/3 innings, per The Fielding Bible. Sweeney was non-tendered by the Red Sox this offseason but re-signed with the team on a minor league contract late last month.
  • Josh Reddick: Reddick exploded over the season's first half, batting a whopping .268/.348/.532 with 20 homers. While he slumped horribly in the second half, Reddick still finished with a .242/.305/.463 batting line with 32 homers. He was worth +22 runs per The Fielding Bible and posted an equally stellar 20.4 UZR/150. FanGraphs pegged Reddick's value at 4.8 wins above replacement. Reddick won't be arbitration eligible until after this coming season and is under team control through 2016.

The Prospect Side

  • Miles Head: Head ranks as the A's No. 7 prospect according to Baseball America and No. 9 according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. The 21-year-old primarily played third base in the Oakland organization, but also has experience at first base. He hit a ludicrous .382/.433/.715 with 18 homers in 67 games for High-A Stockton before being promoted to Double-A Midland. He held his own as a 21-year-old at Double-A, batting .272/.338/.404 but whiffed in 32.1 percent of his plate appearances. BA praises his quick, compact swing and "outstanding" bat control, which create enough power to profile as a corner infielder. Head's lack of range and athleticism leave his future at third base in doubt, according to BA.
  • Raul Alcantara: Alcantara ranks as the team's No. 26 prospect according to BA and No. 11 prospect according to MLB.com. After a dominant 2011 in Boston's organization, Alcantara struggled with Oakland's Class-A affiliate in Burlington in 2012. He pitched to a 5.08 ERA, 5.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 102 2/3 innings of work. BA has his fastball at 90-95 mph, and they also praise his change-up's depth and armside run. Both Mayo and BA agree that Alcantara's breaking pitches need work but praise his delivery and command. Alcantara turned 20 in December, so it would seem there's plenty of time to hone his secondary pitches and develop a bit more movement on his fastball.

The trade also had an impact on other players already in the organizations. Bailey's injury forced Alfredo Aceves into the closer's role in Boston for the first time, which had unspectacular results. The acquisition of Bailey was supposed to give the Red Sox enough depth to shift Daniel Bard into the starting rotation. Bard struggled, however, and when he returned to the bullpen after a Triple-A stint, he allowed 14 runs in six innings of relief pitching.

Reddick's acquisition, meanwhile, replaced the power production of the departing Josh Willingham — who signed as a free agent with the Twins — and vastly improved Oakland's outfield defense in the process. Willingham's departure, the Bailey trade and the Gio Gonzalez trade allowed the A's to invest four years and $36MM in Cuban hotshot Yoenis Cespedes.

The trade looks bleak for the Red Sox right now, but one of the beauties of transactions like this is the seemingly endless web they spin. For example, a strong season from Bailey could lead to another trade, causing the cycle to start all over again.

Baseball America's 2013 Prospect Handbook was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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