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Trevor Story Reportedly Choosing Among Four Teams

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TODAY: Story has “multiple new suitors” as of this morning, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network  (via Twitter). The Twins’ signing of Carlos Correa last night could certainly prompt some new conversations now that Story is the last of the big names on the market. Along with the Giants and Red Sox, Heyman names the Rangers, Astros, and Yankees as teams who have potentially opened up conversations with Story.

Heyman adds a few other notes, saying that Story still prefers to play shortstop, though he’s said to be open to a position change. He is also open to a short-term deal in the vein of the one signed by Correa, tweets Heyman.

5:37pm: Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic tweets that the Red Sox are indeed “firmly” involved in the running for Story.

1:05pm: Free-agent shortstop Trevor Story is mulling opportunities with four teams and expects to make a decision relatively soon, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Both the Giants and Red Sox are in the mix for Story, per Heyman, who notes that the longtime Rockies shortstop is now open to a “short-term” position change, if necessary. That’s a departure from earlier in the winter, when his strong preference was to remain at shortstop. Heyman adds that Story is prioritizing signing with a win-now team.

It’s not clear which other clubs remain in the market, though the Twins and Mariners are among the clubs that have expressed interest throughout the offseason. Minnesota’s interest came to light earlier in the week, after the Twins succeeded in unloading the remainder of Josh Donaldson’s contract in a trade with the Yankees (another rumored Story suitor earlier this winter). The Twins could offer a clear everyday role at shortstop, but if Story is prioritizing a winning club, it’s a bit of a tougher sell for a 73-win Twins club — even if they’ve acquired Sonny Gray and made some other moves signaling a desire to contend in 2022.

The Mariners, meanwhile, hoped to sign Story to play second base earlier in the winter. With Story then apparently set on sticking at shortstop, the M’s acquired Eugenio Suarez alongside Jesse Winker in a deal with the Reds. Suarez and fellow offseason trade acquisition Adam Frazier appear set to man third base and second base, respectively, though ever-active Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto could always look for some further dealings to create more opportunity if he indeed covets Story.

It should be noted that while the words “short-term” don’t necessarily mean that Story is open to a short-term deal just yet. For instance, the general expectation is that Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts will opt out of the final three years of his contract following the 2022 season. Story could technically sign a long-term deal in Boston, play second base for one season, and then slide over as the everyday shortstop if an when Bogaerts departs. That’s an entirely speculative scenario, to be clear, but one that is fairly easy to envision.

As for the Giants, they’ve generally shown an aversion to long-term, nine-figure contracts. Any deal with Story, then, would either require him to take a short-term pact of require an exception to the Farhan Zaidi-led front office’s philosophy on long-term commitments. Were Story willing to change positions, he could slide in at second base in San Francisco and push Tommy La Stella into a versatile utility role. Depending on Evan Longoria’s health, Story could also conceivably spend some time at the hot corner, teaming with Brandon Crawford to form a dynamic left-side defense.

Red Sox, Derek Holland Agree To Minor League Deal

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Veteran lefty Derek Holland is headed to the Red Sox, as Holland himself strongly hinted this afternoon on Twitter. MLBTR has confirmed that Holland will join the Red Sox on a minor league deal, although the team has yet to officially announce the move.

Holland has pitched in each of the past 13 MLB seasons, spending time with the Rangers, White Sox, Giants, Cubs, Pirates and Tigers. He is probably best known for his time in Texas from 2009 to 2016, appearing in 179 games, including 158 starts. He threw 985 innings with a 4.35 ERA, 18.9% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate.

A one-year, $6MM deal with the White Sox in 2017 didn’t go as planned, with Holland’s ERA shooting up to 6.20 over 135 innings. His 16.6% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate also didn’t inspire much confidence. However, he had a terrific bounceback in 2018 after signing a minor league deal with the Giants. He eventually made 30 starts and came out of the ’pen six times, throwing 171 1/3 innings with a 3.57 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate.

That was enough for the Giants to bring him back for 2019 with a one-year deal that came with a $7MM guarantee. Holland’s pendulum swung back the other way, though, as his ERA went back up to 6.08. Despite still getting strikeouts at a healthy rate of 21.8%, his walk rate went back up to 12% on the year.

The past two years have seen Holland sign minor league deals with rebuilding clubs, then soaking up innings throughout the year, primarily out of the bullpen. Between his 2020 season with the Pirates and 2021 season with the Tigers, he logged 90 1/3 total innings, with a 5.88 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate.

The Red Sox don’t have a strong need for southpaws in their bullpen, as they recently added Jake Diekman and Matt Strahm to a relief corps that already had Josh Taylor and Darwinzon Hernandez. However, the rotation has some uncertainty, as it was recently revealed that Chris Sale is going to be sidelined with a stress fracture in his rib. Nathan Eovaldi has been healthy the past couple of years, but has dealt with his share of injuries prior to that. Rich Hill threw 158 2/3 innings last year, the second-highest mark of his career, but has frequently been injured before and is now 42 years old. Michael Wacha hasn’t topped 130 innings since 2017. Holland, on the other hand, has only been on the MLB injured list three times in his career, and never for more than about a month, giving the Red Sox as a veteran safety net, should they need one over the course of the season.

Red Sox Sign Travis Shaw, Deivy Grullon To Minor League Deals

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The Red Sox are bringing corner infielder Travis Shaw back to the organization on a minor league contract, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter). The Meister Sports is already in camp with the Sox and will compete for a roster spot in Spring Training. The Sox have since announced the signing, adding that catcher Deivy Grullon has also been invited to camp on a minor league deal.

Shaw, 32 next month, struggled through a second stint with the Brewers last season before setting out on another reunion — this one with the Red Sox following a waiver claim. After scuffling through 202 plate appearances with Milwaukee, he turned the corner and slashed .238/.319/.524 down the stretch with Boston, albeit in a tiny sample of 48 plate appearances.

A ninth-round pick by the Red Sox in 2011, Shaw enjoyed a productive four-year run to begin his big league career, hitting a combined .255/.333/.475 with 92 home runs, 101 doubles, three triples and 20 steals through 1971 plate appearances in Boston and in Milwaukee. It’s been a precipitous downturn since that point, though, evidenced by a .194/.289/.344 output in his past 700 trips to the plate.

The Red Sox are a primarily right-handed team at the plate, so Shaw will give them a veteran lefty to compete for a spot on the bench. There’s no true backup at first base in the event of a Bobby Dalbec injury — barring a promotion of top prospect Triston Casas — and Shaw gives the Sox a potential lefty bat to plug into the mix if Dalbec or designated hitter J.D. Martinez needs a breather.

As for the 26-year-old Grullon, he’s appeared in five big league games — four with the 2019 Phillies and one with the Red Sox in 2020. He’s gone just 2-for-12 in that tiny sample but owns a .260/.333/.482 slash 616 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. He’s probably fourth or even fifth on the organization’s catching depth chart, as each of Christian Vazquez, Kevin Plawecki, Connor Wong and Ronaldo Hernandez are on the 40-man roster already.

Latest On Freddie Freeman’s Market

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It’s been apparent since the Braves acquired and extended first baseman Matt Olson that Freddie Freeman is likely headed elsewhere in free agency, but Freeman made that all but official this afternoon when he thanked Braves fans and bid them and the organization farewell on Instagram this afternoon.

“…Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” wrote Freeman. “It has been a blast to have you cheer for me and I hope I was able to bring smiles to a lot of your homes over the years. I gave everything I had day in and day out and I hope you guys saw that as well. Although our time has come to an end, I look forward to seeing and playing in front of you all again. When that time comes, I hope you remember all the wonderful memories we made together. I love you Braves Country! Champions Forever!”

It’s not clear whether Freeman’s message is a portent for an agreement with a new team or simply an acknowledgement that the first chapter of his storied career has drawn to a close. Several possible landing spots for the 2020 NL MVP have dried up in the past few days, as the Braves not only essentially replaced him with Olson, but the Yankees struck up a deal to bring Anthony Rizzo back to the Bronx.

Reports recently have suggested that Freeman remains of interest to the Dodgers, Red Sox, Rays and Padres, although each destination comes with its own reasons for some degree of skepticism. Freeman has reportedly sought a six-year deal that would carry him through his age-37 season, and the Dodgers tend to prefer higher annual salaries and shorter terms than that six-year target. To that end, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote this week that L.A. is “believed” to have offered a four-year deal to Freeman that includes a sizable annual value.

Looking to Freeman’s other reported suitors, the Padres have spent more than a year trying to move Eric Hosmer, who still has four years and $59MM remaining on his contract. As explored more in depth here at MLBTR yesterday, it’s difficult to see that deal coming together without several other pieces falling into place first.

The Red Sox have been comfortable exceeding the luxury tax in the past, but they opted not to do so and have at pair of interesting young first base/designated hitter types already in Bobby Dalbec and prospect Tristan Casas. It’s doubtful that either would stand in the way of Boston signing a player of Freeman’s caliber, but the luxury tax concerns present a more feasible roadblock. Still, SNY’s Andy Martino tweeted this morning that the Yankees believe their archrivals’ interest in Freeman is sincere.

As for the Rays, their interest is said to be real but also comes with the most obvious hurdles of the bunch. Tampa Bay’s payroll is perennially among the lowest in the sport, and while the long-term books are exceptionally clean (as noted when first examining their reported offer), a free agent of Freeman’s caliber heading to Tampa is entirely without precedent. It was a surprise several years ago to see the Rays reel in Charlie Morton on a $30MM guarantee that spanned two seasons; Freeman could command an annual salary in that range over a longer term. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweeted this morning that Tampa Bay has remained “aggressive” in its surprising pursuit of Freeman, but an actual deal between the two parties would still register as one of the largest free-agent surprises ever.

The lack of obvious suitors for a massive five- or six-year commitment and the recent decisions by the Braves and Yankees to move on has created a sense among some executives in the game that Freeman’s camp overplayed its hand, Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets. That’ll be determined by Freeman’s ultimate contract, of course, but his path to the massive contract that once appeared to be a given looks a bit less clear now than it did when the Yankees and Braves were still in the market for his services.

Red Sox Sign Dan Altavilla To Two-Year Minors Deal

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The Red Sox have signed right-hander Dan Altavilla to a two-year minor league contract, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  The length of the deal reflects Altavilla’s health status, as he underwent Tommy John surgery last June and will miss at least half of the 2022 season.

Between a season-opening calf injury and then his elbow problems, Altavilla only pitched 1 1/3 innings over two games with the Padres in 2021.  The righty has appeared in each of the last six MLB seasons, though in a somewhat limited capacity (116 total innings) that reflects his inconsistency.  Altavilla has a solid 26.1% strikeout rate over his career, but a 12.1% walk rate and 12.4% home run rate have limited his effectiveness out of the Seattle and San Diego bullpens.

With a fastball that averages 96.7 mph, Altavilla brings plenty of heat, and the Red Sox are betting that they can harness that potential once the right-hander is healthy.  Given the usual 12-15 month rehab period time for Tommy John patients, Altavilla could potentially return for a good portion of the coming season, if his recovery process goes smoothly.  The additional year on the minors contract gives both Altavilla and the Sox some extra security in giving him all the time he needs to get back into form.

Chris Sale Has Stress Fracture In Rib Cage, Won’t Be Ready For Opening Day

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Red Sox ace Chris Sale has a stress fracture in his right rib cage and will not be ready for Opening Day, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom announced to reporters today (Twitter links via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe). It will be “weeks, not days” before Sale is even cleared to pick up a ball and begin any form of throwing, Bloom adds.  Sale didn’t suggest a timeline other than stating that bones typically take six to eight weeks to heal.  Sale suffered the injury during the lockout during a live batting practice he was streaming on Instagram, but was prohibited from communicating it to the Red Sox until the new collective bargaining agreement was reached March 10.

Sale joined the Red Sox in a December 2016 trade and is in the third year of a five-year, $145MM extension.  He underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020, ultimately leading to a gap of almost exactly two years between MLB mound appearances.  In his nine starts in late 2021, Sale averaged 82 pitches per outing.  Sale’s work fell short of his Cy Young-caliber peak, which is to be expected at age 32 and after a long layoff, but he still managed a healthy 28.4 K% and 6.6 BB% in his 42 1/3 innings.  Two of Sale’s three postseason starts were particularly brief, but he was able to make a strong 87-pitch effort in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Astros.

The prospect of Sale missing potentially a couple months of the 2022 season is a blow to the Red Sox.  Still, the club did sign free agents Michael Wacha and Rich Hill before the lockout, and has already been stretching out Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock this spring.  Nathan Eovaldi and Nick Pivetta are also set for the team’s rotation.

Red Sox Notes: Free Agency, Bogaerts, Payroll

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The Red Sox have signed five free agent pitchers — Michael Wacha, James Paxton, Rich Hill, Matt Strahm and Jake Diekman — so far this winter. Their only meaningful change on the position player front, though, was arguably a downgrade in 2022. An hour before the lockout, Boston traded Hunter Renfroe to the Brewers in a deal that brought Jackie Bradley Jr. back to Fenway Park.

While the Sox have yet to pull off a meaningful upgrade to their position player mix, they’ve been at least loosely tied to a few of free agency’s top names. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network suggested this morning they could be in the mix for Freddie Freeman. They’re reportedly among the teams in the running for star NPB outfielder Seiya Suzuki. Before the lockout, reports tied them to each of Carlos Correa and Trevor Story.

There are myriad possibilities the Boston front office could pursue, a fact chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom acknowledged when speaking with reporters yesterday (via Jen McCaffrey of the Athletic). “We talked about this before the lockout … that we do still want to add position players to the group,” Bloom said. “The (Renfroe) trade we made on December 1 kind of flipped our lineup balance a little bit to where we have an opening for a right-handed bat. That said, in this period, especially with so much going on and so many conversations, we want to be nimble enough to take advantage of all opportunities.”

Bloom declined to specify an area of positional target, pointing to the flexibility Enrique Hernández affords the club with his ability to capably man both center field and second base. That’s been reinforced by the wide array of players they’ve reportedly inquired about, but their ties to the top two free agent shortstops are made more difficult by the presence of their All-Star in-house option there.

Speaking with reporters (including Christopher Smith of MassLive) this afternoon, Xander Bogaerts didn’t sound enamored with the possibility of changing positions to accommodate an external addition. “I’m a shortstop, man. That’s where I’ve played my whole career and obviously a position I take a lot of pride in,” the 29-year-old said. “I love being there.” Bogaerts said he and the team haven’t broached the possibility of a position change.

If Bogaerts remains steadfastly against moving off shortstop, that’d complicate any efforts by the Red Sox to make a legitimate push for Correa or Story. Correa is one of the game’s preeminent defenders at the position, coming off a Gold Glove winning campaign. Story is reportedly intent on signing with a team that’ll keep him at shortstop. It seems unlikely at this point that either will sign with a team that’s unwilling to make space for them at the infield’s most demanding position.

Unlike Correa or Story, Bogaerts doesn’t have the freedom to choose a team for 2022. Yet he will have the option of testing the open market next offseason, as he can opt out of the final three years and $60MM on his deal at the end of this season. Given how well he’s played in recent seasons, he’s certainly on a path towards triggering the opt-out, leaving Bloom and his staff to determine whether they want earmark some future funds away for a potential extension. (Star third baseman Rafael Devers is down to his final two years of arbitration control as well).

The Red Sox should have plenty of long-term flexibility, however. Jason Martinez of Roster Resource projects their luxury tax payroll for the 2022 season at $213MM, a fair bit shy of the $230MM base tax threshold. Looking ahead to 2023, a wide swath of post-2022 free agents and a potential Bogaerts opt-out could see that number plummet to just $60MM, leaving plenty of spots to be filled on the team’s active roster and a huge amount of funds with which to fill them. Bloom acknowledged as much, teasing that future financial flexibility “opens more options for us, maybe (more) than we’ve been working with the last couple years.”

Red Sox To Sign Jake Diekman

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March 15: Diekman’s deal with the Sox is a two-year, $8MM arrangement, according to Cotillo (Twitter thread). He’ll earn $3.5MM in both 2022 and 2023. The Sox hold a $4MM club option for the 2024 season, which comes with a $1MM buyout.

March 13: For the second time today, the Red Sox are adding a lefty to the bullpen. Boston and Jake Diekman are close to agreeing to terms, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter). The deal is “believed to be a multi-year deal” though the exact terms are not yet clear.

Diekman is one of the top bullpen arms available on the market. The now-35-year-old was lights out for the A’s during the pandemic-shortened 2020. He appeared in 21 games, posting a microscopic 0.42 ERA/2.72 FIP spanning 21 1/3 innings, numbers-driven at least in part by an uncharacteristically high 61.6 percent groundball rate. For comparison, he posted a 34.8 percent groundball rate last year and owns a 47.9 percent rate in that department for his career.

The 10-year veteran initially came to Oakland mid-season in 2019 in a deal with the Royals that netted KC a pair of minor leaguers. He continued to be effective for the A’s last season, though not quite at the surreal level of 2020. He tossed 60 2/3 innings over 67 outings with a 3.86 ERA/4.46 FIP while notching seven saves and 14 holds. He also blew seven saves.

With a 31.7 percent strikeout rate, he differentiates himself from the other lefties in Boston’s pen with his ability to miss bats. In so doing, Diekman becomes the top southpaw in a Boston pen that added Matt Strahm earlier today.

Beyond their new pair, the BoSox can call on Josh Taylor, Darwinzon Hernandez, and Austin Davis as potential southpaws out of the bullpen. Diekman is by far the most established of the bunch, however. He’s sure to team with Garrett Whitlock in the late game mix for manager Alex Cora.

Red Sox Reportedly Showing Interest In Freddie Freeman

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The Freddie Freeman bidding has a new entrant, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Red Sox have joined the fray. They’ll join a field that has already included the Yankees, Blue Jays, Dodgers and, somewhat surprisingly, the Rays. Tampa Bay reportedly made an offer to Freeman prior to the lockout, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported last night that the Rays remain interested. However, he suggests their interest is limited to a shorter-term deal — presumably at what would be a massive annual rate. That doesn’t appear too likely, of course, given the interest from larger-market clubs with deep pockets. As of yesterday afternoon, reports indicated that the Yankees were “pessimistic” about their chances of signing Freeman, while other clubs viewed the Blue Jays as a serious threat.

A Freeman signing would give the BoSox an elite heart-of-the-order grouping, as he’d join Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez in composing the team’s two-through-five hitters. Adding Freeman to the fold would likely mean supplanting 26-year-old Bobby Dalbec at first base, though even with his big finish to the 2021 season, Dalbec isn’t going to serve as a roadblock to a superstar of Freeman’s caliber. Dalbec struggled through a dismal first half before slashing .269/.344/.611 in his final 195 plate appearances, although he did so in spite of a 31.3% strikeout rate and still finished the year with an overall batting line of .240/.298/.494.

The larger question for the Red Sox is likely a matter of payroll — more specifically, the luxury tax. Last week’s newly ratified collective bargaining agreement bumped the tier-one threshold for penalization from $210MM to $230MM, but the Sox are already at about $209MM of luxury obligations (via Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez). Adding Freeman to the mix would send Boston soaring past that mark. The Sox have paid the tax in the past, but more recently ownership has been staunchly against doing so. Freeman is the type of player for whom many clubs might consider an exception, but it’s not yet clear whether Boston would feel that way or whether any Freeman interest is contingent on moving other salary.

If the Sox are indeed willing to pay the tax, it’d likely only be a one-year dip into those waters. Boston’s luxury obligations will plummet following the season, dropping from the current $209MM level all the way to $75MM. That doesn’t even include the possibility of Bogaerts opting out of his six-year, $120MM contract — which seems quite likely and would further shave another $20MM from that luxury ledger. The Red Sox have Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, Jackie Bradley Jr., Christian Vazquez, Enrique Hernandez, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Matt Strahm and Kevin Plawecki all coming off the books following the 2022 season.

Again, that doesn’t make it any kind of lock that they’ll be comfortable putting forth a multi-year deal of six years in the $30MM annual value range, which is generally believed to be where Freeman’s asking price currently lies. But there’s a clear on-paper fit and the long-term payroll flexibility to make it work, as MLBTR’s Anthony Franco noted when picking the Sox to sign Freeman back in November.

Wherever  Freeman lands, it’s become quite clear that he’s set to move on from the only organization he’s ever known. The Braves acquired Matt Olson in a trade with the Athletics yesterday — a move that president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos called the toughest transaction of his lengthy executive career while fighting back tears (video link via Bally Sports). Anthopoulos noted multiple times that he couldn’t “get into specifics” as to why the deal was so difficult to make, though the implication was clear.

Seiya Suzuki Weighing Interest From Several Teams

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6:41pm: Suzuki and his reps are expected to meet with Cubs brass tonight, reports Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic (Twitter link).

4:45pm: Suzuki himself shot down rumors of a decision having been made, via Instagram story. “There are several reports that I’ve made my decision, but none of that is true,” writes Suzuki.

2:28pm: Suzuki has not chosen a team yet, according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, who says six to seven teams remain under consideration.  Jon Heyman of MLB Network names the Padres, Dodgers, Red Sox, Giants, Mariners, and Cubs as some of the teams still involved.

TODAY, 1:43pm: “It appears Seiya Suzuki’s decision is not far away,” tweets Acee.

YESTERDAY, 11:53pm: The Padres are known to be making a push for Seiya Suzuki, and the outfielder worked out in front of Padres executives at Petco Park this weekend, The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reports (Twitter link).  Suzuki’s time in San Diego also included a visit with Padres righty Yu Darvish and Darvish’s family.

Now that the lockout is over, Suzuki is finally free to partake in normal free-agent recruitment tours, which are particularly key for players coming to Major League Baseball for the first time.  Lin notes that it isn’t known if Suzuki visited any other teams this weekend or what his other travel plans may entail, though given the number of teams interested in Suzuki, he could have quite a few stops to make before his posting period is up.  Suzuki now has 17 of his 30 posting days remaining, as the lockout interrupted this process and kept Suzuki from any contract with big league clubs.

Suzuki has seemingly become an increasingly important figure in the Padres’ roster-building efforts, as Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune said earlier today that obtaining Suzuki was part of a “Plan A” scenario for the team.  That outline included signing Suzuki and Nelson Cruz, and then trading one of Eric Hosmer or Wil Myers to open up payroll space, though one element of that plan has now been scuttled since Cruz signed with the Nationals.

With Cruz now off the board, it could only intensify the Padres’ pursuit of Suzuki.  Since Cruz is limited to DH duty, adding Suzuki would arguably be a better fit for San Diego anyway given the team’s needs in the outfield.  Suzuki could be easily slotted right into the Padres’ right field spot, as Myers (if he isn’t traded) could be moved across the grass to fill San Diego’s left field vacancy.

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