Red Sox Acquire Tyler Thornburg
10:00am: The teams have announced the trade. The Brewers will also receive a player to be named later or cash from the Red Sox.
8:20am: Tuesday morning at the Winter Meetings kicked off with some action, as the Red Sox reportedly agreed to a trade that will net them right-handed setup man Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers in exchange for third baseman Travis Shaw, minor league shortstop Mauricio Dubon and minor league right-hander Josh Pennington.
[Related: Milwaukee Brewers Depth Chart and Boston Red Sox Depth Chart]
Thornburg, 28, gives the Red Sox not only an imposing late-inning force but one that is under club control for the next three seasons, as he won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2019 season. The former starter had a breakout season in the Milwaukee bullpen last year, pitching to a 2.15 ERA with 12.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 32.4 percent ground-ball rate in 67 innings. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $2.2MM salary for Thornburg in his first trip through the arbitration process.
Late-inning relief help has been a priority for the Red Sox, who saw Koji Uehara, Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa all hit free agency at season’s end and also went without 2015 trade acquistion Carson Smith in 2016 due to Tommy John surgery. Thornburg will give manager John Farrell an intriguing setup option to closer Craig Kimbrel. Thornburg figures to slot in alongside converted starter Joe Kelly and Matt Barnes as right-handed options for the time being, though there’s certainly room for Boston president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski to add another relief arm to the mix.
The Brewers have now traded their three top relief arms in the past five months, sending Jeremy Jeffress to the Rangers, Will Smith to the Giants and Thornburg to Boston. As it stands, right-hander Corey Knebel could be in line to see save opportunities in Milwaukee, though the team could host an open competition there. Alternatively, Milwaukee could lure a second- or third-tier arm to their rebuilding club on an affordable deal with the promise of offering an opportunity to close out games. In addition to providing the Brewers with some needed veteran stability in the ‘pen, that tactic could also yield yet another midseason trade chip if he ultimately performs well in a high-leverage role.
The package that the Red Sox are giving up will be headlined by Shaw, who should slot in as the primary third baseman for his new organization. Shaw struggles against left-handed pitching and may well require a platoon partner, but he’s a controllable addition for Milwaukee GM David Stearns. Shaw hit .257/.325/.437 against right-handed pitching last year and showed potential 20-homer pop by hitting 16 homers in 530 plate appearances. He hit just .187/.235/.364 in 115 PAs against lefties, but he stands out as a solid if not well-above-average defender at the hot corner, depending on one’s preferred metric (+1.1 UZR, +10 DRS).
Most important, when it comes to Shaw, is that he’s controllable for another five years and won’t even be eligible for arbitration until after the 2018 season, making him an eminently affordable long-term piece. His inclusion in the deal opens a number of doors for both teams. In Milwaukee, it seems as though his acquisition definitively pushes Jonathan Villar off third base and over to second base, as has been suggested, thereby making Scooter Gennett either a bench piece or trade fodder himself. The Red Sox, meanwhile, could use Brock Holt and/or Pablo Sandoval at third base until Yoan Moncada proves ready to inherit the position on an everyday basis. Boston could also realistically look to pursue a different upgrade at third base, either via free agency or trade, as they look to field the best Opening Day roster possible in a season where they once again plan to push for a deep postseason run.
Dubon, 22, was a 26th-round pick by Boston back in 2013 but has risen to the point where he’s regarded as one of the organization’s top overall prospects. Baseball America rated him seventh (subscription required and recommended) among Boston farmhands earlier this offseason, writing that he doesn’t have one plus tool but has very good bat-to-ball skills and enough defensive ability to play an average or better shortstop. He’s also plenty versatile, having spent time at second base and in center field, making him a potential utility option in the Majors at the very least. He could open 2017 in either Double-A or Triple-A, depending on how aggressive the Brewers want to be with him. Dubon split the 2016 season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, where he batted a combined .323/.379/.461 with six homers and 30 steals.
The 21-year-old Pennington was Boston’s 29th-round pick in 2014. While he didn’t crack the top 10 recently penned by BA, he did rank 22nd on MLB.com’s midseason list of Boston’s top 30 prospects. Per their report (via Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis), Pennington boasts a 70-grade fastball (on the 20-80 scale) but doesn’t get great movement on the pitch or command it especially well. They also note that he has the makings of an above-average curveball as well as a work-in-progress changeup. He’s a starter for now but could move to a short-relief role if that doesn’t pan out, and one can envision his velocity ticking upward further if that plays out. Pennington spent 2016, his age-20 season, with Boston’s short-season Class-A affiliate, pitching to a 2.86 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings.
Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald first reported that the two teams had agreed to a trade that would send relief help to Boston and Dubon to Milwaukee (Twitter links). Baseball America’s Josh Norris tweeted that Pennington was in the deal, and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported (on Twitter) that Shaw was expected to be included. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal first tweeted that Thornburg was going to Boston.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East News & Rumors: EE, BoSox, Yanks, Jays, Bruce, Marlins
Free agent designated hitter/first baseman Edwin Encarnacion has three preferred landing spots – the Blue Jays, Red Sox and an unidentified team – a major league source told Rob Bradford of WEEI. The mystery club isn’t the Yankees, per Bradford, and they’re likely out of the running for Encarnacion (if they were ever in it) after adding Matt Holliday. The Blue Jays could be out, too, as they’ve reached deals with two first base/DH types in Kendrys Morales and Steve Pearce this offseason. The fact that Toronto moved on to other options so quickly after Encarnacion rejected its four-year, $80MM offer came as a surprise to the longtime Jay, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
More from the majors’ two East divisions:
- Despite reported interest in Holliday and now-Astro Carlos Beltran, Boston didn’t make offers to either, Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. “I figured we would wait to see what takes place later on, who’s out there. Our priority is to try to get a guy that can pitch the eighth inning for us,” said Dombrowski, who’s working with a limited amount of spending room because of a desire to stay under the $195MM luxury-tax threshold. “There’s a little bit more of a drive to [stay under]. But I can’t tell you where we we’re going to end up,” he stated. “There are penalties attached that I would rather not be in a position that we have to incur.” That would seem to rule out any possibility of Encarnacion to Boston, which already looked unlikely entering Monday. As for the bullpen, Dombrowski is unsure whether he’ll acquire a setup man via trade or free agency, but he hasn’t ruled out re-signing either Brad Ziegler or Koji Uehara.
- The Yankees are one of “several” teams engaging in “ongoing” dialogue with free agent infielder Luis Valbuena, his agent, Steve Schneider, told Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Bombers have so far balked at the demands of Valbuena, who is seeking a multiyear deal and wants an everyday role. New York won’t be able to offer a daily place in its lineup to Valbuena unless it deals third baseman Chase Headley, but the club hasn’t had any luck doing that. Valbuena, 31, spent the previous two years in Houston and is coming off his third straight strong offensive campaign, though his season ended in August because of hamstring surgery.
- The Blue Jays continue to have interest in acquiring outfielder Jay Bruce from the Mets, but they’re “offering little,” relays FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Toronto nearly acquired Bruce from Cincinnati last offseason, but the deal fell apart and he went on to hit .250/.309/.506 with 33 home runs in 589 plate appearances with the Reds and Mets. New York is now likely to move Bruce, who will make $13MM next season in the final year of his contract.
- The Marlins are “looking outside the organization” for a backup catcher to replace now-Diamondback Jeff Mathis, team president Michael Hill said Monday (Twitter link via Spencer). A.J. Ellis came up as a possibility Monday.
Chris Sale Rumors: Monday
Chris Sale‘s name figures to dominate headlines in the coming days as baseball’s Winter Meetings pick up steam. We’ll track all of today’s updates on his market in this post…
- The White Sox continue to put a high price on Sale’s services, and teams in the hunt for the lefty tell ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (Twitter link) that they don’t expect a deal to be completed at the Winter Meetings.
- Some in the White Sox organization feel Sale will eventually break down with injuries, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (subscription required), which could be part of the reason why rival executives and evaluators feel the Sox are more ardently pursuing a deal now than they were at the July trade deadline. Questions about Sale’s mechanics have plagued the lefty even since before he was drafted, though he has been generally healthy throughout his big league career.
Earlier updates
- The Nationals are stepping up their efforts to acquire Sale from the White Sox, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. The Nats and White Sox are meeting this afternoon to discuss Sale according to Heyman, who also notes that the Red Sox and other teams are also still in the mix for Sale. Washington reportedly believes it has the prospects to add both Sale and Andrew McCutchen in a trade, though doing so would obviously come with a lofty asking price that would require GM Mike Rizzo to part with a significant portion of his farm system (and likely some MLB-ready talent as well). Trea Turner is reportedly off limits in trade talks, though the Nats have plenty of other young talent to entice other clubs.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted this morning that rival execs get the sense that the Nationals and Astros are the most aggressive teams on the Sale market, and the Braves are in the picture as well. As is the case with the Nats and Turner, the Astros (Alex Bregman) and Braves (Dansby Swanson) each have a young core player whom they effectively deem to be untouchable in trade talks, even for someone of Sale’s caliber.
Bullpen Rumors: Yankees, Brach, Dunn, Davis, Howell, Red Sox, Ziegler
Virtually every team in baseball is looking for bullpen help, and here’s the latest in relief pitching buzz…
- The Yankees are pursuing Aroldis Chapman and will “compete to a certain extent” for his services, GM Brian Cashman told media, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter links). The club is also talking to Kenley Jansen and looking at trade opportunities, so the Yankees are clearly flexible in their search for back-end relief help if Chapman’s bidding gets too high.
- The Mets are interested in swinging a deal for Orioles right-hander Brad Brach, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. The Mets have been rumored to be seeking right-handed help in the ‘pen but aren’t pursuing top-tier free agents. Brach would represent an affordable setup option, but with two years of club control and a 2.39 ERA over his past 158 1/3 innings, Brach should come with a high asking price. The Orioles have been linked to Mets outfielders Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson (they’re said to prefer the latter), but neither of those outfielders would be enough to get the O’s to part with Brach.
- The Mets haven’t ruled out Mike Dunn as a possible signing, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports via Twitter, but the club is “not so high” on the veteran left-hander.
- The Cubs are one of the more serious early suitors for Royals closer Wade Davis, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).
- The Giants are one of the teams who have asked about veteran lefty J.P. Howell, Olney tweets. Howell is reportedly only looking for a one-year contract. San Francisco has an open LOOGY role with Javier Lopez hitting the open market. Howell posted a mediocre 4.09 ERA last year, and though his peripherals were in line with his prior years’ work, Howell was uncharacteristically vulnerable to lefty hitters (.302/.343/.417) in 2016.
- Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters (including ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber) that the Sox “haven’t closed any doors” on re-signing Koji Uehara or Brad Ziegler. Both pitchers fit Boston’s desire for a setup man with closing experience.
- The Blue Jays are one of a number of organizations that have had contact with Ziegler, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets. Toronto is presumably looking to add to to its setup corps in front of closer Roberto Osuna.
- Ziegler has also drawn some attention from the Nationals, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. The Nats are also considering fellow free agent Neftali Feliz as they look to bolster their bullpen. Of course, D.C.’s top priority in the relief ranks is surely in the ninth inning, and it is hard to imagine either of those players being trusted with the closing role.
Red Sox Exercise Club Option On John Farrell For 2018
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.
Latest On Chris Sale’s Trade Market
5:45pm: Rangers GM Jon Daniels told reporters (including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram) that his team isn’t looking at the trades like the blockbuster that brought Cole Hamels to Texas in 2015, which would seem to confirm that the Rangers indeed aren’t in on Sale right now.
SUNDAY, 1:40pm: Mark Bowman of MLB.com joins Heyman in reporting that the Braves aren’t willing to give up Swanson, whom the White Sox covet. Discussions between the two teams aren’t leading anywhere as a result (Twitter link). While it won’t surrender Swanson, Atlanta would consider parting with Albies, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter).
10:51am: The Braves have deemed Swanson untouchable in trade talks, while the Nationals have likely done the same with shortstop/center fielder Trea Turner, reports Heyman.
SATURDAY: The Braves have already added three starting pitchers in Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey and Jaime Garcia early this offseason, and they’re now trying to swing a trade with the White Sox for ace Chris Sale, according to Fanrag’s Jon Heyman. However, there’s competition in the form of the Astros, Nationals, Red Sox, Rangers and Dodgers, writes Heyman, who notes that Los Angeles is lagging behind because it’s hesitant to deal any of its top prospects.
The Dodgers are more focused on bolstering their rotation through free agency than trades, tweets FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, which aligns with a report from earlier Saturday that they have a deal in place to re-sign left-hander Rich Hill. Contrary to Heyman, Rosenthal relays that the Astros and Rangers are out on Sale at the White Sox’s current asking price. And while the Red Sox are involved, they’re also reluctant to meet Chicago’s demands (Twitter link).
After agreeing to sign outfielder/designated hitter Carlos Beltran on Saturday, Astros owner Jim Crane told Mark Berman of FOX 26 that the team will go into the winter meetings seeking pitching, but it’s unlikely to make any “big moves” (Twitter link). That would seem to rule out a Sale acquisition for Houston.
Based on reports from Heyman and Rosenthal, both the Braves and National League East rival Nats – who are continuing their discussions with the Pirates regarding center fielder Andrew McCutchen, per Rosenthal – are among the front-runners for Sale.
It’s unlikely the Braves would include prized young shortstop Dansby Swanson in a trade, Heyman suggests, but the belief is that they have the pieces to make a deal happen. Atlanta has major league trade chips in center fielder Ender Inciarte and right-hander Mike Foltynewicz, not to mention a well-regarded prospect pool that features the likes of middle infielder Ozzie Albies, southpaws Sean Newcomb and Kolby Allard, and righties Mike Soroka and Touki Toussaint. Baseball America included all five of those players in its Midseason Top 100 prospects list.
Red Sox Interested In Pedro Alvarez
In the wake of David Ortiz‘s retirement, the Red Sox have cast a wide net in their search for a designated hitter and now have interest in free agent DH/corner infielder Pedro Alvarez, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman.
Boston is familiar with Alvarez, who spent the 2016 season with the AL East rival Orioles. The powerful Alvarez hit .249/.322/.504 with 22 home runs in 376 plate appearances with Baltimore, and recorded the majors’ 20th-highest ISO (.255) among those with at least 350 PAs.
Before joining the Orioles on a $5.75MM deal last winter, Alvarez spent the first six years of his career in Pittsburgh, but he only became a Pirate after electing against signing with the Red Sox in 2005. Back then, Boston used a 14th-round draft pick on Alvarez, who instead chose to play college baseball at Vanderbilt. That proved to be a wise move, as Alvarez ended up going second overall in the 2008 draft on the heels of a stellar college career.
As a member of the Pirates, Alvarez batted .236/.309/.441 in 2,784 trips to the plate in parts of six seasons and finished with at least 25 homers in three different campaigns. The lefty-swinging Alvarez had serious trouble with southpaw pitchers in Pittsburgh, though, which was also the case last season. Since he cracked the majors in 2010, lefties have held the 29-year-old Alvarez to a .205/.271/.334 line in 605 PAs. Notably, in-house Red Sox DH candidate Pablo Sandoval has also fared poorly against lefties during his career. However, Boston does have southpaw-mashing outfielder Chris Young on hand as a potential platoon partner for either.
Aside from Alvarez, other available DH types who have drawn Boston’s interest this offseason include Edwin Encarnacion, Matt Holliday and Mike Napoli. The Red Sox are likely out of the Encarnacion sweepstakes because of a reluctance to spend past the $195MM luxury-tax threshold, though.
Trade/FA Notes: Cards, Hudson, Bucs, Red Sox, Mets, Ross
Opposing teams bring up right-handers Carlos Martinez and Alex Reyes more than any other Cardinals in trade talks, general manager John Mozeliak told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Unsurprisingly, though, the Redbirds are “extremely unlikely” to deal either, said Mozeliak. The Cardinals were interested in extending Martinez as of October. For now, Martinez is arbitration eligible for the first time, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $5.3MM award. The 22-year-old Reyes, on the other hand, won’t hit arbitration until after the 2019 season. Mozeliak is focusing on helping Martinez, Reyes and the rest of the Cardinals’ pitchers by improving the team’s defense this offseason, which he realizes “took a step backwards” in 2016. “We put a lot of stress on our pitchers this past year. Our whole staff is defined by ground balls. It’s a pretty simple leap to say that if we play better defense, we’re going to win more games,” he commented.
More rumblings:
- Sixteen teams have shown interest in free agent reliever Daniel Hudson, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag. One of those clubs is the Diamondbacks, with whom the right-hander pitched from 2010-16. With a 5.22 ERA in 60 1/3 innings, the two-time Tommy John surgery recipient struggled to prevent runs last season, but he did show impressive velocity and post respectable strikeout (8.65) and walk (3.28) rates per nine.
- The Pirates are willing to pay some of left-handed reliever Antonio Bastardo‘s $6.5MM salary for 2017 in order to trade him, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Bastardo’s coming off a disappointing year spent with the Mets and Bucs, as he logged a 4.52 ERA in 67 2/3 innings and allowed a .253/.321/.495 line to lefty hitters. He’s currently one of four southpaws in Pittsburgh’s bullpen, joining Tony Watson, Felipe Rivero and Wade LeBlanc.
- In the event the Red Sox prefer a left-handed hitter to take over their vacant designated hitter job, they could attempt to acquire Jay Bruce or Curtis Granderson from the Mets, writes Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. The Mets look likely to trade at least one of the two outfielders this offseason, perhaps as early as the winter meetings.
- Free agent righty Tyson Ross will take his time signing with a team, tweets Peter Gammons, who notes that the 29-year-old should recover from October surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome between February and April. The Padres non-tendered Ross on Friday after he missed nearly all of last season with shoulder troubles.
Cafardo’s Latest: Holliday, Turner, Astros, Royals, Tigers
The Red Sox have reached out to agent Scott Boras regarding free agent Matt Holliday, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The soon-to-be 37-year-old has played the outfield almost exclusively in his career as a member of the Rockies, Athletics and Cardinals, but it’s likely he’d serve as a designated hitter for the David Ortiz-less Red Sox. Holliday would be a reasonably priced option for a Boston team that’s reluctant to spend past the $195MM luxury-tax threshold, though his numbers fell off last year in St. Louis. The career .303/.382/.515 hitter dealt with injuries and batted a so-so .246/.322/.461 in 426 plate appearances. He did swat at least 20 home runs for the 10th time, however.
More from Cafardo:
- Third baseman Justin Turner, arguably the best player left on the market, is likely to re-sign with the Dodgers, according to Cafardo. Aside from the Cardinals showing some degree of interest in Turner, there hasn’t been much chatter regarding the 32-year-old to this point. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicts Turner will return to the Dodgers on a five-year, $85MM deal after a season in which he slashed .275/.339/.493, totaled 5.6 fWAR, and set career highs in plate appearances (622) and home runs (27).
- The Astros are willing to listen to offers for catcher/designated hitter Evan Gattis and right-hander Collin McHugh, per Cafardo. Gattis, who has two years of team control left and will make $5.2MM in 2017, has perhaps become movable with the Astros having added catcher Brian McCann and DH/outfielder Carlos Beltran this offseason. The Astros don’t seem as well off in their rotation, even after signing Charlie Morton, and the 29-year-old McHugh led the team in innings pitched (184 1/3) this past season and posted decent numbers (4.34 ERA, 8.63 K/9, 2.63 BB/9). MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $4.6MM salary in 2017 for McHugh, who will make his first of three trips through arbitration.
- The Royals could trade both star closer Wade Davis and outfielder Jarrod Dyson within the next week, writes Cafardo. From a financial standpoint, Davis would certainly represent a cheaper option than top-tier free agent closers Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon, as he’s due a reasonable $10MM next season – the final year of his contract. Teams have expressed interest in Davis since the summer, while the speedy, defensively adept Dyson is also on clubs’ radars. Like Davis, Dyson is set to become a free agent after next season. Swartz projects a $2.5MM salary for him in 2017.
- Roughly 10 teams have contacted free agent right-hander Jason Hammel‘s representative, Alan Nero, according to Cafardo. Although the 34-year-old Hammel is fresh off three straight solid seasons, the Cubs declined his 2017 option last month. That came at an opportune time for Hammel, who should be in line for a multiyear deal as one of the top starters in a weak free agent class.
- Given that they’re aiming to slash payroll and get younger, the Tigers are willing to deal closer Francisco Rodriguez, relays Cafardo. K-Rod is due $6MM next year, his age-35 season, after converting 44 of 49 save chances and logging a 3.24 ERA, 8.02 K/9, 3.24 BB/9 and career-high 54.7 percent ground-ball rate in 58 1/3 innings in 2016.
Rumors: Dodgers, BoSox, Astros, O’s, Rockies, Nats
Twins general manager Thad Levine revealed earlier this week that the team would have to be “really inspired” to trade second baseman Brian Dozier. It’s now possible the Dodgers will do enough to wow Minnesota into dealing Dozier, as Los Angeles is aggressively pursuing the slugger and has “piqued” the Twins’ interest, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). The second base-needy Dodgers have been after Dozier throughout the offseason.
More rumblings with the winter meetings set to commence:
- Backing up a recent report from Rob Bradford of WEEI, the Red Sox are unlikely to sign free agent first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Moreover, the Sox probably won’t make any major free agent splashes in general, adds Drellich, thanks in part to their reluctance to spend beyond the $195MM luxury-tax threshold accompanying the new collective bargaining agreement. Boston has exceeded the luxury-tax limit in each of the previous two seasons and will need to pay a 40 to 50 percent penalty if it surpasses the mark for a third straight year.
- In addition to the previously reported Chris Sale, the Astros have interest in Rays ace Chris Archer, per Fanrag’s Jon Heyman. There’s skepticism around the game that the Rays would trade Archer, though. The right-hander is under team control through 2021 at eminently affordable rates.
- A report earlier this week indicated that the Orioles had interest in free agent left-hander Rich Hill, but they haven’t pursued the 36-year-old, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Hill, who was with the O’s in 2009, is on the verge of re-signing with the Dodgers.
- Free agent closer Mark Melancon reportedly has four-year offers worth $60MM-plus in hand from San Francisco, Washington and perhaps another team. In light of that, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets that the Rockies probably aren’t the mystery club; however, as a Colorado native, Melancon would be open to taking a bit less to join the Rockies, Saunders hears. General manager Jeff Bridich has reached out to Melancon’s representatives this offseason, but it’s nonetheless difficult to imagine the Rockies putting together a rich enough offer to land the 31-year-old.
- While the Nationals may have shored up the catcher position in trading for Derek Norris and avoiding arbitration with Jose Lobaton earlier this week, they’re still interested in free agent backstop Matt Wieters, relays Kubatko. If the Nats were to sign Wieters, the “sense” across the industry is that they’d look to flip Norris elsewhere.