Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Red Sox Rumors

Red Sox, Andrew Benintendi Avoid Arbitration With Two-Year, $10MM Deal

By | at

The Boston Red Sox have agreed to a two-year, $10MM deal with outfielder Andrew Benintendi, avoiding arbitration, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). The deal is set to pay out $3.4MM this season and $6.6MM in 2021, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. He will count against the luxury tax at $5MM per season.

The news comes at a good time for the Red Sox, who are mired in negotiations to deal away fellow outfielder Mookie Betts. As for Benintendi, he was eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason, and he’ll have one more season of eligibility after this new extension expires prior to 2022. He is due to hit free agency after the 2022 season.

Prior to reaching the agreement, team and player had been set to face off in arbitration. The Red Sox offered $3.4MM. Benintendi requested $4.150MM. It’s certainly noteworthy that Benintendi ultimately agreed on the sum put forth by the team (with the second year addendum). Benintendi is represented by Excel Sports Management.

Benintendi, 25, wasted no time in making his ascent to the majors after the Red Sox made him a first round pick out of the University of Arkansas in the 2015 draft. He has been a steady contributor in left since making his debut as a 21-year-old at the tail end of 2016. Benintendi’s best year came in 2018 when he put together a stellar campaign at the dish worth 3.9 bWAR/4.4 fWAR, more than playing his part in helping the Red Sox to a now-under-review 2018 World Series title.

Outside of that 2018 season, Benintendi has been closer to average at the plate, sandwiching a 122 wRC+ season in 2018 between marks of 102 wRC+ and 100 wRC+ in 2017 and 2019, respectively. He’s a solid baserunner, and though anecdotal evidence might say otherwise, defensive metrics have not looked kindly on Benintendi’s overall body of work, especially in 2019 (-10 OAA, -3 DRS, 1.4 UZR). Still, at only 25-years-old, there’s plenty of upside remaining in Benintendi’s overall profile, and for the next two seasons, the Red Sox will have him under contract at reasonable rates.

Quick Hits: Joc, Graterol, Mets, Cohen

By | at

Outfielder Joc Pederson is currently in limbo, waiting to find out whether the Dodgers will actually trade him to the Angels. He’s still a member of the Dodgers for now, though, and they defeated him in arbitration Friday. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link) sheds more light on the process, writing that the Dodgers bolstered their case by arguing that Pederson’s merely a platoon player. They’re not necessarily wrong – the 27-year-old left-handed hitter has fared miserably versus southpaw pitchers since he made his major league debut in 2014. However, those on the MLBPA side feel it was problematic that the Dodgers were even in position to battle Pederson, per Rosenthal. There’s an argument that Pederson’s hearing should have been tabled because of the holdup in the Dodgers-Angels trade centering on him. Indeed, Rosenthal reports that the union and Pederson’s representatives at Excel Sports Management filed a motion for a delay in his arbitration hearing. Nevertheless, it ended up taking place on schedule, and the Dodgers – who could soon be his ex-team – came out on top.

  • The reason the Pederson trade hasn’t gone down yet is the delay in the Mookie Betts swap featuring the Red Sox, Dodgers and Twins. The Red Sox are reportedly wary of the health of Twins righty Brusdar Graterol, who’s one of at least two players they’ll get back in the deal. They seem worried he’s destined to be a reliever, not a starter. But Graterol’s agent, Scott Boras, insisted Friday that his client still has an opportunity to become a starter in the majors (via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe).  “I had this conversation with the Minnesota staff,” Boras said. “There’s a very clear probability that this player will return to be a starting pitcher.” While Graterol’s a past Tommy John surgery patient who missed a large chunk of time last year with a shoulder impingement, doctors have informed Boras that the 21-year-old will be fine going forward. “No doctor has told me that there is anything about his future going forward other than that it is very bright and he has no limitations,” Boras stated.
  • The Mets’ potential sale to minority owner Steve Cohen fell through Thursday, and now it’s possible he won’t be able to purchase another team, according to Josh Kosman and Thornton McEnery of the New York Post. The belief of the Mets and MLB is that Cohen “acted in bad faith” during negotiations, Kosman and McEnery write. Cohen had been working to buy the franchise for $2.6 billion, but he attempted to change the payment schedule, and he may have wanted to lower the overall sum. And while Cohen wouldn’t have been in line to become New York’s control person until 2025, he’d have wanted input into how the Mets were run before then. That didn’t fly for the Wilpons, the Mets’ current owners. However, the Wilpons still plan to sell the club to a different buyer.

Clark, Boras, Moreno Upset With Betts Swap Hold-Up

By | at

Plenty of fans and folks in the game are no doubt frustrated by the uncertainty hanging over a dramatic duo of prospective trades centered around superstar Mookie Betts. MLBPA chief Tony Clark made clear that he’s got even bigger problems with the situation in a statement today.

“The proposed trades between the Dodgers, Red Sox, Twins, and Angels need to be resolved without further delay,” Clark says in the statement. “The events of this last week have unfairly put several Players’ lives in a state of limbo.”

Clark is referring, of course, to (a) the proposed three-team swap between the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Twins that involves Betts, David Price, Kenta Maeda, Alex Verdugo, and Brusdar Graterol; and (b) the cross-town deal that would send Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to the Angels in exchange for Luis Rengifo, with other pre-MLB players also involved. These trades were reported on Tuesday but remain unresolved.

The slow speed of concluding the dealmaking isn’t the only thing that drew Clark’s ire. Reports have indicated that issues surrounding the health of Graterol gummed up the swaps. Clark is understandably displeased with those disclosures and the role they’ve played in keeping these players in limbo.

Clark continued: “The unethical leaking of medical information as well as the perversion of the salary arbitration process serve as continued reminders that too often Players are treated as commodities by those running the game.”

Uber-agent Scott Boras, who reps Graterol, also chimed in (via Jon Heyman of MLB Network, on Twitter). He notes that the young flamethrower was operating at full tilt late last season and knocked the Red Sox’ apparent medical concerns. “They’re relying on a cursory medical record review,” says Boras, “yet noted orthopedic doctors who saw him say there’s no issue going forward.”

These comments represent is the latest volley in a long-running, multi-front battle between the union and league. Labor relations remain fraught. Evan Drellich of The Athletic recently noted on Twitter that anticipated early bargaining discussions have yet to materialize.

As for the twin Dodgers deals, it seems that frustrations are building from various quarters. Angels owner Arte Moreno is said to be furious that the hold-up of the first deal has left his organization in flux, per Heyman (via Twitter).

Latest On Potential Mookie Betts Trade

By | at

February 7: The trade is expected to become official today, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets, citing sources from multiple teams involved in the deal. Completion of the Betts blockbuster would serve as a precursor for the finalization of the Dodgers’ Pederson/Stripling trade with the Angels as well.

It’s not yet clear what type of alterations, if any, will be made to the deal. Heyman tweeted earlier this morning that the Red Sox have been seeking an additional top prospect from the Twins, although it’s difficult to envision the Twins parting with another highly regarded talent without additional pieces being sent their way.

February 6, 8:27PM: “Some involved [in the trade] are now suggesting it’s not a certainty,” MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets, as the holdup continues to center around the Red Sox, Twins, and Graterol’s condition.  Boston is reportedly trying to “reconfigure” its end of the deal with the Twins, “meaning more than Graterol” would head from Minnesota to Fenway Park.

1:03 AM: There’s only a “slim” chance this trade will completely fall apart, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. The delay “is a problem but one we can figure out,” a source involved in the trade told Passan.

February 5: It has been more than 24 hours since the Mookie Betts trade was first reported, but the potential blockbuster featuring the Red Sox, Dodgers and Twins still hasn’t been finalized as we head into Thursday. There’s still confidence the deal will be completed, but there may end up being more pieces involved in the trade, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription link).

The Red Sox are slated to send Betts and left-hander David Price (and approximately half of the remaining $96MM on his contract) to the Dodgers. In return, the Red Sox are set to get outfielder Alex Verdugo from LA and righty Brusdar Graterol from Minnesota. The Twins are in line to receive righty Kenta Maeda from the Dodgers.

Despite missing the final couple of months of last season with back/oblique/core problems, Verdugo has already been medically cleared, according to Rosenthal. However, Rosenthal writes that the Red Sox do have some concerns over the hard-throwing Graterol, whom they now regard as more of a reliever than a starter after looking at his medical records. Notably, Graterol’s a past Tommy John surgery patient who has also dealt with other injuries. The 21-year-old missed two months last season with shoulder issues that limited him to a combined 70 2/3 innings at four different levels (including 9 2/3 in the bigs).

While it still seems that Boston will acquire Graterol if the trade does occur, Rosenthal notes the club may also require another player and/or cash considerations from either the Dodgers or Twins to push it over the goal line. Assuming the three teams are able to reach some sort of compromise on what would go down as one of the most significant trades in recent history, it should open the door for yet another high-profile swap involving the Dodgers. They’re working to move outfielder Joc Pederson and hurler Ross Stripling as part of a deal with the Angels, but that’s delayed as the Dodgers await word on the Betts deal.

Latest On MLB’s Investigation Into Alleged Red Sox Sign-Stealing

By | at

Commissioner Rob Manfred provided an update on Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Red Sox alleged use of video equipment to steal opponents’ signs during the 2018 season, telling reporters (including Ken Davidoff of the New York Post) that he hoped to have a conclusion reached before Spring Training camps open next week.  “I’d like to have this over.  Investigations are funny.  You think you know what the timeline is, but that’s a day-to-day prediction,” Manfred said.

The Red Sox already fired manager Alex Cora last month, a day after the league issued its report about the Astros’ 2017 electronic sign-stealing scandal and cited Cora (then Houston’s bench coach) as one of the primary architects of the now-infamous plan that involved Astros players banging trash cans and making other audible signals from the dugout to alert hitters about what pitches were coming.  As per the original report from The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal about Boston’s alleged sign-stealing strategies, “at least some players visited the video replay room during games to learn the sign sequence opponents were using,” though the Sox players then tried to simply relay their information after reaching base, rather than using auditory signals.

It remains to be seen what (if anything) the Red Sox investigation will reveal, and if any potential penalties issued against the organization will come close to the punishments levied to the Astros — a $5MM fine, losses of their first two picks from each of the next two drafts, and one-year suspensions to manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow (who were both fired by the club shortly after MLB’s report was released).  No Red Sox players, however, will face any sanctions, as Manfred said the players were granted immunity from any punishment in order to get them to speak freely about what may or may not have been going on within the clubhouse.

One other wrinkle from the Astros and Red Sox situations is the likelihood of changes to how teams can access video footage during games.  “I think you should assume that before the season starts, we will have new guidelines with respect to the use of video equipment,” Manfred said, adding that “I think we have too much video available in real time right now.”

Quick Hits: Young, Torre, Int’l Prospects, Leon, Franco

By | at

Major League Baseball announced some changes within its baseball operations department, including the hirings of the newly-retired Gregor Blanco and Nick Hundley.  Some other familiar names will be taking on new roles, as head of baseball operations Joe Torre will now be a special assistant to commissioner Rob Manfred.  Taking over Torre’s former job as the head of the ops department is former right-hander Chris Young, whose new title is senior VP of on-field operations, initiatives and strategy.  This portfolio covers, as per the league’s press release, “issues that affect play on the field, including oversight of umpiring, playing rules and regulations, on-field standards and discipline, pace of play and other special projects.”  Young has worked for the league since May 2018, coming on the heels of a 17-year pro career that included 1297 2/3 innings pitched over parts of 13 MLB seasons.

More from around the baseball world….

  • Some of the top outfield prospects in the 2020-21 international draft class are profiled by Baseball America’s Ben Badler, who also details which teams are expected to sign these players on July 2.  The Reds, Pirates, Red Sox, and Rangers are all thought to have seven-figure bonuses lined up for four players from the Dominican Republic, though the Astros are reportedly ready to pay what may be the biggest bonus given to any player in the 2020-21 class — a deal in the neighborhood of $4MM to 21-year-old Cuban outfielder Pedro Leon.  Because of his age, Leon is already eligible to sign, though he will wait until the opening of the next July 2 window because most teams have exhausted most or all of their funds from their 2019-20 international signing pools.  The int’l market will take on added importance for the Astros over the next two years, as the club’s pipeline of top young talent will be limited after losing their top two picks in both the 2020 and 2021 amateur drafts as part of their punishment for the sign-stealing scandal.
  • The Royals didn’t waste time in their pursuit of Maikel Franco, as assistant GM Rene Francisco called Franco the day after the Phillies non-tendered the third baseman, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star writes.  Franco and the Royals agreed to a one-year, $2.95MM deal within a few weeks’ time of Francisco’s early expression of interest, and Franco has since been diligently working with Royals coaches to overhaul his approach at the plate.  Rather than the grounder-heavy results that defined so much of his stint in Philadelphia, Franco is putting a particular focus on getting the ball in the air.

MLBTR Video: Dodgers Acquire Betts & Price; Twins Get Maeda

By | at

A franchise-altering three-team blockbuster was struck, as the Dodgers acquired Mookie Betts and David Price, the Twins got Kenta Maeda, and the Red Sox received Alex Verdugo and Brusdar Graterol. But wait, there’s more! The Angels are expected to acquire Joc Pederson, the Giants signed Wilmer Flores, and the Mets’ sale to Steve Cohen is in jeopardy! MLBTR’s Jeff Todd runs through a wild day for the MLB hot stove in today’s video.

Grading The Mookie Betts Trade

By | at

In case you missed it — which, c’mon, you call yourself a MLBTR reader?! — the Red Sox have agreed to send superstar outfielder Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in a deal that also involves the Twins in a significant fashion.

Betts may be a rental player, but he’s an awfully good one, making this is a true blockbuster. Accordingly, it’s imperative that we get the consensus grades from the MLBTR readership — yes, long before we know what will become of the young players included in this deal. (It’s pretty easy to grade trades after the fact, right?)

Let’s set forth each club’s side of the deal, with a corresponding poll:

Los Angeles Dodgers

Give: RHP Kenta Maeda ($12MM through 2023 with significant performance incentives); OF Alex Verdugo (1.078 years MLB service; controllable at least through 2024)

Get: OF Mookie Betts ($27MM in 2020); SP David Price (approximately $48MM through 2022)

Grade:

[Poll link for app users]

Boston Red Sox

Give: OF Mookie Betts ($27MM in 2020); SP David Price (approximately $48MM through 2022)

Get: OF Alex Verdugo (1.078 years MLB service; controllable at least through 2024); SP/RP Brusdar Graterol (0.029 years MLB service; controllable at least through 2025)

Grade:

[Poll link for app users]

Minnesota Twins

Give: SP/RP Brusdar Graterol (0.029 years MLB service; controllable at least through 2025)

Get: RHP Kenta Maeda ($12MM through 2023 with significant performance incentives)

Grade:

[Poll link for app users]

Details On Padres’ Pursuit Of Mookie Betts

By | at

The Padres missed out on their bid to acquire Mookie Betts, but that doesn’t make them the loser of the negotiations. It was always tough to imagine a deal for such a high-end rental player that would truly make sense for the San Diego organization. And the latest reporting seems to bear that out.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune and Dennis Lin of The Athletic (subscription link) each covered the aftermath of the Betts deal from the Friars’ perspective. Each noted the impact of the Padres’ limited budgetary flexibility and the organization’s realistic assessment of its 2020 outlook. The picture that emerges is one of an organization that was ready to make a deal on certain terms but not to extend any further.

One Padres source that spoke with Acee seems to have summed things up nicely — not only capturing the team’s approach but also the reason a Betts strike felt strained. “We were not going to trade on our future,” said the unnamed employee. “We’re in for the (long haul), not one year.”

Betts was not only a rental, but one that was exceedingly unlikely to remain in San Diego for the long haul. Not only has he made clear he wishes to test the open market, but the Friars are in no position to take on a mega-contract with Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer on the books. Per Lin, the San Diego organization launched its effort to structure a deal “more than a month ago,” so it was obviously a serious and long-running bid. At worst, the team’s pursuit forced the powerhouse Dodgers to pay a bit more. But it was always going to be tough to find a package that suited the Red Sox and made sense for the Pads.

So, will the Padres front office now pivot to alternatives? Perhaps, but not necessarily in the coming weeks. Lin writes that “the expectation is that the Padres will begin the season with what they have.” While he says the team has asked about Kris Bryant, in addition to Indians stars Francisco Lindor and Mike Clevinger, it doesn’t seem there’s any active blockbuster structuring in the works.

We can still probably expect plenty of eyebrow-raising trade rumors involving the Padres, the nature of which will surely depend upon how the coming season unfolds. Both Acee and Lin say that a wide variety of players were discussed in the trade talks surrounding Betts, indicating that the Pads remain willing to entertain a range of scenarios.

Show all

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top