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Quick Hits: Dodgers, Astros, Royals, Gagne

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Two weeks ago, the Dodgers were leaning toward having left-hander Julio Urias open the season in their rotation. It now appears he’ll begin in the minors as they attempt to tamp down his workload, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The 20-year-old phenom threw a career-high 122 innings between the majors and minors in 2016, and LA wants to keep him fresh this season for a potential playoff run. Should the Dodgers send down Urias, they’d choose among Brandon McCarthy, Alex Wood and “wild card” Hyun-Jin Ryu to fill their final two rotation spots, adds Sherman (Twitter links here).

Elsewhere around the majors…

  • Houston’s acquisition of catcher Brian McCann from the Yankees in November played a key role in their December signing of designated hitter Carlos Beltran, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow informed Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. “As we recruited Beltran, bringing McCann over was a big part of getting Beltran to accept coming over here,” said Luhnow. Teammates in New York from 2014-16, McCann and Beltran have already been quite valuable behind the scenes for the Astros, per Luhnow. “These two guys have been a tremendous boost to the environment in our clubhouse,” he stated. “I’m so glad they’re here.”
  • When he accepted the Royals’ two-year, $12MM guarantee as a free agent last month, southpaw Travis Wood seemed like a decent bet to start 2017 in their rotation. But another offseason acquisition, trade pickup Nate Karns, has emerged over Wood and Chris Young as the clear favorite for Kansas City’s last starting spot, tweets Sherman. The right-handed Karns, 29, made 46 starts with the Nationals, Rays and Mariners from 2013-16 and logged a 4.19 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 3.69 BB/9 over 249 innings. The 30-year-old Wood worked solely as a reliever with the World Series champion Cubs last season, which came after he racked up 133 starts in Cincinnati and Chicago from 2010-15. He recorded the same ERA as Karns (4.19) to go with 7.11 K/9 against 3.15 BB/9 during that 776-inning span.
  • Free agent reliever Eric Gagne, 41, is making a case for a contract in the World Baseball Classic, though the Team Canada righty and 2003 NL Cy Young winner realizes he’d first have to succeed in the minors to have any chance at returning to the majors. “I know the game, I know how it happens, I know they need spots on the 40-man roster and don’t want to release a young guy for a 41 year old, so of course I’d be willing to do anything,” the former closer told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Gagne, who hasn’t pitched in the bigs since 2008, worked out for five teams before the WBC, writes Davidi, and has since fared well in the tournament. “Words are irrelevant at this point. Clubs are seeing it with their own eyes,” Gagne’s agent, Scott Leventhal, told FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).

East News & Rumors: EE, BoSox, Yanks, Jays, Bruce, Marlins

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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.

AL West Notes: Hernandez, Utley, A’s, Mariners, Beltran

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News and rumors from around the AL West…

  • The Angels checked in with the Phillies about second baseman Cesar Hernandez at the start of the offseason but talks didn’t develop due to the Phils’ high asking price, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.  While Hernandez doesn’t look like an option, Fletcher lists several other relatively inexpensive second base possibilities who could be available for the Halos in free agency or in trades.
  • One name cited by Fletcher is Chase Utley, and FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman indeed tweets that the Angels “have emerged” as a potential landing spot for the veteran second baseman.  Utley has a clear path to playing time in Anaheim and he would get to stay in his hometown area.
  • The Athletics and Royals have a pretty healthy trade history, MLB.com’s Jane Lee notes, and the clubs could work out another deal to land the A’s a center fielder in the form of Jarrod Dyson.  Lorenzo Cain is also available, if more expensive and Oakland would have to give quite a bit more to land him.  Lee’s piece suggests several names that could be on Oakland’s radar for the center field vacancy, though costs will keep the A’s away from many of the bigger names.
  • Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto said his club is engaged in talks to acquire a starter, with a trade more likely than a signing, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes.  Dutton speculates that Scott Kazmir or Brandon McCarthy, both of whom are reportedly being shopped by the Dodgers, could be fits in Seattle.  On the free agent front, the M’s are still interested in Doug Fister but don’t seem to have much interest in such options as Colby Lewis, Derek Holland or C.J. Wilson.
  • New Astros signee Carlos Beltran was introduced to media (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) during his introductory press conference today, and he said the Astros quickly drew his attention in free agency.  “They really made an offer early, faster than any other team….The fact they were aggressive and went out there and really showed big-time interest, it wasn’t that difficult to make to make a decision,” Beltran said.
  • In other AL West News, the Rangers were covered in a team-centric notes post as well as news about their bigger-ticket outfield targets.

Astros Sign Carlos Beltran

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DEC. 5: The Astros announced that Beltran has passed his physical, making the contract complete.

DEC. 3: The Astros have agreed to a one-year, $16MM deal with free agent DH Carlos Beltran, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (Twitter links). Beltran is an MVP Sports Group client. Beltran will receive a no-trade clause, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News had previously tweeted that Beltran would sign today. Since Beltran was traded last season, the Yankees could not extend him a qualifying offer, and thus the Astros will not have to sacrifice a draft pick.

[RELATED: Updated Houston Astros Depth Chart]

Carlos BeltranThe Astros had repeatedly been connected to Beltran, and earlier this week it emerged that they were confident they could sign either Beltran or Edwin Encarnacion. The Red Sox, too, reportedly were very strongly interested in signing Beltran. The Yankees looked like a possibility as well, although Feinsand tweeted today that they were out of the running. Beltran agreeing to terms with Houston could pave the way for the Yankees to sign Encarnacion, though, as FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi tweets.

In Houston, Beltran will join a new-look Astros lineup that also now features catcher Brian McCann, left fielder Nori Aoki and right fielder Josh Reddick. Those three veterans will join a young core that includes Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman and George Springer, alongside top second baseman Jose Altuve.

Before the Beltran deal, Evan Gattis had been slated to fit in with the Astros at DH, and the Astros recently exercised their $5.2MM option on him. Gattis is coming off a strong season in which he hit .251/.319/.508 with 32 home runs. His exact role with the 2017 Astros is unclear, but he figures to catch sometimes (playing while McCann sits), while also sometimes playing corner outfield or DH’ing on days in which Beltran plays in the field.

Beltran turns 40 in April, but he showed no signs of slowing down last season, batting .295/.337/.513 with 29 homers for the Yankees and Rangers. That hitting line placed him among the game’s better designated hitters — the only ones who were markedly better were David Ortiz, Nelson Cruz and Encarnacion. The switch-hitting Beltran was particularly deadly against lefties, batting .338/.380/.589 with nine homers in 163 plate appearances, but he also hit righties well. Beltran no longer has the baserunning or defensive value he did as a young man, but his skills at the plate have aged remarkably well, as he’s topped an .800 OPS in five of the last six seasons.

Beltran now has 421 home runs in a career that stretches all the way back to 1998. In that span of nearly two decades, he’s played with both Astros manager A.J. Hinch (with the Royals in 2001 and 2002) and bench coach Alex Cora (with the Mets in 2009 and 2010). Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets that Hinch and Cora’s familiarity with Beltran might have played a role in the Astros’ decision to acquire him. This will be Beltran’s second stint with the Astros — he hit .258/.368/.559 with 23 homers with them down the stretch in 2004.

MLBTR ranked Beltran the 33rd-best free agent available this offseason and predicted he would get a one-year, $14MM deal. The $16MM Beltran will receive next season is a slight raise on the $15MM per season he received on his previous three-year deal with the Yankees, and is the same as the amount Ortiz received in both 2015 and 2016.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Trade/FA Rumors: Bregman, Solarte, Dodgers, Jays, Tribe, Holland

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It’s possible the Astros will add an ace-caliber pitcher via trade this offseason, but it’s not going to come at the expense of 22-year-old infielder Alex Bregman. Astros executives are telling teams that there’s “no chance” Bregman will go anywhere, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (Insider required and recommended). That’s hardly a surprise, as Bregman is controllable through the 2022 season and has been resoundingly successful since the Astros took him second overall in the 2015 draft. After racing through the minors, Bregman thrived in his first taste of big league action this past season and now looks like the Astros’ long-term solution at third base.

More rumors from around the majors:

  • The Padres are “aggressively shopping” infielder Yangervis Solarte, and the NL West rival Dodgers are among the teams discussing him with San Diego, relays FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). The Dodgers have openings at both second and third base, two places Solarte has seen action. Most of Solarte’s work has come at the hot corner, where the expectation is the Dodgers will re-sign Justin Turner.
  • The Blue Jays are “in talks” with free agent utilityman Steve Pearce, tweets Olney. Toronto first showed interest in Pearce last month. With Kendrys Morales and Justin Smoak already in the fold, signing Pearce would give the Jays another first base/designated hitter type and perhaps signal the end of the Edwin Encarnacion era.
  • The Indians made runs at two notable free agent DH/outfield types in now-Astro Carlos Beltran and the newest Yankee, Matt Holliday, according to Rosenthal and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Cleveland continues to look at available “corner bats,” Rosenthal adds. Several free agent first basemen/DHs are reportedly on their radar.
  • Free agent reliever Greg Holland is “a popular guy” at the winter meetings, a major league source told Rob Bradford of WEEI. Holland was a dominant late-game option with the Royals over the first several years of his career, but October 2015 Tommy John surgery prevented him from pitching last season. He’s now ready to return for his age-31 campaign, and MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes expects him to land a two-year, $18MM deal.

Market Rumblings: Cutch, Nats, Melancon, Giants, Martinez, Bruce, Rangers, Chapman, Holland

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While much of the trade chatter on Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen has focused on the Nationals, the Dodgers are also a plausible suitor, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. There’s interest from Los Angeles in the 30-year-old, not least of which because he’s controllable at a fairly reasonable salary and doesn’t come with a lengthy commitment.

  • Despite the ongoing interest in McCutchen, the Nationals are also looking into other outfielders, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports. Among the free agent center fielders who have at least come up internally are Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gomez and former Nats shortstop Ian Desmond. The organization has also given some thought to Adam Eaton of the White Sox. That’s doubly interesting given that the Nats are reportedly still engaged on star Chicago southpaw Chris Sale.
  • While the Nationals are trying to work out arrangements to land McCutchen (or an alternative) and/or Sale, they remain in on closer Mark Melancon, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). Melancon’s market is moving along well, says Crasnick, with expectations that he could land as much as $60MM over a four-year term. While Washington is clearly intrigued at a reunion, Crasnick adds that the Giants remain engaged and may even be better-situated for a strike on Melancon given that the Nats’ attention may lie elsewhere.
  • That being said, the Giants are also looking to add a power bat in the outfield, and they have continued to consider Tigers slugger J.D. Martinez, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). That interest has been known for some time, but it seems there’s still life to the possibility. Notably, GM Bobby Evans has signaled that San Francisco does not wish to take on a long-term obligation in the outfield, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. The same rationale that makes Martinez appealing — his one year of team control — could also make Mets outfielder Jay Bruce a possibility, Schulman notes.
  • Another team in the outfield market is the Rangers, who hope to add a center fielder as well as another starter. GM Jon Daniels says that he’s currently paying more attention to the trade market than to free agency, as T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com tweets. Texas is drawing hits on relief pitching, Daniels added.
  • The Yankees have their eye on four possibilities for a big bat, per Heyman (via Twitter): Edwin Encarnacion, Matt Holliday, Mike Napoli, and Carlos Beltran. Most of those free agents have been connected to New York in some form already, though Holliday has not been mentioned with much specificity. Of note, beyond the interest of the Yankees, is that Holliday is apparently looking for a two-year deal, while Beltran appears to be available for a single-season commitment.
  • High-octane lefty Aroldis Chapman remains in excellent position to land a big new deal, but Heyman tweets that he’s not necessarily hunting for a nine-figure contract. While the bargaining could presumably still push the price tag toward (if not past) the $100MM mark, that’s not a “demand” of the free agent, per the report.
  • As the Pirates weigh a number of pursuits, the organization remains engaged with lefty Derek Holland, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports on Twitter. Bucs GM Neal Huntington is set to meet with Holland’s reps at the Winter Meetings early next week.

Market Notes: CBA, Astros, Encarnacion, Napoli, Cubs-Sox, Puig, A’s, Greinke, Bucs

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With the CBA now in place, teams and players that were waiting for clarity can move toward new agreements. While plenty of organizations have gone right ahead with their plans, others seemingly have waited. That includes the Yankees (per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, on Twitter), Nationals (per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, on Twitter), and perhaps also the Red Sox (via Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, in a tweet). Whether we’re in for a rush of moves remains to be seen, but the stage is set.

Here’s all the latest chatter on the market:

  • The Astros continue to strive to add another bat, with the team confident it will land either Edwin Encarnacion or Carlos Beltran, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Still, the Yankees, Blue Jays, and a “couple others” remain involved on Encarnacion, Heyman tweets. All three of those teams, along with the Red Sox, are in on Beltran, Nightengale adds on Twitter.
  • Several former employers of first bagger Mike Napoli have interest in a reunion, per Heyman. The Red Sox, Indians, and Rangers are perhaps the three teams most heavily invested in his market. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Astros appear to be involved at the periphery at present.
  • There have been some rumblings of late suggesting that the Cubs and White Sox likely won’t do business with one another this winter, at least not on any significant deals, and Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times rounds up the latest. Ultimately, it seems, there’s not much new to chew on here: both teams say they’re open working with one another, even if they acknowledge what GM Jed Hoyer suggests is an unsurprising reality that the clubs are unlikely to to match up on an impactful swap given their market competition.
  • The Dodgers are still open to considering trades involving outfielder Yasiel Puig, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times recently noted on Twitter. Meanwhile, the Athletics continue to chase a center fielder after signing Matt Joyce, per GM David Forst (via MLB.com’s Jane Lee, on Twitter). It seems that Oakland is considering options via trade and free agency to fill the void up the middle.
  • There’s “minimal trade interest” at present in Diamondbacks righty Zack Greinke, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. His massive contract remains an obvious impediment, though rival execs tells Rosenthal that they don’t believe Arizona can afford to carry that huge commitment. It’s certainly a notable dilemma for the team.
  • The Pirates are looking into the trade market for relief help, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter). It’s possible that Pittsburgh could consider moving Tony Watson, who is in his final season of team control and comes with a projected $5.9MM salary. The team does have two other solid pen lefties; while Watson currently profiles as the closer, moreover, there are a variety of potential alternatives on the open market.

Free Agent Rumors: Red Sox, Orioles, Mets, Cahill, Drew

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ESPN’s Scott Lauber joins other reporters in downplaying the possibility of Edwin Encarnacion signing with the Red Sox, noting that Boston is reluctant to give that type of long-term commitment to a DH and also isn’t keen on parting with a draft pick to sign him. Boston has been linked to Carlos Beltran extensively, and a source recently told Lauber that the Red Sox still “want him badly.” Boston has also reached out to Mike Napoli, according to Lauber, although if Napoli is truly seeking a three-year commitment (as was rumored yesterday), then the Sox may not want to wait around for his asking price to drop to a more reasonable level.

A few more notes on the free-agent market…

  • Angel Pagan is “definitely” on the Orioles’ radar as they look for help in the corner outfield and atop their lineup, reports Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. Though he’s battled injuries in recent years, the 35-year-old somewhat quietly batted .277/.331/.418 with 12 homers and 15 steals in 543 plate appearances for the Giants last year, and Connolly notes that he’d fit the Orioles’ from an offensive, defensive and financial standpoint. Per Connolly, the Orioles aren’t likely to spend heavily to address their leadoff/right field need. In a separate column, he also writes about the possibility of a reunion between Pedro Alvarez and the O’s, noting that some in the organization feel Alvarez is the likeliest of the team’s free agents to return (over Mark Trumbo and Matt Wieters). Connolly also writes that many of Alvarez’s teammates spoke highly of him as both a teammate and a person.
  • The Mets still have no intention of pursuing one of the top three closers on the market, reports MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter links). DiComo checked in recently on Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon and was informed that there’s “little to no interest” from the Mets on that front. Rather, the team is looking at mid-tier free agents, and DiComo lists Fernando Salas as one example. Salas finished out the year in the Mets’ bullpen and performed brilliantly, firing 17 1/3 innings of 2.08 ERA ball with 19 strikeouts and no walks.
  • After enjoying a renaissance in the Cubs’ bullpen, Trevor Cahill is marketing himself as a starting pitcher this winter and has already received three offers, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Still just 28 years old (29 in March), Cahill turned in a 2.74 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 and a robust 56.6 percent ground-ball rate in 65 2/3 innings with the Cubs. While the walks are a concern, Cahill’s relative youth and the dearth of quality arms on the market make him a fairly intriguing roll of the dice in a rotation role.
  • The Angels have had some preliminary talks with free agent second baseman Stephen Drew, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (on Twitter). They haven’t had any sort of advanced talks with Drew’s camp though, and Fletcher characterizes him as one of several possibilities that is under consideration while noting that the Halos aren’t close to anything with any second base option. Drew logged a pair of brutal seasons at the plate in 2014-15 but hit well with the Nationals in 2016 when he batted .266/.339/.524 with eight homers in a very limited role. Drew picked up just 17 plate appearances against lefties last year and received only 165 PAs on the season as a whole.

Latest On The Yankees’ Offseason

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The Yankees’ top relief target this winter is their own former closer Aroldis Chapman, but they have made contact with other stars at various positions as well, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports writes. The Yankees have also been in touch with closer Kenley Jansen (although they prefer Chapman, since he’s pitched for them before and since signing him wouldn’t cost them a draft pick) as well as hitters Carlos Beltran, Edwin Encarnacion, Yoenis Cespedes, Jose Bautista, as has been previously reported. They’ve also likely spoken to representatives for starters Rich Hill (in whom top Yankees exec Brian Cashman has stated interest) and Jason Hammel (about whom the Yankees were previously known to be gathering information).

Encarnacion, Heyman writes, could be a high priority for the Yankees, although he also reports that the team has spoken with Cespedes’ agent up to five times already. As has been previously noted, the Yankees are involved in Beltran’s market, along with the Astros, Red Sox and perhaps Rangers.

Heyman also adds a few new names to the mix: those of Dexter Fowler, Matt Holliday, Mike Napoli and Brandon Moss. The Yankees currently have Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and Aaron Judge in the outfield and Tyler Austin at DH, but Judge and Austin are inexperienced, and the Yankees could trade Gardner to clear playing time and payroll space for an impact bat.

Heyman cites Napoli, who is coming off a solid .239/.335/.465 season in Cleveland, as one option who could be particularly intriguing. Napoli or Holliday could help the Yankees at DH, while Fowler would likely play the outfield, and Moss could help in the outfield or first base, or at DH. Either way, it’s unclear to this point whether the Yankees are looking for one player for outfield and DH or two.

Free Agent Rumors: Wieters, Beltran, Dunn, Masterson

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Matt Wieters’ poor ratings in terms of pitch-framing are weighing down his market, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney (ESPN Insider required). Olney spoke to multiple evaluators who believe that Wieters’ defense declined in 2016, and as he notes, a number of executives around the game are placing a greater emphasis on framing, which is perhaps why Jason Castro just landed a three-year deal despite poor offensive production dating back to the 2014 season. Per Olney, while both the Twins and Rays are interested in Castro, it’s not clear that either has any interest in Wieters. Olney lists the Orioles and Nationals as potential landing spots for Wieters and also adds that the Braves have expressed some interest, “but probably for far less than what [agent Scott Boras] wants.” Also worth a brief mention with regard to Wieters: Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports that he suffered a laceration to his non-throwing arm in a household mishap this offseason. The wound required stitches, and Wieters is wearing a protective shield for the time being, but he’s expected to be able to resume baseball activities in January. The injury shouldn’t see any delay in his readiness for Spring Training.

More on the free-agent market…

  • Executives with interested teams are beginning to get the sense that Carlos Beltran’s market is coming down to the Yankees, Astros and Red Sox, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Rangers, too, could be “lurking” in the background and contemplating a more earnest attempt to retain him, although WEEI’s Rob Braford reported that Texas wasn’t in the running as of last week. Though he turns 40 next April, Beltran obviously enjoyed a strong 2016 season split between the Yankees and Rangers. The Yankees and Red Sox have the clearest paths to playing time for him, from my vantage point, as the Astros also have Evan Gattis on a guaranteed $5.2MM salary to spend a considerable amount of time at DH. However, if the Astros are comfortable deploying Gattis more sparingly or giving Beltran some time in the outfield, the fit could still work. And, of course, it’s never bad to have significant significant depth options.
  • The Marlins are still in the mix to retain left-hander Mike Dunn, according to MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, but the recent four-year, $30.5MM contract that the Cardinals gave to Brett Cecil may have skewed the market for left-handed relief help. Dunn’s representatives could push for an annual value north of $5MM, which may be more than Miami was hoping to spend. Like Cecil, Dunn has had some success against right-handed hitters in his career and may not be deployed as a pure lefty specialist by the team that ultimately signs him. However, Dunn is 14 months older than Cecil and also battled a forearm strain this season. Beyond that, he simply hasn’t been as good as Cecil in recent years; Cecil owned a 2.90 ERA with 11.5 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 50.2 percent ground-ball rate from 2013-16. Dunn, meanwhile, had a 3.38 ERA with 9.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 35.4 percent ground-ball rate in that same time.
  • Former Indians right-hander Justin Masterson said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM today that his agent, Randy Rowley, is talking with a few teams as he looks for a landing spot (Twitter link). “It’s looking for a situation that will fit,” said Masterson. “I feel healthy. I feel strong.” Masterson spent most of the 2016 season with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate and didn’t perform particularly well, pitching to a 4.97 ERA with a 32-to-26 K/BB ratio in 54 1/3 innings. While he’s still young enough for a rebound (32 in March), Masterson hasn’t delivered above-average results since his All-Star 2013 season with Cleveland. In the interim, he’s been sidelined by myriad knee and shoulder injuries.

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