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Giants, Cardinals Interested In Wei-Yin Chen

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The Giants and Cardinals are both interested in left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, who calls the Royals another possible fit and says the Nationals may take a look at Chen if they don’t sign Mike Leake (a deal between the Nats and Leake is said to be unlikely at this point).

Chen, 30, is coming off a nice four-year run with the Orioles which was highlighted by a particularly strong two-year platform in 2014-15. Over the past two seasons, he’s logged a 3.44 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 to go along with a 40.8 percent ground-ball rate in 377 innings of work. A move to any of the clubs listed could benefit Chen’s production, as he’s struggled with home runs in the American League East (career 1.24 HR/9). The Giants and Royals, in particular, play in spacious parks that tend to suppress home runs.

St. Louis offers, in my eyes, the best mix of both need and financial capability of the listed clubs. The Giants have already inked Jeff Samardzija — though they’re still connected to other arms and could bring in a second starter — while the Royals have a number of needs and have never spent the type of money which Chen figures to command. (MLBTR projected a five-year, $80MM contract.) Then again, Kansas City has a good relationship with Chen’s agent, Scott Boras, and the reigning World Champs could use a boost in the rotation.

Johnny Cueto remains the top arm on the market, but Chen is joined by Leake and Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda as one of the more intriguing arms remaining in free agency. To this point, he’s also been linked to the Cubs, whereas a return to the Orioles has been deemed unlikely. Earlier today, MLBTR’s Zach Links was on hand when Boras held court at Nashville’s Winter Meetings. Boras characterized Chen’s market as “strong” and, as Zach noted, made one of the types of comments we’ve come to expect of Boras over the years, noting that Chen’s ERA within the AL East over the past two seasons is lower than that of David Price.

Gerardo Parra Has Received Three-Year Offers

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Free agent outfielder Gerardo Parra has three-year offers “currently in hand” but would like to receive a four-year deal, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo writes. It’s unclear which teams have made those three-year offers, although Cotillo notes that the Giants, Royals and Cubs all have serious interest. Giants GM Bobby Evans told MLBTR on Tuesday that he had spoken with Parra’s camp, although he also noted that he had spoken with representatives of other available outfielders as well. FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi recently reported that the Royals liked Parra as a backup plan in case they were unable to retain Alex Gordon. In addition to the Giants, Royals and Cubs, the Mets have also recently been connected to Parra.

The 28-year-old Parra’s relative youth and solid .291/.328/.452 2015 season should help him land a healthy new contract this winter. He also has a strong reputation as a defensive outfielder, even though his fielding statistics took a surprisingly big step backward last season. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted in August, a four-year deal wouldn’t be a shock for Parra if teams still view him as having plus defense.

Outfield Rumors: Giants, Cespedes, Ozuna, Royals, D-Backs, Angels

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The Giants are monitoring the market for outfielders, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. San Francisco is prioritizing Jason Heyward, Alex Gordon and Dexter Fowler over Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes for defensive reasons, Morosi adds. That rationale is a bit odd, considering the fact that Cespedes is generally regarded as a stellar defender in left field. Heyward and Fowler, of course, are better fits to see occasional or even regular time in center field than Cespedes would be. But, with Angel Pagan under contract for 2016 and Hunter Pence entrenched in right field, left field would seem to be an area of need.

Here are a few more notes on the outfield market…

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Giants, Angels, Tigers and Royals have been the most interested clubs in Cespedes’ market thus far in the offseason. However, Sherman adds that the Royals quickly came to realize that Cespedes is going to be beyond four years. It should be noted, of course, that Detroit general manager Al Avila said yesterday that his team is not in the mix for either Cespedes or Gordon. (Though that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some earlier talk between the two sides, and, as Sherman notes, the Tigers could circle back if Cespedes’ market doesn’t pick up.)
  • Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna has drawn trade interest from “at least seven to 10 teams,” Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. Spencer adds that an eventual trade of Ozuna seems to be likely.
  • Royals GM Dayton Moore told reporters today that the club feels Jarrod Dyson will likely get a chance to hold down a regular job in the corner outfield, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. Filling one corner outfield spot from within would obviously reduce the team’s needs and potentially increase the team’s flexibility to spend on another outfielder.
  • Diamondbacks outfield prospect Socrates Brito is “getting some play” at the Winter Meetings, Jack Magruder of FanRag Sports tweets. The 23-year-old reached the majors last year, slashing .303/.324/.455 in just 34 plate appearances, and has shown an intriguing power/speed combo in the minors.
  • Angels GM Billy Eppler has spoken to the agents for all of the major free-agent outfielders — including Heyward, Cespedes and Upton — according to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times (Twitter link). However, DiGiovanna cautions that we shouldn’t expect the Halos to set the market by being the first to agree to a major deal for an outfielder.
  • Via, MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli (Twitter link), Orioles GM Dan Duquette said that his club has been “aggressive” in its efforts to add a left-handed hitting corner outfielder.
  • The Twins had interest in Rajai Davis two offseasons ago when he signed with the Tigers, and they have some interest again this winter, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). However, their interest is somewhat limited, he notes, as a fourth outfield type isn’t a high priority for the team right now. Davis is said to be in talks with the Indians.

Outfield Notes: Pollock, Heyward, Gomez, Gordon, Parra

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Here’s the latest news on some notable outfielders…

  • The Indians asked the Diamondbacks for A.J. Pollock in exchange for Danny Salazar, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.  Pollock has been an in-demand piece from several rival teams as the D’Backs have looked for high-end young pitchers like Salazar or Shelby Miller, to name two.  Arizona GM Dave Stewart says he’s willing to listen to offers, “but with the understanding that we’re not entering any room with the intention to trade A.J. Pollock.”  D’Backs CEO Derrick Hall described Pollock as “nearly untouchable” earlier this week, so it remains unlikely that the Snakes would actually move the star center fielder.
  • By signing John Lackey rather than a higher-priced ace, the Cubs will use some of those savings to pursue Jason Heyward, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes.  If Heyward can’t be signed, the Cubs’ backup options would be to sign Alex Gordon or try to acquire Carlos Gomez from the Astros.
  • Speaking of teams with Plan-B outfield ideas, the Royals are interested in Gerardo Parra if they can’t bring Gordon back, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi tweets.  Parra is hopeful of landing a four-year contract, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link), since he’s getting attention from multiple teams.  The Giants, Mariners, Mets and (to a limited extent) Orioles have also been linked to Parra at various points this winter.
  • If Jeff Francoeur doesn’t re-sign with the Phillies, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick sees the Brewers, Pirates and Rangers as possible fits to add the veteran outfielder as a bench bat.

Astros Meet With Scott Kazmir

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Free agent lefty Scott Kazmir met today with the Astros to explore the possibility of a return to Houston, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports.

While Drellich notes that there’s a “comfortable fit” between the sides, Houston is hardly the only club showing interest. Per the report, eight to ten teams have “continued interest” in the veteran.

Indeed, we’ve also heard recently that Kazmir would meet with the Pirates in Nashville. And both the Royals and Athletics have also been connected with him in recent days.

Much as John Lackey and Hisashi Iwakuma drew strong early interest in part because they were available on shorter-term deals, there’s reason to believe that Kazmir could be had for a lighter commitment than his recent production might otherwise suggest.

True, there’s plenty to like about Kazmir’s output over the past two seasons. All told, he’s thrown 373 1/3 innings of 3.33 ERA ball with 7.7 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. And he’s maintained his average fastball velocity at about 91.5 mph.

But long-term questions remain about Kazmir’s elbow, and then there’s the fact that he struggled to a 6.52 ERA over the months of September and October. More notable, perhaps, are the declining metrics he put up last year: a 3.98 FIP, 4.14 xFIP, and 4.10 SIERA. And Kazmir is about to turn 32.

All told, a robust market isn’t surprising. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted that Kazmir could land four years and $52MM, which may not be quite the bargain rate that suitors will hope to achieve. As Dierkes notes, the lack of draft compensation is another notable element that supports Kazmir’s market.

Pen Notes: O’Day, Cishek, Thornton, Cotts, Miller, Astros, Rockies, A’s, Tigers

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Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette said today that his club is hoping to tie up an agreement with top free agent reliever Darren O’Day in short order, as Rich Dubroff of CSNmidatlantic.com tweets. “We’re continuing to work on that Darren O’Day project,” said Duquette. “We’re going to try to bring that to a head here in the next couple of days.”

Here’s more on an active market for relievers:

  • About a dozen teams have “checked in” on free agent righty Steve Cishek, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. Non-tendered southpaw Cesar Ramos is also drawing wide interest he notes. But the Twins haven’t looked into either of those options. The club is set to meet with the representatives of Fernando Rodney and has some interest in lefty Tony Sipp as well.
  • 39-year-old lefty Matt Thornton has drawn interest from six clubs, including the Twins, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter links). Thornton still brings a big fastball, and agent Adam Hubble says his client still hopes to pitch for another three or four seasons despite his advanced age.
  • As has previously been reported, and Twins GM Terry Ryan confirmed today, Minnesota has interest in a reunion with lefty Neal Cotts, Berardino tweets. “We still have interest,” said Ryan.
  • The Astros “have remained interested” in Yankees closer Andrew Miller, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. It remains far from clear, of course, whether any team will be willing to offer enough to get New York to part with the outstanding lefty, though Houston certainly has the young starting pitching coveted by the Yanks.
  • As has seemed apparent all along, the Astros are continuing to cast a wide net after apparently missing on Aroldis Chapman. Per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter), Houston is “looking” not only at Miller but also Mark Melancon of the Pirates. And Drew Storen of the Nationals might feature as a “fallback option,” he adds.
  • While the prognosis seems promising, it’s worth noting also that Astros set-up man Pat Neshek just underwent foot surgery, as Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. Neshek was forced to pitch through the injury last year
  • While internal options like Scott Oberg and Jairo Diaz will be considered, the Rockies also intend to check the market for a closer, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. Colorado recently non-tendered John Axford, who held down the 9th after Adam Ottavino was lost to Tommy John surgery.
  • The Athletics took a shot at signing righty Mark Lowe before he landed in Detroit, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Oakland has already done quite a bit of work in the bullpen, but it seems that the club could still be eyeing further additions.
  • The Tigers are now moving down the line to address the team’s need for a left-handed reliever, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports. After already making several pitching additions, Detroit could consider free agents such as Antonio Bastardo, Tony Sipp, and Craig Breslow, says Fenech, though it remains unclear whether the club has specific interest in any of those particular players.
  • While the Mets were involved in talks for Chapman over the summer, assistant GM John Ricco said today that the team hasn’t pursued him over the winter, as Tim Rohan of the New York Times reports on Twitter.
  • Former Royals minor league lefty Buddy Baumann appears to be quite a hot commodity among minor league free agents, per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Despite never having thrown an MLB inning, Baumann has already drawn five big league offers this winter. The 27-year-old worked to a 3.04 ERA in 77 frames at Triple-A last year, spending most of his time in the pen, with 9.8 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9.

Royals Re-Sign Chris Young

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5:06pm: Kansas City has announced the signing. Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets the annual breakdown of the contract, which promises Young $4.25MM in 2016, $5.75MM for the following year, and a $1.5MM buyout on a $8MM mutual option for 2018.

9:10am: Young will earn about $11.75MM over the life of the two-year deal, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star hears that it’s slightly less: an $11.5MM total over two years (Twitter link).

DEC. 7, 8:15am: Young does indeed have a deal with the Royals, pending a physical, reports MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (via Twitter), who adds that Young is in Kansas City at the moment, presumably to take said physical examination.

DEC. 6: The Royals are close to re-signing pitcher Chris Young to a two-year deal, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The deal is likely to be worth around $10MM to $11MM, and it’s likely to be completed by the close of the Winter Meetings. ESPN’s Buster Olney recently reported that it was just “a matter of timing” before Young and the Royals came to terms.

Chris Young

It appears that, as expected, Young’s new deal will be considerably more lucrative than the $675K contract to which he agreed before last season. In the last two seasons, Young has very effective, posting ERAs well below four and pitching a total of almost 300 innings split between the bullpen and the rotation in Seattle and Kansas City.

Young is now 36, and there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of his prospects for future success — he’s an extreme fly ball pitcher with mediocre peripherals and very little in the way of velocity. Those reasons existed before each of the last two seasons too, however, and Young succeeded despite them. Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron broke down Young’s success in a fascinating column earlier this year, noting that Young has demonstrated an ability to repeat a BABIP that is drastically better than the league average due to his extreme fly-ball tendencies and uncanny ability to induce weak contact.

If the Royals believe in his ability to continue to be useful and versatile, a salary of about $5MM per season does not seem like an unreasonable price to pay. And considering the fact that Kansas City plays in one of the American League’s most expansive ball parks and typically prioritizes outfield defense — Lorenzo Cain is among the game’s best, though they’ll have a significant defensive hole to fill if Alex Gordon leaves — Young’s skill set seems perfectly tailored to succeed with the Royals. It remains to be seen just how many innings Young can handle in a season — the 165 he threw for Seattle in 2014 were his most since 2007, and he’s never even reached 180 — but for the reported price, Young doesn’t need to log 200+ innings in order to more than justify his salary.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Trade Interest In Boston’s Starting Pitchers

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Names such as Joe Kelly, Wade Miley and Clay Buchholz have all been mentioned in a wide variety of trade rumors thus far today, so we’ll start keeping track of non-major updates in one spot. Thus far, the Mariners are known to be discussing either Miley or Buchholz (and, as I noted in that post, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto has a long history with Miley). The Rangers, on the other hand, are said to have quite a bit of interest in Kelly. Boston, of course, signed David Price to a record-setting $217MM contract last week, giving them more starters than rotation spots. The remaining pitchers on their roster figure to be oft-mentioned as trade candidates at this week’s Winter Meetings.

Here’s the latest…

  • The Red Sox aren’t motivated to trade Kelly at this time, a Major League source tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. Kelly is more affordable than either Buchholz or Miley in the near-term, and his finish to the season was exceptionally strong, so it shouldn’t come as a total shock that the team isn’t necessarily looking to deal him. There still seems to be quite a bit of interest in Kelly, however, so it’s certainly possible that a club alters Boston’s course of thinking in the coming three to four days.
  • The Rangers have indeed talked to the Red Sox about a deal involving Kelly, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, but their focus is said to be elsewhere at this time. MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan adds (also via Twitter) that in addition to Kelly, the Rangers have spoken to Boston about Miley.
  • The Marlins have checked in with the Red Sox about both Miley and Kelly, according to MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (Twitter link). Miami is known to be seeking starting pitching upgrades, and the Marlins had quite a bit of interest in Miley last year at this time before he wound up being traded to the Red Sox.
  • Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that the Royals are interested in some of the Red Sox’ starters but don’t have interest in Rick Porcello (Twitter link).

Quick Hits: Cueto, Ozuna, Gordon, Lee, Sale

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Bryce Dixon, Johnny Cueto’s agent, tells ESPNdeportes.com’s Enrique Rojas that it was an easy call for his client to reject the six-year, $120MM contract recently offered to him by the Diamondbacks.  “It was a low offer for the market,” Dixon said. “We didn’t have to think hard to reject that offer.  Arizona wanted to do something fast, but we didn’t want to take something below market value for a No. 1 starter, and with the recent events, I think that time gave us the reason.”  Indeed, Cueto now stands as the top arm on the market after the last week’s flurry of free agent pitching signings, and Dixon has enough leverage that he and Cueto don’t need to rush the decision.  “I don’t have a specific timetable….We have some offers and we will have several meetings in Nashville, but right now I could not tell if Cueto will have a team after the conclusion of the meetings. We have plenty of time until the beginning of the season,” Dixon said.

Here’s more from around baseball, as the Winter Meetings news avalanche has already begun…

  • During a conference call with media (including MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro) on Thursday, Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill denied that the team was shopping either Jose Fernandez or Marcell Ozuna.  Many reports have suggested that the Fish are unlikely and not really willing to deal Fernandez in absence of a stunning offer, though Ozuna has been one of the more openly talked-about trade candidates of the offseason.  “Contrary to some of the myriad of rumors out there, we are not actively shopping [Ozuna],” Hill said.  “Clubs are coming after him because he’s a talented player….When someone calls, we listen to see if it is something that makes sense, both in the short-term and the long-term.”  While Hill could be engaging in some gamesmanship here, it’s also possible he’s being truthful, and that interest in Ozuna has been so heavy that the Marlins actually haven’t needed to make any calls about him themselves.
  • The Royals haven’t abandoned the idea of re-signing Alex Gordon since they’re waiting on the outfield market to become more defined, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.
  • First baseman Dae-ho Lee is on his way to the Winter Meetings, the Korean slugger told media (including Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News) before departing from Incheon to Nashville.  Lee’s agent has informed him that “four to five teams are showing interest” in his services, and if possible, he’d like to sign with “a championship-caliber team” that can offer him regular playing time.  Lee has put up big power numbers over career in KBO and NPB, though he is coming to North American at a rather advanced age (33) for a first-time player.  In opting out of his contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Lee walked away from 600 million yen (or roughly $4.9MM) for the 2016 season, Yoo notes on Twitter.
  • Yoo’s piece also notes that Lee is represented by both the Seoul-based Montis Sports Management Group and the MVP Sports Group.
  • Chris Sale’s contract is often cited as one of the most team-friendly in the sport, and though it’s been even more dwarfed by this winter’s giant pitcher contracts, the White Sox ace tells MLB.com’s Scott Merkin that he has no regrets about his early-career extension.  “I knew exactly what I was getting into at the time I was getting into it, and I could not have asked for anything more,” Sale said, also noting that he thinks “to just keep playing the game as a kid and not have to worry about the business side, I think it has done me a lot of good.”  Sale’s extension guaranteed him $32.5MM from 2013-17, and Chicago has club options on the left-hander for 2018 and 2019 that could add another $26MM to the deal.

Saltalamacchia Had Interest From “6-7 Clubs”

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Earlier tonight, the Tigers announced the signing of catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a one-year deal for the MLB minimum. Before he put pen to paper with Detroit, however, Salty’s camp was in talks with “six or seven clubs,” according to a baseball source who spoke with MLBTR.  The backstop drew varying levels of interest from the White Sox, Royals, Rays, Orioles (prior to Matt Wieters accepting his QO), Phillies, Angels, and the incumbent D’Backs.

The Tigers have landed themselves a veteran who can be a reliable presence behind starter James McCann.  Saltalamacchia also could get some opportunities as DH and first base as he moves back to the American League.  The former first round pick looked strong in his 70 game run for the D’Backs in 2015 and he’ll attempt to build off of that with Detroit in the New Year.

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