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Heyman’s Latest: Royals, Kazmir, Dee Gordon, Clippard, Holliday, Padres, Astros

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There are a host of interesting notes in the latest column from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Here are some of the highlights:

  • While the Royals are still interested in free agent starters Yovani Gallardo and Scott Kazmir, as has previously been reported, the club may be most intrigued by Wei-Yin Chen, per Heyman. Kansas City would have to go well beyond its usual spending levels to add the southpaw, but Heyman writes that the club has newfound budget “flexibility” in the midst of its renaissance. Chen, though, is represented by Scott Boras, with whom the Royals have a strong relationship. (Kendrys Morales, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alex Rios and Franklin Morales are among the current or recent Royals to be Boras clients.)
  • Kazmir already has multiple three-year offers with guarantees in the range of $12MM to $13MM annually, per the report, with teams like the Athletics, Orioles, and Dodgers said to be involved. It seems like the first legitimate four-year offer could land Kazmir, Heyman adds. Of course, it’s unclear if the A’s will still be in the hunt if and when their reported one-year deal with righty Henderson Alvarez is finalized.
  • Meanwhile, the Royals are still pursuing Alex Gordon, but Heyman reports that the team’s initial four-year offer was not met with a very promising response from Gordon’s camp. It’s been surprisingly quiet on the Gordon front for much of the offseason, although with Jason Heyward off the board, it’s easy to imagine the market for him and fellow corner outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton picking up quickly.
  • The Royals are holding extension discussions with backstop Salvador Perez, says Heyman, and there’s interest from team and player in reaching “something equitable.” But K.C. has all the leverage, of course, given its already lengthy and cheap control rights over the sturdy young catcher. Heyman adds that Perez’s representatives have raised the extensions of players like Troy Tulowitzki, Evan Longoria, and Ryan Braun in talks, with the Royals not favorably disposed to those concepts. (An observation: those deals certainly don’t seem all that relevant from where I sit. Perez is an excellent player, but hasn’t reached the heights of those stars, and his current contract is far cheaper than the ones Longoria and Braun turned into new deals. Also, as a heavily-worked, large-framed catcher, there are questions about how wise it would be to make a long-term investment in Perez.)
  • The Marlins have continued their extension talks with Dee Gordon, and Heyman says that Miami has put a five-year deal on the table. But Gordon and his reps are looking for seven seasons in an extension. The talks are moving slowly, but still moving, per Heyman.
  • While the Mets do have legitimate interest in Tyler Clippard, they only want him with a one-year guarantee, per Heyman. Clippard is looking for a two-year deal he adds. It certainly seems that the veteran’s market is lagging the rest of the top-end set-up men who hit free agency this year. That could be due to a combination of his heavy recent workload and sub-par peripherals last year, but Clippard should still find a significant contract given his lengthy track record and the high dollars we’ve seen given to inferior arms.
  • Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday has been working out at first base, with the veteran looking to extend his career by adding defensive versatility. While that’s been done at Holliday’s initiative, Heyman wonders whether the hypothetical possibility of a move could keep St. Louis involved in the hunt for Gordon.
  • The Padres seem unlikely to put together a big offer for Ian Desmond. That would certainly be bad news for the free agent, whose market has yet to develop, as San Diego seems like one of the best fits. The Pads are not getting a lot of interest in James Shields at present and have put a high price on Tyson Ross, per the report. Meanwhile, the club is considering a move for veteran reliever Fernando Rodney.
  • The Astros aren’t done with their bullpen and remain in the market for relievers as well as a corner bat, Heyman writes. Houston non-tendered Chris Carter, and A.J. Reed probably won’t be ready to begin the season, so there does indeed appear to be room for someone capable of taking some at-bats at first base (although Jon Singleton could be given another look there as well).
  • We’ve heard chatter that the Orioles and Rockies have had some talks regarding outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, and Heyman says that Colorado asked for young righty Kevin Gausman in a deal. That was, unsurprisingly, a non-starter for Baltimore. The O’s, meanwhile, tried to get Andre Ethier from the Dodgers last offseason, and Heyman wonders whether another such effort could take place this year as the club continues to hunt for another left-handed-hitting outfielder (per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, on Twitter).
  • The Indians had talks with free agent Austin Jackson before signing Rajai Davis, per Heyman. He adds that there are legitimate concerns that Michael Brantley will be out into June “or perhaps even later” after some undisclosed new shoulder “issue” arose this winter.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Cubs Notes: Price, Bullpen, Heyward

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The Cubs made a run at David Price this winter, but they weren’t necessarily close to landing him.  Chicago fell roughly $50MM short of the Red Sox’s offer, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein told WEEI this week.  “We ended up a distant third,” Epstein said.

“He’s a great pitcher and we were involved and very interested,” said Epstein, who was apparently also behind the Cardinals in the Price sweepstakes. “We thought, he’s an elite, elite pitcher, the kind that very rarely makes it to the free agent market, he’s got terrific makeup, where he influences a team not just through his performance on the field, but he’s a real culture-changer or a culture-enhancer, at the very least, in the clubhouse.”

Here’s more on the Cubs:

  • The Cubs’ current focus is on trading for relievers, major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Chicago isn’t looking for high-end types like Andrew Miller of the Yankees, but they are fishing for middle-inning and setup options who would provide additional depth.  In the outfield, he adds, the Cubs’ plan is to play Jason Heyward in center field rather than add a center fielder and slide Heyward into right field.  The Cubs could also consider a trade for a starting pitcher.
  • After sitting on lower payroll numbers for six years, Cubs ownership has opened up the purse strings, Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago writes.  Epstein & Co. now have a projected $155MM payroll on the 25-man roster for 2016, eclipsing the previous watermark of $145MM in 2010.  The payroll should keep rising from here, thanks to a projected attendance hike this season and a TV contract that will give the Cubs billions of dollars worth of revenue.
  • In his introductory press conference this week, Heyward explained that he was drawn to the Cubs in part because of the roster stability he expects them to have going forward.   “Knowing the core is young and those guys are going to be around for a while is very exciting,” Heyward said, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com. “I don’t want to take the highest dollar amount when my gut is telling me to go somewhere else. Being 26 years old and knowing that my contract would put me in any clubhouse for longer than most people there, you have to look at age, how fast the team is changing and how soon those changes will come about.”

AL Central Notes: Frazier, Indians, Cespedes, Rondon, Ramos

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Todd Frazier is reportedly being shopped “heavily” by the Reds, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the most extensive interest in Cincinnati’s third baseman is coming from the American League Central. The Indians, White Sox and Royals are all in the mix for Frazier, Nightengale hears, which aligns with previous reports connecting the three clubs to the All-Star third baseman. Both Cleveland and Chicago could use upgrades at the hot corner, while Frazier would most likely be deployed in left field were the Royals to line up with the Reds on a trade.

Elsewhere in the AL Central…

  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that while the Indians may have lost a pair of trade partners when the D-backs (Zack Greinke, Shelby Miller) and Giants (Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija) each added a pair of high-profile starting pitchers, there are still plenty of clubs with interest in Cleveland’s stockpile of young, controllable pitching. Hoynes feels that the Cubs (John Lackey signing notwithstanding), Rockies, Astros, Cardinals, Marlins and rebuilding Reds are all teams that could line up as trade partners. Cleveland is looking to bolster its offense and is interested in names like Jorge Soler, Javier Baez, Marcell Ozuna and Frazier. A one-for-one trade of Frazier for either Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar won’t be happening, he notes, as each has five years of club control compared to Frazier’s two. But, further pieces could make the deal more appealing. Failing a trade, the Indians could turn to relatively inexpensive names on the free agent market, where they’ve been linked to Rajai Davis, Shane Victorino and Steve Pearce.
  • Although Tigers GM Al Avila ruled out a run at top-of-the-market outfielders like Yoenis Cespedes at last week’s Winter Meetings, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press notes that owner Mike Ilitch made no such claim. Fenech writes that while the Tigers aren’t seen as a major player for Cespedes now, that could change if he lingers on the open market and his price tag drops. Ilitch bluntly stated that “[doesn’t] care about money” after signing Jordan Zimmermann, and there’s certainly the case that Cespedes’ agents at Roc Nation Sports could pitch directly to Ilitch, as Scott Boras reportedly did with Prince Fielder four years ago.
  • Also from Fenech, Tigers righty Bruce Rondon instigated a benches-clearing brawl at a game in the Venezuelan Winter League over the weekend. Fenech notes that manager Brad Ausmus had said just days prior that Rondon could work his way back into the bullpen picture by showing up to Spring Training with improved focus. The Tigers abruptly sent Rondon home with just under two weeks left in the season, citing his “effort level” as the driving factor behind the decision.
  • The Twins met with Cesar Ramos’ agents and listened to a pitch on the lefty reliever in Nashville, reports 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson (via Twitter). However, Wolfson doesn’t get the sense that there’s any real movement on that front. Increasingly, it seems like the Twins will trade for the lefty reliever(s) they’re seeking.

Giants, Johnny Cueto Progressing Toward Deal

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3:17pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the two sides are making progress on a deal and could have an agreement in place soon (Twitter link).

2:34pm: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Giants and Cueto are discussing a deal that “easily” tops the $120MM figure he rejected from Arizona. The Dodgers and “a couple others” are still in the mix, but the Giants are working the hardest to get something done. The deal being discussed with San Francisco (and others) will “likely” contain an opt-out clause, Heyman adds.

1:48pm: The Cardinals and Dodgers have both “dabbled” in Cueto’s market, tweets Crasnick, but both teams were hesitant to even approach the reported $120-126MM that Cueto rejected, let alone exceed it.

1:24pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that action on Cueto does indeed seem to be picking up (links to Twitter). One source that spoke to Crasnick and knows Cueto’s market well feels that the right-hander could ultimately top the $120-126MM offer he rejected from the D-backs.

12:46pm: The Giants are making a “strong push” for right-hander Johnny Cueto, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

San Francisco, of course, was a finalist for the services of Zack Greinke but lost out to a stunning last-minute push by the division-rival Diamondbacks. Since that time, they’ve added Jeff Samardzija on a five-year, $90MM contract, but they’ve reportedly been open to bringing in another starter in addition to that signing. Cueto has already rejected a six-year offer from the D-backs that was reported to be worth $120-126MM in total, which should serve as a barometer of sorts when gauging the type of money it will take to sign him. Of course, it’s not certain that Cueto will sign for more than that figure — his market may have some down a bit, he may simply not have wanted to play with the D-backs, etc. — but it’d be a surprise to see him take substantially less just two weeks after that reported offer.

Cueto, 30 in February, posted a combined 3.44 ERA in 212 innings with the Reds and Royals this past season. His late struggles with Kansas City are well known at this point, as he recorded a 6.49 ERA over his final 51 1/3 innings on his new club. Cueto had mixed results in the playoffs, struggling in two starts but also delivering a pair of masterpieces, including a one-run, complete game victory over the Mets in Game Two of the World Series.

Cueto missed a small amount of time over the summer with a minor elbow injury that never sent him to the disabled list. Regardless, the earlier injury and rocky performance with the Royals has created a fair amount of skepticism surrounding him this offseason, at least in the media. Clearly, with at least one club willing to offer a significant six-year contract, teams aren’t completely scared off by any uncertainties that may exist regarding his right elbow.

Mozeliak: “Dynamic” Signing Unlikely For Cardinals

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Having missed out on left-hander David Price and right fielder Jason Heyward, the Cardinals are unlikely to make a “dynamic” signing this offseason, GM John Mozeliak tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“It’s clear now this offseason is not going to have that dynamic signing that we tried to do with Price and Heyward,” Mozeliak explains. “There isn’t anything now that we’re chasing with a nine-figure contract. We can take the time to see what we have in the players we control. Obviously, we’re always open to adjusting.”

While that doesn’t eliminate the chance that the Cardinals could still add a notable free agent, it casts doubt on the likelihood of adding any of the top remaining bats on the market. Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, Chris Davis and Alex Gordon — the latter two of whom have both been linked to St. Louis — all have cases to exceed $100MM on their next contracts. While USA Today’s Bob Nightengale said after Heyward’s agreement with the Cubs that the Cardinals would turn their focus to Gordon, Goold now writes that Mozeliak and his staff don’t consider Gordon an alternative to Heyward. Goold likens the scenario to the Price/Zack Greinke market, noting that the Cards didn’t jump into the mix for the latter upon seeing the former sign in Boston.

The Cardinals are still looking for upgrades to the pitching staff, whether in the form of an additional starting pitcher or a bullpen arm, writes Goold, though he notes that the market for starting pitching may need to change before St. Louis enters the fray for the top remaining names. The team has been linked to Mike Leake and Wei-Yin Chen, though Goold specifically notes that Leake’s market may have escalated beyond the Cardinals’ comfort zone.

Price and Heyward were considered to be exceptions to the Cardinals’ typically measured approach to free agency, according to Goold. Though the loss of Heyward stings more given the fact that he’ll head to a division rival, it doesn’t appear as though there was any lack of effort on the Cardinals’ behalf. Reports have already indicated that the Cardinals offered Heyward a larger overall guarantee, and Goold adds that St. Louis’ deal, too, included an opt-out clause. (Of course, Heyward’s agreement with the Cubs is said to contain two opt-out clauses and afford him a higher annual value.) Having been spurned by Heyward, St. Louis figures to enter the season with an outfield trio of Matt Holliday, Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty (although Mozeliak said nothing to suggest that trade scenarios would not be entertained).

In the rotation, Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez and Jaime Garcia should all have spots locked down, while lefties Tyler Lyons and Marco Gonzales could factor in at the back end of the mix. Further additions shouldn’t be ruled out, although Goold does note that there’s a chance the only further signing would be to bring someone to camp to compete for a job in Spring Training. That, again, doesn’t necessarily preclude the Cards from upgrading via trade, though neither Mozeliak nor Goold indicated that said scenario is likely, either.

NL Central Notes: Davis, Holliday, Walker, Lee

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The Cardinals didn’t have a strong interest in Chris Davis at the start of December and not much seems to have changed in two weeks, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Cards still aren’t keen on the free agent slugger.  Of course, quite a bit has happened in the last two weeks, as St. Louis has come up short in its pursuit of such top-tier free agents as Jason Heyward and David Price.  Rather than sign Davis, the Cards seem prepared to use a Brandon Moss/Matt Adams platoon at first base this season (not to mention Stephen Piscotty also on hand as an option at first).  Here’s more from around the NL Central…

  • The Cardinals’ interest in Alex Gordon is complicated by Matt Holliday’s presence in left, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi writes.  Aside from a handful of games at DH, Holliday has never played anywhere other than left field during his 12-year career, so someone like Gordon would have to be okay with playing in center or right for 2016 — Holliday is only under contract through this season.  Holliday has a no-trade clause, and he’s probably unlikely to waive it to go elsewhere this late in his career.  Morosi also floats an interesting little conspiracy theory, noting that Holliday and Davis are both represented by Scott Boras; so if Holliday refuses a trade and blocks a Gordon signing, that could theoretically make St. Louis a suitor for Davis if the club is intent on adding another big bat.
  • The history of Neil Walker’s long-term extension talks with the Pirates is compiled in a very interesting piece from Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Walker turned down a multi-year offer from the Bucs in his 2010 rookie year and talks didn’t pick up again until last winter.  The Pirates offered a three-year, $27MM extension that would’ve covered Walker’s last two arb years and his first free agent year; that was countered by a two-year, $19MM offer from Walker’s camp but the Pirates wanted a team option on that 2017 free agent year.  “The offer wasn’t very realistic.  And there was no negotiating in between. It was, ‘Here it is.’ When we countered, there was no response, so we went to the [arbitration] hearing,” Walker said.  That hearing ended up being “probably the point when I lost all faith in the organization,” as Walker was put off by the Pirates’ assessment of his play and figured his days were numbered in Pittsburgh.  Walker’s tenure with the Bucs ended last week when he was traded to the Mets for Jon Niese.  On the Walker negotiations, GM Neal Huntington said that “every agreement has to find a common middle ground. We’ve been successful on other fronts. This one was not successful. We’re as much at fault as anybody.”
  • The Pirates have some level of interest in Korean first baseman/DH Dae-ho Lee, according to Biertempfel (on Twitter).  Lee met with GMs from four clubs in Nashville, per Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (on Twitter), though it’s not clear whether the Pirates were one of those teams.  Lee feels that he might not have a deal by the end of 2015, though he could sign sometime in January (link to Yoo’s Twitter).
  • The Cubs “had a lot of lines in the water” on the trade market, an NL executive tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  “The expectation is,” as Sherman writes, that the aggressive Cubs will make another big move to add a front-of-the-rotation young starter, and are dangling Jorge Soler and/or Javier Baez to make such a deal happen.

MLBTR’s Zach Links also contributed to this post

Reactions To Jason Heyward Signing With Cubs

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Not only did the Cardinals lose out on Jason Heyward – they lost out while offering the most overall money, according to Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch.  Two sources tell Goold that the Cardinals’ offer was greater in guaranteed value while the Cubs had the higher annual average value, at $23MM/year.  As Goold notes, this marks the second time this winter that the Cardinals made a serious run at one of the winter’s top free agents and came up short.  The other instance, of course, being their failed pursuit of David Price.

Here’s a roundup of reactions to Heyward’s massive new deal with the Cubs:

  • The Cubs’ signing of Jason Heyward has left the Cardinals feeling jilted, Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.  Now, the Cardinals must move on and add at least one significant piece, Hochman opines.  The writer suggests that the Cards should sign Alex Gordon toplay right field or first base, with Stephen Piscotty playing the other.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports discussed Cubs president Theo Epstein, who now finds himself at the helm of baseball’s newest juggernaut.  Within the article, Rosenthal writes that rival execs say Epstein has long been fixated on Heyward, going back to his early days with the Braves.  Rosenthal also feels that the Cubs were motivated to sign Heyward and Lackey, in part, because they were effectively taking pieces away from the rival Cardinals.
  • Things have changed in Chicago, as evidenced by the free agent additions of Heyward, Lackey, and Ben Zobrist, Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com writes.  Back in November, Epstein says that he didn’t envision the Cubs being able to do two deals in the range of $100MM this offseason.  Things quickly changed, however.
  • The Cubs now have a monster lineup headlined by Heyward, Phil Rogers of MLB.com writes.

Reported Runner-Up Offers For Heyward And Greinke

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The most important numbers involved in any free agent scenario are, obviously, the final deal terms. But the offers made by other clubs are not only interesting but also potentially tell us something about the market — both at the time of the signing and even moving forward.

We heard plenty of discussion today about how much cash was dangled in front of two of this year’s three biggest free agent pieces: Jason Heyward and Zack Greinke. Heyward reportedly agreed with the Cubs for eight years and $184MM, with a contract provision allowing him two separate opportunities to opt out of the deal and re-enter the market. Meanwhile, after exercising just such a clause to jump back into the free agent waters, Greinke inked a mind-blowing six-year, $206.5MM deal with the Diamondbacks (which included some very significant deferrals).

Before entering those arrangements, both players considered multiple other arrangements. For Heyward, the elusive $200MM barrier was reportedly met or exceeded by both the Nationals and the Cardinals. (Per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch — here and here — and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, on Twitter.) And at least one other team, possibly the Angels, also beat Chicago’s total guarantee with its bid. (That’s per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, Twitter links; see here for the Halos’ late interest.)

Notably, though, we’ve not been told how many years Washington and St. Louis covered in their offers, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that it seems neither met the $23MM AAV that Heyward will reportedly receive. And as Keith Law of ESPN.com stresses on Twitter, it’s even more important to bear in mind that the opt-out opportunities carry significant value and that Heyward will owe less in state taxes in Illinois than he would have in the other locales.

While acknowledging the opt-out value, Passan notes that it’s nevertheless “uncommon” for a player to turn down a greater overall guarantee, and that’s largely true in the abstract. But it’s important to remember, too, that Heyward’s unique market placement — he hasn’t even reached the halfway point between 26 and 27 years of age — makes his situation quite a bit different from that of most free agents.

For one thing, Heyward’s age arguably increases the worth of those bail-out clauses even further, since he’ll gain the right to re-enter the market in advance of his age-29 season. That’s still early for a free agent, and might give Heyward a chance not only to step up his AAV (if his performance increases and/or salary inflation continues) but also to tack on more years down the line. Greinke pulled exactly that trick despite turning 32 before signing his new deal, and the upside for Heyward is even greater.

Also, gaining two opt-out points will allow Heyward to assess his market timing while keeping the future guarantee in his back pocket. That not only adds to the value going to him in this deal but also increases the uncertainty and risk for the Cubs.

It’s worth noting, too, that even if Heyward does play out the full eight years in Chicago, he’ll stand to hit the market again before he turns 35. That’s exactly the point in his career that Ben Zobrist finds himself as he joins the Cubs on a four-year, $56MM contract. There’s good reason to believe that Heyward will be plenty capable of continuing to earn money on the open market at the end of his deal, which makes it much easier (and arguably wise) to forego another year (or two) of commitment for a relatively marginal bump in the overall guarantee — all at the cost of annual earning power.

Simply put, without knowing whether the other bidders were willing to include similar opt-out terms, and without knowing the length of their proposals, it’s impossible to compare the offers. From my perspective, though, the deal that Heyward ultimately agreed to is a better contract for him than the straight ten-year, $200MM deal that we at MLBTR thought Heyward could command (see here and here).

As for Greinke, the veteran righty said today in his introductory press conference that he was literally minutes away from signing with some unknown other club before Arizona swept in. ESPN’s Molly Knight tweeted that the Giants were actually the runners up, making Greinke a six-year, $195MM offer.

But San Francisco’s president of baseball operations Brian Sabean has said publicly that the club was not comfortable promising Greinke a sixth year. And both Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area (Twitter link) and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (also on Twitter) strongly disputed the notion that the Giants had come anywhere near the D-Backs’ offer.

The Dodgers, too, are said to have balked at going to six years on Greinke, as MLB.com’s Mark Saxon was among those to note recently (Twitter link). It remains unclear how high the Los Angeles offer was, and whether it or another team was the one that nearly struck a deal with Greinke.

Looking at all of those reported offers, it seems clear that there are several clubs that have the capacity and willingness to spend much more money this winter than they have so far. That’s not to say that all will actually put that cash right back into free agency. But the potential is there, and it’s also notable that an unexpected team (the Diamondbacks) put so much cash onto the market.

All said, there’s plenty left to be spent. And that makes sense: more than half of MLBTR’s top fifty free agents — including six of the top ten — remain unsigned at present.

Cardinals Expected To Pursue Alex Gordon

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With Jason Heyward set to join the division-rival Cubs, the Cardinals are expected to make a push to add fellow free agent outfielder Alex Gordon, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. Of course, Gordon has also reportedly drawn interest from deep-pocketed clubs like the Giants, Angels, and others, so his market promises to be robust.

St. Louis has also been rumored to have some interest in slugger Chris Davis, who might not be seen as an outfielder but could still fit in St. Louis, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posits on Twitter that he could still be an option. Going for Gordon, meanwhile, might also leave the team with some free capacity to add a starter, Rosenthal suggests.

It should be noted that it remains entirely unclear whether the Cards will plan to reallocate any cash that might have gone to Heyward (or to David Price) directly back into free agency. After all, the organization has not traditionally been one of the biggest factors in free agency. And while, owner Bill DeWitt Jr. has said that the Cards will “stretch” in the right situation, it’s not clear whether any such opportunities remain.

Of course, Gordon promises to command a far more limited commitment than did Heyward and Price. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted a $105MM commitment over five years, which is a hefty sum for a player who’ll soon turn 32 but is nowhere near the overall outlay needed to land the other two. It also still seems likely he’ll fall shy of Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes, the other top outfielders remaining on the market.

Jason Heyward Makes Decision; Cardinals Out, Nats Pessimistic

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11:54pm: Heyman tweets that the Nationals are believed to have offered about or exactly $200MM to Heyward.

11:52am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Cardinals are “out” on Heyward.

11:50am: Jason Heyward has made a decision on which team he’ll sign with, a source tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). Goold writes that while the Cardinals were aggressive, it doesn’t sound like Heyward chose them. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that the Nationals aren’t optimistic about a deal, either. The Cubs are “very much in play,” says Goold, though no report has indicated that Chicago has agreed to terms with Heyward just yet.

Heyward was said recently to be nearing a decision, with the Cubs, Cardinals and Nationals as finalists. The Angels were, at one point, said to be a finalist also, and the Giants have been linked to him, though they reportedly never made a formal offer.

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