Ian Desmond Focused On One Team, Working To Finalize Deal Today
9:27am: FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Desmond won’t be returning to the Rangers, either.
9:17am: Free agent outfielder/infielder Ian Desmond has narrowed his focus to one team, and his representatives are “in the process of finalizing his deal today,” reports ESPN’s Jim Bowden. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears the same (Twitter link), adding that the Cardinals have been been discussing Desmond. However, Goold isn’t sure if St. Louis is the team on which Desmond is focused. Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post also tweets that Desmond is likely to sign today, but he won’t be returning to the Nationals.
[Related: Ian Desmond’s Free Agent Profile]
Desmond, 30, has been connected to the Rangers, Cardinals, Orioles and Nationals over the course of his second trip through free agency, though many teams are likely to be interested in him after he proved a capable outfielder and hit .285/.335/.446 with 22 homers and 21 steals in a rebound campaign with the Rangers.
That production at the plate has led to a notable shift in the demand for Desmond when compared to his market an offseason ago, when he remained available into February and signed a one-year deal with the Rangers. Speculatively speaking, in addition to the above-listed teams, Desmond would be a strong fit for the Blue Jays, Giants, Mariners, Indians and Phillies.
Rangers To Re-Sign Carlos Gomez
Veteran center fielder Carlos Gomez has agreed to a one-year deal with the Rangers, pending a physical, FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets. He will receive $11.5MM, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman (on Twitter). Gomez is a Scott Boras client.
That Texas would have wanted to re-sign Gomez perhaps isn’t surprising — the Rangers, who were set to lose both Gomez and Ian Desmond to free agency this winter, were short in the outfield and had lately had talks about a variety of off-the-beaten-path outfield options, including Travis Jankowski and Matt Szczur. They’ve also shown interest in Jarrod Dyson.
Gomez gives the Rangers a more obvious solution to their hole in center field, where he’ll be flanked by Nomar Mazara and Shin-Soo Choo. After struggling with the Astros to start 2016, Gomez signed with the Rangers as a free agent at midseason and hit a terrific .284/.362/.543, looking a lot like the Carlos Gomez who played his way to the fringes of the NL MVP race with the Brewers in 2013 and 2014. While advanced metrics suggest Gomez isn’t quite the defender he once was, he’s also still very much a legitimate center fielder. MLBTR ranked Gomez 19th on its list of the top 50 free agents this winter, predicting he’d re-sign with the Rangers. (Desmond also looked like a candidate to return, but Gomez re-signing would seem to suggest Desmond will sign elsewhere, although that’s not yet certain.)
That Gomez, who’s still just 31, would receive only a one-year deal is surprising, but perhaps he’s hoping to continue rebuilding his value after his ugly performance in Houston. If he were to do so with another strong year in Texas, he could position himself for a big payday next winter. The deal is a favorable one for the Rangers, who are assuming very limited risk despite Gomez’s somewhat erratic performance history — even given Gomez’s success with the Rangers, his total line for 2016 was still just .231/.298/.384. If, for whatever reason, Gomez’s 2017 looks more like his Astros performance than his 2016 Rangers performance, the Rangers are still only out $11.5MM.
SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo wrote that Gomez and the Rangers met today (Twitter links), with Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan tweeting that a deal could come together quickly. Yahoo!’s Tim Brown tweeted the length of the deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rangers Interested In Justin Wilson, Matt Szczur
- The Rangers continue to be among the teams interested in Wilson, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Grant reported yesterday that the two teams had had conversations about Wilson.
- The Rangers have also asked the Cubs about Matt Szczur, Grant tweets. The 27-year-old Szczur batted .259/.312/.400 while playing all three outfield positions for the Cubs last season. He might be a better fit on a team like the Rangers that’s currently a bit short on established outfielders, rather than one like the Cubs who have plenty.
Rangers Ask Padres About Travis Jankowski
The Rangers continue looking for a center fielder following the potential departures of Ian Desmond and Carlos Gomez, and it appears one possible answer could be the Padres’ Travis Jankowski, according to T.R. Sullivan and AJ Cassavell, both of MLB.com.
Jankowski, of course, is not a big, or even medium, name, as Desmond, Gomez and potential trade target Billy Hamilton are. Jankowski graded as an outstanding defender in 2016, however, and could keep the Rangers strong up the middle. He posted an excellent 12.8 UZR and 8 Defensive Runs Saved in 2016, accumulating 2.1 Wins Above Replacement even as he batted just .245/.332/.313.
“[The] reality is that the better that we get defensively, the better we’re going to make our starting pitching and relief pitching core,” says Rangers manager Jeff Banister, via Sullivan. “The situation last year, [we were] a club that won 95 games; however, we still need to get better on defense.”
Another possible current option for the Rangers in center field is Delino DeShields, although it appears he is available in a trade, as Comcast SportsNet California’s Joe Stiglich tweets. DeShields struggled to get going in 2016, batting just .209/.275/.313.
The Padres, meanwhile, have Manuel Margot to man center field in the long term, and could have interest in Rangers 24-year-old infielder Hanser Alberto, who’s struggled to get established in the big leagues over the past two seasons. Alberto also hit a modest .275/.302/.411 at Triple-A Round Rock in 2016, suggesting he’s unlikely to hit much. He could, however, hold interest for Padres GM A.J. Preller, who helped sign Alberto as a member of the Rangers’ front office in 2009. Also, like Jankowski, Alberto has fared well defensively in limited big-league time, grading out well at both shortstop and second base. While the Padres have plenty of options at second, they don’t have as many at short, where their depth chart is topped by youngster Luis Sardinas. A possible Jankowski-for-Alberto swap, then, could help both teams upgrade defensively at positions of need.
Royals Making Progress Toward Trading Jarrod Dyson; Athletics Interested
The Royals are advancing toward a potential trade of outfielder Jarrod Dyson, with the Athletics as a potential suitor, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes (all Twitter links). (Jon Heyman of FanRag adds the Rangers and Orioles to the list of interested teams.) The idea, Sherman reports, is that with a number of key players set to become eligible for free agency following the 2017 season (including Dyson, Wade Davis, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Alcides Escobar), the Royals need to think about how the team will look in the future. Meanwhile, they can capitalize on the market’s current demand for center field help by trading Dyson, while also dealing Davis and moving Kelvin Herrera to the closer’s role.
The 32-year-old Dyson batted a relatively modest .278/.340/.388 in 2016 and only collected 337 plate appearances, but still contributed 3.1 fWAR thanks to his excellent defense. The Athletics need outfield help and have, in recent years, acquired outfielders like Coco Crisp, Sam Fuld and Craig Gentry whose profiles when acquired were heavily oriented around defense. Dyson is also relatively cheap, at a projected $2.5MM for 2017. It makes a degree of sense, then, that the A’s would want to add him.
Rangers Discussed Deal With Reds For Starting Pitching
The Rangers and Reds have discussed a trade potentially involving either Anthony DeSclafani or Dan Straily, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets. Sullivan adds that another option for the Rangers as they attempt to address their rotation could be a reunion with free agent Colby Lewis. The Reds, meanwhile, are interested in reliever Jeremy Jeffress.
DeSclafani, it would seem, would be the more valuable of the two Reds trade chips. The 26-year-old righty posted a 3.28 ERA, 7.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 123 1/3 solid innings in 2016, and with less than three years of service time, he could be a solid middle-of-the-rotation piece for years to come. The 28-year-old Straily, though, also had a surprisingly solid year after arriving in Cincinnati via a waiver claim, posting a 3.76 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 while eating 191 1/3 innings.
Lewis, now 37, posted a respectable 3.71 ERA in Texas in 2016, but with underwhelming peripherals (5.6 K/9, 2.2 BB/9). He also missed time to a strained lat.
The Reds’ interest in Jeffress is somewhat difficult to understand at first glance. The veteran Jeffress’ strong 2016 season and closing experience would make him somewhat of an odd fit as a luxury item for a rebuilding club, unless perhaps the Reds’ plan upon acquiring him would be to flip him to another team. The Reds could also potentially be thinking that Jeffress’ personal issues, including a recent DWI arrest, could reduce his price, although the Rangers have shown little reluctance in recent years in dealing with troubled players. The Rangers do, however, have significant relief depth.
Red Sox, Indians Reportedly Pursuing Mitch Moreland
4:05pm: There is “strong buzz” at the Winter Meetings suggesting the Red Sox could sign Moreland, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN tweets.
10:27am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Boston is “strongly in the mix” for Moreland.
10:17am: The Red Sox are in on first baseman Mitch Moreland, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who also notes that the Indians are in the mix for Moreland. The Rangers, according to Wilson, are “out” on Moreland, who has spent his entire career to date in a Rangers uniform. Moreland could be nearing a decision, Wilson further reports.
The 31-year-old Moreland had a big 2015 in Texas (.278/.330/.482) but slipped up in 2016, struggling to a .233/.298/.422 batting line in 503 plate appearances. Moreland would give either club a left-handed option at first base/designated hitter, but he’d need a platoon partner, as he’s a career .240/.295/.378 hitter against left-handed pitching. He has, however, hit at least 22 homers in each of his past three healthy seasons (an ankle injury limited him to 52 games in 2014).
Boston obviously has an opening at DH and has reportedly been averse to the idea of signing a designated hitter to a long-term deal. Moreland could present a shorter-term option. As for Cleveland, the reigning AL champions could lose Mike Napoli to free agency, and given Napoli’s reported preference for a lucrative three-year deal, Moreland could represent both a younger and more affordable option for Cleveland. The Indians have also been tied to Edwin Encarnacion, but it’s not clear exactly how high they’d be able to go in that pursuit. At the very least, it seems that president of baseball ops Chris Antonetti, GM Mike Chernoff and the rest of the Cleveland front office are exploring multiple avenues as they look to add some offense at first base/DH.
Rangers Asked About Dan Straily, Justin Wilson
The Rangers were rumored yesterday to have interest in Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Texas also asked the Reds about right-hander Dan Straily. Nothing is close on either front, he notes, but Straily would give Texas a controllable option for the back-end of the rotation. A waiver claim by the Reds last spring, Straily had a nice season in the Cincinnati rotation, tossing a career-high 191 1/3 innings with a 3.76 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. However, Straily also posted just a 32 percent ground-ball rate and was very homer-prone, yielding an average of 1.5 big flies per nine innings pitch, which could give interested parties some pause.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that the Rangers asked the Tigers about southpaw Justin Wilson, though he characterizes the scenario as a long shot. Wilson, though, would give the Rangers a couple of years of control over a quality southpaw reliever and give the team flexibility to make further roster alterations.
Rays Interested In Dario Alvarez
- The Rays have interest in Rangers lefty Dario Alvarez, who posted a 5.06 ERA, 13.8 K/9 and 5.86 K/BB rate over 26 2/3 innings with Texas and Atlanta last season. His ERA was inflated by continuing problems with the long ball, as Alvarez has given up nine homers over his 31 2/3 career innings in the majors. The Rangers are one of the teams known to be looking into the Rays’ pitching, so Alvarez could potentially be included as part of a trade package.
Rangers Notes: Daniels, Inciarte, Cobb, Tolleson, Hoying
The Rangers have already created some buzz today at the Winter Meetings, and now here’s more out of Texas…
- It is “unlikely” that the Rangers will sign a “big ticket” free agent, GM Jon Daniels told reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). Texas has been linked to the likes of Edwin Encarnacion, Ian Desmond, Mark Trumbo and other notable free agent names this winter, and the team has notable question marks at first base, center field and DH. If free agency isn’t as likely an option for the Rangers, they could continue to pursue trades. To that end…
- The Rangers asked the Braves about Ender Inciarte but talks “went nowhere,” Evan Grant tweets. Inciarte has drawn trade chatter ever since the Braves acquired him as part of the Shelby Miller trade with the D’Backs last offseason, but it is clear Atlanta regards the defensive standout as a building block in center field.
- Also from Grant in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link), the Rangers don’t have interest in dealing Rougned Odor or Nomar Mazara. It would’ve been rather surprising to see Texas trade either young cornerstone player, though the Rangers have been linked to some big names in trade talks (i.e. Chris Sale) that would require a major return.
- Alex Cobb‘s name has been discussed between the Rays and Rangers, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (via Twitter). The Rangers have targeted such Tampa pitchers as Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi and Drew Smyly in the past, though Cobb would theoretically come at a lower price tag. He is only under control through the 2017 season and he missed all of 2015 and most of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery.
- The Rangers are in ongoing talks with Shawn Tolleson about a reunion, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports (Twitter link), as the club wants to bring the former closer back on a minor league deal. Tolleson elected to become a free agent after a very rough 2016 season that saw him lose his closing job in Texas, spend time on the 60-day DL with a back injury and ultimately get outrighted off the Rangers’ 40-man roster. The season was a stark contrast to 2014-15, when Tolleson posted very good numbers out of the Texas bullpen.
- Similarly, the Rangers are talking to outfielder Jared Hoying about a reunion, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Hoying, who made his big league debut last season, was non-tendered by the Rangers earlier this week.