Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Cubs Rumors

Cubs Sign David Robertson

By | at

The Cubs announced the signing of veteran reliever David Robertson to a one-year, Major League contract.  Codi Heuer (who recently underwent Tommy John surgery) was placed on Chicago’s 60-day injured list to open up roster space.  Robertson will earn $3.5MM in guaranteed money, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets, and the right-hander can earn up to $1.5MM more in incentives.  670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reported earlier today that Robertson and the Cubs were in talks about a possible deal.

Robertson comes to Chicago after tossing 12 innings with the Rays last season, plus four more frames of work in the playoffs.  It marked the right-hander’s first big league action since he threw 6 2/3 innings with the Phillies in 2019 before being sidelined by Tommy John surgery.

Prior to that surgery, Robertson had been essentially the picture of durability over his 11 previous seasons as a workhorse in the Yankees and White Sox bullpens.  Robertson combined that reliability with great results, as he posted a 2.93 ERA and 32.4% strikeout rate in 657 innings over those 11 seasons, acting as both a quality closer and a set-up man.

This track record led to a two-year, $23MM free agent deal with the Phillies, though Robertson barely pitched for the team due to his TJ surgery and recovery.  Robertson held multiple showcases for teams last winter but didn’t land a new contract, and instead pitched for the silver medal-winning Team USA at this past summer’s Olympics Games in Tokyo.  Robertson finally caught on with the Rays, and has now earned another guaranteed contract with the Cubs.

After essentially three lost seasons, it is hard to know what to expect from Robertson as he enters his age-37 campaign.  A return to his pre-2019 form is perhaps optimistic, and yet there is also plenty of opportunity for Robertson to once again work as a closer for a Chicago-based team.  Robertson certainly has the most closing experience of anyone in the Cubs bullpen, and is one of only a few veterans overall (besides the recently-signed Chris Martin and minor league addition Jesse Chavez) amidst a young relief corps.

Some more signings could certainly be in the offing for a Cubs team that has been aggressive this winter, though Seiya Suzuki’s five-year deal represents the club’s only true long-term commitment (Marcus Stroman can opt out of his three-year contract after the 2023 season).  The seeming aversion to longer-term contracts may mean that the Cubs won’t splurge on any big deal for a relief pitcher, thus enhancing Robertson’s chances of winning the closer job during Spring Training.

Astros Step Up Efforts To Re-Sign Carlos Correa

By | at

MARCH 15: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says that the Astros plan on making Correa a new offer “shortly.” He adds that the rumors are “creating buzz in camp” and quotes a source as saying “Players can’t stop talking about it.”

MARCH 14: The Astros “have stepped up efforts to bring back Correa to the point where owner team owner Jim Crane is involved,” according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.  Late Sunday, the door seemingly closed on the Yankees (if it was ever open), as they acquired Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Twins.  Late Sunday, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic speculated about whether Correa could choose to sign a record AAV one-year deal this month, concluding “the idea is not necessarily far-fetched.”

MARCH 13: In another update, Crane tells Mark Berman that the Astros are “in discussions” with Correa’s representatives.

MARCH 11: Free agency is back, and the still-unsigned Carlos Correa will return to the forefront of the market as he angles for a contract north of the 10-year, $325MM deal Corey Seager signed in Texas prior to the lockout. Correa’s former team, the Astros, has yet to completely move on from the possibility of keeping him in Houston. Owner Jim Crane told Mark Berman of FOX 26 in Houston last night that the team plans to circle back to Correa now that the market has reopened (Twitter link).

“I’m sure we’ll engage one more time and we’ll see what happens,” says Crane. “Carlos is a great player. He’s a one-of-a-kind player. I thought we made a good offer before. We’ll see where they’re at on their side. I’m sure we’ll talk to them shortly.”

The prior offer referenced by Crane was reported by Berman back in November to be five years and $160MM — a hefty sum but one that always felt well shy of where Correa’s eventual payday would land. Correa has already reportedly received and rejected a 10-year, $275MM offer from the Tigers, which only serves to underscore the manner in which the ’Stros would need to substantially alter their own proposal in order to keep him in the fold.

On the subject of that Tigers offer, which came prior to Detroit’s eventual signing of Javier Baez, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi adds some additional context. Detroit not only put forth a guaranteed $275MM sum but also included three opt-out clauses over the life of the deal, in addition to an annual bonus of $10MM for finishing in the top five of MVP voting. Correa’s sights have been more focused on topping Seager and possibly on topping Francisco Lindor’s $341MM guarantee with the Mets, however. He reportedly sought $330MM or more prior to the lockout.

There’s been some speculation that, in light of a sizable offer from the Tigers, perhaps Detroit could follow the Rangers’ lead and ultimately sign two of the market’s top shortstops this winter. Baez has plenty of experience at second base and third base, and the Tigers’ payroll is largely free and clear once Miguel Cabrera plays out the final two years of his current deal. Baez and fellow offseason signee Eduardo Rodriguez are the only players on the books in 2024 and beyond, and it’s possible that even Baez won’t be around by that point. His contract contains an opt-out clause after the 2023 season.

However, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden reports that Tigers owner Chris Ilitch is not comfortable with another contract of that magnitude hitting the books, which throws some cold water on the possibility of a Baez/Correa double-play tandem. That’s a particularly unsurprising revelation in light of this week’s report that Ilitch was one of four owners who initially voted against even raising the league’s proposed luxury-tax threshold to $220MM. (It eventually landed at $230MM in 2022, and it should be noted that the new CBA was ultimately unanimously approved among the 30 owners.)

Morosi indicates within his column that the Cubs are expected to be among the prominent players for Correa, as they already had plenty of dialogue with his camp prior to the lockout. Of course, Correa switched representation and enlisted the Boras Corporation to represent him during the lockout, so much of that groundwork may need to be redone. The Cubs, like the Tigers, have ample payroll space and could stand to upgrade at shortstop.

Signing Correa, though, wouldn’t really mesh with president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer’s early comments on Chicago’s offseason trajectory. Hoyer dubbed pitching to be the team’s primary focus — the Cubs have since added Wade Miley and Marcus Stroman — and also preached the importance of “spending intelligently.” Generally, Hoyer struck a measured tone when discussing offseason spending. The Stroman contract illustrates that this isn’t a Cubs team looking to completely tear down and tank for multiple years as it did in the run-up to 2016’s World Series crown, but there’s a pronounced difference between signing Stroman on a three-year term and shelling out the decade-long deal and $33MM+ annual salary that Correa is hoping to command.

Cubs To Sign Chris Martin

By | at

The Cubs are in agreement with right-hander Chris Martin on a one-year deal, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network. The deal comes with a $2.5MM guarantee, along with $500K in performance bonuses and a $250K roster bonus. (Twitter links)

Martin, 36 in June, certainly didn’t have a textbook path to the big leagues. For the incredible full story, check out this 2019 piece from Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In short, Martin thought his baseball career was ended by a 2006 shoulder surgery. Years later, while working at Lowe’s and UPS, a game of catch with a friend made him realize that his shoulder no longer caused him pain, putting Martin back on his baseball trajectory.

After getting back on the mound in indy ball, he signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in 2013. After being traded to the Rockies, Martin made his MLB debut in 2014, just a few weeks before his 28th birthday. He didn’t especially impress with the Rockies that year or with the Yankees in 2015, but went over to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league and excelled over the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

He came back to North America in 2018, signing a two-year deal with the Rangers. After a decent first year in Texas, 2019 was a tremendous breakout for him, as he threw 55 2/3 innings with an ERA of 3.40, strikeout rate of 30.1% and walk rate of just 2.3%.

The Braves, who had acquired Martin from the Rangers midway through that season, signed Martin to a two-year, $14MM contract prior to the 2020 season. He largely maintained his strikeout and walk rates that year, at 30.3% and 4.5%, but had his ERA plummet to an even 1.00 in the small sample of 18 innings.

Things didn’t go so smooth for Martin in 2021, however, as some injuries seemed to limit his effectiveness. In 43 1/3 innings, he still kept his walk rate incredibly low at 3.3%, but his strikeout rate plummeted all the way down to 18.2%. Despite that, he still managed to keep his ERA at a reasonable 3.95 level for the year.

He didn’t crack the club’s roster for the NLDS but was added for the NLCS and ended up throwing 4 1/3 innings in the postseason, continuing to find success without racking up strikeouts. His ERA was 2.08 in that small sample, with a strikeout rate of 17.6%, and not a single walk, helping the club win the World Series.

For the Cubs, their big fire sale at last year’s deadline involved Craig Kimbrel, Ryan Tepera and Andrew Chafin heading out of town. The bullpen took another hit recently when Codi Heuer underwent Tommy John surgery. That left Rowan Wick and Brad Wieck as the only projected members of the bullpen with more than one year of MLB service time. With the recent additions of Jesse Chavez and now Martin, they’ve bolstered their young relief corps with some veteran presence.

Contreras: No Extension Talks Yet With Cubs

By | at

The Cubs have a decision to make regarding Willson Contreras, who’s heading into his final season of club control. Contreras is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for an arbitration salary in the $8.7MM range this year. Amidst an organizational reboot, the Chicago front office finds themselves in something of an awkward spot with their longtime catcher.

Chicago signed Yan Gomes, perhaps the best catcher in this year’s free agent class, to a two-year contract in November. That seemed to position Contreras as one of the likeliest trade candidates around the league on-paper, but there’s been no real indication the Cubs have shopped him. That could indicate they’re not looking to move on from Contreras, although they’ve also not yet broached the topic of extending the relationship.

Speaking with reporters (including Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic) yesterday, the 29-year-old backstop said the organization and his reps at Octagon haven’t discussed a potential long-term deal. “No, there haven’t been any talks. I’m good with it” he said. “They know what they’re doing, they know what’s best for the team. I’m here because I love my team. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen.” Contreras went on to indicate he’d be willing to have those discussions. “I’m always open. You know me, I’m not focused on that. I’m focused on having a good year, having fun with my team and trying to win.”

The Cubs stripped down a good portion of the 2016 World Series winning club at last summer’s trade deadline, moving Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Báez. Those departures kicked off what one might consider a new era of Cubs baseball, but president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer maintained there were no plans for a full rebuild. Hoyer, GM Carter Hawkins and the rest of the front office have largely backed up those assertions this winter. In addition to Gomes, they also signed Marcus Stroman to a three-year deal, added Andrelton Simmons on a one-year pact and claimed Wade Miley off waivers. They don’t seem done, as Hoyer told reporters (including Jesse Rogers of ESPN) this morning they’re still on the hunt for pitching help.

Even in the event the Cubs are trying to hang around the periphery of contention this season, there’s a case to be made for moving Contreras. Gomes is a capable #1 catcher in his own right; getting both players regular reps probably involves Contreras seeing a lot of time at designated hitter. He’s a good hitter, particularly in comparison to his peers at catcher, but he’s not the kind of elite bat for whom teams have been inclined to set aside the DH role.

Contreras has been an above-average hitter by measure of wRC+ in each of his six career seasons. Going back to the start of 2020, he owns a .239/.345/.429 line, numbers that check in nine percentage points above the league average. That’s markedly better than the .230/.307/.392 figure put up by catchers around the league, but it’s not elite middle-of-the-order output overall. Defensively, Contreras has typically been adept at throwing out attempted base-stealers, although he struggled in that regard last season. His pitch framing metrics, per Statcast, have checked in right around the league average over the past two years after he struggled mightily in that regard early in his career.

All told, the Cubs have to decide whether they view Contreras as a potential long-term building block. Recent free agent pickups notwithstanding, they’ve pared back payroll over the past twelve months. With only around $72MM in guaranteed commitments on the books in 2023 (per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource), the flexibility should be there for Chicago if they want to make a run at an extension.

Yet if the Gomes signing signaled a changing of the guard behind the plate on the North Side, Contreras could find himself switching uniforms over the coming weeks. If he doesn’t sign an extension, he’d be on track to hit free agency as one of next winter’s top available catchers — part of a group that could also include Gary Sánchez, Mike Zunino, Christian Vázquez and Max Stassi.

Seiya Suzuki Weighing Interest From Several Teams

By | at

6:41pm: Suzuki and his reps are expected to meet with Cubs brass tonight, reports Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic (Twitter link).

4:45pm: Suzuki himself shot down rumors of a decision having been made, via Instagram story. “There are several reports that I’ve made my decision, but none of that is true,” writes Suzuki.

2:28pm: Suzuki has not chosen a team yet, according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, who says six to seven teams remain under consideration.  Jon Heyman of MLB Network names the Padres, Dodgers, Red Sox, Giants, Mariners, and Cubs as some of the teams still involved.

TODAY, 1:43pm: “It appears Seiya Suzuki’s decision is not far away,” tweets Acee.

YESTERDAY, 11:53pm: The Padres are known to be making a push for Seiya Suzuki, and the outfielder worked out in front of Padres executives at Petco Park this weekend, The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reports (Twitter link).  Suzuki’s time in San Diego also included a visit with Padres righty Yu Darvish and Darvish’s family.

Now that the lockout is over, Suzuki is finally free to partake in normal free-agent recruitment tours, which are particularly key for players coming to Major League Baseball for the first time.  Lin notes that it isn’t known if Suzuki visited any other teams this weekend or what his other travel plans may entail, though given the number of teams interested in Suzuki, he could have quite a few stops to make before his posting period is up.  Suzuki now has 17 of his 30 posting days remaining, as the lockout interrupted this process and kept Suzuki from any contract with big league clubs.

Suzuki has seemingly become an increasingly important figure in the Padres’ roster-building efforts, as Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune said earlier today that obtaining Suzuki was part of a “Plan A” scenario for the team.  That outline included signing Suzuki and Nelson Cruz, and then trading one of Eric Hosmer or Wil Myers to open up payroll space, though one element of that plan has now been scuttled since Cruz signed with the Nationals.

With Cruz now off the board, it could only intensify the Padres’ pursuit of Suzuki.  Since Cruz is limited to DH duty, adding Suzuki would arguably be a better fit for San Diego anyway given the team’s needs in the outfield.  Suzuki could be easily slotted right into the Padres’ right field spot, as Myers (if he isn’t traded) could be moved across the grass to fill San Diego’s left field vacancy.

Cubs To Sign Jesse Chavez

By and | at

The Cubs are bringing a familiar face back to the bullpen, agreeing to a deal with Jesse Chavez, according to Mike Rodriguez of Univision.  The righty first hinted at his Cubs reunion on Instagram.  Chavez signed a minor league/split deal, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Chavez is represented by Apex Baseball.

Chavez was an effective reliever in Chicago back in 2018 after being acquired mid-season from the Rangers. Since then, the 38-year-old returned to Texas for two seasons.  He signed a minor league deal with the Angels back in February ’21, moving on to the Braves after failing to make the Halos’ Opening Day roster.  The Braves selected Chavez’s contract in late June after he put in 20 innings for the Gwinnett Stripers.  Chavez wasn’t used in high-leverage situations by the Braves, but still cracked their roster for all three rounds of the playoffs.

With a 91 mile-an-hour average fastball velocity, Chavez doesn’t throw as hard as most of his peers these days.  Nonetheless, the 14-year MLB veteran still managed to post a 2.14 ERA in 33 2/3 innings for Atlanta in 2021.  That came with a better-than-average 27.1 K% and 8.3 BB%.  Often prone to the longball – Chavez allowed one to every 13 batters or so he faced in 2020 – fortune broke his way as none of his flyballs left the yard in ’21.  Though he’s not known for his velocity or spin rate, Chavez has generally been above average in preventing hard hits.

Chavez brings a veteran presence to a Cubs bullpen that recently took a big hit with the news Codi Heuer underwent Tommy John surgery.  The club currently has Rowan Wick atop the depth chart, and is likely to bring in additional veterans.

The post-lockout free agent market has seen Chavez, Matt Strahm, Joe Kelly, Alex Colome, Jeurys Familia, Steve Cishek, Brandon Workman, and Juan Minaya leave the board in short order.  Click here to see who remains – a group led by Kenley Jansen, Ian Kennedy, Brad Boxberger, Brad Hand, Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera, Yusmeiro Petit, Hansel Robles, Adam Ottavino, Richard Rodriguez, and Jake Diekman, among others.

Latest On Seiya Suzuki’s Market

By | at

Star NPB outfielder Seiya Suzuki waited out the lockout in search of a deal with an MLB team this offseason. The league and Players Association agreed to freeze his posting window during the work stoppage. The official lifting of the lockout restarted the clock, giving teams twenty days to finalize an agreement.

Suzuki has reportedly drawn interest from upwards of a dozen teams this winter, and Jon Heyman of the MLB Network lists five (via Twitter) that have been prominent players: the Mariners, Giants, Dodgers, Cubs and Red Sox. That’s not necessarily a group of finalists, to be clear, but it seems those teams are among Suzuki’s top suitors.

Four of those clubs — Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston — have been known entrants in the bidding for some time. A report from Japan’s Nikkan Sports in January named the four clubs as among those likely to remain factors until he chooses a destination. The Dodgers, though, hadn’t been strongly linked to Suzuki until this point.

Los Angeles doesn’t necessarily have a need in the outfield. Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger and AJ Pollock make for a strong starting trio, and Chris Taylor and Gavin Lux could see some action on the grass as well. The Dodgers haven’t been shy about acquiring talent even in the absence of an obvious weakness on the roster, however. And Los Angeles is clearly open to further bolstering an already strong offense, as they’re reportedly making a run at Freddie Freeman. Manager Dave Roberts isn’t afraid to move even his best players around the diamond, and the implementation of the universal designated hitter could allow NL teams to cast a wider net in search of talent.

With a little under three weeks before Suzuki has to make a decision, there still seems to be a decent array of possible landing spots. Only 27 years old, Suzuki should appeal both to win-now clubs like the Dodgers and teams (the Cubs perhaps among them) that are eyeing 2023 and beyond as more realistic windows of contention. He’s coming off a monstrous .317/.433/.639 showing with the Hiroshima Carp, for whom he’s been a strong middle-of-the-order bat in recent years. Evaluators with whom MLBTR spoke earlier in the offseason generally suggested Suzuki could immediately be a solid everyday right fielder in MLB.

Whoever signs Suzuki will owe the Carp a posting fee on top of the guarantee that goes to the player himself. The fee is calculated as 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter.

Cubs To Sign Andrelton Simmons

By | at

The Cubs and shortstop Andrelton Simmons have agreed to a one-year contract that will pay Simmons $4MM plus incentives, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter).  The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) was the first to report that the two sides were closing in on a deal.  Simmons is represented by ISE Baseball.

One of the best defensive players of all time, ankle injuries led to an uncharacteristically mediocre season of glovework for Simmons in 2020, but he looked much more like his old self this past season with the Twins.  Simmons posted a +16 Outs Above Average and +15 Defensive Runs Saved over 1091 2/3 innings at shortstop last year, though the UZR/150 metric (-1.1) took a dimmer view of his performance.

While Simmons’ age (32) and recent history of ankle problems are undoubtedly a concern, it would certainly seem like he should still be a defensive plus in the middle of the Cubs infield.  Such quality defense will be particularly important since it has been three years since Simmons has been even a league-average hitter, with only a .250/.302/.323 slash line to show for his last 1002 plate appearances since the start of the 2019 season.

Glovework has always been Simmons’ calling card, yet in the few seasons (2017 and 2018) where he has provided both a solid bat along with his excellent defense, Simmons looked like one of the game’s most valuable players.  It remains to be seen if he can get back to that all-around form, yet the Cubs would be satisfied if he can merely provide his usual stellar work at shortstop.

Simmons will be filling the defensive void left behind by another Gold Glove-winning shortstop in Javier Baez, who was dealt to the Mets last summer as part of the Cubs’ trade deadline fire sale.  As much as the Cubs tore things down pre-deadline, however, the team has been looking to build things back up to make at least some attempt at contending in 2022, adding Marcus Stroman, Wade Miley, and Yan Gomes prior to the lockout.

Of course, Chicago had been linked to another prominent shortstop in Carlos Correa, with the logic being that the Cubs could now afford Correa’s big asking price after clearing so much future salary off the books.  The Simmons deal could quite possibly indicate that the Cubs have opted out of the Correa sweepstakes, and yet as journalist Sung Min Kim speculates, Simmons’ $4MM salary “is not necessarily starter money.”  Theoretically, the Cubs could still sign Correa and then use the two players in a timeshare at shortstop, with the other perhaps moving to second base or third base.

This would allow the Cubs to juggle Nick Madrigal or Patrick Wisdom (the other incumbent infield starters) in and out of the lineup as the situation warrants, and the DH spot is also now available for Chicago to work with in 2022 and beyond.  Madrigal’s health is also a bit of a question mark, as he underwent season-ending hamstring surgery last summer, though reports from January indicated that the young infielder was making good progress in his recovery.  Nico Hoerner had been penciled into the starting shortstop job, but with Simmons now in the fold, the Cubs can continue experimenting with Hoerner as a multi-position player.

Cubs Extend Manager David Ross

By | at

The Cubs announced Friday that they’ve signed manager David Ross to a contract extension that runs through the 2024 season and contains a club option for the 2025 campaign. Ross had been set to enter the final guaranteed season of his previous contract (although the team did hold a 2023 club option over him).

The team could have and quite likely did discuss the possibility of a new contract throughout the lockout. Ross told reporters back in October that he and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer had begun some “preliminary” discussions on a new contract. The general expectation throughout the offseason was that a Ross extension was little more than a formality. The organization has been quite happy with Ross’ leadership, even after a losing 2021 season. The Cubs went 71-91 last year, although the July dismantling of the team’s longstanding core played an obvious role in that poor record.

Ross, 45 next week, is entering his third season as the Cubs’ manager. He was plenty familiar with the organization and the front office before ever taking on the role, having spent the final two seasons of his playing career (2015-16) as the Cubs’ backup catcher. Ross garnered the nickname “grandpa” as the team’s elder statesman during those final seasons and earned the respect of many of the players he eventually wound up managing years later.

After last summer’s fire sale, it’s easy to forget that the Cubs not only made the expanded postseason field in 2020 but did so by winning the National League Central with a 34-26 showing. That proved to be another postseason exit for a club that never really developed into the dynasty many expected on the heels of the organization’s 2016 World Series title. Former president of baseball ops Theo Epstein stepped down after the season, giving way to longtime GM Hoyer as the Cubs embark in something of a transitional period.

The current retooling hasn’t resembled the complete teardown the Cubs went through a decade ago. Chicago kicked off its offseason by claiming veteran starter Wade Miley off waivers, and the Cubs have since further fortified their rotation by adding Marcus Stroman on a three-year contract. It’ll still quite likely be a team populated by young and/or inexperienced players, as the team looks toward establishing the nucleus of another perennial contender. Whether that includes another free-agent splash or simply allowing unproven but controllable players the chance to cement their place on the roster (e.g. Nico Hoerner, Frank Schwindel, Adbert Alzolay, etc.), it seems the front office and ownership are in agreement that Ross’ voice is the steadying presence they’d like to shepherd the group as the roster turns over from the Kris Bryant/Javier Baez/Anthony Rizzo era.

Multiple Teams Showed Pre-Lockout Interest In J.D. Davis

By | at

The Mets were one of the most active teams in the pre-lockout frenzy, adding Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha. Those signings, along with Robinson Cano’s return from serving a season-long PED suspension, have given them a crowded position player mix. This has led to some speculation that the club could end up moving a player like Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith or J.D. Davis, with all three of those players appearing on MLBTR’s list of the likeliest post-lockout trade candidates. It seems that Davis was garnering his fair share of attention before the lockout, as Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that the Cubs, Red Sox, Twins and Athletics all had interest in his services before the transactions freeze took hold in December.

The fact that various teams are interested in Davis is hardly surprising, given his excellent offensive skills. Since being acquired by the Mets from the Astros prior to the 2019 season, Davis has made 893 plate appearances in 269 games and has a line of .288/.373/.472. That’s good enough for a wRC+ of 130, fifth-best among third basemen with at least 850 plate appearances in that time, ahead of big names like Rafael Devers and Josh Donaldson.

Unfortunately, Davis hasn’t been as good on the other side of the ball, as advanced defensive metrics don’t look kindly upon his work at either third base or left field. For instance, Statcast’s Outs Above Average gave him -8 in 2019, followed by -6 in the shortened 2020 season and -3 in the 2021 campaign, despite playing just 73 games due to injury.

Despite those flaws, Davis should still hold plenty of appeal. The 28-year-old (29 in April) qualified for arbitration in 2021 due to reaching Super Two status and earned a salary of $2.1MM. Due to injuries holding him back last year, he is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a modest raise to $2.7MM in 2022 and can be controlled for two seasons beyond that. Those factors, combined with his bat, could make him a fit on plenty of rosters, especially now that the universal designated hitter is official.

The Cubs have spent most of the past year-plus subtracting from their roster, trading away Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and others. Since then, however, they have shown that they don’t have designs on totally tanking, as evidenced by their pre-lockout pickups of Wade Miley, Yan Gomes and Marcus Stroman. They currently have Patrick Wisdom pencilled in at the hot corner after a nice breakout campaign last year. However, he struck out in a whopping 40.8% of his plate appearances, making it questionable if he can be a long-term solution at the position.

There has been some speculation that Rafael Devers is destined to be moved off of third base in the long run, due to his defensive limitations, though Davis isn’t really an upgrade in that department. However, putting Davis in left field could be an option, if the club feels he would fit in front of the Green Monster. Jarren Duran struggled in his debut last season and could perhaps be sent to Triple-A for more reps there. Or perhaps the lefty Durran and righty Davis could complement each other in a platoon capacity.

The Twins have Josh Donaldson at third but he’s also seen significant time at DH, only taking the field in 92 of his 135 games last year. Given his age, 36, and injury history, it would make sense to acquire another option for the hot corner to help keep him healthy. Luis Arraez could fill that role at the moment, but he hasn’t produced the same level of offense as Davis thus far in his career. There also could be a path to playing time on the grass, as youngsters Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach both had tepid debuts last year, putting up a wRC+ of 93 and 89, respectively.

The Athletics already have an excellent third baseman, technically, in Matt Chapman. However, it’s widely expected that the club is about to embark upon a major selloff, with Chapman being one of those most often mentioned as a trade candidate due to his increasing salary and two remaining years of control. Acquiring Davis could be a relatively affordable way of filling Chapman’s absence after a trade. The club also has big question marks in its outfield right now, after Marte and Canha both went to the Mets. Ramon Laureano will be in center field eventually, but first has to serve 27 more games of his PED suspension. Seth Brown had a decent campaign, but none of Stephen Piscotty, Chad Pinder, Skye Bolt or Luis Barrera did much to inspire confidence last year. Tony Kemp could play the outfield but may be needed at second base.

Though his ultimate destination is unknown, the sense of an impending trade seems to be growing with Davis himself. “It’s kind of 50/50, kind of a flip of the coin,” he said back in October. When asked the same question by Puma today, he said, “Now it could be say 60-40 out of here, but you never know.” Davis then elaborated, referencing the fact that Cano, McNeil, Smith and Luis Guillorme are all lefties. “Baseball is in a situation of bench players, and something like that, three or four lefties and I’m maybe the only righty, so strategically I could see myself back there, but I don’t know. Anything can happen.”

Show all

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top