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Trade/FA Rumblings: M’s, Encarnacion, Haniger, Rays, ChiSox, Astros, Rangers, Yanks

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The Mariners have grown “increasingly confident” they’ll be able to trade designated hitter/first baseman Edwin Encarnacion before their spring training opens, Jon Morosi of MLB.com says (video link). Encarnacion’s market has picked up in the wake of the Twins’ agreement with Nelson Cruz, whose suitors are now turning to the former. The Rays, White Sox and Astros are each “involved” on both Encarnacion and Cardinals first baseman/outfielder Jose Martinez, according to Morosi.

Encarnacion was already part of one trading involving the Rays this offseason – a three-team deal in which Cleveland sent him to to Seattle. The soon-to-be 36-year-old has been superfluous to the rebuilding Mariners’ roster since they acquired him, though, and the team likely wants to rid itself of as much of his contract as possible. Encarnacion’s owed a guaranteed $25MM through 2020, including a $5MM buyout in lieu of a $20MM club option that year. While Encarnacion was an offensive juggernaut from 2012-17, he’s coming off a somewhat pedestrian season by his standards, as he batted .246/.336/.474 (115 wRC+) in 579 plate appearances and didn’t see much time in the field. Martinez, 30, is hardly a defensive stalwart either, though he did offer quality production at the plate from 2017-18 and will collect a minimal salary in 2019.

  • Encarnacion could become the latest household name to leave Seattle, but it appears outfielder Mitch Haniger will stay put. “We’re not really listening to offers,” Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto told MLB Network of Haniger (via TJ Cotterill of the Tacoma News Tribune). “They would have to blow us away, and they haven’t even come close.” The 28-year-old “represents everything we want to build around and be about as a team,” Dipoto continued, leading Cotterill to posit that Haniger, fellow outfielder Mallex Smith and left-hander Marco Gonzales figure to form the Mariners’ next veteran core. Haniger is unquestionably the most valuable player of the trio, given his superb production from 2017-18 and four remaining years of control (including one more pre-arb campaign).
  • Before the Rangers traded him to the Athletics on Dec. 21, the Yankees were among the teams with interest in infielder Jurickson Profar, per Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. However, New York wasn’t “willing to give up much” for Profar, Fraley writes. Texas received four minor leaguers and $750K in international bonus room for Profar, who’d have helped the Yankees cover for injured shortstop Didi Gregorius’ absence in 2019. Had the Yankees gotten Profar, whom they also showed interest in last offseason, he likely would have handled second base, thus sending Gleyber Torres to short. Although, with third baseman Miguel Andujar potentially on the block and free-agent shortstop/third baseman Manny Machado on the Yankees’ radar, it’s anyone’s guess how their infield would have aligned with Profar in it.
  • With Machado’s future up in the air for at least a few more days, the Yankees are currently focused on their bullpen, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. Free agents David Robertson, Zach Britton and Adam Ottavino remain “in play” for the Yanks, who could sign more than one of those hurlers, Heyman notes. New York’s known to be in the market for two relievers, as it could lose both Robertson and Britton to other clubs.

Market Notes: Cruz, Harper, Kluber, Bauer, Ottavino, Harrison

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Prior to this morning’s agreement with the Twins, slugger Nelson Cruz received “competitive” offers from both the Rays and Astros, according to Juan Toribio of The Athletic (Twitter link) and Fancred’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Specifics aren’t known, but it seems likely that the Twins would’ve had to outbid either by a fairly notable margin, given that the Rays won 90 games last season while the Astros won the 2017 World Series and appeared in a second consecutive American League Championship Series this past season. Minnesota ultimately secured Cruz with a $14.3MM bid that includes a $14MM salary for the 2019 season and a $12MM club option ($300K buyout) for the 2020 campaign. If Houston or Tampa Bay is still keen on adding a notable right-handed bat, there should be numerous options in play. The rebuilding Tigers, for instance, would likely be willing to move Nicholas Castellanos as he enters his final season of club control. The Cardinals, meanwhile, could move Jose Martinez to an American League club that’d be better suited to mask his defensive shortcomings at the DH spot.

Some more notes on the both the trade and free-agent markets…

  • The Cardinals have been an oft-speculated landing spot for Bryce Harper but have not been rumored to have any meaningful interest in the market’s top free agent. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explored the situation in his latest Q&A with readers, explaining the numerous reasons that the Cardinals feel a pursuit of Harper would differ from their prior pursuits of huge contracts for David Price, Jason Heyward and Giancarlo Stanton. Above all else, it seems that the sizable discrepancy between Harper’s asking price and even those other substantial contracts is a roadblock for the St. Louis front office. The Cards also don’t have the personal connection with Harper that they had after a year of having Heyward in the clubhouse, and they’re generally averse to the leverage that opt-out clauses provide players on lengthy free-agent deals.
  • In an appearance on MLB Network’s Hot Stove this morning, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com downplayed the possibility of the Indians trading a top starter (video link). “I don’t think it’s particularly likely they move either Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer at this moment,” said Castrovince, citing sources with the Indians. While he cautioned that things can change with a single call or text, the roughly $21MM saved in trades of Yan Gomes, Edwin Encarnacion and Yonder Alonso has alleviated pressure to pare back payroll from its record levels in a 2018 season that saw the total attendance decline. That, of course, doesn’t mean rumors or conversations surrounding Kluber will cease — they assuredly will not — but it’s worth keeping in mind when parsing the inevitable continuation of Kluber rumblings. More than 18,000 readers voted in last night’s MLBTR poll asking whether Cleveland would actually trade Kluber, and the response was a near-even split (52-48 in favor of Kluber being moved).
  • The White Sox, Red Sox and Rockies are all maintaining some level of interest in free-agent reliever Adam Ottavino, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com. As one of the top relievers on the market, the 33-year-old Ottavino should have no shortage of clubs inquiring about his services, though the asking price on top-end bullpen arms could prove prohibitive for some clubs. To this point, Jeurys Familia (three years, $30MM), Joe Kelly (three years, $25MM) and Andrew Miller (two years, $25MM) are among the relievers MLBTR ranked in Ottavino’s tier of free agency to have cashed in quite nicely. Given his 2.43 ERA, 2.74 FIP, 2.82 SIERA and 13.0 K/9 mark, Ottavino figures to have a fairly high ask, as well. The interest from each of the three teams listed by Morosi has been previously reported, and there are some issues with some of the fits. Adding Ottavino, for instance, could push the Red Sox back into the top tier of the luxury tax bracket. And the Rockies spent more than $100MM on their ’pen last winter, which could make them reluctant to add a fourth reliever on the type of multi-year contract Ottavino should ultimately command.
  • Heyman tweets that infielder/outfielder Josh Harrison has current interest from the Nationals, Reds, Rangers, Giants and Brewers, and he could ultimately generate interest from teams like the Yankees, Phillies and Dodgers — depending on how their pursuits of the market’s top free agents pans out. (Presumably, the Phillies or Yankees would have interest in the event that either failed to land Manny Machado.) Harrison would give the Nats a potential regular option at second base, while the Rangers are in need of a third baseman following the trade of Jurickson Profar. Joe Panik’s stock is down in San Francisco, and the Brewers, too, are in need of an everyday option at either second or third (depending on where they play Travis Shaw in 2019). The fit for the Reds is a bit more muddied, as Harrison would appear to be more of a bench option there, though it’s worth noting that he is a Cincinnati native.

Manny Machado Decision Will Wait Until 2019

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Star free agent Manny Machado may have wrapped up his tour of several potential new teams, but that doesn’t mean he’ll rush into a decision. Per Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link), the 26-year-old has informed the three teams he recently met with that he will not be putting pen to paper until the calendar flips.

Surely, Machado has plenty to think about and discuss after spending several hours with the White Sox, Yankees, and Phillies. He’ll also no doubt want to leave agent Dan Lozano ample time to negotiate up the offer prices — if not to reel in some other bidders as well.

There was a time when more of the free agent dealmaking was wrapped up earlier in the offseason. But with teams showing ample patience of late, it surely behooves players not to rush into things when the circumstances call for a slow-play. Plus, Machado and fellow free agent Bryce Harper find themselves in a rare spot as exceedingly youthful and accomplished open-market assets.

In any event, it seems we’ll have to wait a bit longer to find out where Machado is heading. And from all indications it’s still an open race. Over 35k MLBTR readers voted yesterday on his likeliest destination, with the Yankees easily taking the top spot but nevertheless failing to command a majority of the votes.

Latest On Manny Machado’s Market, Following Meeting With Phillies

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Manny Machado completed a three-city tour of potential landing spots in Philadelphia today, where he met with the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park and was taken to dinner by several key members of the organization (links via MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki and Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia). Owner John Middleton, president Andy MacPhail, GM Matt Klentak, manager Gabe Kapler and several members of Kapler’s coaching staff were on hand to try to sway Machado toward coming to Philadelphia.

Machado, as one would expect, was vague when approached by the Philadelphia media and asked about his at Citizens Bank Park, telling reporters that the experience was “pretty awesome” and that he “learned a lot about the organization.”

The Phillies, Zolecki writes, prefer Machado to fellow free agent Bryce Harper. Salisbury indicates the same, portraying Harper as a more realistic target should the Phillies miss out on Machado. He adds that the Phils “seem willing” to outbid the Yankees and make the highest offer for Machado. Joel Sherman of the New York Post agrees, calling it a “near certainty” that the Phillies “and possibly even the White Sox” are willing to bid more on Machado than the Yankees. Per Zolecki, the Phils have maintained confidence that they can convince Machado to sign in Philadelphia despite the fact that they’d play him at third base while Machado’s preference remains to play shortstop. The Yankees, after all, will only have shortstop open for the first portion of the season before Didi Gregorius returns, and Fancred’s Jon Heyman again wrote Thursday afternoon that the organization “would love to keep” Gregorius beyond the 2019 season.

At this point, there’s no clear timeline on when Machado will reach a decision about his next team. The infielder himself told Zolecki and others that determining when to sign “is [his] agent’s job” and that he is “just enjoying the ride.” Yesterday did bring about a small flurry of free-agent activity — Trevor Cahill, Daniel Murphy, Joakim Soria and Anibal Sanchez all agreed to terms, while Andrew Miller is said to be close — but none of those deals will come close to approaching the magnitude of Machado’s eventual contract. With the holiday season at hand, there figures to be a lull in Hot Stove activity, so barring a quick decision on an already in-place offer, Machado’s free agency could well drag on into the New Year. There’s been no indication that any of the three teams with which he met this week has made its best and final offer — or any formal offer at all, for that matter.

Manny Machado Meets With Yankees

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The Yankees met with Manny Machado earlier today at Yankee Stadium, writes Dan Martin of the New York Post. Machado and agent Dan Lozano arrived at Yankee Stadium and were greeted by a contingent consisting at least of GM Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone and veteran starter CC Sabathia, writes Martin, though other members of the organization were likely present. The meeting has been anticipated since weekend reports indicated that Machado would sit down for in-person visits with the White Sox, Yankees and Phillies this week. The face-to-face with the ChiSox came yesterday, and Machado is reportedly slated to meet with the Phillies tomorrow.

The meeting at Yankee Stadium lasted for roughly 90 minutes, though the Yankees’ courtship of Machado extended beyond that point. Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Yankees took Machado, his wife and Lozano out to dinner in Manhattan tonight as they continued to discuss the possibility of Machado signing in the Bronx. Some reports in recent days have indicated that Machado will sit down with a fourth club in the near future, and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand suggested as much was possible once again earlier today. However, Heyman definitively states that the market for Machado, at present, consists of the White Sox, Yankees and Phillies with “no mysteries” in play.

Regardless, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Yankees are a significant factor in the Machado auction. While Martin wrote in his column that “indications are they won’t invest $300 million over 10 years,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Yankees are “enamored” and believe him to be the “perfect fit” for their franchise. Whether that means topping the White Sox, the Phillies and any “mystery” suitors that may or may not truly be in the mix is another question entirely, though.

Ultimately, managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner will have to give the go-ahead to offer what could end up a record-setting deal to bring Machado to the Yankees. Steinbrenner previously called Machado’s infamous “Johnny Hustle” comments “troubling” and flatly stated that such an attitude “ain’t going to sell where we play baseball.” Those comments, as well as Machado’s intentional kick of Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar, undoubtedly came up in today’s face-to-face meeting.

As Feinsand writes, it’s not fully clear whether Steinbrenner himself was present in today’s meetings, as his family is mourning the recent passing of his mother, Joan. However, Steinbrenner implied to Nightengale last month that Machado would be explaining those comments and actions to Cashman, whom ownership trusts to make that type of call. “But that’s really [GM Brian Cashman’s] job,” said Steinbrenner at the time. “If we’re interested in any player, to sit down with them face to face and ask him, ’Where did this come from? What was the context around the entire interview? Was there a point? How do you justify it?’ … That conversation will happen.”

Troy Tulowitzki Hosts Workout For MLB Clubs

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At least 11 teams were on hand to watch Troy Tulowitzki work out earlier today, reports Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. The Giants, Angels, Red Sox, Cubs, Padres, White Sox, Orioles, Yankees, Phillies, Tigers and Pirates were all represented at the showcase, Brown reports (as were other, unnamed teams), with some clubs even sending their top executives to get a first-hand look at the former Rockies star. Angels GM Billy Eppler was in attendance, per Brown, as were new Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi and manager Bruce Bochy.

Since being released by the Blue Jays last week — with two years and $38MM remaining on his contract — Tulowitzki has been separately connected to a handful of teams including the Pirates, the Yankees, the Cubs and the Giants. His agent, Paul Cohen, recently told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that Tulowitzki is open to playing second base or third base with a new team. Brown, notably, writes that the biggest appeal for Tulowitzki will be the promise of regular at-bats at one positions (as opposed to moving between those three spots in a utility role).

It doesn’t seem as though there’s any early favorite to add Tulowitzki, who’ll cost his new team only the Major League minimum of $555K next season. (Toronto is on the hook for the remainder of his salary.) At that price, it’s justifiable for virtually any team to take a look at Tulowitzki and see if he can rediscover some of the form that once made him one of the game’s premier players. While few would expect him to return to his 2013-14 levels of output, that type of performance is hardly necessary from someone whose new team will pay him the league minimum. Tulowitzki’s bat was at least league-average in both 2015 and 2016, so if he’s healthy there’s plenty of reason to believe he can at least be fairly productive at the dish. How he adjusts defensively after undergoing surgery on both heels last year could be a more pressing question — particularly if he’s also adjusting to a new position after spending his entire pro career at shortstop.

Manny Machado Meeting With White Sox Today

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Manny Machado will meet with the White Sox today, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today — the first of what is reported to be at least three in-person meetings with teams this week. Previous reports have indicated that Machado is slated to meet with the Yankees on Wednesday and with the Phillies on Thursday. There’d been previous talk of a fourth meeting as well, though it’s not clear at present which team that is or if that meeting will indeed take place. It’s worth mentioning again that over the weekend, ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that a “well-placed source” indicated to him that the White Sox weren’t interested in signing either Machado or Bryce Harper to a record-setting contract. Olney called Chicago’s interest “more measured and modest than frenzied.”

We’ll keep track of today’s Machado rumblings here…

  • Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes in his latest notes column (subscription required) that several execs throughout the league are of the belief that the Yankees “want” to trade Miguel Andujar, which would pave the way for Machado to be the team’s long-term third baseman. Machado would be able to step into shortstop in Didi Gregorius’ absence early in the season before ultimately sliding over to third base — the better of his two defensive positions. It’s no secret that Andujar rated as one of the worst defensive players at any position in all of baseball last winter, and while Newsday’s Erik Boland wrote this weekend that the AL Rookie of the Year runner-up is already hard at work on his defense this offseason, trade rumors surrounding the 23-year-old persist. If moved, Andujar would surely net MLB-caliber help in return rather than simply further adding to the Yankees’ already enviable farm system.

AL Notes: Manny, Yanks, Rangers, Rays, ChiSox, Eloy

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A date has been set for the previously reported Manny Machado-Yankees summit. He’ll head to New York to meet with the team on Wednesday, George A. King III of the New York Post relays. It’s reportedly one of four visits the superstar infielder will make around the league in the coming days. He’ll also sit down with the White Sox, Phillies and a mystery team.  [UPDATE: Machado will meet with the Phils on Thursday, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.  The White Sox meeting is likely to take place “early in the week,” as per Fancred’s Jon Heyman, which would seemingly place it on Monday or Tuesday ahead of Machado’s trip to New York.]  Machado’s meeting with the Yankees may give him an opportunity to clear the air with owner Hal Steinbrenner, who said last month it would be “essential” for the 26-year-old to explain his well-documented “Johnny Hustle” comments to GM Brian Cashman.

Here’s more on a few other American League clubs:

  • In the event the Rangers trade left-hander Mike Minor, who has drawn interest from at least one team, they’d “likely have to add another veteran” starter in response, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. The Rangers don’t want to overexpose their young pitchers at the major league level in 2019, per Grant, and losing their 2018 innings leader in Minor without replacing him would make that task more difficult. Texas did sign Lance Lynn this week, but he’d be the only strong bet to eat innings on a Minor-less staff. While Drew Smyly and Edinson Volquez have done it in the past, the former hasn’t taken a major league mound since 2016, and the latter last pitched in MLB in July 2017 – a month before he underwent Tommy John surgery.
  • Likewise, the Rangers plan to acquire bullpen help prior to spring training, according to general manager Jon Daniels (via Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram). The unit just lost its innings king from last season, Alex Claudio, whom the Rangers traded to the Brewers earlier in the week. Prior to that, the Rangers did reunite with Jesse Chavez via the open market, but they also saw Tony Barnette and the non-tendered Matt Bush become free agents.
  • An experienced closer is on the Rays’ wish list, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The Rays’ saves leaders from last season – Sergio Romo and Alex Colome – are no longer on the roster, with the former currently a free agent. Romo’s one of several established closers on the market, where Craig Kimbrel, Zach Britton, David Robertson, Andrew Miller, Kelvin Herrera, Joakim Soria, Cody Allen and Bud Norris are also among those seeking deals.
  • White Sox uber-prospect Eloy Jimenez has been playing in the Dominican Winter League, but Chicago will probably shut the outfielder down until spring training because of a quad injury, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets. Jimenez would have been done with winter ball in another week anyway, Levine notes, so this doesn’t seem like a particularly serious issue. As such, the 22-year-old Jimenez remains on track to make his much-anticipated big league debut sometime in 2019.

AL Rumors: Harper, Machado, ChiSox, Yanks, Tulo, Astros, Reddick

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A quick trip around the American League…

  • Free-agent superstars Bryce Harper and Manny Machado may be primed to sign record-setting contracts this offseason, but it doesn’t appear either will get such a deal from the White Sox or Yankees. While the White Sox are known to be in the running for both players, their pursuit is less “frenzied” than it is “measured and modest,” writes ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required), who hears they’re not prepared to ink either Harper or Machado to a record pact. The Yankees, meanwhile, have been more connected to Machado than Harper. According to George A. King III of the New York Post, the Yankees’ interest in Machado is legitimate, but it’s not so ardent that they’re willing to hand him a 10-year, $300MM deal.
  • If the Yankees don’t sign Machado, they’ll need an infielder to replace shortstop Didi Gregorius, who will miss most or all of next season as a result of Tommy John surgery. With that in mind, they’ll “monitor” free agent Troy Tulowitzki’s market, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe relays. There are six teams in contention for the injury-prone, once-great Tulowitzki, whom the Blue Jays released this week at a cost of $38MM, though it’s unclear whether the Yankees are among them. The career-long shortstop, 34, would likely play second base in New York, given the presence of younger and better middle infielder Gleyber Torres.
  • The Astros are mulling adding two hitters and are “open” to trading outfielder Josh Reddick, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required). However, the likelihood is that the Astros will only acquire one hitter, per Rosenthal, who adds that they haven’t had much luck trying to move Reddick this offseason. Not only is the 33-year-old Reddick coming off an unspectacular season in which he hit .242/.318/.400 (99 wRC+) with 1.1 fWAR in 487 plate appearances, but he’s due $26MM through 2020.

Reactions To And Effects Of The Yonder Alonso Trade

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The late-night Friday move that sent 1B/DH Yonder Alonso to Chicago’s south side was a deal typically reserved for transaction marginalia. Because of the headliner’s relationship with star free-agent SS/3B Manny Machado, though (the two are brothers-in-law), and Cleveland’s offseason status as a veritable repository for top-end available arms, the trade has implications that range further than most of its ilk.

Here’s the latest from the Upper Midwest …

  • Per WSCR-AM’s Bruce Levine, Machado will meet with the White Sox next week. Whether or not the opportunity to play with Alonso will hold sway is unknown, but GM Rick Hahn made serious effort, in a post-trade assembly with reporters, to redirect swirling conjecture back to Alonso: “Fundamentally this is a baseball deal,” Hahn said. “We like how Yonder fits in between the lines and in the clubhouse and helps further what we’re trying to accomplish in 2019 and beyond. The potential ancillary benefits to it in terms of his relationships with others really can’t be part of pulling the trigger in making the decision to acquire a big league player…” It should be noted, too, that purported White Sox target Yasmani Grandal, Havana-born and Miami-bred like Alonso, played with the 1B/DH at the University of Miami, in the Cincinnati Red farm system, and with the San Diego Padres from 2012-’14.
  • Per MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince and Mandy Bell, the “key to the deal,” from Cleveland’s perspective, was the ability to clear the entirety of Alonso’s $9MM salary for ’18 (he also has a $9MM, 2020 option that vests if he accrues 526 plate appearances in ’19) off the books. Speculatively, though Alonso’s mostly-league-average bat, over the course of his career, likely wasn’t sought-after on the trade market, Cleveland may have seen a slight bump in the return quality if it was willing to eat most of the remaining cash on Alonso’s deal.
  • With the aforementioned savings in the White Sox deal, plus the approximately $9MM slashed in the Carlos Santana/Edwin Encarnacion swap, the Indians appear to have drastically increased their 2019 payroll space. Fancred’s Jon Heyman relays the good news for Tribe fans, tweeting that both Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer are now “more likely to stay.” The Indians could, though, look to aggressively upgrade a barren-looking outfield by using the newfound space and dealing one of the two aces, though enthusiasm behind the latter strategy has seemed diffident from the start.
  • Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the deal “doesn’t necessarily indicate” the club is now looking to move 1B/DH Jose Abreu. Abreu, 31, projects to earn $16MM in arbitration this season, and has seen his surplus value slide considerably in recent seasons. Still, Steamer projects the slugger to post a robust .280/.339/.495 (125 wRC+) line in ’19, and his presence could still be coveted by a team becoming increasingly desperate for a middle-of-the-lineup presence.
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