White Sox Seek Lefty Outfield Bat, Inquired On Andre Ethier
FEB. 4: The Dodgers would like to move Ethier, and the Sox do indeed want an upgrade in the outfield, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today, but there’s no sign of a match between the two sides at this time, he hears.
FEB. 3: Chicago has a “strong preference” to add a lefty bat, Rogers tweets. That’s one issue that the team has with a possible signing of Fowler, he notes, since the switch-hitting veteran is better from the right side.
FEB. 2: The White Sox have explored the possibility of a trade for Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier, according to a pair of reports from MLB.com’s Phil Rogers (Twitter link) and Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670thescore.com.
The Sox are known to be open to outfield help, having been connected to each of Yoenis Cespedes, Dexter Fowler and Alex Gordon, to varying degrees, over the past five to six weeks. Chicago currently projects to have an outfield of Melky Cabrera, Adam Eaton and Avisail Garcia, but the latter of that trio has yet to produce much at the Major League level. Eaton, of course, is one of the team’s best players and coming off a strong overall season, and while Cabrera stumbled out of the blocks in the first season of a three-year, $42MM contract, he rebounded to bat .288/.330/.449 with 11 home runs in the season’s final four months (109 games, 468 plate appearances).
Ethier could serve as a platoon partner for the right-handed-hitting Garcia, who has a career .284/.341/.424 batting line against left-handed pitching. He could also, as Levine notes, share some time between right field and DH in the event that Garcia and/or LaRoche enjoy a better season with the bat in 2016 than the duo did in 2015. Notably, the White Sox lack a bat that could step in and take reasonably contribute at designated hitter in place of LaRoche, should his problems persist. Mike Olt has huge power but is a career .168 hitter with a 37 percent strikeout rate, and the right-handed hitting Jerry Sands would be in strict need of a platoon partner. (That could be LaRoche himself, although the veteran struggled quite a bit even against right-handed pitching last year.)
From the Dodgers’ perspective, they can not only afford to part with Ethier but would in many ways be thinning out a currently crowded outfield mix. Los Angeles has Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford, Scott Van Slyke, Trayce Thompson and Enrique Hernandez all serving as outfield alternatives on the 40-man roster (though Hernandez, of course, is more of an infielder).
Ethier has long been viewed as an albatross contract, and while the remaining two years and $38MM on his deal are a roadblock in any potential trade talks, there’s no doubt that he did restore some of his value last year when he followed up a .253/.325/.385 performance vs. righties in 2014 with an outstanding .306/.383/.517 line in 2015. Ethier is still in clear need of a platoon partner wherever he goes — he’s received just 99 plate appearances versus lefties over the past two seasons combined — but that type of production is impressive, especially considering his pitcher-friendly home park.
The Dodgers could either offer to eat some of the remaining money on Ethier’s deal — Levine estimates that absorbing half of the sum would get the two teams on the same page — or take on a bad contract from the Sox in exchange. LaRoche, for instance, is owed $13MM this season, so his inclusion in a trade would effectively reduce the White Sox’ financial commitment to a more palatable $25MM over two seasons. Left-hander John Danks is owed $14.25MM and would make sense to some extent in this capacity, though his ability to eat innings as the Sox’ fifth starter carries some value, and the team lacks a clear alternative in the rotation, at least early in the year. Even setting the money aside for a moment, the Sox and Dodgers would also have to agree to additional compensation, as L.A. probably doesn’t view Ethier as a pure salary dump (especially not if they’re offering financial relief in some regard). While Ethier might not command one of the Sox’ top-tier prospects, some form of young talent would have to head back in the direction of the Dodgers for the two teams to line up on a trade.
There’s incentive for the two sides to get something done prior to the season, though, because as Levine notes, Ethier will gain 10-and-5 rights in mid-April, thus giving him the power to veto any potential trade that’s put on the table. The Sox, of course, still have alternative options in the form of other trade possibilities or free agents such as Fowler and Austin Jackson.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/3/16
Here are the latest minor moves of note:
- The White Sox have re-signed righty Maikel Cleto and added outfielder Vinny Rottino, according to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Cleto, 26, has been hit around in his limited MLB experience but has shown the ability to miss bats. He spent last year at Triple-A, working to a 3.00 ERA in 51 frames with 10.8 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9. The 35-year-old Rottino has not seen the majors since 2012. He slashed .266/.346/.390 over 514 plate appearances at Triple-A in 2015.
- The Marlins have added first baseman Zach Lutz, per Eddy. Lutz saw only minimal time in the Mets system last year, but did briefly reach the majors with New York in the 2012-13 seasons.
- Lefty Edgar Ibarra has joined the Phillies on a minors pact, Eddy adds. The 26-year-old cracked the bigs for the first time last year, but only made two appearances. At Triple-A, he worked o a 5.43 ERA over 66 1/3 innings with 9.1 /9 vs. 4.7 BB/9.
- Fellow southpaw Chris Dwyer is going to the Orioles on his own new deal, according to the BA report. He had spent his entire career in the Royals organization, briefly making it up to the show in 2013. Dwyer was a fourth-round pick out of Clemson back in 2009.
- The Braves reached agreement with Blake Lalli, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter), and expect to utilize him as one of the team’s catchers at Triple-A. The 32-year-old has served in just that role with the Diamondbacks over the last two seasons.
AL Central Notes: Twins, Davis, Fowler, Sox, Moustakas
Twins manager Paul Molitor sat down with Darren Wolfson of KSTP and 1500 ESPN over the weekend for a 12-minute interview (video link) and discussed a number of topics, including the decision to play Miguel Sano in right field over left field, the possibility of Byron Buxton making the Opening Day roster and the team’s expected rotation. Molitor says it’s very likely that Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson and Phil Hughes will be in the Opening Day rotation (assuming good health for each), and Tyler Duffey “has a really good chance” on the heels of a strong rookie showing, though Duffey’s inclusion is not considered a sure thing. Tommy Milone, Ricky Nolasco and Trevor May are all candidates for the fifth spot, though Molitor hinted by suggesting that May will “get a look, at least early in camp, to see how it goes, to see if that’s a better fit for him than in the bullpen,” that May’s chances might be a bit lesser. May opened last season as a starter and pitched reasonably well before turning in a very strong 2.87 ERA with 10.6 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 31 1/3 reliever.
More from the AL Central…
- Manager Terry Francona is happy to see Rajai Davis wearing an Indians uniform heading into the 2016 season, writes Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal. Cleveland’s manager tells Lewis that he joked with Davis recently that he “hated him” for the past few seasons, “because he’s been a thorn in our side.” Davis’ stolen base totals have declined in each of the past two seasons, though the fleet-footed outfielder said that part of the reason for that was hitting in front of Miguel Cabrera and not wanting to run the risk of getting caught with one of the game’s most potent bats at the plate. Francona tells Lewis that the team has similar hopes for Davis that it did following the signing of Michael Bourn. “…[I]f you can get a guy that can get on base and kind of disturb the game a little bit, that really helps a lot.”
- The White Sox and Rangers are both looking at Dexter Fowler, tweets David Kaplan of CSN Chicago. Sox GM Rick Hahn spoke over the weekend about the value of the No. 28 overall selection, which the club would have to forfeit in order to sign Fowler, however. I’d imagine that if Fowler’s asking price dipped enough, the Sox might be comfortable enough with the immediate value they’re obtaining to part with the potential longer-term value of the draft pick. The Sox do seem like a good fit for Fowler, as Jeff Todd and I recently discussed on the MLBTR Podcast. The Rangers, too, were mentioned in that discussion, and they could certainly make some sense, pushing Josh Hamilton to more of a part-time role that could possibly keep him healthier while creating more outfield depth in Texas.
- Whether or not a move is ultimately made, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin feels that the one of the takeaways from this weekend’s SoxFest event was that the White Sox are definitely still trying to get something done, be it a trade or free-agent signing (links to Twitter). “It was more than just general SoxFest talk,” says Merkin of the team’s desire to continue adding to the roster.
- MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan adds some more context to his recent report that the Royals and third baseman Mike Moustakas have discussed a two-year deal to buy out his remaining arbitration years. “There’s been a couple talks about a multiyear deal, a two-year deal, also a one-year deal,” said Moustakas of talks between the Royals and his agent, Scott Boras. “We’re just trying to figure out what the best fit is for everything. They’ve been talking back and forth and trying to figure it all out. They give me the information and I go, ‘Yeah, that’s all right.’ But I try to stay out of it because I love Scott and I love the Royals.” Moustakas said that a two-year deal is appealing, if possible, because he’d like to avoid “the stress of another arbitration year.” Boras and the Royals worked out a similar deal for first baseman Eric Hosmer last winter, though Hosmer will still have one more year of arbitration following the completion of that two-year deal.
AL Central Links: Chernoff, Holaday, Twins, Danks, Royals
Frank Thomas is rejoining the White Sox as a special consultant of business operations, the Hall-of-Famer told reporters (including CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes). Thomas had been working in an ambassador role with the Sox but took some time off to join Fox’s baseball broadcasts as an analyst; the Big Hurt will still continue his TV work in addition to working for the team. Here’s some more from around the AL Central…
- The Indians may not be done making lineup additions, GM Mike Chernoff said in an interview today with Jim Duquette and Jeff Joyce of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter links). Giving up a draft pick for a signing wouldn’t be out of the question, Chernoff said, if the value balances out with the team’s long-term goals. Ian Desmond and Dexter Fowler are the only two everyday players remaining with draft pick compensation attached via the qualifying offer, and Cleveland would have to surrender their first-rounder (the 15th overall selection) to sign either, a substantial loss for a smaller-market club. I would guess that the Tribe would only sign Desmond or Fowler if either agreed to a low-cost one-year contract, so they could rebuild their free agent stock for the 2016-17 offseason and the Indians could then try to recoup a draft pick via their own qualifying offer.
- With James McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia ahead of him on the Tigers‘ catching depth chart, Bryan Holaday could be a spring trade candidate, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes. Holaday has seen limited action over his four Major League seasons, with 108 games and 282 plate appearances to his name since debuting in 2012. While the Tigers would undoubtedly like to keep Holaday as depth, he’s also out of options and likely couldn’t be kept at Triple-A without another team taking him on waivers.
- During the TwinsFest fan event this weekend, Twins GM Terry Ryan answered questions about Joe Mauer, the team’s young players and the team’s ability to sign major long-term contracts, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
- John Danks is approaching the 2016 season with an eye towards extending his career, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin writes. “I would say I’m more focused on this year, and my feeling is if I can put up a good year, then it won’t be my last year,” Danks said. “So I don’t want it to be my last year. I don’t want to plant that seed or anything. I’m a realist and understand that teams have to want me and for a team to want me, I’ve got to be good.” Since signing a five-year, $65MM extension with the White Sox following the 2011 season, Danks has battled injuries and struggled to the tune of a 4.82 ERA and 5.9 K/9 over 563 1/3 innings. The southpaw has at least been a durable innings-eater over the last two years, recording 371 1/3 IP since the start of the 2014 campaign. Even if Danks struggles in 2016, he’s only 30 years old, so I suspect he’d find a minor league deal next winter to continue his career.
- The Royals internally project to lose money in 2016 unless they manage another deep playoff run, Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star writes. The team is willing to spend outside its comfort zone in order to take another shot at a World Series, with Mellinger noting that baseball’s shared TV contracts and revenue-sharing policies have allowed the small-market Royals to get into a position to contend in the first place.
White Sox Notes: Free Agents, Draft Picks, LaRoche
Via Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune, here are a few notes from White Sox GM Rick Hahn, who spoke to fans at the team’s SoxFest yesterday.
- Kane writes that although the White Sox have added Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie and others this offseason, much of the discussion Friday focused on players the White Sox have missed on, particularly Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon and Justin Upton. Hahn says the White Sox were aggressive with free agent targets they ultimately missed out on. “Any of these players who decide ultimately they want to return to where they came from, I have to respect that and tip my hat to them,” he said, perhaps referring to Gordon and/or Cespedes. “It doesn’t mean we’re not going to continue to try to get it done.”
- Dexter Fowler and Ian Desmond remain on the free agent market, and it appears either one could help the White Sox. One potential problem for Chicago, though, is that both players rejected qualifying offers. The Sox’ top pick in the tenth overall and will therefore be protected, but the Sox also currently have the No. 28 pick as compensation for the loss of Jeff Samardzija. “The draft pick has real value,” said Hahn. “A couple of million dollars worth of pool money, which allows you to be flexible with that draft pick or pay some forward or pay some back. … At some level, you balance the ability to improve this club versus the long-term impact that losing a pick like that would have.”
- White Sox manager Robin Ventura says Adam LaRoche will have to win the starting DH job in Spring Training, Kane tweets. The 36-year-old LaRoche is coming off a miserable .207/.293/.340 2015 season in which, considering his lack of defensive value, he was arguably one of the least productive everyday players in the Majors. Of course, as Kane implies, the question is who might replace him if the White Sox decide he’s not worthy of regular playing time.
AL Notes: Vogt, Fister, White Sox, Moustakas, Plouffe, Royals
Athletics catcher Stephen Vogt will likey miss four to six weeks after elbow surgery, MLB.com’s Jan Lee tweets. He is still expected to be good to go for the start of the season, though he’ll be delayed in getting going this spring.
Here are a few more notes from around the American League:
- Doug Fister‘s MRI with the Astros did not gum up the deal, but nevertheless showed some cause for concern, Houston GM Jeff Luhnow said today on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter links). “There is some risk, but we’re confident he’s going to be healthy this year,” said Luhnow.
- White Sox GM Rick Hahn made clear today that the team feels urgency to win, as Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com reports. Hahn acknowledged frustration that “we haven’t been able to convert on any [free agent] targets,” as CSNChicago.com’s Dan Hayes reports, but told fans that “there still is the possibility we are going to have changes before camp or Opening Day.”
- Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas says that his representatives have talked to the club about a two-year contract arrangement, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports on Twitter. “I think it’s extremely important ,” he said. “We are blessed with some very unique, special talent on this roster right now.”
- Coming into the winter, Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe seemed a plausible trade piece, but we never heard much buzz on that front. Minnesota GM Terry Ryan tells Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (Twitter link) that the club did not consider scenarios for a deal — let alone make Plouffe available to other clubs.
- The Royals‘ many successes have led many to point to their outstanding pen as a model of sorts, and ESPN.com’s Jayoson Stark (Insider link) explains that it has helped drive the idea of relying heavily on a relief corps. But the rise of the importance of the relief pitcher has other, deeper causes, Stark argues.
Central Notes: Fowler, Mesoraco, Tomlin, Twins, Cardinals
The White Sox and Cubs continue to monitor the market for free agent center fielder Dexter Fowler, writes Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com/CBS Chicago. Both clubs are checking in on Fowler’s market on a daily basis, Levine adds. Levine spoke to one executive from another team that called the Cubs the likeliest landing spot for Fowler, though based on the anonymous quote, that appears to be purely speculative as opposed to any form of definitive knowledge. The report notes that Fowler could settle for a one- or two-year deal (possibly with a player option, in keeping with the offseason’s opt-out trend), although that, too, appears to be fairly speculative in nature. While Levine and the unnamed exec feel that Fowler should have accepted the qualifying offer, it’s easy to make such claims with the benefit of hindsight, and I’d contest that no such claims can be made until the parameters of Fowler’s eventual deal are known. Even if Fowler comes in at a number lesser than the value of the qualifying offer, the upside in testing the market (tens of millions of dollars) significantly outweighed a possible difference of a few million dollars, in my eyes.
More from the game’s Central divisions…
- Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco tells MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon that his surgically repaired hip is 100 percent, and he’ll be ready to go when pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training. Mesoraco suffered a hip impingement in the first month of a four-year contract extension and was limited to 23 contests last year before undergoing surgery in June. However, the 2014 All-Star says he’s been hitting for “a couple of months” and has also progressed to catching drills, including blocking/receiving pitches, throwing across the diamond. Mesoraco says in terms of work behind the plate he is doing “just about everything with no pain.”
- Right-hander Josh Tomlin, who signed a two-year deal with the Indians yesterday (including a club option for a third season), spoke to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian about the decision to sign the contract. “I didn’t really look towards the free-agent part,” said Tomlin, who would’ve hit the open market next winter had he not signed the deal. “I’ve been a Cleveland Indian since 2006. When they approached my agent about that contract, it was something that excited me and it got me looking forward to the season and I appreciated it. It’s something we talked about and we were able to reach an agreement that I was happy with, that they were happy with. I wasn’t really looking toward the future and seeing, ‘OK, these guys are getting this much money. I could potentially have that kind of money.’ That never entered into my head. It was, ‘Cleveland Indians wanted to give me a shot and I’m all about it.'” GM Mike Chernoff tells Bastian that the plan for 2016 is for Tomlin to pitch in the rotation. Assuming that Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer all remain healthy, that would seem to leave right-hander Cody Anderson, who was solid in his big league debut this past season, without a spot in the starting five. Then again, virtually no team makes it through a season with only five starters, so Anderson and others should have chances to start throughout the year.
- There were no real discussions of a long-term pact between the Twins and Trevor Plouffe‘s representatives at CAA before the two sides agreed to a $7.25MM salary for the 2016 season, per 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson (Twitter link). As it stands, Plouffe will be eligible for free agency following the 2017 campaign. He was an oft-speculated trade candidate earlier this winter due to the emergence of Miguel Sano and the signing of Korean slugger Byung-ho Park, who will push Sano away from the DH spot. Minnesota plans to use Sano in right field for the time being, though Plouffe’s future with the club and Sano’s positioning on the diamond figure to remain connected, as Sano has spent the bulk of his minor league career at third base.
- Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press spoke to Twins GM Terry Ryan about the steps that the club is taking to make Park’s transition from Korea to the United States as smooth as possible. Minnesota has hired a translator of Park’s choosing and has also been in contact with several Pirates officials about the transition process for Jung Ho Kang in 2015 in an effort to make the process as seamless as possible for their new DH. Ryan notes that the fact that both Kang and Park are represented by Octagon’s Alan Nero also helps, as Nero adds another person familiar with the adjustment process to the fold.
- The Cardinals aren’t exactly certain of when Yadier Molina will be healthy enough to make his 2016 debut, writes Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which creates opportunities for internal options like Michael Ohlman and Carson Kelly to make the roster as a backup to offseason signee Brayan Pena. Non-roster invites such as veteran Eric Fryer also could find themselves with a greater opportunity to see some Major League time due to the uncertainty. However, even though Ohlman has only been with the Cardinals organization for a little less than a year, he outlined Molina’s importance to the roster when speaking to Frederickson. “He controls the clubhouse,” said Ohlman. “It’s his team.” Molina underwent thumb surgery back in October and had to undergo a second operation in December after the first one did not fully correct the ligament issue.
AL Central Notes: Gordon, Perez, Torres, Sox
Alex Gordon explained his decision to return to the Royals in an appearance today on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter links via host Casey Stern). Interestingly, he noted that “it was a difficult offseason being a free agent,” perhaps referencing the large number of high-quality players that joined him on the market. Ultimately, while other organizations “definitely showed interest,” Gordon said his “number one goal” from the start was to return to Kansas City.
Here are a few more notes from the AL Central:
- We’ve heard previously of some mutual interest between the Royals and catcher Salvador Perez in a new contract, and Jon Heyman tweets that the club is “quietly trying to re-work/extend” his contract with the club. Perez can be controlled already through 2019, via successive options, for a grand total of just $13.75MM (including this coming season). That obviously leaves ample leverage with the club, particularly since Perez has been worked hard through his age-25 season. It’s not clear what kind of arrangement might work for the team, but I’d speculate that it could involve the introduction of some guaranteed money in exchange for additional option years.
- The Twins may be interested in Mets reliever Carlos Torres, who currently sits in DFA limbo, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). He’s only owed $1.05MM through arbitration this year and his peripherals suggest that last year’s 4.68 ERA may have been a bit unlucky, so it’s not difficult to see the appeal for a Minnesota club that could stand to deepen its pen.
- The White Sox seem to have allowed the outfield market to pass by without striking, Jim Margalus of SB Nation opines. He wonders whether the Adam LaRoche contract may be a larger obstacle than had been presumed. Of course, it is fair to note that Dexter Fowler, Austin Jackson, and a variety of platoon players remain available — to say nothing of the possibility of a trade — so there’s time yet for GM Rick Hahn to pursue upgrades.
White Sox Re-Sign Matt Albers
The White Sox have officially brought back free-agent righty Matt Albers, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (links to Twitter). Per the report, the SSG Baseball client will earn $2MM in 2016. The deal also includes a $3MM club option with a $250K buyout.
Albers, 32, has dealt with injuries at times in recent years — most notably, a lengthy struggle with shoulder issues that cost him most of 2014. And a freak broken finger also landed him on the DL last year.
But the most recent work on his record is quite impressive. He threw 37 1/3 innings of 1.21 ERA pitching last year for Chicago, with only 6.8 K/9 but a strong 2.2 BB/9 and 58.6% groundball rate to back his efforts. Truth be told, Albers has put up outstanding run-prevention numbers dating back to the start of the 2012 campaign. He’s posted a sterling 2.32 ERA over his 170 2/3 frames since that time.
While metrics don’t quite support that level of production, SIERA has viewed him as a mid-3.00 ERA performer or better for quite some time. Though his velocity dipped rather sharply last year, Albers tells MLB.com’s Scott Merkin that changes to his change-up helped him to end the year with 22 1/3 scoreless innings despite the lack of his typical ~93 mph heat.
Certainly, Chicago can make out on this signing even if Albers takes a fairly significant step back in terms of results. He’ll join a seemingly well-stocked pen that will be needed to ease the burden on a rotation that has some question marks at the back end.
AL Central Notes: Upton, Tigers, Cespedes, Buxton, Abad
Lynn Henning of the Detroit News breaks down the series of events that led to the Tigers‘ signing of Justin Upton to a six-year, $132.75MM contract today. As Henning notes, owner Mike Ilitch went into the club’s annual offseason holiday break with some reservations about the concept of a Cameron Maybin/Tyler Collins platoon in left field. By the time Tigers’ brass returned to their offices, Ilitch was committed to signing one of Upton, Yoenis Cespedes or Alex Gordon to upgrade in left field. Tigers scouts and analysts went to work on making as informed a decision as possible, and GM Al Avila consulted with assistant Alan Trammel and Tigers broadcaster Kirk Gibson about their personal experiences with Upton from the trio’s days together in Arizona. Henning notes that Detroit also considered Chris Davis, as Jon Heyman reported, but ultimately concerns over his ability to handle left field at Comerica Park eliminated him from the fold. Upton’s age and superior on-base percentage appear to have been focal points in the decision, though Henning notes that Cespedes was under serious consideration until last week. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted the same yesterday, noting that Detroit negotiated with both Upton and Cespedes simultaneously before deciding on Upton.
Here’s more from the AL Central…
- Upton’s agent, Larry Reynolds, said at today’s press conference that they offered the Tigers a pair of scenario’s: a longer-term deal without an opt-out clause and the six-year deal with a two-year opt-out that Upton ultimately signed (links to Twitter via MLB.com’s Jason Beck). Reynolds adds that Upton didn’t sign with Detroit to be a Tiger for only two years, stating, “Justin’s been on enough teams.” Of course, if Upton enjoys two healthy and productive seasons in Detroit in 2016-17, it’d be a surprise if he didn’t again test the open market in advance of his age-30 season.
- The Tigers might not yet be done adding pieces, Beck tweets. At today’s press conference, Avila told reporters, “I’d still like to have more depth in pitching. We’re adequate right now.” An addition to the rotation seems unlikely, at least on a Major League deal, though the team could reasonably pursue some depth on a minor league deal or look to add one more piece to the bullpen mix.
- The White Sox remain interested in Yoenis Cespedes, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link), but their stance has not changed since their initially reported interest. Per Nightengale, the ChiSox are still unwilling to exceed a three-year term in their pursuit of Cespedes. A short-term deal for Cespedes still strikes me as an unlikely scenario.
- The Twins‘ trade of Aaron Hicks this winter caught Byron Buxton off guard, the top prospect tells MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. The trade was somewhat bittersweet for Buxton, Bollinger writes, as he lost one of his best friends on the team but also received a clear-cut message that the center field job was his for the taking. Buxton says he made some adjustments late in the season, and the numbers bear that out, as Bollinger notes, pointing out his .273/.314/.515 batting line in his final 20 games. Manager Paul Molitor tells Bollinger that the organization’s hope is that Buxton is ready to take the reins in center field and run with it, though as Bollinger writes, Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler and Danny Santana all have some experience in center field should Buxton struggle.
- La Velle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets that Twins scouts believe left-hander Fernando Abad was tipping his pitches last season, which resulted in the veteran’s struggles. The Twins believe they can correct the issue, per Neal, which would give Abad a shot to break camp with the club. Minnesota signed the 30-year-old to a minor league deal earlier this offseason. Abad posted a 4.15 ERA with Oakland last season but had recorded a 2.27 ERA across 95 innings in the two seasons prior.