Reds Shopping Todd Frazier “Heavily”
2:55pm: The Reds are “shopping Frazier heavily,” C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets.
2:49pm: A deal between the sides appears unlikely, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweets.
2:22pm: The Indians are discussing third baseman Todd Frazier with the Reds, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. The rebuilding Reds have traded away a number of veteran assets over the past calendar year, including Mat Latos, Alfredo Simon, Mike Leake and Johnny Cueto, in exchange for prospects. Frazier, conceivably, could be the next established name to be moved, though it’s not certain at this point how serious the talks between the two sides are.
Also uncertain is precisely what the Reds would seek in return. Previous reports have indicated that Cincinnati seeks big-league-ready help in trades for its established stars, and the Indians have that in spades when it comes to young rotation pieces. Cleveland is looking for big league assets in trade talks on its starters, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports notes on Twitter, so a framework involving Frazier for a young arm like Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar or Trevor Bauer could make some sense, though the Indians would be trading from a strength to address a weakness, thus lessening the aggregate increase in 2016 value. The Indians do have a number of highly touted outfield prospects — namely Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier — but the team’s big league outfield depth is thin at the moment, and dealing from that supply of talent could prove problematic down the road.
Frazier, 30 in February, broke out with an All-Star season and exploded into near-superstar status with an incredible first half in the 2015 season. However, after hitting .284/.337/.585 with 25 homers prior to the All-Star break, Frazier limped to a .220/.274/.390 finish, homering 10 times while striking out at a significantly higher clip in the second half (17.4 percent in the first half versus 23.6 percent in the second half).
His late swoon notwithstanding, Frazier would be a sizable upgrade over any internal candidates the Indians presently have at third base. He’s an above-average defender at the hot corner with legitimate power that has graded out, on average, to be about four wins above replacement in each of the past three seasons. Frazier is also reasonably affordable, as he’ll earn $7.5MM in 2016 (as part of a two-year, $12MM deal) before going through the arbitration process one more time next offseason. He can become a free agent following the 2017 campaign.
Astros, Dodgers Discussing Andrew Miller With Yankees
The Astros and Dodgers are showing interest in Yankees lefty Andrew Miller, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. Those clubs have long seemed like possible fits, but the involvement of the latter is particularly notable given that the Dodgers had been lined up to acquire Aroldis Chapman from the Reds before his disturbing domestic violence allegations emerged.
Both Houston and L.A. were heavily involved in pursuing Miller last winter, with the Astros said to have made him the largest offer. But Miller chose New York, in part for family reasons, and signed a four-year, $36MM pact that includes equal, $9MM annual salaries.
Just one year into that contract, the remaining commitment looks quite appealing. Miller put up another outstanding season, throwing 61 2/3 frames of 2.04 ERA ball and racking up 14.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. Those numbers are nearly exact matches for his breakout 2014 campaign, and there’s little question that he’d command an even larger commitment were he back on the open market this winter.
Central Notes: Cubs, Perez, Nolasco, Reds
Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein says his team’s deal with Ben Zobrist and its trade of Starlin Castro to the Yankees were a matched pair, Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago writes. “This was a multiple-bank shot,” says Epstein. “We needed all the components of both deals to line up. That included the medicals and timing to sync up. We were not counting any chickens before they had hatched.” The pair of moves, in which the Cubs essentially used the money they would have had to pay Castro to fund most of Zobrist’s contract, will not limit the team’s options as its offseason continues to unfold, Epstein says. “Really, all the moves we were pursuing previously are still potentially alive for us,” Epstein said. “We don’t have to act out of need or desperation now. We now can be pretty selective.” Here’s more from the Central divisions.
- The Rangers have had recent trade talks with the Indians, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets. The Rangers are looking for a catcher, Sullivan notes, and the Indians’ Roberto Perez would make sense for them — he’s a good defender with a bit of hitting ability.
- Ricky Nolasco‘s contract with the Twins allows him to block trades to three teams each year, and Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN tweets that those three teams are the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays. As Wolfson suggests, that might not matter much right now — Nolasco has two years and $25MM remaining on his contract, and it doesn’t appear likely the Twins could trade him after two ineffective seasons, except perhaps in a swap of bad contracts.
- The Reds have promoted Nick Krall and Sam Grossman to assistant GM, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Krall had been the Reds’ senior director of baseball operations, and Grossman their senior director of baseball analytics. The team recently promoted assistant GM Dick Williams to GM.
NL Central Notes: Chapman, Cubs, Pirates
The domestic violence allegations against closer Aroldis Chapman will likely make it very difficult for the Reds to trade him, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes. Police records indicate that, in late October, Chapman allegedly choked his girlfriend, shoved her against a wall and fired eight gunshots in his garage. The allegations appear to have derailed the Reds’ trade of Chapman to the Dodgers. “I know we can’t touch him. Our owner would never go for that. And I’m getting the sense from other teams that they feel the same way,” one NL executive says. “Yeah, we know talent can cover up some character flaws, but domestic violence is such a hot topic now.” Spurred by cases involving Ray Rice and others in the NFL, domestic violence has become a high-profile issue in sports, and a team trading for Chapman would likely now be opening itself to a barrage of criticism. It doesn’t look like MLB’s investigation into Chapman’s situation will be resolved quickly, either. Nightengale notes that Chapman’s situation could lead to changes in the way MLB teams announce player acquisitions, potentially including language about completing background checks as well as physicals. Here are more notes from the NL Central.
- The Cubs have maintained steady contact with Jason Heyward‘s representation, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi tweets. It’s uncertain, however, whether they’ll continue to have interest after agreeing to terms with Ben Zobrist. Heyward has lately been connected to the Giants, Angels and Cardinals.
- One possibility for the Cardinals if they can’t re-sign Heyward is to sign Alex Gordon for less, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests (Twitter links). With the savings, they could then pursue NPB starter Kenta Maeda. Gordon could play right field in 2016, then move to left if the Cardinals decline Matt Holliday‘s option for the following season.
- The Pirates are interested in re-signing Sean Rodriguez, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. Rodriguez batted a modest .246/.281/.362 with the Bucs in 2015 but helped with his versatility, playing competent defense while splitting his time between first and the corner outfield positions (and also occasionally helping elsewhere in the infield).
- The Bucs are exploring a variety of possibilities at first base, writes MLB.com’s Adam Berry. Specifically, Berry writes that the Pirates have expressed interest in Mike Napoli, although the right-handed Napoli seems like a slightly awkward fit given the presence of the right-handed Michael Morse on the Bucs’ roster. After non-tendering Pedro Alvarez, the Pirates are looking for a new first baseman to form a bridge to top prospect Josh Bell.
Joe Torre Addresses Aroldis Chapman Situation
4:02pm: Halem says that whether or not an arrest occurs will not be a factor in the investigation, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. He also indicated that the league hopes to complete its look by the opening of Spring Training, as Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post adds on Twitter. That certainly suggests that a resolution may not be forthcoming for some time.
12:23pm: In the wake of the scuttled trade that would have sent Reds closer Aroldis Chapman to the Dodgers, many are wondering how much the Reds knew about Chapman’s alleged domestic violence history and, if they were aware of it, when they were apprised. In a press conference with reporters on Tuesday morning, MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre told reporters that the league was not aware of Chapman’s arrest record until Monday evening. That timeline would imply that the league learned of Chapman’s arrest roughly around the time everyone else did, as the Yahoo Sports report was filed roughly around 9pm CT on Monday night.
Obviously, the Dodgers and other fervent Chapman suitors will be holding off on trade talks until we gain more clarity on the closer’s messy situation. Torre, who has an instrumental role in league discipline, indicated that the league will be taking its time in weighing a potential punishment for the soon-to-be 28-year-old.
“As awful as his situation is, there are still rights that have to be protected. So, we’re very careful in making sure that we respect that and get all of the information. Then, we will proceed accordingly,” Torre told the press in Nashville.
Pressed on Chapman for roughly ten minutes, Torre referred a good number of the questions to Dan Halem, the league’s Chief Legal Officer. Halem is expected to address reporters at the Winter Meetings at some point on Tuesday afternoon.
Pitching Notes: Rangers, Giants, Maeda, Chapman, Stammen, Jays, Pirates, Okajima
It appears the Rangers are at least looking into an impactful pitching addition. MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says (Twitter links) that the club has pursued Jose Fernandez, Shelby Miller, and Drew Smyly on the trade market, but “couldn’t make headway” on any of those players. The club is, however, holding a line of dialogue with the Indians on their rotation arms. Meanwhile, Texas has “neither funds nor interest level” to take a run at Japanese righty Kenta Maeda, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter.
Here’s more on the pitching market:
- The Giants have some interest in Maeda, skipper Bruce Bochy told reporters including John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). And the team has scouted him previously in Japan, colleague Henry Schulman adds on Twitter. Of course, Bochy also added that the club expects Maeda to draw wide interest, and didn’t make clear just how strong of a draw he represents.
- With uncertainty abounding, the Dodgers are holding internal discussions on what to do about the team’s prospective trade for Reds lefty Aroldis Chapman, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports via Twitter. It’s possible that the club could “pivot” to some other acquisition targets or that it might allow the situation to play out before committing in either direction, he adds.
- Recently non-tendered righty Craig Stammen is “100% recovered” from his arm surgery, a source tells MLBTR’s Zach Links (via) Twitter. Stammen, a stalwart of the Nationals pen for several years, was non-tendered recently. He’ll be entering his age-32 season after producing a 2.88 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 246 2/3 innings over 2012-15.
- The Blue Jays are considering an array of options as they look at pen additions, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. Toronto is considering everything from the best remaining free agent relievers to “bounce-back types,” he says.
- While a lefty reliever isn’t the Pirates‘ top priority, the team has reached to free agent Matt Thornton, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter.
- The Pirates have shown interest in free agenty righty Kyle Kendrick, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (via Twitter). Kendrick struggled last year for the Rockies, but he’s still just 31 years old and has had success at times in a swingman capacity. Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review broke down the Bucs’ efforts to find starters in a piece yesterday.
- Japanese reliever Hideki Okajima is eyeing a return to the majors for his age-40 campaign, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets. The long-time Red Sox southpaw last appeared in the bigs in 2013 with the Athletics and has played in Japan for the last two years.
Aroldis Chapman Allegedly Involved In Domestic Dispute
TODAY: There’s another potential wrinkle, per Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links): Chapman needs 138 days of service next year to reach the six seasons required for free agency. It’s at least hypothetically plausible that he could fall shy if he faced a lengthy suspension.
Rosenthal also details the league’s plans for the investigation, which will include an interview with Chapman, and the difficult questions that the commissioner’s office will face in assessing the matter.
Meanwhile, the prospective trade of Chapman to the Dodgers is not on hold due to any investigatory action by the league, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Los Angeles is “undecided” on how to handle the possible transaction, he adds.
YESTERDAY, 11:42pm: A team that had contact with Cincinnati was left with the impression that Chapman “might have injured a hand” in the incident in question, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Obviously, it’s hard to judge the level of concern with that information without knowing which hand and what might have occurred, but the news adds to an already-stunning turn of events.
10:32pm: The Red Sox were in talks on Chapman in November before learning about the incident through a background check, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. Boston was exploring deals for both Chapman and Craig Kimbrel at the time, says Speier, and turned its attention exclusively toward the latter after finding out about the allegations.
10:10pm: C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer has Jocketty’s full quote, on Twitter: “We’ve talked to several clubs. I notified all of them tonight that we’d step back a couple of weeks or whatever it takes.”
9:28pm: Reds president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty says that a trade of Chapman may be delayed by several weeks, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweets. That’s certainly far from the most important element of this story, of course. But a delay in completing a transaction also seems to represent only the minimum potential impact on Chapman’s marketability.
For one thing, any club would obviously want to know if a player being acquired will face disciplinary action. Notably, we’ve yet to hear anything on the situation of Reyes, whose arrest was reported about a month ago, suggesting that the process won’t be swift.
Quite apart from any suspension or fine, moreover, the disturbing report could well come with broader ramifications for Chapman’s future if the alleged facts are supported by the investigation. And that’s probably true whether or not he is ultimately charged in relation to the incident.
8:54pm: Reds closer Aroldis Chapman was allegedly involved in a serious domestic dispute in late October, Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown and Jeff Passan report. The outlet says that it obtained police records relating to the matter.
According to those reports, says Yahoo, Chapman’s girlfriend told investigating officers that he “choked” her and pushed her against a wall. Chapman is also alleged to have discharged a handgun into the garage of his home.
There were no arrests in the incident. Chapmans attorney, Jay Reisinger, said in a statement to Yahoo that he and his client “vehemently deny the allegations as stated.”
The incident is the reason that a reported trade this morning to the Dodgers has been held up, according to Yahoo. Cincinnati has been aware of the matter “for some time,” Passan adds in an interview on MLB Network Radio (Twitter link). Major league baseball will investigate the matter, Brown and Passan further report.
An investigation obviously appears to be warranted under the new domestic violence protocol put in place between the league and the player’s association. Commissioner Rob Manfred can issue any punishment deemed appropriate “in light of the severity of the conduct,” after an investigation. Notably, neither criminal conviction nor a guilty plea are required to support the imposition of discipline.
The commissioner’s office is said already to be investigating fellow high-profile players Jose Reyes and Yasiel Puig under the domestic violence policy.
Bullpen Notes: Clippard, Chapman, Nathan, Twins, LaCava
Here’s the latest reliever news from around the game…
- The Mets have discussed re-signing Tyler Clippard, Newsday’s Marc Carig reports. Clippard posted a 3.06 ERA in 32 1/3 innings for the Mets after being acquired in a late-July trade from Oakland.
- From that same item, Carig says the Mets “briefly discussed” making a move for Aroldis Chapman at the last trade deadline but they didn’t revisit that idea this winter.
- Joe Nathan is in Nashville talking to teams at the Winter Meetings, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links). Nathan underwent Tommy John surgery last April and is hoping to be ready to pitch by midseason. Rosenthal speculates that the former star closer could receive a contract that pays him a low base salary in 2016 with a higher guaranteed salary or a club option in 2017. It will be quite a comeback for Nathan if he’s able to overcome his second Tommy John procedure for a return at age 41.
- The Rangers, one of Nathan’s former teams, spoke with him today in what MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan described as a “courtesy meet.”
- Though the Twins have never signed a reliever from outside the organization to a multi-year contract under GM Terry Ryan’s tenure, Ryan tells reporters (including Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) that he’s “not opposed” to doing so “if it was a necessity of getting the guy we had confidence in and a need that we have.” The Twins have been linked to several big-name relievers (Joakim Soria, Ryan Madson, Tony Sipp) who have either already signed or likely will require multi-year guarantees.
- Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava told reporters (including MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm) that his team was made contact with many of the notable relievers who have already come off the board. “I wouldn’t say [we were] close, but we were engaged with some of the guys that signed,” LaCava said.
- Upgrading the bullpen “will be our primary focus the rest of our time here” at the Winter Meetings, Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters, including MLB.com’s Greg Johns.
AL West Notes: Wilson, Angels, Kendrick, Rangers, Pearce, Lewis, Catchers, Mariners
The Angels are telling clubs they’ll listen to offers on lefty C.J. Wilson, Scott Miller of Bleacher Report reports on Twitter. It seems that Los Angeles would be interested in clearing some payroll in a bid to address the multiple areas of need on the position-player side of the equation.
More from L.A. and the AL West:
- Angels GM Billy Eppler told reporters that he’s looked into deals for a short-term option in the corner outfield, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. As Fletcher notes, Jay Bruce of the Reds is one player who could meet that description, though it’s not clear that he’s a target for the Halos.
- Free agent second baseman Howie Kendrick is “definitely open” to returning to his long-time club, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets. While Eppler and co. have reached out to the veteran, that isn’t “on the front burner” for the team at present.
- The Rangers have had internal discussions about adding free agent first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports via Twitter. Pearce has long seemed a good match on paper for Texas, which has a heavily left-handed lineup.
- Meanwhile, the Rangers are looking at bringing Colby Lewis back and want to add at least two starters, Sullivan tweets. Texas would be looking for a rotation piece in any theoretical deal of first baseman Mitch Moreland.
- While the Rangers‘ interest in righty Joe Kelly now seems dead in the water after Boston dealt Wade Miley, Texas could also look to chat with the Red Sox about a possible deal for a catcher, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Tigers backstop Bryan Holaday could draw some attention from Texas as well, Sullivan adds on Twitter. As MLB.com’s Jason Beck notes on Twitter, Holaday is out of options and could hit the waiver wire if he loses the team’s reserve catching job to the just-signed Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
- In other Rangers-related backstop news, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that he’s told the team “covets” Brewers receiver Jonathan Lucroy. Of course, as he adds, Milwaukee likely won’t move Lucroy unless it can achieve a “huge return.”
- The Mariners are not looking at any major rotation upgrades after acquiring Miley, GM Jerry Dipoto tells Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News-Tribune (via Twitter). Dipoto also noted that he wasn’t willing to guarantee Hisashi Iwakuma a third year, which is why the club reportedly lost out on him to the Dodgers, MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets. Miley was the M’s “Plan A” after missing on Iwakuma, added Dipoto.
Dodgers’ Deal For Chapman Not Yet Complete
2:33pm: ESPN’s Jayson Stark tweets that the Reds are now telling other clubs no trade for Chapman has been agreed upon. Stark certainly implies that the Dodgers believed a trade to be done, adding: “I don’t think [the] Dodgers agree.”
2:13pm: The trade is not yet finished, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (links to Twitter). Not only that, but Sheldon hears that there are other clubs involved who could swoop in and acquire Chapman at the last minute.
11:11am: Peraza’s name did indeed come up in talks between the Dodgers and Reds, tweets Heyman, although he’s yet to confirm if Peraza is indeed heading to Cincinnati in the deal. If that’s the case, he notes, the club could escalate its efforts to deal Brandon Phillips.
9:33am: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that none of Julio Urias, Corey Seager or Jose De Leon are headed to the Reds in the trade. The Dodgers, though, have plenty of other enticing prospects in their ranks, notably including right-hander Grant Holmes and infielder Jose Peraza as fellow top 100 types (though those names are my own speculation).
9:27am: The Dodgers have struck a deal to acquire one of the game’s most elite bullpen arms, Aroldis Chapman, from the Reds in exchange for a pair of prospects, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Rosenthal adds that the Dodgers’ plan is to keep both Chapman and Kenley Jansen, who instantly team to become one of the game’s most dominant late-inning duos (if not the most dominant late-inning duo). The trade is pending medical reviews.
Chapman, 27, enjoyed yet another incredible season in 2015, working to a 1.63 ERA with 15.7 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and a 37.1 percent ground-ball rate. Over the past four seasons in Cincinnati, the Cuban-born phenom has delivered an astounding 1.90 ERA while averaging 16.1 strikeouts and 3.8 walks per nine innings to go along with an average of 36 saves per season. Chapman, of course, is known for his blistering fastball; the left-hander averaged 100.3 mph on his heater in 2014 and followed that up with a similarly incredulous 99.5 mph average this past season.
The Dodgers recently lost on on retaining Zack Greinke, when the division-rival Diamondbacks made an absolutely stunning push at the eleventh hour and signed him for an unprecedented six-year, $206.5MM sum. The following day, one of L.A.’s fallback plans, Jeff Samardzija, landed a five-year, $90MM contract with yet another division rival, the Giants. Some, then, may consider this move to be somewhat reactionary in nature, though the Dodgers’ interest in Chapman predates both of their division rivals’ acquisitions. Los Angeles, too, has since added to its rotation, bringing in Hisashi Iwakuma on a reported three-year, $45MM contract.
While the sting of losing Greinke is notable, adding Chapman to pair with Jansen will significantly shorten the necessary workload for most of the Dodgers’ rotation, as the team now boasts a pair of arms — one left-handed and one right-handed — that routinely average more than 13 strikeouts per nine innings.
Chapman, like Jansen, is a free agent following the 2016 season, making him a one-year rental, at least for the time being. While both relievers are one characteristically strong season away from a strong case to break Jonathan Papelbon‘s record four-year, $50MM contract for a reliever, if there’s any club that has the financial firepower to persuade one of those arms to forego free agency in lieu of an early contract extension, it’s the Dodgers. Should both pitchers reach the open market next winter, I’d wager that both will be easy calls to receive and reject the qualifying offer in search of that record-setting deal. That scenario would set the Dodgers up to acquire a pair of compensatory picks at the end of the first round in the 2017 draft.
Even with Chapman on board, one would imagine that the highly active Dodgers will still be open to adding further relief help. And, of course, more rotation stability will still be an area of focus for president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and the rest of the team’s front office. Behind Clayton Kershaw and the recently added Iwakuma (assuming his deal is finalized), the Dodgers currently figure to deploy Brett Anderson, Alex Wood and Mike Bolsinger. Hyun-ji Ryu’s arm is a question mark after missing 2015 due to shoulder injuries, and it’s not clear when, exactly Brandon McCarthy will be ready to return from Tommy John surgery.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.