Infield Notes: Zobrist, Davis, Lind, Moreland, Walker, Angels, Flowers, Reynolds, Matsuda
The Mets are “pretty optimistic” of landing free agent infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. New York expects a decision today or tomorrow, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter links). While the team has yet to formally offer a fourth year, says Sherman, it would work out a fourth year if Zobrist indicates he’d like to join the club.
Here are some more updates on the market for infielders:
- The Orioles are meeting today with agent Scott Boras regarding free agent first baseman Chris Davis, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. As Kubatko notes, Boras also represents Pedro Alvarez, who could theoretically also represent an option for Baltimore — at least if the team misses on Davis.
- Brewers first baseman Adam Lind appears to have a broad potential market, with Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweeting that at least 12 clubs have “checked in” on him.
- One such team is the Orioles, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter), who says that Baltimore has inquired on both Lind and Mitch Moreland of the Rangers. But the O’s don’t appear to “match up” with Milwaukee on Lind, Haudricourt adds via Twitter.
- There’s no realistic possibility of an extension between Neil Walker and the Pirates, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. GM Neal Huntington says that he feels the team has sufficient internal options — and acquisition possibilities — to “back-fill if Walker is dealt.
- The Pirates‘ talks with the Rangers on Moreland have “cooled” but are still alive, Biertempfel further reports.
- Though there’s continuing interest, the Angels don’t appear likely to land Howie Kendrick in free agency, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. The veteran second baseman is probably going to be too expensive given the team’s other needs, per Fletcher.
- The Angels could look to the Diamondbacks‘ stockpile of young infielders to fill one of the club’s potential openings, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times suggests. Los Angeles could offer starting pitching in return.
- Free agent backstop Tyler Flowers is reportedly deciding between the Yankees, Braves, and Rays, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter links). He’d potentially serve as Brian McCann‘s backup in New York, says Hoch. That could, in theory at least, make fellow backstops Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine available to utilize in a trade. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reported on the Braves interest this morning via Twitter, saying that the club is considering Flowers in an effort to avoid over-exposing free agent addition A.J. Pierzynski. If Flowers goes to Atlanta, it would immediately raise yet more questions about the future of young receiver Christian Bethancourt.
- Free agent slugger Mark Reynolds is drawing interest from the Rockies, Cardinals, Giants, and Pirates, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
- Among the teams with interest in Japanese third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda are the White Sox and Padres, Heyman adds on Twitter.
Diamondbacks Sign Zack Greinke
TUESDAY: Arizona has announced the signing.
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has a slew of details on the contract. (All links go to Twitter.) Greinke will receive a $18MM signing bonus and salaries of $31MM (2016-18), $31.5MM (2019), and $32MM (2020-21).
The overall valuation of the deal sits at $193,849,298, per Heyman, which accounts for the fact that $62.5MM of it is deferred. Greinke will also receive a $2MM trade bonus if he’s dealt once, though of course there is no-trade protection as well, and will donate one percent of his annual salary to the club’s charity.
SUNDAY: Greinke will receive a limited no-trade provision as part of his deal, Heyman tweets.
FRIDAY: In a shocker, the Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with free agent starter Zack Greinke, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. The contract is for six years, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman (on Twitter). The deal is pending a physical. Greinke is represented by Excel Sports Management.
Greinke will receive an amazing $206.5MM over six years, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. While that will include some deferred money (via Rosenthal), the total comes just short of David Price‘s $217MM deal with the Red Sox, which was the largest ever for a pitcher. (Rosenthal tweets that $60MM or more is deferred, and the present-day value of Greinke’s deal is around $190MM. Heyman tweets that the deferred money that will be paid within five years after the deal expires.) And Greinke’s contract is for only six years, compared to Price’s seven (although Price’s contains an opt-out, and Greinke’s does not, as ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets). Greinke’s $34.42MM AAV will be baseball’s largest ever, blowing away both Price and Miguel Cabrera, who got $31MM.
Rosenthal had reported earlier Friday evening that the Diamondbacks were pursuing Greinke, and the Diamondbacks had previously been connected to a number of high-profile arms, including Johnny Cueto, Kenta Maeda and others. Still, the fact that they’re set to sign an ultra-high-end star like Greinke comes as a surprise, particularly since the top two bidders seemed to be two of Arizona’s division rivals, the Dodgers and Giants.
Still, Greinke to the Diamondbacks makes a fair amount of sense, and not just because of the team’s new ten-figure TV deal. The $206.5MM total for Greinke is three times larger than the Snakes’ biggest-ever free agent contract (last year’s $68.5MM deal for Yasmany Tomas), but Greinke, in addition to being an elite talent, should fit well with what they already have built.
As FanGraphs’ August Fagerstrom pointed out earlier this week, Arizona already qualified as a sleeper team for next season. The Diamondbacks already had a solid offense headed by two top talents in Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock, and an excellent defense headed by Pollock, Nick Ahmed and Ender Inciarte. The chief reason they only won 79 games last season was their pitching staff, which rated 27th in MLB in fWAR. Their rotation already looked likely to improve somewhat next season with a full season of Patrick Corbin, but adding Greinke provides a much bigger shot in the arm. With Greinke in the fold, the Diamondbacks obviously have a much better chance of contending — and not only because of the direct impact Greinke will have on their roster, but also because they’ll be keeping Greinke from pitching for one of their rivals.
Greinke would, clearly, be an impact addition for any team. While he isn’t likely to repeat his 1.66 ERA next season, even with an outstanding defense behind him, he’s an elite pitcher by any standard — he pitched 222 2/3 innings in 2015 and struck out 200 batters, reaching that threshold for the fifth time in his career. His 1.6 BB/9 was good for fifth in the Majors, and he also did a terrific job limiting home runs. Via FanGraphs linear weights, his changeup ranked as the best in baseball, and both his fastball and slider were among the ten best. He also hit a relatively robust .224/.232/.343 and won his second consecutive Gold Glove award.
The Diamondbacks’ surprising deal with Greinke leaves its neighbors to the west on the outside looking in. The Dodgers were uncomfortable giving Greinke a sixth year, the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin tweets. They offered him about $31MM per year over five years, Heyman reports (again via Twitter), but they were uncomfortable guaranteeing a sixth year to a pitcher who’s already 32. With Greinke off the board, the Dodgers are expected to bid for Cueto, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. Meanwhile, the Giants could turn to other starting pitchers, perhaps Jeff Samardzija.
Greinke’s decision to opt out of his contract with the Dodgers unsurprisingly turned out to be a very lucrative one. He effectively declined three years and $71MM more from Los Angeles, and now will receive three times as much over only twice as many seasons. Also, as the Bay Area News Group’s Andrew Baggarly tweets, Greinke will be taxed at a significantly lower rate in Arizona than in California.
Once the deal is complete, the Diamondbacks will forfeit the 13th overall pick in next year’s draft, since Greinke rejected the Dodgers’ qualifying offer. The Dodgers will receive a pick at the end of the first round.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Starting Pitching Links: Kuroda, Leake, Tribe, Lee, ChiSox
Hiroki Kuroda will pitch another season for NPB’s Hiroshima Toyo Carp, according to a report from the Sanspo news outlet (hat tip to NPBTracker’s Patrick Newman for the translation). Kuroda spent the first 11 years of his pro career with the Carp and, last winter, decided to cap off his career by leaving Major League Baseball to return to his old club. The 40-year-old seemingly picked up right where he left off, posting a 2.55 ERA, 3.66 K/BB rate and 5.6 K/9 over 169 2/3 innings for the Carp in 2015. Here are some more starting pitching items from around baseball…
- The Cardinals and Diamondbacks are both still interested in Mike Leake, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). Reports from yesterday indicated that both clubs were somewhat wary of Leake’s asking price.
- The Indians aren’t actively shopping any of their top starting pitchers and they’d prefer to obtain hitting help without subtracting from the rotation, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian). The Tribe is receiving plenty of offers and Antonetti is open to considering anything that would help the roster. That being said, Antonetti also noted that “our rotation’s been a strength of the team. So, we would be very judicious in considering trading away any one of those guys. It’s certainly not our intent. It’s not our motivation. We’re not looking to do it.”
- Cliff Lee is looking for a one-year Major League contract and his main goal is to sign with a winning team, according to Heyman (via Twitter). Lee’s upside is strong enough that Heyman predicts Lee “probably gets more than you’d think” in his next salary, despite his missing all of 2015.
- The White Sox don’t seem likely to trade any of their top starters, CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes tweets. If the Sox do deal an arm, it will probably be a minor leaguer or a reliever.
Marlins’ Michael Hill: Jose Fernandez “Not Available”
10:16pm: The Diamondbacks are “out” of any effort to pry Fernandez from Miami, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Miami was seeking two of Arizona’s “best” players as well as “top prospects,” per the report.
8:06pm: Despite Hill’s comments, Stark reports (Twitter link) that the Marlins “think they’re making progress” on a deal with an “unspecified team.” He adds that a trade still seems unlikely.
6:18pm: Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill told Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (Twitter links) that Fernandez is “not available.” Here’s the full quote: “He’s not available. We haven’t made him available. But, it doesn’t stop the phone calls from happening.”
5:56pm: A source tells ESPN.com’s Buster Olney that the odds of a Fernandez deal appear to have dramatically increased over the course of the day. (Twitter link.) What seemed like a negligible possibility at the outset of the Winter Meetings could now be nearing even odds, per Olney’s source.
5:25pm: The Yankees have joined the two other clubs in “digging” for information on Fernandez, Stark reports. That could indicate that those organizations are looking to size up what they’d be willing to offer, of course, though it hardly suggests that Miami’s understandably steep asking price will fall to a palatable level.
10:12am: The Marlins also spoke to the Diamondbacks about Fernandez, reports Rosenthal (via Twitter), but Miami asked for a return of Patrick Corbin plus other pieces. The chances of a deal between the two sides are “slim,” per Rosenthal, who says Arizona is likely to look at lesser pitchers in trades after these seemingly brief talks.
8:11am: Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets that the Marlins asked the Dodgers for both Julio Urias and Corey Seager in exchange for Fernandez, illustrating the fact that the Marlins aren’t shopping him but only looking to move him if they can receive an overwhelming return. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports asked one rival exec what he thought the Dodgers would need to part with in order to acquire Fernandez, and the exec said Urias, Seager and Scott Van Slyke — an even more sizable haul.
2:52am: The Dodgers and others have checked in on Fernandez but MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports (Twitter link) that “no serious talks” have taken place. Frisaro says Miami will listen to teams but he reiterates that a Fernandez trade isn’t likely to happen.
12:48am: Despite public protestations, the Marlins are holding trade discussions regarding prized righty Jose Fernandez, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports. Talks have been had with the Dodgers and at least two other teams, one of which appears to be the Diamondbacks, per the report.
That being said, Stark emphasizes that the organization is putting such a huge asking price on the 23-year-old that it’s still considered “a long shot” that anything will get done. The Marlins are reportedly advising other teams that they’d need to a return that would make the team “better next season than they would be if they kept Fernandez,” while also improving the future outlook. That’s obviously a tall order.
Miami president of baseball operations Michael Hill said recently that there was no truth to rumors that the team was interested in considering a trade of the youthful ace. “Not sure where all of that came from,” Hill said. “He sits at the front of our rotation. We are not shopping Jose Fernandez. I don’t know what more I can say. He’s a good pitcher, one of the best in the league, so you’re going to get asked about him. But we are not shopping Jose Fernandez.”
To be fair, there’s a significant difference between “shopping” and “listening” in the baseball lexicon, and the Fish appear to be doing more of the latter than the former. But as Stark indicates, the discussions could suggest that Miami is more amenable to considering a deal than has previously been let on.
MLBTR projects Fernandez to earn just $2.2MM in his first of three arbitration-eligible seasons. That relatively meager sum is the result of his Tommy John surgery, which held him to just 116 1/3 frames over the past two seasons. While the elbow issue remains something of a concern, despite a strong comeback performance, in another sense it enhanced his value by tamping down his earning capacity.
Fernandez has been nothing short of dominant when on the hill, of course. All told, he’s thrown 289 innings of 2.40 ERA ball, with 10.5 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. There’s little question that he’s one of the game’s most effective starters, with his low cost and youth making him one of the most intriguing assets in baseball.
Starting Pitching Notes: Miller, Leake, Dodgers
Braves president of baseball operations John Hart says that the club is “absolutely not in the mode” of shopping pitcher Shelby Miller, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). For his part, O’Brien (on Twitter) has a feeling that the Braves have not given up on getting infielder Javier Baez or outfielder Jorge Soler from the Cubs in exchange for Miller. On top of that, a few teams have also reached out with interest in Braves hurler Julio Teheran, as Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes.
Here’s more out of Nashville:
- The D’Backs, Dodgers, and Red Sox are staying in touch with the Braves regarding Miller, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.
- A person familiar with Mike Leake‘s talks thinks he could land a five-year deal for $75-80MM, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets. To some, that would appear to mark a spike in his market value, though MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted that Leake could net a five-year, $80MM deal way back in early November.
- Agent Rob Martin told MLBTR (Twitter link) that pitcher Brandon Beachy is “100% healthy” as he seeks his next deal in free agency. Beachy will be prioritizing the best pitching opportunities without any real preference for geographic location. Beachy was designated for assignment by the Dodgers in July before accepting an outright assignment in August. From 2010-13 with Atlanta, he posted a 3.23 ERA, 9.2 K.9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 267 2/3 innings. Durability has been an issue since reaching the Major Leagues, however, as he’s topped 100 innings just once in his career and made 10 starts in a season just twice.
- Chris Young turned down the opportunity to sign a three-year deal elsewhere to return to the Royals on a two-year pact, according to Andy McCullough of The Kansas City Star (on Twitter).
- There are five teams in on Justin Masterson, including the Pirates, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- As many as a dozen teams are already showing interest in Henderson Alvarez, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.
- The Tigers and Cardinals both tried to land Jeff Samardzija, according to Heyman (on Twitter). The Tigers, predictably, were out on Shark once they inked Jordan Zimmermann.
NL West Notes: Padres, Leake, D’Backs, Maeda, Giants
The Padres are drawing “significant interest” in starters Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, and James Shields, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. But MLB.com’s Corey Brock tweets that his sense is San Diego “would be very, very reluctant about moving” Ross, who is the team’s most valuable trade asset.
Here’s the latest from the NL West:
- The fact that the Padres have acquired infield depth in their system won’t stop the team from pursuing a shortstop at the major league level, GM A.J. Preller told reporters including Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter).
- Free agent Mike Leake would prefer to play out west, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports notes (Twitter links). In fact, the former Arizona State star would “take less” to go to the Diamondbacks, per Rosenthal. That being said, as has previously been reported, the D’Backs appear to be looking at finishing their rotation out on the trade market rather than double-dipping in free agency.
- Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart explained today that there’s a “big hesitation” to the idea of trading away center fielder A.J. Pollock, as Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports (links to Twitter). Arizona doesn’t feel compelled to add another rotation piece, Stewart added. And while there is still some flexibility in the team’s finances even after adding Zack Greinke, he indicated that there will be a need for caution in taking on additional salary commitments.
- Whether or not the Diamondbacks add another starter, it won’t be Japanese hurler Kenta Maeda, Jack Magruder of FanRag Sports reports on Twitter. The club has long been noted as a possible suitor for Maeda, but the club was apparently not convinced he’d be more than a back-of-the-rotation starter in the majors and was deterred by a $60MM asking price.
- While the Giants continue to pursue Leake, the club is also “looking at” the upper reaches of the outfield market, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). In addition to the premium bats available, says Shea, San Francisco is considering players like Dexter Fowler and Gerardo Parra. Certainly, it seems that the club is strongly considering a significant outfield addition via free agency.
- Rockies GM Jeff Bridich said today that he’s received significant interest in the team’s position players as he meets with clubs to explore starting pitching additions, as Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports. Bridich didn’t go into any details, but said he’s hopeful that the team “can come to a resolution on a few things soon.”
Mariners Acquire Miley, Aro In Exchange For Smith, Elias
An exceptionally busy offseason for Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto continued on Monday, as the Mariners acquired left-hander Wade Miley and right-handed reliever Jonathan Aro from the Red Sox in exchange for lefty Roenis Elias and right-handed reliever Carson Smith. Both teams have formally announced the trade.
Miley, 29, has a long history with Dipoto, who not only was a consultant with the Red Sox after electing to leave his job with the Angels this summer but also served as the Diamondbacks’ scouting director when Miley was drafted back in 2008. Miley is controlled for at least two more seasons for a total of $15.25MM, and his contract also contains a $12MM club option for the 2018 season. He’ll give the Mariners a reasonably priced arm to slot into the rotation behind Felix Hernandez alongside Taijuan Walker and James Paxton.
Miley’s first season with Boston got off to a slow start, but the lefty rebounded from a ghastly 8.62 April ERA to 4.10 ERA with a 137-to-58 K/BB ratio across his final 178 innings of the 2015 season. Miley has been a healthy and consistent innings eater dating back to his sophomore season in 2012, averaging 198 innings of 3.92 ERA ball per year despite spending three years with the hitter-friendly Chase Field as his home park and a fourth season in the American League East. One can imagine that the move to the spacious Safeco Field will benefit Miley considerably.
Aro, 25, posted outstanding numbers between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015 and ultimately made his big league debut. He logged a 3.04 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 in 74 minor league innings. He yielded eight runs in 10 1/3 Major League innings and averaged 92.5 mph on his fastball while posting an eight-to-four K/BB ratio. MLB.com ranked Aro 26th among Boston farmhands, noting that his fastball features some sink and can touch 95 mph. He has a slider and changeup as well, with the former grading as at least average. Their scouting report feels he can pitch successfully in multiple-inning relief stints and calls Aro “durable.”
Seattle’s decision to part with Smith comes as somewhat of a surprise. The 26-year-old delivered 70 brilliant innings of relief, pitching to a 2.31 ERA with 11.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and an exceptional 64.8 percent ground-ball rate. Smith ranked sixth among qualified relievers in ground-ball rate and struck out a greater number of batters than nearly any pitcher on the top 30 in that regard. He’s controllable for another five seasons and will give president of baseball operation Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox another elite relief arm to pair with the likes of Craig Kimbrel and Koji Uehara in the late innings.
The Red Sox will also pick up a left-hander with significant big league experience in the form of Elias. The 27-year-old has spent the past two seasons mostly at the big league level, logging a 3.97 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 44.9 percent ground-ball rate. Elias has yielded an unspectacular .255/.333/.411 batting line to right-handed hitters but dominated lefties, holding same-handed batters to a .218/.304/.332 clip. His control against lefties could stand to improve a bit, but he’s a generally useful weapon against them and could conceivably be tougher if shifted to a bullpen role, where he could throw harder in shorter stints.
A bullpen slot could be his best shot at cracking the roster next spring, as an immediate spot in the Boston rotation doesn’t seem too likely. The Red Sox currently have David Price, Clay Buchholz, Eduardo Rodriguez, Rick Porcello and Joe Kelly, to say nothing of highly regarded left-handers Henry Owens and Brian Johnson more or less ready for big league action.
Of course, Elias could simply be rotation depth for the Red Sox in the event that they trade another arm or two, or he could be flipped to another club himself. Earlier this offseason, the Marlins were said to have some interest in him when discussing potential Marcell Ozuna deals (though they were looking for considerably more than Elias alone in exchange for Ozuna). Elias is controllable through the 2020 season and won’t be arbitration eligible until at least the 2017-18 offseason.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX reported earlier this afternoon that the two sides were making progress on a deal that would send Miley to Seattle. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reported the trade was in place (Twitter link). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweeted that Aro, Elias and Smith were involved.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mets, D’Backs Had Interest In Joakim Soria
Joakim Soria is going home. Early Monday morning, the Royals and Soria’s representatives shook hands on a lucrative three-year, $25MM deal that includes a mutual option for a fourth season. Prior to signing with Kansas City, Soria also drew interest from a group of teams that includes the Mets and Diamondbacks, MLBTR has learned. The Tigers, Giants, and Twins – who were previously known to have a fondness for Soria – were also among the clubs to show interest.
The Mets’ interest in Soria is particularly notable because assistant GM John Ricco recently explained that the team wasn’t in on Darren O’Day or Ryan Madson due to their high price tags.
“We didn’t see ourselves playing in that top end where O’Day was,” Ricco said earlier this week. “But I think that next tier, we’re going to be keeping an eye on….We’re going to meet with a lot of the representatives for the relievers here over the next couple of days.”
Meanwhile, there have been conflicting reports about Arizona’s plans for bolstering the bullpen. Back in November, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported that Arizona seemed “intent on acquiring a closer” while Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports said that the team was probably “content” to add arms in front of Brad Ziegler. The D’Backs went on to make a push for Aroldis Chapman before he was sent to the divisional rival Dodgers, but their interest in Soria would indicate that they are willing to spend on the bullpen.
Quick Hits: Cueto, Ozuna, Gordon, Lee, Sale
Bryce Dixon, Johnny Cueto‘s agent, tells ESPNdeportes.com’s Enrique Rojas that it was an easy call for his client to reject the six-year, $120MM contract recently offered to him by the Diamondbacks. “It was a low offer for the market,” Dixon said. “We didn’t have to think hard to reject that offer. Arizona wanted to do something fast, but we didn’t want to take something below market value for a No. 1 starter, and with the recent events, I think that time gave us the reason.” Indeed, Cueto now stands as the top arm on the market after the last week’s flurry of free agent pitching signings, and Dixon has enough leverage that he and Cueto don’t need to rush the decision. “I don’t have a specific timetable….We have some offers and we will have several meetings in Nashville, but right now I could not tell if Cueto will have a team after the conclusion of the meetings. We have plenty of time until the beginning of the season,” Dixon said.
Here’s more from around baseball, as the Winter Meetings news avalanche has already begun…
- During a conference call with media (including MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro) on Thursday, Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill denied that the team was shopping either Jose Fernandez or Marcell Ozuna. Many reports have suggested that the Fish are unlikely and not really willing to deal Fernandez in absence of a stunning offer, though Ozuna has been one of the more openly talked-about trade candidates of the offseason. “Contrary to some of the myriad of rumors out there, we are not actively shopping [Ozuna],” Hill said. “Clubs are coming after him because he’s a talented player….When someone calls, we listen to see if it is something that makes sense, both in the short-term and the long-term.” While Hill could be engaging in some gamesmanship here, it’s also possible he’s being truthful, and that interest in Ozuna has been so heavy that the Marlins actually haven’t needed to make any calls about him themselves.
- The Royals haven’t abandoned the idea of re-signing Alex Gordon since they’re waiting on the outfield market to become more defined, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.
- First baseman Dae-ho Lee is on his way to the Winter Meetings, the Korean slugger told media (including Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News) before departing from Incheon to Nashville. Lee’s agent has informed him that “four to five teams are showing interest” in his services, and if possible, he’d like to sign with “a championship-caliber team” that can offer him regular playing time. Lee has put up big power numbers over career in KBO and NPB, though he is coming to North American at a rather advanced age (33) for a first-time player. In opting out of his contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Lee walked away from 600 million yen (or roughly $4.9MM) for the 2016 season, Yoo notes on Twitter.
- Yoo’s piece also notes that Lee is represented by both the Seoul-based Montis Sports Management Group and the MVP Sports Group.
- Chris Sale‘s contract is often cited as one of the most team-friendly in the sport, and though it’s been even more dwarfed by this winter’s giant pitcher contracts, the White Sox ace tells MLB.com’s Scott Merkin that he has no regrets about his early-career extension. “I knew exactly what I was getting into at the time I was getting into it, and I could not have asked for anything more,” Sale said, also noting that he thinks “to just keep playing the game as a kid and not have to worry about the business side, I think it has done me a lot of good.” Sale’s extension guaranteed him $32.5MM from 2013-17, and Chicago has club options on the left-hander for 2018 and 2019 that could add another $26MM to the deal.
NL West Notes: Kemp, Ross, Greinke, D’Backs, Gallardo
The Padres have been shopping Matt Kemp and asking about shortstops, sources from rival teams tell Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). The Padres “may be reluctant to eat a lot of money” in such a deal, which could make things tricky given Kemp’s poor 2015 season and the $72MM owed to him through 2019. It isn’t clear if San Diego would be willing to attach highly sought-after righty Tyson Ross to Kemp, which FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal speculated about last month as a way to entice a club into taking Kemp off the Padres’ hands. Here’s some more from around the NL West…
- The Diamondbacks‘ surprising signing of Zack Greinke was conceived and concluded in under 12 hours, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes. GM Dave Stewart tells Nightengale that the club had only discussing Greinke “in passing” before owner Ken Kendrick and president Derrick Hall gave Stewart the go-ahead on Friday morning.
- With so much committed to Greinke, however, the Diamondbacks are already pushing the limits of their payroll, a source tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The team is thus looking at trades to further bolster its pitching, rather than free agent signings. As such, Piecoro reports in a tweet that D’Backs people aren’t too optimistic about their chances of signing Mike Leake.
- One rival executive thinks the Diamondbacks will be busy at the Winter Meetings, telling Piecoro that “If they’re going to sign Greinke, I would expect them to try to go get more.”
- The Dodgers are expected to meet with Yovani Gallardo‘s agents during the Winter Meetings, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets, and the free agent righty could be a plan-B option for L.A. after missing out on other pitching targets. The Dodgers are on the verge of landing one new arm, as they’re close to an agreement with Hisashi Iwakuma.
- The Rockies are “open-minded” about trading outfielders like Carlos Gonzalez or Charlie Blackmon, sources tell FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).