Saltalamacchia Had Interest From “6-7 Clubs”
Earlier tonight, the Tigers announced the signing of catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a one-year deal for the MLB minimum. Before he put pen to paper with Detroit, however, Salty’s camp was in talks with “six or seven clubs,” according to a baseball source who spoke with MLBTR. The backstop drew varying levels of interest from the White Sox, Royals, Rays, Orioles (prior to Matt Wieters accepting his QO), Phillies, Angels, and the incumbent D’Backs.
The Tigers have landed themselves a veteran who can be a reliable presence behind starter James McCann. Saltalamacchia also could get some opportunities as DH and first base as he moves back to the American League. The former first round pick looked strong in his 70 game run for the D’Backs in 2015 and he’ll attempt to build off of that with Detroit in the New Year.
Dodgers “Making Progress” On Aroldis Chapman Deal
4:57pm: The Dodgers are “making progress” on a deal involving Chapman, Rosenthal tweets.
4:13pm: The Dodgers are discussing a trade with the Reds that would bring Chapman to Los Angeles for prospects, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Obviously, the prospect package likely required to land Chapman would be considerable. The Dodgers do, of course, already have a terrific closer in Kenley Jansen, but having too many great ninth-inning options is an excellent problem to have. A dominant bullpen would also likely help ameliorate worries the Dodgers might have about their rotation, which just lost Zack Greinke to the Diamondbacks. As Rosenthal tweets, there’s also the possibility that the Dodgers could trade either Chapman or Jansen if they do trade for Chapman.
4:04pm: Reds GM Dick Williams expects that his club will deal star closer Aroldis Chapman, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. There is, obviously, plenty of interest in Chapman, with potential trade partners including the Nationals, Astros and Diamondbacks as well as the Dodgers.
That the Reds plan to deal Chapman perhaps comes as little surprise — Chapman is eligible for free agency after the season, the Reds don’t appear likely to contend in 2016, and he ought to fetch a very significant return. The 27-year-old flamethrower was brilliant as usual in 2015, posting a 1.63 ERA, 4.5 BB/9 and a ridiculous 15.7 K/9 in 66 1/3 innings while winning his fourth straight All-Star berth in 2015. He also posted an average fastball velocity of 99.5 MPH that came in 1.4 MPH faster than the closest pitcher (the Royals’ Kelvin Herrera).
Latest On Mike Leake
Here are the latest tidbits on free agent starter Mike Leake (who has also recently been connected to the Giants, as well as to the Cardinals and Diamondbacks, who are discussed below).
- The Cardinals, who have lost Lance Lynn to Tommy John surgery and John Lackey to the Cubs, are seriously considering Leake, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes. In addition to David Price and Jeff Samardzija, the Cardinals also “tried hard” to sign Lackey. It appears, then, that they’ll have ample room in their budget to sign Leake if they make him a priority.
- The Diamondbacks, however, could have the edge on signing Leake if they can make a strong offer, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. Leake lives near Phoenix and would like to stay there if possible. There is reportedly mutual interest between Leake and the Diamondbacks.
Diamondbacks Notes: Greinke, Leake, Trades
Even after agreeing to terms with free agent ace Zack Greinke on a gigantic, gutsy contract, the Diamondbacks aren’t through looking for pitching help. There is still mutual interest between the Diamondbacks and free agent starter Mike Leake, Diamondbacks beat writer Jack Magruder tweets. The Giants are also still contenders for Leake’s services, Magruder notes — even though they, too, have committed a big chunk of change to a top free agent starter in Jeff Samardzija. Here’s more from out of Arizona.
- While the Diamondbacks are interested in acquiring another pitcher, the amount of money they’ve committed to Greinke might mean they’re more likely to turn to the trade market, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert writes. It’s very unlikely that they would trade A.J. Pollock, Gilbert writes, but they could deal from their collection of infielders.
- Diamondbacks baseball isn’t usually a burning topic in December, even in Phoenix, but the Greinke deal changes that, Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic writes. It makes them a contender and it makes them relevant, and it also helps weaken their NL West foes in Los Angeles. It also reflects a change in approach for the Snakes, who lately have avoided the risk associated with expensive long-term deals.
Stark’s Latest: Cueto, Leake Miller, Indians, Rays
Here are the latest starting pitcher rumors in advance of the winter meetings, courtesy of ESPN’s Jayson Stark.
- Johnny Cueto is the top pitcher on the free agent market, but his earning potential remains unclear. Some insiders are surprised he turned down the six-year, $120MM offer previously extended by the Diamondbacks. As Stark points out, Cueto is sixth among active starters with a 3.30 ERA so he would seemingly justify a serious investment. However, concerns about his health and late-season struggles have executives worried. Per one source, “If you told me that, within 24 hours [of arriving at the meetings], all of the big free-agent starters would be signed except Cueto, I’d believe it.“
- Former Reds starter Mike Leake, 28, is in demand largely because he’s one of the youngest pitchers on the market. He has a history of durability, but that comes with league average production on the mound. However, Leake is also well-above average as a hitter, boosting his value to NL clubs. Stark expects a “stampede” in Leake’s direction during the Winter Meetings. One source believes Leake will be overpaid by an exuberant market.
- The Braves would jump on a Shelby Miller trade if they received the right controllable position player. To date, Atlanta has focused on particularly high value targets like Joc Pederson, A.J. Pollock, and Jorge Soler. As you might guess, few if any teams are eager to trade established, high quality young hitters for pitching. The Braves have shown no sign of backing down on their asking price.
- We’ve heard a lot about the Indians pitching depth – namely Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar, Carlos Carrasco, and Trevor Bauer. Stark and his sources think the club will stand pat this winter. “You’re just shifting around your problems,” said one contact in regard to a hypothetical pitcher-for-hitter swap. The team’s strength is built around their rotation. They may be best served by simply maximizing that advantage.
- With the exception of Chris Archer, the Rays are shopping all of their starting pitchers. That’s par for the course for the Rays who historically have been open to trading anybody to improve the long term outlook of the franchise. Stark specifically mentions Jake Odorizzi and Matt Moore as available, but we can probably presume that Erasmo Ramirez is being floated too.
- Stark offers plenty of more notes in his column including the latest on the Yankees, Padres, and the remaining buyers for pitching.
Braves Notes: Miller, Pollock, Flowers, Cox
Here’s the latest from the ATL…
- The Diamondbacks have “pushed on” Shelby Miller in talks with the Braves, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (via Twitter). Atlanta, meanwhile, seems to be focused on outfielders, particularly A.J. Pollock. Olney wonders if this could lead to an expanded deal between the two clubs; for the record, the D’Backs has already turned down at least two offers from the Braves involving Pollock and Miller. It could be more likely that Arizona won’t deal Pollock at all, as team CEO Derrick Hall recently intimated, especially now that the D’Backs seem to be aiming to contend in 2016 after signing Zack Greinke. This could mean that other outfielders like Ender Inciarte or David Peralta could be floated by the Snakes as trade bait in order to land Miller, though this is just my speculation.
- The Braves have interest in catcher Tyler Flowers, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. The White Sox non-tendered Flowers earlier this week rather than pay him a $3.5MM salary (as projected by MLBTR) in the arbitration process. Flowers was originally drafted by Atlanta in the 33rd round of the 2005 draft before being traded to Chicago as part of the Javier Vazquez deal in December 2008. If the Braves did bring him into the fold, Flowers would not only be rejoining his original club but also his old White Sox battery mate in A.J. Pieryzynski. Atlanta has been rumored to be looking for more catching options due to dissatisfaction with Christian Bethancourt‘s development.
- The Braves announced on Thursday that Bobby Cox has signed a two-year extension to continue acting as a consultant for the team (hat tip to Buster Olney). Cox signed a five-year consulting contract after retiring as the Braves’ manager following the 2010 season, and this new deal will keep him in the fold through the 2017 campaign.
More Reaction And Analysis Of The Zack Greinke Signing
We’ve already published some early reactions last night to Zack Greinke‘s six-year, $206.5MM contract with the Diamondbacks, yet the baseball world has plenty more to say about the industry-shocking deal. Here’s some more opinions and news…
- It will take more than just Greinke to make the D’Backs the NL West favorites in 2016, MLB.com’s Mike Petriello writes. That said, the team was on track to improve even without Greinke, and his addition obviously greatly upgrades the rotation, which was Arizona’s greatest need.
- The Dodgers made a curious choice in not spending more to land Greinke, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi opines. While Arizona surpassed all industry expectations for Greinke’s contract, the Dodgers have the financial might to never be outbid on any player they truly want, and the fact that they were willing to offer Greinke a five-year, $155MM deal indicates that there was legitimately interest on Los Angeles’ part. With Greinke gone, the Dodgers now have to spend either money or prospects to acquire another ace.
- Had the Dodgers been willing to part with some top prospects, they could’ve landed Cole Hamels from the Phillies last season and already had another long-term ace on hand to cushion the blow if Greinke left, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal notes. While the Dodgers, like any team, are loath to move their best minor leaguers, Rosenthal argues that L.A. is in unique position to instantly reload the farm system given how much they’ve spent to dominate the international talent market.
- The Dodgers’ offer already put them beyond their comfort zone, and the team believed they were on the verge of welcoming Greinke back, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. The Dodgers thought “the issue was more about how to structure a deal and less about whether there would be one.” For Dodger fans, this is the clearest sign yet that the team wants to get a younger roster, as it is “terrified” of being hamstrung by too many unreliable veterans on huge contracts, a la the Yankees and Phillies of recent years.
- Despite this fear, the Dodgers don’t really have all that many long-term salary commitments, as ESPN’s Buster Olney points out in his latest subscriber-only column. Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, Brett Anderson and Alex Guerrero all come off the books after 2017 while Adrian Gonzalez, Yasiel Puig, Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy are all free agents after 2018. Like Morosi and Shaikin, Olney points out that the Dodgers now face extra pressure from their fans as, after years of exorbitant spending, a star player has now left for financial reasons.
- From the Diamondbacks’ perspective, Olney reports that some around the industry feel the club could eventually have to cut costs due to the signing, as the Snakes did for spending so freely in the years leading up to their 2001 World Series title. Still, Arizona’s payroll is greatly helped by the fact that Paul Goldschmidt‘s contract has become a huge bargain.
- Other teams aren’t pleased with the signing, ESPN’s Jayson Stark tweets, noting that the D’Backs have received almost $80MM in revenue sharing payments over the last three years. (As other writers have responded in other tweets, however, it seems like teams would be just as upset if the D’Backs pocketed the money instead of spending it on players.)
- With the Greinke market escalating to such incredible heights, Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle argues that the Giants were fortunate to get out of the hunt rather than commit so much money to a 32-year-old pitcher. Jenkins feels the Giants could pivot to signing both Mike Leake and Jeff Samardzija, just to increase the heat on the Dodgers. One of those steps has already been taken, as the Giants agreed to a five-year deal with Samardzija today.
Reactions To And Effects Of The Zack Greinke Deal
Here’s a quick roundup of links on the Diamondbacks’ very surprising, and extremely expensive, $206.5MM pact with Zack Greinke.
- Diamondbacks executives Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart met with free agent starting pitcher Mike Leake on Thursday, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. The Snakes remain interested in signing Leake even after agreeing to terms with Greinke, suggesting that they’ll continue to be active on the market for starting pitching despite the huge splash they’ve already made.
- Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija stand to benefit from Greinke’s signing with Arizona, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. The signing leaves the market thinner, and the Dodgers, Giants and Cardinals are all still looking for starting pitching.
- Greinke’s hefty deal was an appropriate one for a player who ESPN’s Keith Law (Insider-only) sees as the best free agent starter available this offseason. Greinke’s offspeed stuff, brilliant command and feel for pitch sequencing make him a solid bet to continue to be successful even if his velocity declines, making him as close to Greg Maddux as there exists in today’s game. Law does agree with the Diamondbacks’ apparent self-assessment that they still need another starter, however, and argues that they’re still a few pieces short of being real contenders.
- Greinke’s huge new contract is a risky but bold move for the Diamondbacks, who have suddenly made themselves relevant in the NL West, Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown writes. The deal gives the Diamondbacks a bona fide ace to add to their collection of younger talent. It does, however, make their success in the future fairly heavily dependent upon the success of the contract, given that Greinke’s astronomical annual salaries will take up what will likely be huge chunks of the Diamondbacks’ relatively modest payrolls.
Diamondbacks In Pursuit Of Zack Greinke
The Diamondbacks are pursuing Zack Greinke, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Two other NL West teams, the Giants and Dodgers, had been widely reported to be the top two contenders for Greinke, but it appears another team has entered the fray.
This offseason, the Diamondbacks have shown interest in a variety of starters, including Johnny Cueto, Kenta Maeda, Mike Leake and Shelby Miller, but it’s a bit surprising to hear that they’re a possible contender for an up-market option like Greinke. Obviously, Greinke won’t be cheap — MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently predicted he’d get a six-year, $189MM deal. That total would be almost three times more expensive the Diamondbacks’ largest-ever contract (Yasmany Tomas‘ $68.5MM deal, signed last November), and the team has recently expressed skepticism about long contracts for pitchers. They did, however, reportedly offer Cueto a six-year deal worth $120MM. Also, the Los Angeles News Group’s J.P. Hoornstra tweets that the team does have the money to sign Greinke.
Diamondbacks CEO Hall On Pollock, Cueto
Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall met with the media in Arizona tonight, and among the topics addressed was the status of center fielder A.J. Pollock, whose name has frequented the rumor mill in recent weeks, most prominently in connection to Braves right-hander Shelby Miller. As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes, however, Hall more or less shot down any plausibility of Pollock being dealt to another team in a trade.
“It’s clear that every team knows that [Paul Goldschmidt] is off limits,” Hall told reporters. “It’s almost time to send a message that A.J. is off limits. … It’s no surprise that he’s the first name that comes up, really in every conversation we have. It’s like Goldy two or three years ago. He came up in every conversation. I think it’s safe to categorize him as almost untouchable.”
Not only are the Diamondbacks strongly opposed to discussing Pollock’s name in trades, according to Hall, they’ve also had discussions about trying to work out a long-term contract with the standout center fielder. Talks to this point have been internal, Hall said, but he added that it makes sense for the D-backs to consider an extension given “who he is, what he means to this team, where he is right now service time-wise.”
Pollock’s service time could make an extension difficult to reach, as the D-backs don’t have the same leverage they’d have with a younger player that was still years from arbitration. Pollock has accrued more than three years of Major League service, thus making him arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason. With a projected payday of $4.3MM (courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz), Pollock has achieved a small amount of financial security (well, “small” relative to his veteran peers) and probably doesn’t feel as much pressure to take a long-term deal as he would if he had to get through another pre-arb season or two before earning much more than the league minimum.
Also factoring into the discussion is Pollock’s age; with his 28th birthday around the corner (Dec. 5), Pollock currently projects to hit free agency entering his age-31 season. If he continues his current trajectory — Pollock has batted .311/.363/.498 with 27 homers, 53 steals and elite defense in 232 games since 2014 — he could be in line for an enormous six-year contract. On the flip-side, if he takes a long-term deal that affords immediate financial security but also delays his free agency by a year or two (something Arizona would surely want to achieve in a theoretical extension), Pollock would be hitting the open market at 32 or 33. While that’s not to say that he couldn’t still be paid handsomely, teams would be more reluctant to commit to a longer term at an advanced age — especially for a player who derives much of his value from plus center field glovework.
It’s possible, perhaps, that the two sides could merely work out a three-year deal to lock in Pollock’s arbitration salaries, giving him advanced financial security and giving the D-backs a slight bit of savings and cost certainty over their payroll through the 2018 season.
Cost certainty may not sound like a sizable advantage, but it’s beneficial for clubs as they look to map out their next several years and can make it easier to spend on more expensive free-agent options. Hall’s comments on right-hander Johnny Cueto are a testament to that. Cueto reportedly rejected a six-year, $120MM offer from the D-backs, and Hall said on Thursday that it’s “difficult for a team like ours to even go six years,” adding that even five-year commitments are a challenge for the D-backs, who have traditionally operated with a mid-range payroll. (Although, the Diamondbacks did ink a new $1 billion TV contract earlier this year.) While the D-backs reportedly aren’t out of the mix on Cueto entirely, Piecoro notes that Hall did hint at the fact that the team might be moving on to other options.
“It’s debatable,” said Hall. “Look, we’ll see. We’ll cross that bridge. There’s Plan B and Plan C, and if we move on, we probably couldn’t revisit it if we move on to those other moves.”
While Hall, naturally, left “Plan B” and “Plan C” to the imagination, it’s probably safe to assume that one fallback plan for Cueto is Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda, who we now know will be posted for MLB clubs this offseason. GM Dave Stewart publicly voiced his interest in Maeda last offseason and said this winter that the team has continued to monitor him. Arizona has also been connected to right-hander Mike Leake, an Arizona State grad, on multiple occasions. Given the payroll parameters within which the D-backs typically operate, it stands to reason that signing Maeda, Leake or a similarly priced free agent would indeed, as Hall alluded to, prevent them from further bolstering their rotation with an increased offer to Cueto.