Reds Rumors

Twins Interested In Raisel Iglesias

By Mark Polishuk | November 12, 2017 at 5:43pm CDT

The Twins have checked in with the Reds about a trade for closer Raisel Iglesias, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (Twitter link). Iglesias is one of several relievers Minnesota is “performing due diligence on” as the club looks to upgrade its bullpen for next season.

Iglesias stands out as a logical target for any team in the market for saves, given that a closer is a luxury on a rebuilding team like Cincinnati. Working as a full-time reliever for the first time, Iglesias just completed the best of his three MLB seasons, posting a 2.49 ERA, 10.89 K/9 and 3.41 K/BB over 76 innings. Iglesias closed out 28-of-30 save opportunities while generating a career-high swinging strike rate (13.9%) on the strength of an excellent slider and a 96.4 mph fastball.

Iglesias, who turns 28 in January, brings value both as a strong closer now and as a long-term asset who isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season. As per the terms of his original seven-year, $27MM deal with the Reds, Iglesias had the right to opt out of his guaranteed salary (with the Reds still retaining team control) in any offseason once he became eligible for arbitration, in order to chase a potentially larger payday through the arb process. MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projects Iglesias to earn $2.8MM through arbitration salary next season, so it is likely Iglesias will remain in his current deal for at least one winter, as his contract guarantees him $4.5MM in 2018.

Iglesias is also slated to earn $5MM in both 2019 and 2020 if he doesn’t opt into arbitration, and then he’ll have one final arb-eligible year as a Super Two player in the 2020-21 offseason. So while Iglesias’ price tag could potentially grow if he continues to rack up the saves, he’ll still be a cost-effective acquisition for a mid-market team like the Twins, particularly since Minnesota has very little salary on the books past the 2018 season.

Brandon Kintzler and Matt Belisle handled most of the ninth-inning duties for the Twins last season, though Kintzler was traded at the deadline and Belisle is a free agent, leaving Minnesota in search of a new closer this winter. The Twins didn’t get strong relief pitching in general in 2017, so it isn’t surprising that they’re looking at Iglesias and other notable bullpen arms on the trade and free agent fronts. We’ve already heard that the Twins have checked in with Kintzler about possibly bringing the free agent righty back to Target Field.

The Reds were only interested in hearing big trade offers for Iglesias last summer, and that asking price almost certainly hasn’t changed. The Twins’ farm system is middle-of-the-pack in terms of prospects to offer (Minnesota was ranked 19th in Baseball America’s post-deadline organizational ranking) since they were a team that seemed to be headed into a rebuild themselves before their surprising AL wild card finish in 2017 changed their outlook. If comes down to a prospect bidding war for Iglesias’ services, Minnesota might not have the young talent to meet the Reds’ needs.

NL Notes: Cobb, Cubs, Marlins, Mets, Reds

By Connor Byrne | November 10, 2017 at 8:01pm CDT

In an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Friday, free agent right-hander Alex Cobb spoke highly of Cubs manager Joe Maddon and pitching coach Jim Hickey, as Patrick Mooney of NBC Sports Chicago details. Cobb spent the first seven years of his career in Tampa Bay, where he played under Maddon (2011-14) and Hickey (through 2017), which has led to speculation that the Cubs will pursue him in free agency. On the possibility of joining the Cubs and reuniting with Maddon and Hickey, Cobb said, “Obviously, if we move down the line and we’re able to have some discussions with them, I’d be very honored to be able to talk with them and hopefully come to a deal.”

Before Cobb’s eligible to sign with the Cubs or another team, he’ll have to reject the Rays’ $17.4MM qualifying offer, which he hinted he’ll do when he said, “You’re talking about, hopefully, a decision that’s going to impact the next five years of your life. Based on that comment, it seems Cobb is seeking a five-year deal (MLBTR is projecting he’ll land a four-year arrangement), though he insisted that he’ll prioritize team success over money. “I’ve been through both. I’ve been through losing seasons and I’ve been through winning seasons,” he stated. “And the amount of joy that winning brings to us – it can’t be replaced by a dollar figure.”

Reds To Sign Kevin Quackenbush

By Jeff Todd | November 8, 2017 at 10:59am CDT

The Reds have struck a minor-league deal with righty Kevin Quackenbush, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (via Twitter). He will receive an invitation to major-league Spring Training, per C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link).

Quackenbush had been with the Padres organization ever since he was selected in the eighth round of the 2011 draft. The reliever posted compelling peripherals in his first two seasons in the majors, but has trended in the wrong direction more recently. If he can get back on track, he ought to have a shot at earning a job in a Reds bullpen that has quite a few potential vacancies.

In 2017, Quackenbush struggled with free passes for the first time as a big leaguer, allowing 5.5 per nine (against 7.9 K/9) while stumbling to a 7.86 ERA over his 26 1/3 innings. Things were somewhat better at Triple-A, where he ran a 3.90 ERA in 27 2/3 frames, but he still didn’t produce like the pitcher who previously routinely carried double-digit K/9 rates in the minors.

Reds Will Not Make Qualifying Offer To Zack Cozart

By Steve Adams | November 6, 2017 at 1:43pm CDT

The Reds have “officially” decided against issuing a qualifying offer to shortstop Zack Cozart, tweets Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. FanRag’s Jon Heyman and others have recently painted the chances of such an offer for Cozart as unlikely. The lack of a QO should boost Cozart’s free-agent stock as he heads into the open market on the heels of a career year.

Cozart, 32, batted .297/.385/.548 with a career-high 24 home runs, 24 doubles and seven triples (also a career-high) in 2017. Though hamstring and quadriceps injuries limited him to 122 games, Cozart’s explosive bat and typically strong glovework at shortstop led to a five-WAR season in the eyes of both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference.

The rebuilding Reds, however, ultimately opted not to extend a $17.4MM one-year offer to Cozart due to a lack of a clear market for shortstops in free agency. Cincinnati apparently did not wish to risk Cozart accepting that offer and potentially bringing the team’s payroll north of $100MM before the offseason even began. Of course, the decision not to extent the QO also means that they’ll see one of the team’s best players walk without any form of compensation for his services.

Qualifying Offer Rumors: Monday

By Steve Adams | November 6, 2017 at 1:15pm CDT

Teams have until 5pm ET tonight to issue one-year, $17.4MM qualifying offers to their impending free agents if they wish to recoup draft pick compensation in the event that their free agent(s) depart and sign elsewhere. Those unfamiliar with the process can refer back to a lengthy exploration of the QO system (penned by MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk), which was revamped last winter in the 2017-21 collective bargaining agreement.

For those looking for a Cliff’s Notes-esque refresher, here’s the QO system in a few sentences. MLB teams can issue a one-year offer worth the mean salary of the league’s 125 highest-paid players to an impending free agent in order to receive compensation in the next year’s draft. A player can receive a qualifying offer only once in his career and is eligible to receive a QO if and only if he spent the entire season with his club. Players that accept a QO are considered signed and cannot be traded until June 15 of the upcoming season. Players have 10 days to decide whether to accept or reject.

The new CBA places the standard compensatory pick after Competitive Balance Round B — meaning it should fall somewhere between picks 70 to 80. Elements like revenue sharing, luxury tax penalization and size of the player’s new contract can all impact the placement of the comp pick, however. Teams that sign a player who rejected a QO will be required to forfeit at least one pick in the next year’s draft. Each team’s top pick is protected, but the placement of forfeited pick(s) is dependent on the luxury tax and revenue sharing. International pool money may also need to be forfeited. (Again, I’d highly recommend checking out Mark’s piece, in full, for more details.)

Here are today’s rumors…

MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian calls it a “safe bet” that the Indians will issue a qualifying offer to first baseman Carlos Santana (Twitter link). The 31-year-old switch-hitter batted .259/.363/.455 with 23 home runs and career-best work at first base in 2017. While the market for corner bats hasn’t been great in recent years, Santana’s defensive improvements, power and longstanding reputation as one of baseball’s most patient hitters (career 15.2 percent walk rate) should serve him well on the open market even with draft-pick compensation attached to his name.

Earlier Updates

Reds shortstop Zack Cozart is still unlikely to receive a qualifying offer, per FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter links). That’s been the direction in which Cincinnati has reportedly been leaning for the past couple of weeks, though MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon hears that the Reds are still debating the QO for Cozart. Despite the Reds’ rebuilding status, it still seems surprising that they could let him walk for no compensation. Cozart had a breakout .297/.385/.548 season at the plate in 2017 and even in the two years prior was a roughly league-average bat with well-above average defense at shortstop. He should be able to top $17.4MM by a wide margin in free agency, and even if he accepts, he’d be a bargain at that rate. The Reds do already have $86MM worth of payroll commitments and arbitration projections for next season, but there are other areas (non-tenders, trades) that they could trim from the payroll if need be..
Some players — Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Jake Arrieta, Wade Davis, Greg Holland and Lance Lynn — have long seemed like locks to receive a QO. Alex Cobb, too, has stood out as a logical recipient, though the Rays’ payroll limitations at least cast some doubt on that possibility. Heyman reported last night that Cobb would receive a QO, and it’s been reported by multiple outlets that each member of that Royals trio will receive a QO as well.

Reds Outright Patrick Kivlehan, Deck McGuire

By Steve Adams | November 3, 2017 at 2:27pm CDT

The Reds announced Friday that infielder/outfielder Patrick Kivlehan and right-hander Deck McGuire have been sent outright to Triple-A Louisville after clearing waivers. Both can elect minor league free agency. Cincinnati also reinstated lefty Brandon Finnegan and righty Anthony DeSclafani from the 60-day disabled list, so their 40-man roster remains at 33 players for the time being.

Kivlehan, 28 next month, tallied a career-high 204 plate appearances but posted a bleak .208/.304/.399 batting line in that time. He showed some pop, hitting nine homers with five doubles and a triple, but the former Mariners/Rangers prospect also fanned in 30 percent of his plate appearances. Kivlehan has experience at both corner infield and outfield positions, and he’s a career .255/.308/.437 hitter in 223 Triple-A games.

The 28-year-old McGuire is a known name to some thanks to his No. 11 overall selection out of Georgia Tech by the Blue Jays back in the 2010 draft. He’s yet to live up to that draft billing, struggling greatly in Triple-A for the Jays, Athletics, Dodgers and Cardinals before landing in the Reds organization this past winter.

While McGuire spent the year in Double-A rather than the minors’ top level, he notched a strong 2.79 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 with a 38.8 percent ground-ball rate through 168 innings (27 starts). He made his MLB debut with the Reds in September, tossing 13 2/3 innings with 11-to-2 K/BB ratio and notching his first big league victory along the way.

Mariners Claim Zach Vincej From Reds

By Steve Adams | November 3, 2017 at 2:13pm CDT

The Mariners announced that they’ve claimed infielder Zach Vincej off waivers from the Reds. Their 40-man roster now stands at 37 players.

Vincej, 26, was the 1132nd pick of the 2012 draft — all the way down the board in the 37th round. He’s slowly risen through the minor league ranks and had a huge performance in last year’s Arizona Fall League before hitting .270/.325/.370 in his first taste of Triple-A this year. Vincej made his big league debut as a September call-up this season and went 1-for-9 with a walk and five strikeouts in just 12 plate appearances. He comes with a solid defensive reputation at shortstop but didn’t rank among Cincinnati’s top prospects. He’ll provide some middle infield depth for the Mariners if he sticks with the organization this offseason.

Marlins Decline Ichiro’s Option, Claim Chad Wallach From Reds

By Steve Adams | November 3, 2017 at 1:18pm CDT

The Marlins announced that they’ve declined a $2MM club option on outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and also claimed catcher Chad Wallach off waivers from the Reds. The pair of moves leaves Miami’s 40-man roster count at 34 players.

Ichiro, who turned 44 two weeks ago, will see his three-year tenure with the Marlins come to an end as the team’s new ownership begins to trim salary in a reported effort to shed $40-50MM off the payroll for 2018. The future Hall of Famer had a productive second year with the Marlins in 2016, hitting .291/.354/.376 in 365 trips to the plate. However, the 2017 season saw Ichiro receive the smallest amount of playing time he’s had in Miami — just 215 plate appearances — and resulted in a dreary .255/.318/.332 batting line.

The 10-time All-Star is a Cooperstown lock, but he’s had just one season of above-average production (by measure of OPS+) in the past seven years. While it’s natural to wonder if the beloved Ichiro is nearing the end of his playing days, he recently told Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that he’d continue to play until he’s “at least 50” if he continues getting opportunities. He may very well have to settle for a minor league pact this offseason, but it’s not out of the question that a team would look to bring the veteran into its outfield mix — particularly an NL club capable of carrying a deeper bench.

Wallach, who will turn 26 tomorrow, was originally drafted by the Marlins in the fifth round of the 2013 draft. Miami shipped him and right-hander Anthony DeSclafani to the Reds in exchange for a one-year rental of Mat Latos in what now looks to be a lopsided deal (DeSclafani’s injury status notwithstanding).

The son of former big league infielder Tim Wallach, Chad turned in a respectable .240/.363/.410 batting line in 243 Double-A plate appearances in 2016. However, his bat took a big step back in 2017 upon reaching Triple-A Louisville, where he batted just .226/.280/.398 and saw his strikeout rate jump nearly seven percent in the same number of PAs (243). He did make his MLB debut with the Reds in ’17, going 1-for-11 with a single and five strikeouts.

NL Central Notes: Cozart, Cubs, Cardinals

By Steve Adams | October 31, 2017 at 10:10pm CDT

Despite coming off a roughly five-win season, Reds shortstop Zack Cozart could face a difficult market in free agency, writes Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Buchanan quotes an exec from the American League and another from the National League who suggested that Cozart would struggle to match even the three-year, $40MM pact attained by J.J. Hardy at a similar age three offseasons ago. A lack of contending teams in clear need of a shortstop is working against Cozart, as is the fact that he doesn’t have a track record of producing at his 2017 levels. An NL exec opined that Cozart could expand his market by adopting a super-utility role in which he started a couple of times per week at shortstop, second base and third base, though Buchanan notes that Cozart “feels strongly” about remaining a shortstop. Cincinnati is thought to be “leaning heavily against” a qualifying offer for Cozart, per Buchanan, which would certainly help his free-agent stock. From my view, it still seems likely that a team will ultimately see Cozart as too good a value not to find a spot for him at a certain point. It’s difficult to see his market falling below even the three-year, $33-36MM range, as even if he doesn’t replicate his 2017 excellence at the plate, he could still be reasonably expected to more than justify that level of commitment.

Elsewhere in the NL Central…

The Cubs need to replace 40 percent of their starting rotation in 2018, writes Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670 The Score, adding that the team is “expected” to pursue an acquisition similar to its July pickup of Jose Quintana (i.e. a controllable arm on the trade market). Levine speculatively lists former Cub Jeff Samardzija (now the Giants and owed $58.5MM through 2020) and Rays right-hander Chris Archer (owed $34MM through 2021, with the final two years being club options) as possibilities. Of course, the Giants have shown no inclination that they’ll be selling off veteran pieces this winter, and the Rays have no pressure to move Archer, whose contract is one of the most affordable commitments to any established starter in the big leagues. Levine also notes Alex Cobb as a potential free-agent target, noting the righty’s connection to manager Joe Maddon and pitching coach Jim Hickey — each of whom knows Cobb well from their days with the Rays.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has posted highlights from a lengthy, comprehensive chat on the Cardinals and their offseason plans. There are more than a dozen interesting scenarios covered within, including the team’s search for a closer, the need to add a known quantity to the middle of the lineup and the possibility (or lack thereof) various players currently on the roster will be moved. Goold notes that the Cardinals have had interest in Brandon Morrow on multiple occasions in the past and notes that he could well be a target if the Cardinals ultimately decide to pursue multiple arms and have a competition for the ninth inning next spring. He also adds that St. Louis will likely pursue top-end closers (e.g. Wade Davis, Greg Holland), though the Cards will have obvious competition on that front. Any who track the offseason closely, especially fans of the Cardinals or other clubs in the NL Central, will want to take a full look for some insight into the Redbirds’ upcoming plans.

Central Notes: Morneau, Lenik, Bell

By Jeff Todd | October 31, 2017 at 1:30pm CDT

Veteran first baseman Justin Morneau isn’t calling it quits yet, officially, but it sounds as if he has largely accepted that he likely won’t suit up again in the majors. In the course of a great chat on the podcast of Ben Nicholson-Smith and Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca (audio link), Morneau says it seemed at points last spring and even into the season that he might have a shot at joining an organization. Ultimately, though, things simply “didn’t line up” for the 36-year-old, who says he wasn’t really “willing to go down to Triple-A and ride the bus” at this stage, given his family obligations. A 14-year MLB veteran, Morneau long starred with the Twins and played most recently with the White Sox. Though he showed in 2016 that he can still hit major league pitching, he acknowledges that it “doesn’t look like there’s a lot of opportunities” out there for the coming season. (That’s a topic that’s covered further in the podcast, which is well worth a listen.)

Here are some notes from the central divisions:

The Royals face a variety of challenges this winter, with a need to bolster the bullpen likely among them. But the team does have an intriguing option on hand in indy ball find Kevin Lenik, writes Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. The 26-year-old is showing a big fastball and generated strong results upon reaching Triple-A, where he pitched to a 1.88 ERA with 24 strikeouts and eight walks over 24 frames in a dozen outings. Assistant GM J.J. Picollo suggests it’s likely (albeit still undecided) that Lenik will receive an invitation to MLB camp.
Buddy Bell has left the White Sox front office to join that of the Reds, as Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune reports. Bell had served as an assistant GM in Chicago and will now function as a senior advisor to top Reds baseball decisionmaker Dick Williams. A long-time big leaguer and former MLB skipper, Bell drew kind words from White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf on his way out the door. As Kuc notes, Bell has roots in Cincinnati and figures to make for a valuable addition to the organization’s front office.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Reds Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect