Guardians Rumors

Indians Release Edwin Escobar To Pursue Opportunity In Japan

By Jeff Todd | January 10, 2017 at 1:22pm CDT

The Indians announced today that lefty Edwin Escobar has been released to pursue an opportunity with a Japanese organization. The specific team remains unreported. He had recently been designated for assignment, so there’s no impact on the team’s 40-man roster.

Escobar, 24, struggled to a 7.23 ERA in his 23 2/3 MLB innings in 2016, all of which came with the Diamondbacks. The Indians claimed him off waivers after the season ended, suggesting that major-league organizations are still intrigued by his arm despite those difficulties.

Escobar, who rated as a top-100 prospect leaguewide before the 2014 season, has largely underwhelmed since reaching the highest level of the minors that year. Over his 286 total Triple-A innings, he carries a 4.63 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. Still, he’s certainly young enough to engineer a return to the top level of the game if he throws well in Japan.

Indians Likely Done With Significant Spending

By Steve Adams | January 9, 2017 at 1:35pm CDT

Speculation about Jose Bautista ultimately signing a one-year deal is growing throughout the industry, writes Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. The Blue Jays were recently said to be in active talks with Bautista, and Nicholson-Smith notes that he spoke with execs from two other clubs that considered Bautista the exact type of player that could end up as a significant bargain if he’s had on a one-year pact. Nicholson-Smith adds that there’s still a belief in the industry that Toronto would be perfectly happy to let Bautista depart, sign elsewhere, and collect a compensatory draft pick. However, the Jays do still need two corner outfielders, and Bautista is a known commodity among the fans, in the clubhouse and on the field for Toronto.

A few more notes on the free-agent market…

Nicholson-Smith also reports that the Blue Jays are continuing to hunt for a backup catcher after seeing one target, Bobby Wilson, sign a minor league contract with the Dodgers. Per Nicholson-Smith, the Blue Jays wanted to sign the 33-year-old Wilson, but he elected to sign with the Dodgers after Toronto declined to offer his camp any assurances that additional catchers would not be pursued. Among the options still on the market are Chris Iannetta, Nick Hundley, Kurt Suzuki and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, to name a few.
The Braves are still open to adding a bench bat despite having a full 40-man roster at the moment, and both Kelly Johnson and Jeff Francoeur are possibilities, per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). This would mark the third straight year in which the Braves signed Johnson as a free agent and his fourth overall stint with the team that originally drafted him, if an agreement is ultimately reached. It’d also represent the third stint with the Braves for Francoeur and the second consecutive offseason in which he inked a deal with Atlanta.
The Tigers are known to be on the lookout for some help in center field, but they didn’t show interest in Ben Revere before he signed with the Angels and haven’t had any serious discussions with Austin Jackson about a return to Detroit, reports MLB.com’s Jason Beck. Last week, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reported that the Tigers are looking for a center field option that would cost around $2MM. Jackson could fit that bill after missing the last three months of the 2016 season with a knee injury, though Beck’s report paints that as unlikely. Last week, I took a look at a few other options the Tigers could consider as well.
Any further additions made by the Indians this winter seem likely to be low-cost in nature following the signing of Edwin Encarnacion. Cleveland GM Mike Chernoff implied to Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal that the team’s remaining resources are somewhat limited. “Obviously with a commitment like this, we couldn’t bring either [Mike Napoli] or [Rajai Davis] back at the dollars they would have cost,” said Chernoff. “Raj gave us a huge amount last year, too. You could see him potentially being a fit again with the role he had last year. I think we have a lot of internal pieces that can fill some of those spots.” Davis signed a one-year, $6MM deal with Oakland last week, so Chernoff’s suggestion that he was too expensive could well signal that any final additions will be rather minimal in nature. As Lewis further notes, that could lead to a bit less depth in the outfield and on other areas of the roster than Cleveland brass would otherwise prefer.

Indians Sign Edwin Encarnacion

By Steve Adams | January 7, 2017 at 2:00pm CDT

SATURDAY: Via Heyman (on Twitter), Encarnacion will receive $150K if the Indians draw two million fans in any year of his contract, with additional bonuses of $150K for 2.15MM, 2.3MM, 2.5MM and 2.75MM fans. He will receive $250K for 3MM fans.

THURSDAY 11:15am: MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince reports that Encarnacion will receive a $5MM signing bonus and earn $13MM in 2017 (Twitter link). He’ll then make $17MM in 2018 and $20MM in 2019 before the Indians have to determine whether to exercise his $20MM club option or pay him a $5MM buyout. Interestingly, FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Encarnacion has a unique clause that allows him to earn up to $1MM worth of incentives per year based on the Indians’ attendance.

8:42am: Improbable as it might’ve seemed when the offseason began, the Indians have landed arguably the best bat on the free-agent market, announcing on Thursday the signing of longtime Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion to a three-year contract with a fourth-year option. The Rep 1 Baseball client will reportedly be guaranteed $60MM and can see his contract max out at $80MM if his $25MM club option ($5MM buyout) for the 2020 season is exercised.

[Related: Updated Cleveland Indians Depth Chart / Cleveland Indians Payroll Info]

Encarnacion, who turns 34 on Saturday, will give Cleveland a younger and more productive replacement for the departed Mike Napoli — bolstering the lineup of a club that is fresh off an American League pennant and hoping for another deep postseason run in 2017. The former Blue Jays star slashed .263/.357/.529 with 42 home runs and a league-leading 127 runs batted in this past season. Over the past five years, Encarnacion has been one of Major League Baseball’s most feared hitters, compiling a stellar .272/.367/.544 batting line with 193 homers — an average of 39 big flies per year. In that time, Encarnacion trails only Chris Davis in total home runs, and he’s also ranked third in the Majors in isolated power (.273), fifth in slugging percentage and sixth in OPS (.912) among qualified hitters.

Adding a bat as potent as the one wielded by Encarnacion will give the Indians a formidable lineup to complement an outstanding rotation. Encarnacion should slot into the heart of the order, where he’ll be surrounded by Jason Kipnis, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana and a hopefully healthier Michael Brantley in 2017. Young Jose Ramirez took a massive step forward in terms of offensive production in 2016, and Tyler Naquin emerged as an unexpected power threat to further deepen the lineup. Encarnacion has spent the bulk of his time at DH in recent years, but he’s rated as a passable option at first base when in the field. He should split time at both positions with Santana next year, and following the 2017 season he can become a full-time designated hitter once Santana hits the open market.

The circumstances that led to Encarnacion’s arrival in Cleveland were somewhat surprising; the 33-year-old entered the offseason as one of the two best bats on the open market (alongside Yoenis Cespedes), but multiple clubs that looked to be fits either pivoted early due to his asking price or never engaged with Encarnacion at all. The Yankees signed Matt Holliday just as the Winter Meetings kicked off, for instance, while the Astros seemingly moved on just prior to that by signing Carlos Beltran. The Red Sox reportedly never made much of a run at all, preferring a short-term option at first base/DH (which proved to be Mitch Moreland).

Encarnacion’s former team, the Blue Jays, seemed to be one of the best on-paper fits to retain his services. Toronto GM Ross Atkins and president Mark Shapiro reportedly made an offer of roughly $80MM over four years to Encarnacion back in early November, but Encarnacion and his agent felt it best to explore the market a bit more before making a decision on that offer. Unfortunately for them, the Jays changed course almost instantly, signing Kendrys Morales to a three-year $33MM deal on Nov. 11 and striking a two-year pact with Steve Pearce just under a month later. While the decision to reject that $80MM guarantee is easy to question in hindsight, Encarnacion can still reach that total in the end if his option is exercised.

In addition to Encarnacion’s age and defensive limitations, the biggest hindrance on his market may well have been the fact that he rejected a qualifying offer and is thus subject to draft pick compensation. The Indians entered the offseason with the 27th overall pick but saw that selection move up to 25th overall after the Cardinals signed Dexter Fowler and the Rockies signed Ian Desmond. Cleveland will part with that top pick in order to sign Encarnacion, while the Jays will receive a compensatory pick at the end of the first round.

Surrendering that pick was no small feat for Cleveland — a low-revenue team that can rarely engage in this type of free-agent expenditure and must instead rely on drafts and trades to build contenders. However, Cleveland’s window to win is unquestionable open right now; in the rotation, Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar are all controlled through the 2019 season — the final guaranteed year of Encarnacion’s deal. Kipnis, too, is controlled through 2019, while relief aces Andrew Miller and Cody Allen are controlled through 2018. That collection of well-compensated veterans is manageable for Cleveland with Santana coming off the books next season, while younger stars Lindor and Ramirez have yet to reach arbitration. Cleveland is also sitting on something of a World Series windfall following their Game 7 run in this year’s Fall Classic, making the immediate commitment a bit easier for the team to stomach.

Whether Encarnacion can push the team over the top and help bring Cleveland its first World Series title since 1948 remains to be seen, of course, but with Encarnacion added to an already excellent roster, the Indians figure to enter the 2017 as the consensus on-paper favorite to take home their second straight American League Central Division title.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports first reported the agreement between the two sides (Twitter links). Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported the guarantee and the option (Twitter links). He also tweeted that Encarnacion did not receive an opt-out clause.

Attendance Bonuses A Key To Encarnacion's Deal With Indians

By Steve Adams and charliewilmoth | January 7, 2017 at 12:56pm CDT

Agent Paul Kinzer said at this week’s press conference to introduce Edwin Encarnacion in Cleveland that the attendance bonuses that are built into the contract — worth upwards of $1MM per season, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman — helped push the Indians’ offer over the top, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. However, it may be tough to meet those figures, as Hoynes points out that Cleveland hasn’t topped two million fans (the minimum threshold for Encarnacion to begin receiving incentives) since 2008 and haven’t drawn three million fans in a season since 2001. That type of clause is rare enough, Kinzer notes, that Cleveland president of baseball ops Chris Antonetti had to call the commissioner’s office just to see if the Indians would even be allowed to include such an incentive in the contract. While it’s unlikely that Encarnacion alone will drive the Indians’ attendance to those levels, MLB.com’ Jordan Bastian tweets that Cleveland has sold more than $1MM worth of season tickets since word of the agreement with Encarnacion broke — a 50 percent increase in new sales relative to last year’s offseason. A couple more notes on the Central divisions:

Though this week’s report that Brandon Phillips nixed a trade to the Braves (via FOX’s Ken Rosenthal) lends some credence to recent connections between Atlanta and Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press circled back with a source that characterized a Dozier-to-Atlanta deal as a “long shot” (Twitter link). It continues to appear as if the Dodgers are the only team that currently has a strong enough need to consider meeting Minnesota’s price for its excellent second baseman.
Fastball velocity has increased throughout the game in the past several seasons, but it’s increased even faster within the Pirates organization during that time, Travis Sawchik of FanGraphs writes. The Bucs finished first in fastball velocity in 2015 (94.0 MPH) and second in 2016 (93.4 MPH). A key trait of many of the reclamation pitchers the Pirates have used in recent years — from starters like A.J. Burnett, Edinson Volquez and Francisco Liriano to relievers like Arquimedes Caminero, Neftali Feliz and John Holdzkom — is that they possess above-average velocity, as Sawchik points out. Bucs GM Neal Huntington notes that velocity gives pitchers more cushion for their mistakes, in that a poorly located pitch thrown in the mid-90s is less likely to yield poor results than a poorly located pitched thrown at a more modest radar reading. Now that other teams are also valuing velocity among free-agent pitchers, the Pirates are looking to develop hard-throwing pitchers of their own, like Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon and Chad Kuhl.

Indians Looking At Lefty Relievers

By Jeff Todd | January 6, 2017 at 12:14am CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that the Blue Jays may have misread the market for power bats this winter. In the case of Toronto, he suggests, the team ought to have been more patient with Edwin Encarnacion. By moving quickly to give a three-year deal to Kendrys Morales after Encarnacion declined to take the team’s early-offseason offer, the Jays may have spent much more than necessary to land a player of Morales’s quality while also tying their hands on Encarnacion, who ended up signing for one year and $20MM less than Toronto had reportedly offered.

The Mets, too, might have erred in their approach on Jay Bruce. He now seems a superfluous piece after the re-signing of Yoenis Cespedes, and Rosenthal says that he expects New York will need to pay down part of Bruce’s $13MM salary to deal him. The team picked up that option in large part to insure against the loss of Cespedes; a team source notes that insurance “doesn’t come for free,” and Rosenthal notes that the decision may have improved their bargaining position with their star free agent. But perhaps a greater recognition of the flood of sluggers would have led the team to choose an alternate path to protecting itself in the event of a departure of Cespedes.
As they continue to look to bolster their lineup, the Athletics are showing interest in free-agent third baseman Trevor Plouffe, per Rosenthal. He’d presumably be a value-focused addition to the overall mix at third and first base. Of course, Oakland is also said to be looking at Mark Trumbo, so it seems the organization is still casting a fairly wide net.
While there has been a suggestion that the Dodgers won’t form a package around Jose De Leon to pry Brian Dozier from the Twins, preferring instead to pursue a one-for-one deal, Rosenthal writes that Los Angeles is “willing to include other prospects” to get something done. Of course, it could well be that the issue isn’t so much the inclusion of some other pre-MLB players — surely, the Dodgers could find some expendable pieces to part with — so much as the question whether any are seen by Minnesota as adding significant value.
Jon Heyman of Fan Rag provides a lengthy list of the winners and losers in the open-market action to date, though that can still change with a lot of free agents left and perhaps some trades still to be swung. As for some of those still-unsigned open-market players, Heyman provides a few notes. Jose Bautista’s representatives “circled back” to the Orioles to gauge interest, but it still seems that Baltimore isn’t interested. And the Blue Jays “do not seem anxious” to strike a deal with the veteran. Meanwhile, the O’s remain involved on Trumbo.
Heyman further notes that there remains robust demand for left-handed relievers. He lists the Mets, Yankees, Indians, and Blue Jays as teams still looking at southpaws. Jerry Blevins, Boone Logan, Travis Wood, and J.P. Howell are among the established left-handed options that remain available.
It’s unlikely that the Rangers will bring back veteran righty Colby Lewis, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Though “the door’s open,” per GM Jon Daniels, he adds that he doesn’t “foresee anything happening at this point” with Lewis. Texas would be interested only in a minor-league arrangement, it seems, due in part to questions over Lewis’s health outlook.

Indians Designate Left-Hander Edwin Escobar For Assignment

By Steve Adams | January 5, 2017 at 9:04am CDT

The Indians announced that left-handed pitcher Edwin Escobar has been designated for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, whose three-year contract with Cleveland is now official.

Cleveland originally picked up the 24-year-old Escobar off waivers from the Diamondbacks in November, so his time with the organization could come to an end before he so much as throws a pitch. Escobar tossed 23 2/3 innings of relief for Arizona this past season and yielded a 7.23 ERA (19 earned runs) with a 17-to-12 K/BB ratio in that time (three of the walks were intentional). He’s pitched better in Triple-A but still comes with a modest track record, having compiled a 4.63 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 286 innings at that level.

Escobar won’t turn 25 until late April, so he’s still relatively young, and he’s traditionally held lefties in check quite well. In 2016, same-handed batters hit .266/.329/.329 against him between the Majors and Triple-A, and in three of the four prior seasons, he held lefties to a sub-.600 OPS. As a former Top 100 prospect and a player with baseball in his bloodlines — Escobar is the cousin of Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar, Angels righty Vicente Campos and retired right-hander Kelvim Escobar — Escobar could find himself claimed by a rival club looking to add some left-handed depth to its ranks.

Brantley Begins Swinging; Encarnacion Press Conference Set For Thursday

By Steve Adams | January 4, 2017 at 8:10pm CDT

After missing nearly the entire 2016 season due to shoulder surgery and undergoing a second shoulder operation in August, Michael Brantley began some non-contact swinging drills over the holidays, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti has maintained this offseason that Brantley is in the team’s plans to be the Opening Day left fielder in 2017, Bastian continues, although it’s worth noting that Cleveland offered similar optimism last offseason, penciling Brantley in for a late April/early May return. While Brantley did indeed make his season debut in that window, he was limited to just 11 games all season and didn’t produce when on the field. The amount that Brantley will be able to contribute in 2017 will be crucial for Cleveland, although the Indians will get a nice boost to the lineup in the form of Edwin Encarnacion. Cleveland announced tonight that they’ll host a press conference tomorrow at 10:15am ET “regarding a potential new member of the organization,” thus indicating that Encarnacion passed today’s physical.

Indians, Edwin Encarnacion Expected To Finalize Contract This Week

By Jeff Todd | January 2, 2017 at 3:18pm CDT

The Indians are expected to finalize their deal with free-agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion this week, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports. The sides reportedly agreed to terms on December 22, but have yet to announce the pact formally.

Encarnacion, 33, is set to arrive in Cleveland tomorrow and take a physical on Wednesday. Assuming all goes well with the medicals, he’ll be introduced as the newest member of the Indians on Thursday. His agent, Paul Kinzer, says that he doesn’t expect any issues given Encarnacion’s solid recent health history.

Of course, the market has surely already absorbed the soon-to-be-official signing, which seems to take Cleveland out of play for other significant bats while forcing other pursuers to consider alternatives to Encarnacion. Still, we’ve yet to see any appreciable uptick in the action on the many remaining sluggers, none of whom have agreed to terms since the signing.

The next man up could be Mike Napoli, who had been in conversation with the Indians about a return before the Encarnacion agreement. He has been tied closely to the Rangers, but it seems that other organizations remain in the hunt as well. Other still-unsigned power bats who fit the same general profile include righties Mark Trumbo and Chris Carter as well as lefty hitters such as Adam Lind, Brandon Moss, and Logan Morrison.

3 Remaining Needs: American League Central

By Connor Byrne | January 1, 2017 at 10:15am CDT

To set the stage for the remainder of the offseason, we’ll take a look at the most pressing remaining needs of every team in baseball over the coming week or so, division by division. (Hat tip to MLBTR commenter mike156 for the idea.) We often discuss things through the lens of an organization’s trajectory; thus, a rebuilding team might “need” to move some salary, while a contender might “need” an expensive starter. But with camp in sight, every club is making final calls on who’ll compete for big league jobs in the season to come (while also pursuing broader opportunities), so the focus here is on specific positions on the MLB roster. Fortunately, the task of roster analysis is made much easier by the MLB depth charts available at RosterResource.com. Each team listed below is linked to its respective depth chart, so you can take a look for yourself.

So far, we’ve checked in on the NL West, NL East and AL East. Here’s the AL Central, a division which features the reigning league champions…

Cleveland Indians

Outfield Depth: The Indians are fine on paper with Michael Brantley, Tyler Naquin, Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer representing their primary outfield options, but there’s uncertainty surrounding Brantley. The star-caliber performer from 2014-15 missed all but 11 games last season because of a shoulder injury, and while he and the team are optimistic about his status, “better safe than sorry” applies. With that in mind, the Indians have been connected to free agents like Rajai Davis, a member of the Tribe in 2016, and Michael Saunders. Davis would be the more realistic acquisition, but Cleveland’s payroll limitations are standing in the way of a deal. Whether it’s Davis or someone else, though, having another outfielder – one who’s more established than Abraham Almonte – would be nice.
Left-Handed Reliever: Again, after winning the Edwin Encarnacion sweepstakes, the Indians might not have the financial freedom to do much else. Nevertheless, they have been in the market for a left-handed reliever, perhaps to take some pressure off Andrew Miller late in games. While Miller is arguably the best reliever in the sport, the Indians will have to monitor his workload to some degree next season after their liberal usage of him last year.
Utility Infielder: As you can probably tell, the Indians aren’t exactly loaded with weaknesses; hence the “need” to add competition for a reserve infield spot. After a strong season at Triple-A Columbus, Erick Gonzalez is the front-runner to serve as a backup to the Indians’ high-caliber group of infield starters. Michael Martinez could push for a spot, but he has been a woeful hitter in his major league career (.197/.241/.266 in 578 plate appearances). Signing a cheap free agent to vie for a role might not be a bad idea, then.

Detroit Tigers

Cut Payroll: General manager Al Avila made it clear at the outset of the offseason that the Tigers, who exceeded the luxury tax threshold in 2016, need to scale back their spending. Trading on-the-block outfielder J.D. Martinez and his $11.75MM salary would help in that regard, but it would subtract a key piece from what should be a playoff-contending roster. It would be far more beneficial for Detroit’s chances in 2017 to somehow jettison at least one of Anibal Sanchez ($21MM, including a $5MM buyout in 2018) or Mike Pelfrey ($8MM). Teams have checked in on the two right-handers this offseason, but it’s unclear if serious talks have developed.
Center Field: While the Tigers shed money earlier in the offseason in trading Cameron Maybin to the Angels, doing so left them devoid of even a somewhat proven center fielder. In the wake of Maybin’s exit, Avila said last month he’s seeking center field help “on every front,” as his top in-house choices for next season are Tyler Collins, JaCoby Jones and Anthony Gose. Free agency offers some veterans who shouldn’t cost much in ex-Tiger Austin Jackson, Peter Bourjos and Desmond Jennings, among others, though Avila acknowledged that acquiring a center fielder via trade is a possibility.
Figure Out The Bullpen: This is mostly in reference to left-handed reliever Justin Wilson, who has drawn significant interest on the trade market this offseason. As is the case with Martinez, though, shipping Wilson out would damage Detroit’s chances of contending in 2017. Plus, Wilson isn’t even particularly expensive (MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz forecasts a $2.7MM arbitration award). The Tigers are also listening to offers for right-hander Shane Greene, but they’re better positioned to absorb losing him with righties like Francisco Rodriguez, Alex Wilson, Bruce Rondon and minor league destroyer Joe Jimenez in the fold. On the other hand, the only non-Justin Wilson southpaw reliever on their projected 25-man roster is Rule 5 pick Daniel Stumpf.

Kansas City Royals

Bullpen: Like Cleveland and Detroit, Kansas City is another AL Central team dealing with payroll constraints. The Royals aren’t eager to tear things down, though, which would be an easy route to take for a team with so many integral players entering contract years. One of those cogs, closer Wade Davis, is now gone. GM Dayton Moore sent him to the Cubs for a major league contributor – and one with high upside – in outfielder Jorge Soler, which saved the Royals $7MM. That was a sound move by the Royals, but they now have a gaping hole in their bullpen because of it. As a result, they’re searching for a late-game complement to Kelvin Herrera and Joakim Soria, with longtime Royals and now-free agents Greg Holland and Luke Hochevar on the radar.
Starting Pitcher: Edinson Volquez and Dillon Gee combined for 314 1/3 innings last year – albeit not overly effective ones – and are now out of the organization. The Royals’ depth has taken a hit, then, and they’re on track to rely on Matt Strahm – who was brilliant in relief in 2016 – and 2015 Tommy John surgery recipient Jason Vargas to step into their starting five alongside Ian Kennedy, Danny Duffy and Yordano Ventura. That quintet has the potential to succeed, but the club should protect against injuries and/or underwhelming performances with an outside acquisition who’s an upgrade over the likes of Chris Young and Mike Minor. Jason Hammel is reportedly an option if his price comes down enough, but that seems like a long shot. If so, there are several other veteran starters on the open market who will come at lesser costs should the Royals look to bolster their rotation depth.
Middle Infielder: With Whit Merrifield and 2016 third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert around, the Royals might be able to address this concern from within. That would be ideal for an organization whose other middle infielders scuffled last season. Shortstop Alcides Escobar (.261/.292/.350 in 682 PAs), second baseman Raul Mondesi (.185/.231/.281 in 149 PAs) and backup Christian Colon (.231/.294/.293 in 161 PAs) brought nothing to the table at the plate in 2016.

Chicago White Sox

Keep Dealing Veterans: GM Rick Hahn said last summer that the White Sox’s direction for 2017 would become obvious early in the offseason. True to his word, Hahn shipped out ace Chris Sale and outfielder Adam Eaton for a cavalcade of touted prospects at the Winter Meetings, thereby announcing that Chicago’s in a rebuild. Sale and Eaton probably aren’t going to be the last known commodities to leave the organization via trade in the coming months, either, as front-line starter Jose Quintana, third baseman Todd Frazier, first baseman Jose Abreu, closer David Robertson and outfielder Melky Cabrera are also available.
Outfield: The likes of Avisail Garcia, Charlie Tilson and Jason Coats will compete for starting roles alongside Cabrera in left, while waiver claim Rymer Liriano (.220/.289/.266 in his 121-PA major league debut last season) is set to serve as depth. That’s an unspectacular collection of players, clearly, and even the 24-year-old Tilson – the youngest of the bunch – merely projects as a reserve or below-average regular, according to FanGraphs prospect guru Eric Longenhagen. Given the state of the franchise, the White Sox don’t need to make a splash with a big-time outfield pickup, but finding someone to supplement their current group via free agency would be sensible. Adding an inexpensive outfield bat this offseason might serve a purpose around next summer’s trade deadline, where the White Sox could flip that player for another prospect(s) if he shows well.
Catcher: The White Sox aren’t exactly in great shape behind the plate with Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith as their top options at the moment. The 24-year-old Narvaez has more upside than Smith, 28, though the former doesn’t have an overly promising track record as either a hitter or pitch framer. Free agency doesn’t offer much in the way of solutions, but the White Sox could benefit from Matt Wieters’ decision. If he signs with the Braves, for instance, the Sox would be wise to at least inquire about their former backstop, Atlanta’s Tyler Flowers. On the other hand, the Nationals could shop one of their well-regarded veteran framers – Derek Norris or Jose Lobaton – if they sign Wieters. White Sox pitchers have lost a lot of strikes lately because of subpar framing, so finding a backstop capable of aiding young starters like Carlos Rodon, Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez would be logical.

Minnesota Twins

Decide Brian Dozier’s Fate: The Twins’ star second baseman has been on the block throughout the offseason, and a resolution finally looks imminent. New Twins front office bosses Derek Falvey (chief baseball officer) and Thad Levine (general manager) have asked teams to submit their final offers for Dozier and will soon determine whether to trade him. Minnesota is arguably in a win-win position with Dozier, as it’ll either land a high-end prospect (or more) for him or retain one of the sport’s best second baseman for at least a bit longer. The Brewers were in a similar position last year with catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who didn’t go anywhere in the offseason despite myriad rumors. Milwaukee then shipped him to Texas during the summer for a prospect bounty. Dozier, like Lucroy last winter, has two years of team control left at a palatable price tag ($15MM combined).
Starting Pitching: The Twins have asked teams for controllable starting pitching in their Dozier talks, and they might secure a potential long-term piece in Jose De Leon if a deal with the Dodgers materializes. Otherwise, the Twins have shown interest this offseason in low-cost veterans like Clayton Richard, who re-signed with the Padres, and Justin Masterson. The club has four veteran starters in Ervin Santana, Hector Santiago, Kyle Gibson and Phil Hughes, and acquiring a fifth could lead to all three of Jose Berrios, Tyler Duffey and Adalberto Mejia receiving further seasoning at the Triple-A level.
Bullpen: Levine revealed a couple weeks ago that Minnesota is searching for experienced late-game arms, and there are a slew of those available in free agency. Even though the Twins aren’t contenders, offering a veteran a prominent eighth- or ninth-inning role could entice one to join the club. The rebuilding Twins could then shop that player as the season progresses if he fares nicely.

Indians Interested In Rajai Davis, But Payroll Space An Issue

By Mark Polishuk | December 31, 2016 at 2:26pm CDT

Here’s the latest from around the American League…

Money could prevent a reunion between Rajai Davis and the Indians, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. The Tribe would like to bring back the veteran outfielder, though there isn’t any payroll space after Cleveland went above and beyond their financial comfort zone to land Edwin Encarnacion. Pluto thinks Davis could only come back to the Tribe if he fails to drum up enough interest from other teams, though that seems unlikely given his still-excellent baserunning. It’s worth noting that the Orioles are the only team known to have interest in Davis’ services this winter, so if his market continues to be quiet, it wouldn’t seem to be out of the question that Davis returns to Cleveland next year.
In a recent piece about the Blue Jays and Jose Bautista, Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star cites Brett Gardner as one of multiple “trade avenues to explore” for the Jays before they would considering re-signing Bautista. The Yankees are known to have received some interest in Gardner this winter, and this is the first time Toronto has been linked to the veteran, though Griffin’s comment could imply more a due-diligence type of a check-in on the Blue Jays’ part rather than a solid interest. Gardner’s overall hitting numbers declined in 2016, though he still checks a lot of boxes for the Jays as a good on-base threat and leadoff man, a left-handed hitter and an excellent baserunner and defensive left fielder. The 33-year-old is owed $25MM in guaranteed salary over the next two seasons. A complicating factor, of course, could be the fact that the two teams are division rivals — the Blue Jays and Yankees haven’t collaborated on a trade since 2002.
The Twins have some leverage in shopping Brian Dozier since, as the slugging second baseman is under contract for two more affordable years, Minnesota can simply keep Dozier in the fold if it can’t find an acceptable trade offer for him this winter. In his latest subscription-only column, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney warns that waiting to find a perfect deal for Dozier is something of a risk for the Twins, as Dozier’s value may never be higher than it is right now. Dozier is prone to extended slumps (he hit very poorly in the last two months of the 2015 season and in the first two months of the 2016 season) that could lower his trade value if he gets off to another slow start.
Also from Olney, he opines that “it seems inevitable” that the Red Sox will be looking for (ironically) a Clay Buchholz-like pitcher in trade talks, if not necessarily re-acquiring Buchholz himself from the Phillies. Boston dealt Buchholz two weeks ago in order to get his salary off the books for luxury tax purposes and to alleviate a seeming rotation surplus. With Eduardo Rodriguez suffering another (apparently minor) injury to his surgically-repaired right knee and Steven Wright and Drew Pomeranz also carrying injury concerns from last year, there are certainly some questions about the last two spots in the Red Sox rotation.

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