Red Sox Have Interest In Choo & Masterson
The Red Sox have interest in acquiring both Shin-Soo Choo and Justin Masterson from the Indians, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. It's unclear how far along talks are, but Cleveland is getting calls about those two as well as Asdrubal Cabrera and Chris Perez.
Boston is seeking both outfield and rotation help this winter, so the fit is obvious. They originally drafted and developed Masterson before sending him to the Tribe in the Victor Martinez trade, though Morosi notes that new Indians manager Terry Francona could push to keep the right-hander, who had in Boston. Masterson is under team control through 2014 while Choo will be eligible for free agency after next season.
The Red Sox have enough prospects to offer in trades and plenty of payroll space to absorb contracts. Matt Swartz projects Choo to earn $7.9MM and Masterson to earn $5.7MM through arbitration next year. Boston also has both Mike Napoli and Adam LaRoche on their radar this offseason as well.
Minor Moves: Mock, Burke, Maier, Slowey, Ford
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves…
- The Diamondbacks have signed Garrett Mock to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 29-year-old right-hander posted a 3.79 ERA in 61 2/3 relief innings in Triple-A this season.
- The Mets have signed right-hander Greg Burke to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training, the team announced (on Twitter). Burke, 30, pitched to a 1.53 ERA in 64 2/3 relief innings in Triple-A this year.
- Indians right-hander Kevin Slowey has elected free agency, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The 28-year-old spent 2012 with Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate.
- The Red Sox have signed Mitch Maier to a minor league deal, reports Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (on Twitter). The 30-year-old outfielder hit .172/.260/.313 in 74 plate appearances for the Royals this year.
- The Pirates have signed Darren Ford to a minor league pact, reports Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 27-year-old outfielder hit .273/.326/.385 with 26 steals in 329 Triple-A plate appearances this year.
- The Pirates have signed infielder Jared Goedert to a minor league deal, reports Rosenthal (on Twitter). The 27-year-old hit .311/.373/.502 with 19 homers in 504 plate appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A this season.
- The Royals have agreed to re-sign catcher Manny Pina to a minor league contract, reports Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star (on Twitter). Pina, 25, hit .278/.415/.417 in 183 minor league plate appearances this summer. Dutton notes that he will be exposed in next month’s Rule 5 Draft.
D’Backs In “Active Discussions” About Justin Upton
It's that time of the year again. The Diamondbacks are engaged in "active discussions" about a trade involving Justin Upton, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Multiple teams are looking into his background, makeup, etc. (Twitter link), and one executive put the outfielder's chances of playing elsewhere next season at 80-20.
Upton, 25, hit .280/.355/.430 with 17 homers this season while battling hand issues. He hit .289/.369/.529 with 31 homers just a year ago, earning him a fourth place finish in the MVP voting. Upton is signed through 2015 for a total of $38.5MM. Rosenthal says his limited no-trade clause included the Yankees, Red Sox, Indians, and Cubs this year, though the list has since changed.
The Diamondbacks seems to be involved in trade discussions involving Upon every offseason and every trade deadline, though the most serious talks occurred back in 2010. Arizona has already traded Chris Young and still has plenty of outfield depth with Gerardo Parra, Adam Eaton, and Jason Kubel.
Choo, Masterson, Perez, Cabrera Drawing Calls
The Indians are already drawing trade calls on Shin-Soo Choo, Justin Masterson, Chris Perez, and Asdrubal Cabrera according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. GM Chris Antonetti acknowledged that they will listen to offers for those four and others.
"I'm not looking to move those guys,'' said the GM. "But we have to be open-minded.''
The 30-year-old Choo will be a free agent after next season, but he needs to play for his new team all season for them to be eligible to receive draft pick compensation next winter. Heyman speculates that outfield-needy teams like the Yankees, Pirates, Red Sox, Tigers, and Phillies could be in the mix. The 26-year-old Cabrera should be a hot commodity given the dearth of quality free agent middle infielders.
Masterson, 27, figures to draw a ton of interest as a workhorse starter who is one year removed from a 3.21 ERA in over 210 innings. It's been speculated that his former team, the Red Sox, could have interest in bringing him back. The 27-year-old Perez might have talked his way out of Cleveland with some late-season comments. Mark Polishuk analyzed his trade stock in September.
Matt Swartz projects Choo to earn $7.9MM through arbitration next season before becoming a free agent. Masterson and Perez are under team control through 2014 and project to earn $5.7MM and $7.2MM through arbitration next season, respectively. Cabrera is under contract through 2014 and will earn $6.5MM next year and $10MM the year after.
Central Links: Cubs, Chapman, Madson, Asdrubal
Some late-night reading surrounding baseball's two Central divisions…
- Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer tells Doug Padilla of ESPN Chicago that he's already had dialogue with several teams in advance of the GM Meetings. Hoyer expects the offseason to unfold more quickly thanks to changes to the CBA. The team's biggest need will be starting pitching. Third base is an area of need, but the team wants to determine Ian Stewart's health first.
- The Reds have yet to decide whether Aroldis Chapman will be a starter in 2013 or continue to serve as the team's closer, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. The decision, according to GM Walt Jocketty, will be tied to whether or not the team can re-sign Ryan Madson and/or Jonathan Broxton.
- Madson wants to pitch as a team's closer in 2013, writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince writes that while the Indians didn't acquire Mike Aviles as a precursor to an Asdrubal Cabrera trade, the team should entertain the concept of dealing Cabrera while his value is high. The Tribe's farm system has several talented shortstop prospects — most notably Francisco Lindor — and Aviles could serve as a stopgap, in Castrovince's opinion.
Quick Hits: Hamilton, Indians, Cardinals, Rockies
Links from around baseball..
- David Lennon of Newsday ran down his predictions for the top free agents on this winter's market. Lennon sees Josh Hamilton landing with the Brewers on a five-year deal and B.J. Upton getting a six-year pact from the Phillies. Of course, MLBTR readers can put themselves in the mix for great prizes in our second annual free agent prediction contest.
- The Indians should follow the example of the Athletics and overhaul their team this offseason, opines ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider sub. req'd). Olney suggests that Cleveland can start the fire sale by trading shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to a team such as the A's, Mariners, Red Sox, or Yankees.
- Speaking of the Tribe, Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer looks at how a tight financial situation and bad trades combined to hurt the Indians in recent years.
- MLBTR has learned that Orioles left-hander Zach Phillips has rejected his outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk and elected free agency. Phillips, 26, posted a 3.17 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 42 Triple-A outings last season.
- The Cardinals may pursue short-term fixes at both shortstop and second base rather than entrust their depth to organizational players such as Pete Kozma, Ryan Jackson, or Kolten Wong, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- The Rockies could decide on their new manager early this week, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Bench coach Tom Runnells, veteran slugger Jason Giambi, former Rockies shortstop Walt Weiss, and current Diamondbacks third base coach Matt Williams make up the club's final four of candidates.
- Scott Boras takes a few minutes out of his busy schedule to chat with FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi about the offseason and how new television revenue will fuel spending over the next few months.
- While strong numbers during a contract year may benefit free agents, teams aren't guaranteed to see a repeat performance from their new investments the following season, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.
Daniel Seco contributed to this post.
Blue Jays Acquire Esmil Rogers For Aviles, Gomes
The Blue Jays have acquired Esmil Rogers from the Indians for Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes, both teams announced. The move fills a hole for each club, as Toronto gets pitching depth while Cleveland gets infield depth.
Rogers, 27, pitched to a 3.06 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 53 innings for the Tribe this year. He was acquired from the Rockies for cash in mid-June after being designated for assignment. Rogers throws very hard — averaged 95.7 mph with the fastball in 2012 — and remains under team control through 2016. He fell just short of the Super Two cutoff this offseason.
Toronto had just acquired Aviles from the Red Sox as compensation for manager John Farrell late last month. The 31-year-old infielder hit .250/.282/.381 with 13 homers for Boston last year and is capable of playing the three non-first base infield spots. Aviles is projected to make $2.3MM through arbitration this winter and will remain under team control in 2014 as well. He played for new Indians manager Terry Francona briefly with the Red Sox in 2011.
Gomes, 25, hit .204/.264/.367 with four homers in 111 plate appearances for the Jays this season, his first taste of the big leagues. He hit .328/.380/.557 with 13 homers in 335 plate appearances at hitter-friendly Triple-A Las Vegas this summer, and has experience at both infield corners and well as behind the plate. Gomes is the first Brazilian-born player in MLB history and remains under team control through 2018.
Indians Claim Blake Wood
The Indians claimed right-hander Blake Wood off of waivers from the Royals, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (on Twitter). Wood hasn't pitched since undergoing Tommy John surgery this past May.
Wood contribued out of the Royals' bullpen in 2010-11, posting a 4.30 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 119 1/3 total innings. The 27-year-old posted improved numbers in 2011, his second full MLB season. He'll be arbitration eligible for the first time this coming offseason, when he projects to obtain a raise to $600K or so.
Central Links: Royals, Ludwick, Reds, Hafner
The Royals improved their rotation earlier today by acquiring Ervin Santana from the Angels in what amounted to a salary dump trade. Here is the latest from baseball's two Central divisions…
- Royals GM Dayton Moore says the team is "not done" following the Santana pickup, reports Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star (on Twitter). The club figures to continue seeking upgrades for their rotation.
- The Reds and Ryan Ludwick continue to talk after the outfielder declined his half of a mutual option, reports John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter). GM Walt Jocketty said the club is unlikely to offer more than two years, however.
- Jocketty also told Fay that the Reds have interest in retaining free agents Ryan Madson, Jonathan Broxton, and Dioner Navarro (Twitter link). "I don't know if we'll sign them all," added Jocketty.
- "We remain open to it," said Indians GM Chris Antonetti when asked about re-signing Travis Hafner, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Cleveland declined the slugger's option earlier today but seem poised to go in a different direction at DH.
Quick Hits: Rays, Reynolds, Indians, Durbin
Executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says the Rays can afford to keep both James Shields and David Price on next year's roster, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter link). As I explained this morning, it could be tempting for the Rays to address other needs by trading a frontline starter. For example, the Dodgers are among the teams that could try to obtain Shields from Tampa Bay. Here are today’s links…
- Mark Reynolds would like to play for the Orioles next year, but he’ll explore his options if he hits the open market, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. "If they non-tender me it wouldn't be very smart of me to not see what else is out there," Reynolds said. The Orioles declined their club option for Reynolds today, and they now have a month to determine whether to tender him a contract through the arbitration process.
- GM Chris Antonetti suggested there's a slim chance the Indians will re-sign Roberto Hernandez this offseason, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports (Twitter links). The chances of re-signing Travis Hafner seem more remote, Bastian writes. The Indians, who declined club options for Hernandez and Hafner earlier today, are not working with a set payroll, according to the GM.
- All Bases Covered Sports now represents free agent reliever Chad Durbin, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter link). Check out MLBTR's Agency Database for current information on players and their agents.
- Earlier in the week I previewed the top offseason storylines at MLBTR. In case you missed it, there’s a parallel piece running online at USA Today and in this week’s edition of Sports Weekly.