Dodgers Rumors

Market Notes: Mets, Dodgers, Rangers, Wieters, Reynolds

By Connor Byrne | February 2, 2017 at 7:22pm CDT

The Mets were reportedly unwilling to trade outfielder Juan Lagares as of November, but teams are continuing to show interest in the soon-to-be 28-year-old, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link). It’s unclear whether New York is now open to moving Lagares, who’s far and away the most qualified center field candidate on a team loaded with corner outfielders. Dealing the defensively adept Lagares and getting rid of his $4.5MM for 2017 would perhaps give the Mets the financial freedom to address their bullpen, though, as Puma notes. Lagares, who’s fresh off back-to-back underwhelming offensive seasons, has four years and either $20.5MM or $29.5MM left on his contract – depending on what happens with his 2020 club option.

Pitching Notes: Hammel, Jays, Royals, Blevins, Blanton, Braves

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | February 1, 2017 at 10:57pm CDT

Let’s take a look in at the latest on the pitching market:

MLB Network’s Peter Gammons tweets that one Cubs official to whom he recently spoke believes that many teams around the league assumed Jason Hammel was injured when Chicago surprisingly decided to decline his seemingly reasonable $12MM club option. That’s not the case, however, per Gammons, who notes that Hammel is in good health. It’s been a surprisingly slow market for the 34-year-old Hammel, who looks to be the top remaining starter on the open market. The 2016 season saw Hammel toss 166 2/3 innings with a 3.83 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 42.1 percent ground-ball rate. Over the past three seasons, Hammel sports a 3.68 ERA, 8.3 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 40 percent grounder rate. Hammel did see his strikeout and walk rates trend in the wrong direction last year, which contributed to a 4.48 FIP, 4.34 xFIP and 4.28 SIERA that are among his worst marks since establishing himself as a big league starter.
Despite adding lefty J.P. Howell, the Blue Jays are still looking for another pen arm, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). It doesn’t seem as if there’s a clear preference between a righty and a lefty, as the club is said to be exploring both varieties of pitchers.
Likewise, Royals GM Dayton Moore says that his club still intends to add another arm, though it’s not clear specifically whether it’ll be for a starter or reliever, as Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com was among those to tweet. Either the trade or the free agent market could hold the missing piece, the GM noted.
The Mets and left-hander Jerry Blevins “have been exchanging concepts” for some time now, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney, but the Mets have only proposed one-year scenarios to this point. Blevins is known to be seeking a multi-year pact and seemingly has a realistic shot of obtaining one. Payroll has reportedly been an issue for the Mets — their current projection of $146MM would be their second-highest Opening Day mark ever — though the New York Post reported yesterday that the Mets are open to pursuing a back-loaded deal, which could serve as a compromise of sorts.
Similarly, Olney notes that the Dodgers were very pleased with Joe Blanton last summer but have limited interest at this time after spending a combined $192MM to retain the trio of Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner and Rich Hill. Los Angeles is open to adding a reliever, but there have been rumors that they’re focused on one-year deals, and Olney’s mention of them does little to dispel that notion.
While there’s some uncertainty as to which left-handers will be working out of the Braves’ bullpen in 2017, Atlanta hasn’t expressed much interest in free agents such as Blevins, Javier Lopez, Boone Logan, Travis Wood and Chris Capuano, per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Braves feel that those options are either too expensive or not definitive enough upgrades to sign. Ian Krol and Paco Rodriguez (if healthy) are likely to see significant work in the Atlanta relief corps this season, per O’Brien, who also runs down a number of other internal options.
Right-hander David Aardsma is slated to throw for interested teams tomorrow in hopes of landing an invite to Major League Spring Training somewhere. The 35-year-old last pitched in the Majors back in 2015, tossing 30 2/3 innings with the Braves and registering a 4.70 ERA. Aardsma has added about 20 pounds while following an Olympic weightlifting program in hopes of boosting his velocity. He struggled through a brief showing with Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate last season but turned in strong minor league results in 2014-15.

Trade/Free Agent Rumors: Blevins, Jays, Alvarez, Breslow, Dozier

By Steve Adams | January 31, 2017 at 9:29pm CDT

The Mets are open to a back-loaded two-year contract with Jerry Blevins, according to Ken Davidoff and Mike Puma of the New York Post. The Mets have long been reported to hold interest in a reunion with Blevins, but the team’s inability to find a taker for Jay Bruce’s $13MM salary has been a deterrent to their ability to re-sign the southpaw reliever. Blevins, according to the Post duo, has been seeking a contract in line with Mike Dunn’s three-year, $19MM contract with the Rockies, though it’s not clear if any such offer will materialize. Recently, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reported that Blevins’ agents have signaled to interested teams that they expect to be able to secure at least a two-year, $12MM deal. If Blevins is to land that type of commitment from the Mets, most of the salary would be allocated to the 2018 season, when the Mets will have considerably more financial flexibility. Bruce, Curtis Granderson, Addison Reed, Neil Walker, Rene Rivera and Lucas Duda are all set to come off the books after 2017.

Here’s more on the free agent and trade markets…

After agreeing to a one-year deal with lefty reliever J.P. Howell earlier today, the Jays are still on the hunt for a right-handed arm, reports Rosenthal (Twitter link). The Blue Jays are hoping to add a righty for a similar commitment to the $3MM that Howell commanded on his one-year deal with Toronto. Notably, Rosenthal quells some of the buzz that has built up regarding the Jays and White Sox closer David Robertson. Over the weekend, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reported that the two sides had been in touch earlier this winter, and while many have used that as a launching point for further speculation, Rosenthal reports that there’s been no recent talk between the Jays and the White Sox.
Agent Scott Boras is trying to engage the Rangers in talks about slugger Pedro Alvarez, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Texas has been tied to a different first base/DH option, Mike Napoli, for the better part of a month. There’s somewhat of a disconnect between Napoli and the Rangers, though, as Napoli has reportedly been seeking a multi-year deal while the Rangers only want to make a one-year commitment. Alvarez would represent an alternative with comparable power but a worse glove at first base. Texas could theoretically mix Alvarez into a first base/designated hitter carousel that also features some combination of Jurickson Profar, Joey Gallo and Ryan Rua, though Crasnick’s report doesn’t specify if the Rangers have any genuine interest in Alvarez.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi adds the Diamondbacks to the list of teams with interest in southpaw Craig Breslow (Twitter link). As Morosi notes, Arizona execs Mike Hazen and Jared Porter were both with the Red Sox when Breslow pitched for Boston from 2012-15 (as was D-backs exec Amiel Sawdaye). Breslow’s name has become more prevalent on the rumor circuit since a showcase at which he demonstrated a new arm angle for about half the teams in the league. The 36-year-old spent most of the 2016 campaign in the Marlins organization, tossing 14 innings of 4.50 ERA ball in the Majors. Breslow logged a 2.82 ERA in 402 Major League innings from 2005-13, but he’s pitched to a 4.93 ERA in 133 2/3 innings since that time.
Morosi also tweets a late addition to the Brian Dozier saga, noting that at one point the Twins sought Jose De Leon, Yadier Alvarez and Willie Calhoun from the Dodgers in exchange for the second baseman. Certainly, that’s an aggressive ask, though it strikes me as likely that said package was presented early in talks. Most recent rumors pertaining to the talks between the Twins and Dodgers suggested that the Dodgers were set on sending only De Leon to Minnesota (as the eventually did in order to acquire Logan Forsythe from Tampa Bay), while the Twins sought at least one additional piece to the deal. Obviously, the two sides were never able to agree on a price, prompting the Dodgers to shift their focus to Forsythe.

Indians Acquire Carlos Frias, Designate Richie Shaffer For Assignment

By Steve Adams | January 30, 2017 at 2:36pm CDT

The Indians announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Carlos Frias from the Dodgers in exchange for cash and designated infielder/outfielder Richie Shaffer for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

[Related: Updated Cleveland Indians Depth Chart]

The 27-year-old Frias spent the bulk of the 2016 season with Los Angeles’ Triple-A affiliate after logging significant innings for the Dodgers in 2015, when he posted a 4.06 ERA in 77 2/3 innings. Frias exhibited a strong ground-ball rate with the 2015 Dodgers (55.1 percent) but averaged just five strikeouts per nine innings pitched against three walks over that same span. Metrics such as FIP, xFIP and SIERA all pegged him for an ERA closer to the mid-4.00s due to his pedestrian walk rate and lack of missed bats.

Frias did start 13 games for the Dodgers that season, though, so he’ll give the Indians some depth either in the rotation or in the bullpen. And he has a minor league option remaining as well, so Cleveland can send him to the minors at the end of Spring Training even if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster.

The 25-year-old Shaffer was recently claimed off waivers from the Reds, with minor league slugger Jesus Aguilar losing his roster spot in Cleveland to facilitate that claim. A former first-round pick, Shaffer spent parts of the past two seasons with the Rays (who drafted him 25th overall in 2012) but posted a lackluster .213/.310/.410 in 142 Major League plate appearances. In 188 Triple-A games (788 plate appearances), however, Shaffer has batted .243/.338/.445 with 30 home runs.

Shaffer has experience at both infield corners and both outfield corners, though the bulk of his work in the minors has come at third base. Like Frias, Shaffer can still be optioned to the minors without first being exposed to outright waivers, so he could latch on with his sixth organization of the winter. The Indians, though, had one of the lowest waiver priorities in the league and were still able to claim him just four days ago, so perhaps they’ll be able to slip him through waivers and retain him without dedicating a 40-man roster spot.

Quick Hits: Manship, Rays, Miller, Dodgers, Puig

By Connor Byrne | January 28, 2017 at 10:56pm CDT

Given that he posted a combined 2.07 ERA from 2015-16, right-handed reliever Jeff Manship’s decision to sign in Korea last week came as a surprise. However, Manship told Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer it was a “no-brainer” to head to the Korea Baseball Organization, where he’ll play for the NC Dinos.

“From what I had heard, a couple of the teams were only interested in minor league deals with spring training invites, and then a couple others were interested on a major league deal, it’s just nothing had happened yet,” said Manship, whom the Indians non-tendered last month.

Manship will make more in Korea than he did from 2009-16 in the majors, Lindbergh writes in a fascinating, highly recommended piece. As Lindbergh points out, Manship’s unappealing advanced statistics overshadowed the superb run prevention he displayed over the past couple seasons, thus leading to tepid MLB interest. In 2016, for instance, his FIP (5.11) was nearly two full runs worse than his ERA (3.12).

“I understand how they calculate [FIP], but sometimes I think at the end of the season … where people are still saying ‘Oh, well his ERA should have been this,’ but it wasn’t that, it was this …there are certain things that I kind of disagree with,” said Manship. “But at the same time, I do realize a lot of those advanced stats actually are great indicators.”

It also didn’t help Manship’s cause this offseason that he doesn’t throw particularly hard, but the Dinos are happy to welcome him. Team analyst Seonnam Lim and scout Steve Park had been eyeing Manship, 32, since his time as a Triple-A starter.

“When we first saw Jeff, we were not at a position where we could even discuss nor dream about scouting him, but Asian teams nowadays tend to pay much bigger money to foreign players, especially during this winter,” commented Lim.

Now for the latest on a couple of Manship’s former major league colleagues:

After trading second baseman Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers earlier this week, the Rays are poised to shift Brad Miller from first base to the keystone, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 27-year-old actually has only slightly less big league experience at second than he does at first (37 games versus 39), and moving him will enable the Rays to take advantage of the glut of acceptable first base options left on the open market, notes Topkin.
Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig’s demotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City last season “was not a good experience,” he told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Puig acknowledged that he was at fault for it, though, per Plunkett (Twitter links). As Puig looks to rebound in 2017, the 26-year-old has “leaned out” and “is in a great state of mind right now,” manager Dave Roberts informed Doug Padilla of ESPN.com.

West Notes: Athletics, Gray, Padres, Weaver, Dodgers

By Connor Byrne | January 28, 2017 at 9:45pm CDT

Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray endured an injury-plagued 2016 in which his production declined sharply, thereby hurting his trade value. Gray isn’t far removed from an ace-like stretch from 2013-15, though, and a rebound this year would increase the likelihood of the A’s trading him during the season, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. While general manager David Forst would like Gray to spend the next decade in an A’s uniform, the two sides haven’t engaged in any extension talks, reports Slusser (Twitter links). Gray, 28, is controllable via arbitration through the 2019 campaign and will make $3.58MM this season.

Latest On Craig Breslow’s Market

By Mark Polishuk | January 28, 2017 at 1:55pm CDT

The Twins, Blue Jays and Indians are all “strong” in their pursuit of left-handed reliever Craig Breslow, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). The Dodgers and Mets are also interested in the veteran southpaw.

Breslow is likely to pick his new team once Jerry Blevins and Boone Logan (the top two left-handed relievers available) have signed. The Blue Jays and Mets have been connected to both relievers and the Dodgers have also been linked to Blevins, so it’s quite possible that Breslow could lose a suitor or two once the free agent market thins out.

Breslow has struggled for much of the last three seasons, though an overhaul of his mechanics and a new arm slot has led to renewed intrigue in his services, as almost half the teams in baseball had scouts at Breslow’s recent showcase. With this much apparent interest, Breslow can perhaps afford to be a bit patient in finding an offer, as he could still land a decent contract if as many as three teams will still be looking for lefty relief help.

With Logan and Blevins carrying reported price tags of at least two years and $12MM, Breslow is certainly a less-costly alternative, which has particular appeal to several of his suitors. Cleveland has already gone well above its usual spending limits to sign Edwin Encarnacion, the Mets’ payroll may also be somewhat maxed-out with Jay Bruce’s salary still on the books and the Jays may also be at or near their payroll parameters after re-signing Jose Bautista. The Twins are known to be attempting to wait out the market to score a bargain or two, as the rebuilding club obviously doesn’t intend to overpay for a bullpen signing.

From 2005-13, Breslow posted a 2.82 ERA, 2.1 K/BB rate and 7.4 K/9 over 402 relief innings with six teams (including the Twins and Indians). The 36-year-old has been effective against both left-handed hitters (holding them to a .693 OPS over his career) and right-handed hitters (.705 OPS).

Dodgers To Sign Ike Davis

By Mark Polishuk | January 28, 2017 at 1:27pm CDT

1:27PM: Davis will earn $1.25MM if he reaches the majors, and the contract contains an out clause, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets.

8:03AM: The Dodgers have agreed to sign first baseman Ike Davis to a minor league contract, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports (via Twitter). Davis has been on the open market since being released by the Yankees last August.

Davis, 29, appeared in just eight major league games in 2016, spending much of his season at the Triple-A level with the Yankees’ and Rangers’ top minor league affiliates. The left-handed hitting Davis has a solid career slash line (.251/.351/.441) against right-handed pitching over his career, though even those numbers were on the decline over the last two seasons as Davis struggled to retain a big league job. After an impressive start to his MLB career as the Mets’ regular first baseman, Davis has hit just .222/.327/.354 over 1058 PA since the start of the 2013 season, bouncing from the Mets to the Pirates to the A’s and last year’s brief stint with the Yankees.

The signing gives L.A. some veteran first base depth for the minors. Adrian Gonzalez is entrenched at first base for the Dodgers, with Darin Ruf (a right-handed bat to better complement the lefty-swinging Gonzalez) slated as the backup at first.

Dodgers Notes: Hill, Zaidi, Forsythe

By Mark Polishuk | January 28, 2017 at 12:58pm CDT

Here’s the latest from Chavez Ravine…

Rich Hill’s life and incredible career turn-around is profiled by Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times, detailing how the journeyman southpaw went from just trying to eke out a major league job to posting some of the best numbers of any pitcher in the sport over the last two seasons.
The Dodgers’ acquisition of Logan Forsythe from the Rays for Jose De Leon is something of an overpay for L.A., Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron opines. Cameron feels there’s risk involved in the trade given De Leon’s potential, the fact that Dodgers themselves could’ve used De Leon’s arm in the bullpen or as rotation depth, and that the Dodgers could’ve given up a bit more prospect capital to acquire Brian Dozier, a player Cameron argues is markedly better than Forsythe. Still, the deal makes sense if the Dodgers are in win-now mode and are already looking ahead to another potential playoff matchup with the Cubs in October.
Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi also discussed the Forsythe deal in an interview with Jim Memolo and Kevin Kennedy on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link), noting that Forsythe was “on a very short list of targets” for the club’s second base vacancy. Zaidi described the Dodgers’ search for a second baseman as “pretty drawn-out and “unfortunately, probably more of it got out into the public than we would’ve liked.”

Latest On The Market For Left-Handed Relievers

By Steve Adams | January 27, 2017 at 8:48am CDT

The agents for Jerry Blevins and Boone Logan are signaling to interested teams that each left-hander will be able to land two-year, $12MM deals or better, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. That two-year, $12MM figure — the same contract inked by Antonio Bastardo with the Mets last offseason — was recently used a potential template for both Blevins and Logan by one executive that spoke with Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith.

Nicholson-Smith recently reported that the Jays remain in contact with Blevins, and Rosenthal lists the Dodgers as another club that’s interested in his services. As is the case with their interest in Joe Blanton, though, the Dodgers are interested in a one-year deal, which could make it difficult to secure one of the top remaining names on the relief market. The New York Post’s Kevin Kernan writes that the Mets are checking in with Blevins’ camp on a daily basis. The Yankees are also in touch with the representatives for the remaining lefty relievers, Rosenthal adds, though they’re only interested in one-year deals with a low base salary or even minor league deals with Spring Training invites. That, it would seem, removes the likes of Blevins and Logan from the Yankees’ realistic options.

Both Blevins and Logan averaged better than 11 strikeouts per nine innings this past season, though Blevins did so with a lower ERA (2.79 to 3.69) and better control (3.2 BB/9 to 3.9 BB/9). That strikeout rate represented an easy career-best for Blevins, while Logan has averaged better than 11 K/9 in each of the past five seasons with the Yankees and Rockies.

Meanwhile, Craig Breslow’s recent showcase, which was attended by roughly half the league, has thrust him into the conversation of available lefties. Breslow’s new arm slot was said to pique the interest of some clubs, and he represents a significantly more affordable option than other southpaws that have yet to sign with a new team. Rosenthal reports that the Indians, Mets and Dodgers each had multiple evaluators in attendance, and WEEI’s Rob Bradford reported recently that the Rockies, Blue Jays and Cubs were all in attendance as well. Kernan notes that he spoke to a scout who was in attendance for Breslow’s workout and came away impressed.

Travis Wood, too, is still seeking a new home this winter, but Nicholson-Smith notes that many in the industry still expect Wood to seek a starting job due to his experience in the rotation. That makes him a tough fit for the Blue Jays, and the fact that teams like the Yankees and Dodgers aren’t looking to break the bank, in my mind, makes either club seem like a long shot as well.

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