Dodgers Rumors

AL Central Notes: Indians’ Starters, Fister, Tigers, Sox, Soria

By Steve Adams | November 18, 2015 at 11:30pm CDT

The Blue Jays, Dodgers and Yankees are among the teams that have reached out to the Indians and had “preliminary” trade talks about Cleveland’s starting pitching, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (links to Twitter). The still-very-early frameworks being discussed would each send a controllable starter away from Cleveland in exchange for an everyday outfielder, he continues. In an appearance on MLB Network (video link), Morosi noted that Brett Gardner’s name has come up in talks with Cleveland. Of course, Gardner alone wouldn’t fetch Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar, given the outfielder’s poor second half (though that was said to be injury-driven) and the more general fact that it makes little sense for Cleveland to part ways with five affordable years of either pitcher in exchange for three to four years of a well-compensated veteran. Other young and very well-regarded pieces would be a necessity. Trevor Bauer could be a more intriguing candidate in that scenario, as the soon-to-be 25-year-old was impressive in bursts in 2015 but continued his longstanding battle with control issues for most of the season. Other very speculative fits from the listed clubs could include Yasiel Puig, Joc Pederson, Kevin Pillar, Dalton Pompey and Aaron Judge. Of course, each of those suggestions comes with varying degrees of uncertainty.

Some more notes from the AL Central…

The Tigers are among the teams with interest in free-agent right-hander Doug Fister, according to Buster Olney of ESPN (Twitter link). Fister is coming off a poor season in D.C. that saw his velocity dip to about 86 mph, causing him to lose his rotation spot. However, he enjoyed his best seasons in Detroit, and I can envision him being interested in a return on a make-good contract as he looks to rebuild his value, perhaps on a one-year deal in search of a larger contract among next year’s weak crop of free-agent starters.
MLB.com’s Jason Beck breaks down the Tigers’ options in their search for a left fielder. As Beck writes, fans should put to bed the notion of Jason Heyward, Justin Upton or a Yoenis Cespedes reunion, as all figure to be out of Detroit’s price range. Avila spoke highly of Tyler Collins recently, Beck notes, lending some credence to the possibility of simply acquiring a platoon partner for the left-handed-hitting 25-year-old. Beck lists Chris Young, former Tigers Ryan Raburn and Rajai Davis as possibilities. However, if the club feels an everyday left fielder would be an upgrade over a platoon of Collins and one of those righty bats, names like Nori Aoki and Gerardo Parra could come into play. Of course, it should be noted that Parra himself could benefit from a platoon partner, though he has a stronger defensive reputation than Collins (his surprising 2015 downturn in the view of defensive metrics not withstanding).
White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin that the team hasn’t made a definitive decision as to which direction it will go this offseason (Twitter link). While that will probably induce a large amount of Chris Sale and Jose Quintana trade speculation from fans of pitching-hungry teams, it does seem difficult to envision the White Sox changing course after spending so heavily last winter. Chicago’s core of Sale, Quintana, Carlos Rodon, Jose Abreu, Adam Eaton and David Robertson is an excellent start to a contending club. Previous reports have indicated that the Sox believe 2015 was just the first of a multi-year window to contend. Nonetheless, that Williams didn’t take the opportunity to firmly denounce the possibility of some retooling is notable.
The Twins have reached out to Joakim Soria’s agent and received his medical records for review, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, though it’s not known whether the team is comfortable with a number anywhere near his reported $27MM asking price. (My guess: no.) In other Soria/AL Central news, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweeted today that while the Tigers were interested in Soria as recently as this past weekend, the two sides weren’t on the same page in contract talks. Detroit’s acquisition of Francisco Rodriguez seems likely to have diminished their interest in Soria anyhow.

Free Agent Notes: Greinke, Soria, Hill, Parra, Anderson

By Jeff Todd | November 16, 2015 at 10:58pm CDT

It may not be wise to assume that the Dodgers will end up bringing back righty Zack Greinke, ESPNLos Angeles.com’s Mark Saxon writes. The team has shown indications that it is looking for younger, less expensive assets rather than huge veteran contracts. And Greinke himself may be less than thrilled with the clubhouse culture in L.A., leaving a “distaste” that “is believed to be a factor in his thinking.” Obviously, Greinke and the club thrived with his first contract, so it’s probably not worth writing off a return, but the report does suggest the interest may not be as clear as had generally been assumed.

Here’s the latest on some other free agent situations around the league:

The Tigers have “picked up” talks with reliever Joakim Soria but haven’t yet made him an offer, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports. Soria received one offer from an unknown team earlier in the offseason, says Beck, but the market has moved slowly as a potentially-active trade market for pen arms continues to sort itself out.
Lefty Rich Hill is expected to sign a contract this week, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports. It’s not clear which club, but Bradford says it isn’t the Red Sox. Hill’s out-of-nowhere late-season run in Boston has made him an interesting piece of the market picture. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted that Hill will be able to secure a one-year deal with a $5MM guarantee.
The Mets have had contact with the representatives for free agent outfielder Gerardo Parra, Marc Carig of Newsday reports on Twitter. Parra would, presumably, take part in a platoon with Juan Lagares, though that would mean relying on him rather heavily in center. While he’s played there, Parra has spent far more time in the corner outfield. And it could well be hard to find enough playing time to woo the 28-year-old, given that the club is rather heavily invested in Lagares and has two left-handed hitters (Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto) set to man the corners.
Dodgers lefty Brett Anderson spoke with reporters today about his decision to accept the $15.8MM qualifying offer, as Saxon reports. He indicated that he was hoping to continue to build his stock in advance of next year’s market, a risky but tantalizing strategy. On the one hand, Anderson has a lengthy injury history and is finally coming off of a healthy season; on the other, he’s still young, has mostly dealt with a few fluke injuries in recent years, and can look forward to a seller-friendly market next winter. “There were some multi-year deals out there, but my situation was a little unique and I just wanted to better myself,” Anderson said. “That, and I liked being in L.A., I liked my teammates, I liked everything about it other than the ending of the season.” Anderson also noted that he and the Dodgers had discussed a multi-year arrangement at some point and could again pursue some kind of deal, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets.

AL East Notes: Boxberger, McGee, Yankees, O’s, Blue Jays

By Steve Adams | November 16, 2015 at 12:15pm CDT

Rays relievers Jake McGee and Brad Boxberger are two of the more coveted relief arms on the trade market, and ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Nationals are among the interested teams (Twitter link). The Astros and Tigers have also been listed as possible suitors for Tampa Bay’s excellent eighth/ninth-inning duo. The left-handed McGee, 29, is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $4.7MM this offseason. The right-handed Boxberger, 27, is not yet arbitration eligible. Both have seen significant time in the ninth inning over the past two seasons, as McGee collected 25 saves from 2014-15, and Boxberger led the AL with 41 saves in 2015. McGee seems like the more obvious trade candidate, on paper, due to his projected 2016 salary, but Boxberger’s first-year arbitration price could be huge if he serves as manager Kevin Cash’s primary closer in 2016 and racks up 35 to 40 more saves. The Rays could simply elect to hold the pair as well; spending a combined $5.2MM or so for the pair certainly isn’t exorbitant, though it’s hard to envision both relievers in the mix beyond 2016, as they’ll probably be too expensive a pairing after next winter’s arb raises.

A few more notes from the AL East…

Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes that Yankees GM Brian Cashman should be worrying about regression from players like Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez when constructing the roster this winter. Cashman said last week at the GM Meetings that his goal is to “upgrade our roster and not worry about regression on certain guys,” but Davidoff notes that it would be exceptionally risky to bank on Teixeira and A-Rod repeating both the health and the production they displayed in 2015, reminding how greatly they outperformed their preseason projections.
Filling all of the holes on the Orioles’ roster is a near-impossible task for GM Dan Duquette without a significant payroll hike, writes Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. Melewski points out that after Matt Wieters surprisingly accepted a qualifying offer last Friday, the team now has $57.6MM committed to four players — Wieters, J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones and Ubaldo Jimenez — plus $34.9MM worth of arbitration salaries (based on MLBTR’s projections). That places the Orioles at $92.5MM without even factoring in league-minimum players to round out the roster. Melewski uses Chris Davis and Alex Gordon as highly theoretical examples of players that could be brought in as major offseason signings (or, in Davis’ case, a re-signing), noting that that pair alone could cause Baltimore’s payroll to soar over $135MM while still leaving holes in the rotation and bullpen. Duquette has hinted that a payroll increase is certainly possible; over the weekend he discussed having the resources to not only re-sign Davis but also to bring in a No. 2 or No. 3 starter. The O’s opened the 2015 season with a $119MM payroll.
The Blue Jays’ entire coaching staff will return in 2016 after agreeing to new contracts, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Davidi notes that the news isn’t necessarily a surprise, as Shapiro said during his recent introductory press conference that the entire staff had been invited back, but the finalization of the contracts is nonetheless noteworthy.

Quick Hits: Cuba, Zobrist, Dodgers, Gallardo, Tribe

By Mark Polishuk | November 16, 2015 at 12:05am CDT

For a rundown of some of the top Cuban talents who could soon be on their way to Major League Baseball, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez lists several Cuban players who are full free agents and some who are subject to the July 2 international signing limits. Some of the free agents have yet to be officially declared as such due to paperwork, including righty Yaisel Sierra, who is considered to be the top Cuban player available on the open market this offseason. Here’s some more from around baseball…

The Mets are one of many teams to contact Ben Zobrist’s agent but the Yankees don’t appear to be in the running, according to Ken Davidoff and Dan Martin of the New York Post. The Yankees aren’t willing to pay what is likely to be a pretty significant price tag for Zobrist considering the number of teams interested in his services, and are more apt to upgrade their roster through trades rather than major free agent signings. The Mets, meanwhile, would use Zobrist to replace Daniel Murphy at second, and also give him some time in the outfield.
Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly says his team’s payroll will drop from its $300MM threshold in 2015 to much closer to the $200MM level, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. The vast Dodger payrolls of the first few years under the Guggenheim group’s ownership were meant to ensure the team could stay competitive while rebuilding the farm system, and once this young talent starts to emerge, the spending will drop. Boehly thinks “sustainable is more like the league average [payroll], plus some, or plus a lot.” As Shaikin notes, this still leaves the Dodgers with the flexibility to maintain a payroll at or near the luxury tax level every year.
Bobby Witt, Yovani Gallardo’s agent, discussed his client’s free agency with Jim Memolo and Brad Lidge of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter links). Gallardo is looking for a long-term deal, Witt said, which is why he rejected the Rangers’ one-year qualifying offer. Witt said that a market for his client has yet to really develop and it may take time until the pitchers at the top of the market (i.e. David Price and Zack Greinke) pick their next teams.
In their end-of-season discussions, the Indians briefly considered using Jason Kipnis in the outfield next season with Jose Ramirez taking over at second, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. The team abandoned the idea, however, since Kipnis is just too valuable at the keystone. Cleveland is in dire need of outfield help and may need to make a big trade to fill the void, Pluto argues.
More Indians outfield possibilities are discussed by Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer as part of a reader mailbag, though Hoynes doubts the Tribe is quite ready to trade one of its highly-touted starters for an everyday outfielder. Michael Brantley’s status will be a big factor, as if it looks like his injury rehab will keep him out longer than expected, Cleveland may have no choice but to trade a pitcher or sign a notable free agent.
The Phillies should trade Ken Giles while his value is at its highest, Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. Giles isn’t even eligible for arbitration until 2018, so he carries much more cost-effective and long-term value than other notable closers on the trade market like Aroldis Chapman, Jonathan Papelbon or Mark Melancon. A rebuilding team like the Phillies, Kaplan argues, has little need for a top closer.

Brett Anderson Accepts Qualifying Offer From Dodgers

By Jeff Todd | November 13, 2015 at 5:00pm CDT

Lefty Brett Anderson has decided to accept the qualifying offer issued to him by the Dodgers, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports on Twitter. He becomes the third player to accept a qualifying offer this year, joining Colby Rasmus (Astros) and Matt Wieters (Orioles).

Anderson is just 27 years of age and is coming off of a year in which he put up 180 1/3 innings of 3.69 ERA ball. That makes his decision somewhat surprising, at first glance, particularly given his pedigree. And metrics like xFIP (3.51) and SIERA (3.46) felt that Anderson was a bit unlucky, with his 17.0% HR/FB rate probably stands to drop back toward his career levels (11.2%). All told, there was good reason to think he’d draw wide interest as a free agent.

Of course, it’s obviously highly relevant that the talented southpaw failed to reach the 100-inning threshold in any of the four preceding seasons. His results have generally been quite strong, and his 3.72 career ERA is actually a fair bit higher than ERA estimators value his performance, but Anderson has dealt with a wide variety of injuries. He’s battled through Tommy John surgery, a fractured foot, a broken finger, and back issues over his careers.

In short, then, Anderson presented possible suitors with ample risk and plenty of upside. And he faced the same kind of calculus in assessing his decision on the qualifying offer.

It’s worth noting that Anderson was able to earn a $10MM base salary and $2.4MM in incentives in his contract last year, coming off of yet another injury-shortened campaign. It certainly would have been plausible to imagine him signing a nice one-year contract if nothing better was offered, possibly with a club that had already given up an early pick or two to sign other QO-bound free agents.

But there were other considerations at play, too, for Anderson and his reps at the Legacy Agency. In addition to ensuring that he’ll add a hefty, $15.8MM salary to his bank account, the move allows Anderson another opportunity to prove his health and effectiveness. He’ll still be plenty young next year, when the market features nothing close to this season’s mass of top-end talent and overall depth. With a big 2016, then, Anderson could be in prime position to cash in.

Los Angeles will be glad if Anderson does position himself for a big payday, as they would stand to reap the benefits. The team is uniquely situated to take on this kind of salary in a one-year arrangement, and is probably not displeased at the chance to fill a rotation spot with a good arm without binding up future commitments. The team is certainly not done shopping, though, as the rotation still needs to be filled out — including, perhaps, adding another high-level arm alongside ace Clayton Kershaw.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2015 Qualifying Offer Decisions

By Steve Adams | November 13, 2015 at 4:26pm CDT

The deadline or players to accept or reject their one-year, $15.8MM qualifying offers was today at 5pm ET. We already know that Colby Rasmus will become the first player to ever accept a qualifying offer, and Marco Estrada reached a two-year deal with the Blue Jays. Brett Anderson also accepted his qualifying offer from the Dodgers.

Here are the updates on the rest of the 20 players that received qualifying offers one week ago today…

Ian Desmond will reject the Nationals’ offer, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. He’ll be joined on the open market by Jordan Zimmermann, who did the same, per a tweet from MLB.com’s Bill Ladson.
While Brett Anderson will be returning on a one-year deal, Howie Kendrick and Zack Greinke have rejected their qualifying offers from the Dodgers, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links),
It’s an obvious one, but Alex Gordon will hit the open market rather than taking a one-year deal from the Royals, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Likewise, Justin Upton and Ian Kennedy of the Padres will participate in the open market his fall (per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune, on Twitter) and Dexter Fowler has turned down his offer from the Cubs, as Paul Sullivan of 670thescore.com tweets.
The Cardinals will stand to pick up draft choices if Jason Heyward and John Lackey sign elsewhere, as they too have rejected the offer, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).
Daniel Murphy and Jeff Samardzija have declined their offers, per reports from Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter) and Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com (also via Twitter).
Gallardo has declined his QO, Stevenson now tweets.
As expected, Hisashi Iwakuma has turned down the qualifying offer issued to him by the Mariners, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.

Earlier Updates

Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram hears differently on Gallardo, reporting that he’s still deciding whether or not to accept (links to Twitter). Gallardo’s camp has spoken to multiple other clubs about a deal, but the righty is still mulling a return to his hometown team.
Yovani Gallardo will decline the Rangers’ qualifying offer in search of a multi-year contract, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Gallardo never seemed likely to accept the deal, though there may have been a bit of temptation given the fact that Gallardo is a Fort Worth native. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that he spoke to Gallardo’s agent, Bobby Witt, and was told that he’s yet to officially inform the Rangers one way or the other (Twitter link).

Those who are unfamiliar with the process can refer to MLBTR’s explanation of the qualifying offer system for full details.

Braves Listening On Andrelton Simmons

By Steve Adams | November 12, 2015 at 4:31pm CDT

4:31pm: The Rockies are not engaged in trade talks regarding Simmons, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports on Twitter.

8:58am: The Mets checked in on Simmons this morning and were met with the asking price of Jacob deGrom or Matt Harvey, tweets Sherman, which is steeper than New York would care to pay.

NOV. 12, 7:09am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that the Braves are indeed listening to offers for Simmons, and they’ve been in recent contact with the Padres, Dodgers and Angels (three Twitter links). The Braves recognize the weak free-agent market at shortstop and want to at least see what the return would be for Simmons considering how valuable he is. Sherman adds that the Mets haven’t checked in on Simmons yet, perhaps assuming that the Braves wouldn’t deal him within the NL East.

NOV. 11, 10:42pm: The Braves have discussed Simmons, but no deal is close at the moment, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (links to Twitter). They’re willing to listen, and as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution adds (also via Twitter), Atlanta is determined to add multiple young, impact pieces without raising payroll much. Moving Simmons could achieve that goal, but the cost would assuredly be astounding for a player with as much surplus value on his contract as Simmons presently has.

10:31pm: The Padres have checked in on Simmons but nothing is close in terms of trade talks between the two sides, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune (Twitter link).

9:58pm: Keri now tweets that the Braves’ talks revolve around Andrelton Simmons. That doesn’t necessarily rule out any of the four remaining teams, as the Rockies and Padres could certainly use a long-term answer at shortstop and either the Dodgers or D-Backs could shuffle their current infield alignment to add a defender of Simmons’ caliber.

Simmons’ offensive output was down in 2015, but he remains arguably the game’s most elite defensive player and is under contract for another five seasons at a total of $53MM.

9:33pm: The Giants aren’t in talks with the Braves, both SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo and the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman hear (links to Twitter).

9:11pm: The Braves are “deep” in trade talks with a yet-unnamed NL West club, reports Jonah Keri of ESPN (via Twitter). Clearly, there’s a lot left to the imagination with this report, but there’s enough to at least envision a few possibilities.

The Braves are known to be shopping expensive veterans Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, though neither player is a desirable asset considering the $15MM each is owed in 2016. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported today that Cameron Maybin is available in trades, and Maybin could be a more appealing piece on the heels of the first fully healthy season he’s enjoyed since 2012. There’s also been speculation over the past several months that Atlanta could move on from formerly presumed catcher-of-the-future Christian Bethancourt, and the team did just reportedly agree to terms on a new one-year deal with A.J. Pierzynski earlier tonight. Other possibilities include Julio Teheran, whose name has been kicked around in trade rumors since the summer, and Mike Minor, whom the team is reportedly uncertain about tendering after he experienced a setback in his rehab from shoulder surgery.

A quick rundown of the NL West’s team needs: the Rockies could be looking for catching or pitching help, the Giants are reportedly interested in outfielders and rotation arms, the Diamondbacks are hunting for general pitching help (rotation or bullpen), the Dodgers are in much the same boat as the D-Backs, and the Padres could conceivably be looking to add in the outfield, infield or rotation. That creates a wide-ranging slate of possibilities, of course, though if a trade is indeed nearing fruition, further details are likely to be reported sooner rather than later.

Heyman’s Latest: Offseason Spending, CarGo, Pirates, Kennedy, Gallardo

By Steve Adams | November 12, 2015 at 12:14pm CDT

In his latest notes column, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports begins by classifying the Angels, Giants, Tigers, Red Sox, Cubs, Cardinals and Dodgers as the expected “big spenders” of the offseason, breaking down some targets that each club could pursue. Heyman goes on to call the Orioles, Blue Jays, Yankees, D-Backs, Mets, Royals and Padres as “medium spenders,” noting that each has needs and could make one significant addition or a series of mid-range moves in order to address multiple areas around the roster. As he did with the big-spending clubs, Heyman examines a few plausible scenarios for each, noting that the Royals are still in the three- or four-year range on Alex Gordon, thereby casting some doubt on a potential reunion.

A few highlights from his column…

While Andrelton Simmons’ name has been a hot topic over the past 15 hours or so, there’s a “good chance” that the Braves will make Julio Teheran available at some point this winter. Teheran’s value isn’t as high as that of Simmons at the moment, I wouldn’t think, due to a down year for Teheran in 2015. Moving him would be selling low, which makes it more difficult to envision a deal, from my vantage point.
The White Sox were one of “many teams” to which agent Brodie Van Wagenen made a presentation regarding Yoenis Cespedes, though the greater needs for the ChiSox come at catcher, third base, second base and shortstop.
The Rockies have again made Carlos Gonzalez available in trades, as many expected would be the case following the summer trade of Troy Tulowitzki. CarGo dominated the National League from June through season’s end after struggling with injuries in 2014 and early 2015 and undoubtedly restored an exceptional amount of trade value. Heyman speculatively listed the Orioles as a potential match when discussing Baltimore in his intro section.
Pittsburgh has fielded offers on all seven of its players that are a year removed from free agency. That includes Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker, Mark Melancon, Mike Morse, Chris Stewart and Francisco Cervelli. However, the Pirates are also said to be considering an attempt at locking Cervelli up on a multi-year deal.
Ian Kennedy is planning to decline the Padres’ qualifying offer, per Heyman. Both Tim Dierkes and I have noted that there’s little sense in Kennedy accepting the offer. The right-hander is fourth in innings pitched in the NL over the past five seasons and has averaged 8.5 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in that time while posting a 3.89 ERA, 3.87 FIP and 3.78 xFIP. Homer struggles in 2015 aside, Kennedy finished strong and should get paid somewhere. It’s hard to envision a Scott Boras client being the first to accept a qualifying offer, and if all else fails, Kennedy can go the Ervin Santana route and sign a one-year deal near the value of the QO late in the offseason.
Similarly, Yovani Gallardo plans to turn down the Rangers’ QO. Heyman hears he’s expected to sign elsewhere despite being a Fort Worth area native. The Rangers will again attempt to re-sign Colby Lewis, he adds.

NL West Notes: Gallardo, Miller, Turner, Hill

By Steve Adams | November 11, 2015 at 9:56pm CDT

The Braves are reportedly fairly deep into talks with an NL West club about a trade. As we wait for more details on that story to unfold, here are some notes from around the division…

The Diamondbacks are among the clubs with interest in right-hander Yovani Gallardo, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter). Gallardo is one of a plethora of mid-tier arms that’s available on this year’s free agent market, however he will cost a draft pick in order to sign, and Arizona’s record in 2015 left them with the third-highest unprotected pick (No. 13 overall). That’s a steep price to pay for a mid-rotation arm, though that won’t necessarily stop the club from signing a free agent that rejected a QO. Arizona is just one of many clubs to show interest in Gallardo, per Heyman.
Likewise, the D-Backs have inquired on Yankees closer Andrew Miller, whose name has been floated in trade talks, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Talks didn’t progress to the point where any names were exchanged, Rosenthal adds, so the inquiry seems to be preliminary in nature. The D-Backs have a surplus of young infielders and also have plenty of young starting pitching that could entice the Yankees, though the asking price on Miller would undoubtedly be exorbitant.
Justin Turner’s recent knee surgery was a bit more complicated than initially believed, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Miller was said at the time to be having loose bodies removed from his knee, but the Dodgers third baseman tells Hernandez that he also had a microfracture procedure performed. Miller explained that a piece of cartilage tore off the outside portion of his knee, and in order to facilitate the growth of new cartilage, surgeons drilled into the knee allowing blood to refill the area where cartilage once was. Turner said he’ll be on crutches for two to four more weeks and running at 100 percent in three months’ time. He expects to be 100 percent healthy by Spring Training.
The Padres are one of many teams interested in left-hander Rich Hill, tweets Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. Hill, 35, is drawing quite a bit of interest after a surprisingly dominant run to close out the regular season with the Red Sox. The journeyman logged a dazzling 1.55 ERA with a 36-to-5 K/BB ratio in 29 innings for the Sox and should secure a big league contract, with many clubs likely believing him to be a reasonably low-cost upside play.

NL West Notes: Dodgers’ Targets, Giants, Padres, Rockies

By Jeff Todd | November 11, 2015 at 12:56pm CDT

The Dodgers are prioritizing Zack Greinke over David Price in free agency, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Los Angeles also has at least some interest in Daniel Murphy (as well as a return of Chase Utley, as previously reported elsewhere) as the team weighs the possibility of finding a left-handed hitter that can play second and third. While it’s not yet clear whether the Dodgers front office will ultimately be a team that paces actual free agent spending, it seems obvious that L.A. will play a major role in driving the market.

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