Latest On Andrew McCutchen
2:20pm: Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (on Twitter) that the Pirates asked the Nationals for both Lucas Giolito and Victor Robles but were (unsurprisingly) rebuffed. The Nats do have some questions about McCutchen’s potential decline and also his leadership, according to Biertempfel.
Meanwhile, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets that the Rangers also find the asking price on McCutchen extremely high, as they’ve been asked for an established starting pitcher and additional prospect value in return.
12:39pm: The Rangers have been in “frequent” contact with the Pirates about McCutchen, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. A deal between the two sides is possible but not close at this time, he adds. Heyman adds that he’s heard it’s “not likely” that the Rangers would actually meet the Pirates’ asking price, though. Additionally, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweeted earlier today that the Dodgers have made a recent inquiry on McCutchen as well.
11:10am: There’s a “mystery team” pursuing Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Pittsburgh is said to be looking for a taker for its longtime star.
To this point, the Nationals have been tied most closely to the former MVP center fielder. The Dodgers, too, have been mentioned recently as having interest, while the Rangers and Mariners have also been connected. But the other possible suitor is a team that hasn’t yet been publicly associated with the Bucs’ stalwart, per the report.
That leaves 25 other organizations that could conceivably have interest. A variety of teams — potentially including the Orioles, Blue Jays, Giants, Phillies, Mets, and Cardinals — might make some degree of sense, and surely there are others that could become involved in the right circumstances.
Dodgers Re-Sign Rich Hill
1:48pm: Hill gets a $2MM signing bonus and will earn $12MM in 2017, $16MM in 2018 and $18MM in 2019, according to the Associated Press.
12:02pm: The Dodgers announced today that they’ve officially re-signed left-hander Rich Hill to a new three-year contract. Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reported over the weekend that the two sides were closing in on a deal. Yahoo’s Tim Brown reports that Hill, an ACES client, will receive a $48MM guarantee over the life of the deal (Twitter link).
Hill, 37 next Spring, has had one of the most remarkable late-career renaissances in history, as he’s still just 18 months removed from pitching with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. Hill parlayed a September roll of the dice by the Red Sox in 2015 into a one-year, $6MM deal with the A’s last offseason. For Hill, even last year’s $6MM represented a life-changing number, as he’d never earned more than $1MM in a single MLB season. Prior to this deal, Hill had earned just over $9MM in parts of 12 big league seasons, per Baseball Reference.
Despite a groin strain and a blister issue that limited him to 110 1/3 regular season innings in 2016, he proved to be a steal for Oakland, who traded him to the Dodgers alongside Josh Reddick for three well-regarded young arms (Jharel Cotton, Grant Holmes and Frankie Montas) just before the non-waiver trade deadline.
Over his past 152 1/3 Major League innings (including the postseason), Hill owns a ludicrous 2.13 ERA. He’s racked up 184 strikeouts against just 44 walks in that time while also keeping the ball on the ground at a roughly league-average rate. While the durability concerns that accompany him are very real — Hill has made more than 20 starts just once in his career, back in 2007 — Hill was the only arm on the free-agent market that had the potential to pitch at the top of a Major League rotation. The Dodgers, in need of quality innings behind ace Clayton Kershaw (who missed two months with a back injury in 2016), can afford better than any club to take this level of risk on Hill.
With this re-signing, Hill will join Kershaw, Kenta Maeda and Julio Urias in the team’s Major League rotation next season, and the Dodgers are teeming with options beyond that quartet. Los Angeles has three injury-prone options that have proven to be quality arms when healthy in Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-jin Ryu, but reports have indicated that the Dodgers are shopping Kazmir and McCarthy. Other options for the fifth spot include Alex Wood, Jose De Leon, Ross Stripling and Brock Stewart, giving president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, GM Farhan Zaidi and the rest of the L.A. front office plenty of flexibility as they explore various trade scenarios this winter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bullpen Rumors: Melancon, Marlins, Lefties, Diamondbacks
There’s plenty of bullpen chatter circulating as the Winter Meetings get underway. Here’s the latest…
- The latest updates on Mark Melancon last night revealed that the three-time All-Star has received multiple four-year offers, potentially in excess of $60MM in some cases. The Nationals have indeed made a four-year offer to closer Mark Melancon, according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post, but their offer was for less than $60MM guaranteed. That makes a reunion look unlikely for now, barring an increase in the offer from the Nats.
- FanRag’s Jon Heyman writes that Melancon is the Giants‘ top target, and Greg Holland could be their primary alternative, as opposed to either Aroldis Chapman or Kenley Jansen. Heyman feels it’s unlikely that they’d pursue either Jansen or Chapman if they fall to land Melancon. The Giants and Nationals are pushing the hardest for Melancon, tweets Heyman.
- The Nationals, Marlins, Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees and Giants are all in on Kenley Jansen, per ESPN’s Jim Bowden. Heyman tweets that the Marlins are intent on adding a top closer, and owner Jeffrey Loria is a fan of Chapman in particular. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Loria is at the Winter Meetings and is participating in meetings with the representation for top-tier bullpen arms.
- The Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Indians, Dodgers, Rockies and Diamondbacks are all in the market for a bullpen lefty, putting names like Mike Dunn, Boone Logan and Jerry Blevins in a good position, Heyman tweets. Heyman also tweeted this morning that the D-backs are focused on the bullpen at the moment and have no plans to “shock the world” like they did last offseason.
- Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that veteran southpaw Joe Beimel is at the Winter Meetings and is seeking a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Beimel, 40 in April, hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2015 but had a nice two-year stretch in Seattle from 2014-15, posting a 3.12 ERA in 92 1/3 innings.
Trade/FA Rumors: Bregman, Solarte, Dodgers, Jays, Tribe, Holland
It’s possible the Astros will add an ace-caliber pitcher via trade this offseason, but it’s not going to come at the expense of 22-year-old infielder Alex Bregman. Astros executives are telling teams that there’s “no chance” Bregman will go anywhere, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (Insider required and recommended). That’s hardly a surprise, as Bregman is controllable through the 2022 season and has been resoundingly successful since the Astros took him second overall in the 2015 draft. After racing through the minors, Bregman thrived in his first taste of big league action this past season and now looks like the Astros’ long-term solution at third base.
More rumors from around the majors:
- The Padres are “aggressively shopping” infielder Yangervis Solarte, and the NL West rival Dodgers are among the teams discussing him with San Diego, relays FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). The Dodgers have openings at both second and third base, two places Solarte has seen action. Most of Solarte’s work has come at the hot corner, where the expectation is the Dodgers will re-sign Justin Turner.
- The Blue Jays are “in talks” with free agent utilityman Steve Pearce, tweets Olney. Toronto first showed interest in Pearce last month. With Kendrys Morales and Justin Smoak already in the fold, signing Pearce would give the Jays another first base/designated hitter type and perhaps signal the end of the Edwin Encarnacion era.
- The Indians made runs at two notable free agent DH/outfield types in now-Astro Carlos Beltran and the newest Yankee, Matt Holliday, according to Rosenthal and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Cleveland continues to look at available “corner bats,” Rosenthal adds. Several free agent first basemen/DHs are reportedly on their radar.
- Free agent reliever Greg Holland is “a popular guy” at the winter meetings, a major league source told Rob Bradford of WEEI. Holland was a dominant late-game option with the Royals over the first several years of his career, but October 2015 Tommy John surgery prevented him from pitching last season. He’s now ready to return for his age-31 campaign, and MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes expects him to land a two-year, $18MM deal.
Dodgers Shopping Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy
The Dodgers are shopping Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy and others, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (Twitter link). Roster flexibility is one factor in these trade explorations, as Los Angeles currently has 39 players on its 40-man roster. Rich Hill could fill that last open spot, as the Dodgers are reportedly close to a deal to re-sign the veteran lefty, though the team would need more room to make further acquisitions.
Dealing the likes of Kazmir or McCarthy obviously carries more import than simply clearing roster space, as a glimpse at the Dodgers roster reveals several major league and minor league names on the 40-man that could reasonably be designated for assignment. Moving either veteran starter would be significant for the team’s 2017 rotation plans and potentially payroll, though it is quite possible L.A. would have to eat some money to facilitate a trade, especially with McCarthy.
After missing almost all of 2015 and most of 2016 recovering from Tommy John surgery, McCarthy managed 10 games (nine of them starts) for the Dodgers, though he also spent time on the DL with a hip injury. Since signing a four-year, $48MM deal with the Dodgers in December 2014, McCarthy has pitched just 63 innings of 5.29 ERA baseball for the club, and he is still owed $10MM in each of the next two seasons. The starter-thin market this winter could generate some interest in McCarthy’s services if other teams believe he is healthy, though that could be a tall order, given the righty’s lengthy list of injuries both in recent years and throughout his career.
Kazmir also has a pretty checkered injury history and dealt with another DL trip in 2016 due to thoracic spine inflammation. The lefty made just one outing after August 22, as his season was essentially ended by the injury. Kazmir threw 136 1/3 innings in his first season as a Dodger, posting a 4.56 ERA, 2.58 K/BB and 8.8 K/9 and his highest BB/9 and HR/9 totals since 2010. It was probably a combination of these only-decent numbers and his season-ending DL stint that led Kazmir to not opt out of his contract, so he is still owed $32MM over the next two years.
With Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda and Julio Urias penciled into the rotation, Kazmir and McCarthy project to fill the other two spots (with Hill either replacing one altogether or moving one to the bullpen). Alex Wood, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Jose De Leon and Ross Stripling some of the other arms available as potential rotation depth, which is very necessary given the incredible number of pitching injuries the Dodgers faced last year.
Dodgers, Rich Hill Nearing Agreement
SUNDAY, 7:09pm: An official announcement from the Dodgers about a Hill agreement isn’t likely to happen tonight, Andy McCullough tweets.
SATURDAY, 6:48pm: The Dodgers and Hill are “closing in” on a contract, tweets Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. They’re unlikely to reach an agreement today, per Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times, though he corroborates Plunkett’s report that a deal is forthcoming (Twitter link). The Dodgers aren’t facing much of any competition from Hill’s previously reported suitors – the Astros, Rangers or Yankees – according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman.
4:02pm: Another team who tried to negotiate a deal with free agent starter Rich Hill believes the lefty has a three-year contract worth $40MM or more in place with the Dodgers, Peter Gammons tweets. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tells a similar story, saying the Dodgers might already have a deal in place for Hill for three years and $46MM-$48MM. Cafardo, though, emphasizes the possibility that one of a number of East Coast teams could still sign him. No move has been confirmed by Hill or the Dodgers at this point, however.
The latest rumors about Hill had the Dodgers as one of four teams bidding for his services, along with the Yankees, Rangers and Astros. The Red Sox and Orioles were also believed to be interested. Hill, of course, is coming off an outstanding age-36 season with the Athletics and Dodgers during which he posted a 2.12 ERA, 10.5 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 110 1/3 innings, including a start in which he was pulled a perfect game after seven innings. His performance in 2016 landed him the No. 14 spot on MLBTR’s list of the top 50 free agents, making him one of the top starters available.
The downsides with Hill are his age and his lengthy injury history — even in his 2016 breakout campaign, he dealt with blister problems and a groin injury. As Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times points out via Twitter, though, the Dodgers’ depth puts them in position to take advantage of Hill’s upside while minimizing their risk if he’s not available to pitch. Particularly given Hill’s vanishingly low 2016 home run rate of 0.33 per nine innings, there’s reason to be somewhat skeptical of his ability to repeat his incredible performance last season. He could regress a fair amount in the next couple years and still be a vital contributor, however, and if he does return to the Dodgers, he should provide their rotation with a healthy boost if he’s able to stay healthy.
For Hill, a $40MM-plus contract would represent an enormous financial windfall — he has spent most of his career as a journeyman and has never had a long-term deal. He’s also never made more in a season than the $6MM he made last year.
The Dodgers are currently dealing with debt issues, but those issues seem unlikely to prevent them from pursuing a free agent of Hill’s stature, and the team has not been required to reduce its payroll. In addition to Hill, the team has also been fleetingly linked to other potentially expensive or relatively expensive players like Aroldis Chapman and Andrew McCutchen.
Latest On Chris Sale’s Trade Market
5:45pm: Rangers GM Jon Daniels told reporters (including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram) that his team isn’t looking at the trades like the blockbuster that brought Cole Hamels to Texas in 2015, which would seem to confirm that the Rangers indeed aren’t in on Sale right now.
SUNDAY, 1:40pm: Mark Bowman of MLB.com joins Heyman in reporting that the Braves aren’t willing to give up Swanson, whom the White Sox covet. Discussions between the two teams aren’t leading anywhere as a result (Twitter link). While it won’t surrender Swanson, Atlanta would consider parting with Albies, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter).
10:51am: The Braves have deemed Swanson untouchable in trade talks, while the Nationals have likely done the same with shortstop/center fielder Trea Turner, reports Heyman.
SATURDAY: The Braves have already added three starting pitchers in Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey and Jaime Garcia early this offseason, and they’re now trying to swing a trade with the White Sox for ace Chris Sale, according to Fanrag’s Jon Heyman. However, there’s competition in the form of the Astros, Nationals, Red Sox, Rangers and Dodgers, writes Heyman, who notes that Los Angeles is lagging behind because it’s hesitant to deal any of its top prospects.
The Dodgers are more focused on bolstering their rotation through free agency than trades, tweets FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, which aligns with a report from earlier Saturday that they have a deal in place to re-sign left-hander Rich Hill. Contrary to Heyman, Rosenthal relays that the Astros and Rangers are out on Sale at the White Sox’s current asking price. And while the Red Sox are involved, they’re also reluctant to meet Chicago’s demands (Twitter link).
After agreeing to sign outfielder/designated hitter Carlos Beltran on Saturday, Astros owner Jim Crane told Mark Berman of FOX 26 that the team will go into the winter meetings seeking pitching, but it’s unlikely to make any “big moves” (Twitter link). That would seem to rule out a Sale acquisition for Houston.
Based on reports from Heyman and Rosenthal, both the Braves and National League East rival Nats – who are continuing their discussions with the Pirates regarding center fielder Andrew McCutchen, per Rosenthal – are among the front-runners for Sale.
It’s unlikely the Braves would include prized young shortstop Dansby Swanson in a trade, Heyman suggests, but the belief is that they have the pieces to make a deal happen. Atlanta has major league trade chips in center fielder Ender Inciarte and right-hander Mike Foltynewicz, not to mention a well-regarded prospect pool that features the likes of middle infielder Ozzie Albies, southpaws Sean Newcomb and Kolby Allard, and righties Mike Soroka and Touki Toussaint. Baseball America included all five of those players in its Midseason Top 100 prospects list.
Cafardo’s Latest: Holliday, Turner, Astros, Royals, Tigers
The Red Sox have reached out to agent Scott Boras regarding free agent Matt Holliday, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The soon-to-be 37-year-old has played the outfield almost exclusively in his career as a member of the Rockies, Athletics and Cardinals, but it’s likely he’d serve as a designated hitter for the David Ortiz-less Red Sox. Holliday would be a reasonably priced option for a Boston team that’s reluctant to spend past the $195MM luxury-tax threshold, though his numbers fell off last year in St. Louis. The career .303/.382/.515 hitter dealt with injuries and batted a so-so .246/.322/.461 in 426 plate appearances. He did swat at least 20 home runs for the 10th time, however.
More from Cafardo:
- Third baseman Justin Turner, arguably the best player left on the market, is likely to re-sign with the Dodgers, according to Cafardo. Aside from the Cardinals showing some degree of interest in Turner, there hasn’t been much chatter regarding the 32-year-old to this point. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicts Turner will return to the Dodgers on a five-year, $85MM deal after a season in which he slashed .275/.339/.493, totaled 5.6 fWAR, and set career highs in plate appearances (622) and home runs (27).
- The Astros are willing to listen to offers for catcher/designated hitter Evan Gattis and right-hander Collin McHugh, per Cafardo. Gattis, who has two years of team control left and will make $5.2MM in 2017, has perhaps become movable with the Astros having added catcher Brian McCann and DH/outfielder Carlos Beltran this offseason. The Astros don’t seem as well off in their rotation, even after signing Charlie Morton, and the 29-year-old McHugh led the team in innings pitched (184 1/3) this past season and posted decent numbers (4.34 ERA, 8.63 K/9, 2.63 BB/9). MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $4.6MM salary in 2017 for McHugh, who will make his first of three trips through arbitration.
- The Royals could trade both star closer Wade Davis and outfielder Jarrod Dyson within the next week, writes Cafardo. From a financial standpoint, Davis would certainly represent a cheaper option than top-tier free agent closers Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon, as he’s due a reasonable $10MM next season – the final year of his contract. Teams have expressed interest in Davis since the summer, while the speedy, defensively adept Dyson is also on clubs’ radars. Like Davis, Dyson is set to become a free agent after next season. Swartz projects a $2.5MM salary for him in 2017.
- Roughly 10 teams have contacted free agent right-hander Jason Hammel‘s representative, Alan Nero, according to Cafardo. Although the 34-year-old Hammel is fresh off three straight solid seasons, the Cubs declined his 2017 option last month. That came at an opportune time for Hammel, who should be in line for a multiyear deal as one of the top starters in a weak free agent class.
- Given that they’re aiming to slash payroll and get younger, the Tigers are willing to deal closer Francisco Rodriguez, relays Cafardo. K-Rod is due $6MM next year, his age-35 season, after converting 44 of 49 save chances and logging a 3.24 ERA, 8.02 K/9, 3.24 BB/9 and career-high 54.7 percent ground-ball rate in 58 1/3 innings in 2016.
Rumors: Dodgers, BoSox, Astros, O’s, Rockies, Nats
Twins general manager Thad Levine revealed earlier this week that the team would have to be “really inspired” to trade second baseman Brian Dozier. It’s now possible the Dodgers will do enough to wow Minnesota into dealing Dozier, as Los Angeles is aggressively pursuing the slugger and has “piqued” the Twins’ interest, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). The second base-needy Dodgers have been after Dozier throughout the offseason.
More rumblings with the winter meetings set to commence:
- Backing up a recent report from Rob Bradford of WEEI, the Red Sox are unlikely to sign free agent first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Moreover, the Sox probably won’t make any major free agent splashes in general, adds Drellich, thanks in part to their reluctance to spend beyond the $195MM luxury-tax threshold accompanying the new collective bargaining agreement. Boston has exceeded the luxury-tax limit in each of the previous two seasons and will need to pay a 40 to 50 percent penalty if it surpasses the mark for a third straight year.
- In addition to the previously reported Chris Sale, the Astros have interest in Rays ace Chris Archer, per Fanrag’s Jon Heyman. There’s skepticism around the game that the Rays would trade Archer, though. The right-hander is under team control through 2021 at eminently affordable rates.
- A report earlier this week indicated that the Orioles had interest in free agent left-hander Rich Hill, but they haven’t pursued the 36-year-old, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Hill, who was with the O’s in 2009, is on the verge of re-signing with the Dodgers.
- Free agent closer Mark Melancon reportedly has four-year offers worth $60MM-plus in hand from San Francisco, Washington and perhaps another team. In light of that, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets that the Rockies probably aren’t the mystery club; however, as a Colorado native, Melancon would be open to taking a bit less to join the Rockies, Saunders hears. General manager Jeff Bridich has reached out to Melancon’s representatives this offseason, but it’s nonetheless difficult to imagine the Rockies putting together a rich enough offer to land the 31-year-old.
- While the Nationals may have shored up the catcher position in trading for Derek Norris and avoiding arbitration with Jose Lobaton earlier this week, they’re still interested in free agent backstop Matt Wieters, relays Kubatko. If the Nats were to sign Wieters, the “sense” across the industry is that they’d look to flip Norris elsewhere.
2016-17 National League Non-Tenders
The deadline to tender 2017 contracts to players is tonight at 8pm ET. We’ll keep track of the day’s non-tenders in the National League in this post (all referenced arbitration projections courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)…
- Departing the Rockies‘ 40-man are righty Matt Carasiti and infielder/outfielder Stephen Cardullo, the club announced. Neither was eligible for arbitration.
- The Braves non-tendered righty Chris Withrow, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
- The Pirates non-tendered lefty Jeff Locke, as had been increasingly expected, as Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. Catcher Eric Fryer was also dropped; he was not eligible for arbitration.
- The Cubs non-tendered four pre-arb players to clear 40-man space, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. Lefty Gerardo Concepcion and righties Zac Rosscup, Conor Mullee, and Christian Villanueva were all taken off the roster.
- Righty Louis Coleman was not tendered a contract by the Dodgers, per a team announcement.
- The Reds have non-tendered three players, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Catcher Ramon Cabrera, righty Keyvius Sampson, and outfielder Gabriel Guerrero were all dropped from the roster.
- As expected, outfielder Ben Revere has been non-tendered by the Nationals. (The non-tender was first reported by the TalkNats blog on Twitter.) The club’s other eligible players — including shortstop Danny Espinosa — have been offered contracts. Revere projected to earn $6.3MM despite an abysmal 2016 campaign, his first in D.C. The 28-year-old still offers speed and defense, but will need to improve quite a bit upon his .217/.260/.300 slash. He has been a near-average bat in prior years, so there’s reason for some optimism, but at that rate it proved too costly.
- The Cardinals have cut ties with righty Seth Maness rather than tendering him a contract, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweets. St. Louis has tendered all its remaining players with arb eligibility. While Maness, 28, has been a steady pen presence for the Cards, he underwent surgery on his UCL in mid-August. He did manage to avoid a full ligament replacement, and comes with another year of control, but evidently the price was too high for the Cards to roll the dice. Maness had projected to receive a $1.6MM salary and would have commanded at least that again in 2018.