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Latest On Craig Breslow’s Market

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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).

Falvey On Grossman's Role With Club

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  • Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press spoke to Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey about switch-hitting outfielder/DH Robbie Grossman, who opened last season with the Indians in Triple-A but opted out in April to sign a deal with the Twins. Grossman went on to slash .280/.386/.443 in 389 plate appearances with Minnesota and was especially productive against left-handed pitching. Falvey, of course, was an assistant GM with Cleveland last year and offered praise for Grossman’s abilities as well as a hint about his role on the 2017 Twins. “We didn’t quite have the spot for him at the major league level, but I’m really happy about what panned out for him,” said Falvey. “…Robbie’s a guy that clearly, from the right side of the plate, has a chance to do some damage — real damage.” Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler figure to see the bulk of playing time in left and right field, but both are left-handed bats that struggled against left-handed pitching last season, which could lead to a platoon arrangement of sorts in 2017.

Bullpen Rumors: Badenhop, Lefties, Indians, Breslow, Colome, Twins

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Former big league reliever Burke Badenhop is joining the Diamondbacks in an interesting new baseball operations position, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. In his new role, Piecoro writes, Badenhop will perform “acquisition-based pitching analysis/sports science work.” That sounds like a great way to start a new career path for the veteran hurler, though unfortunately it’ll mean sacrificing the fame and riches associated with his gig as an MLBTR contributor.

In all seriousness, MLBTR wishes Burke the very best in his new pursuit; be sure to check out his excellent work in the Player’s Perspective Series. Here’s the latest from the relief market:

  • In his latest MLB Roundup column, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes that a game of musical chairs appears poised to begin in the next couple of days as the market for left-handed relievers begins to sort itself out (ESPN Insider subscription required). Per Olney, the Indians, Mets, Blue Jays, Phillies, Giants and Marlins are the teams most aggressively seeking left-handed bullpen help. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal also tweeted this morning that the Mets are still seeking bullpen help, though Olney notes that the team doesn’t have the payroll capacity to retain Jerry Blevins at his current asking price. There are a number of free-agent southpaws remaining on the market, including Blevins, Travis Wood, Boone Logan, J.P. Howell, Charlie Furbush (recovering from August shoulder surgery), Chris Capuano, Javier Lopez and Craig Breslow. Olney notes that Wood’s deteriorating swinging-strike rate has been a cause of concern for some teams.
  • While the Indians are indeed most interested in a southpaw, the club is not limiting itself to left-handed relief options, Rosenthal notes (Twitter links). Among other possibilities, Cleveland is said to be “doing background work” on veteran righty Joe Blanton, though Rosenthal notes that it’s far from clear whether the organization will even give out any more MLB deals (which Blanton surely will require).
  • Following a workout that was reportedly attended by about half the league, Breslow is drawing some level of interest from the Indians, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Rockies, Mets, Cubs, Twins and Reds, according to WEEI’s Rob Bradford (Twitter links). The 36-year-old’s altered arm angle has piqued the interest of teams to the point where some consider him a viable fallback to Jerry Blevins and Boone Logan.
  • The Rays are still receiving trade interest in closer Alex Colome, tweets Rosenthal, but they’re not in any rush to move him. The 28-year-old Colome dominated opponents after taking over the ninth inning for the injured Brad Boxberger, tossing 56 2/3 innings of 1.91 ERA ball with 11.3 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 47.1 percent ground-ball rate. Colome, though, is controllable for another four years and won’t even be arbitration-eligible until next winter, so the asking price on him would presumably be exceptionally high. While the Rays may not feel compelled to shop Colome, the team typically is willing to listen on nearly any player. I’d imagine any offer would need to include MLB-ready lineup help in addition to some prospect capital.
  • The Twins are interested in Joe Smith, reports 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson in his latest podcast (audio link, with bullpen talk beginning around 1:02:55). (Wolfson also noted interest in Greg Holland, but he’s now heading elsewhere.) Minnesota is “slow-playing” its search on the free-agent market as it attempts to wait out the market to secure a late value pickup or two, and with plenty of quality names left on the market, they’re probably not the only ones employing that approach. The Twins have previously been connected to both relievers, though that interest was first reported months ago, so it wasn’t exactly clear if they’d changed course at all. New Twins chief baseball office Derek Falvey knows Smith quite well, as the side-armer spent the 2009-13 seasons with the Indians, where Falvey was previously an assistant general manager.

Twins Sign Yohan Pino To Minors Deal

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  • Right-hander Yohan Pino, who pitched most recently in Korea, will join the Twins on a minors deal. Pino, 33, didn’t perform well for the KT Wiz, coughing up 31 earned runs on 62 hits over his 39 innings. He has had greater success stateside, however. Pino spent time in the majors in 2014 and 2015 with the Twins and Royals, posting a 4.63 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in his 79 2/3 innings.

Rosenthal On Dodgers’ Search For Second Baseman

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The Dodgers have expanded their search for a second baseman, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Los Angeles remains engaged on longstanding targets Brian Dozier, Ian Kinsler, and Logan Forsythe, but appears to be looking elsewhere in the event that those players can’t be had at a palatable rate.

Among the players that could potentially be fits, per Rosenthal, are switch-hitters Jurickson Profar of the Rangers, Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies, and Wilmer Difo of the Nationals, though he notes that of that trio, Profar is the only one on whom the Dodgers have definitively inquired. All are young and controllable somewhat controllable — Profar through 2019, Hernandez through 2020 and Difo all the way through 2022. Only Hernandez, though, has put up a full and productive major league season.

Beyond those possibilities, Rosenthal says that there’s still some potential for a reunion with Chase Utley. Still, the club would rather find a hitter who swings from the right side. That would also appear to leave little room for interest in the other top remaining second-base-capable free agents.

Dave Cameron of Fangraphs recently suggested that the best fit on paper might be Javier Baez, with young pitching going to the Cubs in exchange. But that doesn’t seem particularly likely, as Cameron notes and Rosenthal also echoes.

All things considered, Rosenthal explains, Dozier might still be the likeliest target for the Dodgers. Though the club seemingly broke off its talks with the Twins recently, Rosenthal says that the door remains open to a deal. It’s imaginable that Los Angeles could line up with the Rays on Forsythe, but the biggest issue there seems to be that Tampa Bay doesn’t have a ready replacement.

Molitor Hopes Twins Add Veteran To Clubhouse

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  • Twins manager Paul Molitor tells La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he’s hopeful the front office will add a veteran to the roster to help bring some experience to what is overall a young clubhouse. “I’ve talked to Thad and Derek about my opinions about adding, where we could, more experienced people who have the reputation of being influential in clubhouse culture as well as leadership,” said Molitor, “and a guy who can still play.” Neal speculates that an outfield bat would be the likeliest fit, noting that Minnesota is pretty well stocked in terms of infield options and DH types.

Cardinals Notes: Mozeliak, Martinez, Wacha, Dozier, Gonzales

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Cardinals GM John Mozeliak addressed questions from fans and media during the club’s Winter Warm-Up event this weekend.  Here are some of Mozeliak’s hot stove-related comments, courtesy of Derrick Goold, Jeff Gordon and Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch…

  • After failing to reach agreements with Carlos Martinez or Michael Wacha before Friday’s arbitration filing deadline, the Cardinals won’t pursue further negotiation with either right-hander and will instead go to arbitration hearings.  Martinez asked for $4.25MM while the Cards countered with a $3.9MM offer, and Wacha filed for $3.2MM with a $2.775MM counter from St. Louis.  As Goold notes, this will be the first time the Cardinals have gone to an arbitration hearing with any player in 17 years.  Mozeliak explained that the Cards had explored using the “file-and-trial” strategy in the last couple of years before finally taking the stance during this winter’s crop of arb-eligible players.
  • Martinez and the Cardinals were discussing a multi-year extension this winter, though obviously no agreement was reached before Friday’s deadline.  The hearing “would not put a chill” on the relationship between the two sides, as Goold put it, so talks could very possibly resume during Spring Training once Martinez’s 2017 salary has been decided by the arbiter.  For his part, Martinez said (via an interpreter) that he wants to spend the rest of his career with the team.
  • St. Louis was rather surprisingly linked to Brian Dozier’s name in trade rumors last month, though later reports downplayed the Cardinals’ interest.  Mozeliak said his team’s pursuit of Dozier “was news to me.”  As Goold explains, the connection could have been due to the Cards’ discussions with teams in order to properly gauge market values, rather than an actual interest in acquiring Dozier.  “If [the Cardinals] knew what a top-tier second baseman was going to command on this pricey trade market then they also could evaluate their own players, and they could evaluate their own offers,” Goold writes.
  • Left-hander Marco Gonzales said he is feeling healthy and is hoping to begin the season in the Triple-A rotation.  Gonzales, picked 19th overall by the Cardinals in 2013, quickly reached the bigs to toss 34 2/3 innings for the club in 2014, and injuries have since derailed his progress.  Shoulder problems limited the southpaw to just one game in 2015, and Gonzales missed all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery.

Twins Could Become More Active In Free Agency

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  • The Twins have had a fairly quiet offseason, though chief baseball officer Derek Falvey expects more activity for both his club and others as Spring Training approaches, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes.  “If an opportunity presents itself, we’ll be ready to strike,” Falvey said.  “The reality is, we’re standing here today with players still available in free agency that I don’t think any of us would have predicted in October.  Things change.”

Latest On Jae-gyun Hwang

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TODAY: Hwang turned down an offer from the KBO’s Lotte Giants, Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency reports (hat tip to MyKBO.net’s Dan Kurtz).  Yoon-won Lee, the Giants’ general manager, said his club extended “a sizeable offer” to Hwang, but the infielder seems intent on testing himself in North America, even if it means earning less money.  To this end, Hwang is reportedly open to signing a split contract rather than a straight big league deal.

TUESDAY: The market continues to develop for Korean third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (links to Twitter). He’s most interested at this point in securing an opportunity that comes with a 40-man roster spot, per the report.

Hwang, a 29-year-old free agent, was said recently to have drawn some attention from the Giants. The Brewers and Tigers are also among the team’s with some level of interest, according to Berardino. While the Twins have “checked in” on him, it seems there’s no present fit.

It could be, of course, that Hwang may still need to wait for other moves to shake out before he’s presented with a clear shot at the majors. A return to Korea can’t be ruled out, of course; indeed, a KBO club has made a four-year offer. While that will surely hold appeal, it seems Hwang is still hoping for a chance to play at the game’s highest level.

For San Francisco, the possibility of adding another corner outfielder or third baseman may make the team hesitant to commit. The Brewers already plugged in Travis Shaw at the hot corner, though presumably the right-handed-hitting Hwang could provide a complement (with both perhaps also factoring in at first base). As for the A.L. Central rivals in Detroit and Minnesota, third base appears to be set in both cases. But perhaps there’s some window for Hwang if he’s deemed capable of spending some time at second and one of those teams deal their incumbent options. Alternatively, perhaps, he could factor in the corner outfield.

It has been a tough market for third basemen, with Luis Valbuena and Trevor Plouffe among the players still looking for a job. There’s also a variety of veteran utility types with experience on the left side of the infield — including Aaron Hill, Kelly Johnson, and Stephen Drew — who have yet to sign.

Beyond the enticement of the unknown, Hwang has some possible advantages over some of those options. He won’t turn 30 until July and is coming off of a career year in the KBO. Finally combining both power and contact in a single season, Hwang popped 27 long balls with just 64 strikeouts over 522 plate appearances. He also swiped 24 bags, though he was cut down on ten other attempts.

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