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Details On Jonathan Papelbon’s Current No-Trade List

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DECEMBER 18: That list was apparently the one in effect for 2015, as Crasnick now provides a list that, he says, will be in effect for the year to come. It is the same as the prior iteration except for four changes.

On this new list, the Braves, Reds, Royals, and Mariners have moved into the group of teams to which Papelbon can reject a trade. Meanwhile, the Giants, Phillies, Tigers, and Yankees are now among the clubs to which Papelbon may freely be dealt, without his authorization.

DECEMBER 15: Nationals reliever Jonathan Papelbon has the right to name 17 clubs to which he cannot be traded without his consent, and ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on this year’s list.

Papelbon can block deals to the following clubs: the Athletics, Blue Jays, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Marlins, Orioles, Phillies, Pirates, Rangers, Rockies, Tigers, Twins, White Sox and Yankees. The league’s remaining teams can acquire the controversial veteran without his approval.

No-trade lists tend to reflect both personal preferences and strategic considerations. It’s hard to know the precise motivations here, but it’s worth remembering that Papelbon has previously made good use of his no-trade rights in exerting leverage. In approving the trade that sent him to D.C. last year, Papelbon received assurances he’d be used as the closer and picked up a guarantee of his 2016 option (though that would have vested anyway and he took a discount to facilitate the move).

While an exceedingly public spat with star Bryce Harper has led to wide speculation that Papelbon will be dealt, Nats GM Mike Rizzo has maintained that the team won’t simply cut him loose for whatever it can get. Papelbon is neither cheap ($11MM) nor young (35), but he’s continued to produce quality results and represents a fair value from a pure baseball perspective.

AL East Notes: Rays, Sanchez, Hardy, O’s, Blue Jays

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Though many expected Brad Miller to land the everyday shortstop job for the Rays following Tampa Bay’s trade with the Mariners, that’s not necessarily the case, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays could still very well swing a trade for Javier Baez or another young infielder if they’re willing to part with a starting pitcher, he notes. And, even if the Rays don’t add another shortstop option, Miller’s struggles with lefties create the possibility of at least a platoon situation with the right-handed-hitting Tim Beckham. Nick Franklin remains an option as well, though a poor 2015 campaign likely means he’ll head to Triple-A to begin the 2016 season. Manager Kevin Cash noted to Topkin, though, that his hope is for someone to take the reins early and cement himself as the man for the job.

More on the Rays and more from their division…

  • Topkin also writes that virtually every club in baseball expressed some interest in Kevin Kiermaier at the Winter Meetings, though the Rays probably don’t have much interest in parting with the elite defender. Topkin adds that the Brewers and Pirates seem like possible fits for a potential James Loney deal, noting that both have had interest in the past. He also speculates that Jake McGee could be a fit with the Dodgers now that their pursuit of Aroldis Chapman has been halted by his domestic violence allegations.
  • Gary Sanchez is the front-runner to be Brian McCann’s backup for the Yankees in 2016, writes George A. King III of the New York Post. While Austin Romine will be in the competition and might get the job early on due to Sanchez’s lack of experience at Triple-A, King suggests that Sanchez will hold down the job for the majority of the season. GM Brian Cashman praised Sanchez, stating that the 23-year-old has “improved in every category” from last season, specifically citing his improved pitch blocking, game calling and throwing.
  • J.J. Hardy spoke with MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko at the Orioles’ recent FanFest event and provided an update on a shoulder injury that plagued him throughout the 2015 season. Hardy has been working out for seven weeks and expects an offseason of rest and rehabilitation to lead to improvements in 2016. While he said it was a very difficult decision to forego surgery on the shoulder to repair the small tear in his labrum, Hardy noted that he’s been through that process before and felt last time that it took a full six months of actually playing baseball after the recovery for him to feel normal again. Surgery also could’ve sidelined Hardy through Spring Training and into the regular season.
  • Kubatko also spoke with Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph about Matt Wieters’ return to the team. While Wieters’ decision to accept the qualifying offer impedes Joseph’s path to regular playing time behind the plate, Joseph had nothing but positive things to say about Wieters, calling him a mentor and praising him for his willingness to provide insight on hitters, his work to help Joseph improve his defensive techniques and more.
  • Red Sox vice president of amateur and international scouting Amiel Sawdaye interviewed for the Blue Jays’ GM vacancy before the job went to former Cleveland vice president of player personnel Ross Atkins, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

AL East Notes: Orioles, Davis, Rays

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The Yankees’ lack of a major signing this winter won’t give them any leverage in the YES Network dispute with Comcast, Bob Raissman of the Daily News writes.  That may come as a surprising take given their recent acquisition of Starlin Castro, but Raissman feels that the shortstop still isn’t enough to move the needle significantly for the Bombers.  In fact, Raissman wonders if the Yankees’ relative inaction could lead fair weather fans to switch over to the Mets.

Here’s today’s glance at the AL East:

  • The Orioles offered Chris Davis precisely $154MM over seven years, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.  Now, GM Dan Duquette says the team is looking at other options.  Talks have not been terminated, but Duquette implied it would be up to Davis’ agent Scott Boras to revisit negotiations.  The 29-year-old Davis is the top power bat on the open market, as he leads the Majors in homers over the past three seasons.
  • The Rays are suddenly holding a hot commodity thanks to their pitching depth, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that of the three teams that are willing to move good, young starting pitching, the Rays might be the most likely to do it.
  • It’s not a big surprise, but the Rays found at the Winter Meetings that “everyone” has interest in Gold Glove-winning center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, Topkin writes.  This past season, Kiermaier led the majors with 42 Defensive Runs Saved.
  • The Rays wanted to bring Daniel Nava back on a minor league deal, but it appears that he’s going to sign a similar deal elsewhere, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  The Angels and Padres are believed to be in the mix to sign the outfielder, according to a source who spoke with SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo.  Nava, 32, is a free agent for the first time in his career.

Carlos Beltran May Retire After 2016 Season

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Carlos Beltran may retire after the 2016 season, reports Zach Braziller of the New York Post. Beltran is entering his age 39 season and the final campaign of a three-year, $45MM deal signed prior to 2014. Beltran allowed that his decision will be affected by the level of performance he believes he can contribute in 2017. “If I feel like I produce well to the point where I can make a good impact on a team, then I can play one more year. Or if I feel like I have [had] enough, I’ll go home.”

After a rough 2014 campaign, the Yankees outfielder bounced back in 2015 with a .276/.337/.471 line and slightly below average defense in 531 plate appearances. Injuries have slowed Beltran in his time with New York too. While the original plan probably included using him at designated hitter with regularity, the returns of Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira last season forced Beltran into the outfield. The club will have to juggle a similar alignment this year.

If it is indeed the last season for Beltran, he’ll go out with an impressive 19-year resume. Over parts of 18 seasons, the switch-hitter has posted a career .280/.355/.490 line with 392 home runs, 311 stolen bases, and 2,454 hits in 9,929 plate appearances. He’s poised to reach 400 home runs, 2,500 hits, and 10,000 plate appearances this year. Defensive metrics also rated him as an excellent defender during his prime. With 66 career WAR, he has a legitimate case for Hall of Fame honors.

Bolstering his candidacy is a strong postseason track record. In 223 plate appearances, Beltran hit .332/.441/.674 with 16 home runs and 40 RBI. Win Probability Added (WPA), an advanced stat that measures the value of each play relative to the state of the game*, credits Beltran with about three wins in what amounts to about a third of a season. In other words, he hit like the 2015 version of Bryce Harper when the games counted the most.

Beltran has spent most of his career split between the Royals, Mets, Cardinal, and Yankees. He spent half the 2004 season with the playoff bound Astros – a year that included his best postseason performance. His .435/.536/1.022 October slash set up a seven-year, $119MM contract with the Mets. At the time, it was just the 10th deal to cross the $100MM threshold. Notably, the Giants traded Zack Wheeler for Beltran at the 2011 trade deadline.

*By comparison, WAR measures the value of each play without regard to game context. According to WAR, a walkoff grand slam down three runs in the bottom of the ninth is equally valuable as a grand slam in a 20-1 blowout. Using WPA, the walkoff grand slam is hugely valuable whereas the blowout grand slam is worth almost nothing. 

Dodgers Moving On From Aroldis Chapman

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The Dodgers have moved on from left-hander Aroldis Chapman and are now weighing a run at Yankees lefty Andrew Miller, as well as other options, in their quest to bolster the back-end of their bullpen, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported yesterday that the Dodgers and Astros were talking about Miller with the Yankees, although one would assume that Houston’s reported acquisition of Ken Giles from Philadelphia takes them out of that market.

The Dodgers were said on Monday to have reached a deal to acquire Chapman from the Reds, but later in the day it was reported that the trade had not yet been completed. Eventually, it was reported that Chapman had allegedly been involved in a highly troublesome domestic dispute back in October. While no arrests were issued at the time of the incident, the league is indeed investigating the matter and, under its new domestic violence policy, could take action of some kind against Chapman.

Relief Notes: Rodney, Sipp, Astros, Twins, Soriano

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Here are a few notes on teams’ searches for bullpen help.

  • The Padres are trying to lure Fernando Rodney with an incentive-based deal, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports (on Twitter). The Cubs and other teams are also possibilities for Rodney. The 38-year-old former closer posted a 4.74 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 overall in a tough season in 2015, although he fared well after a late-August trade from Seattle to Chicago.
  • GM Jerry Dipoto says the Mariners are likely to add at least one big-league free agent reliever, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets.
  • The Astros have already landed Ken Giles, but they aren’t done making moves to improve their bullpen, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Lefty free agent Tony Sipp, who posted a 1.99 ERA, 10.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in a terrific season for Houston in 2015, remains on the Astros’ radar.
  • The Twins are looking for a lefty reliever, but are unlikely to pursue Sipp or Antonio Bastardo, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune tweets. That means they could turn to the trade market. Twins exec Terry Ryan says he would prefer to acquire a lefty capable of working multiple innings and is not interested in a LOOGY, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press notes (on Twitter).
  • The Yankees are among the teams that have been in touch with Rafael Soriano’s representation, Heyman tweets. The 35-year-old Soriano missed most of the 2015 season, not signing until June and then dealing with shoulder troubles, and the Cubs released him in early September. Prior to that, however, he had two relatively successful seasons as the Nationals’ closer and was terrific in ninth-inning work for the Yankees in 2012.

Tigers Acquire Justin Wilson

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The Tigers and Yankees have announced a trade that will send left-handed setup man Justin Wilson to Detroit in exchange for right-handed pitching prospects Luis Cessa and Chad Green.

Justin Wilson

In Wilson, the Tigers will receive the lefty setup man they’ve been seeking and do so at what should be an affordable rate. Wilson is controllable for three seasons via the arbitration process and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1.3MM next season.

The Yankees acquired Wilson, now 28, from the Pirates last winter in the trade that sent catcher Francisco Cervelli to the Pirates. His first season in New York was largely successful, as he worked to a 3.10 ERA with 9.7 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 43.8 percent ground-ball rate. Wilson was similarly effective against both right- and left-handed batters (.593 OPS and .621 OPS, respectively). It’s a bit odd to see Wilson struggle more against lefties than righties, but he had some control issues when facing same-handed hitters in 2015 (though he hasn’t previously struggled in that regard versus left-handers).

Wilson will join newly acquired closer Francisco Rodriguez and newly signed setup man mark Lowe in the back of a remade Tigers bullpen. He should be the top left-handed setup man for manager Brad Ausmus, while internal candidates like Kyle Ryan, Blaine Hardy and Kyle Lobstein represent options to add a second lefty into the mix.

For the Yankees, the trade means that lefties Chasen Shreve and Jacob Lindgren will be relied upon as the primary lefties in manager Joe Girardi’s bullpen (barring an outside acquisition, of course). New York will pick up the Tigers’ No. 6 and No. 19 prospects, respectively, in Cessa and Green, according to MLB.com’s end-of-season rankings.

If Cessa’s name sounds familiar, it’s because this is the second trade in which he’s been involved in the past six months, although the first was considerably more high profile. Cessa went to Detroit alongside fellow righty Michael Fulmer in July’s Yoenis Cespedes swap with the Mets. The 23-year-old Cessa struggled greatly in his first exposure to Triple-A this season, recording a 6.97 ERA in 64 innings of work. However, he also thrived at the Double-A level, where he logged a 2.91 ERA with a 61-to-17 K/BB ratio in 77 1/3 innings prior to his Triple-A promotion. MLB.com notes that Cessa has a fastball in the 93-95 mph range as well as a slurvy-but-improving breaking pitch and the “makings of a Major League changeup.” He profiles as a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Green, 24, sits 90 to 94 with his own heater, which has heavy sink and which he commands well. However, MLB.com notes that he lacks plus secondary offerings, so he’s a bit of a project. Green spent the entirety of the 2015 season pitching in the rotation for Detroit’s Double-A affiliate, where he recorded a 3.93 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. Both players picked up in the deal would seem to be on track to pitch in Triple-A early next year, meaning it wouldn’t be a surprise if either arm surfaced in the Majors at some point in 2016.

Jennifer Hammond of FOX Sports Detroit first reported the trade was in place (Twitter link) and added the specifics (link) on the return shortly thereafter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bullpen Notes: Wilson, Melancon, Twins, Bastardo, Blanton

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The Tigers are interested in Yankees left-hander Justin Wilson and have, in fact, had trade talks with the Yankees about their lefty setup man, reports Marly Rivera of ESPN (via Twitter). It’s not clear how far talks between the two sides progressed, but the Tigers have a known need for a left-handed reliever, and the Yankees have been open-minded about dealing almost any player on their roster. Wilson, who has three years of club control remaining, is in his prime at 28 years of age and has a lifetime 3.03 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 in 199 1/3 innings between the Pirates and Yankees.

A few more notes on the relief market…

  • The Nationals had dialogue with the Pirates about closer Mark Melancon, though nothing is serious at this time, Bill Ladson of MLB.com tweets. Before Washington could even acquire Melancon, they’ll probably have to move at least one of Jonathan Papelbon or Drew Storen to free up some room.
  • Twins GM Terry Ryan says the team is unlikely to bring back relievers Brian Duensing and Blaine Boyer, as Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com writes. Minnesota is eyeing left-handed relief help in Nashville and is interested in both Tony Sipp and Antonio Bastardo, per Bollinger. The Twins also checked in on veteran Matt Thornton, but their preference is a more strikeout-oriented arm, says Bollinger, so Thornton may not be a fit.
  • Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press hears that teams have reached out to the Twins about All-Star closer Glen Pekrins in their search for left-handed relief, but talks didn’t get far (links to Twitter). Perkins is owed a reasonable $12.8MM over the next two seasons and has a $6.5MM club option for the 2018 campaign. That option becomes a player option if he’s traded.
  • The Cubs meeting with the agents for Bastardo, according to Robert Murray of Baseball Essential (on Twitter). The Cubs have been very active over the past 24 hours and are known to be seeking bullpen upgrades.
  • Shawn Kelley’s agent, Mike McCann, told Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter) that his client has yet to pick a team.  The Nationals are among “multiple clubs” in “active discussions” with McCann.
  • Right-hander Joe Blanton is drawing interest from a wide number of teams after a strong 2015 showing in the bullpen, tweets Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. Blanton could be a candidate for a multi-year deal after his excellent bounceback campaign.
  • Multiple reporters, including J.P. Hoornstra of the L.A. News Group, have tweeted that Todd Coffey is in Nashville hoping to latch on with a club as he eyes an MLB comeback. Coffey, 35, hasn’t pitched in the bigs since 2012 but was excellent at Triple-A as recently as 2014.

Astros Fielding Interest In Numerous Key Players, Including George Springer

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The Astros are fielding interest in several of their most enticing players, according to a report from Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle.

That includes top young outfielder George Springer, who Drellich says the club is “open to moving … if the haul is big enough.” Per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (via Twitter), though, Houston has not discussed Springer in any trades.

Houston has heard from teams looking at righties Vince Velasquez and Lance McCullers Jr., too, though the team is more willing to consider dealing the former. And the Cubs are among the clubs that have interest in Carlos Gomez, though Drellich says there’s a hesitancy to part with him.

In terms of possible targets, the Chronicle report notes that the ’Stros have discussed Carlos Carrasco with the Indians, as Zack Meisel of the Plain Dealer previously tweeted. He’d obviously require a significant return to acquire. And Houston is also talking with the Yankees about closer Andrew Miller.

All in all, it seems there are numerous possibilities in play for the Astros, with the report citing a focus on pitching. It would remain extremely surprising if a player like Springer is traded, but the fact that the team is willing to consider the possibility illustrates the potential for major asset shifting. It goes without saying, of course, that he’d only be parted with in a deal for a truly significant player.

Astros, Dodgers Discussing Andrew Miller With Yankees

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The Astros and Dodgers are showing interest in Yankees lefty Andrew Miller, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. Those clubs have long seemed like possible fits, but the involvement of the latter is particularly notable given that the Dodgers had been lined up to acquire Aroldis Chapman from the Reds before his disturbing domestic violence allegations emerged.

Both Houston and L.A. were heavily involved in pursuing Miller last winter, with the Astros said to have made him the largest offer. But Miller chose New York, in part for family reasons, and signed a four-year, $36MM pact that includes equal, $9MM annual salaries.

Just one year into that contract, the remaining commitment looks quite appealing. Miller put up another outstanding season, throwing 61 2/3 frames of 2.04 ERA ball and racking up 14.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. Those numbers are nearly exact matches for his breakout 2014 campaign, and there’s little question that he’d command an even larger commitment were he back on the open market this winter.

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