Brewers Nearing Deal For Adam Lind
The Brewers are close to a trade for 1B/DH Adam Lind, Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet.ca tweets. The Blue Jays exercised their 2015 option on Lind today, but they’ve taken calls on him already this offseason.
Cubs Exercise Option On Jacob Turner
The Cubs have exercised their option on starting pitcher Jacob Turner, Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald tweets. Turner’s option is worth $1MM, or $500K if he’s in the minors. The Cubs can control Turner for three years thereafter via arbitration.
The Marlins surprisingly made Turner available in August when they designated him for assignment, and the Cubs pounced, completing a trade to acquire him. The early returns weren’t great (Turner posted a 6.49 ERA and struck out just 17 batters in 34 2/3 innings in Chicago), but Turner is still just 23, and he’s a former first-round pick and top prospect. The Cubs will likely continue to take chances with him, given Turner’s upside and the number of opportunities available in the Cubs’ rotation.
Royals Decline Billy Butler’s Option
The Royals have announced that they’ve declined their option on 1B/DH Billy Butler. They will pay Butler a $1MM buyout, and he is now a free agent. Butler, a 2004 first round pick who has spent his entire career with the organization, would like to work out a deal to stay with the Royals, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets. McCullough also notes that the Royals are interested in bringing Butler back, but at a lesser salary.
The Royals’ decision was expected. Butler’s option was for $12.5MM, a big expenditure for a small-payroll team, particularly given that his .271/.323/.379 line in 603 plate appearances this season represented his worst offensive season since 2008.
Blue Jays Exercise Option On Adam Lind
The Blue Jays have exercised their option on 1B/OF Adam Lind, Shi Davidi of SportsNet.ca tweets. The Jays will pay Lind $7.5MM for next season rather than a $1MM buyout. They’ll also have an option on his services for 2016 for $8MM or a $500K buyout.
Lind hit .321/.381/.479 in 318 plate appearances for the Jays last season, so picking up his option was probably an easy decision even though he’s a liability on defense and rarely hits against lefties. The move does not preclude a trade, however — Toronto recently claimed lefty first baseman Justin Smoak, potentially giving them another option at first and DH if they deal Lind. The Jays have reportedly already taken a number of calls on Lind this offseason.
Blue Jays Decline Option On Sergio Santos
The Blue Jays have declined their 2015 option on reliever Sergio Santos, Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet.ca reports. Rather than paying Santos $6MM next season, the Jays will pay a $750K buyout.
The move comes as no surprise, since the Jays outrighted Santos twice last season. Santos had a strong year as the White Sox’ closer in 2011, leading to a three-year extension following the season, and then a trade to Toronto months later. The extension went sour almost immediately, as Santos struggled through shoulder troubles in 2012. He pitched well in 2013 but missed time that year, too, with a triceps injury. He then had forearm troubles in 2014 and battled control issues throughout the year.
Blue Jays To Exercise J.A. Happ’s Option
The Blue Jays will exercise their team option on lefty starter J.A. Happ, paying $6.7MM rather than a $200K buyout, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. Prior to the 2013 season, the Jays signed Happ to a one-year, $5.4MM extension for 2014 that included the option they’re exercising now. He can become a free agent after the coming season.
Happ pitched 158 innings for the Jays in 2014, with a 4.22 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and a 2.9 BB/9 that marked a significant improvement over his 2013 mark of 4.4. Happ also increased his average fastball velocity from 91.1 MPH to a career-high 92.7, perhaps an indication that he can continue to be helpful. He looks likely to be in the Jays’ rotation again in 2015.
Alex Rios Hires Scott Boras
Free agent outfielder Alex Rios has hired Scott Boras as his new agent, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets. Rios was previously represented by the Kinzer Management Group.
Rios is hiring Boras just as he enters the free agent market for the first time. The 33-year-old was a first-round pick by the Blue Jays in 1999, and the seven-year extension he signed with them in 2008 just came to an end as the Rangers officially declined his team option earlier today. Rios hit .280/.311/.398 with only four home runs in 521 plate appearances with Texas in 2014. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes projected Rios would get one year and $8.5MM this offseason.
Dodgers Decline Option On Chad Billingsley
The Dodgers have declined their option on starting pitcher Chad Billingsley, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Given the cost of the option ($14MM minus a $3MM buyout) and Billingsley’s struggles to stay healthy, the move comes as no surprise. Billingsley was once among baseball’s more promising young arms, but he’s pitched only 12 big league innings since September 2012 after a series of elbow injuries and setbacks. He had Tommy John surgery in April 2013, then another elbow surgery in June of this year.
For his career, Billingsley has a 3.65 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in parts of eight seasons in the Majors, but he’s now very far removed from his last productive stretch. The Dodgers took Billingsley in the first round in 2003, and he’s spent his entire career with Los Angeles, but now, at age 30, he’s a free agent.
Angels Likely To Trade Kendrick Or Freese
The Angels are likely to trade either second baseman Howie Kendrick or third baseman David Freese, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. Kendrick will make $9.5MM in the last season of a four-year deal after hitting .293/.347/.397 in 2014. Freese, who made $5.05MM last season after arriving from the Cardinals in a trade, will likely receive a raise in his last season of arbitration eligibility before free agency. He hit .261/.321/.383 in his first season in Anaheim.
The Angels would like to add starting pitching or left-handed relief help, and dealing a relatively expensive player in Kendrick or Freese would help with their luxury tax issues. Gordon Beckham, who the Angels acquired from the White Sox in a minor deal in August, could replace either player as a starter, or the Angels could use Grant Green at second. Beckham and Green would likely be downgrades, however, particularly if the Angels were to trade Kendrick.
Rockies Exercise LaTroy Hawkins’ Option
The Rockies have announced that they’ve exercised their option on closer LaTroy Hawkins, paying him $2.25MM rather than a $250K buyout. In addition, they’ve outrighted 1B/OF Matt McBride.
Hawkins, who will be 42 in December, posted a solid 3.31 ERA in 2014, striking out just 5.3 batters per nine innings but limiting walks, with just 2.2 BB/9. Hawkins continued to throw hard in his 20th big-league season, and his cheap option allows the Rockies to control him for another season without much risk. McBride, 29, hit .305/.345/.487 for Triple-A Colorado Springs this season, but collected only 34 plate appearances in the big leagues.