Trade Rumors: Cubs, Hardy, A’s, Tigers, Holt, Yankees
The Cubs have been linked to the reliever market, though they may wait until January before making any new acquisitions. As one source speculates to the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Gonzales, the Cubs might first need to clear some payroll space before adding to their bullpen. Rumors of a lack of a spending capacity have loomed over Chicago’s offseason, and the crunch could be tighter than anticipated if the team will have to move other salaries to afford even mid-tier relief pitching signings. Gonzales runs through a few of the names on the Cubs roster that could possibly be dealt in salary-clearing moves, though he notes that several of these options don’t look too feasible, as players are either coming off down years (i.e. Brian Duensing, Brandon Kintzler) or they’re coming off good years (i.e. Jose Quintana, Ben Zobrist) and thus still have value to a Cubs team looking to contend in 2019.
Some more trade rumblings from around the Winter Meetings…
- The Athletics have some interest in Tigers left-hander Blaine Hardy, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser reports. Hardy started 13 of his 30 appearances in 2018 and posted some generally solid (3.56 ERA, 3.00 K/BB rate) numbers, though he didn’t miss many bats with a 6.9 K/9. Hardy is only projected to earn $1.2MM next season and he is controllable through two more arbitration-eligible seasons beyond 2019, making him a particularly good fit for the budget-conscious A’s. With a rotation still dotted with injury question marks, the A’s could use Hardy as a swingman again, deploying him as a starter on occasion or possibly coming in to pitch after an “opener” starts the game. Despite this need for pitching, Oakland could be playing the waiting game on starting options, as Slusser notes that the club has yet to contact free agent arms like Derek Holland, Gio Gonzalez, or Lance Lynn. Also from Slusser’s piece, he notes that the Athletics will still look to re-sign catcher Jonathan Lucroy even after acquiring Chris Herrmann yesterday.
- There have been a number of names on the Red Sox roster (some surprising) mentioned as trade candidates within the last 24 hours, and the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo mentions that Brock Holt is another name that has received interest. A deal seems unlikely, however, as the super-utilityman is slated to handle second base if Dustin Pedroia isn’t ready for the start of the season. Holt rebounded from a poor 2017 campaign to hit .277/.362/.411 over 367 PA for the World Series champs last season, spending most of his time as a second baseman but also making starts at shortstop, third base, first base, and both corner outfield slots.
- As usual, a ton of trade speculation has swirled around the Yankees, and GM Brian Cashman told reporters (including George A. King III of the New York Post) that he has been asked about virtually every player on his roster. That list even includes James Paxton, as teams checked in to see if New York would consider flipping the star southpaw after acquiring him from the Mariners last month (needless to say, the Yankees declined). Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton were the only two players Cashman said he hadn’t yet been asked about.
FA/Trade Rumors: Kinsler, Jays, Yanks, Indians, Miller, Allen, Miley
The Tigers, Brewers, Athletics and Nationals are among the teams interested in free-agent second baseman Ian Kinsler, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The Brewers have met with Kinsler at the Winter Meetings, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. Detroit’s inclusion on the list is particularly interesting in light of the fact that Kinsler thrived there from 2014-17, before the team traded him to the Angels last offseason. The 36-year-old ended up dividing the season between Anaheim and Boston, where he combined to hit a less-than-stellar .240/.301/.380 (87 wRC+) in 534 plate appearances. But to Kinsler’s credit, he swatted 14 home runs, stole 16 bases and, for the 12th consecutive season, posted at least 2.0 fWAR (2.3).
More chatter from around the game…
- Blue Jays right-handers Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez have been mentioned in trade rumors this offseason, though teams are finding it especially difficult to pry them loose. Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, interested clubs have found the Jays’ asking price for both pitchers to be “uncomfortably high.” Because Stroman and Sanchez each have two years of control left, Nicholson-Smith suggests the Jays are holding out for a return similar to the one the Mariners received from the Yankees for James Paxton. That doesn’t seem realistic on Toronto’s part, however, as both Stroman and Sanchez struggled through injury-limited seasons in 2018.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman met with free-agent reliever Adam Ottavino‘s representative Tuesday, though no real offers have been exchanged to this point, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. Ottavino, 33, remains near the top of the Yankees’ free-agent wish list, Sherman notes. With free agents Zach Britton and David Robertson possibly on their way out of the Bronx, Ottavino – a New York City native – is a logical target for the club.
- There’s “no chance” free-agent reliever Andrew Miller will re-sign with the Indians, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com writes. On the other hand, there’s still a possibility of fellow FA reliever Cody Allen returning to Cleveland, according to Hoynes, though he adds that it would be surprising. Although both Miller and Allen fell off in 2018, it still appears the two highly accomplished late-game arms will rake in sizable paydays on the open market.
- Free-agent lefty Wade Miley‘s camp is “confident” he’ll reel in a multiyear contract, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. The 32-year-old Miley’s clearly in far better position than he was last offseason, when he had to settle for a minor league deal with Milwaukee. Miley went on to hold his own over 80 2/3 innings with the Brew Crew, pitching to a 2.57 ERA/3.59 FIP with a 52.8 percent groundball rate. At the same time, though, he recorded unappealing strikeout and walk numbers (5.58 K/9, 3.01 BB/9) and benefited from an ultra-low, likely unsustainable home run-to-fly ball rate of 5.2 percent.
West News & Rumors: Haniger, Santana, Bumgarner, Rangers, Morton, Rockies, Myers
Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger is not untouchable, but if they’re going to trade him, it’s going to take a substantial offer. General manager Jerry Dipoto is holding out for a three- to four-player package headlined by a pair of “high-level prospects,” including a pitcher, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. While Haniger may continue in Seattle, there’s a growing likelihood they’ll trade first baseman Carlos Santana for prospects, according to Divish. The expensive Santana, who’s only a little over a week into his Mariners career, has drawn interest from several teams since the M’s acquired him from the Phillies.
Here’s more from the game’s West divisions:
- The likelihood of the Giants trading ace Madison Bumgarner this offseasn is dropping, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. It’s more probable the Giants will move Bumgarner at next summer’s trade deadline – if they’re out of contention, that is – Feinsand hears. Bumgarner, 29, is entering his last year of team control (and perhaps the final season of his storied Giants tenure), in which he’ll earn a reasonable $12MM.
- Even though the Rangers are in a rebuild, the club has “strong interest” in 35-year-old right-hander Charlie Morton, Jeff Wilson of the Star Telegram reports. Morton spent the previous two seasons in Texas, where he did brilliant work for the Astros. He’s not the only veteran starter on Texas’ list, as tweets from TR Sullivan of MLB.com and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News indicate the team has at least discussed J.A. Happ, Lance Lynn, Yusei Kikuchi, Shelby Miller, Martin Perez, Derek Holland, Nate Karns and Sam Howard.
- Contrary to a prior report, the Rockies are not interested in Padres slugger Wil Myers, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets. Myers presumably would’ve taken over at first base in Colorado had it acquired him, but that doesn’t appear to be in the cards. The 28-year-old is owed a guaranteed $64MM through 2023, which could make him a tough sell after back-to-back seasons of unspectacular offensive production.
- Even after signing Chris Herrmann on Tuesday, the Athletics will continue to monitor the market for catchers, according to GM David Forst (via Jane Lee of MLB.com). However, Forst noted that “it’s nice to be in a spot right now where we have two Major League catchers who fit well,” referring to Herrmann and Josh Phegley.
- The Rockies have hired Dave Magadan as their hitting coach and moved Ron Gideon to first base coach, GM Jeff Bridich told Nick Groke of The Athletic and other reporters Tuesday. Magadan will take over for Duane Espy, whom the Rockies parted with last month. A major league infielder from 1986-2001, Magadan has garnered significant coaching experience since his playing career ended. The 56-year-old was the Diamondbacks’ hitting coach from 2015-18, but they let him go after the season.
Position Player Rumors: Brantley, Manny, ChiSox, Phils, NY, Ramos, Tulo, DJ
Continuing to cast a wide net in their search for upgrades, the White Sox “have checked in on” outfielder Michael Brantley, Jayson Stark of The Athletic writes. To this point, the 31-year-old Brantley has spent his entire career as a member of the AL Central rival Indians, though he figures to be too pricey for the Tribe this offseason. Based on his career to date, Brantley would be a substantial upgrade for a Chicago team that received horrid production from its cast of outfielders in 2018.
- Speaking of the White Sox, they’re among the teams that will meet with superstar Manny Machado, per Jon Heyman of Fancred. The Yankees and Phillies, two other unsurprising suitors, will also sit down with the 26-year-old infielder, Heyman adds. In total, Machado will visit four clubs in the coming days, Buster Olney of ESPN hears.
- The Brewers met yesterday with free agent backstop Wilson Ramos and his representatives, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports. Positive vibes seem to have emerged from the sit-down on both sides, which could perhaps spur some momentum toward a match. The Mets met with Ramos today, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post was among those to tweet, though the New York club is seemingly pushing on other fronts first.
- Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who surprisingly hit the open market Tuesday when the Blue Jays released him, may be a fit for the Athletics as a second baseman, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle observes. While Tulowitzki would like to remain at short, he “would be willing to change positions,” his agent, Paul Cohen, told Slusser on Tuesday. He’s also a Bay Area native who, according to Cohen, “would have a lot of interest” in returning there.
- Meantime, the shortstop-needy Tigers will consider Tulo, but signing him is “a low probability,” GM Al Avila said (via Jason Beck of MLB.com). Regardless, the Tigers will add a shortstop prior to next season, Avila declared (via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com).
- The Nationals want an everyday second baseman, and free agent DJ LeMahieu tops their list, Bob Nightengale of USA Today relays. General manager Mike Rizzo revealed last week that the Nationals had contacted LeMahieu’s camp.
- Eight teams are interested in infielder Wilmer Flores, Heyman tweets. The 27-year-old Flores was an above-average offensive player with the Mets in each of the past three seasons, though he did most of his damage against lefties and dealt with injury issues. The Mets non-tendered Flores last month.
- Infielder Carlos Asuaje, whom the Rangers claimed off waivers from the Padres on Monday, is drawing interest from Japan, Heyman reports. It’s unclear, however, whether Texas would enable Asuaje to leave. The Rangers would probably need financial compensation for that to happen, Heyman posits.
Athletics Sign Chris Herrmann
5:30pm: Oakland has announced the signing.
3:56pm: The Athletics have agreed to sign catcher Chris Herrmann, according to veteran reporter Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). It’s a one-year pact, per MLB.com’s Jane Lee (via Twitter), and is worth $1MM plus incentives, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets.
Herrmann’s tour of the AL West continues. He played well last year for the Mariners and spent a brief stretch on the Astros’ 40-man roster earlier this winter before being non-tendered. He had projected to earn a $1.5MM salary, which was obviously a bit north of what the Houston organization was ultimately willing to commit after it had a chance to survey the market fully.
The A’s will presumably utilize Herrmann mostly behind the dish, though he has also spent a fair bit of time in the outfield and at first base. That’s handy to have around, at least when he’s hitting enough to warrant time in those positions. At a minimum, it increases a team’s roster flexibility.
Herrmann, who just turned 31, has never been a consistent offensive producer. He has had productive stretches in two of the past three seasons, but scuffled to a .181/.273/.345 slash in 256 plate appearances in 2017 — his most extensive action in the majors. Still, it’s hard not to like some of the tools. Herrmann has some swing and miss to his game, but he knows how to draw a walk and has pop in addition to grading well on the bases.
Catching Notes: Ramos, Lucroy, A’s, Herrmann, Vogt
While rumors about J.T. Realmuto continue to dominate the catching market, we’ve already seen such notable backstops as Yan Gomes, Kurt Suzuki, and Brian McCann switch teams this offseason. Here’s the latest on some other catchers….
- The Athletics have checked in with Wilson Ramos, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, as the club explores its options on the catching front. It would be something of a surprise if the A’s went to the top of the market to find a catcher, as Ramos would require a pretty pricey multi-year commitment (MLBTR projects three years and $36MM) that could stretch Oakland’s traditionally limited payroll. While the A’s could boost payroll in an effort to return to the postseason, their pitching staff has enough holes that it probably deserves the lion’s share of dollars if the team did increase its spending. Committing multiple years to Ramos would also block catching prospect Sean Murphy, one of the Athletics’ better minor leaguers. It could also be that the A’s were simply doing their due diligence in talking to Ramos, just to see if a minor bargain could be found.
- A reunion with Jonathan Lucroy also isn’t out of the question for the Athletics, though Slusser reports that other teams have shown interest and the A’s are only offering Lucroy a one-year deal worth under $5MM. Lucroy is amenable to a one-year pact but wants a larger salary. Lucroy only hit .241/.291/.325 over 454 PA for the A’s last season, though he drew praise for his clubhouse leadership and handling of a pitching staff that was near-decimated by injuries.
- Chris Herrmann is one of several veteran catching options the Tigers are considering for next season, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports (via Twitter). Grayson Greiner, John Hicks, and recently-acquired veteran Bobby Wilson comprise Detroit’s current catching core, with top prospect Jake Rogers waiting in the wings but still in need of more minor league seasoning. Herrmann was recently non-tendered by the Astros after being claimed off waivers from the Mariners after the season. The 31-year-old is perhaps known as much for his ability to play first base and left field than he is for his work specifically as a catcher, and Herrmann has a career .633 OPS over 898 PA with the Twins, D’Backs, and Mariners since 2012.
- Seven teams have been in contact with free agent Stephen Vogt, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter link). The bigger story here is that Vogt plans to play in 2019, which is good news for the veteran catcher in the wake of shoulder surgery that kept him off the field last season and threatened to end his career. Now, however, Vogt is hoping to be ready for Spring Training at the earliest and April or May at the latest, and he is now throwing from 70 feet.
Infield Notes: Machado, Realmuto, LeMahieu, Merrifield, Hernandez, Arenado
Superstar free agent Manny Machado will not meet with teams in Las Vegas, it seems, preferring instead to visit suitors at their home parks, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). That would seem to suggest that his market won’t take off over the week to come, though surely there’ll be relevant developments. If Machado is indeed plotting a course of courtship that will take place over the coming weeks, then perhaps there’s more room for earlier developments in other segments of the infield market …
- Behind the dish, the Marlins‘ asking price on J.T. Realmuto may be creeping back down to more realistic levels, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The organization has long been said to be asking for an enormous return in exchange for two seasons of the game’s best backstop, which truthfully isn’t an unreasonable starting point. Still, as Sherman notes, the club will ultimately likely be forced to take what the offer will give. For the Mets, pursuit of Realmuto is still seen “as a long shot,” Sherman adds on Twitter. And the Phillies are presently focused on other pursuits, per Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter), such that they haven’t engaged with their division rivals in Miami regarding Realmuto in a few weeks’ time.
- The Athletics have reached out to second baseman DJ LeMahieu as they continue to explore the market for second basemen, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. That’s not an indication that the Oakland org is out on Jed Lowrie, so much as the latest sign that a reunion is anything but inevitable with both parties seeing other people. LeMahieu himself likely isn’t the only alternative being considered, Slusser notes; she goes on to explore some of the other opportunities that could be pondered by the A’s brass.
- In a boon to free agents and teams with potential trade chips at second base, Royals GM Dayton Moore tells MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (Twitter link) that he is not getting as many questions of late about Whit Merrifield. That’s not because of a lack of interest, though, so much as the fact that the Royals have “pretty much made it clear” they will hold onto the late-blooming star. Merrifield will not even be eligible for arbitration until 2020, though he’ll turn thirty before the start of the 2019 season. From an outside perspective, this seems an ideal time to market a player who’d draw wide interest given his excellent recent production, defensive flexibility, and cheap price tag. But the Kansas City org seems determined to try to build around some of its preexisting roster assets.
- The Phillies are not finding initial success at generating interest in second baseman Cesar Hernandez, according to Jayson Stark of The Athletic (Twitter link). With a robust slate of free agents at the position and a seemingly increasing list of available trade candidates, there’s some imbalance between the supply and demand. Hernandez, 28, has been a fairly steady performer, but he did fall off a bit with the bat last year and is increasingly expensive at a projected $8.9MM arb salary in his second to last run through the process.
- Rockies GM Jeff Bridich discussed his team’s long-term relationship possibilities with third baseman Nolan Arenado in an inteview on MLB Network (h/t Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, Twitter links). Bridich says the club can afford to carry a $200MM+ promise to Arenado, citing a “responsible growth” plan for payroll. Of course, that number may only be scratching the surface of what Arenado could command in a hypothetical post-2019 free agency, so it’s far from clear just yet whether the club will be both willing and able to line up on a new deal to keep him from the open market. Otherwise, unsurprisingly, Bridich acknowledged that the Rox are interested in improving not only in the outfield but also at first base to boost a sagging offense.
4 To 5 Teams Reportedly Interested In Trevor Cahill
Fresh off one of his most effective seasons as a starter, free-agent right-hander Trevor Cahill has drawn interest from “four to five” clubs this winter, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred. Cahill now has “multiyear opportunities,” Heyman adds on Twitter.
It took Cahill until late March to sign last offseason, when he reunited with his first major league team, the Athletics, for a guaranteed $1.5MM. That proved to be a bargain for Oakland, which saw Cahill serve as an important part of a patchwork rotation and help the club to a wild-card berth. Cahill finished first among A’s starters in fWAR (2.0), second in starts (20) and third in innings (110), and managed a quality 3.76 ERA/3.54 FIP with 8.18 K/9, 3.35 BB/9, a 53.4 percent groundball rate and a personal-best 11.7 percent swinging-strike mark. He also dealt with multiple injuries along the way, though, which has often been the case throughout his career.
Cahill was a prolific innings eater with the A’s and Diamondbacks from 2009-12, a span in which he ranked 29th in the majors in frames (925 2/3) and twice exceeded the 200 barrier. Since then, however, Cahill has only gone beyond the 145-inning plateau once – when he amassed 146 2/3 with Arizona in 2013 – thanks to both injuries and time spent as a reliever. But Cahill, who’s also a former Brave, Cub, Royal and Padre, has functioned primarily as a starter since 2017 and turned in decent results when healthy. With the Padres and Royals two years ago, he combined for 14 starts and recorded a 4.38 ERA/4.30 FIP with 9.75 K/9, 4.13 BB/9, leading Oakland to take a low-cost flier on him an offseason ago.
Now, thanks to his reemergence as a viable starter over the past couple years, it appears Cahill’s poised to reel in a far more lucrative contract than he received nine months ago. MLBTR predicts Cahill will land a two-year, $22MM pact as he gears up for his age-31 season.
AL West Notes: Astros, Athletics, Garcia Trade, Rangers’ Payroll
The addition of Robinson Chirinos on a one-year, $5.75MM contract won’t stop the Astros from pursuing additional help behind the plate, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, but president of baseball ops Jeff Luhnow did suggest that the team is comfortable moving forward with Chirinos and Max Stassi in the event that a further opportunity doesn’t come along at a palatable price. “We certainly feel good about going into the season with Stassi and Chirinos as our catchers,” said Luhnow. “We’ve got [Garrett] Stubbs in the Minor Leagues and other players as well. It doesn’t mean we won’t take advantage of the opportunity if one presents itself as a way to get better, but right now we feel comfortable with the group we have.” Houston stands out as a logical fit for Marlins star J.T. Realmuto or the Pirates’ Francisco Cervelli on the trade market, while the reps for free agents Yasmani Grandal and Wilson Ramos have presumably reached out to the ‘Stros as well. The Astros have often carried three catching options in the past, so it shouldn’t be ruled out that they’d do so in 2019.
Here’s more from the division…
- Athletics general manager David Forst told reporters Friday that the team planned to explore both trades and free agency in its search for rotation upgrades (Twitter links via Jane Lee of MLB.com). There’s no preference between the two, it seems, as Forst indicated that the A’s are “dipping into” both markets “equally.” Regarding the club’s second base situation, while there’s been talk of a new contract for Jed Lowrie since this summer, Forst suggests that there’s no clear direction on how they’ll address the position just yet. Oakland is still having internal discussions about adding a second baseman, giving the job to prospect Franklin Barreto or finding a platoon partner for the 22-year-old Barreto, per Forst. Barreto, who hit .259/.357/.514 with 18 homers in 333 plate appearances with Triple-A Nashville in 2018, is considered to be among Oakland’s best prospects. He’s managed just a .252 OBP in the Majors to this point in his career, but that’s come at a young age and in a tiny sample of 151 PAs.
- Many Angels fans were displeased to see the Angels swap out lefty Jose Alvarez for right-hander Luis Garcia in a one-for-one trade last night, given Garcia’s 6.07 ERA with the Phillies in 2018. As GM Billy Eppler explains to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange Country Register, though, the Angels (obviously) paid little heed to Garcia’s ERA and instead bet on the right-hander’s velocity, ground-ball tendencies and other characteristics they found appealing. “He has the characteristics we gravitate to: strikeouts, ground balls and big stuff,” says Eppler of his new right-hander. “… He provides us another power look out of the bullpen to complement Ty Buttrey, Hansel Robles, Justin Anderson and Keynan Middleton (after he comes back from Tommy John surgery) sometime in the middle of 2019. You have a fairly high-octane bullpen that can miss a bunch of bats.”
- The Rangers‘ payroll will likely wind up in the $120MM range for the coming season, writes Jeff Wilson of the Fort-Worth Star Telegram. Texas currently projects at a payroll of just under $106MM, which should give them a bit of room to spend should they find some deals to their liking. However, Wilson quotes GM Jon Daniels as saying: “This is not the year where we are going to go all out. We are probably a year away from starting to look at some different options for expanding the payroll.” Daniels plainly states that the Rangers weren’t in on either Patrick Corbin or Nathan Eovaldi in free agency. Wilson suggests that Texas will still look at adding some pitchers — but likely more along the contractual lines of Mike Minor‘s three-year, $28MM contract from last offseason than any kind of top-of-the-market addition.
Boras: Kyler Murray “Has Every Intention” Of Playing For A’s
Recent top Athletics draft pick Kyler Murray is most famous for his role as a standout quarterback at the University of Oklahoma, but he already inked a $4.66MM deal to join the Oakland organization over the summer. Some whispers have circulated that Murray could be enticed by the NFL draft, where he might also be a first-round talent, but agent Scott Boras largely shot down that idea in a chat today with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
If Boras was not quite fully committing, he nevertheless did not leave much wiggle room for his client. “Kyler has every intention of fulfilling his agreement with the A’s,” said Boras, who adds that Murray “will be in Spring Training with the A’s” (as Fancred’s Jon Heyman indicated earlier this week, on Twitter).
That’s good news for the Oakland organization, which surprised many by taking Murray ninth overall. There is no questioning his immense athletic ability, of course, but the collegiate star is much more accomplished and polished on the gridiron — if only due to the fact that he has focused his attention to that higher-profile collegiate pursuit.
Notably, as Slusser explains, the A’s have a lot to lose if Murray changes his mind. While the club would get its money back, it wouldn’t receive a compensatory pick as occurs in situations where no agreement is consummated in the first place. As part of the initial deal with Murray, the Athletics organization agreed to allow him to finish out his career at OU.
Murray himself had raised a few eyebrows with recent comments in which he seemingly indicated there was still an opening for a football future. Certainly, his draft stock has risen after an immense season for the Sooners, though it still seems unlikely he’d be considered at the very top of the draft class due to his short stature. Regardless, Boras suggests that Murray’s words shouldn’t be parsed too closely. After all, he is being pressed with attention as he nears a potential Heisman Trophy.