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Quick Hits: Free Agents, Blue Jays, Hendriks

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This year’s offseason has moved much more slowly than last year’s did, possibly suggesting that teams are becoming more cautious in free agency, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman suggests. There are other possible explanations, he notes, including that the strong free agent market has teams concerned about jumping to sign one free agent only to find a similar player willing to sign for less at a later date. Another possibility is that many teams’ new presidents of baseball operations are pulling back on the reins a bit. But there’s also the fact that many deals that were consummated by this point last year — including big contracts for Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval, Victor Martinez, Michael Cuddyer and Adam LaRoche — now look like potential busts. Here are more quick notes from around the game.

  • After their signing of J.A. Happ (as well as their re-signing of Marco Estrada and trade for Jesse Chavez), the Blue Jays will continue pursuing starting pitching, interim GM Tony LaCava says, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (Twitter links). LaCava declined to comment on free agent starter David Price.
  • Former Blue Jay Liam Hendriks, who headed to the Athletics for Chavez, says he anticipates a bigger role in Oakland, Jeff Simmons of Sportsnet notes. “I think it’ll be a good stepping stone to become a set-up, closer type and as a reliever that’s where you want to be,” Hendriks said last week on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “With (Roberto) Osuna, (Aaron) Sanchez and (Brett) Cecil it would’ve been tough to get there with Toronto because they got three guys that can do both of those roles.” Hendriks, incidentally, says better health was one reason he improved in Toronto, blossoming from the struggling starter he was in Minnesota to a top-notch reliever. (He also credits Jays catchers Russell Martin and Dioner Navarro.)  “I was never unhealthy per se. But I ate a bit cleaner and stopped drinking,” he says. “I never drank too much to begin with but I stopped completely… I did a lot my lower-body and shoulders work in the gym. Everything played a part.”

Brett Lawrie, Danny Valencia Drawing Trade Interest

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Athletics infielders Brett Lawrie and Danny Valencia are generating trade interest, and one of the two is likely to be moved in the wake of Oakland’s re-acquisition of Jed Lowrie, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Sources tell Slusser that American League clubs are already showing interest in the duo, and she writes that Lawrie is “considered the better bet to be traded.”

Considering how long he’s been in the league, it’s somewhat surprising that Lawrie is still just 25 years of age (26 in January). One of the main pieces picked up in last winter’s Josh Donaldson blockbuster, Lawrie is controllable for another two seasons via arbitration. While his .299 on-base percentage in 2015 was certainly a disappointment, Lawrie tallied career highs in key arbitration statistics such as plate appearances (602), home runs (16) and RBIs (60), leading to a projected salary of $3.9MM from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz (a raise of nearly $2MM from this past season’s $1.925MM salary).

His sub-par offensive output in 2015 (from a rate standpoint) notwithstanding, there’s plenty to like about Lawrie. To this point in his career, he’s produced a roughly league-average batting line (after adjusting for park factors) and can handle either second base or third base from a defensive standpoint. The former first-round pick/top 100 prospect is also still young enough to be considered somewhat of an upside play. The White Sox, Indians, Astros, Padres, Braves and his original organization, the Brewers, could all use some help at second and/or third.

The 31-year-old Valencia is considerably older than Lawrie but has experience at a wider variety of positions and enjoyed a much stronger offensive campaign in 2015. Valencia, who didn’t even debut as a rookie until he was the same age Lawrie was this past season, had his best season since making his big league debut back in 2010. In 378 plate appearances between Toronto and Oakland, he batted .290/.345/.519 with a career-best 18 home runs.

While most of his damage has typically come against left-handed pitching, Valencia crushed righties this season as well (.285/.325/.556) and did so without the aid of an outlandish BABIP mark as some might have initially assumed. Most of Valencia’s career has been spent at third base, but he has experience at first base and second base as well, and the Blue Jays played him for 220 innings in left field this season, too. He’s projected to earn $3.4MM in 2016.

Per Slusser’s report, whichever player is retained will likely handle third base in 2016, with the newly acquired Lowrie manning second base and Marcus Semien remaining at shortstop. While Semien led the Majors in errors, the team feels he made significant strides, defensively, toward the end of the season. “He’s a shortstop,” GM David Forst told Slusser in regard to Semien.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/26/15

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Here are the latest minor league signings from around baseball, all reported by Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise credited…

  • The Rockies signed right-hander Brian Schlitter, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.  The 6’5″ righty saw significant action out of the Cubs bullpen in 2014 but threw only 7 1/3 innings last season while posting a 7.36 ERA.  Schlitter has posted some strong minor league numbers over his career and (of particular interest to Colorado) he has a 60.7% grounder rate over the last two years in Chicago.
  • The Cubs signed righty Drew Rucinski.  Rucinski has a 6.28 ERA over 14 1/3 career IP with the Angels, and was both designated for assignment and then outrighted by the Halos last September.  He has a career 3.88 ERA, 2.98 K/BB rate and 8.1 K/9 over 326 2/3 career minor league frames.
  • The Indians announced that catcher Adam Moore has been re-signed.  Moore has appeared in each of the last seven Major League seasons, though aside from a 60-game stint with the Mariners in 2010, he’s never appeared in more than nine games in any one campaign.  This included 2015, when he played one game for Cleveland.  The veteran catcher has posted a strong .291/.356/.465 career slash line over 2946 minor league PA.
  • The Athletics re-signed catcher Carson Blair.  Blair made his MLB debut in 2015, receiving 35 PA over 11 games with the A’s.  The catcher posted some solid numbers over eight minor league seasons but struggled in his first taste of Triple-A action this season.  Oakland outrighted Blair off its 40-man roster earlier this month.
  • The Dodgers re-signed right-hander Matt West.  Los Angeles originally purchased West from the Blue Jays in May.  He appeared in two games for the Dodgers and spent most of 2015 in the minors, posting a cumulative 3.54 ERA over 53 1/3 innings but was hit hard in a stint at Triple-A Oklahoma City.  West was a second-round pick for the Rangers in the 2007 draft.
  • The Pirates signed righty reliever Curtis Partch.  The 28-year-old owns a 95mph fastball but that heater has only recently translated to big strikeout totals on the minor league level, and he has a 4.74 ERA over 820 IP in the minors.  Partch posted a 4.75 ERA, 24 walks and 22 strikeouts over 30 1/3 relief innings with the Reds in 2013-14.
  • The Padres signed right-handers Johnny Hellweg and Daniel McCutchen.  Once a notable prospect in Milwaukee’s system, Hellweg underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014 and struggled in 61 minor league innings last year after returning from injury rehab.  McCutchen has appeared in one Major League game since 2012 and bounced around with a few teams before catching on with San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate last year.
  • The Cardinals signed right-hander Deck McGuire, best known for being picked 11th overall by the Blue Jays in the 2010 draft.  McGuire has a 4.57 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 2.26 K/BB over 713 1/3 career minor league IP.
  • The Royals re-signed veteran righty Roman Colon and catcher J.C. Boscan.  Colon recorded 187 1/3 MLB innings from 2004-12 but hasn’t pitched in an affiliated minor league since 2013.  Boscan will be returning for his 20th season of pro ball after spending last season with Triple-A Omaha.  He’s received a few Major League cups of coffee over his long career, appearing in 17 games with the Braves and Cubs from 2010-13.
  • The Braves signed corner infielder Brandon Snyder.  Snyder, picked 13th overall by the Orioles in the 2005 draft, appeared in 83 career MLB games with Baltimore, Texas and Boston from 2010-13.  The 29-year-old spent much of last season at the Orioles’ Double-A affiliate.

AL Notes: Lawrie, Valencia, Rasmus, Soria, Maybin

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The Athletics’ acquisition of Jed Lowrie has set the team up to trade away another infielder, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Lowrie will probably play second base, forming a double-play duo with incumbent shortstop Marcus Semien. There is interest from other American League teams in both Brett Lawrie and Danny Valencia, she reports, with the former seemingly more likely to be dealt. Lawrie, 26, slashed just .260/.299/.407 last year after being acquired as a key piece of the Josh Donaldson trade. He has two years of control remaining, with MLBTR projecting him to earn $3.9MM this year. Valencia, meanwhile, performed both before and after he was claimed by Oakland off waivers from the Blue Jays. He, too, can be controlled for another two years and is projected at $3.4MM.

Here’s more from the A.L.:

  • On the other side of that deal, the Astros were in part compelled to give up Lowrie because outfielder Colby Rasmus accepted a qualifying offer, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle explains. GM Jeff Luhnow said that the club is happy to “pay a little more” given the increased certainty that Rasmus represents in his second year with the club, but that also made it harder for the organization to pay Lowrie $7.5MM to perform what might have been a super-utility role. “Given that we had a lot of options at third and first, we (thought we) could take those resources and apply them to an area of our club we didn’t have as much depth (or where we) don’t have anybody penciled into that spot right now,” Luhnow said. “Whether it’s lefthanded relief, righthanded relief or even a starter, those resources will be reallocated to something we believe will help.”
  • Rasmus and the Astros have yet to explore a multi-year arrangement and are unlikely to do so before he hits the open market next fall, Drellich adds.
  • The Twins are interested in Joakim Soria but haven’t made him an offer at this point, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Soria, though, does have offers in hand from other clubs, he hears. Presumably, none of those offers have approached his previously reported three-year, $27MM asking price.
  • Last week’s acquisition of Cameron Maybin from the Braves likely ends the Tigers’ pursuit of outfield help, reports James Schmehl of MLive.com. General manager Al Avila told Schmehl that a further acquisition is “doubtful,” adding that it’s not entirely clear what Maybin’s role in 2016 will be. “Some people feel he should be playing center and Anthony Gose in left,” said Avila. “Some people feel he should be playing left and Gose in center. And we still have Tyler Collins, obviously. That’s the beauty of (Maybin) — we feel good about him either way.” Schmehl reports that in addition to making an offer to re-sign Rajai Davis prior to acquiring Maybin, the Tigers also made an offer to an unnamed outfielder. While he doesn’t offer further details, I’d imagine that Ryan Raburn, Chris Denorfia and Chris Young could’ve filled similar roles in Detroit, though Raburn doesn’t really profile as a possible center field option. Franklin Gutierrez, too, could’ve been a right-handed target for the Tigers prior to his new contract with the Mariners.

Heyman’s Latest: Madson, Iwakuma, Alvarez, Zobrist, O’s, Perez, Freese

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Let’s take a look in at the latest reporting from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, who touched upon several notable stories today (all via his Inside Baseball column, except as otherwise noted):

  • The Dodgers have had contact with free agent righty Ryan Madson, Heyman says. The veteran, who enjoyed a remarkable turnaround last year, could be one of several options as Los Angeles looks to beef up its pen.
  • The Mariners have long said that re-signing Hisashi Iwakuma is a priority, and GM Jerry Dipoto reaffirmed that stance only days ago. Heyman writes that the club is “willing to go to around $24 million or so over two years” for the accomplished veteran. It’s not entirely clear whether there’s any willingness to go beyond that amount, but it seems a bit light for a pitcher of Iwakuma’s ability. (MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicts a three-year, $45MM deal for the righty.)
  • Pirates first baseman Pedro Alvarez would welcome a trade, writes Heyman. It’s been known for awhile that Alvarez is on the block due to his rising arbitration salary, poor glove and struggles with left-handed pitching. The Pirates almost certainly don’t want to pay Alvarez his projected $8.1MM salary next season and could very well non-tender him next week if they can’t find a taker. Heyman notes that the Orioles make some sense, and I’d add the Athletics as a speculative fit also. He’s probably best off with an AL club where he can DH, but it’s also fun to think of the power numbers Alvarez could log at Coors Field.
  • The Cardinals are among the most interested teams in Ben Zobrist and have reached out to his representatives at Octagon, reports Heyman. Zobrist was linked to the Cardinals last week, and Heyman notes that there are as many as 20 teams believed to have interest in the versatile switch-hitter. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that the Cardinals are indeed in the mix, but it remains to be seen whether they can sell Zobrist on a super-utility role (an “uber-role,” as Goold terms it). Zobrist’s preference is reportedly to play second base.
  • While the Orioles are prioritizing an effort to bring back Chris Davis, the club has legitimate interest in outfielder Alex Gordon. Meanwhile, Heyman says that he’d be surprised if the club pursues Gerardo Parra as a corner outfield option, since “they weren’t all that impressed by him” over the last several months.
  • The Royals may be “willing to at least talk” with the reps of backstop Salvador Perez about “reworking” his early-career extension. That contract has become almost comically team-friendly since it was signed — a reflection of both the significant risk taken on by the team at the time and the extent to which Perez has rewarded that trust. It’s not entirely clear what kind of scenario could be pursued, but all indications are that Kansas City would be bargaining from a position of strength.
  • There’s at least “a bit” of contact between the Angels and free agent third baseman David Freese, says Heyman. A reunion continues to appear possible, though the club will likely look to see how some other market possibilities play out before committing to the veteran.

A’s Designate Daniel Coulombe, Release A.J. Griffin

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The Athletics have designated left-hander Daniel Coulombe for assignment and released right-hander A.J. Griffin, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Coulombe’s DFA clears space on the 40-man roster for today’s acquisition of Jed Lowrie, whereas Griffin’s release serves as resolution to his own DFA from last week.

Coulombe, 26, split the 2015 campaign between the Dodgers and A’s, logging 16 total innings with a 5.63 ERA and an 11-to-9 K/BB ratio. He showed a greater penchant for strikeouts at the Triple-A level, whiffing 41 hitters in 41 1/3 innings, but his control problems existed in Triple-A as well, as evidenced by his average of 5.2 walks per nine innings there in 2015.

Griffin’s name is a more familiar one for fans from Oakland and around the league in general. The now 28-year-old spent a season and a half in the Athletics’ rotation from 2012-13, recording a 3.60 ERA with 7.5 K.9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 282 1/3 innings. Though Griffin surrendered an alarming 36 homers in 2013, he threw exactly 200 innings of 3.83 ERA ball and looked to be settling into Oakland’s future as a back-of-the-rotation starter. However, Griffin underwent Tommy John surgery in Spring Training 2014 and returned for just 14 1/3 minor league innings this season before going down to a shoulder injury.

If he can demonstrate his health, Griffin represents a somewhat intriguing buy-low candidate — particularly for a team with a large home park, which would help to offset some of the right-hander’s extreme fly-ball tendencies.

Athletics Acquire Jed Lowrie

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The Athletics announced on Wednesday that they have re-acquired infielder Jed Lowrie from the division-rival Astros in exchange for minor league right-hander Brendan McCurry.

Jed Lowrie

Lowrie, 32 in April, signed a three-year, $23MM contract with the Astros last offseason. He’s been with Oakland or Houston each season dating back to 2012, although the circumstances are certainly unique. The Astros acquired Lowrie in a trade with the Red Sox prior to the 2012 season, and Houston sent him to Oakland that winter in exchange for Chris Carter, Brad Peacock and Max Stassi. After a nice two years in Oakland, Lowrie signed the three-year deal with Houston last winter, but the emergence of Carlos Correa made him a bit superfluous for the Astros, thus leading to today’s trade.

Lowrie is owed $15MM over the next two seasons, including a $7.5MM salary in 2016 and a $6.5MM salary in 2017. His contract comes with a $6MM team option for the 2018 season that includes a $1MM buyout.

In 2015, Lowrie batted .222/.312/.400 with nine home runs, playing mostly third base but also logging some time at shortstop as well. Lowrie got off to a blistering start in 2015, hitting .300/.432/.567 through April 27 before suffering a torn ligament in his right thumb that required surgery. That injury kept Lowrie out of action through July 30, and while it wasn’t reasonable to expect him to maintain his April production, the injury likely sapped his production over the final two months. Lowrie hit just .194/.265/.341 after being activated, and the immediate impact made by Correa cost him his role as the team’s everyday shortstop, hence the shift to third base. With an offseason of rest under his belt, better 2016 production could be expected from Lowrie, who can help the A’s at any of the four infield positions.

The capacity in which Lowrie will be deployed by the A’s is unclear. Marcus Semien was the team’s primary shortstop in 2015, but his 35 errors were the most in the Major Leagues by a player at any position. Danny Valencia hit well enough in 2015 (.284/.356/.530) that Oakland seems likely to want to get him regular at-bats. Third base is probably the best spot for Valencia, but the A’s also have Brett Lawrie as an option at the hot corner. Lawrie, of course, has plenty of experience at second base (thus raising the possibility of a Lawrie/Lowrie double-play tandem), but some feel that Semien may ultimately end up playing second base. Lowrie could serve as a left-handed complement to Mark Canha at first base as well, considering that Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle recently tweeted that Ike Davis is likely to be non-tendered by Oakland.

McCurry, 23, was Oakland’s 22nd-round pick in the 2014 draft and rode a strong showing in 2015 to the No. 30 rank on MLB.com’s list of top Athletics prospects. The Oklahoma State product split the year between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, compiling a 1.86 ERA with 11.7 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. In total, McCurry has a 1.37 ERA in 91 2/3 innings as a pro (all coming out of the bullpen), although it should be noted that he hasn’t been moved through the system all that aggressively and has been more experienced than much of the competition that he’s faced. MLB.com notes that McCurry can spot a fastball that tops out at 93 mph on either side of the plate. His best pitch is a curveball, and while his upside is probably only that of a middle reliever, he has a high probability of realizing that potential due to his control and ability to succeed regardless of opponent handedness.

MLB.com’s Jane Lee was the first to report that Lowrie was headed back to the A’s (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/21/15

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the league…

  • The Orioles have signed first baseman Ji-Man Choi to a minor league deal, according to South Korean media outlet Ilgan Sports (hat tip to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun).  Choi will be invited to the Orioles’ Major League spring camp and he’ll earn a $650K base salary if he makes the club, plus at least another $350K available in incentives.  Still just 24 years old, Choi has five years of minor league experience in the Mariners’ system, hitting .302/.404/.481 with 35 homers over 1378 PA.  His bat has fallen off over the last two seasons, however, thanks to injuries and a 50-game PED suspension in 2014.
  • The Indians announced that Taiwanese righty C.C. Lee was sold to the Saitama Seibu Lions, with Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reporting that the Tribe received between $350K-$500K from the NPB club.  Lee has been in the Indians organization since 2008 and he posted a 4.50 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.06 K/BB rate over 34 relief innings for the Tribe from 2013-15.
  • The Athletics have signed left-hander Patrick Schuster to a minor league contract, MLBTR has learned.  Schuster has a 3.46 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 1.92 K/BB rate over 408 career minor league innings, most of which came in the Diamondbacks’ farm system before he was dealt to the Reds last June.  The 25-year-old was also briefly property of the Astros, Padres and Royals during the 2013-14 offseason, in a flurry of transactions in the wake of Houston taking Schuster first overall in the 2013 Rule 5 draft.
  • The Braves have signed reliever David Carpenter to a minor league deal, Scout.com’s Bill Shanks writes. Carpenter elected free agency this week after being outrighted by the Nationals. He had two of the best seasons of his career with the Braves in 2013 and 2014 before being traded to the Yankees, so his signing with Atlanta represents a bit of a homecoming. Carpenter will now get a shot to re-join a Braves bullpen that struggled in 2015. Carpenter posted a 4.01 ERA, 5.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 24 2/3 big-league innings last season.
  • The Nationals have agreed to terms outfielder Chris Heisey on a minor league deal, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Crasnick notes that Heisey will be reunited with Dusty Baker, who managed him with the Reds. After spending most of the previous several seasons in the big leagues, Heisey collected only 72 plate appearances with the Dodgers in 2015, instead spending most of the season at the Triple-A level (where he hit .223/.350/.445 in 302 plate appearances). Heisey’s batting average in the big leagues has decreased in each of the last three seasons, suggesting he’s lost a step offensively. He remains, however, a solid defender at any of the three outfield positions.
  • The Nationals have also signed infielder Scott Sizemore to a minor league deal, writes MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. Sizemore, a veteran of parts of four seasons with the Tigers, Athletics and Yankees, spent 2015 with the Triple-A affiliates of the Marlins and Nationals, batting .263/.369/.354 in 289 plate appearances while playing second base and third base.
  • The Blue Jays have signed Humberto Quintero to a minor league deal, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca writes. The 36-year-old, a veteran of 12 MLB seasons, will likely provide the Jays with catching depth at the Triple-A level. He spent the 2015 season with the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket, batting .254/.287/.354 in 305 plate appearances.
  • The Brewers have announced a variety of minor league signings and re-signings, including righties Hiram Burgos and Jaye Chapman, outfielder Ben Guez, and catcher Rene Garcia. The 28-year-old Burgos, a longtime Brewers minor leaguer, had a solid year in the minors in 2015, pitching 149 1/3 innings with a 3.62 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. Chapman, also 28, pitched in the bullpens at Double-A Biloxi and Triple-A Colorado Springs for the Brewers in 2015, posting a 2.37 ERA, 9.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 64 2/3 innings. Guez established himself as a good minor league hitter in the Tigers system before heading to Colorado Springs in 2015. There, he hit a strong .287/.410/.504, although he missed three months in the middle of the season, apparently due to injury. Garcia, 25, spent 2015 in the Phillies system, batting .318/.332/.359 in 200 plate appearances in the high minors. His previous performances in the Astros system, however, suggest that he’s more of an organizational catcher type than that high 2015 batting average suggests.

Relief Notes: O’Day, A’s, Chapman, D’Backs, Brothers

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In such a crowded market for Darren O’Day’s services, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman observes that the Dodgers, Braves and Nationals could each have an edge.  The Dodgers, of course, can offer the most money and have “big time” interest in the right-hander.  O’Day’s family lives near Atlanta, so the Braves could have something of a hometown advantage.  Then again, O’Day’s wife is a TV reporter working for a station in Washington D.C., which could help the Nats.  Here’s more about O’Day and others on the ever-churning bullpen rumor mill…

  • You can add the Athletics to the long list of teams with interest in O’Day, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  While Oakland has a clear need for bullpen help, it would be a big surprise to see a small-payroll team like the A’s win the bidding for O’Day.  The right-hander has already received multiple offers and is looking for a four-year deal in the $28MM-$36MM range.
  • Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that Brad Ziegler may remain as the team’s closer.  “With Ziegler doing the job that he has, I am looking to better ourselves more than likely in the front end versus the back end (of the bullpen),” Stewart said.  The Snakes have been linked to several big-name relievers in offseason buzz, and their particular interest in Reds closer Aroldis Chapman goes back several months, though the Reds’ demand for two pre-arbitration Major Leaguers was too high for Arizona’s liking.  “I’ve made it pretty clear that I’m just not in the mood to give up three or four players for one guy at the back end of my bullpen,” Stewart said, speaking not specifically of Chapman but of ace relievers in general.
  • “Surprised would be an understatement” to describe how Rex Brothers felt when the Rockies designated him for assignment, the southpaw tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.  Brothers has come to terms with the move, however, and is looking forward to a fresh start in the bigs.  It should be noted that Brothers has the choice of electing free agency since he has more than three years of service time, and while he doesn’t directly say so, it certainly sounds as if the lefty will indeed be hitting the open market.  Brothers posted very solid numbers out of Colorado’s bullpen from 2011-13 before struggling in 2014 and spending most of 2015 in the minors.

AL Notes: Yankees, K-Rod, Athletics

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The dwindling relief market could work in the Yankees’ favor, George A. King III of the New York Post writes. The Braves and Dodgers have recently been linked to Darren O’Day, and if O’Day signs with one of those teams, the best late-inning option available on the free agent market will be Joakim Soria, who doesn’t appear likely to be cheap. The lack of capable and reasonably priced late-inning relievers could increase the trade value of Andrew Miller, who the Yankees could potentially use as a trade chip to bolster their rotation. Here are more quick notes from the American League.

  • The Tigers pursued a number of potential upgrades for their bullpen before completing their deal for Francisco Rodriguez, MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes. They asked about Aroldis Chapman, Miller and Brad Boxberger, but any of those three relievers would have cost too much in prospects. They also had discussions with free agent Joakim Soria, but it appears he’ll get a three-year deal. Darren O’Day, meanwhile, seems likely to get four. So the Tigers approached the Brewers. Rodriguez was a good fit for them in that what’s left of his contract amounts to one year plus an option ($7.5MM for 2016, some of it deferred, and $6MM or a $2MM buyout for 2017), and the prospect cost (infielder Javier Betancourt plus a player to be named) wasn’t prohibitive.
  • The Athletics also had interest in K-Rod, as FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes. They balked, however, at the $9.5MM financial commitment. They have, of course, addressed their bullpen to some degree (while also shedding salary) with their trade of Jesse Chavez to the Blue Jays for Liam Hendriks.
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