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Mets Rumors: Sanchez, Jones, McCutchen, Lagares

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Rumors about a discussed three-team trade between the Mets, Marlins, and Yankees set the baseball world abuzz on Monday, though most recent reports have cast those talks are much more speculative in nature.  If Mets fans were stunned at the idea of Noah Syndergaard potentially going to the Yankees as part of those three-team rumors, how would Yankees fans feel about Gary Sanchez going to Citi Field?  The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Twitter link) reports that one of the many permutations of the Mets/Yankees talks saw Sanchez becoming the Mets’ new catcher.  It isn’t known if the Marlins were involved in this scenario, or if it would’ve resulted in J.T. Realmuto or Syndergaard going to the Yankees, but whispers continue to swirl that the Yankees could be looking for a change at catcher, no matter how firmly GM Brian Cashman has continued to stand by Sanchez.

Even if it involves a rare trade with a crosstown rival, it seems clear that new Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen is certainly looking at every possibility to upgrade his roster.  Some more Mets-related rumblings…

  • Adam Jones and his representatives have opened a line of communication with the Mets, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports (Twitter links). (Puma initially reported the sides had met face to face, but later retracted that aspect of the discussions.) With Yoenis Cespedes a health-related question mark for 2019, the Mets are looking at Jones and other right-handed hitting outfielders.  Jones is hitting the open market for the first time in his career after spending the last 11 seasons with the Orioles.
  • Andrew McCutchen was another name on the Mets’ list, according to Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman (Twitter link), though at a much lower price tag than the $50MM deal McCutchen received from the Phillies.
  • The Mets already have a right-handed hitting outfield option in the form of Juan Lagares, though MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter) hears that the Mets have been trying to find a trade partner for Lagares.  2018 was a lost year for the defensive specialist, as a torn plantar plate in his left big toe resulted in season-ending surgery after just 30 games.  Given the injury and the $9.5MM owed to Lagares in salary next season, the outfielder will be a tough sell in trade talks, unless New York eats some money or deals him for another bad-fit type of contract.

Reds Interested In J.T. Realmuto

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3:38pm: The Reds are still talking to the Marlins about Realmuto but aren’t including Senzel in the trade negotiations, Jon Heyman tweets.

1:34pm: Yet another suitor has emerged for J.T. Realmuto, as SiriusXM’s Craig Mish (Twitter link) reports that the Reds “have jumped into” talks for the Marlins catcher.  It isn’t a new interest, however, as the Miami Herald’s Clark Spencer hears that Cincinnati has been interested in Realmuto “for a while.”  Current Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart and outfield prospect Taylor Trammell have been mentioned as possible candidates to go back to Miami in the deal, according to Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman (via Twitter).

Cincinnati has been linked to a number of big names in trade and free agent speculation this winter, with their focus largely aimed at pitching but also such notable position players as A.J. Pollock, Yasiel Puig, and Ender Inciarte.  Acquiring a catcher, however, would count as something of an unexpected move on the Reds’ part, since Barnhart was signed to a four-year extension just in September 2017.  As Realmuto is arguably the best catcher in baseball, there’s obvious upgrade potential for Cincinnati, and adding such a star player with just two years of remaining control further indicates the Reds’ willingness to make a quick return to contention.

Never an above-average hitter, Barnhart slashed .248/.328/.372 last season, which represented a dip from his 2017 production.  Defensively, Barnhart continued to have some of the lowest framing rankings of any catcher in baseball (as per StatCorner and Baseball Prospectus), and his once-elite throwing arm also took a hit, as Barnhart threw out just under 24% of all baserunners trying to steal on him last season.  On the plus side, Barnhart continued to draw high marks for his pitch-blocking abilities.

Barnhart is owed $10.25MM in guaranteed money over the next three seasons (including a $500K buyout of a $7.5MM option for 2022), so he’s still be a very affordable piece to solidify Miami’s catching situation if he was part of the Realmuto trade package.  Trammell is a longer-term piece, and the type of blue chip prospect the Marlins have been seeking in exchange for their All-Star catcher.

Trammell is a consensus top-50 prospect in all of baseball, ranked as the second-best prospect (behind Nick Senzel) in the Reds’ system.  MLB.com is most bullish on Trammell, ranking him 17th on its top 100 list.  Drafted 35th overall in 2016, Trammell is regarded as an excellent athlete with outstanding speed, and a developing approach at the plate.  The 21-year-old showed improved contact skills and plate discipline in his third pro season, and MLB.com’s scouting report believes Trammell will develop more power as he ages.

Dodgers “Actively” Attempting To Trade Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp

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TODAY: Aside from Puig, the Dodgers and Reds have also discussed Alex Wood in trade talks, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets, though Feinsand’s source says “nothing serious at this point” has developed.

TUESDAY, 10:53pm: The Mets aren’t in on Puig, Andy Martino of SNY tweets.

10:27pm: The Dodgers are “actively” attempting to trade either or both of Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Los Angeles would presumably have a much easier time moving the mercurial Puig, who’s the younger, less expensive and better of the two outfielders.

The 28-year-old Puig is projected to make an affordable $11.3MM in 2019, his last season of team control, and is reportedly “open” to playing for another club after developing a distrust of Dodgers management in 2018. The right-handed Puig has fallen flat against left-handed pitchers in back-to-back years, but nevertheless, he didn’t like that the Dodgers limited his playing time versus southpaws in 2018. Despite that, Puig still turned in another quality offensive season, hitting .267/.327/.494 (123 wRC+) with 23 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 444 plate appearances. Since then, the Indians, Mets and Reds have been connected to Puig.

Kemp, 34, was similarly effective at the plate in 2018, as he bounced back from a rough 2017 in Atlanta to bat .290/.338/.481 (122 wRC+) with 21 long balls in 506 PAs. However, Kemp tailed off in the second half of the season, continued to struggle in the outfield and is due an unreasonable $21.5MM next year. The Dodgers figure to have trouble dealing Kemp, then, unless they eat a large portion of his salary or swap him for another team’s undesirable contract.

Jettisoning one or both of the Puig-Kemp duo would still leave the Dodgers with other outfield-capable players in Joc Pederson, Cody Bellinger, Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernandez, Andrew Toles and high-end prospect Alex Verdugo. Plus, given the Dodgers’ ability to spend, they may add to the group by signing Bryce Harper, the best, most expensive outfielder available in free agency. Incidentally, the Dodgers reportedly offered Puig to the Nationals for Harper at last summer’s trade deadline.

Pitching Notes: Cueto, Kikuchi, Holland, Happ, Howard

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MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes spoke with agent Bryce Dixon about Nelson Cruz’s market yesterday at the Winter Meetings, and Tim also got an update on another Dixon client, Johnny Cueto.  It isn’t yet clear when the Giants right-hander will be back on the mound in the wake of Tommy John surgery last August, though Dixon is optimistic about both a full recovery for Cueto and potentially a return late this season.  Dixon’s full comments:

“The rehab is progressing on schedule. He says his arm feels great, he’s working out a ton. At the earliest, he could throw in the minors like middle/end of August, maybe see some Major League action in September. But it’s a wait-and-see, once he starts throwing, how it reacts. But the good news is he’s told me that his arm feels great. He doesn’t have any pain. The pain that he felt is all gone. The way he’s working out right now, I believe that when he comes back and he’s back in top form – obviously it’s going to take him a little bit of time to get back to that form – I think he’ll be as good if not better. If he can get back to how his arm felt prior, he’s such a different guy mentally than he was when he first came up when he was throwing so hard, that he’s got so many more tricks in the bag than he had back then, that I think about it, I’m like man, if he comes back 100% and is throwing like he did earlier in his career, wow, he could come back and be really, really special. Even more special than he had been before the surgery.”

Here’s more on some notable hurlers….

  • Yusei Kikuchi will meet with interested teams later this month in Los Angeles, Kikuchi’s agent Scott Boras told reporters (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) today.  The Japanese left-hander has received interest from several teams but it will still be a matter of weeks before he signs with a Major League team.  Kikuchi’s 30-day posting window opened on December 4, so there isn’t any rush towards a deal.
  • The Rangers have yet to check in on Derek Holland, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan (via Twitter).  The club is known to be on the hunt for relatively inexpensive pitching, and the Rangers have at least internally discussed the possibility of trying to lure Holland for another stint in Texas.  Sullivan notes, however, that Holland’s preference would be to remain with the Giants or stay in the National League.
  • The Phillies aren’t willing to go beyond a two-year deal for J.A. Happ and expect the left-hander to sign with another team, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb tweets.  Several teams have offered Happ two-year contracts, though the latest reports have the veteran southpaw closing in on a three-year agreement to remain with the Yankees.
  • Before the Mariners dealt Jean Segura to the Phillies for Carlos Santana and J.P. Crawford, Seattle also tried to obtain pitching prospect Spencer Howard in the trade, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.  The 22-year-old Howard was a second-round pick for the Phillies in the 2017 draft, and he has posted big strikeout numbers over his first two professional seasons.  Salibury figures other teams will also ask, or have already asked, about Howard’s availability, though the Phils surely aren’t too eager to part with such an intriguing young arm.  There is a fair amount of other pitching depth in Philadelphia’s system, however, to potentially make Howard somewhat expendable at the right price.  MLB.com ranks Howard a fairly modest 18th in their ranking of the top 30 Phillies prospects, with seven other pitchers ahead of Howard on the list.

Trade Rumors: Cubs, Hardy, A’s, Tigers, Holt, Yankees

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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.

Agent Bryce Dixon Talks Nelson Cruz

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Yesterday at the Winter Meetings here in Las Vegas, I sat down with Nelson Cruz’s agent Bryce Dixon for an interview.

How are you positioning Nelson Cruz in this market when you talk to GMs?

He’ll be the straw that stirs in the drink in the middle of the lineup for you. He changes the entire lineup. When he’s in the middle there, the pitcher has to pitch completely differently and he’s the finishing piece that you know is going to go out there and give you exactly the production that you see on the back of the baseball card that you see every single year.

And when he gets into the playoffs, he’s already proven that the bigger the moment, the bigger he shines. You start to look back to some of the bombs he hit in the playoffs for Texas and you know he is a big-time player and he is burning to get back into the playoffs. He thought that the Mariners were going to do it this year. Obviously they fell short, and he was disappointed at that. Clearly he thought they had unfinished business, but the Mariners are going in a different direction so he’ll have to do it with another team.

He’s the guy that you plug in every single day in the middle of the lineup and rakes. Apart from that, he’s also a very good influence on the younger players, teaching them not only secrets of hitting, but how to conduct themselves on and off the field. He’s not a guy who is very vocal in the clubhouse. He’s not going to get up and start yelling at guys, but he’s definitely a one-on-one, lead-by-example guy, who’s going to take the younger guys and say, “If you want to be successful for as long as I’ve been successful, here’s how you do it.” That’s kind of how he leads because he’s definitely not a “ra ra” guy, but he’s always working hard, always having fun, and that rubs off on the younger guys for sure.

You mentioned a finishing piece. How important is it for Cruz to play for a contending team in 2019?

It’s important and I think where he’s at in his career, if you’re not a contender, you don’t really have a need for a Nelson Cruz. So the teams that are in on him want to win. He clearly wants to win and would love to get back to the playoffs and the World Series. He’s got unfinished business as far as that’s concerned. So yes, it’s of utmost importance, he wants to go back to the playoffs. Wherever he signs will be a team that has got designs on making the playoffs.

The general assumption is that National League teams can’t be in the mix for Cruz. Would you agree with that?

National League teams could be in the mix. He would love to play the field, but the last few years the Mariners have wanted him to exclusively DH. They had a ton of quality, quality outfielders so he didn’t play the field unless it was an NL park. Down the stretch he told the Mariners, end of August, September, “Start playing me more when we play the NL teams because we need to win these games and I know I can help out.” He did well there. He’ll do whatever the team wants, so if an NL team wants to put him in the field, he has no problem with that. Obviously he’s been DH, so the majority of the teams that are after him are American League teams.

If you’re looking at AL contenders with DH openings it looks like there are 4-5 suitors, and that feels a lot different than shopping around a reliever who might make sense for 20 teams. Have GMs been trying to leverage that against you?

Even though you’re clearly in a smaller universe because of who he is and which teams would have that need, they haven’t because there are enough teams that they don’t want to come in and lowball and try to act like there’s nowhere else for him to go. All 30 teams aren’t in like they would be on a middle reliever type, maybe, but there are numerous teams in so there’s enough to push his market where it needs to go. If there was only one or two, then maybe it would be a different answer. But there’s numerous, so he’s fine where he’s at.

In general when you have a free agent, how is it that you decide that you’ve got that last dollar or that the bidding has stopped?

There’s no perfect answer but you can sense from the team’s side, the tonal change, and it’s a feeling that you get. “OK, we’re at a point that we need to make a decision.” You have to try to read the future as much as possible. And think, if we don’t pull the trigger now, can this market collapse, or are we going to be fine waiting longer? It’s the totality of the circumstances. You’re looking at what happens with other players with other teams. Teams nowadays especially with trades, you’re kind of mixing them all together and coming up with the feeling, “OK, now is go time.”

Indians Rumors: Encarnacion, Diaz, Alonso, Santana, Myers, Kluber, Bauer, Kipnis

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The Indians continue to explore trade scenarios involving their veteran players, including some three-team proposals involving Edwin Encarnacion, Yonder Alonso, and Yandy Diaz, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.  The three-team discussions are mostly about unloading salaries, which is why Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer have “for the most part” not been involved in the multi-team talks, Hoynes notes.  In general, Cleveland is exploring any and all possible options with their veteran players as the team looks to thread the needle between staying competitive in 2019 while still freeing up payroll space both for next season and in the future.

The Tribe was linked to Carlos Santana in trade rumors yesterday, and a reunion with their former first baseman would be possible if Cleveland was able to offload Encarnacion or Alonso in another trade (or potentially maybe even the same trade, if the Mariners were also involved in a three-team swap).  Santana has already changed teams once this winter and continues to be a popular trade target given that the Mariners are another team looking to cut payroll.  In the latest update, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that Santana could possibly be traded over the next few days.

If Santana did return to Cleveland, some financial juggling would likely have to take place due to the money involved with all of the first basemen.  Santana is owed $40MM over the next two seasons, while Encarnacion is owed $25MM through 2019 (a $20MM salary in 2019 and a $5MM buyout of a $20MM club option for 2020) and Alonso $8MM in 2019, plus a $9MM vesting option for 2020 based on plate appearances and a clean physical.  In reports from earlier this week, Hoynes suggested that the controllable Diaz could be added to a deal involving one of these larger salaries in order to make the salary hit more palatable for another team.

Speaking of big contracts, Hoynes also notes that Cleveland has been “linked” to Padres first baseman/outfielder Wil Myers in trade rumors.  That would be an even more surprising addition for the cost-conscious Tribe to make, and it would require even more salary-shifting given that Myers is owed $64MM through the 2022 season.  It isn’t clear if the Indians were strongly pursuing Myers or just doing their due diligence in overall talks with the Padres.  Hoynes mentions that the Tribe has interest in some of the MLB-ready young players in San Diego’s organization, though there has been “little headway” in those discussions.

There has also been “little interest” in Jason Kipnis as the Tribe tries to market the veteran second baseman/outfielder.  Given that Kipnis has posted below-average hitting numbers in each of the last two seasons, it isn’t surprising that the Indians are struggling to find a trade partner, especially given the $17MM remaining on Kipnis’ contract.

Brewers Avoid Arbitration With Jimmy Nelson

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The Brewers have avoided arbitration with right-hander Jimmy Nelson by agreeing to a one-year contract for 2019, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link).  Nelson will earn $3.7MM in the deal, The Athletic’s Robert Murray tweets, which was Nelson’s salary from 2018 and the number that Haudricourt figured the righty would receive, given that Nelson missed all of last season recovering from shoulder surgery.  MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected the same $3.7MM figure for Nelson.

Before going under the knife in September 2017, Nelson was enjoying a breakout season, posting a 3.49 ERA, 10.2 K/9, and 4.15 K/BB rate over 175 1/3 innings for the Brew Crew.  It was originally believed that Nelson would return at some point in 2018, though delays in his rehab kept him off the mound and he missed out on contributing to Milwaukee’s run to the NLCS.

Nelson’s expected return in 2019 is a “true wild card” for the Brewers and their rotation, as Haudricourt notes.  The club has been checking in on available pitchers in free agency and trade talks, though a healthy and in-form Nelson would certainly be a major internal boost.

The Brewers now reached deals with four of their 10 arbitration-eligible players.  The club has now avoided hearings with Nelson, Hernan Perez, Tyler Saladino, and Erik Kratz.

NL East Notes: Pollock, Camargo, Swanson, Maldonado, Realmuto, deGrom

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The Braves have discussed offering a contract to free agent A.J. Pollock, The Athletic’s David O’Brien writes (subscription required).  Atlanta is known to be casting a wide net for outfield help so it isn’t any surprise that Pollock is one of the team’s many options under consideration.  The 31-year-old would, however, be one of the costlier names available, both in terms of money — Pollock is reportedly looking for an $80MM deal — and in draft compensation, as Pollock rejected a qualifying offer from the Diamondbacks.  The Braves would have to give up their third-highest selection in the 2019 draft for signing Pollock, though GM Alex Anthopoulos indicated that wouldn’t be an obstacle.  Pollock has spent the vast majority of his career as a center fielder but would likely shift to a corner position in Atlanta given Ender Inciarte’s outstanding glovework, though Inciarte has himself been the subject of some trade speculation.

More from Atlanta and other teams in the NL East…

  • The Braves have one of the game’s deeper farm system, though they have also received interest in several players on their Major League roster.  Johan Camargo and Dansby Swanson are two players other teams have called about, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes, and a follow-up tweet from Bowman includes the detail that teams asking about Ozzie Albies “have found the discussion has shifted toward Swanson.”  Since breaking in with an impressive rookie season in 2016, Swanson has posted below-average numbers at the plate, hitting just .235/.308/.359 over 1084 PA.  It seems logical that Albies has more value than Swanson at this point, though it’s worth noting that Swanson is still just 24 and has only four pro seasons under his belt. To that end, Bowman writes that “some within the Braves organization remain hesitant to move Swanson.”  As for Camargo, he seems like another player unlikely to be pried away from the Braves without a hefty return, as Camargo offers five seasons of team control and a lot of multi-positional versatility.
  • The Mets had a meeting with Martin Maldonado and his camp yesterday, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets.  Maldonado was originally mentioned as a Mets target earlier this winter, and the club could now be circling back towards a more defensive-oriented answer at catcher rather than continue making a big push for J.T. Realmuto.  As per Heyman, the Mets “are [starting] to lose a bit of confidence in Realmuto talks” with the Marlins.  In another tweet from earlier in the evening, Heyman cited the Mets as seemingly “the most aggressive team” in pursuit of Realmuto, with the Braves and Yankees in the next tier down, and the Yankees perhaps in the mix only for the purposes of flipping Realmuto to another club.
  • In other Mets news, the team spoke with Jacob deGrom’s camp yesterday, James Wagner of the New York Times reports (Twitter link).  SNY.tv’s Andy Martino described the meeting as “very preliminary” in nature, and not exactly proper “extension talks” just yet.  As Wagner notes, Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen is staying out of any extension negotiations with deGrom due to Van Wagenen’s former role as deGrom’s agent, so it will be particularly interesting to see how things unfold between the two sides.  DeGrom has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining before he hits free agency, so while there isn’t any immediate rush for a long-term deal, the Mets might prefer to lock up one ace before potentially looking to deal another in Noah Syndergaard.

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