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MLBTR Originals

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Recapping MLBTR’s original content from the past week:

  • Unfortunately, the most popular topic in baseball throughout this offseason has been the lack of activity across the league. There are several factors that could explain why things have gone so slowly this winter, as Kyle Downing detailed. After laying those reasons out, Kyle asked readers to identify the main culprit. The belief among voters is that free agents’ asking prices are simply too high.
  • With Alex Avila now a member of the Diamondbacks, Jonathan Lucroy is the only starting-caliber catcher remaining in free agency. In the wake of the Avila signing, Mark Polishuk examined potential destinations for Lucroy and then polled readers on a landing spot for the two-time All-Star. The Nationals have received the most votes to this point.
  • After the Brewers acquired Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Matt Albers and Boone Logan, Kyle wondered whether they’re poised to build on their 86-win 2017 with a postseason trip this year. The majority of voters do expect the Brew Crew to be a playoff team.
  • First baseman Logan Morrison is among many free agents still on the market late in the offseason. Any team that signs him could be adding a significant bat to its lineup for an affordable price, I argued.

Latest On Inactive Free-Agent Market

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2:05pm: The union has issued a statement regarding a potential spring boycott, saying (via Rosenthal): “Recent press reports have erroneously suggested that the Players Association has threatened a ‘boycott’ of spring training. Those reports are false. No such threat has been made, nor has the union recommended such a course of action.”

1:35pm: Backing up an earlier report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Buster Olney of ESPN tweets that, as a result of the lack of activity in free agency, players discussed boycotting spring training during a conference call last week. However, “it is not currently an option under any serious consideration,” he hears.

Olney delves further into the players’ growing dissatisfaction in a piece suggesting 12 questions they should ask their leader, Tony Clark. The MLBPA executive director and a few agents have voiced their displeasure with the slow offseason this week, but other representatives only saw those as empty threats.

“Short-sighted,” one agent told Olney. “Impetuous,” said another.

Olney goes on to express skepticism that MLB teams are colluding against free agents, pointing out that several relievers and Lorenzo Cain have done quite well on the market. He also notes that big offers are on the table for Eric Hosmer and Yu Darvish. The players seem to think something sinister is at play on the owners’ part, thus leading to the talk of a spring boycott, but Olney relays that there are differing opinions. In fact, there are some players and agents who think holding out from camp “would lead to another disaster,” he writes.

Commissioner Rob Manfred himself addressed this year’s inactive market earlier this week, saying (via Jerry Crasnick of ESPN): “Every [free-agent] market is different. There’s different players, different quality of players, different GMs, different decisions, a new basic agreement, different agents who had particular prominence in a particular market in terms of who they represent. Those factors, and probably others that I can’t tick off the top of my head, have combined to produce a particular market this year. Just like there’s been some markets where the lid got blown off in terms of player salary growth, occasionally you’re going to have some that are not quite as robust.”

There are indeed several potential factors at play; one, according to Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins (via Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports), is that “teams are valuing players in a similar way.” Atkins added that “the aging curve has potentially been overcompensated in the past. That seems to be correcting a bit.”

Beyond that, Passan mentions that there are fewer teams than usual chasing free agents because as many as a dozen are either “tanking, not competing or crying poor.” The $197MM competitive balance tax threshold, which the union agreed to when it negotiated the current collective bargaining agreement a year ago, has also contributed to the players’ problems because it has helped prevent normally big-spending teams such as the Dodgers, Yankees and Giants from participating in free agency.

Still, top-tier free agents like Hosmer, Darvish and J.D. Martinez will eventually “get paid,” a league official told Passan. But that same official is unsure of the futures of mid- to lower-tier free agents, saying that “even if you took away the CBT changes, most of these guys wouldn’t have jobs,” in part because “there are a lot of smart GMs, and they aren’t gonna overpay guys.”

Unfortunately for the players, there’s concern that what’s happening this offseason may repeat itself on a bigger scale next year, when free agency could feature the likes of Clayton Kershaw, Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, Josh Donaldson, Charlie Blackmon, Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel, among other household names. Overall, the 2018-19 class may be a bloated group of players if some of this winter’s stragglers are unable to find multiyear contracts, Passan observes. The premier players available should fare well, especially considering teams avoiding the CBT this year may not have the same motivation next winter, but “when 85 percent of the money goes to 15 percent of the players, 85 percent of the players are going to hear, ‘I don’t have the money,'” an agent told Passan.

Should what we’re seeing now emerge as a new trend for free agency, it could lead to an increase in team-friendly contract extensions for young players who are fearful of encountering low interest on the market, another agent suggested to Passan.

“That scares the [expletive] out of me,” the agent said. “One of my clients a few days ago said, ‘Why do I want to go to free agency if it’s going to be like this?’ We’re losing the messaging war.”

With the CBA set to run until December 2021, the present setup is in line to last for the next few years. That may be a bleak reality for the union, though there’s hope that the players will take this opportunity to band together on important issues and truly find out whether Clark is a capable leader.

A source on the players’ side declared to Passan that “the owners have to realize they’re about to jeopardize an unbelievably good thing. If they don’t recognize it, they don’t see where this is going. Everybody’s going to be in unison. And we’re all going to walk right off the cliff together.”

They won’t walk off a cliff to a spring boycott, however, as Passan tweets that an organized strike would lead to the league filing an injunction against them. The players would then have to return to work, and it’s also possible they’d have to pay damages. Union lawyers have warned them of those consequences, Passan adds.

AL Notes: Sox, Nunez, E. Jimenez, Orioles, Royals, Soler

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Free agent utilityman Eduardo Nunez “hasn’t lost contact with the Red Sox,” Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald writes. With Dustin Pedroia set to miss the early portion of the year as he recovers from knee surgery, re-signing Nunez would give Boston a clear Opening Day second baseman. However, Nunez would obviously lose playing time upon Pedroia’s return, and the Red Sox are also set at his other positions – third base, shortstop and the corner outfield. All of those factors, not to mention interest from other clubs, could prevent Nunez’s return to the Red Sox. The 30-year-old joined the Sox via trade with the Giants last summer and thrived, hitting a stellar .321/.353/.539 in 173 plate appearances.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • As their search for starting pitchers continues, the Orioles remain interested in re-signing free agent right-hander Chris Tillman, while fellow righties Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn are still too expensive, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. Kubatko also adds a new name to the mix, 27-year-old righty Drew Hutchison, who’s on Baltimore’s radar. The Orioles are familiar with Hutchison from his run with AL East rival Toronto from 2012-16. Hutchison had his moments across 406 1/3 innings as a Blue Jay, with whom he pitched to a 4.92 ERA/4.23 FIP and posted 8.28 K/9 against 2.94 BB/9. However, he only threw 24 big league frames between Toronto and Pittsburgh in 2016, and he’s now coming off a year spent exclusively in the minors. With the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate last season, Hutchison logged a 3.56 ERA/4.13 FIP with 7.0 K/9 and 3.22 BB/9 over 159 1/3 innings.
  • When the Royals acquired outfielder Jorge Soler from the Cubs last year for closer Wade Davis, their hope was that the former top prospect would develop into a long-term building block. Soler, 25, still has a chance to do that, but Year 1 with the Royals saw him limp to a .144/.245/.258 showing in 110 PAs and, according to Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star, begin to believe that his major league career was over. Reflecting on 2017, most of which he spent in the minors, Soler told Torres: “I had an awful season. Things went fine in the minor leagues but not in the big leagues. Obviously there were things I was doing wrong. I needed to make adjustments. … I don’t know how it’ll translate to the field but in the cage there’s an incredible change. I’ve never felt this way.” Hoping to avoid a repeat this year, Soler has spent the offseason reshaping himself mentally and physically, having lost 20 pounds, and revamping his swing, as Torres details. Since October, Soler has been in Miami working with Dodgers international scout Mike Tosar, who helped Yonder Alonso break out last season. The results of their sessions have encouraged not only Soler and Tosar, but also members of Royals’ front office. General manager Dayton Moore suggested that Soler will be an everyday player for the Royals this year, adding that “the talent is there” and “we believe in him a great deal.”
  • White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez, one of the game’s best prospects, has only racked up 73 PAs above the Single-A level. Nevertheless, there’s optimism the 21-year-old will make his major league debut in 2018, per Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. Jimenez told Levine “he’s close to getting to the big leagues,” while GM Rick Hahn noted that “it is not going to shock me if over the summer Eloy forces our hand a bit.” Levine’s piece is worth checking out in full for more quotes on Jimenez from Hahn and White Sox hitting coach Todd Steverson.

Someone Should Take A Chance On Logan Morrison

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Major League Baseball is roughly a week and a half away from pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training, yet over 100 players remain without contracts. Even most of the premier players in this year’s free agent class haven’t found contracts to their liking, so it’s no surprise that plenty of mid- to lower-tier veterans also remain unsigned. Among them is first baseman Logan Morrison, who, despite enjoying a career year with the Rays in 2017, has only drawn scant interest this winter. While MLBTR projected a three-year, $36MM payday for Morrison entering free agency, that may prove to be rather optimistic.

Not only does free agents’ earning power tend to drop as the spring gets closer, but Morrison has seen several teams address first base needs as he has continued to sit on the market. Any of the Phillies (Carlos Santana), Mariners (Ryon Healy), Red Sox (Mitch Moreland), Indians (Yonder Alonso) or Mets (Adrian Gonzalez, Jay Bruce) could have conceivably picked up Morrison this winter, but each has already acquired at least one established first baseman. Of those teams, the only potential suitor for Morrison could be the BoSox, who are still in the market for a slugger to man the designated hitter spot. However, they’ve been locked on the best offensive player available – J.D. Martinez – all winter. Perhaps Morrison will enter the picture for Boston if it doesn’t sign Martinez, but it would be a surprise at this point if JDM went elsewhere.

Logan Morrison | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Regardless of whether it’s the Red Sox or someone else, Morrison seems quite capable of helping a team. Sure, the 30-year-old’s career has been unremarkable thus far (5.6 fWAR in 3,354 plate appearances with Miami, Seattle and Tampa Bay), but Morrison seems to have found another gear in recent years.

Since the second half of 2016, when he slashed .244/.352/.526 over an admittedly small number of plate appearances (91), Morrison has been one of baseball’s most formidable hitters. He proved himself on a much grander scale last year, parlaying a personal-best walk rate (13.5 percent, compared to a 10.5 percent lifetime mark) and a career-high fly ball rate (46.2 percent, up from 37.5 percent) into a .246/.353/.516 line in 601 PAs. That output led to a 3.3 fWAR and a robust 130 wRC+, which ranked 30th among big league regulars, while he finished tied for seventh in home runs (38) and 10th in isolated power (.270).

Morrison’s 2017 production seemingly wasn’t just smoke and mirrors. According to Statcast, he ranked 26th in barrels per PA and 32nd in balls hit at least 95 mph. Thanks in part to his hard-hitting ability, Morrison ended the year with a .365 expected weighted on-base average that fell right in line with his real wOBA (.363). That xwOBA number placed 26th in the majors, tying him with superstar Kris Bryant and another Windy City standout, Jose Abreu. Adding to the intrigue, Morrison’s success came despite playing half his season at one of the majors’ least friendly venues for left-handed batters, according to Baseball Prospectus. And while many lefty hitters tend to fare poorly against same-handed pitchers, that hasn’t really been the case with Morrison. He posted an above-average 109 wRC+ versus southpaws in 2017 and has compiled a playable mark (95) during his career.

All of the above suggests Morrison may quietly be one of the game’s top offensive threats nowadays, yet finding an obvious landing spot for him at this late juncture of the offseason is difficult. Given that their first basemen ranked second to last in the majors in fWAR (minus-0.3) last season, the Rockies may be the best match for Morrison, and transitioning from the cavernous Tropicana Field to the hitter’s paradise known as Coors Field would seemingly be a boon for him. However, at last check, Colorado hadn’t even considered Morrison. The club could instead turn the keys at first over to prospect Ryan McMahon and/or re-sign bargain free agent Mark Reynolds.

Meanwhile, other first base bottom feeders from 2017 – Seattle, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Boston, San Diego, New York (AL), Miami and Texas – have a.) upgraded there this offseason, b.) will continue to ride with their starters from last year or c.) are seemingly only going to spend a notable amount if it’s for much-hyped free agent Eric Hosmer (the Padres). Hosmer’s only MLB employer to date, Kansas City, could certainly use a first baseman if he does depart. Interestingly, Morrison is a KC native who has said he’d love to play there. There hasn’t been any reported interest on the Royals’ side, however, and considering they’re in a rebuild, that might not change even if Hosmer exits.

Should nothing materialize at first, where St. Louis could also be an option if its interest in Hosmer is any indication, Morrison may be able to catch on somewhere as a primary DH. Again, though, obvious fits aren’t easy to find. On paper, he’d be a significant improvement over the Angels’ Albert Pujols, but both the future Hall of Famer’s massive contract and the presence of ballyhooed pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani seem to stand in the way of a signing. DH appears to be spoken for among almost all other AL teams, too, with the Yankees looking likely to rotate the position among multiple players and the Mariners (Nelson Cruz), Indians (Edwin Encarnacion), Athletics (Khris Davis), Blue Jays (Kendrys Morales), Rangers (Shin-Soo Choo), Astros (Evan Gattis), Tigers (Victor Martinez) and Orioles (Mark Trumbo) having prominent veterans on hand.

It’s less clear what the Rays, Royals, Twins and White Sox will do at the position, on the other hand. As terrific as Morrison was for Tampa Bay last season, there hasn’t been any buzz about a reunion, in part because the Rays entered the offseason in payroll-cutting mode. The Royals, as mentioned, are in a rebuild, and that could point them to a young, in-house option (Jorge Soler). The Twins could stand to upgrade at DH over the Robbie Grossman/Kennys Vargas/Eduardo Escobar trio, though they’re understandably more focused on bettering their pitching. Plus, if they do add a position player, it might make more sense to find a third base option, thus protecting against a possible suspension for Miguel Sano and/or allowing the big-bodied Sano to spend more time at DH.

Chicago, which is making progress in its own rebuild, actually could make sense as a destination for Morrison. The ChiSox probably won’t push for a playoff spot in 2018, but the same could be said of the Phillies, who still splurged on Santana and had to give up a draft pick and international bonus pool money in the process. Unlike Santana (and Hosmer, for that matter), signing Morrison wouldn’t cost anyone a pick or international money because he didn’t receive a qualifying offer after the season.

While Morrison did all he could to boost his stock during a platform year, it still hasn’t led to an offseason payday during what has been an especially cold winter for major league free agents. The calendar says he’s going to sign soon, though, and if Morrison’s recent work is any indication, the team that lands him just might be adding a reasonably priced offensive force at a time when they’re not typically on the market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Quick Hits: Cashman, Free Agency, Rebuilding Teams, Pedroia

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On this day 20 years ago, the Yankees announced Brian Cashman would take over for the resigned Bob Watson as their general manager. The 50-year-old Cashman remains in that post today, making him the game’s longest-tenured GM, and it’s no surprise he has hung around when you consider the team’s accomplishments on his watch. The Cashman-led Yankees have gone to the playoffs 16 times, earning six American League pennants and four World Series championships along the way. The fact that Cashman has lasted as long as he has in the sport’s biggest market makes his run all the more impressive, a rival GM suggested to Buster Olney of ESPN. “Twenty years, in New York,” he said. “That’s, what, 140 dog years? Two hundred years?”  Olney’s piece is worth checking out for more on Cashman first two decades as a GM, including the relationship he had with former boss and late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. 

More from around baseball as this historically slow offseason continues to plod along…

  • Tyler Kepner of the New York Times discussed this inactive winter with with a free agent who, like many other veterans, hasn’t enjoyed his trip to the open market. While commissioner Rob Manfred is zeroing in on implementing pace-of-play changes, the players themselves have bigger concerns, according to the free agent. “The players are so much more focused on what’s always been the crown jewel of our union, which is free agency, and the way that’s kind of been taken away,” he said. “It’s something you once fought and strove for — you wanted to become a free agent desperately.” Saturday looks set to pass without any major league free agent signings, continuing to leave upward of 110 players without deals.
  • The Astros, Cubs and Nationals have pulled off model rebuilds in recent years, observes Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required), who goes on to rank the majors’ current rebuilding clubs based on how well they’re executing their plans. No one is doing a better job than the White Sox, Bowden opines, in part because of the recent returns they’ve received in trades for such veterans as Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Adam Eaton. The ChiSox have five top 100 prospects, per Baseball America, and three – Eloy Jimenez, Michael Kopech and Dane Dunning – joined the organization via those deals (as did second baseman Yoan Moncada, who has graduated from top prospect status). The other two – Alec Hansen and Luis Robert – came from the draft and international free agency, respectively, which Bowden also highlights as important avenues in which rebuilding teams must hit the jackpot.
  • Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia will sit out some of 2018 after undergoing left knee surgery in October, but there’s hope he won’t miss much time. As per his rehab schedule, Pedroia is lining up for a late-April or early May return, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe estimates. Pedroia told Cafado that he hasn’t suffered any setbacks in his rehab, adding that his “knee has responded well” to running and strength exercises. After roughly six more weeks of running and then, as Cafardo writes, “a period of agility work,” Pedroia will be able to start baseball activities. The 34-year-old franchise stalwart also explained to Cafardo that knee problems weighed on him both physically and mentally in 2017, when he appeared in just 105 games, but he’s currently pain-free.

NL Notes: Cubs, Mets, Nunez, Pirates

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Checking in on the National League…

  • The Cubs are “still looking to add depth” to their pitching staff, general manager Jed Hoyer tells Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com. “That’s an annual thing you think about. You prepare for injuries even if some years you go unscathed,” he continued. Starting depth does appear to be an issue at the moment for the Cubs, who lack battle-tested options beyond their current projected rotation of Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana, Jon Lester, Tyler Chatwood and Mike Montgomery. Of the other healthy starting possibilities on their 40-man roster, only Eddie Butler brings significant experience in the majors, though he hasn’t been particularly successful. Of course, the Cubs would help their cause quite a bit by signing Yu Darvish (who remains on their radar) or bringing in another high-profile starter via free agency or trade.
  • The Mets are reportedly interested in free agent infielder Eduardo Nunez, but Mike Puma of the New York Post wonders (on Twitter) if the organization’s hitting philosophy may ultimately prevent a signing from occurring. The club “emphasizes selectivity,” Puma points out, and that’s not the case with Nunez. Among hitters with at least 400 plate appearances last year, he had the seventh-lowest walk percentage (3.7) and the 14th-highest chase rate (39.6 percent).
  • Left-hander Josh Smoker went from the Mets to the Pirates in a trade this week, and it didn’t surprise the reliever that he ended up in Pittsburgh (via Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). “I kind of had a feeling that Pittsburgh might have some interest because in the past I had heard rumblings that Pittsburgh had always had a little bit of interest in me,” Smoker said. “I know it’s a team that needs some left-handers, too.” Indeed, Smoker became just the fourth southpaw on the Bucs’ 40-man roster. While Smoker has only managed a 5.02 ERA across 71 2/3 career innings, he’s hopeful renowned Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage will be able to help him break out with his new team. After the trade, Smoker discussed Searage with his friend, former Pirates reliever Matt Capps, who offered praise for the pitching guru.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Free Agents, Yelich, Jays, Lynn, Astros, Cards

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This week in baseball blogs…

Submissions: ZachBBWI @gmail.com

AL East Notes: Rays, Odorizzi, Orioles, Jay, Yanks

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Entering the offseason, Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi looked like a shoo-in to end up elsewhere via trade, but the lack of action across the majors this offseason has played a role in preventing that, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Although the soon-to-be 28-year-old Odorizzi says he’s “still happy” to be in Tampa Bay, he’s cognizant that a trade could come together in the next few weeks – especially considering all the pitchers the low-spending Rays have dealt in the past. “There’s always that unsureness, especially with us and when people get to where I’m at in contract status and years left remaining (until free agency), this is typically the time (to be traded),” Odorizzi said. “We saw (Jeremy Hellickson), David (Price), (Drew) Smyly, (Matt) Garza, like everybody who gets to that point. We know it’s a pretty strong reality of how things go.” The Rays will “almost certainly” trade Odorizzi at some point, according to Topkin, and, as the player himself pointed out, it figures to occur soon given his dwindling team control. He’s in his penultimate year of arbitration eligibility and will earn between $6.05MM and $6.3MM, depending on what the panel decides.

More from Tampa Bay and two other AL East cities:

  • Along with the previously reported Carlos Gonzalez and Jarrod Dyson, the Orioles have interest in free agent outfielder Jon Jay, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Signing any of the three would give the Orioles a much-needed lefty-swinging outfielder to join a group that currently includes four righties (Adam Jones, Trey Mancini, Austin Hays and Joey Rickard) and a switch-hitter (Anthony Santander). Jay, who’ll turn 33 in March, has offered average to slightly above-average offense throughout his career, and he has typically held his own against both lefty and righty pitchers. In 433 plate appearances with the Cubs in 2017, he hit .296/.374/.375 – good for a 101 wRC+.
  • The Yankees have been on the hunt for starting pitching help throughout the offseason, though they haven’t made any significant moves on that front aside from re-signing CC Sabathia. Although the Yankees have a full rotation on paper with Sabathia, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Sonny Gray and Jordan Montgomery, Sabathia would like to see them add to it. “It is what it is, (but) you always need more,” Sabathia said to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. “It’s a long season. You never know what’s going to happen. The more arms we got, the better.” As Kuty notes, the Yankees’ talented rotation does come with questions, namely in the form of durability/workload concerns regarding everyone in the quintet.
  • Joining the Rays this week on a minor league pact was an easy decision for righty Ryan Weber, details Topkin, who adds that the 27-year-old told his agent to immediately take their offer. Weber was eager to accept the Rays’ proposal because he’s a local product who still lives in the area. “This is where I first saw a big-league game, telling my parents I’m going to be out there one day,” he said of the Rays’ home ballpark, Tropicana Field. “So to actually have a chance to play for the Rays, that’s cool. That’s pretty cool.” As a member of the Mariners last season, arm problems limited Weber to just seven appearances between the majors and minors, but he’s now “100 percent.”

Quick Hits: Van Hekken, Free Agent Spending, Rockies

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38-year-old former Tigers starter Andy Van Hekken is attempting to earn a job with an MLB club, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes. Anyone calling it a comeback attempt should note this bit of context: Van Hekken hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2002 and only has five career starts at that level. Still, the Holland native is reportedly training back in his home county, and a late-thirties push for MLB has been in his plans for a while. “I’ve been thinking about it over the last few years,” he said. “I always wanted to come back and give it another try to get back to the big leagues and see if I could do it. I would love an opportunity and hopefully there will be one.” As Fenech aptly points out, Van Hekken’s timing couldn’t be worse… there are well over a hundred free agents who have yet to sign during what has been a phenomenally slow hot stove season. The left-hander is best known for throwing a complete game shutout against the Indians in his major league debut. He’s mixed a high-80’s fastball with a forkball to great success in Korea during the past half-decade or so, posting solid ground ball and strikeout rates.

Some other items from around the league as we inch closer to spring training…

  • Have fans been conditioned to accept half-hearted attempts at contention? Travis Sawchik attempts to answer this question in a piece for Fangraphs. Sawchik writes that while it’s typically for business owners to take great care in running their businesses efficiently and at a profit, baseball is not a typical business. Fans invest in ballclubs both emotionally and fiscally (with their taxes), so owners have a civic duty to put a competitive product on the field. He references former Tigers owner Mike Illitch, who at times spent irrationally on his club. He even kept a General Motors advertisement above the center field batter’s eye when the company could no longer afford it, in similar spirit of upholding the city’s identity. Sawchik then turns his focus to Nutting, who has gutted the club’s core to slash payroll by $20MM this season without paying for a single free agent. Sawchik suspects that the club could cover its current payroll without selling a single ticket, and points out its $50MM BAMtech payment from Disney (that also hasn’t been reinvested in the team). He posits that fans have been trained to accept the “small-market” excuse for not spending as a reality, when in fact it may not entirely explain a given club’s low payroll.
  • The Rockies have built a contending club in part by betting on its youthful rotation, Daniel Cramer of MLB.com writes. Back in spring training of 2016, GM Jeff Bridich apparently told young right-hander Jeff Hoffman that the club wasn’t seeking any veteran upgrades. Fast forward to today, and the organization hopes to build on a “blossoming pitching culture with the potential for sustained success”. Cramer describes Colorado’s blueprint for pitchers as “a power arm supplemented with a mental confidence to pitch at Coors Field.” For their part, a group consisting of German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, Tyler Chatwood, Jon Gray, Jeff Hoffman, Antonio Senzatela, Tyler Anderson and Chad Bettis combined for 11.8 fWAR last season (good for 11th in the majors), and that entire group minus Chatwood is set to return for 2018.

Latest On Brewers’ Search For A Starter

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Much has been made of the reports that the Brewers made a contract offer to Yu Darvish about two weeks ago. A quote from ownership stating that GM David Stearns is “working on” adding another pitcher has only added fuel to that fire. But when asked Saturday if there’s been any progress in that search, Stearns metaphorically threw a giant bucket of cold water on those hot stove rumors. “We continue to have discussions on a variety of fronts,” he said (via Tom Haudricort of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). “But at this point I anticipate going (to spring training) with our current group.”

If the Brewers did make a proposal to Darvish, Haudricort notes, it wasn’t enough to lead to a deal. Additionally, the team has not confirmed any reports that they might sign Darvish, who is believed to be seeking a deal in the range of $150-$175MM. Further dampening any Darvish hopes from Milwaukee fans are reports that the right-hander would like to return to one of his previous teams: the Rangers or the Dodgers.

Stearns’ comments also seem to indicate that the club’s recent efforts to trade for Rays right-hander Chris Archer didn’t bear any fruit. It’s a trade scenario that already seemed unlikely in the first place, given that only ten days ago Archer told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he expects to remain in Tampa Bay to open the season.

It’s not as though Stearns completely closed the door on adding a starter. According to Haudricort, he did express that the club is open to acting “if the right opportunity presents itself.” But he followed that up by saying that the club has a “high level of confidence” in its in-house options.

On the surface, Milwaukee would appear to be one of the MLB teams with the most pressing need for a starter. Beyond Chase Anderson, Zach Davies and the injured Jimmy Nelson (who projects to miss a good portion of the 2018 season), the Brew Crew have a group of low-ceiling starters vying for the remaining spots in the rotation. That group includes Yovani Gallardo, Brent Suter and Jhoulys Chacin. While a rotation comprised of the pitchers above wouldn’t represent a bottom-dwelling cast, it’s curious that the team would make such a strong effort to acquire Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain while failing to improve on the starting pitching front. Of course, it’s worth noting that the Brewers will control both of those outfielders for five full seasons, and they aren’t set to lose any of their most important core players any time soon.

Prior to this news, Milwaukee was thought to be at least an assertive shopper in the free agent pitching market. If they’re indeed prepared to turn up their noses and roll with internal options to open the season, it’d prove bad news for a 2018 free agent pitching class that has yet to see any of its top four candidates come off the board. Teams have yet to show any serious interest in Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb or Lance Lynn at their current asking prices, and MLB clubs seemingly haven’t gained any traction with even Darvish to this point in the offseason. With just a few weeks until the start of spring training, this development can only further freeze a historically cold MLB hot stove.

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