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Red Sox, White Sox Building Momentum Toward Chris Sale Trade

By Steve Adams | December 6, 2016 at 11:51am CDT

The Red Sox have “built momentum” toward a deal to acquire ace Chris Sale from the White Sox, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Rosenthal had just tweeted that Boston was still “strongly” in the mix for Sale prior to the newer report. Rosenthal further tweets that the Nationals aren’t totally out on Sale, but the Red Sox have become a stronger possibility.

That seemingly signifies that something has changed since last night, when Rosenthal reported that the Nationals had a “legitimate chance” at finalizing a Sale deal. Indeed, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets that he’s been hearing since the middle of the night that Boston may be upping its aggression in order to get a Sale trade across the line.

FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Chicago asked Boston for Andrew Benintendi, but Boston strongly prefers to keep him. Chicago does like Jackie Bradley as well as a number of other young Boston pieces, though Bradley comes with four years of club control as opposed to Benintendi’s six.

Trade Rumors: Straily, Reds, McCutchen, Rays, Twins, Wilson, Davis

By Steve Adams | December 6, 2016 at 11:27am CDT

The Rangers were rumored yesterday to have interest in Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Texas also asked the Reds about right-hander Dan Straily. Nothing is close on either front, he notes, but Straily would give Texas a controllable option for the back-end of the rotation. A waiver claim by the Reds last spring, Straily had a nice season in the Cincinnati rotation, tossing a career-high 191 1/3 innings with a 3.76 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. However, Straily also posted just a 32 percent ground-ball rate and was very homer-prone, yielding an average of 1.5 big flies per nine innings pitch, which could give interested parties some pause.

A few more notes on the trade market…

Rosenthal also notes in the above-linked tweet that the Reds are trying to move both Brandon Phillips and Zack Cozart in separate deals. Moving one or both would allow the Reds to open some playing time for younger middle infield options like Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera, each of whom has been acquired via trade in the past calendar year. Phillips has full no-trade protection but has been said this winter to be more open to waiving that protection than he was in recent years. Cozart has been linked to the Mariners on multiple occasions and would give any team an affordable one-year stopgap at shortstop that can provide premium offense and a bit of pop before hitting free agency next winter.
Giants GM Bobby Evans tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that he checked in with the Pirates on Andrew McCutchen, but Evans didn’t imply that there was anything more than due diligence behind the call. “When you invest heavily in your rotation and you invest heavily in your bullpen and you invest heavily in your first baseman, your shortstop, your catcher, your right fielder, your center fielder, at some point, you need your farm system to raise up,” Evans tells Shea. “…Ultimately, you can’t lose sight of the fact your farm system is there for a reason. Successful organizations give their farm systems a chance to produce, and some of that production doesn’t get realized until it’s at the big-league level.” The Pirates’ reported asking price for McCutchen has been lofty, and based on Evans’ comments, it doesn’t seem that San Francisco would be interested in gutting its minor league ranks to insert McCutchen into its lineup.
The Rays are “almost certain” to deal a starting pitcher, tweets Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, and interest in right-hander Alex Cobb and left-hander Drew Smyly has been “strong,” Passan hears. ESPN’s Buster Olney, meanwhile, spoke to an exec who called Tampa Bay’s asking price on Chris Archer “beyond prohibitive,” prompting Olney to call Cobb and Smyly considerably likelier candidates to be traded (Insider subscription required and recommended). As Passan further notes, the Rays don’t necessarily feel like the return on Archer right now will be drastically superior to the return for Archer two years from now (when he still has three years of control remaining), so there’s little urgency to deal him unless they’re bowled over.
The Twins are seeking controllable starting pitching in all of their trade talks, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Minnesota has reportedly received a number of inquiries on slugging second baseman Brian Dozier, and other logical trade candidates on their roster (in my view) include right-hander Ervin Santana and reliever Brandon Kintzler. Dozier is controlled through 2018 for a total of $15MM, while Santana is guaranteed $28MM through 2018 and has a club option for the 2019 campaign as well. Kintzler quietly had a rebound season in the Minnesota ’pen last year and can be a free agent next winter.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that the Rangers asked the Tigers about southpaw Justin Wilson, though he characterizes the scenario as a long shot. Wilson, though, would give the Rangers a couple of years of control over a quality southpaw reliever and give the team flexibility to make further roster alterations.
The Mets inquired wih the Royals about closer Wade Davis, reports SNY’s Andy Martino (on Twitter), but he also notes that it’s hard to see the two sides lining up on a deal given the fact that Davis will command a $10MM salary next season and would also require the Mets to surrender with upper-echelon prospects. Were Davis controlled for multiple years, perhaps it’d be more appealing to the Mets, but the Kansas City relief ace is set to hit the open market next winter.

Phillies Designate Michael Mariot For Assignment

By Steve Adams | December 6, 2016 at 11:08am CDT

The Phillies announced that they’ve designated right-hander Michael Mariot for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Joaquin Benoit, whose one-year deal is now official.

Mariot, 28, pitched 21 2/3 innings with the Phils last year but limped to a 5.82 ERA with a 23-to-14 K/BB ratio and a 31 percent ground-ball rate in that time. Mariot has an ERA just shy of 6.00 in 49 2/3 big league innings over parts of three seasons, but he has a flat 3.00 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in parts of five Triple-A seasons over a total of 183 innings. That minor league track record should get Mariot some interest as a depth option elsewhere, but he’s out of minor league options so he’d have to break camp with a team next year or be exposed to waivers before he could be sent to the minors.

Phillies Sign Joaquin Benoit

By Mark Polishuk | December 6, 2016 at 11:01am CDT

DEC. 6: The Phillies have announced the signing of Benoit.

DEC. 5: Gelb reports that Benoit will earn $7.5MM on his one-year deal — the same amount he earned in 2016 (Twitter link).

DEC. 4, 11:59pm: Benoit’s deal is a one-year contract and it will be finalized when he passes a physical, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

10:04pm: The Phillies are close to a deal with veteran reliever Joaquin Benoit, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury reports. The contract is expected to be announced before the end of the Winter Meetings on Thursday.

Benoit’s 15th big league season was really like two seasons in one, as he struggled with both the long ball and his control over 24 1/3 innings with the Mariners before being traded to the Blue Jays in late July. In Toronto, Benoit turned things around in spectacular fashion, posting an 0.38 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 2.67 K/BB rate and just one home run allowed over 23 2/3 IP as a Blue Jay. He missed out on the Jays’ postseason run due to a torn calf muscle suffered in a bench-clearing brawl with the Yankees in late September.

Assuming a deal is finalized, the Phillies would be the seventh team Benoit has suited up for during his long career. The 39-year-old has somewhat flown under the radar as one of the best relievers in baseball in recent years, posting a 2.40 ERA, 3.56 K/BB rate and an even 10.0 K/9 over 427 bullpen innings since the start of the 2010 season.

As Salisbury notes, Benoit does have some closing experience but for now likely slots in alongside Pat Neshek as the veteran setup options behind Hector Neris and Jeanmar Gomez. Salisbury speculates that Benoit could give the Phils added depth so the team could shop Neris or Gomez; Neris in particular would draw a lot of attention on the open market, though Philadelphia would want a lot in return.

Orioles, Mark Trumbo Meeting Again Today

By Jeff Todd | December 6, 2016 at 10:20am CDT

DEC. 6: There’s still mutual interest between the two sides, so they’ll meet again today to try to get on the same page, tweets Olney.

DEC. 5, 2:55pm: Olney tweets the Orioles were comfortable in the four-year, $52-55MM range but backed off when Trumbo’s camp countered between $75-80MM. ESPN’s Jayson Stark hears a bit differently tweeting that the Orioles were only willing to offer three years and an option, however.

2:06pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (on Twitter) that the Orioles don’t get the sense that they’re close in talks with Trumbo, and they could move on to other targets at this point.

12:54pm: The Orioles have extended a four-year offer to free-agent slugger Mark Trumbo, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter links). While the value of Baltimore’s offer isn’t known, the first baseman/outfielder is said to be seeking $80MM.

That price sounds like a non-starter for most organizations, and that likely includes the O’s. Per Kubatko, Trumbo’s side has already signaled a willingness to move down to the $70MM to $75MM range while also taking a backloaded salary structure. But that’s still arguably too much for the thirty-year-old slugger, who’s also said to be seeking a no-trade clause.

Kubatko notes that the O’s aren’t going to bite on the no-trade request, though it seems it’s still possible that the sides will work something out. It remains to be seen whether Baltimore will move up to Trumbo’s apparent asking price, or whether interest from other quarters will emerge at or near that level.

While Trumbo did lead all of baseball with 47 home runs in 2016, power is in abundant supply on this year’s free-agent market — particularly with Chris Carter now available. Carter, of course, was cut loose despite being arbitration-eligible at a projected $8.1MM arbitration salary. His .222/.321/.499 batting line wasn’t all that much less productive than Trumbo’s .256/.316/.533 slash, particularly once park effects are accounted for, and the two have rather similar lifetime numbers as well. It does seem that the O’s are at least somewhat comfortable playing Trumbo in the outfield, but it’s eminently arguable that neither player should be allowed to roam past the infield dirt.

Red Sox Acquire Tyler Thornburg

By Steve Adams | December 6, 2016 at 10:00am CDT

10:00am: The teams have announced the trade. The Brewers will also receive a player to be named later or cash from the Red Sox.

8:20am: Tuesday morning at the Winter Meetings kicked off with some action, as the Red Sox reportedly agreed to a trade that will net them right-handed setup man Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers in exchange for third baseman Travis Shaw, minor league shortstop Mauricio Dubon and minor league right-hander Josh Pennington.

Thornburg, 28, gives the Red Sox not only an imposing late-inning force but one that is under club control for the next three seasons, as he won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2019 season. The former starter had a breakout season in the Milwaukee bullpen last year, pitching to a 2.15 ERA with 12.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 32.4 percent ground-ball rate in 67 innings. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $2.2MM salary for Thornburg in his first trip through the arbitration process.

Late-inning relief help has been a priority for the Red Sox, who saw Koji Uehara, Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa all hit free agency at season’s end and also went without 2015 trade acquistion Carson Smith in 2016 due to Tommy John surgery. Thornburg will give manager John Farrell an intriguing setup option to closer Craig Kimbrel. Thornburg figures to slot in alongside converted starter Joe Kelly and Matt Barnes as right-handed options for the time being, though there’s certainly room for Boston president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski to add another relief arm to the mix.

The Brewers have now traded their three top relief arms in the past five months, sending Jeremy Jeffress to the Rangers, Will Smith to the Giants and Thornburg to Boston. As it stands, right-hander Corey Knebel could be in line to see save opportunities in Milwaukee, though the team could host an open competition there. Alternatively, Milwaukee could lure a second- or third-tier arm to their rebuilding club on an affordable deal with the promise of offering an opportunity to close out games. In addition to providing the Brewers with some needed veteran stability in the ’pen, that tactic could also yield yet another midseason trade chip if he ultimately performs well in a high-leverage role.

The package that the Red Sox are giving up will be headlined by Shaw, who should slot in as the primary third baseman for his new organization. Shaw struggles against left-handed pitching and may well require a platoon partner, but he’s a controllable addition for Milwaukee GM David Stearns. Shaw hit .257/.325/.437 against right-handed pitching last year and showed potential 20-homer pop by hitting 16 homers in 530 plate appearances. He hit just .187/.235/.364 in 115 PAs against lefties, but he stands out as a solid if not well-above-average defender at the hot corner, depending on one’s preferred metric (+1.1 UZR, +10 DRS).

Most important, when it comes to Shaw, is that he’s controllable for another five years and won’t even be eligible for arbitration until after the 2018 season, making him an eminently affordable long-term piece. His inclusion in the deal opens a number of doors for both teams. In Milwaukee, it seems as though his acquisition definitively pushes Jonathan Villar off third base and over to second base, as has been suggested, thereby making Scooter Gennett either a bench piece or trade fodder himself. The Red Sox, meanwhile, could use Brock Holt and/or Pablo Sandoval at third base until Yoan Moncada proves ready to inherit the position on an everyday basis. Boston could also realistically look to pursue a different upgrade at third base, either via free agency or trade, as they look to field the best Opening Day roster possible in a season where they once again plan to push for a deep postseason run.

Dubon, 22, was a 26th-round pick by Boston back in 2013 but has risen to the point where he’s regarded as one of the organization’s top overall prospects. Baseball America rated him seventh (subscription required and recommended) among Boston farmhands earlier this offseason, writing that he doesn’t have one plus tool but has very good bat-to-ball skills and enough defensive ability to play an average or better shortstop. He’s also plenty versatile, having spent time at second base and in center field, making him a potential utility option in the Majors at the very least. He could open 2017 in either Double-A or Triple-A, depending on how aggressive the Brewers want to be with him. Dubon split the 2016 season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, where he batted a combined .323/.379/.461 with six homers and 30 steals.

The 21-year-old Pennington was Boston’s 29th-round pick in 2014. While he didn’t crack the top 10 recently penned by BA, he did rank 22nd on MLB.com’s midseason list of Boston’s top 30 prospects. Per their report (via Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis), Pennington boasts a 70-grade fastball (on the 20-80 scale) but doesn’t get great movement on the pitch or command it especially well. They also note that he has the makings of an above-average curveball as well as a work-in-progress changeup. He’s a starter for now but could move to a short-relief role if that doesn’t pan out, and one can envision his velocity ticking upward further if that plays out. Pennington spent 2016, his age-20 season, with Boston’s short-season Class-A affiliate, pitching to a 2.86 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings.

Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald first reported that the two teams had agreed to a trade that would send relief help to Boston and Dubon to Milwaukee (Twitter links). Baseball America’s Josh Norris tweeted that Pennington was in the deal, and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported (on Twitter) that Shaw was expected to be included. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal first tweeted that Thornburg was going to Boston.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Chris Colabello Rejects Outright Assignment, Elects Free Agency

By Steve Adams | December 6, 2016 at 9:40am CDT

The Blue Jays announced this morning that first baseman/outfielder Chris Colabello has elected free agency after rejecting an outright assignment.

The 34-year-old had a terrific season with the Jays in 2015, hitting .321/.367/.520 with 15 homers in a part-time role that afforded him 360 plate appearances. However, his 2016 campaign was rough on multiple levels, as he was first hit with an 80-game suspension for a failed PED test and then went just 2-for-29 with three walks and no extra-base hits in a total of 32 Major League plate appearances. Colabello broke into the Majors with the Twins in 2013 as a 29-year-old after spending nearly a decade on the independent circuit and has a career .257/.314/.424 batting line in 793 Major League plate appearances.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Fowler, Turner, Bautista, Ross

By Connor Byrne | December 6, 2016 at 7:42am CDT

The Cardinals have been connected to free agent center fielder Dexter Fowler throughout the offseason, and the club made him an initial offer Monday during a meeting with his representatives, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports. That’s at least the second offer Fowler has received – the Blue Jays have reportedly proposed a four-year deal in the $60MM neighborhood. Fowler is seeking $18MM annually on a multiyear pact.

Four To Five Teams Interested In Brian Dozier

By Connor Byrne | December 6, 2016 at 6:08am CDT

TUESDAY, 6:08am: On the contrary, the Yankees aren’t involved in the Dozier sweepstakes, general manager Brian Cashman told MLB Network Radio on Monday (Twitter link). “I haven’t had any dialogue with the Twins about Dozier. That’s a false report,” Cashman said.

12:48am: The Yankees have checked in on Dozier, though it’s unclear how serious they are about acquiring him, reports Heyman. New York traded for second baseman Starlin Castro last winter, but his recent track record pales in comparison to Dozier’s. Castro hit .270/.300/.433 with 21 homers in 610 plate appearances in his first year with the Yankees and is owed $31MM through the 2020 season.

MONDAY: The notion that the Dodgers have “piqued” the Twins’ interest in trade discussions for second baseman Brian Dozier is “more rumor than substance,” a source told Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). That could change, however, as talks will pick up during this week’s winter meetings, per Wolfson.

In a potentially interesting development, Dozier will attend the meetings in National Harbor, Md., and is scheduled to arrive Monday, according to Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press. Dozier will be on hand because of a marketing commitment, not necessarily to help facilitate a trade, but he’ll likely to have the chance to meet with newly hired Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine for the first time. Levine said earlier this week that the Twins would have to be “really inspired” to trade Dozier, but it’s nonetheless easy to imagine the rebuilding club dealing him on the heels of a career year.

While Dozier has been a more-than-steady contributor since 2013, he burst on the national scene in 2016 by becoming just the fourth second baseman to ever reach the 40-HR plateau in a season. Dozier swatted 42 homers, to be exact, and he displayed more than power with an impressive .268/.340/.545 batting line in 691 plate appearances, 18 steals and and a superstar-caliber fWAR (5.9).

As a result of both his stellar production and affordability – he’ll make a combined $15MM over the next two seasons – four to five teams are pushing to acquire Dozier, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The only identified suitor is the Dodgers, whose interest in the 29-year-old has been known since November.

FA/Trade Rumors: Yankees, Orioles, Mets, J. De La Rosa, Rollins

By Connor Byrne | December 6, 2016 at 5:44am CDT

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is in touch with the representatives for free agent relievers Greg Holland, Koji Uehara, Brad Ziegler and Mike Dunn, report George A. King III and Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Given their vast experience as closers, any of Holland, Uehara or Ziegler could end up as fallback ninth-inning options if the Yankees aren’t able to land either Aroldis Chapman or Kenley Jansen. As of now, the only somewhat established southpaw in New York’s projected bullpen for 2017 is Tommy Layne, so adding a left-handed setup man like Dunn – a former Yankees farmhand – would seemingly make sense.

The Mets are interested in acquiring Orioles reliever Brad Brach, but a deal that would send outfielder Curtis Granderson to Baltimore is unlikely, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports. One major roadblock involves finances: The Mets don’t want to eat any of Granderson’s $15MM salary for 2017, while the Orioles aren’t eager to add payroll unless it’s allocated to free agent outfielder/first baseman Mark Trumbo. It doesn’t appear that the O’s are remotely close to re-signing Trumbo, however.
Catcher Matt Wieters is another key Orioles free agent, and they haven’t closed the door on re-signing him, per Kubatko. However, as is the case with Trumbo, Wieters is currently out of the Orioles’ price range. That could lead Baltimore to find an affordable replacement on a one- or two-year contract, thereby enabling well-regarded, big-hitting prospect Chance Sisco to further develop in the minors. “He needs more experience catching,” general manager Dan Duquette told Kubatko in regards to Sisco. “That’s a tough position to learn, right? There are so many things that go into being a good catcher.” Notably, free agent backstop Welington Castillo is on the Orioles’ radar and should only garner a short-term deal.
Six teams are in discussions with free agent left-hander Jorge De La Rosa, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link). Some of those clubs regard De La Rosa as a rotation option, while others see him as a swingman. For his part, De La Rosa is willing to work out of the bullpen. From 2008-14, all 176 of De La Rosa’s appearances with the Rockies came as a starter. He spent some time as a bullpen option last season, though, with three relief appearances out of 27. All told, the soon-to-be 36-year-old tossed 134 innings in 2016 and struggled to a 5.51 ERA. He also posted his highest BB/9 (4.23) since 2008 and experienced a dip in velocity.
Although free agent shortstop Jimmy Rollins’ 2016 season ended in early June after the White Sox released him, he wants to continue his career next year at the age of 38, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. The longtime Phillie and 2007 National League MVP was a solid contributor as recently as 2014, but he has since hit just .224/.287/.351 in a combined 729 plate appearances with the Dodgers and White Sox. Rollins settled for a minor league contract last winter and will likely get one again this offseason – if anyone signs him, that is.

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