Indians Continue Looking For Slugger, Talking To Mark Trumbo
The Indians, in their quest to find a right-handed hitter to add to the middle of their lineup, have talked to Mark Trumbo as well as Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Mike Napoli, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets. (They also pursued the left-handed Mitch Moreland, who ended up with the Red Sox.)
Of those, the new name is that of Trumbo, who has lately been connected to the Mariners, Orioles, Rockies and Rangers. Trumbo, who swatted 47 home runs in 2016, would add a big power bat to the Indians’ mix at DH, corner outfield and first base, filling a role similar to the one Napoli filled last season. Trumbo is reportedly seeking $80MM, a huge number for the Indians, but one they might be able to at least approach, given their windfall from reaching the World Series and their evident interest in other high-dollar players.
Nationals Interested In Jose Quintana
The Nationals are interested in White Sox lefty Jose Quintana, FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets. The Nationals, of course, came up short in their attempt to trade for ChiSox ace Chris Sale, but it appears the two sides might not be done discussing starting pitchers.
The White Sox have reportedly shown reluctance to move Quintana in the past, perhaps understandably so — he’s pitched at least 200 quality innings in four straight seasons, and he’s under team control through 2020, thanks to the long-term deal he signed prior to the 2014 campaign. For his career, Quintana has a fine 3.41 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9, and at age 27, he could have many good seasons still to come (bearing in mind standard warnings about pitcher health, of course). It appears, though, that none of the White Sox’ assets are off limits, as Heyman wrote earlier today — the White Sox appear set to listen on Todd Frazier and David Robertson as well as Quintana.
Royals Making Progress Toward Trading Jarrod Dyson; Athletics Interested
The Royals are advancing toward a potential trade of outfielder Jarrod Dyson, with the Athletics as a potential suitor, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes (all Twitter links). (Jon Heyman of FanRag adds the Rangers and Orioles to the list of interested teams.) The idea, Sherman reports, is that with a number of key players set to become eligible for free agency following the 2017 season (including Dyson, Wade Davis, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Alcides Escobar), the Royals need to think about how the team will look in the future. Meanwhile, they can capitalize on the market’s current demand for center field help by trading Dyson, while also dealing Davis and moving Kelvin Herrera to the closer’s role.
The 32-year-old Dyson batted a relatively modest .278/.340/.388 in 2016 and only collected 337 plate appearances, but still contributed 3.1 fWAR thanks to his excellent defense. The Athletics need outfield help and have, in recent years, acquired outfielders like Coco Crisp, Sam Fuld and Craig Gentry whose profiles when acquired were heavily oriented around defense. Dyson is also relatively cheap, at a projected $2.5MM for 2017. It makes a degree of sense, then, that the A’s would want to add him.
Mariners In Talks With Mark Trumbo
The Mariners are in talks with free agent slugger Mark Trumbo, ESPN’s Jim Bowden writes. MLB.com’s Greg Johns confirms (via Twitter) that the two sides have spoken, although he characterizes talks as being somewhat less serious than Bowden suggests.
Trumbo and current Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto were once both in the Angels organization, so perhaps it’s no surprise that Trumbo and the Mariners have touched base. Trumbo would add even more power to a lineup that already contains Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Jean Segura and Kyle Seager, and the Mariners can certainly use a bit of outfield help.
Trumbo, then, could be a very tempting target for Seattle after a season in which he batted .256/.316/.533 with a league-leading 47 home runs. He could conceivably fit into the Mariners’ mixes in the outfield and at first base until Cruz’s contract expires following the 2018 season, at which point he could perhaps move to DH. Trumbo does, however, come with caveats, particularly at the $60MM price tag we predict he’ll command over four years — he frequently strikes out and isn’t strong defensively, and past editions of Mariners teams were weighted down by too many sluggers who lacked defensive value. Trumbo also rejected a qualifying offer.
Blue Jays In Talks With Jose Bautista; Indians Also Interested
The Blue Jays met with longtime slugger Jose Bautista today and have resumed talks to bring him back to Toronto, broadcaster Hazel Mae tweets and FanRag’s Jon Heyman confirms (Twitter links). Heyman had previously reported that the Jays had shown little interest in reopening discussions with Bautista, so their meeting with him today appears to represent a change in direction. He adds that the Jays perked up around the time that the Indians expressed interest in Bautista, which itself seems to be a new development. (Heyman adds that the Orioles might have been another possibility, but that they preferred to keep the draft pick they would lose as a result of signing Bautista, and they apparently actually told Bautista’s representation that Orioles fans simply didn’t like him.)
The Jays have already added Kendrys Morales to their DH mix this offseason, but they could certainly still use Bautista in right field. The Indians, meanwhile, were recently in talks with another Blue Jays free agent, Edwin Encarnacion, but at last check, those talks didn’t appear to be moving forward. Bautista is coming off a modest (for him) .234/.366/.452 season, and he rejected a qualifying offer, but MLBTR still projects that his established power bat could earn him a three-year, $51MM deal this offseason.
Angels, Padres Have Discussed Trade, Possibly Involving Second Baseman
The Angels and Padres have discussed a trade recently, potentially involving the Padres’ collection of second basemen, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Fletcher points out that the Padres have four lefty-hitting infielders who could help the Angels fill their void at second base: Yangervis Solarte, Ryan Schimpf, Cory Spangenberg and Carlos Asuaje.
Of those four, Solarte is the most established hitter, and he’s coming off a strong .286/.341/.467 season. He played primarily third base in 2016, however, and has limited big-league experience at second. Schimpf played 68 games at second in 2016 while having an unusual breakout rookie season in which he batted just .217 but had a remarkable .533 slugging percentage, to go with 20 homers in just 330 plate appearances.
Spangenberg has spent the bulk of his career at second, but he missed most of the 2016 season due to injury and has a more modest track record as a hitter, in both the Majors and the minors. Asuaje, one of the prospects the Padres acquired in the Craig Kimbrel deal, had a good season at Triple-A El Paso in 2016 (batting .321/.378/.473, albeit in a favorable hitting environment) and made his big-league debut.
In return for one of their infielders, Fletcher suggests the Padres could target one of the Angels’ depth starters. Someone like Triple-A lefty Nate Smith might make sense, Fletcher tweets, apparently speculatively.
The Angels’ desire to acquire a second baseman comes as no surprise. They’ve lately been connected to trade targets such as the Phillies’ Cesar Hernandez, as well as free agents like Chase Utley and Stephen Drew. Hernandez is a switch-hitter, while Utley and Drew bat from the left side; a lefty hitter at the keystone would be a better fit for the Angels, who only have one lefty (outfielder Kole Calhoun) among their everyday players.
Royals Likely To Trade Wade Davis, Perhaps Soon
The Royals are likely to deal closer Wade Davis, and such a deal could happen quickly, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan tweets. 2016 was Davis’ third straight dominant year in the Royals’ bullpen — he posted a 1.87 ERA, 9.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over 43 1/3 innings. He is eligible for free agency following next season.
With Mark Melancon receiving a $62MM deal and top closers like Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen reportedly receiving offers for even more, Davis’ trade market figures to be robust. The Dodgers and Cubs have been linked to Davis, as have the Mets (although the Mets could be a somewhat unlikely fit). The Nationals and other teams could potentially get involved in the bidding as well.
Orioles Begin Extension Talks With Chris Tillman
The Orioles have had preliminary talks with righty starter Chris Tillman about an extension, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun writes. Encina characterizes those talks as “introductory,” suggesting that no deal is imminent.
This isn’t the first time the Orioles have expressed interest in extending Tillman, who is eligible for free agency after next season. (He is set to make a projected $10.6MM next season through the arbitration process.) As Encina notes, Orioles stars Manny Machado, Adam Jones and Zach Britton are eligible for free agency following the 2018 campaign. Extending Tillman, then, would help the O’s build a bridge between their current core and whatever that core might look like two to three years from now.
Tillman posted a 3.77 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 172 solid innings in 2016. Those numbers roughly align with his career 4.13 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Tillman has rarely been among the AL’s top starters, but he’s been reliable and healthy, having pitched at least 172 frames in each of the past four seasons. (He did, however, miss a few weeks with a shoulder inflammation this season.) Those qualities could make him good money next winter, especially since he’ll be just 29. If extension talks with the Orioles do progress, Tillman’s camp could point to recently extended starters with five-plus years of service time such as Homer Bailey (who received six years and $105MM and an option) and Rick Porcello (four years, $82MM) as potential templates.
Little Momentum Between Indians, Edwin Encarnacion
TUESDAY: There isn’t currently much momentum between Encarnacion and the Indians, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Crasnick writes that Encarnacion hopes to receive a longer and more lucrative contract than the Indians are willing to offer.
MONDAY: The Indians are discussing a multi-year contract with slugger Edwin Encarnacion, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Cleveland’s interest in Encarnacion was first reported earlier today, and it appears as though the Tribe has more than just a cursory interest — talks are “serious,” Hoynes writes, though there’s no indication that the two sides are close to any sort of agreement.
With Mike Napoli a free agent, the Tribe have been connected to several first basemen this offseason, though Encarnacion (the top first base option on the market) was widely considered to be beyond Cleveland’s financial reach. When asked if this was the case, however, Indians director of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said “you don’t have to curb expectations. We are being exhaustive in exploring options to improve our position player club.”
A source tells Hoynes that the Tribe’s run to Game 7 of the World Series may have generated as much as $48MM in extra revenue for the club, which could provide Antonetti and company with some unexpected payroll flexibility. It could be something of a perfect storm for Cleveland, as the team’s extra money coincides with a possible downturn in Encarnacion’s market — potential suitors like the Blue Jays, Astros, Yankees have acquired other players, while the Red Sox and Rangers have both shown only lukewarm interest.
The draft pick compensation tied to Encarnacion (due to his rejection of the Jays’ qualifying offer) has also reportedly factored into his relatively quiet market, and giving up the 27th overall pick of the 2017 draft to sign Encarnacion is surely a major consideration for the Indians as well. The loss of a first-rounder is even a bigger hurdle for a smaller-market team like Cleveland that relies on cost-effective young talent, and the Tribe already dealt several top prospects for Andrew Miller at last July’s deadline.
In a projected lineup, Encarnacion would split the first base/DH duties with Carlos Santana. Michael Brantley‘s status could also be of note here, as after missing almost all of 2016 with shoulder and biceps injuries, Brantley’s ability to play the outfield next year could be somewhat in question.
Red Sox Sign Mitch Moreland
The Red Sox have announced that they’ve signed first baseman Mitch Moreland to a one-year contract. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was first to tweet news of the deal. Moreland will receive $5.5MM, Rosenthal’s colleague Jon Morosi tweets. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that the two sides were in talks. Moreland is represented by RMG Baseball.
[Related: Updated Boston Red Sox Depth Chart]
Moreland hit a disappointing .233/.298/.422 with 22 home runs in 2016 and has been inconsistent in his seven years in the big leagues, although his .278/.330/.482 season in 2015 shows what he’s capable of in a good year. He’s also a capable defender at first base, with a 6.4 UZR and 7 DRS there last season, and he’s capable of playing corner outfield in a pinch. The 31-year-old Moreland has hit .254/.315/.438 with 110 home runs in a big-league career spent entirely with the Rangers.
The deal caps what’s been a huge day for the Red Sox, who have also acquired Tyler Thornburg and, more notably, Chris Sale. Moreland should provide Boston with help at the first base and DH spots, likely in tandem with a right-handed hitter — he’s batted just .240/.275/.398 against lefties in his career. The Red Sox need help at DH following the retirement of David Ortiz, and Moreland would seem to be at least a hedge against the possibility that they’ll acquire a higher-profile player, like Edwin Encarnacion (who they seemed unlikely to sign anyway, in part due to luxury-tax concerns) or Mike Napoli. In fact, with Hanley Ramirez also in tow, Moreland’s signing but all but shut those doors. The team also recently lost Travis Shaw in the trade that brought Thornburg to Boston, and Moreland will replace some of the at-bats the lefty-swinging Shaw took at first base. It would appear, then, that the Red Sox are attempting to compensate for Ortiz’s departure by strengthening their rotation, rather than by adding a superstar to replace him at DH or first base.
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