Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mets, Brandon Waddell Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Mets are in agreement with left-hander Brandon Waddell on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. While it was initially reported as an MLB deal, Murray subsequently issued a correction. The deal is pending a physical.

Waddell is the second former member of the Korea Baseball Organization’s Doosan Bears to agree to terms with the Mets today. New York added multi-positional bat Jared Young on an MLB split deal after he clubbed 10 homers in 38 games for the Bears late in the season. Waddell, a 30-year-old southpaw, spent parts of three years with the club between 2022-24.

That was a generally successful run. Waddell turned in 244 2/3 innings of 2.98 ERA ball in the KBO. That included a 3.12 mark in 75 frames this year. The UVA product fanned 23.8% of opposing hitters against a 3.5% walk rate. His season was unfortunately cut short by a rotator cuff injury in late June.

The Mets were evidently intrigued enough by Waddell’s form to give him a look as non-roster rotation or long relief depth. This will be his first stint in affiliated ball since 2022, which he spent in Triple-A in the St. Louis system. Waddell last pitched in the big leagues in 2021. He divided that season between four teams — the Twins, Pirates, Orioles and Cardinals — and allowed eight runs across 9 1/3 innings. He has 11 career MLB appearances and owns a 5.37 ERA over parts of four years at the Triple-A level.

Finlete Offers Fans The Opportunity To Acquire A Piece Of Emmanuel Clase’s MLB Salary (Sponsored)

By | at

The following is a sponsored post from Finlete.

As anyone who watched the Cleveland Guardians this past season can attest to, entrusting the ninth inning to a lights-out closer like Emmanuel Clase is about as good as it gets. For the Guardians, it’s a competitive edge that few other teams can match. For fans, it’s a reason to rise from your seat. For Clase, it further solidifies his surging trajectory as one of the best closers of all-time – a fact that leaves him well-positioned to become one of the highest paid relievers in the game.

Finlete, a new sports investment platform, has partnered with Clase to offer fans the chance to invest in his career and get a piece of his MLB salary in exchange. Investors will receive their first dividend in the middle of the 2025 MLB season.

Clase represents the second athlete and first active Major Leaguer to sign a future earnings contract with Finlete, following Marlins prospect Echedry Vargas earlier this year. The company expects to launch several more athletes in 2025. Fans can currently get in on the ground floor of this exciting, SEC-compliant platform.

You may be asking yourself, what’s in it for Emmanuel? Well, the answers are clear. For starters, Finlete is raising capital for Clase, which he can spend on his family, offseason training, and his own investment goals. He also benefits from Finlete by forging a connection with a rapidly growing community of fan-investors who are first and foremost fans of his, regardless of what team he plays for. Those who invest have every incentive to support his career from both an emotional and financial standpoint every step of the way. Game in, game out. Season in, season out. Through Finlete, Clase is building a devoted fanbase of uniquely invested supporters.

Let’s look back at the major milestones notched by Clase during the 2024 MLB season:

  • 3-time AL Reliever of the Month
  • 3rd straight All-Star appearance
  • 3rd straight year leading AL in Saves
  • 2nd All-MLB 1st Team honors
  • 2nd Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year Award
  • 1st reliever to finish top 3 in Cy Young voting since 2008
  • 5th lowest single-season ERA in MLB history (0.61)
  • Became Cleveland’s all-time Saves leader (157)
  • Set a Cleveland record for Saves in a season (47)
  • Converted 34 Saves in a row

All in all, it was a banner season for the 26-year old, and one of the most dominating ever recorded in MLB history.

Now let’s talk finances. Currently, Clase is locked into a team-friendly contract extension with Cleveland that he signed in 2022. Over the remainder of the contract, he’s set to receive base salaries of:

  • 2024: $2.9 million
  • 2025: $4.9 million
  • 2026: $6.4 million
  • 2027: $10 million (club option)
  • 2028: $10 million (club option)

The contract also includes the following clauses:

  • 2027 club option includes a $2M buyout
  • 2028 club option includes a $1M buyout
  • Cy Young Award Bonus Structure
    • 1st Place: $250K
    • 2nd or 3rd Place: $150K
    • 4th or 5th Place: $75K
  • Mariano Rivera or Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year Award: $100K
  • All-Star: $100K
  • ALCS MVP: $50K
  • World Series MVP: $100K
  • $500,000 for 200 innings pitched or 200 appearances from 2022-2026
  • Trade Assignment Bonus: $1M

Thanks to his excellence at the back end of the Cleveland bullpen, it should come as no surprise that Clase has earned nearly every major possible incentive in his contract.

Given that he’s now entering the prime of his career age-wise, barring health issues or a sudden drop in effectiveness, he should be in a strong position to become one of the highest-paid relief pitchers when he reaches free agency in 2029 (assuming his 2027 and 2028 club options are picked up).

Those who invest in Clase’s career through Finlete will get a piece of his earnings for the rest of his career. That starts with the $30+ million he currently has left on his contract and gets even more exciting once he reaches free agency. The greater his success on the field between now and then, the greater the size of his next contract will likely be, and the greater the potential return for investors.

The minimum investment is under $400 and Finlete is currently offering up to 25% bonus shares when you invest today. Additionally, investors are eligible to receive exclusive bonus perks such as a baseball or baseball card signed by Clase and a special baseball trip package during the upcoming MLB season.

The world of sports investing is changing rapidly, that much is clear. The line between fan and investor is blurring, and Finlete is at the forefront of it all. This is your chance to join a superstar athlete on their journey in a meaningful and potentially lucrative way. See the game from a totally new perspective and own a tangible piece of the action.

Welcome to the future. Welcome to Finlete. To learn more about this new sports investment platform, visit finlete.com today.

Tigers, Brian Serven Agree To Minor League Contract

By | at

The Tigers are in agreement with catcher Brian Serven on a minor league deal, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball (X link). Serven, a PRIME client, will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Serven, 29, joins the fourth organization of his career. A fifth-round pick of the Rockies in 2016, he got to the big leagues six years later. The Arizona State product appeared in 62 games as a rookie, hitting .203/.261/.332 in a backup role. He only made 11 appearances the following season, spending the bulk of the year in Triple-A on optional assignment. Colorado placed him on waivers last winter.

The Cubs claimed Serven and briefly carried him on their 40-man roster. Chicago designated him for assignment around one week later. He landed with the Blue Jays on another claim. Toronto ran him through waivers at the end of January but reselected his contract after Danny Jansen broke a bone in his wrist in Spring Training.

Serven spent the majority of the season on Toronto’s 40-man. He only made 28 big league appearances, hitting .159/.243/.222 across 71 trips to the plate. Serven showed much better on-base skills in the minors. The right-handed hitter put up a .265/.390/.379 slash over 40 Triple-A contests. His overall offensive track record is middling, though, and the Jays designated him for assignment when they claimed Tyler Heineman off waivers in September. Serven elected minor league free agency at season’s end.

Jake Rogers will open the season as A.J. Hinch’s primary catcher. Dillon Dingler is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. He debuted this past season and struggled to a .167/.195/.310 batting line in his first 27 MLB contests. Dingler still has a couple minor league options remaining, so the Tigers could turn to a more experienced backup if they want the former second-round pick to continue playing regularly in Triple-A. Detroit could continue looking for upper minors depth, but there’s a decent opportunity right now for Serven to play his way into the backup role.

Mets Sign Jared Young To Major League Deal

By | at

The Mets announced that they have signed infielder Jared Young to a one-year major league contract. The club has multiple vacancies on its 40-man roster and won’t need to make a corresponding move for the Ball Players Agency client. Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that it’s a split deal with “seven-figure upside.” The Associated Press reports that Young will make a prorated $1.15MM salary while in the majors and be paid at a $425K rate for his time in the minor leagues.

Young, 29, has struggled with strikeouts in his very limited major league career but has performed well in the minors and in Korea. In 2022 and 2023, he got into 22 games for the Cubs and stepped to the plate 69 times. He struck out in 29% of those appearances but tallied a few extra base hits and some walks, leading to a .210/.290/.435 line and wRC+ of 98.

He was claimed off waivers by the Cardinals after the 2023 campaign and then outrighted off their roster going into 2024. In July, he signed with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization. His stint in Korea seemed to go very well, as he hit 10 home runs in just 169 plate appearances over a 38-game stretch. He struck out 20.7% of the time while drawing walks at a 12.4% clip. That led to a .326/.420/.660 line and massive 172 wRC+.

His strong performance in Korea and his weak performance in the majors both come in fairly small sample sizes. His body of work in the minors is naturally larger and has been quite good. Over the past four years, he has 1,402 minor league plate appearances. In that time, he has an 11.3% walk rate, 21.5% strikeout rate, .274/.370/.488 batting line and 124 wRC+. Over the past two years, it has been a 13.7% walk rate, 20.7% strikeout rate, .299/.414/.547 line and 145 wRC+.

The Mets are apparently intrigued enough by those numbers to give Young a roster spot, though he still has options and can therefore be kept in Triple-A as a depth piece. Defensively, Young has lined up at all four infield spots, though his shortstop work consists of just nine innings at Low-A back in 2017. He’s also spent some time in the outfield corners, so perhaps there’s a path for Young to fill a utility role in Queens.

Pete Alonso is currently a free agent and could perhaps re-sign with the Mets. But under the current roster construction, Mark Vientos projects as the first baseman since he just had an offensive breakout but with poor glovework at third. Second base is also a bit of a question mark after an uneven season from Jeff McNeil. Guys like Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio or Luisangel Acuña could perhaps offers solutions at those spots but they’re not fully established majors leaguers yet. Young will give the Mets another option in that mix.

Young has less than a year of service time, which could mean the Mets can cheaply control him for years to come. However, players returning from stints overseas can often negotiate clauses in their contracts that allow them to return to the open market despite not having six years of service time. It’s unclear whether Young will definitely be a free agent again after 2025 or if the Mets can theoretically retain him as long as his service time clock is below six years.

Where Will Corbin Burnes End Up?

By | at

With Blake Snell and Max Fried off the board, Corbin Burnes stands alone at the top of the pitching market. There was some thought that the former Cy Young winner might sign within a day or two of Fried agreeing to an eight-year term at the Winter Meetings. That hasn’t happened, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if Burnes signs before league activity goes quiet with the holidays next week.

Thus far, the starting pitching class has outperformed expectations. That’s most true of Fried, whom few would’ve foreseen getting eight years or handily beating $200MM at the start of the offseason. With Fried securing $218MM, how much should one project upwards on Burnes? Every free agent projection would’ve had Burnes above Fried when the offseason got underway. Fried money feels like a floor for Burnes, whom MLBTR predicted for seven years and $200MM just six weeks ago.

That said, the Yankees and Mets were two of the most obvious on-paper fits at the start of the offseason. The Yankees can safely be ruled out after the Fried deal. The Mets are still in the market for starting pitching and have the payroll room to lurk as a threat on Burnes even after landing Juan Soto. Yet it seems the Mets’ focus for starting pitching has been on the middle tiers. They added Frankie Montas and converted Clay Holmes to the rotation, preferring more affordable upside plays than a quick strike for any of free agency’s top three arms. They’re reportedly still interested in re-signing Sean Manaea, which would very likely close the door on a Burnes acquisition.

Recent rumors have most prominently connected Burnes to a few teams: the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Giants and (to a lesser extent) the Orioles. Boston is still engaged in the rotation market after landing Garrett Crochet last week. Trading for Crochet leaves them with ample payroll space — the former White Sox staff ace is projected for a meager $2.9MM arbitration salary — but could indicate that the Sox weren’t keen on the climbing cost for free agent starting pitching.

The Giants would benefit greatly from an ace they could plug alongside Logan Webb in the rotation to replace Snell’s production. Yet San Francisco has already made a pair of big investments ($151MM on the Matt Chapman extension, $182MM for Willy Adames) within the past few months. Does ownership have interest in a deal that should easily exceed those already significant contracts?

Depending on how one feels about the Andrés Giménez trade, it’s debatable whether the Blue Jays have made a splash acquisition this offseason. They were heavily involved on Soto and Fried but watched both players head elsewhere. Their front office could be most motivated to land a marquee free agent, but they’re also faced with some payroll questions. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith wrote last week that the Jays landing Burnes “doesn’t seem especially likely,” suggesting the organization could prefer to focus on a bat as its biggest addition while looking for a cheaper rebound target on the rotation front.

Maybe that opens the opportunity for the incumbent Orioles to make a push. GM Mike Elias has said that the ownership change has allowed the O’s front office to explore the top of the rotation market. (They reportedly were involved on Snell, in particular.) Still, it’s fair to take a “believe it when I see it” approach for Baltimore. The O’s have brought up spending since David Rubenstein purchased the franchise in April. They took on Zach Eflin’s $18MM salary in a deadline trade with the Rays and signed Tyler O’Neill for three years and $49.5MM last week. Yet neither investment is close to what it’d take to retain Burnes.

How will the Burnes situation play out? Will there be a late push by a mystery team to land him, and how much will it take? Is he soon to be the latest beneficiary of a bullish rotation market, or is the number of teams willing to make a $200MM+ investment drying up?

Which Team Will Sign Corbin Burnes?
Giants. 34.61% (4,487 votes)
Red Sox. 20.56% (2,665 votes)
Orioles. 13.95% (1,809 votes)
Blue Jays. 11.40% (1,478 votes)
Other (specify in comments). 10.06% (1,304 votes)
Mets. 9.43% (1,222 votes)
Total Votes: 12,965

 

What Will Burnes Be Guaranteed?
$240MM - $259MM. 28.18% (2,346 votes)
$220MM - $239MM. 26.26% (2,186 votes)
$260MM - $279MM. 14.46% (1,204 votes)
$200MM - $219MM. 11.32% (942 votes)
$280MM - $299MM. 7.51% (625 votes)
$300MM or more. 6.45% (537 votes)
Less than $200MM. 5.83% (485 votes)
Total Votes: 8,325

 

Guardians Re-Sign Dom Nuñez To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Guardians announced they have re-signed catcher Dom Nuñez to a minor league deal. The ALIGND Sports Agency also receives an invite to big league spring training with the Guards, just as he did last offseason.

Nuñez, 30 in January, spent the 2024 season with Triple-A Columbus. He got into 68 games at that level, stepping to the plate 263 times. He struck out in 30% of those trips, certainly a high number, but also drew walks at a hefty 16% clip. That resulted in a .202/.330/.339 batting line and 81 wRC+.

The Guards never needed to call Nuñez up to the majors, using Bo Naylor, Austin Hedges and David Fry to handle the big league catching duties. Fry didn’t really catch in the second half due to elbow problems and that will carry over into next year. He had a hybrid/internal brace and tendon reconstruction surgery in November, which is expected to have a 12-month recovery timetable. He will be able to serve as the designated hitter at some point next year but won’t be part of the catching plans.

That effectively leaves Naylor and Hedges as the two backstops on Cleveland’s roster, so the odds of needing to use a depth option will perhaps be higher next year, unless they add someone else to the roster later in the winter.

Nuñez didn’t make it to the majors in 2024 but does have big league experience, getting 347 plate appearances with the Rockies from 2019 to 2022. He was punched out 34% of the time but also earned free passes at a 12.4% clip. Unlike his 2024 season in Triple-A, the walks weren’t enough to bolster his overall numbers to respectable levels, so he currently has a career batting line of .180/.280/.373 in the majors for a 58 wRC+. His framing received strong grades from FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Statcast during his brief major league work in Colorado.

It’s not an overwhelming profile, but for a non-roster catcher, he at least has some positive attributes with the ability to take a walk and frame a pitch. If the Guards bring him up to the majors at any point next year, he hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration and still has an option year, meaning he’ll be cheap and provide roster flexibility.

D-backs Had Interest In Devin Williams Prior To Yankees Trade

By | at

The Diamondbacks are known to be on the lookout for high-leverage options in the bullpen — general manager Mike Hazen has said as much on record — and they spoke to the Brewers about a potential deal for Devin Williams before Milwaukee traded him to the Yankees, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reports.

On the one hand, it’s entirely unsurprising that a team seeking a leverage arm would throw its hat into the ring with regard to Williams. On the other, it’s at least tangentially notable, given the number of similarly priced late-inning arms on the market. If the Snakes were trying to engage the Brewers on Williams, it stands to reason that Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley, Rays closer Pete Fairbanks and perhaps Houston’s Ryan Pressly are all of varying levels of interest. (At $14MM, Pressly costs significantly more than the other listed options, it should be noted.)

The bullpen market, unlike in many recent offseasons, has been slow to develop this winter. That could be in part due to the presence of names like Williams, Helsley, Fairbanks and Pressly (among others) all potentially being available. To this point, the only signings of note have been Aroldis Chapman (one year, $10.75MM to the Red Sox), Blake Treinen (two years, $22MM back to the Dodgers), Yimi Garcia (two years, $15MM back to the Blue Jays) and Jordan Romano (one year, $8.5MM to the Phillies). None of the market’s top relievers have come off the board, save for righty Clay Holmes, who signed a three-year deal to convert to a starting role with the Mets.

After last week’s Winter Meetings drew to a close, D-backs general manager Mike Hazen told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that both free agent and trade scenarios are still in play. Arizona did not complete any deals at last week’s event, but Hazen expressed confidence that the groundwork for future transactions was laid.

“There’s free-agent situations and trade situations that are both out there for all the areas that we’re looking at,” said Hazen, who is also looking for help at first base. “Trying to find what combinations go together in different ways is part of what we’re discussing right now.”

The top names still on the free agent market include Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez. All figure to command multi-year deals, with Scott in particular standing a chance at landing four years. That type of contract length could be an issue for the D-backs. Under Hazen, they’ve never signed a free agent reliever for more than two years and never gone higher than a $7MM annual value (as shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker). The market has plenty of intriguing one-year options as well, though any of David Robertson, Kirby Yates or Kenley Jansen would require pushing well past that $7MM highwater mark.

Brewers Grant Release To Jon Duplantier To Pursue NPB Opportunity

By | at

The Brewers have granted right-hander Jon Duplantier his release so that he can pursue an opportunity with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.

Duplantier, 30, inked a minor league deal with Milwaukee back in November and had been slated to compete for a job in spring training. It would seem that the opportunity overseas presented itself between the completion of that deal and today’s news, and the Brewers opted not to stand in the way of Duplantier’s guaranteed payday in NPB.

A former third-round pick and consensus top-100 prospect, Duplantier has only pitched in parts of two big league seasons: 2019 and 2021. Both came with the D-backs, who originally selected him in the 2016 draft. Duplantier held his own through 36 2/3 innings as a rookie in ’19 but was bombarded for 19 runs in only 13 innings in ’21. He’s posted a 6.70 ERA in 49 2/3 innings, striking out 19.7% of opponents against an 11.2% walk rate.

That was quite some time ago now. More recently, Duplantier dominated for the independent American Association’s Lake Country DockHounds in 2024, posting 18 scoreless frames with a 30-to-6 K/BB ratio. He parlayed that into Triple-A looks with the Dodgers and Mets, pitching to a combined 4.20 ERA with a 27.4% strikeout rate and grisly 16.1% walk rate in 65 2/3 innings of minor league work. In parts of four Triple-A seasons, Duplantier has a 4.85 ERA with similar strikeout and walk rates to the ones he notched in 2024.

Dodgers To Sign Matt Sauer To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Dodgers and right-hander Matt Sauer have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The Paragon Sports International client also receives an invite to major league spring training.

Sauer, 26 in January, got to make his major league debut in 2024. The Royals used the second pick of the Rule 5 draft to grab him from the Yankees a year ago. He held a roster spot for a while but allowed 14 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings, leading to a 7.71 earned run average. He gave out 11 walks while only recording nine strikeouts. The Royals returned him to the Yankees before the end of May.

The Yanks then sent him to Triple-A, a level he had never pitched at before, but he struggled there as well. He allowed 15 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings, so the Yanks sent him down to Double-A. He finished the season there on a high note, throwing 24 innings over 17 relief appearances with a 2.63 ERA, 22.3% strikeout rate, 3.2% walk rate and 46.4% ground ball rate. He was able to elect free agency at the end of the season.

Prior to 2024, Sauer had primarily been a starter. In 2023, he tossed 74 innings over 17 minor league appearances with a 3.41 ERA, 30.3% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate. The Royals thought perhaps that moving him to the bullpen could help unlock something, which didn’t work out initially, though Sauer’s second half in 2024 was encouraging.

Sauer is unlikely to crack the Opening Day roster for the Dodgers, given his fairly limited experience in Triple-A and in the majors. But injuries are inevitable and the club will surely have to dip into its depth at some point over a long season. If Sauer can carry over his strong finish from 2024, he could earn his way back to the majors. If he does so, he has a full slate of options and minimal service time.

Cubs Interested In Jesus Luzardo

By | at

Dec. 16: Bruce Levine of 670 The Score said in an appearance on the Mully & Haugh show this morning that the Cubs and Marlins have been working on a potential Luzardo deal for some time now (audio link, Luzardo talk at 7:37am mark). Levine adds that a trade for Luzardo is something the Cubs “would really like to get done … in the next few days.”

That, of course, doesn’t necessarily indicate that a trade is close at the moment, but it’s nevertheless notable that the two parties are in ongoing discussions and that the Cubs feel strongly about trying to push something across the finish line.

Dec. 14: The Cubs already added Matthew Boyd to their rotation this winter but remain interested in adding another prominent name (if not someone at the top of the free agent market) to a starter group that already includes Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, and Jameson Taillon as the top three.  Such trade and free agent targets as Luis Castillo and Walker Buehler have been linked to Chicago already, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the Cubs have also shown interest in Marlins left-hander Jesus Luzardo.

Reports surfaced during the Winter Meetings about some teams checking in on Luzardo’s services, as it could be that teams were investigating a buy-low possibility.  Luzardo has been mentioned as a potential trade candidate even before the Marlins entered their latest teardown, and had he been healthy in 2024, it is quite possible he would’ve already been shipped off to a different team prior to the last trade deadline.  Unfortunately for Luzardo and the Marlins, he was limited to 12 starts and 66 2/3 innings due to elbow problems and repeated back problems, including as a stress reaction in his lower back.

Injuries have essentially been the story of Luzardo’s career over his six Major League seasons with the A’s and Marlins.  He has 512 innings pitched across parts of those six seasons, with 178 2/3 of those frames coming in 2023.  Luzardo’s career 4.29 ERA includes a lot of peaks and valleys, with struggles in 2021 and 2024 undermining his otherwise above-average numbers.

The inconsistency resulted in lowering Luzardo’s price tag as he entered his arbitration years, and MLBTR projects him to earn $6MM this winter in his second of three arb-eligible seasons.  If he can replicate his 2023 form, his 2025-26 salaries will be a significant bargain for the Marlins or whatever team Luzardo is pitching for, and he is only entering his age-27 season.

The upside here is obvious, except the obvious concern for any interested teams is that they don’t know what version of Luzardo will show up in 2025.  This could make it hard for Miami to land on an acceptable trade package with the Cubs or any other team, simply because the Marlins naturally want to get as much as they can in return for one of their top trade chips.  Waiting until the deadline might be the wiser tack for Peter Bendix’s front office, as while Luzardo runs the risk of getting hurt again, a healthy and effective first half would restore his trade value.

670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reports that Miami is looking for a “young controllable bat back” in a Luzardo deal, and suggests that the Cubs would have to give up a top prospect like Owen Caissie or James Triantos.  Considering those two are both within the top 55 of MLB Pipeline’s rankings of the top minor leaguers in all of baseball, it would be bold on Chicago’s part to move Caissie or Triantos for an injury-prone pitcher coming off a 5.00 ERA season.

Then again, the Marlins scored a nice trade package for another oft-injured, inconsistent pitcher at the last deadline when they got Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers from the Orioles for Trevor Rogers.  While the deal raised eyebrows at the time, it underscored the value that teams put on controllable pitching.  Of course, the fact that Rogers heavily struggled after the trade to Baltimore also highlights the risk involved in such trades.  The Cubs have already shown their aggression this winter by trading for Kyle Tucker, and might be willing to dip into their deep farm system again in order to make a potentially huge rotation upgrade.  Assuming that the likes of Caissie or Triandos are even on the table in potential trades, Chicago might prefer to opt to move those kinds of prospects only for a more reliable pitcher.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top