Red Sox Interested In Pedro Alvarez
In the wake of David Ortiz‘s retirement, the Red Sox have cast a wide net in their search for a designated hitter and now have interest in free agent DH/corner infielder Pedro Alvarez, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman.
Boston is familiar with Alvarez, who spent the 2016 season with the AL East rival Orioles. The powerful Alvarez hit .249/.322/.504 with 22 home runs in 376 plate appearances with Baltimore, and recorded the majors’ 20th-highest ISO (.255) among those with at least 350 PAs.
Before joining the Orioles on a $5.75MM deal last winter, Alvarez spent the first six years of his career in Pittsburgh, but he only became a Pirate after electing against signing with the Red Sox in 2005. Back then, Boston used a 14th-round draft pick on Alvarez, who instead chose to play college baseball at Vanderbilt. That proved to be a wise move, as Alvarez ended up going second overall in the 2008 draft on the heels of a stellar college career.
As a member of the Pirates, Alvarez batted .236/.309/.441 in 2,784 trips to the plate in parts of six seasons and finished with at least 25 homers in three different campaigns. The lefty-swinging Alvarez had serious trouble with southpaw pitchers in Pittsburgh, though, which was also the case last season. Since he cracked the majors in 2010, lefties have held the 29-year-old Alvarez to a .205/.271/.334 line in 605 PAs. Notably, in-house Red Sox DH candidate Pablo Sandoval has also fared poorly against lefties during his career. However, Boston does have southpaw-mashing outfielder Chris Young on hand as a potential platoon partner for either.
Aside from Alvarez, other available DH types who have drawn Boston’s interest this offseason include Edwin Encarnacion, Matt Holliday and Mike Napoli. The Red Sox are likely out of the Encarnacion sweepstakes because of a reluctance to spend past the $195MM luxury-tax threshold, though.
Trade/FA Notes: Cards, Hudson, Bucs, Red Sox, Mets, Ross
Opposing teams bring up right-handers Carlos Martinez and Alex Reyes more than any other Cardinals in trade talks, general manager John Mozeliak told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Unsurprisingly, though, the Redbirds are “extremely unlikely” to deal either, said Mozeliak. The Cardinals were interested in extending Martinez as of October. For now, Martinez is arbitration eligible for the first time, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $5.3MM award. The 22-year-old Reyes, on the other hand, won’t hit arbitration until after the 2019 season. Mozeliak is focusing on helping Martinez, Reyes and the rest of the Cardinals’ pitchers by improving the team’s defense this offseason, which he realizes “took a step backwards” in 2016. “We put a lot of stress on our pitchers this past year. Our whole staff is defined by ground balls. It’s a pretty simple leap to say that if we play better defense, we’re going to win more games,” he commented.
More rumblings:
- Sixteen teams have shown interest in free agent reliever Daniel Hudson, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag. One of those clubs is the Diamondbacks, with whom the right-hander pitched from 2010-16. With a 5.22 ERA in 60 1/3 innings, the two-time Tommy John surgery recipient struggled to prevent runs last season, but he did show impressive velocity and post respectable strikeout (8.65) and walk (3.28) rates per nine.
- The Pirates are willing to pay some of left-handed reliever Antonio Bastardo‘s $6.5MM salary for 2017 in order to trade him, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Bastardo’s coming off a disappointing year spent with the Mets and Bucs, as he logged a 4.52 ERA in 67 2/3 innings and allowed a .253/.321/.495 line to lefty hitters. He’s currently one of four southpaws in Pittsburgh’s bullpen, joining Tony Watson, Felipe Rivero and Wade LeBlanc.
- In the event the Red Sox prefer a left-handed hitter to take over their vacant designated hitter job, they could attempt to acquire Jay Bruce or Curtis Granderson from the Mets, writes Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. The Mets look likely to trade at least one of the two outfielders this offseason, perhaps as early as the winter meetings.
- Free agent righty Tyson Ross will take his time signing with a team, tweets Peter Gammons, who notes that the 29-year-old should recover from October surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome between February and April. The Padres non-tendered Ross on Friday after he missed nearly all of last season with shoulder troubles.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12/4/16
Sunday’s minor moves from around baseball:
- The Braves have announced a one-year major league agreement with left-handed reliever Jacob Lindgren, whom the Yankees non-tendered Friday. The 2014 second-round pick briefly cracked the majors in 2015, but elbow issues limited him both that year and this past season. Lindgren threw just seven innings in 2016 – all with the Yankees’ High-A affiliate – before undergoing Tommy John surgery in August. The 23-year-old could miss all of next season while recovering from the procedure, but the Braves will retain his rights beyond then if he’s on their 40-man roster, as ESPN’s Keith Law notes (via Twitter).
- Two days after the Reds non-tendered Gabby Guerrero, the club has re-signed the outfielder to a minor league deal, according to Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). The Reds claimed the nephew of former major league star Vladimir Guerrero off waivers from the Diamondbacks last week. The soon-to-be 23-year-old was a well-regarded prospect with the Mariners at one time, but he struggled with the Seattle and Arizona organizations over the past two seasons. Guerrero posted a .223/.258/.346 line in 488 Double-A plate appearances in 2015, when he was part of a trade involving Mark Trumbo and Welington Castillo, and stumbled to a combined .234/.281/.383 showing with the D-backs’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates last season.
Cafardo’s Latest: Holliday, Turner, Astros, Royals, Tigers
The Red Sox have reached out to agent Scott Boras regarding free agent Matt Holliday, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The soon-to-be 37-year-old has played the outfield almost exclusively in his career as a member of the Rockies, Athletics and Cardinals, but it’s likely he’d serve as a designated hitter for the David Ortiz-less Red Sox. Holliday would be a reasonably priced option for a Boston team that’s reluctant to spend past the $195MM luxury-tax threshold, though his numbers fell off last year in St. Louis. The career .303/.382/.515 hitter dealt with injuries and batted a so-so .246/.322/.461 in 426 plate appearances. He did swat at least 20 home runs for the 10th time, however.
More from Cafardo:
- Third baseman Justin Turner, arguably the best player left on the market, is likely to re-sign with the Dodgers, according to Cafardo. Aside from the Cardinals showing some degree of interest in Turner, there hasn’t been much chatter regarding the 32-year-old to this point. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicts Turner will return to the Dodgers on a five-year, $85MM deal after a season in which he slashed .275/.339/.493, totaled 5.6 fWAR, and set career highs in plate appearances (622) and home runs (27).
- The Astros are willing to listen to offers for catcher/designated hitter Evan Gattis and right-hander Collin McHugh, per Cafardo. Gattis, who has two years of team control left and will make $5.2MM in 2017, has perhaps become movable with the Astros having added catcher Brian McCann and DH/outfielder Carlos Beltran this offseason. The Astros don’t seem as well off in their rotation, even after signing Charlie Morton, and the 29-year-old McHugh led the team in innings pitched (184 1/3) this past season and posted decent numbers (4.34 ERA, 8.63 K/9, 2.63 BB/9). MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $4.6MM salary in 2017 for McHugh, who will make his first of three trips through arbitration.
- The Royals could trade both star closer Wade Davis and outfielder Jarrod Dyson within the next week, writes Cafardo. From a financial standpoint, Davis would certainly represent a cheaper option than top-tier free agent closers Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon, as he’s due a reasonable $10MM next season – the final year of his contract. Teams have expressed interest in Davis since the summer, while the speedy, defensively adept Dyson is also on clubs’ radars. Like Davis, Dyson is set to become a free agent after next season. Swartz projects a $2.5MM salary for him in 2017.
- Roughly 10 teams have contacted free agent right-hander Jason Hammel‘s representative, Alan Nero, according to Cafardo. Although the 34-year-old Hammel is fresh off three straight solid seasons, the Cubs declined his 2017 option last month. That came at an opportune time for Hammel, who should be in line for a multiyear deal as one of the top starters in a weak free agent class.
- Given that they’re aiming to slash payroll and get younger, the Tigers are willing to deal closer Francisco Rodriguez, relays Cafardo. K-Rod is due $6MM next year, his age-35 season, after converting 44 of 49 save chances and logging a 3.24 ERA, 8.02 K/9, 3.24 BB/9 and career-high 54.7 percent ground-ball rate in 58 1/3 innings in 2016.
Rumors: Dodgers, BoSox, Astros, O’s, Rockies, Nats
Twins general manager Thad Levine revealed earlier this week that the team would have to be “really inspired” to trade second baseman Brian Dozier. It’s now possible the Dodgers will do enough to wow Minnesota into dealing Dozier, as Los Angeles is aggressively pursuing the slugger and has “piqued” the Twins’ interest, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). The second base-needy Dodgers have been after Dozier throughout the offseason.
More rumblings with the winter meetings set to commence:
- Backing up a recent report from Rob Bradford of WEEI, the Red Sox are unlikely to sign free agent first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Moreover, the Sox probably won’t make any major free agent splashes in general, adds Drellich, thanks in part to their reluctance to spend beyond the $195MM luxury-tax threshold accompanying the new collective bargaining agreement. Boston has exceeded the luxury-tax limit in each of the previous two seasons and will need to pay a 40 to 50 percent penalty if it surpasses the mark for a third straight year.
- In addition to the previously reported Chris Sale, the Astros have interest in Rays ace Chris Archer, per Fanrag’s Jon Heyman. There’s skepticism around the game that the Rays would trade Archer, though. The right-hander is under team control through 2021 at eminently affordable rates.
- A report earlier this week indicated that the Orioles had interest in free agent left-hander Rich Hill, but they haven’t pursued the 36-year-old, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Hill, who was with the O’s in 2009, is on the verge of re-signing with the Dodgers.
- Free agent closer Mark Melancon reportedly has four-year offers worth $60MM-plus in hand from San Francisco, Washington and perhaps another team. In light of that, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets that the Rockies probably aren’t the mystery club; however, as a Colorado native, Melancon would be open to taking a bit less to join the Rockies, Saunders hears. General manager Jeff Bridich has reached out to Melancon’s representatives this offseason, but it’s nonetheless difficult to imagine the Rockies putting together a rich enough offer to land the 31-year-old.
- While the Nationals may have shored up the catcher position in trading for Derek Norris and avoiding arbitration with Jose Lobaton earlier this week, they’re still interested in free agent backstop Matt Wieters, relays Kubatko. If the Nats were to sign Wieters, the “sense” across the industry is that they’d look to flip Norris elsewhere.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Cutch, Cards, Jays, Yanks, Trades, FAs
This week in baseball blogs:
- North Shore Nine explains why the Pirates trading center fielder Andrew McCutchen would not be a salary dump.
- Sports Talk Philly doesn’t see McCutchen as a sensible target for the Phillies.
- NYRDCAST interviews Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak.
- BP Toronto advises the Blue Jays to avoid trading for Mets outfielder Jay Bruce.
- Off The Bench Baseball contends that the Athletics should trade right-hander Sonny Gray.
- MLB Reports encourages the Nationals to sign free agent closer Aroldis Chapman.
- Bronx Bomber Blogger opines that the Yankees should sign Chapman and trade left fielder Brett Gardner, among other moves.
- Blue Jay Hunter wonders about a reunion between Toronto and free agent outfielder Ben Revere.
- When Sid Slid delves into the Braves’ reported interest in trading for an ace.
- The Runner Sports reviews the Athletics’ signing of outfielder Matt Joyce.
- Wayniac Nation analyzes the Jaime Garcia trade between the Braves and Cardinals.
- Jays From the Couch (links here) argues for and against Toronto going outside the organization for help.
- Yanks Go Yard predicts the Yankees’ winter meetings moves.
- Inside the ‘Zona focuses on newly acquired Diamondbacks shortstop Ketel Marte.
- Baseball Docs addresses White Sox ace Chris Sale‘s future.
- Now On Deck examines the Orioles’ interest in free agent catcher Matt Wieters and outfielder Angel Pagan.
- The Point of Pittsburgh lays out a few trade scenarios centering on infielder Josh Harrison.
- The 3rd Man In chats with outfield prospect Drew Waters, a potential first-round pick in the 2017 amateur draft.
- Everything Bluebirds suggests that the Blue Jays should regard free agent outfielder Jose Bautista as a first base/designated hitter solution.
- Big Three Sports reacts to this year’s Cy Young Award results.
- Chin Music Baseball names one area in which Orioles third baseman Manny Machado could stand to improve.
- Call To The Pen (links here) looks at what’s ahead for the Phillies at catcher and second base.
- Dan Grant of Same Page Team wants the Blue Jays to turn the page on free agent first baseman/DH Edwin Encarnacion, while Jays Journal expects him to sign elsewhere.
- Angels Win shares the fourth part of its offseason primer for the Halos.
- The Runner Sports profiles Astros right-handed prospect Rogelio Armenteros.
- Extra Innings: Baseball Around the World checks in on how a slew of young players performed at this year’s World Baseball Classic qualifier in Brooklyn.
- Notes From The Sally previews the 2017 Asheville Tourists, the Rockies’ South Atlantic League affiliates.
- Clutchlings takes an in-depth look at Blue Jays left-handed prospect Ryan Borucki.
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Twins Notes: Dozier, Hitting Coach, Ryan
Second baseman Brian Dozier has drawn trade interest from multiple teams this offseason, but the Twins would have to be “really inspired” to even consider moving him, new general manager Thad Levine revealed to season ticket holders Tuesday (via Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press). “Teams that are trying to win immediately have a lot of interest in (Dozier) and they should,” Levine stated. “He’s an exceptional player, but we view him the exact same way. We don’t have an immediate replacement. No one’s replacing his 42 home runs. Even if he backs off a little bit from that, we don’t have an immediate replacement for that.” The Twins do have a potential in-house successor in Jorge Polanco, but the 23-year-old would have a tough act to follow in the event of a Dozier trade. In addition to the 42 homers Levine mentioned, Dozier slashed .268/.340/.546 and accounted for 5.9 fWAR in 691 plate appearances last season. The Twins don’t seem close to contending, though, and Dozier only has two years remaining on his contract. Those factors have led to plenty of speculation about Dozier’s future as he prepares for 2017 – his age-30 season.
More from Minnesota:
- New Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey announced the hiring of James Rowson as the club’s hitting coach Friday. “James is someone who possesses all of the attributes of an impact coach and he’s held in high regard by those who’ve had the chance to work alongside him. It was clear to (manager) Paul (Molitor), Thad, and myself that James is the perfect fit for our organization moving forward,” Falvey said. Rowson’s previous experience as a major league hitting coach came with the Cubs from 2012-13. He spent the past three seasons as the Yankees’ minor league hitting coordinator and will now take over for the fired Tom Brunansky.
- Falvey left room for his predecessor, longtime GM Terry Ryan, to remain with the organization in some capacity. Ryan declined, however, and he explained his decision to Berardino. “I’ve been there 30 years. I think to be fair to everyone that’s there, especially Derek and Thad, I probably need to go elsewhere,” Ryan said Thursday. The 63-year-old Ryan, whom the Twins fired in July, joined the Phillies as a special assignment scout earlier this week.
NL News & Rumors: D-backs, Cubs, Padres, Reds, Marlins
The Diamondbacks are aiming to improve their bullpen and have reached out to a pair of familiar free agent relievers, Brad Ziegler and Daniel Hudson, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Ziegler previously spent parts of six seasons with the Diamondbacks, who traded him to Boston in July. New D-backs executive vice president and general manager Mike Hazen was the Red Sox’s GM at the time, of course, so he’s familiar with Ziegler. Hudson, meanwhile, has been with Arizona since 2010. The 29-year-old has recorded a 4.50 ERA, 9.07 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 128 innings as a reliever over the past two seasons.
More from Arizona and a few other NL cities:
- Along with bolstering his bullpen, Hazen hopes to add left-handed hitters, he told Piecoro. “I think being a little more left-handed could certainly help us,” Hazen said. “Pigeonholing it into one specific focus, I think, would be too complicated to try to pull off. I think we can be opportunistic about that.” The Diamondbacks have four established or potential regulars who are either lefties or switch-hitters in third baseman Jake Lamb, outfielder David Peralta, catcher Chris Herrmann and infielder Ketel Marte, notes Piecoro. They could trade outfielder Yasmany Tomas in an attempt to become less right-handed, but there’s not much of a market for him, sources informed Piecoro. While Tomas belted 29 home runs in 2016, the 26-year-old’s .272/.313/.508 line wasn’t great overall; further, he doesn’t provide defensive or baserunning value and still has $48.5MM coming his way through the 2020 season.
- The Cubs made attempts over the past couple years to acquire right-hander Tyson Ross from the Padres and could pursue him in free agency, according to Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. “The Padres were close to trading Ross to the Cubs for Starlin Castro,” a major league source who worked for one of the teams told Levine. “San Diego execs were mixed on asking for Castro or Javier Baez. The deal went down to the wire in late July of 2015 but never got to the point of exchanging medicals.” Ross was a front-of-the-rotation starter at that point, but he only threw 5 1/3 innings last season and is currently recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The Padres non-tendered him Friday.
- The rebuilding Reds are committed to giving regular playing time to young middle infielder Jose Peraza in 2017, general manager Dick Williams and manager Bryan Price told C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). That’s particularly notable with two up-the-middle veterans – second baseman Brandon Phillips and shortstop Zack Cozart – in place. Cincinnati attempted to deal Phillips last offseason, but he took advantage of his ability to block a trade. Phillips, who has one year and $14MM left on his contract, is reportedly more open to waiving his no-trade clause this offseason. Cozart also has one year of club control remaining, and he nearly went to the Mariners prior to last summer’s non-waiver trade deadline. Seattle has since acquired Jean Segura, taking it out of the running for Cozart, but he could still interest other shortstop-needy teams looking for a capable and affordable stopgap. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $4.7MM arbitration award for Cozart.
- With Jeff Mathis headed to Arizona, the Marlins are in the market for a veteran backup catcher, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Free agents like Geovany Soto and Dioner Navarro are candidates to end up in Miami as the main reserve behind J.T. Realmuto, writes Frisaro.
Casey McGehee To Sign With Japan’s Yomiuri Giants
Free agent corner infielder Casey McGehee has agreed to a one-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). The deal guarantees the Meister Sports Management client $2MM for 2017 and includes another $1MM in incentives, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. It also features a club option for 2018.
This will be the second stint in Japan for McGehee, who spent the 2013 campaign with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Between cracking the major leagues in 2008 and joining Tohoku, McGehee combined to hit .257/.314/.414 in 2,041 plate appearances with the Cubs, Brewers, Pirates and Yankees. His best full season came in 2010 as a member of the Brewers, with whom he slashed .285/.337/.464 and tallied a career-high 23 home runs in 670 PAs.
McGehee returned from Japan in 2014 to sign with the Marlins, and he ended up earning National League Comeback Player of the Year honors after posting a respectable .287/.355/.357 line in 691 trips to the plate. His numbers cratered over the past two seasons with the Marlins, Giants and Tigers, though, and McGehee spent the majority of 2016 with Detroit’s Triple-A affiliate in Toledo. Now, as a result of his recent struggles in the majors, the 34-year-old will head back to Japan.
Miguel Cabrera Open To Trade; Deal Unlikely
The Tigers’ goal is to cut payroll and age from their roster, but they haven’t held active trade talks involving high-priced, 33-year-old first baseman Miguel Cabrera, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman.
“There’s never been anything close,” a source told Heyman in regards to a potential Cabrera trade.
Detroit general manager Al Avila indicated last month that he’d be open to taking offers for Cabrera, though he added that “it would be in [the Tigers’] best interest” to retain the future Hall of Famer. Even if Avila were more willing to part with him, Cabrera’s onerous contract could serve as a significant roadblock. Cabrera still has at least $190MM coming his way through 2024, when he’ll be 41, assuming his employer exercises an $8MM buyout in lieu of picking up a $30MM club option. Regarding the eight-year, $248MM extension then-Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski signed Cabrera to in 2014, a rival GM told Heyman, “Not too many contracts like that one will be given anymore.”
Cabrera also has 10-and-5 rights – meaning he’d be able to veto any trade – but he didn’t rule out playing elsewhere on Saturday, according to Evan Woodbery of MLive.com.
“I love playing in Detroit, I love the city. But the doors are open,” said Cabrera, who added that a trade would have to help the Tigers. “If it’s a good deal, I’ll accept the trade. If the team does not benefit, I prefer to stay in Detroit.”
Cabrera has already been part of one trade in his illustrious career, having gone from the Marlins to the Tigers in a 2007 deal that has worked out brilliantly for Detroit. Since his tenure with the Tigers began in 2008, Cabrera has won two American League MVP awards, gone to seven All-Star games and helped the club to four playoff berths – including a World Series appearance in 2012. Along the way, Cabrera has hit an astounding .325/.404/.573 in 5,929 plate appearances and swatted the second-most home runs in the majors (308, one behind Albert Pujols). Cabrera was his usual excellent self at the plate this past season, slashing .316/.393/.563 with 38 homers in 679 PAs.