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NL West Notes: Gallardo, Miller, Turner, Hill

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The Braves are reportedly fairly deep into talks with an NL West club about a trade. As we wait for more details on that story to unfold, here are some notes from around the division…

  • The Diamondbacks are among the clubs with interest in right-hander Yovani Gallardo, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter). Gallardo is one of a plethora of mid-tier arms that’s available on this year’s free agent market, however he will cost a draft pick in order to sign, and Arizona’s record in 2015 left them with the third-highest unprotected pick (No. 13 overall). That’s a steep price to pay for a mid-rotation arm, though that won’t necessarily stop the club from signing a free agent that rejected a QO. Arizona is just one of many clubs to show interest in Gallardo, per Heyman.
  • Likewise, the D-Backs have inquired on Yankees closer Andrew Miller, whose name has been floated in trade talks, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Talks didn’t progress to the point where any names were exchanged, Rosenthal adds, so the inquiry seems to be preliminary in nature. The D-Backs have a surplus of young infielders and also have plenty of young starting pitching that could entice the Yankees, though the asking price on Miller would undoubtedly be exorbitant.
  • Justin Turner’s recent knee surgery was a bit more complicated than initially believed, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Miller was said at the time to be having loose bodies removed from his knee, but the Dodgers third baseman tells Hernandez that he also had a microfracture procedure performed. Miller explained that a piece of cartilage tore off the outside portion of his knee, and in order to facilitate the growth of new cartilage, surgeons drilled into the knee allowing blood to refill the area where cartilage once was. Turner said he’ll be on crutches for two to four more weeks and running at 100 percent in three months’ time. He expects to be 100 percent healthy by Spring Training.
  • The Padres are one of many teams interested in left-hander Rich Hill, tweets Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. Hill, 35, is drawing quite a bit of interest after a surprisingly dominant run to close out the regular season with the Red Sox. The journeyman logged a dazzling 1.55 ERA with a 36-to-5 K/BB ratio in 29 innings for the Sox and should secure a big league contract, with many clubs likely believing him to be a reasonably low-cost upside play.

Blue Jays, Marco Estrada Discussing Multi-Year Deal

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The Blue Jays and right-hander Marco Estrada are discussing a multi-year deal in advance of Friday’s deadline for Estrada to accept or decline Toronto’s one-year, $15.8MM qualifying offer, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Estrada is a client of TWC Sports.

“We’d love to have him back,” interim GM Tony LaCava told Rosenthal, without mentioning any sort of specifics regarding Estrada’s situation. “He was a big part of our success this year.”

Estrada, 32, has an interesting decision on his hands, having earned “only” about $10MM in his big league career. The qualifying offer would net him more money than he’s made as a professional to this point over just a one-year term, but it also comes without the security and stability that would come from knowing where he’ll be pitching for the next two to three seasons. Additionally, as a player whose track record is solid but doesn’t line up with his 2015 results, he’s a player that could cause teams to be skeptical about forfeiting a draft pick in order to sign. A multi-year deal would be a compromise that affords Estrada some security and gives Toronto some much-needed pitching depth, as I speculated at the time that Estrada received the QO (and discussed a week prior on the MLBTR Podcast with Jeff Todd).

For the Blue Jays, the notion of keeping Estrada around on a multi-year deal at a lower annual rate than the qualifying offer’s total undoubtedly has appeal. Estrada posted an excellent 3.13 ERA in 181 innings in 2015 and enjoyed a strong postseason run as well. The Blue Jays are currently set to lose Estrada, David Price and Mark Buehrle from their rotation and also traded away Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd, thinning out internal replacement options. The club will still have blossoming ace Marcus Stroman, veteran innings-eater R.A. Dickey and the inconsistent Drew Hutchison as rotation options next season, to say nothing of 2015 bullpen pieces Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna, both of whom were starters before converting to relief out of necessity this past season.

Nevertheless, the Jays lack a significant amount of rotation depth, and Estrada would give them some stability in their starting staff. The question for Toronto is how to appropriately value Estrada’s 2015 results. While the bottom-line numbers were impressive, Estrada’s strikeout and walk rates trended in the wrong direction for the fourth consecutive season, and a good deal of his run prevention stemmed from an outlier .216 batting average on balls in play. Estrada has long maintained a BABIP lower than the league average, but his BABIP should still be expected to regress to some extent in future seasons, and it’s unknown whether he can maintain 2015’s career-low homer-to-flyball ratio. If those traits prove to be somewhat sustainable, however, the Blue Jays could find themselves with a tremendous asset on their hands, as Estrada was easily the club’s most consistent performer after joining the rotation in early May.

Nationals Notes: Strasburg, Zobrist, Ramos, Desmond

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Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg had a non-cancerous growth surgically removed from his back shortly after the season ended, agent Scott Boras told reporters, including James Wagner of the Washington Post, at today’s GM Meetings. As Wagner points out, the news contradicts a statement made yesterday by Nats GM Mike Rizzo, in which he said the Nationals didn’t have any postseason surgeries. Back and oblique issues sent Strasburg to the disabled list on multiple occasions this season, and the right-hander carried a 6.55 ERA through his first 10 starts before turning around and dealing to the tune of a 1.76 ERA with a 110-to-12 K/BB ratio across his final 13 starts (82 innings). It’s easy to imagine the growth serving as the root of many of Strasburg’s back issues in 2015. The former No. 1 overall draft pick is arbitration eligible for the final time this offseason and will likely be the market’s top free agent following the 2016 season.

A few more notes on the Nationals…

  • Wagner also reports (via Twitter) that the Nationals are interested in Ben Zobrist. Washington has been interested in Zobrist in the past as well, and the versatile switch-hitter could factor into the team’s plans in the infield or in the outfield. Of course, the Nats would face steep competition in the market for Zobrist, who is drawing widespread interest due to that versatility and his long track record of above-average production at the plate.
  • While many have speculated that the Nationals could look to upgrade at catcher, Rizzo spoke highly of Wilson Ramos despite a down season in 2015. “He was No. 1 in throwing runners out. He was up for a Gold Glove,” said Rizzo. “He was one of the top in National League in home runs and RBI. He had a down year in getting on base, not like he should, and hitting for average. But as far as a guy, as catchers go, really had some impact in the lineup with power, RBI and catch-throw skills were fine. We like Ramos. He’s a guy that it would be difficult to find a better replacement for.” The Nats have been listed as a speculative fit for Matt Wieters, especially considering Ramos’ 2015 struggles and his status as a free agent next winter. However, Rizzo’s comments line up with previous reports indicating that Washington will not be a serious player for the market’s top free-agent catcher.
  • Ian Desmond said in a recent MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM appearance (MLB.com video link) that he would “love to give [the Nationals] an opportunity to tell me the direction that they’re moving in and go from there” when discussing the Nats. It’s expected that Desmond will sign elsewhere, and while he could sign with any club, he did say in that appearance that he “loves the National League game” and considers himself a “National League guy,” though he of course didn’t rule out signing with an American League club.

Mariners Nearing Deal With Chris Iannetta

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7:06pm: MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez hears that Iannetta hasn’t yet received a formal offer from the Mariners (Twitter link).

6:44pm: The Mariners are nearing a deal with free agent catcher Chris Iannetta, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (via Twitter). Seattle has been linked to catching help, including Iannetta, throughout the week. Iannetta has a history with new Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, who acquired him in a trade with the Rockies while serving as GM of the Angels.

Iannetta, who turns 33 next April, struggled in 2015 and posted just a .188/.293/.335 batting line. However, a good deal of those struggles stemmed from an abnormally low .225 BABIP, and the veteran backstop maintained his characteristic strong eye at the plate, logging a 12.9 percent walk rate. Iannetta rebounded, to an extent, after a dismal month of April, posting a .315 OBP and .390 slugging percentage for the remainder of the season, though his average was still a meager .211 in that time. Historically, he’s been a much better hitter, as he entered the 2015 season as a career .236/.357/.414 hitter.

If a deal with Iannetta is reached, he’ll provide the Mariners with a veteran complement to Mike Zunino, who has struggled considerably at the Major League level despite his status as a former No. 3 draft pick and a much stronger Triple-A track record. Iannetta may not quite have Zunino’s defensive chops, but he caught 25 percent of base-stealers and rated as one of the game’s top pitch framers in 2015.

Details On October Prospect Swap Between Pirates, Marlins

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In late October, the Pirates and Marlins completed a trade that looked to lopsided (to use a diplomatic term), heavily favoring the Pirates. Miami sent right-hander Trevor Williams, one of the organization’s top overall prospects, to the Pirates in exchange for rookie-ball right-hander Richard Mitchell, who wasn’t ranked among the Pirates’ top prospects. ESPN’s Jayson Stark now reports that the swap was made as compensation for the Pirates, who a day prior allowed special assistant Jim Benedict (a renowned pitching and development guru) to take a new position with the Marlins. (MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth speculated on that being the case at the time.)

The Pirates, according to Stark, demanded some form of compensation for allowing Benedict to depart, and the highly touted Williams was determined to be a fitting return. As Stark explains, the Pirates initially balked at the idea of allowing Benedict to join the Marlins because he was still under contract and because they’d already let one executive, Marc Delpiano, take a position with Miami this offseason. Stark spoke to execs from multiple clubs that explained its common within the industry to let an exec depart for a better opportunity with a new club, but allowing a second executive to join that same club typically doesn’t fly. As such, the two sides worked out this swap as a means of compensation.

Pittsburgh, of course, has a strong reputation as a team that revitalizes the careers of struggling pitchers or, in some cases, turns average pitchers into stars. While pitching coach Ray Searage receives the bulk of credit for those turnarounds, Benedict is highly regarded in his own right and has drawn plenty of media praise for his work with Pirates pitchers.

With the Pirates, Benedict played a large role in advance scouting and worked with pitchers at every level of the organization. He’ll have an even more expanded role in Miami, according to Stark, where he will have a voice in the Marlins’ draft selections and oversee the entire organization’s pitching development.

Korean Closer Seung-hwan Oh Traveling To U.S. To Meet With MLB Clubs

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Korean right-hander Seung-hwan Oh will pursue a Major League contract this winter, reports Jeeho Yoo of Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. According to Yoo, Oh will travel to the United States this week and spend about 10 days in the U.S. as he meets with Major League clubs. Multiple teams have already expressed interest in Oh, who is considered the best closer in the history of the Korea Baseball Organization.

Oh, 33, carries one of the best nicknames you’ll encounter in pro sports: “The Final Boss.” After compiling a 1.69 ERA over his first nine seasons as a professional in the KBO, Oh went on to sign a two-year contract with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He experienced similar success in Japan, recording a similarly impressive 2.25 ERA. Over the course of 11 professional seasons, Oh has worked to a 1.81 ERA with 357 saves, 10.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 646 1/3 innings of work.

Word about Oh’s possible jump to the Major Leagues surfaced last month. As MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk noted at the time, a two-year-old report from Global Sporting Integration on Oh explained that he had a fastball (nicknamed the “Stone Fastball,” for those who enjoy a good nickname as much as I do) that sat 92 to 94 mph and could touch 97 mph. Oh’s secondary pitches include a slider thrown at a wide range of velocities (80 to 89 mph) and a curveball that he throws in the 70s. Oh does have some injuries on his docket — as one might expect from a pitcher that will turn 34 next July — having undergone Tommy John surgery in college (2001) and a second elbow operation in 2010. Any concerns about lingering effects from that second operation were probably wiped out when he returned in 2011 with the best season of his career, posting a 0.63 ERA (four earned runs in 57 innings) with a 76-to-11 K/BB ratio for the Samsung Lions.

Oh is now a free agent and, as such, is not subject to the posting system that restricts Korean and Japanese players with less service time. While some reports out of Japan indicated that Hanshin is pursuing an extension with Oh, Yoo’s source stressed that Oh’s focus is on securing a Major League contract. It’s not known which clubs have expressed interest at this time, though Oh reportedly intrigued the Yankees two years ago before he signed a two-year deal to play in Japan.

Oh adds to a growing list of Korean talent that could make the jump to the Major Leagues in 2016. The Twins have already secured the bidding rights to slugger Byung-ho Park, and outfielder Ah-seop Son will reportedly be posted early next week. Additionally, first baseman Dae-ho Lee, a free agent that, like Oh, is exempt from the posting system, has declared his intent to sign with a Major League club as well.

AL West Notes: Mariners, Astros, Aybar, Martin, Napoli, Jennings

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The Mariners have continued to express interest in catcher Chris Iannetta, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports on Twitter. Iannetta, 32, hit the open market after four years with the Angels — which was, of course, also the most recent stop of new Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto. The M’s have also reached out to Jarrod Saltalamacchia as the team weights its options for veteran additions behind the dish, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.

Here’s more from the AL West:

  • The Astros could aim to achieve “balance” with their roster moves, Evan Drellich of The Houston Chronicle writes. Adding some high-octane arms to the pen and some contact bats to the lineup might prove beneficial, though GM Jeff Luhnow notes that his primary concern is with achieving production through whatever means necessary (and, presumably, at a good value).
  • In other news, also via Drellich, Luhnow says that he’s not inclined to move catcher Jason Castro and center fielder Carlos Gomez, even though both players are a year away from free agency.  “I think Gomez right now is our center fielder and Castro’s our catcher and those guys are hard to replace,” Luhnow said. “We could be looking at a situation next year where either or both of those are in the qualifying offer camp as well, so. If you trade ’em, you’re potentially giving up opportunity to keep them on a one-year deal after next year. Or a draft pick if they choose to sign elsewhere. That’s a valuable situation. But most importantly for us, I think Gomez and Castro are key parts of our team next year.”
  • Similarly, the Angels are not terribly concerned with the contract status of shortstop Erick Aybar, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. The Halos have several other priorities, and aren’t currently focused either on working out a new contract with the 31-year-old or finding his replacement.
  • The Rangers will tender a contract to outfielder Leonys Martin, GM Jon Daniels made clear to the media today. As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports, Daniels called that outcome “100%” to occur. There had been at least some questions about the 27-year-old’s status after a tough season, but it seems Texas still sees plenty of value. MLBTR projects Martin to earn $1.6MM in his first season of arbitration eligibility, which is hardly an overwhelming number.
  • While the free agent market has had its draws for the Rangers in recent years, the club has also struck several major trades and is focused on talks with other teams this winter, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports. “I think there’s a little bit of confidence going into the offseason as far as [having] an experienced core, and even the young guys now have experience on a big stage,” Daniels told McTaggart. “You feel you can try to add a couple of pieces and [not] need to reinvent the wheel and totally change over the club. You don’t want to get complacent either, but there’s a confidence, especially [considering] where we were a year ago, and we’ve gotten some real positive answers [for] some of our injured guys.”
  • The Rangers do, however, have interest in bringing back right-handed slugger Mike Napoli, Daniels added. If that happened, the club would look for him to work out in left field during camp to see if he could provide an option there alongside Josh Hamilton (who, it should be noted, just underwent another minor knee surgery).
  • The Rangers have expressed interest in bringing former Marlins GM Dan Jennings into their front office, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reported last week on Twitter. Jennings has reportedly drawn fairly wide interest since he was cut loose after a long run in Miami.

Darren O’Day Has Multiple Offers In Hand

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TODAY, 2:48pm: Even the reliever-rich Royals have expressed interest, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.

11:05am: The Dodgers are “showing significant interest” in O’Day, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com previously connected O’Day to the Dodgers. With a number of teams pursuing the veteran, some executives tell Crasnick that a deal well in excess of last year’s Luke Gregerson contract (three years, $18.5MM) could be in order.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes has predicted that O’Day will take down $22.5MM over three years. His age (33) is perhaps the only major limiting factor in his market, and a serious run-up in demand could conceivably get him a fourth year guaranteed.

YESTERDAY: The market for free-agent right-hander Darren O’Day is moving quickly, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (links to Twitter). The Beverly Hills Sports Council client already has offers in hand, according to Olney, and he’s planning to meet with the managers of some of those teams in the coming week. Olney lists the Tigers, Red Sox and Giants as three clubs to have shown interest in O’Day, though it’s not known if any of those three are among the teams to have extended a formal offer.

Typically, it behooves free agents — especially relievers — to sign contracts early in the offseason. A look back to November relief signings over the past few years shows the likes of Zach Duke (three years, $15MM), Joe Smith (three years, $15.75MM), Javier Lopez (three years, $13MM), Jonathan Broxton (three years, $21MM), Jeremy Affeldt (three years, $18MM) and Joaquin Benoit (three years, $16.5MM back in 2010) all landed sizable contracts despite not being considered the top names on the free agent market. Of course, O’Day also has the advantage of being the consensus top name on this year’s relief market, so perhaps it’s not as crucial for him to sign early. Still, striking early while each club has its entire offseason budget at its disposal isn’t a bad route for O’Day’s camp.

Over the past four seasons, the 32-year-old O’Day has worked to a 1.92 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. He saved his best season for his contract year, establishing new career-bests in ERA (1.52) and K/9 (11.3); opponents batted just .198/.257/.283 against O’Day. He yielded just a .210/.293/.333 batting line to left-handed hitters and dominated right-handed bats, who mustered only a .192/.236/.256 line against him.

Interest in O’Day was said to be “steep” from day one at the GM Meetings, with the Cubs, Royals, Nationals and Dodgers all being connected to the former Oriole yesterday as well.

Reds, D-Backs Have Discussed Swapping Phillips, Hill

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The Diamondbacks and Reds have discussed the framework of a trade that would send second baseman Brandon Phillips from Cincinnati to Arizona in exchange for fellow infielder Aaron Hill, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The talks aren’t said to have reached a serious stage at this time, he adds, and other pieces might well be required to create a match.

The motivation for each team in the swap seems relatively clear. With the Reds embarking on a rebuilding phase, it makes sense that the team would have interest in shedding the remaining two years and $27MM on Phillips’ contract. However, given that Phillips has been more good than great over the past couple of seasons — .282/.318/.385 with 20 homers, 25 steals — he probably doesn’t come with loads of trade value. His glove still grades out as a plus, though, and he had a much better baserunning season in 2015, both of which are points in Cincinnati’s favor in trade talks.

For the Diamondbacks, the remaining one year and $12MM on Hill’s contract is likely perceived as a sunk cost. Hill was brilliant in Arizona from 2011-13, but over the past two seasons, the veteran has batted a combined .238/.290/.359. Swapping out Hill for a comparable annual salary over a longer term would give Arizona an improved roster in 2016 and 2017, whereas the Reds would be shedding about $15MM in total salary and opening a roster spot for the 2017 season. Even in 2016, a trade of Phillips could open second base for intriguing young infielder Eugenio Suarez, who provided more than enough offense in 2015 to earn an audition as a regular player. However, with Zack Cozart coming back at shortstop in 2016, Suarez will need to shift to a new position.

There are, of course, some road blocks to consider. Firstly, the D-Backs would be taking on a good bit of salary in the deal. While I noted that they have the long-term flexibility to do so when previewing their offseason, Rosenthal says that the $14MM owed to Phillips in 2017 is at least somewhat of an obstacle in talks. Also, it has to be determined whether Phillips would even approve a trade. The 34-year-old has 10-and-5 rights (10 years of MLB service, with the five or more most recent years coming on the same team) thereby granting him the power to veto any trades. It’s now known whether Phillips would waive his no-trade rights, though the concept of playing on a team that is widely known to be rebuilding isn’t necessarily appealing to an aging veteran with playoff aspirations.

Rosenthal notes that the talks could eventually expand to include some form of financial compensation or exchange of additional players to balance out the swap. It’s worth noting, then, that former D-Backs GM Kevin Towers is a special assistant in the Reds’ front office, so he has an expansive knowledge of the players in Arizona’s system.

While there’s nothing to suggest that a trade of this nature is close, making the move could allow the D-Backs more flexibility to include a young infielder such as Chris Owings, Nick Ahmed, Jake Lamb or Brandon Drury in a trade for starting pitching help or a closer — both of which have been said to be priorities for Arizona GM Dave Stewart this offseason.

Yankees Acquire Aaron Hicks From Twins For John Ryan Murphy

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The Yankees and Twins have announced a two-player deal involving important young players. New York will add center fielder Aaron Hicks in the swap, while Minnesota receives catcher John Ryan Murphy.

It’s somewhat surprising to hear that Minnesota has parted with Hicks, who finally seemed to turn the corner last year after previously having failed to gain traction in the majors. The 26-year-old is an exceptional defender who faced some questions with the bat. But he ended the 2015 campaign with a .256/.323/.398 batting line and swiped 13 bags on the year. That supported a tally of 1.3 rWAR and 1.5 fWAR over 97 MLB games.

Sep 22, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks (32) triples in the third inning against the Cleveland Indians at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

But the Twins organization obviously has plenty of outfield talent coming, including top prospect Byron Buxton and the well-regarded Max Kepler. Eddie Rosario is another option, as are Oswaldo Arcia and Danny Santana, and the club appears increasingly interested in utilizing young slugger Miguel Sano in left.

The real motivation for the deal, from the Minnesota side, was the team’s reported interest in finding an upgrade behind the plate, where Kurt Suzuki had struggled. Murphy will obviously represent a long-term piece in that area, as he comes with five more years of control (two of which will be at a league minimum salary), though whether or not he’ll rate as a solid, full-time regular remains to be seen. Certainly, he figures to be given plenty of opportunity after the team made a significant investment to acquire him.

Murphy, 24, has seen at least some MLB action in each of the last three years, but saw his most extensive time last year. Over 172 big league plate appearances, Murphy slashed .277/.327/.406 — approximately league average overall and rather useful for a catcher. He’s never done a ton of damage with the bat in the minors, and tends to be described more as an average future player than a budding star. But Minnesota was looking for reasonably-priced, solid production in this deal, and Murphy could well deliver that.

The addition of Hicks is rather interesting for an organization that had been rumored to be weighing a swap of left fielder Brett Gardner. Hicks is a switch-hitter who is better from the right side and is capable of playing center, making him a useful piece even if Gardner is retained. (He could spell Gardner in left, Jacoby Ellsbury in center, and the aging Carlos Beltran in right.) But with the left-handed-hitting Dustin Ackley also a corner outfield possibility, Gardner certainly is much more expendable.

But New York will hope that Hicks can ultimately reach his ceiling as a quality, regular center fielder. GM Brian Cashman expressed just that sentiment , saying that the organization views Hicks as a future regular, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter link). While he was much better against left-handed pitching last year, Hicks did post a reasonable .235/.302/.359 slash when facing opposing righties.

If he can continue to mash lefties and manage even a palatable batting line from the southpaw side of the dish, Hicks probably has enough defensive and baserunning value to play every day. He’ll surely hope to play his way into just such a role over the four years of control he’ll bring to the Yankees.

Giving up Murphy probably didn’t come easily, as he was a well-regarded piece of the system for quite some time. But he was blocked by Brian McCann. The same fate befell Francisco Cervelli last year. GM Brian Cashman and co. obviously felt that Murphy had more value as a trade piece than with the club. The Yankees believe that young backstop Gary Sanchez can step in at the major league level behind McCann, GM said, as Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets. And Austin Romine also represents an option.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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