Pirates Claim Guido Knudson From Tigers
The Tigers announced today that right-hander Guido Knudson has been claimed off waivers by the Pirates (Twitter link).
The 26-year-old Knudson, a 28th-round pick of the Tigers back in 2011, made his big league debut with the Tigers this past season but endured significant struggles in his first taste of the Majors. Knudson yielded 10 runs on 13 hits, including a staggering five homers, in five innings of work. However, he averaged a healthy 93.4 mph on his fastball in the process and comes with a nice track record at the Triple-A level, where he logged a 2.34 ERA with 44 strikeouts against 21 walks in 42 1/3 innings this season.
The Pirates have plenty of spots open on their 40-man roster — six, even after this waiver claim — so there was no 40-man move necessary to compensate for Knudson’s addition.
Michael Brantley Out Five To Six Months Following Shoulder Surgery
12:50pm: Indians head athletic trainer James Quinlan told reporters, including Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (links to Twitter) that Brantley won’t begin swinging a bat for four months. The five-month timeline refers to Brantley getting into rehab games, Hoynes adds, meaning it’s more likely to be six before Brantley can play in a Major League contest.
Bastian adds, also via Twitter, that Brantley’s injury was diagnosed as a small tear in the labrum of his right shoulder.
12:15pm: Indians outfielder Michael Brantley underwent surgery to repair a right shoulder injury today, the team announced (Twitter link). He’ll be ready for game activity in five to six months, according to the club.
Brantley appeared to suffer the injury while coming up just short of robbing Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks of a triple on Sept. 22 (video link). Brantley would take his next plate appearance but came out of the game the following inning and would go on to start just two more games over the remainder of the season. As MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets, Brantley and the club both thought he could avoid surgery following the season, but the discomfort in his shoulder lingered two weeks into his rehabilitation program, prompting the surgical procedure.
The 28-year-old Brantley has broken out as one of the game’s best all-around players over the past two seasons, hitting a combined .319/.382/.494 with 90 doubles and 35 homers across a pair of excellent seasons. Among qualified hitters, only Victor Marintez has a lower strikeout rate than Brantley’s 8.4 percent since the beginning of Opening Day 2014, and no player has a higher contact rate than Brantley’s 91.9 percent in that time.
Clearly, the five- to six-month timeline is an unfortunate one for the Indians, as it means Brantley will be sidelined for all of Spring Training and likely for the early portion of the regular season as well. Losing your best player for the beginning of the regular season isn’t the way that any club wants to begin an offseason, especially not a team like the Indians, which fancies itself a possible contender in 2016 due to its strong core of controllable pitching.
The Indians were already expected to pursue outfield upgrades on the trade and free-agent markets this winter, and the loss of Brantley, even for a potentially short period of time, only figures to increase the club’s urgency to add depth in the outfield. While outfield targets like Alex Gordon, Dexter Fowler and Colby Rasmus could prove to be too costly for Cleveland’s tastes (both in terms of dollars and draft-pick forfeiture), second-tier names like Gerardo Parra, Alejandro De Aza and Nori Aoki make sense as players that can fill the temporary Brantley void and also handle other outfield positions if necessary.
Brantley is entering the third season of a four-year, $25MM contract. He’ll earn $6.5MM next season, $7.5MM in 2017 and is under control via an $11MM club option for the 2018 season as well.
Offseason Outlook: Seattle Mariners
A new front office has a busy offseason ahead as the Mariners will try to end baseball’s longest postseason drought.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Robinson Cano, 2B: $192MM through 2023
- Felix Hernandez, SP: $104MM through 2019
- Kyle Seager, 3B: $92.5MM through 2021 ($15-20MM club option for 2022, with buyout between $0-$3MM based on performance)
- Nelson Cruz, RF/DH: $42MM through 2018
- Seth Smith, OF: $7MM through 2016 (includes buyout of $7MM club option for 2017)
Arbitration Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projections via MLB Trade Rumors)
- Mark Trumbo (5.027) — $9.1MM
- Charlie Furbush (4.121) — $1.7MM
- Tom Wilhelmsen (4.089) — $3MM
- Non-tender candidates: Trumbo, Furbush
Free Agents
New general manager Jerry Dipoto has wasted little time in reshaping Seattle’s baseball operations, hiring several new faces for the minor league, player development and scouting departments in an effort to upgrade a talent pipeline that faltered under former GM Jack Zduriencik. A lot of changes have been made to the on-field unit as well, most visibly in a revamped coaching staff led by a first-time manager in Scott Servais. It adds up to an organization that will (in theory) be on the same page and use analytical information as a cornerstone, something that wasn’t the case under Zduriencik’s tenure or in Dipoto’s previous GM stint in Anaheim.
While this bodes well for the Mariners over the long term, Dipoto will have to hit the ground running this winter. The M’s fell way short of lofty offseason expectations in 2015, though with so many major stars on board, the feeling definitely still exists in Seattle that the Mariners are closer to contending than they are to a rebuild. It makes sense for the Mariners to go for it while Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano, Felix Hernandez and Kyle Seager are all still productive, as it’s not known how long the window will be open; after all, Cano and Hernandez showed some warning signs of decline last season.
The Angels signed some major free agents when Dipoto was GM, though it’s well-known that owner Arte Moreno played a huge role in the signings of Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. Dipoto himself is a bit more reticent about free agents, telling Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times that “the trade market is always my first alternative. You draft, scout and develop, you trade, and to me free agents augment the roster you have. In a perfect world, you get to a stage where the foundation is strong enough you use free agency as a pure accent move rather than a foundational builder.”
This would seem to imply that the M’s probably won’t be players for Chris Davis, Jason Heyward, Justin Upton or other open-market superstars who could turn roster weak spots into immediate strengths. Further complicating matters is the fact that Seattle fell painfully shy of a protected pick in the first round of the 2016 draft, falling to the 11th overall selection by virtue of a tiebreaker with the White Sox (who had the same 76-86 record). If the Mariners were to sign a free agent who had rejected a qualifying offer, they’d lose that 11th overall pick (the top unprotected pick in next year’s draft), which I highly doubt Dipoto would be willing to do given his quest to rebuild the farm system.
With almost $79MM committed to just five players in 2016, the Mariners also might not have the available payroll to afford another huge salary. While massive contracts may not happen, Seattle could still ink a few lower-cost free agent deals.
For instance, the industry expects that the Mariners will re-sign Hisashi Iwakuma, as both the team and the player have interest in a reunion. This would be a good move for a Seattle team in need of proven starting pitching, and since Iwakuma turns 35 in April and the free agent pitching market is rather deep, the M’s might be able to re-sign him on a two-year deal in the $28-30MM range. If there’s enough demand that a third year is required, then the club is looking at a three-year/$42-45MM contract for the Japanese righty. Things could change on the open market, of course, though at the moment the M’s look like the early favorite for Iwakuma’s services.
Assuming Iwakuma re-signs, he would join Hernandez, Taijuan Walker and new acquisition Nate Karns in Seattle’s rotation. James Paxton is tentatively slotted into a spot as well, though he’s failed to pitch more than 74 innings in either of the last two seasons due to a shoulder injury (in 2014) and an injured finger tendon (in 2015).
Roenis Elias, Vidal Nuno and former top prospect Mike Montgomery are on board as depth options or fifth starter candidates if Iwakuma leaves. A fairly inexpensive veteran could also be added to the mix to fight for that last rotation job, and the M’s have had some good luck with veteran reclamation projects looking to rebuild themselves at pitcher-friendly Safeco Field.
Karns, left-hander C.J. Riefenhauser and minor league outfielder Boog Powell came to Seattle in Dipoto’s first notable deal as GM, with Brad Miller, Danny Farquhar and Logan Morrison heading to Tampa Bay in return. Karns posted a 3.67 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 2.59 K/BB rate over 147 innings with the Rays last season in his first extended taste of Major League action. He’s a bit old for a rookie (Karns turns 28 in November) but he’s controlled through the 2020 season and looks to be a very promising arm in the M’s rotation for years to come.
Riefenhauser hasn’t shown much over his 20 career MLB innings, though he adds a needed left-handed option to a bullpen that Dipoto has openly stated will be an area of focus this winter, and he has a strong Triple-A track record. Tom Wilhelmsen and Carson Smith are basically the only relievers who look to have guaranteed jobs next year. Rookie Tony Zych will get a long look in Spring Training after an impressive late-season callup, while Charlie Furbush will probably return unless the biceps injury that sidelined him for much of the second half continues to be an issue (which could lead to a non-tender).
Wilhelmsen and Smith both saw action at closer in the wake of Fernando Rodney‘s implosion, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Mariners brought in a more established ninth-inning man given that Wilhelmsen has struggled to keep the closer’s job both in 2015 and in the past, while Smith also lost the gig back to Wilhelmsen late last year. Joakim Soria makes sense as a target, or perhaps someone with past closer experience like Jonathan Broxton if the M’s wanted to at least keep Wilhelmsen/Smith in the mix for the closing job. The Mariners are one of a few teams who have scouted Korean closer Seung-hwan Oh, who could be an intriguing option as he’s planning to make the jump to North American baseball.
Seattle could be very deep or very thin in left-handed relief options depending on Furbush’s health, Riefenhauser’s Spring Training performance and the roles of Nuno/Montgomery (who could be used in the bullpen or kept stretched out in the minors as starters). The Mariners will at least check in on the offseason’s top-tier lefty relief options (Antonio Bastardo, Tony Sipp, etc.) and veteran Joe Beimel could also be re-signed to reinforce the southpaw corps.
Around the diamond, the Mariners are only set at third base (Seager), second base (Cano), and wherever Cruz plays, which is probably more likely to be DH than right field next season. He’s been a defensive liability for years, and Dipoto has spoken of wanting to improve the Mariners’ athleticism and defense, particularly in regards to playing in a spacious ballpark like Safeco Field.
Powell and the recently-claimed Dan Robertson were Dipoto’s first steps towards addressing this outfield need, as both can play all three positions. Robertson may be more of a depth option while Powell is likely on the verge of reaching the bigs after a solid performance in 246 Triple-A PA in 2015. An everyday assignment may be a stretch, but Powell could certainly factor into the Mariners’ wide-open center field spot, if not early in the year then midseason. Powell and left field incumbent Seth Smith are both left-handed hitters, so a right-handed hitting free agent outfielder like Rajai Davis or Chris B. Young could be a fairly inexpensive fits as platoon partners. Robertson could also be an internal option for a right-handed platoon bat, and Franklin Gutierrez is another familiar face the M’s could look to re-sign for a part-time role.
If the Mariners want a full-time option in center, any number of free agent or (further) trade possibilities could be considered. Jackie Bradley, Juan Lagares, Leonys Martin, Marcell Ozuna, Dalton Pompey and Melvin Upton could all conceivably be made available for trade this winter. Denard Span would make sense in free agency, as he wouldn’t cost a draft pick since the Nationals didn’t extend him a qualifying offer. Austin Jackson likely isn’t an option given how he has already under-performed in an Mariners uniform. Dexter Fowler and Colby Rasmus, the other two major center fielders on the market, do have qualifying offers attached so they’re not likely to be targeted.
While I noted earlier that the Mariners probably won’t be big free agent spenders, if they were to make a big splash, Yoenis Cespedes could be a fit. Due to his midseason trade, Cespedes isn’t subject to the qualifying offer and can be signed without draft pick compensation. He certainly matches Dipoto’s preference for an athletic outfielder, though while he’s one of the game’s best defensive left fielders, Cespedes has graded as below-average in center over his career. He could handle center for a year and then move back to his customary left field spot once Smith’s contract is up, or Cespedes could be installed into left immediately and Smith would become trade bait.
With Miller now in Tampa Bay, that solidifies Ketel Marte as the top choice at shortstop. Marte played well enough last year to crack Baseball America’s midseason top 50 prospects list and earn his first call-up, then fit right in to the tune of a .283/.351/.402 slash line over 247 PA. Marte has the inside track on the everyday job, with Chris Taylor on board as the middle infield backup.
Mike Zunino is still too young (24) to be considered a bust, especially given his top prospect pedigree and his already-outstanding defensive ability. At the plate, however, Zunino posted a miserable .174/.230/.300 line over 386 PA last season, so Seattle certainly needs a catcher to pick up some of the offensive slack. While Chris Iannetta himself struggled at the plate in 2015, I’m guessing Dipoto might be interested in his former Angels backstop as a veteran mentor to Zunino who can still contribute on the field. If not Iannetta, Geovany Soto or Alex Avila make sense among free agent catchers, though if the Mariners weren’t committed to Zunino at least half the playing time, they could aim for Dioner Navarro or A.J. Pierzynski.
The first base situation became clearer when Morrison was sent to the Rays, and his departure probably saves the M’s from having to non-tender him to avoid a projected $4.1MM arbitration salary. Mark Trumbo delivered some pop after joining the club from the Diamondbacks, though his lousy defense resulted in only 0.4 fWAR in 361 PA as a Mariner. Trumbo’s limited skill set and projected $9.1MM salary combine to make him a non-tender candidate as well, though my guess is that the M’s would explore trading Trumbo rather than simply cutting him for no return.
With so much uncertainty at first, any number of interesting bats like Adam Lind, Ryan Howard, Brandon Moss, Adam LaRoche, Yonder Alonso or Pedro Alvarez being available in trades (or free agency, in the case of non-tenders). While none are guaranteed to be big offensive powerhouses, they could at least be part of a platoon that could do more at a lesser cost than Trumbo’s $9.1MM, especially since some of the teams making those deals would have to eat some money, i.e. the Phillies and Howard or the White Sox and LaRoche. A huge signing like Chris Davis can’t be completely ruled out simply because he’d be such a big upgrade, though as mentioned earlier, giving up another first-round draft pick and adding another huge salary would seem counter to what Dipoto is trying to do with the team. A trade could be the likelier route to a first base upgrade.
With all this talk of trades, however, it’s well worth looking at what exactly the Mariners have to offer in return. Further trades from the Major League roster could be a bit difficult, though, since the M’s were already lacking in depth. As noted earlier, Trumbo or Smith could be trade bait. If another catcher is acquired, Jesus Sucre, John Hicks or Steve Baron could be dealt. One of Elias, Nuno or Montgomery could be moved if Iwakuma re-signs and Paxton proves he’s healthy. These small pieces won’t combine for any blockbusters, but Seattle could help their own depth problems by moving expendable pieces for bench parts that are more likely to contribute in 2016. Case in point, that deal with the Rays looks like a strong one on paper for Dipoto, as Morrison and Farquhar might have outlived their usefulness in Seattle.
Baseball America ranked the Mariners’ farm system 25th of 30 teams prior to the season, and that was before top prospects Alex Jackson and D.J. Peterson both suffered through rough 2015 campaigns. While both (Jackson, in particular) are still well-regarded, Dipoto and his new minor league staff may not have the same attachment to Zduriencik’s prospects and could see them as trade chips while they still have value. On the other hand, the reason for the player development overhaul was to better develop prospects both in the future and in the present, not to write off the current batch of young talent. Given how thin Seattle’s system is, you’re probably only going to see a notable prospect traded if Dipoto and his staff have already decided against the player.
In a way, Dipoto finds himself in something of the same position that he was in as the Angels general manager — a few superstars on huge contracts, a few regulars best suited to platoon duty, little minor league depth, and some payroll limitations. In Anaheim, however, those limitations were Moreno not wanting to exceed the $189MM luxury tax threshold, while in Seattle, Dipoto will have at least $130MM to work with. While that’s a healthy number, if you count Iwakuma’s projected salary with the five players under contract, that leaves roughly $33MM for 19 members of the 25-man roster.
Dipoto won’t be judged entirely on his first offseason, of course, especially given the less-than-great shape the organization was in when he inherited the job and the sweeping changes he’s already trying to implement. Many of the players from the Mariners’ 87-75 season in 2014, however, are still around, so a return to contention shouldn’t be out of the question as long as at least some of the major question mark positions are resolved.
Carlos Quentin To Attempt Comeback
Outfielder/designated hitter Carlos Quentin, who had reportedly planned to file for retirement following the 2015 season, will instead attempt a comeback in 2016, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Quentin, 33, didn’t play in the Majors this season, even though his three-year contract with the Padres ran through the end of the 2015 campaign. San Diego traded to Atlanta alongside Cameron Maybin and Matt Wisler in the April blockbuster that sent Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton to the Padres. Quentin, though, was primarily included in the deal to help offset some of the salary the Padres were accumulating. He was designated for assignment and subsequently released shortly after being acquired. Quentin signed a minor league deal with the Mariners following his Atlanta release and played in five Triple-A games with their top affiliate before deciding he would retire.
Perhaps the six months of rest have helped to rejuvenate the oft-injured Quentin, whose once promising career was plagued by a series of knee, wrist and shoulder issues. Quentin batted a mere .177/.284/.315 in his final season with the Padres (2014), but from 2009-13, he was a well-above-average bat when healthy enough to take the field. Quentin hit .252/.346/.485 and averaged 32 homers per 162 games in that time, with his park-adjusted offense coming in 23 percent better than a league-average hitter.
Quentin would almost certainly be looking at a minor league contract if he were to sign with a big league club this offseason. Agent Brodie Van Wagenen of CAA Sports tells Heyman that his client has been working out at first base and feels he can help teams there, as well as in the outfield and at designated hitter. As such, an American League club in need of right-handed pop makes the most sense when speculating on possible fits.
Bullpen Notes: Miller, O’Day, Soria, Madson
The Yankees are reportedly open to nearly any scenario this winter, and according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, that includes trading Andrew Miller. While Heyman is careful to note that the scenario isn’t likely and the Yankees aren’t actively shopping their excellent closer, other clubs have said that Miller’s name is “out there a bit,” as Heyman puts it. Andy Martino of the New York Daily News applauds GM Brian Cashman’s open-mindedness (Twitter link). He speculates that the Yankees could flip Miller for immediate help and then trade prospects to acquire Craig Kimbrel from the Padres, leaving the 2016 club improved overall. The Yankees already have a dominant late-inning arm that could step into the ninth inning in place of Miller, of course, in Dellin Betances, though there’s certainly something to be said for having a pair of shutdown arms to handle the final two-plus innings of a game.
A few more notes from the relief market as the GM Meetings get underway…
- Preliminary interest in Darren O’Day is “steep,” tweets Heyman, who adds that the Tigers, Cubs, Nationals, Red Sox, Royals and Dodgers are all in at this stage. The 32-year-old O’Day is probably the top relief arm on the market, as he’s coming off a dominant stretch in which he posted a 1.92 ERA in 263 innings over a four-year stretch spanning 2012-15. O’Day landed 33rd on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agent list, with Tim Dierkes projecting a three-year deal worth about $22.5MM.
- The Tigers will meet with the representatives for right-hander Joakim Soria at the GM Meetings this week, according to Tony Paul of the Detroit News (links to Twitter). The Tigers traded Soria to the Pirates at this summer’s non-waiver deadline, but that move was carried out by the since-departed Dave Dombrowski, and it stands to reason that new GM Al Avila, who is known to be seeking bullpen upgrades, could want Soria back in the ninth inning in Detroit. Paul adds that the Tigers’ preference between O’Day and Soria could come down to who is more willing to sign first, as the team will want to move onto other needs/targets relatively quickly.
- Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets that Ryan Madson, who picked up a World Series ring and emphatically re-established himself as a quality big league setup man with the Royals this season, is seeking a multi-year deal on the free agent market. That’s not a huge surprise given the lack of elite relief arms on the free agent market this season and the strong results he delivered in 2015. Madson tallied a 2.13 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 63 1/3 innings with Kansas City this season. He struggled in the ALDS and ALCS before turning in three very strong World Series innings. Tim pegged Madson for a three-year deal in the $15MM range in the aforementioned Top 50 list.
Latest On Byung-ho Park
8:52am: Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that the White Sox aren’t the winner, either. That leaves the Brewers and Twins in addition to the Cubs and Reds, though the latter duo doesn’t have much of a spot for Park to play (unless Cincinnati feels he can handle left field). Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reported last week that the Twins have scouted Park quite a bit, though the Brewers seem to be a better fit from a roster standpoint, in my eyes.
8:37am: Heyman also eliminates the Rockies and the Phillies from the mix (via Twitter). That leaves the Brewers, Reds, Cubs, White Sox and Twins as the remaining options. As I noted before, the presence of Joey Votto in Cincinnati and Anthony Rizzo on the Cubs’ roster makes that pair of NL teams seem like long shots, to say the least. The White Sox and Twins each have long-term first base options in Jose Abreu and Joe Mauer, though Park could certainly split time at first and DH with either player.
8:22am: The Astros didn’t submit the winning bid for Park, either, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
NOV. 9, 7:29am: We’re down to seven possibilities on the mystery team for Park, as ESPN’s Buster Olney (Twitter link) and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Rob Biertempfel (Twitter link) report that the Pirates have not won the bidding.
There have been reports eliminating all but seven teams from the Park bidding, leaving the Phillies, Brewers, Reds, Cubs, White Sox, Twins and Astros as possibilities. And while the Reds and Cubs are technically possibilities, it’d be surprising to see either NL club post the winning bid on a first baseman, given the stars that each has entrenched at that position. The Rockies haven’t been completely ruled out, though the report below seems to indicate they’re more of a long shot than anything else at this point.
Alan Nero, Park’s agent at Octagon, tells Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that even he does not yet know which club won the bidding, adding that both league offices were closed over the weekend (Twitter link).
NOV. 8, 9:51pm: The winning bid wasn’t posted by the Royals or Braves, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reports (Twitter links). “It’s safe to assume” the Rays didn’t have the winning bid either, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin tweets.
9:10pm: The Athletics and Marlins also didn’t have the top bid, Heyman tweets.
7:24pm: The Mariners and Diamondbacks didn’t place bids on Park, as per tweets from CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman and Zach Buchanan of AZCentral.com. Also, the Giants can be eliminated from contention, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Rockies might also be out, as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding doesn’t “think anything is happening there.”
2:39pm: Italian artist Michelangelo is famously misquoted as saying that he sculpted the historic David statue by chipping away the parts that did not look like David. Perhaps that is how we will whittle down the field of suitors for first baseman Byung-Ho Park until we unravel the mystery team that submitted the winning bid to negotiate with the Korean star. Failing that, we might just have to wait until Monday, when the announcement is formally made.
On Friday, Korea’s Nexen Heroes accepted a $12.85MM bid on the rights to negotiate a big league contract with Park. As of today, we still don’t know which MLB club won the posting process, but one team out there now has a thirty day window with which to hammer out a deal with one of the winter’s most intriguing and mysterious free agents.
The Blue Jays are not the winning team, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter), and the winning bid was not submitted by the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, or Angels, either (link), The Cardinals, who are looking at various first base options, tendered an unsuccessful bid for the 29-year-old, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. James Wagner of the Washington Post (on Twitter) heard that the Nats did not have interest. Late last week, the Indians, Tigers, Rangers, Orioles, Padres, and Red Sox were also crossed off the list by various reporters.
If Park and his new club do not reach agreement on a contract, Nexen will lose out on the posting fee and the winning team will have to move on to a Plan B at first base. The reported $12.85MM fell shy of the $25MM+ posting amount commanded by lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, but it easily tops what the Pirates paid Nexen last year (~$5MM) for the rights to reach a deal with infielder Jung-Ho Kang. After the team-to-team transfer was arrived at, Kang and the Bucs agreed to a four-year, $11MM guarantee.
In the recently-released list of MLBTR’s top fifty free agents, Tim Dierkes predicted that Park would command a $10MM posting fee and a five-year, $40MM contract from the winning team. The first part of that was close, but it remains to be seen how negotiations will proceed.
Jose Reyes Arrested For Alleged Domestic Abuse
TUESDAY, 8:03am: Major League Baseball has issued its own statement, saying that the commissioner’s office “already has begun its investigation into the facts and circumstances” of Reyes’s arrest. The league said that its new policy on domestic violence shows that it “understands the seriousness of the issues surrounding domestic violence,” adding that the policy “explicitly recognizes the harm resulting from such acts.”
12:21am: The Rockies have issued a statement on the arrest, saying: “We were extremely disappointed and concerned to learn of the allegations involving Jose Reyes. We continue to gather information and will address this matter appropriately, in accordance with Major League Baseball’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.”
MONDAY, 9:36pm: Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes was arrested on Halloween night in Hawaii for allegedly assaulting his wife, Chelsea Davis of Hawaii News Now reports. Reyes has been released on bail, according to the report, which does not make clear whether he’ll face charges.
The report is obviously deeply troubling, though as always it is necessary to await facts before issuing judgment. It goes without saying that domestic violence of any kind is unacceptable, and that matter is of far more importance than any baseball-related considerations.
MLB and the Major League Baseball Player’s Association recently agreed to a stringent new protocol for dealing with and (if appropriate) punishing alleged perpetrators of domestic violence. Under that policy, commissioner Rob Manfred will have the authority to issue discipline of whatever type he believes “appropriate in light of the severity of the conduct,” though of course an arbitration panel is available for appeal. There are also provisions dealing with administrative leave pending an investigation, though it’s not clear that they would come into the play during the offseason. Importantly, Reyes could theoretically face a suspension regardless of whether or not he is ultimately charged or convicted of a crime.
Further details of the alleged assault are available in a report from Davis. According to that report, Reyes’s wife accused him of grabbing her by the throat and shoving her into a sliding glass door in their hotel room. While she was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries, Reyes was placed under arrest for “abuse of a family or household member.”
It seems likely that Manfred and the league will make every effort at a thorough and timely investigation. The league and player’s associated pushed through agreement on the above-noted policy after watching as the National Football League struggled to deal with several high-profile domestic abuse cases.
2015-16 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
Just in time for the tenth anniversary of MLB Trade Rumors, our Top 50 Free Agents list has arrived! The entire list of available free agents can be found here, and you can filter by position, signing team, and qualifying offer status with our free agent tracker here.
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This is the fifth year for our free agent prediction contest, which allows you to test your prognostication abilities against those of the MLBTR writing team as well as other readers. Last year 3,469 people entered, with Carson Pennington taking home the batting title with 15 correct picks out of 49, a .306 average. Mark Polishuk topped MLBTR writers with 14 correct. The contest is back for 2016 and is open now! You can enter your picks anytime between now and November 13th at 11:59pm central time, and you’re free to make changes up until that point. A Facebook account is required to participate in the contest. Once all top 50 players have signed, the winners will receive cash prizes.
This year, I asked MLBTR writers Steve Adams, Jeff Todd, Mark Polishuk, Charlie Wilmoth, Zach Links, and Brad Johnson to send me their picks so I could compare to my own. Discussions with the MLBTR writing team, especially Steve and Jeff, helped inform the predictions found below. Each player’s team was picked in a vacuum, so we’re not predicting the Nationals will sign both Justin Upton and Gerardo Parra. Additionally, we’ve added our contract predictions to the mix. We vetted these as much as possible, but with 50 predictions and a volatile free agent marketplace, we know we’ll be off on some. Still, the contract predictions give a more clear criteria, as players are ranked by earning power. Without further ado, we’re proud to present MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents!
Quick Hits: Yankees, Bundy, Green, Mets
No free agent has ever accepted a qualifying offer, and if all 20 of this winter’s QO players reject their offers as well, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal figures it may inspire changes to the free agent process in the next collective bargaining agreement. (The current CBA expires on December 1, 2016.) The large number of QOs in play, Rosenthal reasons, might actually make some teams with their own qualifying offer players less hesitant to give up draft picks to sign such free agents. The Royals, for instance, would only drop a few spots in the draft order if they gave up their 27th overall pick to sign a QO free agent and then let Alex Gordon leave, thus netting them a supplemental first-rounder back. Here’s some more from around baseball…
- The Yankees generally haven’t made recent free agent splashes unless they had money coming off the books and could recoup surrendered draft picks via their own departing free agents, so Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if the Bombers could be fairly quiet this winter, especially when it comes to qualifying offer players. While the draft pick compensation is certainly a concern, I’m not sure the payroll is necessarily an obstacle. As I noted in my Yankees Offseason Outlook piece, the club could sign a major free agent to a backloaded deal, as Carlos Beltran, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and C.C. Sabathia will all have their contracts end within the next two years.
- The Orioles have been very active in the Rule 5 draft in recent years, though MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko notes that the club may not be able to pick a reliever this year due to Dylan Bundy‘s situation. The former top prospect is out of options and recovering from a spate of injuries, so the O’s could ease Bundy back in via a bullpen role. It would therefore be difficult for the club to manage with two pen spots filled with a rehab project and a raw minor league talent.
- New Padres manager Andy Green is profiled by MLB.com’s Corey Brock, detailing Green’s playing career in the Majors and Japan, his move into coaching and his funny negotiation with then-Diamondbacks executive Mike Rizzo after being drafted in 2000.
- Mets fans often clamor for their team to be bigger players in free agency, though Mike Puma of the New York Post notes that the club hasn’t had much success on the open market under Sandy Alderson’s tenure.
- Also from Puma’s piece, he writes that the Mets could be open to re-signing Bartolo Colon if the veteran is willing to pitch as a swingman, and if the team is able to deal Jon Niese to create rotation space.
- ESPN’s Keith Law (Insider-only link) provides his ranking of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, complete with contract valuations based on what Law would feel comfortable giving each player, not what they’ll actually receive in the open market. For instance, Law would only offer Yoenis Cespedes a three-year, $60MM contract due to concerns about his on-base skills and a desire to avoid Cespedes’ decline years — MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes’ Top 50 Free Agents list, which predicts real-world contract values, has Cespedes receiving over twice Law’s number at six years and $140MM.
NL Notes: Stewart, Stearns, Perez, Cubs
Here’s the latest from a few National League general managers as they prepare for the upcoming GM Meetings…
- Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart would prefer to address his team’s pitching needs via free agency rather than dealing from his position player depth, he tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. “I’m kind of in the mode of if I can hold on to my depth, then I’d like to hold on to it,” Stewart said. “I want to see if we can accomplish what we want to accomplish by dealing with these free agents. That’s probably my first choice. That’s probably the way I would want to do it.” Stewart said he’s already contacted with agents for several pitchers the D’Backs are interested in, and hopes to have more such discussions during the GM Meetings.
- The Diamondbacks‘ first round draft pick (13th overall) isn’t protected but Stewart sounded open to giving up the pick to sign a qualifying offer free agent if “whoever we get is impactful enough that we would want to do that.”
- While the D’Backs are aiming at free agents first, Brewers GM David Stearns said his team is (not surprisingly) planning to focus more on drafting and trades in this stage of the team-building process, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. “That doesn’t mean we’ll never be a player in free agency. It means we’ll have to be very selective and opportunistic about the times that we do invest in the free-agent market,” Stearns said.
- The Brewers made several roster cuts over the last week, which Stearns said was a way to “create roster flexibility” for future acquisitions and free some 40-man space to protect minor leaguers from the Rule 5 draft next month. Hernan Perez elected free agency after being outrighted, and Stearns said the Crew will try to re-sign the infielder.
- Cubs GM Jed Hoyer believes teams could make some trades made during or just after the GM Meetings since the offseason is already heating up, he tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. “There’s probably going to be a little more urgency for teams. Given the fact there’s already been a trade, I think people realize that things could happen quickly. I think people are going to be ready to move quickly,” Hoyer said, referring to the six-player deal already swung between the Rays and Mariners on Thursday. This doesn’t necessarily mean the Cubs themselves will be busy, though Hoyer has already had at least “exploratory” talks with all 29 other teams.
- Hoyer expects to be asked about the Cubs‘ position player depth in possible trades for pitching. While the Cubs like their everyday and bench roster, “you can never say never,” the GM said. “If something makes sense where we would trade out some surplus on the position-playing side for some pitching depth, that’s something we have to explore.”