Headlines

  • Nationals Select Eli Willits With First Pick Of 2025 Amateur Draft
  • 2025 MLB Draft, First Round Results
  • Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear
  • Astros Promote Brice Matthews
  • Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow
  • Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

The Top Unsigned Center Fielders

By Anthony Franco | January 24, 2024 at 8:30pm CDT

We’re less than three weeks from pitchers and catchers beginning to report to Spring Training. While the offseason is theoretically winding down, there are still a number of noteworthy players on the open market. The top unsigned position player headlines the group of remaining center fielders.

  • Cody Bellinger: Bellinger rejected a qualifying offer from the Cubs at the beginning of the offseason. That was an easy call as he sought a long-term deal after a successful rebound campaign in Chicago. The 28-year-old is coming off his best season since his 2019 MVP campaign. He hit .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs across 556 plate appearances. Bellinger’s batted ball metrics (a 31.4% hard contact rate, 87.9 MPH average exit velocity) aren’t as impressive as one might assume from his 25+ homers and early-career power impact. That said, he seemingly made a concerted effort to put more balls in play. His 15.6% strikeout rate last season was a career low, a marked improvement after he fanned in a quarter of his plate appearances between 2020-22. The Cubs are most often linked to Bellinger, who has also been loosely tied to the Blue Jays and Angels at points this offseason.
  • Michael A. Taylor: Taylor is a solid glove-first regular. Even as he nears his 33rd birthday, he continues to post well above-average defensive grades. Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast estimated he was between five and seven runs better than the standard center fielder in a little under 1000 innings for the Twins last year. Taylor paired that with one of his better offensive showings. He hit a career-high 21 home runs and swiped 13 bags in 129 contests. That came with a subpar .220 average and .278 on-base percentage, as he struck out more than a third of the time. The whiffs are part of the package with Taylor, but he has enough power to profile as a bottom-of-the-lineup regular so long as he continues to defend at this level. The Angels, Padres, Pirates and Red Sox are among the teams that have been linked to Taylor.
  • Adam Duvall: It’s debatable whether Duvall qualifies as more than an emergency option in center field. He’s been a left fielder for the majority of his career. The Red Sox moved him more frequently into center last year, an odd choice for a player in his age-34 season. Duvall’s defensive grades in 478 innings of center field work were predictably below-average. He’s still a solid defender in left who can moonlight up the middle, however. More importantly, Duvall had a rebound year at the plate. He blasted 21 homers in only 353 plate appearances, running a .247/.303/.531 slash. As is the case with Taylor, teams looking at Duvall will have to live with some strikeouts and a low OBP. He has a trio of 30-homer seasons on his résumé and might have gotten a fourth last year had he not missed a couple months with a wrist fracture. The Angels and incumbent Red Sox have been tied to Duvall this offseason; Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggested last week the bidding may come down to those two clubs.
  • Aaron Hicks: By late May, it wasn’t clear how much longer Hicks would remain in the big leagues. He was released by the Yankees as he seemed en route to a third straight poor season. The Orioles somewhat surprisingly added him on a big league deal. From that point, the switch-hitting Hicks had a resurgence. He closed the year with a .275/.381/.425 slash over 236 plate appearances in Baltimore. Hicks walked at a massive 14.8% clip while striking out only 20.8% of the time. That won’t erase the memories of his struggles toward the end of his tenure in the Bronx, but it should land him a guaranteed MLB roster spot again. He’d be essentially a free pickup for whatever teams signs him. The Yankees are still on the hook for next year’s $9.5MM salary and a $1MM buyout on a 2025 option. A signing team would only pay Hicks at the $740K league minimum rate for whatever time he spends on the MLB roster, which would be subtracted from New York’s obligations.
  • Travis Jankowski: The lefty-swinging Jankowski had a nice year as a role player for the World Series champion Rangers. He hit .263/.357/.332 and stole 19 bases in 20 attempts over 107 games. That should be enough to land him another MLB deal on a low base salary. Jankowski’s offensive upside is limited by bottom-of-the-scale power. He has excellent contact skills, a patient approach, and enough speed to factor in on the bases and at all three outfield positions. He’s a solid bench piece.
Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

2023-24 MLB Free Agents MLBTR Originals

107 comments

Marlins Exploring Free Agent Infield Market

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2024 at 7:02pm CDT

The Marlins are the only team in MLB that hasn’t signed at least one free agent to a major league contract this offseason. This morning’s minor league pact with Trey Mancini stands as the team’s most notable free-agent pickup to date, and the trade front hasn’t been particularly active either. The Fish acquired catcher Christian Bethancourt from the Guardians for cash and bought low on former top prospect Vidal Brujan and reliever Calvin Faucher in a trade with new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix’s former club, the Rays.

It seems as though some modest activity could at least be on the horizon. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the team is looking into a thin crop of free-agent shortstops and hoping to add someone on a big league deal — ideally a player who could also handle some third base on occasion.

This offseason’s crop of shortstops is the worst in recent years, and one of the better names is already off the board: Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Notably, Jackson adds that the Marlins made an offer to Kiner-Falefa but balked at adding a second guaranteed year. He instead signed with the Blue Jays on a two-year, $15MM contract.

Looking elsewhere on the free agent market, there’s not a lot to be had. Tim Anderson will likely sign a one-year deal in hopes of bouncing back to his previous All-Star form, but he’s coming off a catastrophic 2023 showing in which all of his slash stats checked in south of .300 (.245/.286/.296). Anderson has never played third base in the majors, but he did say a few months back that he’s open to a move to second base if need be. Presumably, that means he’d be similarly open to spending occasional time at third base.

Other options on the market include Amed Rosario and longtime Giants cornerstone Brandon Crawford. Rosario, like Anderson, is seeking a rebound opportunity after he hit .263/.305/.378 last season — his worst production since the shortened 2020 season. That batting line checked in 12% south of league-average, by measure of wRC+, and it’s worth noting that Rosario has also never played third base in the big leagues. But he’s put in over 6000 innings of shortstop work since his debut, in addition to occasional work at second base and all three outfield spots. Presumably, he’d be comfortable moving to the hot corner.

Crawford, 37, is a lifelong Giant and could well be averse to traveling clear across the country to continue his career on a team that is, at best, a Wild Card contender. He’s looking to bounce back from a career-worst .194/.273/.314 performance at the plate last season. Statcast still pegs Crawford as a plus defender at shortstop, while Defensive Runs Saved feels (rather emphatically so) that the opposite is true. Regardless, he’d likely be available on a one-year deal and ought to be capable of handling third base on occasion, given his nearly 14,000 career innings at shortstop.

Veteran infielder Gio Urshela represents one more speculative option, though it’s far from clear any club will give him everyday work at shortstop. He’s been more of a third baseman since establishing himself as a regular, and he’s now coming off a season-ending pelvic fracture sustained last June during his lone season as an Angel. The Halos gave Urshela 71 innings at shortstop last season, but that was the second-highest total at the position in any single season. A full-time role at shortstop is probably a reach, particularly coming off an injury of note.

The market has a handful of other options, but most are generally going to be available on minor league deals. Elvis Andrus, Nick Ahmed, Yu Chang, Adalberto Mondesi and Matt Duffy all know their way around the shortstop position; Chang, Mondesi and Duffy have quite a bit of experience at the hot corner as well (Duffy in particular). All have been below-average hitters more often than not in recent seasons though, and Mondesi has one of the lengthiest injury histories of any active player in the game.

Beyond that, free agency doesn’t have much in the way of shortstop options. A creative trade still seems viable — particularly if the Marlins remain amenable to dealing a controllable starter like Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett or Jesus Luzardo. If the plan is to find a short-term option in free agency, however, the options are few and far between.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Miami Marlins Isiah Kiner-Falefa

76 comments

Angels Interested In Joey Votto

By Darragh McDonald | January 24, 2024 at 5:25pm CDT

The Angels are one of the clubs with interest in free agent Joey Votto, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post.

Votto, 40, is a free agent for the first time in his career after spending parts of 17 seasons with the Reds. His performance was excellent in many of those years but he’s coming off some recent struggles. He has been dealing with a significant shoulder injury that required surgery in 2022, with the effects lingering into 2023. He hit just .204/.317/.394 over those two seasons, production that translates to a wRC+ of 95, or 5% worse than league average.

But he has been among the best hitters in the game in the past and was in good form as recently as 2021. He hit 36 home runs that year and drew walks in 14.4% of his plate appearances. His .266/.375/.563 slash line during that season led to a wRC+ of 140, or 40% better than league average. He also received strong grades for his glovework at first base, helping him produce 3.8 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs and 3.7 WAR per the calculations of Baseball Reference.

Perhaps it may be asking too much for a club to expect Votto to get back to that kind of production as he is now 40 years old, but if he’s able to get beyond the shoulder issues and produce at a level beyond the past two seasons, he could still be a useful contributor. His hometown Blue Jays have also been connected to him in rumors this offseason but a return to Cincinnati seems to be off the table.

With only three weeks until pitchers and catcher report to Spring Training, the Angels have question marks both at first base and designated hitter. The DH spot has been utilized primarily by Shohei Ohtani in recent years, though he has now moved across town to the Dodgers. At first base, Nolan Schanuel was rushed up to the majors to take over the position last year. He was only just drafted in July and made a handful of minor league appearances before making his debut in the big leagues.

Remarkably, he managed to carry himself well despite the short track record of professional experience. In his first 132 plate appearances, he showed Votto-esque discipline, drawing walks at a 15.2% clip while striking out only 14.4% of the time. He only hit one home run, giving him a hunched batting line of .275/.402/.330, though that was still good for a wRC+ of 112. Despite that solid debut, Schanuel has just 51 games of professional experience and just 29 in the majors. For a club like the Angels with plans on contending this year, it’s a risk to be relying on him.

The club would be wise to get some insurance in case he experiences a swoon or the league figures out a way to attack him. Brandon Drury is on the roster and could play some first, but he also may be needed at second base or third base. Anthony Rendon is the on-paper option at the hot corner but he hasn’t played as many as 60 games in a season since 2019, meaning Drury may be needed over there. Miguel Sanó was recently added into the first base mix via minor league deal, though he sat out the 2023 season and had a rough injury-marred season the year before. Hunter Dozier was also signed to a minors pact but his only two above-average seasons at the plate were the juiced ball season of 2019 and the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

Bolstering the first base mix makes plenty of sense, especially with the designated hitter spot open for extra at-bats in the event Schanuel is justifying a regular role. The first base market has recently started to move, with Sanó, Rhys Hoskins, Joey Gallo and Trey Mancini all signing in the past few days. Cody Bellinger is capable of playing some first base and still out there, though will be primarily considered an outfielder and is in a different stratosphere than the other available free agents.

Brandon Belt, Garrett Cooper and Carlos Santana are some of the other guys out there with Votto. Justin Turner isn’t likely to be counted on for everyday action in the field but can play the infield a bit while mostly DHing. The open market also features names like J.D. Martinez, Joc Pederson and Jorge Soler, who could be used as primary designated hitters with varying degrees of outfield playability. The Halos have been connected to big bats like Bellinger and Martinez in this offseason.

The Angels should have plenty of payroll space available, assuming they are willing to get close to the competitive balance tax line again, as they did last year. Roster Resource currently pegs their CBT number at $187MM, which is $50MM below this year’s base threshold of $237MM. Replacing an elite bat like Ohtani’s won’t be easy but they should have resources available to make upgrades to the current lineup in some form or another.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Los Angeles Angels Joey Votto

170 comments

Yankees Outright Oscar González, Jeter Downs

By Darragh McDonald | January 24, 2024 at 3:40pm CDT

The Yankees announced that outfielder Oscar González and infielder Jeter Downs were both outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. That indicates that both players passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment in the past week. A third player that they club put on waivers, outfielder Bubba Thompson, was claimed by the Twins.

González, 26, debuted with a splash while with the Guardians in 2022. He hit 11 home runs in 91 games and slashed .296/.327/.461 for a wRC+ of 125. He also endeared himself to fans by using the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song as his walk-up music and hitting a series-clinching walk-off home run in the 15th inning of a game in the Wild Card round against the Rays.

But things went off the rails last year, as his poor plate discipline got worse and his production couldn’t stay afloat. His 3.9% walk rate in 2022 was already less than half the league average and that mark fell to 2.8% in 2023. His 19.6% strikeout rate also ticked up to 25.6%. He hit .214/.239/.312 in the majors and spent most of the year on optional assignment.

Poor pitch selection seems to be a clear issue for him, as he has swung at 49.1% of pitches outside the strike zone in his career thus far. That’s the highest rate among MLB hitters with at least 550 plate appearances over the past two seasons. He still managed to hit enough to be useful a couple of years ago but his stock has clearly fallen since.

The Guardians put him on waivers earlier in the offseason, with the Yankees making a claim in early December. The fact that he passed through waivers this week means that all 29 other clubs declined to give him a roster spot. Since this is his first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, he will stick in the organization as non-roster depth.

The 25-year-old Downs is in a similar situation, having just been claimed by the Yankees last month. Fairly or unfairly, he is best known by many fans for going to the Red Sox in the deal that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers. Once a top prospect, he hasn’t been able to hit much since that trade. He has produced a batting line of .200/.309/.365 in the minor leagues over the past three years, leading to a wRC+ of 80. He’s only been given 50 major league plate appearances in that time and hit just .182/.260/.273 in those.

He has gone from the Red Sox to the Nationals and now the Yankees via waivers, but today’s transaction indicates no club was willing to give him a roster spot. Like González, he lacks the necessary service time or previous outright to elect free agency, meaning he will stick in the organization as depth without taking a spot on the 40-man roster.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

New York Yankees Transactions Jeter Downs Oscar Gonzalez

33 comments

Twins Claim Bubba Thompson

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2024 at 3:21pm CDT

The Twins claimed outfielder Bubba Thompson off waivers from the Yankees, per an announcement from the Yankees. He’d been designated for assignment last week in order to open space on the roster for right-hander Luke Weaver. The Twins had a pair of open spots on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move isn’t necessary.

Thompson, 25, is the game’s fastest player by measure of Statcast’s average sprint speed metric (30.4 ft/sec). He’s also one of the sport’s lightest hitters. In 241 career plate appearances at the big league level — all coming with the Rangers, who originally took him in the first round of the 2017 draft — Thompson is a .242/.286/.305 hitter. That modest slash line comes in spite of a hefty .351 average on balls in play and masks (to an extent) a career 29.9% strikeout rate. Thompson’s top-of-the-scale speed is countered by bottom-of-the-scale ratings in terms of average exit velocity (career 84.1 mph) and hard-hit rate (21.9%).

As one might expect for a player with such prodigious wheels, Thompson grades as a sound defender in his limited MLB action. He’s logged 595 innings in the outfield and been credited with a +1 from both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average. The former high school football star has drawn praise for off-the-chart athleticism dating back to his amateur days, and Baseball America has previously credited him as a plus-plus runner and plus defender in center field while also cautioning that he’s a below-average hitter who lacks consistency from at-bat to at-bat.

It hasn’t yet manifested in game settings, but Thompson draws praise for his above-average raw power. He’s never topped 16 home runs in a single season, however, and he’s only reached double-digit home runs twice in his pro career. He hit six home runs in 362 plate appearances in 2023 — all coming in the minors. Thompson is a career .284/.347/.440 hitter in 677 Triple-A plate appearances and a .268/.329/.436 hitter overall in the minors.

Thompson will give the Twins some depth in center field and a strong defensive alternative in the event that perennial injury risk Byron Buxton isn’t able to suit up in the outfield. Knee surgery limited Buxton exclusively to DH work in 2023, though the organization’s hope is that he can return to the outfield in 2024. As it stands, lefties Matt Wallner and Max Kepler are expected to man the corners at Target Field, although Kepler’s name has once again been floated as in trade rumblings throughout the offseason as Minnesota looks to pare back payroll and Kepler enters the final season of his contract.

Thompson still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so the Twins can freely shuttle him between Triple-A St. Paul and the big league team this coming season — assuming he sticks on the 40-man roster for the remainder of the offseason. If things go well, he can take help to offset the loss of free agent Michael A. Taylor, though Thompson has a long ways to go before proving he has enough bat to stick on a big league roster with any degree of consistency. If the Twins can succeed in coaxing more out of him at the plate, he can be controlled for another six seasons.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Minnesota Twins New York Yankees Transactions Bubba Thompson Luke Weaver

29 comments

Poll: Should The Red Sox Trade Kenley Jansen?

By Darragh McDonald | January 24, 2024 at 3:05pm CDT

The payroll has become a topic of conversation for the Red Sox. Despite chairman Tom Werner’s “full throttle” comments earlier in the offseason, CEO Sam Kennedy recently admitted that this year’s payroll will probably be lower than last year’s. It was reported last month by Chris Cotillo of MassLive that the club could look to shed some more payroll in order to improve their ability to pursue their free agent targets.

Per Roster Resource, the club’s payroll currently sits at $178MM. It hasn’t been that low in a full season since 2014, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, but it seems the pursestrings are getting tight nonetheless. The club has been connected to some big name free agents that are still available, such as Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, but perhaps they need to free up a bit of cash before they can earnestly pursue any of those. More affordable options would include Mike Clevinger, Michael Lorenzen, Hyun Jin Ryu and others.

Cotillo’s report identifies Kenley Jansen as a possible candidate for such a salary-clearing deal, which is a logical fit. He signed a two-year, $32MM deal with the Sox last offseason, with even salaries of $16MM in each campaign. His first season in Boston was solid, though not spectacular. He recorded 29 saves in 33 chances, posting an earned run average of 3.63 on the year. His 27.7% strikeout rate was above league average but the lowest single-season mark in his career. The club has reportedly received trade interest in him.

With the Chris Sale deal, the club flipped the soon-to-be-35-year-old for a younger second baseman in Vaughn Grissom while effectively replacing Sale by signing Lucas Giolito. Perhaps the club is thinking of a similar path with the bullpen, as they have been connected to relievers like Jordan Hicks and Robert Stephenson, though those two have now signed with other clubs. With Jansen now 36 years old, they could perhaps exchange him for whatever the market will bear, then pivot to a younger arm to bolster the relief corps.

They could also consider replacing him internally with someone like Chris Martin, though there would also be some logic to consider trading him as well. He was signed to a two-year, $17.5MM deal last offseason, with $9MM of that still to be paid out. Per the Associated Press, he’ll make a $7.5MM salary this year and a $1.5MM payment of his $4MM signing bonus is scheduled for June.

Martin, 38 in June, is coming off a dominant season in a setup role. He posted an ERA of 1.05 in 55 appearances, racking up 23 holds in the process. He struck out 23.1% of opponents, walked just 4% of them and got grounders at a 51% clip. Martin’s never really been a closer in the majors, with just 12 career saves, though he did have a 21-save season while pitching in Japan in 2016.

Similar to the logic with Sale and Jansen, perhaps the club would consider making Martin available on the trade market and then replacing him with a younger free agent. Or perhaps they would like to trade one, keep one in the closer’s role and use the saved money to further address their rotation.

The relief pitching market has recently started to move, with many dominoes falling of late. In addition to Hicks and Stephenson, Josh Hader, Aroldis Chapman and Matt Moore have come off the board in the past little bit. That leaves David Robertson, Ryan Brasier, Phil Maton, Héctor Neris, Adam Ottavino, Wandy Peralta and Brad Hand as some of the best bullpen options still available. With the market getting thinner, perhaps the Sox can flip Jansen and/or Martin, then use the money saved to address their rotation.

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow recently identified the club’s rotation locks as Giolito, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Nick Pivetta, with Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck, Josh Winckowski, Cooper Criswell and Max Castillo among the options for the back end and depth jobs.

What do you think? Should the Sox subtract from the bullpen in order to upgrade the club in other ways? If so, who should they move? Have your say in the poll below!

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Boston Red Sox MLBTR Originals MLBTR Polls Chris Martin Kenley Jansen

266 comments

Tigers Sign Drew Anderson To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | January 24, 2024 at 1:30pm CDT

The Tigers have signed right-hander Drew Anderson to a minor league deal, reports Evan Woodbery of MLive. It’s unclear if the righty will be in major league camp with the Tigers.

Anderson, 30 in March, got scattered major league time from 2017 to 2021. He suited up for the Phillies, White Sox and Rangers, appearing in five straight seasons but never making more than nine appearances in any individual campaign. He threw a combined 44 1/3 innings in 19 games over that stretch, allowing 6.50 earned runs per nine frames. His 8.3% walk rate was around average but his 14.7% strikeout rate was well below.

After that run, he headed overseas to join Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Over the past two years, Anderson tossed 115 innings in 34 games for the Carp, with a 3.05 ERA in that time. He struck out 20.7% of batters faced while giving out walks at an 8.4% clip.

On the heels of those solid results in Japan, Anderson now returns to North America and will join the Tigers. He has worked both as a starter and a reliever in his career and it’s unclear which role the Tigers have in mind for him, but he would seem to have a steep climb towards a starting role.

The club has Tarik Skubal, Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty in the rotation, with Matt Manning, Casey Mize, Reese Olson and Sawyer Gipson-Long likely batting for the spots at the back end. Other options on the roster include Alex Faedo, Mason Englert, Joey Wentz and Keider Montero. Top prospects Wilmer Flores, Ty Madden and Jackson Jobe are getting close to their major league debuts, with Flores having already secured a spot on the 40-man.

Nonetheless, as the cliches say, you can never have enough pitching depth and there’s no such thing as a bad minor league deal. For Anderson, he will get a chance to show himself to MLB scouts after a couple of years abroad and try to get back to show.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Detroit Tigers Transactions Drew Anderson

22 comments

Latest On Yankees’ Bullpen Targets

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2024 at 11:54am CDT

The Yankees are primarily focused on bullpen additions at this stage of the offseason and have been tied to various free agents over the past few weeks. Right-hander Hector Neris has been among the most oft-cited potential targets for the Yanks, and while SNY’s Andy Martino writes that the team has indeed spoken to the 34-year-old Neris, he also has “serious” interest from teams outside New York. The YES Network’s Jack Curry, meanwhile, hears that Neris isn’t likely to land in the Bronx as of this moment (video link). Reunions with southpaw Wandy Peralta and/or righty Keynan Middleton seem likelier than signing Neris, according to Curry.

Neris, 34, has been an eyeing a one- or two-year deal worth $7-11MM annually, per Martino. For a Yankees club that’s well into the final tier of luxury tax penalties and is a third-time CBT offender, that’d mean effectively paying Neris between $14.7MM and $24.2MM in 2024; any additional free-agent spending at this point will come with a 110% luxury hit. As such, it’s not particularly surprising to see the Yankees looking at lower-cost alternatives.

The 32-year-old Peralta has been a fixture in the Yankees’ bullpen for the past three season. From 2021-23, he logged 153 innings of 2.82 ERA ball with a 21% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and huge 56.5% ground-ball rate. In addition to keeping the ball on the ground at a strong clip, Peralta manages hard contact quite well. He’s been in the 88th percentile or better in opponents’ average exit velocity in each of the past four seasons, per Statcast. The Mets have also spoken to Peralta in recent weeks, though they face the same CBT status and probably feel less urgency to get into any sort of bidding war, as they’re in more of a transitional state than the clearly win-now Yankees.

Middleton, 30, was a deadline pickup by the Yankees and pitched to a 1.88 ERA with a 30.4% strikeout rate and 12.5% walk rate in 14 1/3 innings down the stretch. Inflammation in his right shoulder cost him most of September, but he did make it back the mound for one final appearance on Sept. 29.

That nice showing with the Yankees capped a fine rebound season for the former Angels hurler. In 50 2/3 innings between the White Sox and Yankees, Middleton notched a 3.38 ERA, 30.2% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate and career-best 56.6% ground-ball rate that was 24 percentage points higher than the career mark he carried into the season. The right-hander threw his four-seamer at a career-low 26.3% clip and tossed his changeup at a 42.9% clip that was far and away the highest of his career, which likely accounts for the stark uptick in grounders. Middleton threw more changeups in 2023 (367) than he had in his entire career combined (237). Opponents beat the offering into the ground at a hefty 64.6% clip and managed only .209 average when putting it in play.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

New York Yankees Hector Neris Keynan Middleton Wandy Peralta

80 comments

Krall: Reds “Don’t Plan To Bring [Votto] Back As Of Now”

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2024 at 10:42am CDT

Joey Votto has spent his entire professional career with the Reds organization, dating back to his second-round selection in the 2002 MLB draft and his Major League debut in 2007. If he hopes to suit up for an 18th MLB campaign, however, it seems increasingly likely it’ll be with a new team. Cincinnati president of baseball operations Nick Krall all but confirmed as much when asked by season-ticket holders whether Votto would return (link via Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). “We don’t plan to bring him back as of now,” Krall candidly replied.

A crowded Reds infield mix has already pushed jack-of-all-trades Spencer Steer to left field. Cincinnati deepened its wealth of infield talent earlier in the winter, signing third baseman Jeimer Candelario to a three-year, $45MM pact. He joins Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, Jonathan India and Christian Encarnacion-Strand as options around the infield (with Steer on-hand in the event that injuries necessitate a move back onto the dirt). That glut of names already made Votto a long shot to return, but it’s still uncommon for any executive to comment directly on an unsigned player’s fit with his or her club (or in this case, the lack thereof).

Votto, 40, has already stated he hopes to continue his career. The six-time All-Star and former National League MVP spoke with C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic earlier in the offseason and discussed his struggles while playing through a shoulder injury that required surgery in 2022 and continued to cause him trouble in 2023.  Votto opened the 2023 season on the injured list, had a productive 41-game stint upon being activated, but was placed back on the injured list in August and wilted upon his return to the roster.

It’s easy to look at Votto’s overall .202/.314/.433 slash and be underwhelmed, but a poor showing post-IL stint severely weighed down his production. Votto went hitless in 18 plate appearances before landing on the injured list, and he batted just .211/.362/.316 in 47 trips to the plate following his return. Overall, his season ended with a .164/.292/.236 swoon in 65 plate appearances.

Any team signing Votto will be hoping for better health. Doing so will require minimal financial risk in all likelihood, and Votto showed as recently as the 2021 season — his age-37 campaign — that he could produce far better than most hitters at this stage of their careers. That season saw him turn in an excellent .266/.375/.563 batting line and club 36 home runs, just one big fly shy of his career-high 37 set back in 2010. A rebound to that level of production at age 40 and with a recent shoulder surgery on his medical record might not be particularly feasible, but landing somewhere in the middle of his ’21 and his ’22-’23 output would still make Votto an above-average performer; when combining that 2021 production and his 2022-23 struggles, Votto still checks in with a .233/.344/.471 batting line (116 wRC+).

It’s been a quiet offseason with regard to Votto. The Blue Jays, as they have been for several years, have been tied to the Toronto native. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported recently that three teams were currently having some level of talks with the career .294/.409/.511 hitter.

There’s indeed a logical fit on the Jays, who saw Brandon Belt become a free agent at season’s end, have a heavily right-handed lineup. Votto could share time at first base with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and see plenty of time as the designated hitter, where the Blue Jays currently don’t have a clear regular option. Other teams known to be on the lookout for help at first base and/or designated hitter include the D-backs, Twins, Padres and Marlins (to name a few). Injuries and/or trades within the Reds’ current infield corps could potentially clear a path back to Great American Ball Park, but for now Krall made clear that such an arrangement isn’t in the cards.

Given the likely low cost of signing Votto, it’s easy enough to speculate on him as a fit with upwards of half the league. Interest figures to be quite a bit more limited than that, given his age and recent struggles, but he represents a relatively low-risk signing who’s still only a couple years removed from a standout showing at the plate.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto

142 comments

Mets Interested In Ryne Stanek, Héctor Neris

By Darragh McDonald | January 24, 2024 at 10:32am CDT

The Mets have interest in free agent right-hander Ryne Stanek, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. That would track with the club’s interest in making further bullpen moves, something that was confirmed by president of baseball operations David Stearns recently. Andy Martino of SNY relays that the club is willing to spend another $10MM or so this offseason, with perhaps more funds available at the deadline if they are contending. Martino adds that the club has spoken to the representatives for free agent righty Héctor Neris.

There has been a lot of turnover in the Mets’ bullpen relative to last year. David Robertson and Dominic Leone were traded at last year’s deadline, then Adam Ottavino opted out of his deal. Various other players were either non-tendered or outrighted.

Since then, the club has given one-year deals to Michael Tonkin, Jorge López and Austin Adams. That’s been in keeping with the club’s slate of short-term moves to bolster other parts of the roster. Sean Manaea got a two-year deal but with an opt-out after year one, while to Luis Severino Harrison Bader and Joey Wendle all inked one-year deals. The bullpen also got a new arm via trade when the Mets acquired Yohan Ramírez from the White Sox, and they’ve given minor league deals to journeymen like Cole Sulser, Yacksel Ríos and others.

It seems the club is still hoping to add another arm in there before Opening Day. Stanek, 32, has had a solid run for the Astros over the past three years. He’s made 186 appearances in that time with a 2.90 earned run average. He has struck out 27% of batters faced but also given out walks a a 12.2% clip. That strikeout rate fell to 23.9% in 2023, but he also cut his walk rate to 9.9%, a career low for him.

Neris, 35 in June, spent the past two years with Houston, with a 2.69 ERA over his 141 appearances. He paired a 29.1% strikeout rate with a 9% walk rate. His ERA dropped from 3.72 in 2022 to 1.71 last year, but that seems to have involved quite a bit of good fortune. His strikeout and walk rates actually worsened compared to the year prior, but his batting average on balls in play dropped by more than 70 points while his strand rate spiked from 63.4% to 90.5%. Neris’ 3.83 FIP and 3.89 SIERA in 2023 were each more than a full run higher than they were in 2022.

Either pitcher could be a sensible option for the Mets. Astros general manager Dana Brown recently said that they have interest in bringing those pitchers back, though that was before they signed Josh Hader and launched themselves over the competitive balance tax threshold. Neris has also reportedly received interest from the Rangers, Yankees and Cardinals.

Despite heading into 2024 with a sort of retool in mind, the Mets have a CBT number of $318MM, per Roster Resource. That’s well over the fourth and final tier of the CBT, which is $297MM this year. As a third-time payor in that stratosphere, the Mets are subject to a 110% tax rate on any further spending, though it seems that won’t be an obstacle to them adding to their bullpen in the coming weeks.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

New York Mets Hector Neris Ryne Stanek

59 comments
AJAX Loader
Load More Posts
  • Top Stories
  • Recent

Nationals Select Eli Willits With First Pick Of 2025 Amateur Draft

2025 MLB Draft, First Round Results

Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear

Astros Promote Brice Matthews

Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

Bobby Jenks Passes Away

Braves Release Alex Verdugo

Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

Rangers Option Josh Jung

The Opener: Home Run Derby, Draft Day 2, Rodriguez

Nationals Select Eli Willits With First Pick Of 2025 Amateur Draft

2025 MLB Draft, First Round Results

Padres Interested In Korey Lee

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Alcantara, Cabrera, Fried, Gil, Garcia, Rodriguez

Eight Teams Showing Interest In Luis Robert Jr.

Tigers Sign Geoff Hartlieb To Minor League Contract

Brewers Designate Drew Avans For Assignment

Mariners Agree To Sign First-Round Pick Kade Anderson

Blue Jays Interested In Zac Gallen

MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

Latest Rumors & News

Latest Rumors & News

  • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
  • Luis Robert Rumors
  • Alex Bregman Rumors

 

Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

MLBTR Features

MLBTR Features

  • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
  • Front Office Originals
  • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
  • MLBTR Podcast
  • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
  • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
  • Contract Tracker
  • Transaction Tracker
  • Extension Tracker
  • Agency Database
  • MLBTR On Twitter
  • MLBTR On Facebook
  • Team Facebook Pages
  • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

Rumors By Team

  • Angels Rumors
  • Astros Rumors
  • Athletics Rumors
  • Blue Jays Rumors
  • Braves Rumors
  • Brewers Rumors
  • Cardinals Rumors
  • Cubs Rumors
  • Diamondbacks Rumors
  • Dodgers Rumors
  • Giants Rumors
  • Guardians Rumors
  • Mariners Rumors
  • Marlins Rumors
  • Mets Rumors
  • Nationals Rumors
  • Orioles Rumors
  • Padres Rumors
  • Phillies Rumors
  • Pirates Rumors
  • Rangers Rumors
  • Rays Rumors
  • Red Sox Rumors
  • Reds Rumors
  • Rockies Rumors
  • Royals Rumors
  • Tigers Rumors
  • Twins Rumors
  • White Sox Rumors
  • Yankees Rumors

Navigation

  • Sitemap
  • Archives
  • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

MLBTR INFO

  • Advertise
  • About
  • Commenting Policy
  • Privacy Policy

Connect

  • Contact Us
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top

Register

Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version