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Dodgers Place Scott Kazmir, Brett Anderson On Disabled List

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The Dodgers announced that they’ve placed left-handers Scott Kazmir and Brett Anderson on the 15-day disabled list and optioned right-hander Josh Fields to Triple-A Oklahoma City. In a series of corresponding moves, the team has recalled infielder Charlie Culberson, left-hander Luis Avilan and right-hander Ross Stripling from Triple-A.

Reports earlier today suggested that Kazmir was headed for an evaluation of his ailing back and neck, and the Dodgers’ press release announcing the moves lists the reason for his DL trip as neck inflammation. Anderson, meanwhile, was forced to exit his most recent start early due to a blister on his left index finger. Kazmir’s DL placement, incredibly, pushes the Dodgers into a tie for the Major League record with 27 different players placed on the disabled list in a single regular season, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

The list of pitchers the Dodgers currently have on the disabled list is deeper and more talented than most teams’ entire rotations. Kazmir and Anderson will join Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood, Brandon McCarthy, Hyun-jin Ryu and Rich Hill on the DL, though Hill is lined up to make his Dodgers debut tomorrow. This latest pair of injuries means the Dodgers will rely on Hill, Kenta Maeda, Bud Norris and perhaps rookie Julio Urias in the next trip through the rotation, with Stripling, Brock Stewart and Carlos Frias each representing options for the vacant fifth spot.

The 28-year-old Anderson missed the first four-plus months of the season due to a back operation that he underwent in Spring Training, and he’s been roughed up for 11 earned runs in just four innings across two appearances since returning earlier this month. Certainly, he’ll hope for a minimal stay on the disabled list, both so he can return and help his club for the September postseason push and so that he can demonstrate at least some semblance of health prior to his arrival on the open market as a free agent this winter.

Kazmir, meanwhile, has been perhaps surprisingly durable for the Dodgers this year after signing a three-year, $48MM contract with an opt-out clause after the first year. The 32-year-old’s 25 starts lead the team, but he’ll soon cede that honor to Maeda. In 135 1/3 innings this year, Kazmir has posted a sub-par 4.59 ERA, and this injury presumably makes it less likely that he’ll be willing to roll the dice and opt out of his contract even with a weak market that is lacking in the way of top tier competition.

Injury Updates: Kershaw, Anderson, Lewis, Gray

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We’ve already seen several big names hit the DL today, so let’s take look at some more notable injury situations from around baseball…

  • Clayton Kershaw is still at least a week away from throwing off a mound, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jack Baer), though the Dodgers superstar has thrown off flat ground multiple times within the last week.  Kershaw is still on track to return in September from the back problem that has sidelined him since late June.
  • The Dodgers activated southpaw Brett Anderson from the DL today but the lefty lasted just one inning (allowing five ER) and he suffered a mild sprain of his left wrist while trying to field a grounder.  Anderson is day-to-day and it’s unknown if he’ll make his next start.  “It feels like I’m kind of snakebit…it’s like a nightmare you hopefully wake up from,” Anderson told reporters, including Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times.  The injury-plagued veteran was making his first appearance of the 2016 season today after undergoing back surgery in March.  Anderson is a free agent this winter and is running out of time to get some healthy and effective outings under his belt, especially since the Dodgers can’t afford to give him much time to find himself with the club in a pennant race.
  • Colby Lewis threw a 30-pitch bullpen session today and told reporters (including T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com) that “everything felt great.”  Lewis has been on the DL since June recovering from a strained lat muscle, and the Rangers are aiming for a return in the first week of September if the rest of his recovery schedule goes as planned.  Lewis will toss another bullpen session and live batting practice this week, then a minimum of two rehab starts in the minors.  The Texas rotation will get a big boost if Lewis is able to continue his early-season form — a 3.21 ERA and identical 3.21 K/BB rate over his first 98 innings of 2016.
  • Sonny Gray may not pitch again in 2016, Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jane Lee).  While Melvin would ideally like to see Gray on the mound again, “it’s not like we’re going to push him to try to get him out there just to get him out there.”  Gray is recovering from a strained forearm and since he has to wait until the inflammation subsides, there isn’t currently any timetable for him to begin a proper rehab process.  A season-ending injury would be par for the course for Gray in what has been a lost season for the Oakland ace, as he has battled injuries and posted a career-worst 5.74 ERA over 21 starts.

Dodgers Activate Brett Anderson, Place Brandon McCarthy On DL

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The Dodgers have made a handful of roster moves, according to Doug Padilla of ESPN. Los Angeles has activated left-hander Brett Anderson from the 60-day disabled list and placed right-handers Brandon McCarthy (hip) and Josh Ravin (triceps tightness) on the 15-day DL. The club has also recalled righty Brock Stewart from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Anderson, who underwent back surgery in March, will make his season debut Sunday against Pittsburgh. Injuries have been the main theme throughout the promising 28-year-old’s career, unfortunately, as he was unable to log more than 83 1/3 innings in any individual season from 2011-14. Last year was the first time Anderson eclipsed the 100-inning mark since 2010, and he set a career high with 180 1/3 frames and recorded a 3.69 ERA. Behind Anderson’s strong run prevention were a league-best 66.3 ground-ball percentage and a stellar walk rate (2.3 per nine innings).

As a result of his output last season, his first as a Dodger, the team tendered Anderson a $15.8MM qualifying offer in November. He elected to accept it, and he’ll now provide the Clayton Kershaw-less Dodgers another southpaw starter to team with Scott Kazmir. The soon-to-return Rich Hill, who has been dealing with blisters on his pitching hand, could give Los Angeles a third lefty as early as next weekend.

As has been the case with Anderson, injuries have consistently derailed McCarthy, who’s headed to the DL for the second time this season after lasting just 1 2/3 innings in his Saturday start. The 33-year-old missed most of 2015 because of Tommy John surgery and has come back to post a 3.63 ERA and 9.87 K/9 in in 34 2/3 innings this season. While those are strong numbers, McCarthy has taken significant steps backward in his latest four starts, perhaps thanks in part to the injury. Dating back to July 27, McCarthy has thrown 12 1/3 innings and allowed 10 earned runs on 17 walks and 11 hits. McCarthy has done a terrific job limiting walks throughout his career, making his recent control issues troubling.

The Dodgers continue to have more than a quality rotation’s worth of injured starters, yet they’re 65-51, handily in possession of a National League Wild Card spot and only one game behind NL West-leading San Francisco. Along with Kershaw, McCarthy and Hill, righty Bud Norris and lefties Alex Wood and Hyun-jin Ryu are also on the shelf. As mentioned, though, Hill is nearing a comeback, and Norris is also on the brink of a return, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.

Pitching Notes: Santana, Gray, Estrada, Anderson, Gearrin

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Potential trade candidate Ervin Santana tossed a complete-game shutout yesterday for the Twins, limiting the Athletics to two hits without a walk while tossing just 100 pitches. Santana dropped his ERA 44 points in the process and is now sporting a 1.63 ERA over his past four starts. Obviously, a nice four-start stretch isn’t going to undo all of the damage Santana did to his trade stock with a rocky start to the season, but 93 innings with a 4.06 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 42.9 percent ground-ball rate looks rather solid on the whole. He has about $6.5MM remaining on his salary in 2016 and is owed $13.5MM in each of the next two seasons, plus a $1MM buyout of a 2019 option. He’s not a cheap option, but given how few starters will be on the open market this winter, adding a durable mid-rotation cog could make sense for a number of contenders this summer.

  • Santana wasn’t the only starter of note in that contest, as Athletics righty Sonny Gray was also on the bump. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the match-up drew attention from quite a few scouts, with representatives from the Blue Jays, Royals, Orioles, Marlins and Cardinals among those in attendance to see the two potential trade candidates throw. Oakland skipper Bob Melvin said that he felt Gray may be turning a corner after the showing, in which he battled through six innings with only one earned run on the board. Gray did allow four walks, but worked through some tough spots and, in Melvin’s words, “found a little of his mojo.” With Gray showing some life and the A’s continuing to muddle through the season, Slusser says that some rival executives feel there’s daylight for a deal on Oakland’s staff ace. There’s little question that the Twins would at least be open to moving Santana, and he’d represent a less costly addition for those organizations in need of rotation help (on the prospect side of the equation, at least; his contractual obligations would need to be worked out).
  • As the Blue Jays eye rotation pieces, the club is also taking a cautious route with All-Star right-hander Marco Estrada. The veteran expressed disappointment that he’ll need a DL stint to rest his ailing back, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports, particularly since it means he’s virtually certain not to appear in the mid-summer classic as a capstone to his remarkable tale. But he acknowledged that the move was prudent. “I haven’t had much sleep just knowing that there might be a possibility I don’t get the opportunity to pitch in this game. And I guess my worst nightmare unfortunately came true,” said Estrada. “But in the long run this is the right thing to do. And I think this is going to benefit me in the future.” Though the Jays’ staff has been a strength, it’s not hard to see why the club is on the hunt for more arms. In particular, there’s still no reason to believe that Toronto will back away from its plan to move Aaron Sanchez to the pen to limit his innings. Though Drew Hutchison represents a better-than-average insurance policy — he has had success in the past and has been effective this year at Triple-A — he may be needed to step into Sanchez’s shoes. As the club’s depth chart shows, that would leave the organization a bit thin behind its front five.
  • The Dodgers have no shortage of pitchers in various stages of the rehabilitation process, and you can add Brett Anderson to the list of those that could return this summer. Manager Dave Roberts told reports, including Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), that the southpaw might make it back by the middle of August if he continues to progress from his back surgery.
  • Things haven’t gone smoothly of late for the Giants’ bullpen, and now the club will be without righty Cory Gearrin for at least two weeks. As Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, Gearrin has been diagnosed with a strained right shoulder, though the expectation is that he won’t miss much (if any) time beyond the minimum. It helps, too, that the club has welcomed back Sergio Romo, but all in all it wouldn’t be surprising if San Francisco chases a big relief arm over the coming weeks.

NL West Notes: Sierra, Anderson, Thornton, Green

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The Dodgers’ investment in righty Yaisel Sierra will begin at $30MM, per a tweet from Jon Heyman of MLB Network, but could go up from there. Sierra will have the right to opt into salary arbitration if he becomes eligible. His contract will pay him a $6MM signing bonus and then salaries of $1MM, $2.5MM, $3.5MM, $4MM, $5.5MM, and $7.5MM, per the report.

Here’s more from Los Angeles and the rest of the NL West:

  • Dodgers lefty Brett Anderson had surgery on the very same disk that was previously repaired, GM Farhan Zaidi told reporters including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). The medical experts involved say that occurs in about ten percent of cases, suggesting that Anderson and the team got a bit unlucky. Plunkett also takes a look at the competition to fill in for Anderson.
  • Newly-inked Padres lefty Matt Thornton is expected to have a solid shot at earning a job out of camp, GM A.J. Preller tells Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “He’s done it for a long time and still has quality stuff,” Preller explained. “I think the ‘pen is pretty open, so he’s got a legit chance to make the team.” Skipper Andy Green echoed that sentiment, calling Thornton “a very established left-handed reliever” who is “very dominant against lefties [and] very successful through his career.”
  • Speaking of Green, it’s well worth checking out his recent interview with David Laurila of Fangraphs. The first-year manager addressed the concept and impact of defensive shifting from every angle, including the mental components and possible counter-strategies on offense. Ultimately, he concluded: “The game is evolving, and it’s important to evolve along with it.”

Brett Anderson To Undergo Back Surgery, Out 3 To 5 Months

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Dodgers lefty Brett Anderson is set to undergo surgery today on a bulging disk in his back, MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports (Twitter links). Anderson is expected to miss three to five months.

The news comes as a major blow to a Dodgers organization that has rolled the dice on several starters with injury questions. Anderson accepted the team’s $15.8MM qualifying offer at the outset of the offseason, returning on a one-year deal after his first healthy season in recent memory.

This won’t be Anderson’s first procedure for a bulging disk, as he underwent a similar surgery late in 2014. He’s missed time with other maladies before and since, of course, but his back health will now be an even greater question than it had been previously.

While there’s still hope that Anderson will contribute to the staff this year, that doesn’t mean the loss won’t tell. Fellow lefty Hyun-jin Ryu is still working back from shoulder surgery and has experienced some soreness. Brandon McCarthy remains a ways off from returning from a Tommy John procedure. Even the team’s newest MLB additions — Kenta Maeda and Scott Kazmir — are pitchers who have long-term health questions. Likewise, righty Frankie Montas, who profiled as a young rotation possibility as the season progresses, will miss time with rib surgery. (All that after the team blew up a prospective deal with Hisashi Iwakuma over the results of his physical.)

All that being said, it isn’t as if the club is hurting for options. Alex Wood now looks like a good bet to open in the rotation, where he’s had plenty of past success (despite coming with his own questions given his unusual delivery). Mike Bolsinger and Carlos Frias had their moments last year. The oft-injured Brandon Beachy is back on a minor league deal. Just-signed Cuban free agent Yaisel Sierra could potentially factor in, as could a variety of rising prospects including Jharel Cotton, Chris Anderson, Zach Lee, and top prospects Jose De Leon and Julio Urias.

Anderson, who only just turned 28, turned in 180 1/3 innings of 3.69 ERA ball last year, more than justifying the risk taken by Los Angeles. Indeed, he was even better than his results by measure of xFIP (3.51) and SIERA (3.46). But he hadn’t even logged 100 frames in a single season for the four preceding years, leading to questions about how his market would develop and aiding his decision to accept the QO.

The talented southpaw will, hopefully, have an opportunity to re-establish his health at some point later in the 2016 season. He could well provide a significant boost at that point, as might McCarthy, and it’s entirely possible that the Dodgers will have plenty of options down the stretch. As things stand, though, he’ll have to battle through another tough medical setback. Needless to say, both his future earning outlook and the possibility of the team benefiting from making a second consecutive QO have taken a hit.

NL West Notes: Dodgers, Greinke, Rosales, Gray, Samardzija

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Dodgers lefty Hyun-jin Ryu is being given some extra rest after feeling discomfort in his surgically repaired left shoulder, writes MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. Neither Ryu nor manager Dave Roberts would characterize the discomfort as a setback, with Ryu saying he didn’t feel significant pain, and Roberts adding that the discomfort is a normal part of the recovery process from this type of surgery. Nevertheless, the status of Ryu’s shoulder will be something the Dodgers monitor closely this spring in his first season back from surgery to repair a torn labrum. Ryu was recently said to be about two weeks behind the rest of the Dodgers’ starters (Twitter link via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times), and that was prior to today’s news.

More on the Dodgers and their division…

  • Gurnick tweets that lefty Brett Anderson is also dealing with an ailment, as his Friday start is uncertain after he tweaked his back throwing live batting practice yesterday. Anderson underwent some tests today to determine the nature of the potential injury, and as Gurnick notes, he does have a history of back troubles, having undergone surgery in 2014.
  • Sticking with the mildly macabre Dodgers injury theme, righty Josh Ravin will be out for eight to 12 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured left forearm that he injured earlier this week in a car crash, McCullough tweets. As was noted at the time of the injury, Ravin was perhaps an unlikely candidate to make the club out of Spring Training, but the injury of course removes any doubt.
  • Diamondbacks scouting director Deric Ladnier told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that ace Zack Greinke joined him and other D-backs scouts in south Florida earlier this winter to watch some amateur games as the club scouted in preparation for the June draft. “I’m not saying he’s going to help us make decisions because he’s not, but I do like listening to him because he brings a different perspective,” said Ladnier. “Shame on me if I don’t.” Greinke’s interest in scouting is nothing new, Piecoro writes. In fact, Ladnier, who was the Royals’ scouting director when Greinke was drafted, invited Greinke into the Royals’ draft meetings on a number of occasions. Piecoro notes that Greinke also attended some scouting meetings with the Brewers and Dodgers. “He follows it diligently,” said Ladnier. “It’s something he loves to do. I have no problem with him coming in and peeking his head in.” Greinke clearly has plenty of innings left in his arm, but I doubt he’d have difficulty finding a team interested in adding him as a special assignment scout following his playing days.
  • Infielder Adam Rosales, who is with the Padres on a minor league deal/non-roster invite to Spring Training this season, spoke to MLB.com’s Corey Brock about the transaction whirlwind in which he was involved back in 2014. In a span of 13 days, Rosales was designated for assignment three times and claimed off waivers three times — each by either the Rangers or Athletics. Rosales called the sequence “challenging,” but eventually found some levity in his plight. “You just have to see some humor in it … and take it in stride and appreciate the opportunities you have,” he explained. GM A.J. Preller, who was an assistant GM with the Rangers at the time of that ordeal, spoke highly of Rosales’ versatility and clubhouse presence, explaining some of the reasoning behind his signing of Rosales this winter.
  • Rockies prospect Jon Gray debuted his new curveball in his first spring outing today, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, and was pleased with the outcome. Gray says he was surprised by the number he threw (seven), thinking he’d throw three or four over his two-inning affair. Gray spoke to Saunders about his aim to develop two different curves — one to throw for strikes and one to bounce in front of the plate as an out pitch — as he seeks to deliver on the promise that made him the No. 3 pick in the 2013 draft.
  • Giants GM Bobby Evans talked with MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby about his pursuit of Jeff Samardzia this offseason. “The benefit of Posey, the benefit of Dave Righetti and [bullpen coach] Mark Gardner, the benefit of AT&T Park and the benefit of a support cast where he’s not expected to be the No. 1 or No. 2 guy, all those elements combined to allow us to make the investment,” said Evans of the five-year, $90MM deal he used to reel in Shark (terrible pun intended — my apologies). Samardzija admitted to Ringolsby that the barrage of rumors swirling around his name wore on him last summer, to some extent, though he didn’t blame any of his 2015 struggles on the stress associated with that talk. The Giants, Ringolsby writes, feel there’s still untapped potential in Samardzija’s powerful arm.

Free Agent Notes: Greinke, Soria, Hill, Parra, Anderson

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It may not be wise to assume that the Dodgers will end up bringing back righty Zack Greinke, ESPNLos Angeles.com’s Mark Saxon writes. The team has shown indications that it is looking for younger, less expensive assets rather than huge veteran contracts. And Greinke himself may be less than thrilled with the clubhouse culture in L.A., leaving a “distaste” that “is believed to be a factor in his thinking.” Obviously, Greinke and the club thrived with his first contract, so it’s probably not worth writing off a return, but the report does suggest the interest may not be as clear as had generally been assumed.

Here’s the latest on some other free agent situations around the league:

  • The Tigers have “picked up” talks with reliever Joakim Soria but haven’t yet made him an offer, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports. Soria received one offer from an unknown team earlier in the offseason, says Beck, but the market has moved slowly as a potentially-active trade market for pen arms continues to sort itself out.
  • Lefty Rich Hill is expected to sign a contract this week, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports. It’s not clear which club, but Bradford says it isn’t the Red Sox. Hill’s out-of-nowhere late-season run in Boston has made him an interesting piece of the market picture. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted that Hill will be able to secure a one-year deal with a $5MM guarantee.
  • The Mets have had contact with the representatives for free agent outfielder Gerardo Parra, Marc Carig of Newsday reports on Twitter. Parra would, presumably, take part in a platoon with Juan Lagares, though that would mean relying on him rather heavily in center. While he’s played there, Parra has spent far more time in the corner outfield. And it could well be hard to find enough playing time to woo the 28-year-old, given that the club is rather heavily invested in Lagares and has two left-handed hitters (Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto) set to man the corners.
  • Dodgers lefty Brett Anderson spoke with reporters today about his decision to accept the $15.8MM qualifying offer, as Saxon reports. He indicated that he was hoping to continue to build his stock in advance of next year’s market, a risky but tantalizing strategy. On the one hand, Anderson has a lengthy injury history and is finally coming off of a healthy season; on the other, he’s still young, has mostly dealt with a few fluke injuries in recent years, and can look forward to a seller-friendly market next winter. “There were some multi-year deals out there, but my situation was a little unique and I just wanted to better myself,” Anderson said. “That, and I liked being in L.A., I liked my teammates, I liked everything about it other than the ending of the season.” Anderson also noted that he and the Dodgers had discussed a multi-year arrangement at some point and could again pursue some kind of deal, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets.

 

Brett Anderson Accepts Qualifying Offer From Dodgers

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Lefty Brett Anderson has decided to accept the qualifying offer issued to him by the Dodgers, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports on Twitter. He becomes the third player to accept a qualifying offer this year, joining Colby Rasmus (Astros) and Matt Wieters (Orioles).

Oct 12, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher <a rel=

Anderson is just 27 years of age and is coming off of a year in which he put up 180 1/3 innings of 3.69 ERA ball. That makes his decision somewhat surprising, at first glance, particularly given his pedigree. And metrics like xFIP (3.51) and SIERA (3.46) felt that Anderson was a bit unlucky, with his 17.0% HR/FB rate probably stands to drop back toward his career levels (11.2%). All told, there was good reason to think he’d draw wide interest as a free agent.

Of course, it’s obviously highly relevant that the talented southpaw failed to reach the 100-inning threshold in any of the four preceding seasons. His results have generally been quite strong, and his 3.72 career ERA is actually a fair bit higher than ERA estimators value his performance, but Anderson has dealt with a wide variety of injuries. He’s battled through Tommy John surgery, a fractured foot, a broken finger, and back issues over his careers.

In short, then, Anderson presented possible suitors with ample risk and plenty of upside. And he faced the same kind of calculus in assessing his decision on the qualifying offer.

It’s worth noting that Anderson was able to earn a $10MM base salary and $2.4MM in incentives in his contract last year, coming off of yet another injury-shortened campaign. It certainly would have been plausible to imagine him signing a nice one-year contract if nothing better was offered, possibly with a club that had already given up an early pick or two to sign other QO-bound free agents.

But there were other considerations at play, too, for Anderson and his reps at the Legacy Agency. In addition to ensuring that he’ll add a hefty, $15.8MM salary to his bank account, the move allows Anderson another opportunity to prove his health and effectiveness. He’ll still be plenty young next year, when the market features nothing close to this season’s mass of top-end talent and overall depth. With a big 2016, then, Anderson could be in prime position to cash in.

Los Angeles will be glad if Anderson does position himself for a big payday, as they would stand to reap the benefits. The team is uniquely situated to take on this kind of salary in a one-year arrangement, and is probably not displeased at the chance to fill a rotation spot with a good arm without binding up future commitments. The team is certainly not done shopping, though, as the rotation still needs to be filled out — including, perhaps, adding another high-level arm alongside ace Clayton Kershaw.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2015 Qualifying Offer Decisions

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The deadline or players to accept or reject their one-year, $15.8MM qualifying offers was today at 5pm ET. We already know that Colby Rasmus will become the first player to ever accept a qualifying offer, and Marco Estrada reached a two-year deal with the Blue Jays. Brett Anderson also accepted his qualifying offer from the Dodgers.

Here are the updates on the rest of the 20 players that received qualifying offers one week ago today…

  • Ian Desmond will reject the Nationals’ offer, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. He’ll be joined on the open market by Jordan Zimmermann, who did the same, per a tweet from MLB.com’s Bill Ladson.
  • While Brett Anderson will be returning on a one-year deal, Howie Kendrick and Zack Greinke have rejected their qualifying offers from the Dodgers, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links),
  • It’s an obvious one, but Alex Gordon will hit the open market rather than taking a one-year deal from the Royals, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Likewise, Justin Upton and Ian Kennedy of the Padres will participate in the open market his fall (per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune, on Twitter) and Dexter Fowler has turned down his offer from the Cubs, as Paul Sullivan of 670thescore.com tweets.
  • The Cardinals will stand to pick up draft choices if Jason Heyward and John Lackey sign elsewhere, as they too have rejected the offer, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).
  • Daniel Murphy and Jeff Samardzija have declined their offers, per reports from Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter) and Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com (also via Twitter).
  • Gallardo has declined his QO, Stevenson now tweets.
  • As expected, Hisashi Iwakuma has turned down the qualifying offer issued to him by the Mariners, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.

Earlier Updates

  • Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram hears differently on Gallardo, reporting that he’s still deciding whether or not to accept (links to Twitter). Gallardo’s camp has spoken to multiple other clubs about a deal, but the righty is still mulling a return to his hometown team.
  • Yovani Gallardo will decline the Rangers’ qualifying offer in search of a multi-year contract, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Gallardo never seemed likely to accept the deal, though there may have been a bit of temptation given the fact that Gallardo is a Fort Worth native. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that he spoke to Gallardo’s agent, Bobby Witt, and was told that he’s yet to officially inform the Rangers one way or the other (Twitter link).

Those who are unfamiliar with the process can refer to MLBTR’s explanation of the qualifying offer system for full details.

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