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Trade/Free Agent Rumors: Blevins, Jays, Alvarez, Breslow, Dozier

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The Mets are open to a back-loaded two-year contract with Jerry Blevins, according to Ken Davidoff and Mike Puma of the New York Post. The Mets have long been reported to hold interest in a reunion with Blevins, but the team’s inability to find a taker for Jay Bruce’s $13MM salary has been a deterrent to their ability to re-sign the southpaw reliever. Blevins, according to the Post duo, has been seeking a contract in line with Mike Dunn’s three-year, $19MM contract with the Rockies, though it’s not clear if any such offer will materialize. Recently, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reported that Blevins’ agents have signaled to interested teams that they expect to be able to secure at least a two-year, $12MM deal. If Blevins is to land that type of commitment from the Mets, most of the salary would be allocated to the 2018 season, when the Mets will have considerably more financial flexibility. Bruce, Curtis Granderson, Addison Reed, Neil Walker, Rene Rivera and Lucas Duda are all set to come off the books after 2017.

Here’s more on the free agent and trade markets…

  • After agreeing to a one-year deal with lefty reliever J.P. Howell earlier today, the Jays are still on the hunt for a right-handed arm, reports Rosenthal (Twitter link). The Blue Jays are hoping to add a righty for a similar commitment to the $3MM that Howell commanded on his one-year deal with Toronto. Notably, Rosenthal quells some of the buzz that has built up regarding the Jays and White Sox closer David Robertson. Over the weekend, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reported that the two sides had been in touch earlier this winter, and while many have used that as a launching point for further speculation, Rosenthal reports that there’s been no recent talk between the Jays and the White Sox.
  • Agent Scott Boras is trying to engage the Rangers in talks about slugger Pedro Alvarez, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Texas has been tied to a different first base/DH option, Mike Napoli, for the better part of a month. There’s somewhat of a disconnect between Napoli and the Rangers, though, as Napoli has reportedly been seeking a multi-year deal while the Rangers only want to make a one-year commitment. Alvarez would represent an alternative with comparable power but a worse glove at first base. Texas could theoretically mix Alvarez into a first base/designated hitter carousel that also features some combination of Jurickson Profar, Joey Gallo and Ryan Rua, though Crasnick’s report doesn’t specify if the Rangers have any genuine interest in Alvarez.
  • MLB Network’s Jon Morosi adds the Diamondbacks to the list of teams with interest in southpaw Craig Breslow (Twitter link). As Morosi notes, Arizona execs Mike Hazen and Jared Porter were both with the Red Sox when Breslow pitched for Boston from 2012-15 (as was D-backs exec Amiel Sawdaye). Breslow’s name has become more prevalent on the rumor circuit since a showcase at which he demonstrated a new arm angle for about half the teams in the league. The 36-year-old spent most of the 2016 campaign in the Marlins organization, tossing 14 innings of 4.50 ERA ball in the Majors. Breslow logged a 2.82 ERA in 402 Major League innings from 2005-13, but he’s pitched to a 4.93 ERA in 133 2/3 innings since that time.
  • Morosi also tweets a late addition to the Brian Dozier saga, noting that at one point the Twins sought Jose De Leon, Yadier Alvarez and Willie Calhoun from the Dodgers in exchange for the second baseman. Certainly, that’s an aggressive ask, though it strikes me as likely that said package was presented early in talks. Most recent rumors pertaining to the talks between the Twins and Dodgers suggested that the Dodgers were set on sending only De Leon to Minnesota (as the eventually did in order to acquire Logan Forsythe from Tampa Bay), while the Twins sought at least one additional piece to the deal. Obviously, the two sides were never able to agree on a price, prompting the Dodgers to shift their focus to Forsythe.

AL Central Notes: White Sox, Dozier, Napoli, Dolan

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Some news and notes from around the AL Central…

  • The departures of Chris Sale and Adam Eaton haven’t led to more trades of veterans for the White Sox, though GM Rick Hahn won’t rush the rebuilding process, he tells reporters (including CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine).  “If we had our druthers, we would continue to make transactions like the Eaton and Sale deals in rapid succession,” Hahn said. “Our desire is to get through this process and build a sustainable core of talented players as soon as possible. Our desire and impatience is not going to dictate this market and the schedule of these moves. The timing of these moves will be based upon the market and our ability to get the right value in these trades.”  Hahn said he remains in talks with other teams and it is possible the Sox could make another deal before either Spring Training opens or before Opening Day.
  • The Brian Dozier trade speculation may not be finished yet, as Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey told reporters (including Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) that “You can’t rule out anything. We constantly need to stay open-minded to potential opportunities to add value.”  That being said, Falvey also added that “as it stands, Brian is here today and we’re excited to have him as part of the Twins family.”  Minnesota reportedly asked teams to make their final offers for Dozier at the start of January and a heavily-rumored trade with the Dodgers failed to materialize and L.A. instead acquired Logan Forsythe to play second base.  Since Dozier is under contract for two more seasons at (given his production) a bargain price, the Twins aren’t under much pressure to trade him immediately.
  • Mike Napoli could be a good fit for a Twins team looking for both veteran leadership and another bat, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman opines.  Napoli could split time with Joe Mauer at first base and DH, and Heyman notes that Napoli has past ties to both GM Thad Levine and chief baseball officer Derek Falvey.  This is just my speculation, but I’m not sure if Napoli would be interested in joining a team that isn’t close to contention, though obviously Napoli’s priorities might change the longer he remains unsigned.
  • The Indians moved out of their usual financial comfort zone to sign Edwin Encarnacion, though owner Paul Dolan tells MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian that signing Encarnacion was easier than the decision to give up several highly-regarded prospects to acquire Andrew Miller at the trade deadline.  “The cost of Andrew Miller was talent. And that’s not in our DNA, to give up that kind of talent for somebody like that,” Dolan said.  “I suppose contracts like Encarnacion are not in our DNA, either. But, it was the right time for us, and we felt it was the right time to reach.”

Rosenthal On Dodgers’ Search For Second Baseman

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The Dodgers have expanded their search for a second baseman, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Los Angeles remains engaged on longstanding targets Brian Dozier, Ian Kinsler, and Logan Forsythe, but appears to be looking elsewhere in the event that those players can’t be had at a palatable rate.

Among the players that could potentially be fits, per Rosenthal, are switch-hitters Jurickson Profar of the Rangers, Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies, and Wilmer Difo of the Nationals, though he notes that of that trio, Profar is the only one on whom the Dodgers have definitively inquired. All are young and controllable somewhat controllable — Profar through 2019, Hernandez through 2020 and Difo all the way through 2022. Only Hernandez, though, has put up a full and productive major league season.

Beyond those possibilities, Rosenthal says that there’s still some potential for a reunion with Chase Utley. Still, the club would rather find a hitter who swings from the right side. That would also appear to leave little room for interest in the other top remaining second-base-capable free agents.

Dave Cameron of Fangraphs recently suggested that the best fit on paper might be Javier Baez, with young pitching going to the Cubs in exchange. But that doesn’t seem particularly likely, as Cameron notes and Rosenthal also echoes.

All things considered, Rosenthal explains, Dozier might still be the likeliest target for the Dodgers. Though the club seemingly broke off its talks with the Twins recently, Rosenthal says that the door remains open to a deal. It’s imaginable that Los Angeles could line up with the Rays on Forsythe, but the biggest issue there seems to be that Tampa Bay doesn’t have a ready replacement.

Cardinals Notes: Mozeliak, Martinez, Wacha, Dozier, Gonzales

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Cardinals GM John Mozeliak addressed questions from fans and media during the club’s Winter Warm-Up event this weekend.  Here are some of Mozeliak’s hot stove-related comments, courtesy of Derrick Goold, Jeff Gordon and Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch…

  • After failing to reach agreements with Carlos Martinez or Michael Wacha before Friday’s arbitration filing deadline, the Cardinals won’t pursue further negotiation with either right-hander and will instead go to arbitration hearings.  Martinez asked for $4.25MM while the Cards countered with a $3.9MM offer, and Wacha filed for $3.2MM with a $2.775MM counter from St. Louis.  As Goold notes, this will be the first time the Cardinals have gone to an arbitration hearing with any player in 17 years.  Mozeliak explained that the Cards had explored using the “file-and-trial” strategy in the last couple of years before finally taking the stance during this winter’s crop of arb-eligible players.
  • Martinez and the Cardinals were discussing a multi-year extension this winter, though obviously no agreement was reached before Friday’s deadline.  The hearing “would not put a chill” on the relationship between the two sides, as Goold put it, so talks could very possibly resume during Spring Training once Martinez’s 2017 salary has been decided by the arbiter.  For his part, Martinez said (via an interpreter) that he wants to spend the rest of his career with the team.
  • St. Louis was rather surprisingly linked to Brian Dozier’s name in trade rumors last month, though later reports downplayed the Cardinals’ interest.  Mozeliak said his team’s pursuit of Dozier “was news to me.”  As Goold explains, the connection could have been due to the Cards’ discussions with teams in order to properly gauge market values, rather than an actual interest in acquiring Dozier.  “If [the Cardinals] knew what a top-tier second baseman was going to command on this pricey trade market then they also could evaluate their own players, and they could evaluate their own offers,” Goold writes.
  • Left-hander Marco Gonzales said he is feeling healthy and is hoping to begin the season in the Triple-A rotation.  Gonzales, picked 19th overall by the Cardinals in 2013, quickly reached the bigs to toss 34 2/3 innings for the club in 2014, and injuries have since derailed his progress.  Shoulder problems limited the southpaw to just one game in 2015, and Gonzales missed all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery.

Dodgers Notes: Turner, Jansen, Second Base, Puig, Thompson

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Kenley Jansen and Justin Turner both spoke with Doug Padilla of ESPN.com to discuss their decisions to return to the Dodgers organization this winter. As the pair explains, they were in Curacao for Jansen’s wedding along with teammates Yasiel Puig and Scott Van Slyke and hadn’t discussed baseball for the first several days of the trip. Amusingly, it was during a haircut when the barber asked the duo about their free agency that they first discussed the decisions at hand with each other and eventually their teammates. “I don’t think either one of us was trying to pressure anyone to make any decision, we were just laying out the options and different situations and experiences,” said Turner. Jansen said that none of the teammates in attendance pressured him, instead respecting any decision he’d make, which only further instilled a bond and a sense of family. Jansen adds that the Dodgers upped their offer from four years to five shortly before his wedding, which helped to tip the scale in Los Angeles’ favor.

“When we were all together it made it tough for me to make a decision to be in another uniform,” said Jansen. “…A few days before my wedding, it seemed as if I was going to Washington. But after the Dodgers came at the end, I couldn’t leave. I wanted to stay.” Dodgers fans should absolutely check out the story in its entirety, as its stuffed with quotes from the newly re-signed pair of stars.

More on the Dodgers…

  • Dodgers president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman spoke with reporters, including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, about his team’s needs at second base, and while he wouldn’t comment specifically on the reported impasse with the Twins in their talks for Brian Dozier, he spoke in general terms about the difficult negotiations. “Throughout the course of a negotiation process there are ups and downs,” said Friedman. “So it’s just a tough thing to assess. But there are a number of different options out there. I think some are more likely than others. But three days from now I could feel very differently and those things could flip.” Plunkett reports that the Dodgers have kept in contact with Chase Utley’s representatives this season, though he doesn’t characterize the extent of their interest at this juncture.
  • MLB.com’s Austin Laymance was also on-hand, and he writes that Friedman offered plenty of praise for Puig and spoke of the outfielder as a piece of the team’s future. “I think the upside is significant, and I think there’s a lot more awareness of kind of what’s expected,” said Friedman. “I definitely see some real maturation. In terms of how that translates on the field and success remains to be seen. But he’s capable of so much, and I know his teammates want to see him achieve that, we want to see him achieve that, and we’ll do everything we can to put him in a position to do that.” Friedman suggested that Puig has developed some bad habits in the batter’s box over the years but made progress in correcting them during his demotion to Triple-A. “What we saw in September was just kind of scratching the surface of that…” Friedman added, referencing a month that saw Puig rake at a .281/.338/.561 clip (albeit in just 65 PAs). Puig’s name has been bandied about the rumor mill for the past year or so, but a trade doesn’t seem especially likely at this point.
  • Outfielder Trayce Thompson has “slowly progressed” from a pair of stress fractures in his back that preemptively ended his season back in July, per Friedman (via Laymance). He’s yet to swing a bat and may not be ready for early workouts in Spring Training, but the Dodgers believe he’ll be up to speed at some point before the regular season begins. “We expect him, at some point in Spring Training, to be kind of full go,” said the Dodger president.

AL Notes: Dozier, Bautista, Tanaka, Yankees, Tigers

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While the Brian Dozier saga has been a drawn out process, it seems that the Twins and Dodgers have agreed to table talks for the time being. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press adds a bit more on the talks that never gained enough traction to push a deal across the finish line, reporting that Los Angeles wasn’t willing to part with any of Yadier Alvarez, Walker Buehler or Brock Stewart alongside top prospect Jose De Leon. L.A.’s refusal to deal Alvarez or Buehler has been previously reported, though Stewart’s name hasn’t been previously mentioned as a sticking point. As Berardino also adds in his column, Twins GM Thad Levine discussed the talks on Go 96.3 FM, explaining that a hard deadline in talks was never set. However, he also suggested that the Twins won’t be initiating further talks with the Dodgers. “The reality is there’s going to be a point in time in this offseason where we may stop initiating calls but we’re always going to pick up the phone and hear teams out,” said Levine.

Dozier, too, appeared on the show (audio link) and called the trade drama an “eye-opening experience,” adding that it was interesting to “[dig] deeper into how other clubs value you, how the Twins value you, and that kind of thing.”

A few additional notes from the American League…

  • The Twins were somewhat surprisingly connected to free agent Jose Bautista yesterday, but La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets that the Twins don’t have interest in the slugger. The link between the Twins and Bautista was never characterized as a strong one, as MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger reported that the Twins touched base with Bautista’s agent. They may well have done so out of due diligence — chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said yesterday that the club has an idea of a price point at which they’d be interested in every remaining free agent — and simply found that Bautista is still seeking more than they’d care to commit. Of course, the 36-year-old Bautista doesn’t seem like a great on-paper fit for a team in the Twins’ situation anyhow, though a team with a protected first-round pick (like Minnesota) could perhaps gamble on punting its second pick in the hopes of flipping Bautista this July for greater value.
  • There’s been no talk of a new contract between the Yankees and Masahiro Tanaka, general manager Brian Cashman tells Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News. Tanaka is, of course, technically under contract with the Yankees for another four years, but he also has an opt-out clause in his contract following the 2017 season, which will allow him to re-enter the free agent market if he performs well. “We have a significant contract with Masahiro Tanaka,” said Cashman. “…I think he pitched like a Cy Young award candidate last year, and I certainly hope he does so again this year. But at this point we’ve had no discussions internally to pursue any kind of extension.” Tanaka is just one of three Yankees starters that is set to hit free agency next winter, as lefty CC Sabathia and righty Michael Pineda will also see their contracts expire.
  • Mazzeo adds that Cashman said he’s “not in active trade talks at all” regarding veteran Yankees like Brett Gardner, Chase Headley or any of his position players. That comes as little surprise, as Cashman has quite recently suggested that the roster, as currently constructed, is the likely roster that the team will take into Spring Training. While both seemed like on-paper trade candidates entering the offseason, neither Gardner nor Headley ever surfaced all that much on the rumor circuit.
  • Tigers GM Al Avila appeared on 97.1 FM The Ticket in Detroit and discussed the team’s needs in center field, and CBS Detroit’s Will Burchfield has highlights from the interview. Avila acknowledged that the Tigers are keeping tabs on the free agent market, but also cautioned, “…if you look at what you’re going to get in production, you have to evaluate that compared to what you already have in-house.” Avila listed usual candidates Tyler Collins, Anthony Gose and JaCoby Jones as options and also twice mentioned non-roster invite Alex Presley without being prompted (per MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery, on Twitter).
  • In a full column on Avila’s interview, Woodbery notes that the GM said he’s fielded calls about left-handed reliever Justin Wilson this winter but decided there’s more value to Wilson opening the year in the bullpen. Wilson, as Woodbery notes, could boost his value with improved results this season and become a more appealing trade chip this summer. As I noted when previewing the Tigers’ offseason in October, Wilson’s bottom-line results were rather pedestrian, but his secondary stats suggest that he should see a rebound from 2016’s lackluster 4.14 ERA.

Twins, Dodgers At “Impasse” In Dozier Talks; Dodgers Expected To Explore Other Options

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5:05pm: In a full column on the matter, Rosenthal adds to his initial report, noting that the Dodgers are now expected to circle back to the Rays and Tigers on respective trade targets Logan Forsythe and Ian Kinsler. (Kinsler has a no-trade clause, but his agent has previously told Rosenthal that he’d waive the protection in exchange for a contract extension.)

Both Forsythe and Kinsler are right-handed bats, which would fill a significant need for the Dodgers, who rated as the game’s worst offense against left-handers in 2016. Forsythe enjoyed a breakout season with the Rays in 2015 and had a strong (albeit slightly diminished) followup in 2016. Across the past two seasons, the 29-year-old has batted .273/.337/.444 with 37 homers and 15 steals.

Forsythe lacks the power of Dozier (who has homered 70 times in the past two seasons), but he’s comparable from a financial standpoint. Currently, Forsythe is set to earn $14.75MM in the next two years, although the $9MM value of his 2018 option could rise by as much as $1.5MM based on his plate appearances in 2017. He’ll earn $500K upon reaching 550, 600 and 633 plate appearances. With a comparable financial commitment but less power than Dozier, Forsythe could potentially be had for a lower asking price, although the Rays are still likely to ask for quite a bit in return.

Talks between the Twins and Dodgers could pick back up later this offseason, but for the time being, it doesn’t seem as if the two sides will continue talking. Rosenthal writes that the Twins want Dozier to have some increased peace of mind heading into the season, and that meshes with previous reports that cited similar reasoning behind Minnesota pushing for resolution one way or another.

1:35pm: The Twins and Dodgers are at an “impasse” in their discussions over second baseman Brian Dozier, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Minnesota could still hold further discussions, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today also suggests via Twitter, but it seems that the sides are at a standstill for the time being.

Meanwhile, there’s another intriguing thread to the Dozier saga, courtesy of MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. He says that the Twins have had at least some talks with the representatives for free agent slugger Jose Bautista, as well as other prominent open-market hitters. Particularly if Dozier remains in the fold, it seems, the Twins could perhaps make a slight pivot in their offseason strategy to take advantage of a tantalizing arrangement of power bats still available to the highest bidder.

In a sense, of course, the news on Dozier isn’t new. We’ve been told for some time that the Dodgers were largely standing on their offer of young righty Jose De Leon for the veteran, with the teams bargaining over the additional pieces. While Los Angeles was said to be willing to kick on some more prospect assets, perhaps those pieces aren’t viewed as significant enough to move the ball for Minnesota.

It seems there’s still some opening for talks to continue, but we are at the end of the roughly one-week period within which Minnesota was reportedly set to make a decision. The club has put out the word that it doesn’t intend to drag out negotiations over the rest of the spring, due at least in part out of respect for Dozier. Of course, the organization likely also would like to move on with alternative approaches in the event that Dozier is to remain on hand for at least the first half of the upcoming season.

Central Notes: Encarnacion, Dozier, Pirates

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Agent Paul Kinzer said at this week’s press conference to introduce Edwin Encarnacion in Cleveland that the attendance bonuses that are built into the contract — worth upwards of $1MM per season, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman — helped push the Indians’ offer over the top, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. However, it may be tough to meet those figures, as Hoynes points out that Cleveland hasn’t topped two million fans (the minimum threshold for Encarnacion to begin receiving incentives) since 2008 and haven’t drawn three million fans in a season since 2001. That type of clause is rare enough, Kinzer notes, that Cleveland president of baseball ops Chris Antonetti had to call the commissioner’s office just to see if the Indians would even be allowed to include such an incentive in the contract. While it’s unlikely that Encarnacion alone will drive the Indians’ attendance to those levels, MLB.com’ Jordan Bastian tweets that Cleveland has sold more than $1MM worth of season tickets since word of the agreement with Encarnacion broke — a 50 percent increase in new sales relative to last year’s offseason. A couple more notes on the Central divisions:

  • Though this week’s report that Brandon Phillips nixed a trade to the Braves (via FOX’s Ken Rosenthal) lends some credence to recent connections between Atlanta and Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press circled back with a source that characterized a Dozier-to-Atlanta deal as a “long shot” (Twitter link). It continues to appear as if the Dodgers are the only team that currently has a strong enough need to consider meeting Minnesota’s price for its excellent second baseman.
  • Fastball velocity has increased throughout the game in the past several seasons, but it’s increased even faster within the Pirates organization during that time, Travis Sawchik of FanGraphs writes. The Bucs finished first in fastball velocity in 2015 (94.0 MPH) and second in 2016 (93.4 MPH). A key trait of many of the reclamation pitchers the Pirates have used in recent years — from starters like A.J. Burnett, Edinson Volquez and Francisco Liriano to relievers like Arquimedes Caminero, Neftali Feliz and John Holdzkom — is that they possess above-average velocity, as Sawchik points out. Bucs GM Neal Huntington notes that velocity gives pitchers more cushion for their mistakes, in that a poorly located pitch thrown in the mid-90s is less likely to yield poor results than a poorly located pitched thrown at a more modest radar reading. Now that other teams are also valuing velocity among free-agent pitchers, the Pirates are looking to develop hard-throwing pitchers of their own, like Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon and Chad Kuhl.

Morosi’s Latest: Hammel, Rangers, Quintana, Braun, Dodgers, Feliz

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The market has finally seen some movement, both via trades and free-agent signings, in recent days, and there’s plenty more to come with Spring Training just six weeks away. Here’s the latest chatter on various potential player movements, all via Jon Morosi of MLB Network (all links below are to his Twitter feed).

  • Though Jason Hammel has seemingly had trouble finding active pursuers, the Rangers are now in the mix for the righty. That’s certainly promising news for Hammel, who may no longer be under consideration for the Mariners now that they’ve added Yovani Gallardo. Of course, Seattle also just parted with Nate Karns, and GM Jerry Dipoto says he’s still amenable to bolstering his staff (via Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune, on Twitter). As for Texas, the level of interest remains unclear, though it’s certainly plausible to imagine the team deciding that Hammel would be a worthwile bet to provide some solid innings. The biggest question, perhaps, is whether they’ll instead land Tyson Ross first.
  • As the White Sox continue to discuss trade arrangements involving Jose Quintana, the Astros remain one of the rival organizations most fervently in pursuit. That’s hardly surprising, as Houston has long been said to be engaged on the talented lefty. Certainly, it still seems there’s sufficient momentum towards a deal for something to get done, though it remains to be seen whether the ’Stros or another club will come up with the best offer.
  • The Giants are not actively pursuing Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun. And though the Dodgers still remain a possible match with Milwaukee, the Los Angeles organization is currently still focused on trying to work out a trade for second baseman Brian Dozier. It’s not known whether the Dodgers would embark upon a pursuit of Braun if they’re able to add Dozier. While they obviously play different positions, Dozier would accomplish the goal of adding right-handed pop while occupying a position of greater need for L.A., which has a rather lengthy list of potential outfielders.
  • Meanwhile, the Dodgers are on the hunt for a righty set-up man. One possibility, per Morosi, is live-armed 28-year-old Neftali Feliz, who is arguably the best-remaining relief pitcher. MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth recently took a look at Feliz’s free-agent case.

Market Notes: Jays, Bruce, A’s, Plouffe, Dozier, Bautista, Trumbo, Lefty Relievers, Lewis

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that the Blue Jays may have misread the market for power bats this winter. In the case of Toronto, he suggests, the team ought to have been more patient with Edwin Encarnacion. By moving quickly to give a three-year deal to Kendrys Morales after Encarnacion declined to take the team’s early-offseason offer, the Jays may have spent much more than necessary to land a player of Morales’s quality while also tying their hands on Encarnacion, who ended up signing for one year and $20MM less than Toronto had reportedly offered.

  • The Mets, too, might have erred in their approach on Jay Bruce. He now seems a superfluous piece after the re-signing of Yoenis Cespedes, and Rosenthal says that he expects New York will need to pay down part of Bruce’s $13MM salary to deal him. The team picked up that option in large part to insure against the loss of Cespedes; a team source notes that insurance “doesn’t come for free,” and Rosenthal notes that the decision may have improved their bargaining position with their star free agent. But perhaps a greater recognition of the flood of sluggers would have led the team to choose an alternate path to protecting itself in the event of a departure of Cespedes.
  • As they continue to look to bolster their lineup, the Athletics are showing interest in free-agent third baseman Trevor Plouffe, per Rosenthal. He’d presumably be a value-focused addition to the overall mix at third and first base. Of course, Oakland is also said to be looking at Mark Trumbo, so it seems the organization is still casting a fairly wide net.
  • While there has been a suggestion that the Dodgers won’t form a package around Jose De Leon to pry Brian Dozier from the Twins, preferring instead to pursue a one-for-one deal, Rosenthal writes that Los Angeles is “willing to include other prospects” to get something done. Of course, it could well be that the issue isn’t so much the inclusion of some other pre-MLB players — surely, the Dodgers could find some expendable pieces to part with — so much as the question whether any are seen by Minnesota as adding significant value.
  • Jon Heyman of Fan Rag provides a lengthy list of the winners and losers in the open-market action to date, though that can still change with a lot of free agents left and perhaps some trades still to be swung. As for some of those still-unsigned open-market players, Heyman provides a few notes. Jose Bautista’s representatives “circled back” to the Orioles to gauge interest, but it still seems that Baltimore isn’t interested. And the Blue Jays “do not seem anxious” to strike a deal with the veteran. Meanwhile, the O’s remain involved on Trumbo.
  • Heyman further notes that there remains robust demand for left-handed relievers. He lists the Mets, Yankees, Indians, and Blue Jays as teams still looking at southpaws. Jerry Blevins, Boone Logan, Travis Wood, and J.P. Howell are among the established left-handed options that remain available.
  • It’s unlikely that the Rangers will bring back veteran righty Colby Lewis, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Though “the door’s open,” per GM Jon Daniels, he adds that he doesn’t “foresee anything happening at this point” with Lewis. Texas would be interested only in a minor-league arrangement, it seems, due in part to questions over Lewis’s health outlook.
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