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Byung-ho Park

Poll: Byung Ho Park’s Future

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Transactions across Major League Baseball have begun to pick up as the spring closes in, and no move has come as a bigger surprise this week than the Twins’ decision to designate first baseman/DH Byung Ho Park for assignment on Friday. After signing 36-year-old reliever Matt Belisle to a cheap contract, rebuilding Minnesota jettisoned Park from its 40-man roster just one year after doling out $24.85MM to land him. Before committing a four-year, $12MM deal to Park last winter, the Twins had to pay his previous team, the Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization, a $12.85MM posting fee to acquire his negotiating rights.

Byung Ho Park

Despite the low-payroll Twins’ investment in Park under previous general manager Terry Ryan, the club’s new front office – led by chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine – clearly isn’t enamored of the 30-year-old. It’s easy to see why, perhaps, as Park certainly failed to live up to the hype accompanying him in his first year in the States. Park hit an underwhelming .191/.275/.409 with a 32.8 percent strikeout rate in 244 plate appearances with the Twins before they optioned him to Triple-A Rochester on July 1. While he was significantly more productive after the demotion, largely thanks to a .526 slugging percentage, Park still hit an ugly .224 and posted a sub-.300 on-base rate in 128 PAs with Rochester.

In fairness to Park, a wrist injury – for which he underwent season-ending surgery in late August – may have stunted him in 2016. Plus, as FanGraphs’ Travis Sawchik pointed out earlier this week in a piece urging the Twins not to give up on Park (they designated him two days later), he did show encouraging signs as a rookie despite his less-than-gaudy triple slash. Evidenced somewhat by his 12 home runs and .219 ISO (league average was .162) in limited major league action, Park packed a wallop last season. Moreover, only one player with at least 75 batted-ball events (Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, who laid waste to the league as a rookie) posted a greater percentage of barrels than Park, while just nine registered higher exit velocities on fly balls and line drives. At 97.2 mph, Park was right in line with David Ortiz and Giancarlo Stanton.

So, there could be notable upside present with Park, and although he’s currently in seven-day DFA limbo, it’s arguable that his price tag shouldn’t serve as a deterrent if another club is interested in picking him up. The expectation is that Park will clear waivers, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reported Friday, but his remaining contract is rather insignificant to most major league teams.

As one of Sawchik’s FanGraphs colleagues, Dave Cameron, wrote Friday, Park could make sense for any of the Rangers, Athletics and White Sox. All three have questions at first base and/or DH, as do the frugal Rays, who have been on the lookout for a right-handed bat throughout the offseason and continue to search for one in the wake of re-signing lefty-swinging first baseman Logan Morrison. Of course, any of those teams could simply sign Chris Carter, who co-led the National League with 41 home runs last season, or even 34-homer man Mike Napoli if they’re willing to spend more. However, controlling Park through the 2019 season at an ultra-affordable $9.25MM might make him a more enticing option for someone hoping his tendency to hit the ball hard leads to a statistical breakout. If not, Park will head into spring training as one of the Twins’ non-roster invitees and try to get back on their 40-man at some point this year. Is that what ought to happen, though, or is Park currently worthy of a roster spot elsewhere?

(Poll link for Trade Rumors App users)

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Twins Notes: Salas, Park, Rodriguez

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Here’s the latest baseball news from the Land Of 10,000 Lakes…

  • The Twins made Fernando Salas an offer before the right-hander re-signed with the Mets, 1500ESPN’s Darren Wolfson reports (Twitter link).  Minnesota’s offer was reportedly a one-year deal, like Salas’ deal with the Mets, and Wolfson notes that Salas’ familiarity with New York was a factor in the righty choosing between the two similar contracts.  The Twins made another move to add a right-handed reliever to their bullpen earlier this week when they signed Matt Belisle.
  • The Twins designated Byung Ho Park for assignment in order to create roster space for Belisle, and Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron feels Park has enough “cheap upside” for several other teams to show interest.  Cameron sees the White Sox, Rangers and Athletics as potential fits for Park, who is owed $9.75MM over the next three seasons.  While Minnesota didn’t have much playing time available for Park with Joe Mauer and Kennys Vargas at first base and DH, Cameron makes the argument that keeping Park to gain more return on their initial investment might’ve made more sense for the Twins than signing Belisle.
  • MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez profiles Dereck Rodriguez, a right-handed pitching prospect in the Twins’ system and the son of newly-inducted Hall-of-Famer Ivan Rodriguez.  The younger Rodriguez is entering his fourth season on the mound after converting from his original outfield position, and the 24-year-old is looking to land on the Double-A roster in 2017.

NL West Notes: Rockies, Park, Owings, Myers

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The latest from around the NL West…

  • The Rockies won’t be making a move for recently-designated Twins first baseman Byung Ho Park, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding tweets.  Colorado made a big splash to sign Ian Desmond to fill its first base need and also recently signed Mark Reynolds to a minor league deal as further positional depth.  Barring an injury or an outfielder trade (which would shift Desmond’s role), Park doesn’t seem like a fit for the Rockies.
  • Chris Owings will likely see some time as a corner outfielder during Spring Training, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.  The Diamondbacks’ plan would be for Owings (a right-handed hitter) to spell the left-handed hitting David Peralta when a southpaw is on the mound, which would also free up shortstop for Nick Ahmed.  Owings has already seen substantial time at short, second base and center field during his career, and D’Backs GM Mike Hazen believes Owings has the athleticism to fill the type of super-utility role that Brock Holt fills for the Red Sox.
  • The Padres’ six-year, $83MM extension with Wil Myers has drawn “a lot of industry criticism,” ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (subscription required).  Some evaluators felt San Diego overpaid for a player who has delivered only good-but-not great hitting numbers for a first baseman, plus Myers has had issues staying on the field; Myers played in just 147 games total in 2014-15 due to injury, though he did play in 157 games in 2016.  Olney cites Myers’ good fielding and baserunning metrics as counterpoints to the critics, as well as the fact that the Padres may have felt the need to lock in a new franchise cornerstone as the club goes through a rebuilding process.

Byung Ho Park To Undergo Wrist Surgery

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Twins designated hitter Byung Ho Park will undergo season-ending surgery on his right wrist, the team announced to reporters, including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger (Twitter link). The operation will repair a subluxation of the tendon on the back of Park’s right hand, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Park, 30, signed a four-year, $12MM contract with the Twins this offseason after Minnesota secured the rights to negotiate with him by submitting a blind bid of $12.85MM. The former KBO superstar looked to be a shrewd pickup through the first six weeks of the season, but his production quickly went into the tank. Park would ultimately be demoted to Triple-A, where it was revealed that he’d been playing through a wrist ailment.  While he didn’t want to cite the injury as the source of his big league struggles, it does seem as though the balky wrist may have impacted his performance; Park batted a very strong .257/.342/.581 with nine homers through his first 120 plate appearances with the Twins but followed that up with a dismal .127/.210/.245 over his next 124 PAs. Most telling of all, perhaps, is the fact that Park punched out in 47 percent of his plate appearances over his final dozen games before being sent down. Park fared better with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate but still struggled, hitting .224/.297/.526 with 10 homers in 31 games with Rochester.

While Park’s first season didn’t go as the team had hoped, the fact that he was able to slug 22 homers in a combined 93 games between Minnesota and Rochester suggests that the power that made him such a desirable free agent could eventually play at the Major League level. He’ll take the offseason to rehab the wrist and look to work his way back onto the big league roster next season, though the Twins have a glut of corner options that muddies the exact alignment for the 2017 campaign.

Joe Mauer is entrenched at first base/designated hitter and won’t be going anywhere thanks to a $23MM annual salary and a full no-trade clause. And while there’s a common refrain suggesting that Mauer get back behind the plate, the personal dangers of him doing so in the wake of concussion issues that lingered for years beyond his move to first base make that an unrealistic and decidedly unsafe course of action that won’t be considered. Miguel Sano’s brief trial in right field yielded poor results, so he’ll be in the picture back over at third base and designated hitter. The Twins also still have Trevor Plouffe as an alternative at third base, with Jorge Polanco and Eduardo Escobar both serving as options to see time at shortstop and also at the hot corner. Max Kepler’s emergence and a resurgent Eddie Rosario make it unlikely that any of Plouffe, Polanco or Escobar would move to a corner outfield spot. Switch-hitting slugger Kennys Vargas, too, adds to the Twins’ options as a potential DH.

The Twins were faced with a similar crunch last winter and elected to hang onto all of their corner options, prompting the ill-fated Sano-to-right-field attempt. Some form of offseason move to create roster flexibility seems possible, if not likely, especially considering the fact that the Twins are widely expected to hire a new general manager from outside the organization following Terry Ryan’s dismissal.

Twins Option Byung Ho Park To Triple-A

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The Twins announced today that they’ve optioned first baseman/designated hitter Byung Ho Park to Triple-A Rochester and replaced him on the roster with Miguel Sano, who has been activated from the disabled list. The decision to option Park, in whom Minnesota invested a total of $24.85MM this offseason (between the posting fee and his four-year contract) is the latest in a season-long series of disappointments for the Twins, although it certainly doesn’t indicate that the investment will ultimately prove to be an error.

[Related: Updated Minnesota Twins depth chart]

Park, 29, was the most prolific power hitter in the Korea Baseball Organization over the past two seasons, prompting the Twins to make a surprise bid of $12.85MM to secure negotiation rights with him, which yielded a four-year, $12MM contract plus a fifth-year option. The slugger struggled out of the gates in Minnesota but found his stride after a couple of weeks. As recently as May 15, Park was hitting a robust .257/.342/.581, having clubbed nine homers, five doubles and a triple through his first 120 big league plate appearances. In 124 plate appearances since that time, however, Park is hitting just .127/.210/.245 with three homers and four doubles. More concerning is the fact that he’s struck out at least once in 26 of the 31 games he’s started over that span. On the whole, Park has punched out at an alarming 32.8 percent clip this season.

An adjustment period was always expected for Park, and unlike countrymen Jung Ho Kang and Hyun Soo Kim, he was thrown right into the everyday lineup with his first big league team. It’s impossible to tell whether a more gradual introduction into the lineup would’ve proved beneficial — Kim, after all, has just 141 PAs on the season, making it rather early to deem him a true success — but Park has looked overmatched at the plate recently.

Park has proven his power to be very real; his average of 420 feet per home run (via Statcast data at Baseball Savant) rates 10th in the Majors, and he’s registered a .219 isolated power mark (slugging minus average). However, his difficulties in making contact have offset his power contributions and slightly above-average walk rate (8.6 percent). The hope for the Twins, presumably, is that Park can continue to adjust to increased velocity and improve his contact skills down at Rochester so that he can better utilize that pop over the remaining three (possibly four) years of his contract.

Park is earning $2.75MM this season and has annual salaries of $2.75MM (2017), $3MM (2018) and $3MM (2019) yet to come, plus at least a $500K buyout of a $6.5MM club option for the 2020 season. Given the fairly minimal nature of the Twins’ investment in him, he still has plenty of time to make their commitment look to be a shrewd move overall.

As for Sano, he’ll return to the Twins after missing the month of June with a hamstring injury. The 23-year-old slugger has struggled to some extent in his own right, as he’s yet to live up to the expectations that came with last season’s .269/.385/.530 debut (with 18 homers in just 80 games played). Sano is hitting .235/.341/.458 with 11 homers in 50 games and has had a difficult time with his transition to the outfield, where both UZR and DRS peg the 6’4″, 260-pounder as below average. The bulk of Sano’s experience as a pro has come at third base, but that spot remains occupied by Trevor Plouffe.

AL Central Notes: Sale, Perkins, Park, Bauer, Almonte

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Chris Sale’s name has long been one that the most optimistic of fans will bandy about in trade scenarios involving various combinations of top prospects, but if the left-hander had things his way, he’d never wear a uniform other than his current White Sox jersey, he tells Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Moreover, Sale says he can’t envision the team’s front office dealing him. “I plan on being here forever,” said Sale of the ChiSox. “I don’t think they would trade me. … I mean, at the end of the day, it’s a business. I understand you got to do what you got to do, what’s best for the team and what not. I have a hard time believing that I would be traded and I really don’t want to (be).” Sale is earning $9.15MM this season and is one on of the game’s more appealing contracts, as the Sox owe him a total of $38MM from 2017-19 (with the latter two seasons being club options).

More from the AL Central…

  • Yesterday’s surgery to repair the torn labrum in Glen Perkins’ shoulder revealed that the left-hander’s labrum had completely separated from the bone and needed to be reattached, as La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Had there been no detachment, Perkins’ recovery could have been completed in a “few months,” but cases such as this one often require an eight-month timeline, per Neal. Perkins told Neal in a text message only that, “It’s going to be awhile.” Even an eight-month timeline could have the Twins’ closer healthy in time for the early portion of Spring Training next season.
  • Also from Neal’s piece, the Twins could option struggling DH/first baseman Byung Ho Park to Triple-A Rochester when Miguel Sano is activated from the disabled list. While this is an arbitrary endpoint, Park was hitting a very strong .257/.339/.578 as recently as May 17, but over his past 27 games/109 plate appearances, he’s struggled to a .135/.220/.260 batting line with 35 strikeouts. “I think how he was able to start originally maybe raised a lot of people’s expectations on how fast his transition was going to be,” said manager Paul Molitor. “It’s just been more where we’re kind of back to how we thought it might be.” Molitor said he hasn’t changed his opinion on Park’s long-term value to the club whatsoever, firmly believing that the investment will prove to be a valid one in the end even with Park’s recent struggles.
  • The Indians’ acquisition of Chris Gimenez was hardly a heralded move but had a significant impact on the club, writes Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal, as Gimenez has been extremely beneficial to surging right-hander Trevor Bauer. As Lewis writes, Bauer has a wide variety of pitches/grips which he employs (as many as seven), and Gimenez is familiar with expansive sets like that from his work with Yu Darvish in Texas. Gimenez explains to Lewis how he’s helped Bauer to tone down the number of offerings he utilizes, encouraging him to focus on the pitches that best complement each other. Manager Terry Francona says that Bauer is pitching in a more “conventional” manner of late and stresses that he means that as a compliment. Bauer’s results have been brilliant; over his past 10 starts (each caught by Gimenez), Bauer has posted a 2.74 ERA with a 61-to-20 K/BB ratio in 69 innings of work.
  • Indians outfielder Abraham Almonte has begun a rehab assignment at the Triple-A level as he nears the July 3 date on which he can be reinstated from his 80-game suspension for a failed PED test, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland is woefully thin in terms of outfield depth right now thanks to suspensions for Almonte and Marlon Byrd as well as Michael Brantley’s questionable health status, and the return of Almonte could provide some needed depth.

Central Notes: Fowler, Mesoraco, Tomlin, Twins, Cardinals

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The White Sox and Cubs continue to monitor the market for free agent center fielder Dexter Fowler, writes Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com/CBS Chicago. Both clubs are checking in on Fowler’s market on a daily basis, Levine adds. Levine spoke to one executive from another team that called the Cubs the likeliest landing spot for Fowler, though based on the anonymous quote, that appears to be purely speculative as opposed to any form of definitive knowledge. The report notes that Fowler could settle for a one- or two-year deal (possibly with a player option, in keeping with the offseason’s opt-out trend), although that, too, appears to be fairly speculative in nature. While Levine and the unnamed exec feel that Fowler should have accepted the qualifying offer, it’s easy to make such claims with the benefit of hindsight, and I’d contest that no such claims can be made until the parameters of Fowler’s eventual deal are known. Even if Fowler comes in at a number lesser than the value of the qualifying offer, the upside in testing the market (tens of millions of dollars) significantly outweighed a possible difference of a few million dollars, in my eyes.

More from the game’s Central divisions…

  • Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco tells MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon that his surgically repaired hip is 100 percent, and he’ll be ready to go when pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training. Mesoraco suffered a hip impingement in the first month of a four-year contract extension and was limited to 23 contests last year before undergoing surgery in June. However, the 2014 All-Star says he’s been hitting for “a couple of months” and has also progressed to catching drills, including blocking/receiving pitches, throwing across the diamond. Mesoraco says in terms of work behind the plate he is doing “just about everything with no pain.”
  • Right-hander Josh Tomlin, who signed a two-year deal with the Indians yesterday (including a club option for a third season), spoke to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian about the decision to sign the contract. “I didn’t really look towards the free-agent part,” said Tomlin, who would’ve hit the open market next winter had he not signed the deal. “I’ve been a Cleveland Indian since 2006. When they approached my agent about that contract, it was something that excited me and it got me looking forward to the season and I appreciated it. It’s something we talked about and we were able to reach an agreement that I was happy with, that they were happy with. I wasn’t really looking toward the future and seeing, ’OK, these guys are getting this much money. I could potentially have that kind of money.’ That never entered into my head. It was, ’Cleveland Indians wanted to give me a shot and I’m all about it.'” GM Mike Chernoff tells Bastian that the plan for 2016 is for Tomlin to pitch in the rotation. Assuming that Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer all remain healthy, that would seem to leave right-hander Cody Anderson, who was solid in his big league debut this past season, without a spot in the starting five. Then again, virtually no team makes it through a season with only five starters, so Anderson and others should have chances to start throughout the year.
  • There were no real discussions of a long-term pact between the Twins and Trevor Plouffe’s representatives at CAA before the two sides agreed to a $7.25MM salary for the 2016 season, per 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson (Twitter link). As it stands, Plouffe will be eligible for free agency following the 2017 campaign. He was an oft-speculated trade candidate earlier this winter due to the emergence of Miguel Sano and the signing of Korean slugger Byung-ho Park, who will push Sano away from the DH spot. Minnesota plans to use Sano in right field for the time being, though Plouffe’s future with the club and Sano’s positioning on the diamond figure to remain connected, as Sano has spent the bulk of his minor league career at third base.
  • Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press spoke to Twins GM Terry Ryan about the steps that the club is taking to make Park’s transition from Korea to the United States as smooth as possible. Minnesota has hired a translator of Park’s choosing and has also been in contact with several Pirates officials about the transition process for Jung Ho Kang in 2015 in an effort to make the process as seamless as possible for their new DH. Ryan notes that the fact that both Kang and Park are represented by Octagon’s Alan Nero also helps, as Nero adds another person familiar with the adjustment process to the fold.
  • The Cardinals aren’t exactly certain of when Yadier Molina will be healthy enough to make his 2016 debut, writes Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which creates opportunities for internal options like Michael Ohlman and Carson Kelly to make the roster as a backup to offseason signee Brayan Pena. Non-roster invites such as veteran Eric Fryer also could find themselves with a greater opportunity to see some Major League time due to the uncertainty. However, even though Ohlman has only been with the Cardinals organization for a little less than a year, he outlined Molina’s importance to the roster when speaking to Frederickson. “He controls the clubhouse,” said Ohlman. “It’s his team.” Molina underwent thumb surgery back in October and had to undergo a second operation in December after the first one did not fully correct the ligament issue.

Twins Sign Byung-Ho Park

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TODAY: Park can earn up to $1MM annually in incentives, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports on Twitter. They begin to kick in at the 400 plate appearance threshold, he adds.

YESTERDAY: The Twins have officially struck a four-year, $12MM deal with Korean first baseman Byung-ho Park that includes a $6.5MM club option ($500K buyout) for the 2020 campaign. Minnesota will pay Park $2.75MM annually for the deal’s first two seasons and then $3MM apiece in 2018 and 2019.

Byung Ho Park

Park, 29, is a client of Alan Nero and Octagon Baseball. A deal was said to be highly likely as he traveled to the U.S. this week. Minnesota had won the rights to negotiate with the KBO star after promising a posting bid of $12.85MM to his now-former club, the Nexen Heroes. The Twins’ total commitment, then, will be just under $25MM.

In the end, Park’s guarantee will beat that of former teammate Jung Ho Kang by just $1MM. On the other hand, Nexen will clear over $7MM more in the more recent posting transaction. Park was only able to negotiate with one team through the KBO posting process — which is different from the new rules applicable to Japan’s NPB. Though Park could also have chosen to wait to come over until the winter of 2017-18, when he would have officially become a free agent, that would have taken away his chance to play in the majors for his late-prime years.

Park increasingly reached the MLB radar after two straight seasons in which he put up massive numbers in the hitter-friendly KBO. When Kang successfully transitioned to the bigs, the stage was set for Park to follow.

The right-handed-hitting slugger blasted 53 long balls and turned in a rather productive .343/.436/.714 slash line last year. While nobody expects that to carry over directly, scouts have said that his power is real. Indeed, one told MLBTR’s Steve Adams that there’s “no doubt” he’ll deliver pop in the majors while praising his athleticism. Park is also said to be a solid gloveman at first.

For the Twins, it seems that Park will likely see most of his time at first base and in the DH slot, possibly sharing both positions with Joe Mauer. Minnesota still needs to decide how to get Miguel Sano in the lineup; slotting him at third could dovetail with a trade of Trevor Plouffe, or the organization could roll the dice that he’ll transition well to left field. Regardless, the investment in Park suggests that he’ll be expected to receive fairly regular at bats.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported the signing on Twitter. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the total guarantee via Twitter. And MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweeted the option.

Photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins communications department.

AL Central Notes: Fuenmayor, Victorino, Zimmermann, Park

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Royals first base prospect Balbino Fuenmayor — one of the more intriguing candidates to be selected in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft — is progressing very well in his recovery from a torn ACL this past summer, as recently noted by his agents at True Gravity Sports. Fuenmayor underwent surgery to repair the ligament on Aug. 3 but is running multiple times per week at present and is on track to begin baseball activities in early January. Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper recently listed Fuenmayor as one of the most plausible Rule 5 targets. The slugger, who was out of affiliated baseball at the age of 23 after receiving a huge bonus from the Blue Jays as a 16-year-old, reestablished himself on the independent circuit and returned to minor league ball in dominant fashion this past season, hitting .358/.384/.589 with 17 homers in 89 games before suffering his injury.

A few more items pertaining to the AL Central…

  • The Indians are currently showing the most interest in outfielder Shane Victorino, sources tell Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (Twitter link). Cleveland was known to be on the hunt for outfielders even before Michael Brantley underwent shoulder surgery that will sideline him into next season, but that injury likely increased the team’s urgency to add some outfield help. Cleveland, as Bradford points out, had interest in Victorino before he signed in Boston and even offered him a four-year contract. Victorino, though, took three years to head to the Red Sox instead.
  • The trades to acquire Francisco Rodriguez and Cameron Maybin earlier this month allowed the Tigers to sign Jordan Zimmermann, writes MLive.com’s James Schmehl. Filling a pair of holes without making lavish financial commitments allowed the Tigers to spend a more considerable sum than most had anticipated on a free-agent starter. Zimmermann said at today’s press conference that he was the second or third choice for a number of teams to whom he and agent Mark Pieper of Relativity Sports spoke, but the Tigers had him atop their list and wanted to sign quickly, which appealed to him (via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, on Twitter).
  • Byung-ho Park arrived in Minneapolis today, reports Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and his agent, Alan Nero of Octagon, is expected to arrive in the next day or so to finalize a contract with the Twins. Park said he’s spoken to countrymen Shin-Soo Choo and Hyun-jin Ryu as well as close friend Jung Ho Kang about the transition to Major League Baseball, with each encouraging him that he will adapt to the new league well. Park told Miller, via interpreter, that his goal is to remain in Major League Baseball for the rest of his career. Miller notes that Park does speak some English and is working on learning more as he prepares for the next phase of his career.

Quick Hits: Cueto, Cano, Park, Tribe, Colon

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Diamondbacks ownership sees Johnny Cueto as a “special case” who is worth a franchise-altering investment, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (links to Twitter).  The team’s six-year, $120MM offer to Cueto would’ve been above the D’Backs stated comfort zone of a $15MM-$18MM average annual salary for a pitcher, yet Rosenthal notes that Arizona has been willing to stretch payroll in recent years.  The D’Backs gave their largest contract in club history to an unproven rookie in Yasmany Tomas, and they were also prepared to give Masahiro Tanaka a huge contract after posting a bid to negotiate with him in the 2013-14 offseason.  Cueto, meanwhile, rejected Arizona’s offer in order to further explore his options.  With Jordan Zimmermann now off the market, it’s indeed possible that Cueto could perhaps surpass that offer from the Snakes.  Here’s some more from around baseball…

  • The Mariners privately acknowledge that Robinson Cano will inevitably be moved from second to first base, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (Twitter link).  The question now may be how many more seasons can Cano remain at the keystone.  Cano just turned 33 last month and his defensive metrics (-7.3 UZR/150, minus-9 Defensive Runs Saved) plummeted.  Since Mark Trumbo could be traded or non-tendered, the M’s may have an opening at first as early as 2016, though I’d guess the club is probably more likely to give Cano at least one more year at second and obtain a short-term first baseman if Trumbo is indeed moved.
  • Byung-ho Park is set to arrive in Minneapolis today to continue negotiating, and perhaps finalize, a contract with the Twins.  Park spoke to Korean media (including Yonhap News) before departing, saying “there are some things we need to go over with the club. I hope to be able to return with a positive result….I am approaching (the upcoming contract talks) with a positive mind.”  Park also discussed transitioning to MLB, speaking to former teammate Jung Ho Kang and his willingness to be a designated hitter in Minnesota if that’s how the club feels he is best used.
  • The reliever market is widely expected to heat up this week, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick explains in a series of tweets.  Part of the logjam has been due to the fact that two star closers (Aroldis Chapman and Mark Melancon) are on the trade block, so teams are exploring trade options before looking at free agents.  Over a third of league is currently looking for relief pitching help — Crasnick lists the Astros, Athletics, Blue Jays, Braves, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Mets, Nationals, Pirates, Red Sox, Royals and Tigers.
  • Several bits of Indians roster speculation are discussed by Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer in his latest reader mailbag.  Highlights include Hoynes’ belief that Lonnie Chisenhall will still be with the Tribe next season rather than be traded or non-tendered this winter, doubt that Jay Bruce would be a legitimate Indians trade target and the idea that Wilin Rosario might be of some interest to add pop to Cleveland’s lineup.
  • Would a reunion with Bartolo Colon be a good move for the Athletics?  Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com looks at the pros and cons Oakland faces in signing the veteran right-hander.
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