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David Price

AL East Notes: Price, Blue Jays, Masterson

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The stars are aligning for the Red Sox to sign top free agent David Price, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe writes. Price, he says, “is the guy they want,” with the club seemingly prepared to top $200MM to get a deal done. We’ve heard previously that rival executives expect Boston to top the market for Price. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will be under pressure not only to get a deal done, says Abraham, but to do so before the organization begins hawking tickets on December 12th (just after the conclusion of the Winter Meetings).

Here’s more from the AL East:

  • The Blue Jays’ signing of J.A. Happ not only takes them out of the market for Price — as unlikely as that match was — but represents a departure for the club, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes. It had been nearly a decade since Toronto gave multiple years to a free agent starter, but under new club president Mark Shapiro the team has already committed both to Happ and Marco Estrada this winter. As Davidi notes, the two contracts are hardly monumental risks in the broader league-wide spending context.
  • While average annual values of over $10MM are now unsurprising even for back-of-the-rotation free agent arms, Davidi goes on to explain that those commitments still have a significant impact on the payroll. He estimates that the club is already looking at around $135MM in Opening Day payroll — assuming it tenders contracts to the team’s ten arbitration-eligible players. Toronto would likely not have much added space to work with, then, unless some trimming is performed.
  • Meanwhile, Shapiro and the Blue Jays have apparently begun interviewing candidates for the team’s full-time GM position. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter that Royals assistant GM Rene Francisco has interviewed for the position, which is being filled by Tony LaCava on an interim basis.
  • Recent Red Sox righty Justin Masterson is expected to be at full strength this spring after his shoulder cleanup procedure, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. The 30-year-old has struggled badly over the last two years, but he’s had enough success previously that plenty of clubs will be glad to give him a chance at a resurrection.

AL East Notes: Davis, Orioles, Price, Yankees

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The Orioles remain tight-lipped on the progress of their offseason talks with Chris Davis and agent Scott Boras, but one person within the organization at least termed the discussions thus far as “productive,” writes MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. According to Kubatko, the Orioles aren’t turned off by the notion that Davis could command a six- or seven-year pact ranging from $24MM to $26MM in annual value. If nothing else, he notes, the fact that the Orioles haven’t simply walked away due to that price tag is telling of their desire to retain Davis. However, waiting on Davis is at least somewhat risky, as it’s possible that many of Baltimore’s alternatives will sign elsewhere in the meantime, leaving little in the way of options should the team ultimately prove unable to retain the slugger.

A few more items pertaining to the AL East…

  • The Orioles are “searching everywhere” for outfield help, writes CSNMidAtlantic.com’s Rich Dubroff. At present, there are seven players on Baltimore’s 40-man roster with outfield experience, but only Adam Jones is the only established regular among them, Dubroff notes. Arbitration eligible players like David Lough and Nolan Reimold could be non-tendered next week, Dubroff writes, though Reimold is a better bet to return than Lough, he adds.
  • Former Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos was a recent guest on the WEEI Hot Stove show, and in discussing David Price’s impact on the Jays, Anthopoulos called him the “best teammate I’ve ever seen.” Anthopoulos lauded Price for his work ethic and the way in which that rubs off on other players as well as the leadership he exudes in the clubhouse. Said Anthopoulos: “He brings something else more than just the two ERA and the 240 innings and everything else. He leads. He sets a great example. He’€™ll be a great get for any team that gets him.”
  • Chad Jennings of the Journal News profiles some of the potential bargain help on the Yankees’ roster. While names like Dellin Betances and Luis Severino are obvious picks, Jennings also points out the potential bargain the team could have acquired in buying low on Dustin Ackley, who seems likely to handle the bulk of New York’s second base duties next season. Ackley hit a robust .288/.333/.654 in his tiny sample of work with the Yankees, but getting out of Safeco Field could help him realize his potential. Brendan Ryan’s $1MM salary looks like a bargain when compared to the two-year, $3.75MM contract commanded by a similar player — Cliff Pennington. And, the Yankees’ successful buy-low on Didi Gregorius last offseason has left the team with a shortstop whose production will far outreach his salary in the coming years.

Quick Hits: Holliday, Davis, Price, Cubs, Padres, Relievers, CBA

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In response to a reader question about Matt Holliday as a possible trade candidate, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch doubts the Cardinals would move a such strong bat since the team’s main winter goal is to add offense.  Langosch isn’t sure if the Cards have any interest in dealing Holliday or if he would accept a trade via his 10-and-5 veto rights.  Even at age 35 and battling injuries last season, Holliday still posted a very respectable .279/.394/.410 line over 277 plate appearances.  2016 is his last guaranteed year under contract (St. Louis has a $17MM club option on him for 2017) so it’s also not like Holliday is a long-term roadblock for the club’s upcoming young outfielders.  Here’s some more from around baseball as we look forward to leftover turkey tomorrow…

  • The Astros aren’t likely to be big players for Chris Davis, a source familiar with the situation tells Evan Drelllich of the Houston Chronicle.  Davis will command a big price and Houston already has a lot of high-power, high-strikeout hitters.  I myself speculated that Davis and the Astros could be a fit in my Astros Offseason Outlook piece, under the logic that the team needs a big left-handed bat, Davis is a Texas native and first base would be open if Chris Carter and Evan Gattis were non-tendered.  Drellich’s piece looks at that first base situation for the Astros, and the presence of prospects Tyler White and A.J. Reed might also make a Davis signing unlikely.
  • Six general managers who recently spoke with Peter Gammons believe the Red Sox will sign David Price this offseason.  “Boston will go $30-40M above anyone else” to land Price, one NL GM opines.  This is just the latest chatter connecting Price to the Sox, and while Gammons writes that “some feel he is uneasy about Boston, but David is so sophisticated, so talented and so intelligent he will make the best of any situation.”  Another GM, however, speculates that the Cardinals could be the ones to make the big play for Price, passing on re-signing Jason Heyward in the process.
  • Gammons shares some more chatter from his sources, including “a lot of John Lackey and Alex Gordon to the Cubs speculation.”
  • Recently designated players like John Axford, Daniel Nava, A.J. Griffin, Danny Hultzen and Wilin Rosario could all be intriguing targets for the Padres, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune opines.  The first three are free agents, Hultzen was outrighted off the Mariners’ 40-man roster and Rosario is still in DFA limbo.
  • Fangraphs’ Eno Sarris tries to identify some of the smaller-name or underrated relief arms on the open market that could blossom into bargain pickups.  The Cubs are one example of a club that has built an entire bullpen (and a strong one, at that) out of such under-the-radar pitchers, as Sarris notes.
  • One of the underlying stories of 2016 will be the negotiations between MLB and the players union over the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, ESPN’s Jayson Stark writes.  Stark’s piece highlights some of the major issues that are likely to play a big role in the upcoming talks, ranging from revenue sharing, free agency and the qualifying offer, the length of the season, a possible international amateur draft and more.  Another interesting topic could be how the league may address teams “tanking” several seasons in an attempt to rebuild, and possible solutions include a draft lottery or a rule prohibiting teams from drafting in the top five in consecutive seasons.
  • The good news about the CBA talks is that multiple sources on both sides tell Stark that everyone wants to keep the labor peace that baseball has enjoyed for over two decades.  “It’s a 9-and-a-half-billion dollar industry.  Nobody is going to want to blow it up,” one source tells Stark.

Cubs, Cards, Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox Showing Most Interest In Price

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The Cubs, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants and Red Sox are showing the most interest in left-hander David Price, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal adds that while Price enjoyed his time in Toronto, the Blue Jays “are not expected to be a major factor in his free agency,” which isn’t necessarily a surprise considering the team’s previous reluctance to commit the type of expenditure Price will command to any player. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Buster Olney reported today that there’s a “high expectation” among executives involved in the Price bidding that the Red Sox will make the highest offer (links to Twitter). Tom Verducci also said in a recent MLB Network appearance that Boston will aggressively pursue Price.

Other clubs will naturally show interest in Price and presumably already have. However, the common belief that Price is capable of approaching or exceeding Max Scherzer’s seven-year, $210MM contract from last offseason suggests that many teams will be priced out of serious consideration.

Each of the clubs listed by Rosenthal has a need in the rotation, though some to a greater extent than others. The Cardinals recently lost Lance Lynn to Tommy John surgery and saw several of their promising young arms slowed by injuries in 2015 (including Carlos Martinez and Marco Gonzales). The Dodgers could potentially lose Zack Greinke to free agency and don’t know what to expect from either Hyun-jin Ryu or Brandon McCarthy in 2016. The Giants’ rotation was highly unstable in 2015 behind ace Madison Bumgarner, and the Red Sox struggled through 2015 with one of the game’s worst performances from their rotation. The need for the Cubs is less glaring on paper, as Chicago ranked third in rotation ERA in 2015. However, Kyle Hendricks and Jason Hammel wilted down the stretch, and adding another top-tier starter to pair with Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester in the rotation would give Chicago a highly formidable postseason rotation.

Price is coming off a dominant season split between Detroit and Toronto in which he logged a 2.45 ERA with 9.2 K/9, 1.9 BB/9 and a 40.4 ground-ball rate in 220 1/3 innings. Because he was ineligible for a qualifying offer due to this summer’s trade, Price won’t require a new club to forfeit a draft pick upon signing him.

Starting Pitching Notes: Lackey, Fernandez, Price, Chen

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The Giants are among the clubs that are showing interest in right-hander John Lackey, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). San Francisco, though, is exploring a wide swath of starting pitching options, per Rosenthal, so it only makes sense that Lackey would be among the pitchers to pique the team’s interest. The 37-year-old Lackey has been a popular name on the free-agent market thus far, having reportedly been connected to the Marlins, Cardinals, Cubs, D-Backs, Rangers, Red Sox and Dodgers thus far. Over the weekend, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo listed the Giants and Cubs as the two teams with the best shot to sign Lackey.

Here’s more on the market for rotation arms…

  • Executives from teams searching for high-end starting pitching tell Joel Sherman of the New York Post that Jose Fernandez isn’t available in trades at this time. Sherman spoke with Fernandez’s agent, Scott Boras, about the reported tension between him and the Marlins’ front office. Boras tells Sherman that he spoke with Miami president of baseball operations Michael Hill the day after the initial negative reports surfaced, with Hill telling him that he looked forward to Fernandez fronting the team’s rotation in 2016.
  • In an appearance on TSN 1050 in Canada (audio link), ESPN’s Keith Law discusses David Price with hosts Derek Taylor and Kara Wagland, noting that there’s no reason to believe he would accept anything less than full market value to return to the Blue Jays. Law adds that he’s never felt a reunion between the two sides is likely, pointing out that the MLBPA encourages the top names on the market to take every dollar possible to drive up the price for the second tier of free agents and the following year’s class. The idea of Price returning to Toronto has seemed like a long shot, at best, since he was acquired, given the team’s mid-sized payroll and previous lack of lengthy commitments. Law’s colleague, Buster Olney, wrote recently in his ESPN Insider daily blog post that some evaluators involved in discussions with Price’s camp believe that Price is indicating to all clubs that he’d like to play for them.
  • FOX’s Jon Paul Morosi wonders if left-hander Wei-Yin Chen could potentially pull down an annual value of $20MM on his upcoming contract. While that number seems like a stretch, Morosi points out that agents will likely be citing Rick Porcello’s $20.625MM annual value in contract negotiations this winter. A team paying $20MM+ annually for Chen seems like a stretch to me, but Morosi’s general point about Porcello serving as a reference is interesting; we’ll find out this offseason whether that contract looks like an outlier or one that served to drive up the price for second-tier starting pitchers. Porcello’s name has come up in conversations I’ve had with industry contacts this winter, though only time will tell if his contract does indeed serve to advance the secondary pitching market.
  • In a piece for Sports On Earth, MLB.com’s A.J. Cassavell tries to peg Zack Greinke’s free-agent value based on historical comparisons. Cassavell looks at age-based comps in an attempt to gauge how long Greinke will remain effective and the length of contract he’ll ultimately command. Cassavell projects that Greinke can be realistically relied upon for three more high-quality seasons before beginning to regress to above-average (but no longer elite) results, ultimately coming to the conclusion of a six-year, $153MM contract prediction.

Free Agent Starter Notes: Price, Zimmermann, Buehrle

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Here are some items about some notable pitchers on the open market…

  • David Price and Jordan Zimmermann have both been cited as Cubs targets this winter, and ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers looks at the pros and cons for signing each starter for the Northsiders.
  • A reunion between Mark Buehrle and the White Sox is probably unlikely, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin writes as part of a reader mailbag, since adding Buehrle would give the Sox five left-handers in the rotation.  It isn’t yet clear if Buehrle plans to pitch in 2016 but at least 10 teams have shown interest if he did come back for another season.
  • Colby Lewis underwent meniscus surgery after the season and will have a checkup on his progress around Thanksgiving, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports.  The Rangers are interested in re-signing Lewis but they’ll wait to see the results of the checkup before they revisit negotiations.
  • The Rangers have been aggressive in checking out the trade and free agent markets for a pitching upgrade, but Sullivan notes that the most expensive pitchers (i.e. Price, Zack Greinke) aren’t being targeted.  Beyond finding a new starter, the biggest help to the Texas rotation will be if Yu Darvish, Martin Perez, Derek Holland are all healthy next season.

Added To The 40-Man Roster: Friday

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Tonight at 8:00pm ET is the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster and thereby protect them from this year’s Rule 5 Draft. In other words: there will be a significant amount of 40-man roster moves made over the course of the next 13 or so hours. Six clubs already made moves to protect prospects from the Rule 5 yesterday, and each of the remaining 24 clubs should make moves today as well.

In brief: players drafted/signed at 18 years of age or younger must be added to the 40-man roster within five years of signing or be exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. Players drafted/signed at 19 or older must be added within four years. Those interested in all of the specifics can refer to articles from MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and J.J. Cooper of Baseball America. Perhaps of greater interest is that Mayo lists all of the prospects from MLB.com’s Top 100 list and from their organizational Top 30 lists that much be protected in advance of tonight’s deadline, while Cooper provides brief write-ups on each player that has been protected (and will continue to do so as additions are made).

Here are today’s additions to the 40-man roster. You can check out Baseball America’s coverage to learn more about the individual players listed below …

Earlier Updates

NL West Notes: Rockies, Giants, Bochtler

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Rockies GM Jeff Bridich would consider trading prospects for pitching, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes. “When I say we’re open to whatever, I mean it,” says Bridich. “I don’t think we’ll ever be in a ‘sell the farm’ mode. I don’t think that’s a wise decision for us. But you have to be open minded to things that can improve your ballclub.” Of course, it’s possible for a retooling franchise to judiciously trade minor leaguers for big-league talent without dramatically changing its long-term outlook, as the Phillies showed earlier today when they acquired Jeremy Hellickson for a pitcher still in short-season ball. So it might not be wise to read too much into Bridich’s comments. He does note, however, that the Rockies are monitoring both the trade and free agent markets, and that it might be easier for the team to find upgrades via trades at this early point in the offseason. Here’s more from the NL West.

  • The Giants are doing “background preparation” on David Price, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets. The Giants are, presumably, far from alone in that regard, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they continued to be connected to Price until the free agent ace picks his next team — the Giants are expected to bid for top talents this offseason, particularly pitchers.
  • The Padres have hired Doug Bochtler to be Andy Green’s bullpen coach, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Like Green, Bochtler was previously with the Diamondbacks organization — he served as a pitching coach for the Kane County Cougars, the D-backs’ Class A affiliate. Bochtler spent parts of six seasons in the big leagues, pitching in relief for the Padres from 1995 through 1997 before heading to the Tigers, Dodgers and Royals.

NL West Notes: Dodgers’ Targets, Giants, Padres, Rockies

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The Dodgers are prioritizing Zack Greinke over David Price in free agency, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Los Angeles also has at least some interest in Daniel Murphy (as well as a return of Chase Utley, as previously reported elsewhere) as the team weighs the possibility of finding a left-handed hitter that can play second and third. While it’s not yet clear whether the Dodgers front office will ultimately be a team that paces actual free agent spending, it seems obvious that L.A. will play a major role in driving the market.

More from the NL West:

  • Los Angeles tried to open talks with Greinke during the season, GM Farhan Zaidi told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (Twitter link), but he declined the invitation. That probably should not be read as any indication of Greinke’s feelings about where he’d like to play, of course, as he may well have felt that he’d be best served by seeing what the open market had to offer.
  • The Giants could be a player for Greinke, as both Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post note. According to Sherman, San Francisco could be gearing up as “big players” in both the starting pitching and outfield markets. Other executives around the league feel that GM Bobby Evans and his staff could be involved at the top of the market in both areas, Sherman explains.
  • The Padres have at least some interest in Japanese infielder Nobuhiro Matsuda, Heyman adds. (At first glance, it’s a bit difficult to see a fit given that he wouldn’t appear to be much of an option at shortstop.) The NPB veteran recently took free agency with hopes of joining an MLB organization.
  • Rockies GM Jeff Bridich said yesterday that he’d consider giving up a draft pick to sign a starter, as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports. “The fact that it isn’t your first-round pick, the fact we do have that competitive-balance pick [between the first and second rounds], that’s where it really comes down to the fit of the pitcher and the timing of it all,” Bridich said. “You have to time it up right where you think it’s not just going to be a one-year deal for a pitcher you sign like that. There are other things you consider that way.” Bridich acknowledged that the team had at least discussed Daniel Murphy, but noted that internal talks don’t necessarily indicate serious interest, stressed that the qualifying offer was attached to the infielder, and called prior reports “complete speculation, really.”
  • Bridich also addressed the reported arrest of Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes. “Obviously, it’s a serious and unfortunate situation,” Bridich said. “Just like we’ve said, there is an ongoing investigation now. It’s serious in terms of a professional sports industry. It’s serious in terms of a larger social issue. And it’s so serious that there is a joint agreement now between MLB and the union about addressing it. So that’s where it is now. We’ll let the investigation take its course and see what becomes of it.”
  • The Dodgers recently added international scout Ismael Cruz, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reported on Twitter. Cruz had served with the Blue Jays previously. Ben Badler of Baseball America notes on Twitter that Cruz has landed several under-the-radar international signings previously, and Los Angeles may look for him to do just that as the team serves its $300K+ bonus timeout over the next two years.

Cubs Notes: Free Agent Starters, Payroll, Montero

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The Cubs are set to meet this week with the representatives of several top free agent starters, including David Price, Zack Greinke, and Jordan Zimmermann, according to Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com. That’s not exactly a surprise, as Chicago has long been rumored as a major factor in the upper-level pitching market, but it seems to confirm that the club is eyeing a major acquisition. It’s also interesting to consider that all three pitchers offer different blends of expectations and risk, as well as different anticipated years and dollars. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes ranked all three within the top ten free agents on the market, predicting that Price (#1 overall) would end up with the Cubs.

Here are a few more notes on the Cubbies:

  • What the meetings probably don’t signify is any inclination by the Cubs’ brass to attempt to add two high-end free agents. As ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers reports, both president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer have recently downplayed that possibility. “If we want to do two things we have to get pretty creative,” Epstein said, referring to managing payroll. “Even if we do one really big thing we have to get creative. We have the ability to add a little bit from where we are right now. I don’t think we have room to do everything that’s been speculated in some areas.”
  • The front office appears set to continue trying to build a consistent contender rather than gunning for 2016 success at all costs, as Hoyer suggested yesterday and Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports (subscription required). “Baseball is a sport that does involve some randomness,” said Hoyer. “To me, the goal is to win a lot of games and get to the postseason. If you do that year in, year out, that’s how you end up being good.” He went on to explain: “But if you put yourself in to be there every year, that’s the goal. Would it be disappointing if we didn’t make the playoffs? Absolutely. … Would I say it’s ’World Series or bust?’ That’s (not) a fair thing to put on a team.”
  • While some analysts have floated the concept of the Cubs dealing catcher Miguel Montero, Epstein says that’s not been considered, as Rogers reports.“We haven’t talked about that at all,” Epstein said. “[Montero] was a big part of helping our run prevention last year. His framing, his pitch calling. We set a record for strikeouts, we were third in ERA. He was a big part of that. It’s not something we’re looking to disrupt at all.” The emergence of Kyle Schwarber last year made it fair to at least wonder whether Montero could be moved, particularly since his salary ($14MM a year over the next two seasons) might be allocated elsewhere. But it does seem premature for the club to rely on Schwarber regularly behind the plate.
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