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Dexter Fowler

Quick Hits: Schwarber, Nathan, Lincecum, Capuano

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Cubs catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber left today’s game after suffering an apparent left leg injury in an outfield collision with Dexter Fowler. He ended up being carted off of the field after medical personnel examined his knee and lower leg — including his ankle. It’s usually difficult to know the severity of an injury just from watching a review, and it’s certainly possible that Schwarber escaped serious harm, but the violent impact to a vulnerable area certainly did not look promising. Currently, there’s no news of even an initial assessment, so this remains a notable story to watch at present.

Here’s more from around the game:

  • Free agent righty Joe Nathan is working out on his home with intentions of a return at some point this year, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The 41-year-old is on his way back from Tommy John surgery and will also be looking to bounce back from some tough recent results, but he’s had success well into his late thirties.
  • Another familiar veteran righty working out privately is Tim Lincecum, who was reportedly planning a showcase that has yet to occur. While we await further news on that front, Dan Wade of the Hardball Times looks at the general prognosis for his attempt to rehab a hip labrum tear. In Wade’s analysis, it’s reasonable to think that the 31-year-old could return to being a back-of-the-rotation arm, though anything more may be wishful thinking.
  • Chris Capuano is set to earn a $1.5MM base salary with the Brewers after cracking the Opening Day roster as a minor league free agent, Heyman reports on Twitter. The southpaw can also take down as much as $1.25MM in incentives. Capuano, 37, will open in the pen but could also provide a swingman option as the season goes along.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Shields, Holt, Fowler

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While the total value of international signings grabs most of the headlines, it’s also interesting to look at the volume, and Ben Badler of Baseball America recently did just that. Over the calendar year of 2015, the Yankees signed more talent from outside the United States — 57 players in all — than any team in baseball. The AL East as a whole was active, per Badler, with the Red Sox and Rays also falling in the top five (but the Blue Jays and Orioles sitting in the bottom ten).

Let’s take a look at the latest out of the division:

  • Despite the Yankees’ stockpile of powerful late-inning arms, the club is on the lookout for middle relievers with camp winding down, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Current options include pitchers such as right-handers Bryan Mitchell, Johnny Barbato, and Branden Pinder and lefties Chasen Shreve, Tyler Olson, and James Pazos — most of whom have quite limited experience in the majors. While it’s easy to imagine these and other arms all spending time at the big league level, it also makes sense for the club to pursue a veteran addition or two.
  • Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia are fighting for the final Yankees rotation spot, with the loser likely to open in the pen. As ESPNNewYork.com’s Andrew Marchand reports, the club is giving real consideration to using Sabathia in relief despite his huge contract. But Nova didn’t perform well at all today in his penultimate start, as Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog writes.
  • The Red Sox’ “stance doesn’t seem to have changed” on Padres righty James Shields, per ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber (via Twitter), with concerns persisting as to whether his flyball-heavy batted ball results would play well at Fenway. That factor played an important role in the club’s decision not to pursue him in free agency, and the Sox appear uninterested in chasing him now via trade. It was reported earlier today that Boston has been in touch with San Diego on pitchers, but there are certainly other names that may have been of greater interest.
  • Meanwhile, Red Sox skipper John Farrell says that utilityman Brock Holt could see significant action in the outfield, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports. “There is a chance for him to get a good number of at-bats out in left field,” said Farrell. “How those at-bats in left field are divvied up, that remains to be seen. I’m not going to say it’s a strict platoon, but there are going to be multiple guys getting at-bats out of that position.” Needless to say, that statement represents a signal that Rusney Castillo will need to earn his playing time, as he’ll also face competition from Chris Young. Boston has endeavored to light a fire under several presumed regulars this spring, with other options helping to force the action with strong showings.
  • The Orioles not only offered Dexter Fowler $33MM over three years, but would’ve gone as high as $36MM, Heyman tweets. It seemed at one point, of course, that Baltimore was set to sign the outfielder before he would up back in Chicago for one year and $13MM.

Quick Hits: Chacin, Morneau, Wright, Fowler, Cardinals

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Jhoulys Chacin has pitched well for the Braves in his Spring Training outings and, perhaps most importantly for the righty, his troublesome shoulder is feeling good.  “When I signed, my mindset was just to come to Spring Training as strong as I could be and to just pitch the only way I know how to pitch….I just want to go through all of this year and the rest of my career with my shoulder strong,” Chacin tells MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.  It would be a nice bargain for Atlanta if Chacin returned to the form he showed when he was a healthy and productive member of the Rockies staff, as Chacin is only signed to a minor league deal.  Here’s some more from around baseball…

  • “Nothing has materialized” for Justin Morneau this offseason, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes, though the veteran first baseman isn’t announcing his retirement.  Morneau said in November that he was adamant about continuing his career after working to come back from concussion and neck issues, though those same injuries limited him to just 49 games in 2015.  Health questions notwithstanding, Morneau did hit .316/.363/.487 with 20 homers in 732 PA over the last two seasons and he won the NL batting title in 2014, so it’s rather surprising that his market has been almost entirely quiet.  The Indians were the only club known to have interest and they went with Mike Napoli instead due to Napoli’s right-handed bat.  Morneau is the last member of MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents still looking for a new team.
  • Also from Cafardo, he notes that Red Sox right-hander Steven Wright is out of options and “a few teams are watching Wright’s camp with great anticipation.”  Wright, a knuckleballer, could still make Boston’s big league roster as a reliever or possibly as the team’s fifth starter if Eduardo Rodriguez is not healthy to start the year.
  • Dexter Fowler spoke to Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com about the surprising turn of events that saw the outfielder re-sign with the Cubs.  Despite media reports that had Fowler all but officially signed with the Orioles, Fowler said he and Baltimore “never really were close” to an agreement.  “They wanted me to pay them what they said the draft choice I was costing them was valued at.  They wanted me to pay them for the pick.  So we said, OK, then give me an opt-out after one year, and they said that’s something they won’t do,” Fowler said.  Casey Close, Fowler’s agent, also commented on the situation last month and had some harsh words for both the Orioles and the media.
  • Also from Gammons, he notes that it isn’t the Cardinals’ style to make rash moves, so the club is likely to be cautious in gauging their response to Jhonny Peralta’s injury absence.  St. Louis was linked to Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed earlier today, though Gammons thinks Arizona wouldn’t settle for anything less than a top minor leaguer like righty Luke Weaver (ranked by Baseball America as the Cards’ fourth-best prospect).
  • Matthew Bowman is “more likely than not” to make the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster as a reliever, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com writes.  Bowman was plucked off of the Mets’ roster in December’s Rule 5 draft.  The 24-year-old has pitched mostly as a starter in his minor league career and it would be somewhat of a surprise to see him pass several veteran options to lock down a bullpen job.  As a Rule 5 pick, of course, Bowman has to stay on the St. Louis 25-man roster all season or else be offered back to the Mets.

Quick Hits: Cubs, Cahill, Davis, Judge

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Yesterday, we heard about several Cubs free agent signees who took less money to play in Chicago. Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter) illuminates a few of the teams that missed out. We know the Orioles were in on Dexter Fowler as well as the Nationals and Cardinals interest in Jason Heyward. Ben Zobrist turned down better offers from the Nationals and Mets while Trevor Cahill declined to join the Pirates on a stronger offer. Of course, the details of those hypothetical deals are unknown. For example, the Nationals probably made heavy use of deferred money in their offers, reducing the present day value of their proposals. Heyman also has some contract details for reserve clause signees (on Twitter).

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Pirates offer to Cahill was to pitch as a starter, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. However, rumors of a two-year offer may have been exaggerated. Cahill himself claims to be unaware of any two-year proposals. In my opinion, Cahill was smart to remain in Chicago as a reliever. His skill set plays particularly well out of the bullpen and could set up a strong multi-year offer in free agency next winter.
  • New Athletics outfielder Khris Davis is happy with his new ball club, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The former Brewer saw the writing on the wall when Milwaukee dealt away several veterans in the last calendar year. Davis, originally picked in the 2009 draft, was the second-to-last player from that draft class with the club. The Brewers still have Scooter Gennett penciled in to play second base.
  • When Yankees prospects Aaron Judge and Jorge Mateo homered earlier today, they offered a glimpse of the future, writes Wallace Matthews of ESPN. The pair rank first and second in the Yankees farm system. Judge, 23, has a shot to contribute to the club in 2016 while Mateo, 20,  is a little way off. Judge is a power hitting outfielder who hit 20 home runs in 540 plate appearances last season.  Mateo is a speedy shortstop with 82 stolen bases in 2015 (500 plate appearances).

Chicago Notes: Sox, CarGo, Cubs, Fowler

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The White Sox have long been connected to both free agents and trade targets that can help the club in the corner outfield, and Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670 The Score writes that the Sox aren’t done searching for upgrades. The Sox could turn their focus to Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez and Reds right fielder Jay Bruce, per Levine, though his report makes no indication that there have been trade discussions about either player. One rival general manager told Levine that the Rockies asked for his top two minor leaguers, plus a big league player and absorption of most of the remaining $37MM on Gonzalez’s contract. Of course, that’s a highly subjective statement; for instance, the top two minor leaguers for a club like the Angels — a team that has been linked to outfield trade targets — would be considerably less valuable than the top two minor leaguers for a club like the Rays or Cardinals, each of which was linked to outfield trade targets this winter as well. What’s clear from the anonymous GM quoted by Levine is that the Rockies’ asking price would be steep, and the team seemingly doesn’t have much interest in eating salary on the deal.

A bit more on Chicago’s two clubs…

  • The Cubs finalized contracts with all of their pre-arbitration players today, the club announced, and the Sun-Times’ Gordon Wittenmyer notes that the pre-arb agreements should take the Cubs’ payroll north of $150MM for the first time. While the team presently sits just shy of that mark at $149.232MM, awarding the final roster spot to a player like Rex Brothers or Shane Victorino, who have base salaries of $1.42MM and $1MM, respectively, would push the Cubs beyond that milestone. Somewhat notably, Wittenmyer points out that reigning Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant was renewed for a healthy $652K — a considerably larger sum than most pre-arbitration players (especially players with less than a year of service) would receive.
  • While Bryant and his pre-arb peers were forced to take whatever the Cubs decided to give them, others have reportedly chosen to come to Chicago despite receiving similar or greater offers elsewhere. Jesse Sanchez of ESPNChicago.com says that held true of Dexter Fowler, who rejected offers from multiple other clubs “for multiple years and more money.” While the magnitude of the contract discounts in some Cubs’ free agent contracts seem to have been somewhat overplayed — indeed, in some cases, factors such as length and the presence of opt-outs in alternative offers make it unclear whether there was a true discount at all — this report certainly suggests that Fowler had plenty of opportunities to earn a good bit more elsewhere. “You create the right culture,” said manager Joe Maddon, “you would get guys wanting to stay with you longer, irrespective of money.”

AL East Notes: Fowler, Markakis, Estrada, Cessa, Murphy

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In a recent interview on MLB Network Radio (Twitter links), Orioles executive Dan Duquette further responded to recent comments by agent Casey Close regarding the Dexter Fowler talks. “It would’ve been a good fit for us. We’re disappointed the deal didn’t come together [but] that’s the way it goes sometimes,” Duquette said. Duquette went on to say that he was puzzled by the statement and he didn’t quite understand why Close was upset. “When you show sincere interest in a player, it helps him get a better deal,” said the Orioles GM.

Here’s more out of Baltimore and the rest of the AL East:

  • The Orioles tried to open a conversation with the Braves about bringing back former right fielder Nick Markakis, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com tweets. But Atlanta seemingly showed little interest in trying to work out a swap, per the report.
  • The qualifying offer had an impact not only on Fowler, but also on one player who never fully tested the market: Marco Estrada, who struck a two-year deal to remain with the Blue Jays. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca looks at the different experiences of Estrada and fellow Toronto signee J.A. Happ, who says he had interest from a dozen clubs on the first day of free agency. Estrada, meanwhile, says he “didn’t get a chance to really go through that process.” He added that he “probably should have done a better job of” assessing his market during his week-long consideration of the QO, and wishes he “could have gotten more years” in his deal, but ultimately says he’s happy to return to the Jays and was able to enjoy a more relaxing offseason after his early deal.
  • Yankees righty Luis Cessa will get a shot to make it as a starter after being involved in several prominent trades, as Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes. GM Brian Cashman said that adding Cessa and Chad Green in exchange for Justin Wilson was about getting quality pitchers who provide the team with options. “We think he has starter capability, just like we think Green has starter capability,” Cashman said. “And then if not, all failed starters go to the pen. We feel we acquired, in Cessa’s case, a strike-thrower with a good arm.”
  • Newly-signed Red Sox outfielder David Murphy says that it’s “surreal” to return to the Boston organization, as Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports. Murphy says he knew he “was going to have to be patient” this winter, but nevertheless was surprised with how quiet market turned out to be. But he says he’s ready to “turn the page” on his disappointing winter and is looking forward to trying to crack the roster with the Red Sox — or, failing that, another club.

MLBPA’s Tony Clark On Gallardo, Fowler, Chapman, Cuba

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Over the last day, Executive Director of the MLBPA Tony Clark has commented on the recent spat of high profile stories around the league. Here’s what he had to say regarding Yovani Gallardo, Dexter Fowler, Aroldis Chapman, and other topics.

  • Clark is concerned with the way medical information is processed in light of Gallardo’s renegotiated contract, writes Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. Per Clark, “Medical information shouldn’t be public…There’s a reason why individuals’ medical information is protected. The idea that those who shouldn’t have access to it have access to it and feel compelled to offer it is a concern.” Clark appears to be setting up medical information as a bargaining point in the next round of CBA talks. As Schmuck notes, teams do need this information to make informed contract decisions, yet there may be better ways to protect player privacy.
  • Clark was also worried about Fowler’s incorrectly reported agreement with the O’s, writes Rich Dubroff of CSN Mid-Atlantic. “I think it is disappointing that we live in a world where it is more important to be first than it is to be right, and it’s a very dangerous place to exist when information makes its way out that may not be 100 percent accurate.” Clark’s specific concern is that wrongly reported information could negatively affect a player’s bargaining power. He also spoke up in support of Fowler’s agent Casey Close who issued a scathing statement in response to the false report.
  • It’s long been rumored that Chapman will receive a suspension for his alleged role in an offseason domestic dispute. If Chapman appeals the suspension as expected, a hearing may not occur until after the beginning of the season, writes Jayson Stark of ESPN. Clark explained the process for setting up an appeal with Fredric Horowitz, the league’s independent arbitrator. A date must be scheduled based on Horowitz’s availability. Stark noted that it took five months for Horowitz to get to Alex Rodriguez’s appeal of his PED suspension. Clark did mention that the nature of the case could accelerate time frames.
  • Clark also commented on the Rays upcoming exhibition trip to Cuba which still has a few road blocks to overcome. He referred to “logistics” and “sensitivities” that yet need to be solved, although he was optimistic the trip would happen. A visit from President Barack Obama is also expected to be a part of the three day tour.
  • The Stark piece also contains comments from Clark about this previous free agent market and “intricacies” that may lead to various bargaining points.

Dexter Fowler Notes: White Sox, Orioles, Jones

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Here’s some of the fallout surrounding Dexter Fowler’s surprising return to the Cubs, especially as it pertains to his would-be new team in Baltimore…

  • The White Sox offered Fowler a two-year contract worth more than $17MM, CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine reports.  The offer was for a set two years and didn’t include an opt-out clause or a mutual option after the first season.  Fowler’s deal with the Cubs guarantees him $8MM in 2016, and then he and the team can either both enact a $9MM mutual option for 2017 or the Cubs can buy Fowler out for $5MM.  It’s clear that Fowler and agent Casey Close were focused on flexibility after the 2016 season, as the Orioles’ refusal to include an opt-out clause is what caused the breakdown in talks between the two sides.  The Sox have been known to be interested in Fowler and others this winter as they continue to look for corner outfield help, though the club hasn’t yet done much in the way of major moves to address left or right field.  Melky Cabrera and Avisail Garcia are still on hand as the incumbent starters, though both had sub-replacement level seasons in 2015.  Signing Fowler would’ve represented a major upgrade for the Pale Hose yet also cost the team the 27th overall pick in the draft since Fowler was a qualifying offer free agent.  The top White Sox pick (the 10th overall selection) was protected, with the later first-round selection given to the team as compensation for Jeff Samardzija signing with the Giants.
  • With Fowler no longer an option, the Orioles are likely to pursue another corner outfielder, MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli writes.  Manager Buck Showalter is satisfied with his internal options, which include the likes of Mark Trumbo (who will probably see lot of DH time), Nolan Reimold, Henry Urrutia, Dariel Alvarez and Rule 5 draft pick Joey Rickard on the 40-man roster.  Urrutia is the only left-handed hitter of the bunch, so one of the righty-swingers will be used to complement new addition Hyun-soo Kim in left field.  Ghiroli cites Jay Bruce, Austin Jackson or Pedro Alvarez as possible targets for the Orioles, with Alvarez joining the club as a DH and Trumbo then getting most of his playing time in right.  With so many right-handed hitting outfielders already in the mix, left-handed hitting free agents like David Murphy, Grady Sizemore or David DeJesus also make sense as speculative fits.
  • One of the many unusual aspects of the Fowler/Orioles drama was that Adam Jones seemingly had verbal confirmation from Fowler that the outfielder was indeed joining the team.  Jones addressed that situation with reporters (including Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun), saying he was surprised to learn Fowler wasn’t signing with the O’s but there was no issue between he and Fowler.  “At the end of the day, he’s happy where he’s at. His family is happy in Chicago, so good for him,” Jones said.  He also expressed that this gives an opportunity to the Orioles’ other outfielders, and noted that the O’s could pursue midseason upgrades with the money they saved on Fowler’s contract.

Dan Duquette, Agent Casey Close Comment On Dexter Fowler Situation

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Fans and media members alike were shocked this morning when the Cubs announced that they had re-signed Dexter Fowler to a one-year deal, just days after the Baltimore media and a number of national reporters broke the news of a three-year agreement between Fowler and the Orioles. Fowler’s agent, Casey Close of Excel Sports Management, vehemently denies that an agreement was ever in place, however, and even went so far as to say that the two sides were ever even nearing a deal. Close felt strongly enough about what he terms “irresponsible behavior” on the team’s behalf to issue a release with the following statement:

“In my 25 years in this business, never before have I witnessed such irresponsible behavior on so many fronts. Both the Orioles front office and members of the media were so busy recklessly spreading rumors that they forgot or simply chose not to concern themselves with the truth. The Orioles’ willful disregard of collectively bargained rules governing free agency and the media’ eager complicity in helping the Orioles violate those rules are reprehensible. Dexter Fowler never reached agreement with the Orioles and did not come close to signing with the club; any suggestion otherwise is only a continuation of an already disturbing trend.”

Close’s comments are among the most scathing public-facing remarks from an agent or executive that I can recall seeing, and his clear intent is to communicate that his agency in no way contributed to any reports of Fowler’s alleged agreement with Baltimore. That, then, would imply that the information (or, rather, misinformation) came from the team’s side of the equation, though executive vice president and general manager Dan Duquette said today at Yovani Gallardo’s introductory press conference that he was never under the impression that a deal was in place. Via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko:

“We made a very competitive offer,” Duquette explained. “There was not an agreement to terms because they kept insisting on an opt-out. I don’t see, club ownership doesn’t see the value in that type of arrangement to the Orioles. If we are going to guarantee a contract, it should be a contract.”

The Orioles have reportedly been staunchly against opt-out clauses throughout the duration of the offseason, and while initial reports of talks with both Gallardo and Fowler included mention of opt-out provisions, the ultimately reported agreements (and, in Gallardo’s case, announced agreement) did not include opt-out clauses. Notably, Kubtako writes that while the Orioles will not publicly acknowledge that they believed an agreement to be in place, “multiple sources within the organization” confirmed to him earlier this week that there was an agreement in place, and other reporters followed suit with confirmation of the agreement.

Beyond all of that, the arguable face of the Orioles’ franchise, Adam Jones, went on record with multiple reporters (including ESPN’s Jayson Stark and the Baltimore Sun’s Eduardo A. Encina) discussing his excitement over the addition of Fowler. Jones went so far as to say that he spoke to Fowler himself. “I spoke to him,” Jones told Stark. “He’s excited. He should be on his way here now.” Whatever belief that the Orioles had that an agreement with Fowler had been reached, it trickled down out of the front office. And, if Jones’ comments are accurate, it would seem that Fowler himself at least seemed optimistic about the possibility of a deal being consummated.

What isn’t clear, then, is what specifically led those who believed a deal had been struck to come to that conclusion. Duquette’s comments today signified that the opt-out clause was a persistent sticking point from Fowler’s camp, and it should be noted that Close/Excel are the leaders in the opt-out charge; Close represents Zack Greinke, Masahiro Tanaka, Clayton Kershaw and Jason Heyward — each of whom has secured an opt-out clause in recent contracts (multiple opt-outs, in Heyward’s case). As such, it seems reasonable to expect that an opt-out clause was indeed a longstanding request from Fowler’s camp. However, reports today characterized the insistence on an opt-out as a last-minute wrench thrown into talks, thus serving as the impetus for Fowler’s return to Chicago.

Clearly, there’s no benefit for either involved party to have word of a deal leak out when it isn’t true, but something appears to have either been lost in translation during negotiations or been altered late in the game. The definitive level of transparency required to know exactly what transpired — if that level of clarity even exists one way or the other — isn’t likely to ever be publicly available, however.

Cubs Re-Sign Dexter Fowler

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In a stunning reversal, the Cubs have re-signed outfielder Dexter Fowler to a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2017, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. He’ll receive $8MM in 2016. The mutual option is for $9MM with a $5MM buyout (tweet). The Cubs have placed Zac Rosscup on the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster.

Recent reports had Fowler agreeing to a three-year, $33MM deal with the Orioles, but Fowler denies he ever agreed to terms per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (tweet). Jon Morosi of Fox Sports (tweet) confirms the Orioles did not believe they had a deal in place with Fowler.

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The signing reportedly fell through when Fowler demanded an early opt out after one season, tweets Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com. Per Jon Heyman (tweet), the Orioles did not want to lose a first round pick (compensation for Wei-Yin Chen) to sign a player for one season. When Baltimore balked, he turned down the $33MM guarantee for $13MM from Chicago.

The re-acquisition of Fowler also puts a new light on the Chris Coghlan trade which was announced about a half hour ago. The Cubs will now lose their second round draft pick for signing John Lackey. When Fowler appeared to be Baltimore-bound, they would have lost the associated compensation pick.

The addition of Fowler will give the Cubs plenty of outfield flexibility. They could opt to move Jason Heyward to his natural position of right field. Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber may share left field or another arrangement could be reached. Given that Fowler isn’t viewed as a positive defensive center fielder, it’s possible Heyward will remain penciled in up the middle. The club now has a wealth of outfield depth with Ben Zobrist and Javier Baez also in the mix for reps. At the press conference announcing the deal, GM Theo Epstein told reporters, “this is it. We’re not trading anyone else. We feel great about our outfield mix.”

Fowler’s high OBP profile should fit well anywhere within the Cubs lineup. Heyward and Zobrist are also candidates to bat first and second with Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Schwarber, and Soler as middle of the order threats. Fowler batted .250/.346/.411 with 17 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 2015. The switch-hitter has a history of better on base percentages including a career .363 OBP. His return takes pressure off Schwarber and Soler to perform at high levels.

It’s interesting to note that Fowler is now guaranteed less than the $15.8MM qualifying offer. The mutual option as structured appears very unlikely to be triggered by both sides. Way back in November, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted a four-year, $60MM contract for Fowler. Assuming the option is declined, Fowler will re-enter free agency prior to his age 31 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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