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Free Agent Rumors: Hill, Dodgers, Napoli, Logan, Braves, Hwang

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There’s a flurry of offseason rumors flying about Twitter in the early stages of free agency and with the General Managers Meetings taking place in Arizona at the moment. Much of the talk is preliminary at this juncture, and many of the names connected to teams in the early-going won’t ultimately be targets in the long run. That said, the GM Meetings can certainly provide a forum to lay the groundwork for future free-agent deals and trades, and we even see the occasional big-name signing there (as was the case with Victor Martinez re-signing with the Tigers prior to the 2015 season). Here’s a rundown of all the latest free-agent chatter…

  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman told reporters that he plans to reach out to the representatives for free agent left-hander Rich Hill (Twitter link via NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty). Cashman stressed that he’s planning to meet with the reps for a large number of free agents, but the Yankees have been an oft-speculated landing spot for Hill, who seems likely to cash in on a significant free agent deal this winter less than 18 months removed from a stint pitching for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. MLBTR ranked Hill 14th among free agents and pegged him for a three-year, $50MM deal.
  • The Dodgers will also be in the mix for Hill, tweets Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times, and they’re having dialogue with his representatives as well as those for free agents Kenley Jansen and Justin Turner. The Dodgers already made qualifying offers to both Jansen and Turner, though it’s a no-brainer for each to reject in search of a more lucrative deal. It’d be somewhat of a surprise if the Dodgers let all three of their big-name free agents sign elsewhere this winter, although re-signing all three doesn’t seem to be an especially likely outcome, either.
  • Mike Napoli is drawing early interest from the Mariners, tweets Jon Morosi of the MLB Network. As Morosi points out, Napoli has a good history with Seattle manager Scott Servais dating back to his Rangers days. Napoli would be a logical fit for the M’s, who project to have the unproven Dan Vogelbach as their starting first baseman next year. However, the possibility of an eventual timeshare situation developing between the two may not be palatable from Napoli’s vantage point, I wouldn’t think. And it would seem strange for the Mariners to part with a controllable lefty like Mike Montgomery to acquire Vogelbach only to block him a few months later by giving Napoli the everyday first base gig.
  • Morosi also tweets that left-hander Boone Logan is generating some early interest, and FanRag’s Jon Heyman hears the same. Morosi notes that the Blue Jays and Giants both had interest in Logan at the non-waiver trade deadline this summer, though the Rockies elected not to trade him. Toronto, in particular, could probably use some left-handed relief help, as it was an area of weakness for them for much of the 2016 and they now stand to lose Brett Cecil to the open market. The 32-year-old Logan is probably best deployed as a lefty specialist, which may limit his market a bit, but he excels in that area. Logan held lefties to a putrid .142/.222/.255 slash in 2016 and a .225/.349/.254 slash in 2015.
  • MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes that if the Braves are to sign a new catcher this winter, the likeliest targets are Jason Castro and Nick Hundley. Bowman tabs Wilson Ramos as a long shot and says he’d only land in Atlanta if his asking price declined significantly. Also per Bowman, Atlanta has never seemed all that interested in pursuing former Georgia Tech star Matt Wieters. Castro would give the Braves another strong defender and a left-handed bat to complement the right-handed bat of Tyler Flowers. Hundley, meanwhile, would be more of an offensive-minded backstop for the Braves.
  • Korean third-baseman Jae-gyun Hwang will host a showcase for interested teams in Florida on Nov. 21, tweets Morosi. The 29-year-old didn’t draw a bid when posted last offseason but delivered another very strong season in the KBO this year. Hwang hit a career-best 27 homers and posted a .335/.394/.570 line with dramatically improved K/BB numbers in 2016 and could be a relatively low-cost option at the hot corner this winter.

International Notes: Draft, Hwang, Johnson

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Let’s check in on a few notes from the international market:

  • Major League Baseball’s intentions for an international draft have provoked strong reactions not only from the trainers who work with young players in Latin America, but also from team-affiliated scouts. As Ben Badler of Baseball America reported recently, those trainers have planned to boycott an upcoming Dominican showcase being staged by the league. And scouts — including one international director — are in support, Badler adds. Players who skip the workout likely won’t find their market hindered, Badler suggests, as scouts can still see them through other avenues. The league did send down a group of league representatives to discuss the matter with several trainers, but didn’t seem to make significant headway. Badler does note that the delegation confirmed MLB’s intentions to pursue a draft, though additional details on the proposal were not forthcoming.
  • Korean star Jae-gyun Hwang is heading stateside as he attempts to launch a major league career, as Yoo Jee-ho of Yonhap News reports. Hwang, who has played with the KBO’s Lotte Giants since 2010 but is now a free agent, says he expects to return to Korea in early December and declined to commit to pursuing a big league opportunity. Expectations remain that he intends to push for a chance at the game’s highest level. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted last week, Hwang’s improved plate discipline seems to make him a more appealing target for major league organizations, though it’s still not clear whether there’s a view among scouts that he is ready to follow some of his countrymen in successfully transitioning from the KBO to MLB.
  • In a rarity for Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, a foreigner has been tabbed with the Sawamura Award as the league’s top hurler. Southpaw Kris Johnson, who pitches for the Hiroshima Carp, received the nod for his overall excellence. While he didn’t meet some of the typically-required benchmarks for the award — as this Kyodo News article explains in detail — it seems that he stood out as the NPB’s best overall pitcher. Johnson, 32, has indeed been immensely productive since heading to Japan before the 2015 campaign. Though he had never been valued highly enough to receive much of a major league opportunity, Johnson has posted 430 1/3 innings of 1.99 ERA ball — albeit with just 6.9 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 — since crossing the Pacific.

Lotte Giants Receive No Bidders For Jae-Gyun Hwang

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No MLB teams bid for Korean third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang, Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency tweets. The KBO’s Lotte Giants posted Hwang on Monday. Hwang can become a free agent after the season.

If any of this sounds familiar, it might be because Hwang was posted only because his teammate, Ah-seop Son, also did not attract any interest after Lotte posted him. (KBO rules stipulate that a team can only post one player at a time and can only accept one bid per offseason.) Both players had impressive statistics in 2015 — the 28-year-old Hwang batted .290/.350/.521 with 26 homers in 2015, solid numbers even in the hitter-friendly KBO. Meanwhile, KBO slugger Byung Ho Park did attract a bid, but signed a contract with the Twins that many commentators found to be rather small.

The size of Park’s contract surely partially was a result of his lack of bargaining power through the posting system, of course. But the lack of a market for KBO players like Hwang and Son this winter perhaps suggests that MLB teams remain skeptical of how KBO players will fare in MLB, even after Jung Ho Kang’s success with the Pirates last season.

KBO’s Lotte Giants Post Third Baseman Jae-Gyun Hwang

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NOV. 30: Hwang has now officially been posted. Clubs will have until 5:00pm ET on Friday to submit bids for the third baseman.

NOV. 25: Hwang will actually be posted on the 30th, Han Lee of Global Sporting Integration tweets. Lotte is pushing back the date to accommodate the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

NOV. 24: The Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization will post third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang tomorrow, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Major League teams will have one week to submit blind bids on Hwang, and Lotte will then have the right to accept the highest bid or retain Hwang for the 2016 season. Should the team accept a bid, Hwang’s representatives at ACES would have 30 days to negotiate a contract with the winning MLB club.

Jae-gyun Hwang

Hwang, 28, is coming off a breakout year in KBO that saw the right-handed hitter bat .290/.350/.521 with a career-best 26 home runs (plus a solid effort in the Premier 12 Tournament). While some of the uptick in homers is attributable to a recent increase in the number of games in the KBO’s regular season, Hwang’s per-plate-appearance rate still markedly outpaces his previous best. That he won this year’s KBO home run derby is another potential point in favor of his increased power.

Though KBO is a notoriously hitter-friendly environment, Hwang’s output does look to be solid on paper at least. Another factor he has working in his favor is that he’s played in every game dating back to the 2011 season, so his agents will attempt to market him as a durable player in the midst of his physical prime at a time when the domestic free-agent market for third basemen is thin. David Freese represents perhaps the lone option to serve as a regular third baseman, although the trade market bears potential candidates such as Trevor Plouffe, Luis Valbuena, Jed Lowrie and Jedd Gyorko, among others. Hwang is a converted shortstop, but he profiles strictly as a third base option at this point (Those interested in seeing some video footage of Hwang can refer to a pair of recent highlight reels compiled by the folks at Global Sporting Integration).

Hwang will be a true free agent next offseason, which would allow him to pursue a Major League opportunity without the restrictions of the posting system. That figures to add a bit of pressure to the Giants to accept a bid — assuming a reasonable one is submitted — as they’ll be left with no compensation if he enjoys another solid year and jumps to either Major League Baseball or Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball next offseason.

Lotte recently posted outfielder Ah-seop Son, but the 27-year-old didn’t draw a bid from MLB clubs, thereby allowing the team to post Hwang. (KBO only permits teams to post one player at a time and accept a bid on one player per offseason.) The Giants will again have the option of posting him next offseason should it see fit, as Son is not a free agent until after the 2017 campaign.

Passan recently noted that some execs prefer Hwang’s ceiling to Son’s more consistent track record, adding that Hwang bulked up to about 210 pounds from his previously listed weight of 195 pounds last winter, perhaps explaining some of the increase in power. It remains to be seen if that preference will lead to a notable bid on Hwang, though he’s at a much more scarce position than his teammate, Son, who was up against a reasonably well-stocked outfield market. The Braves, Indians, Angels, White Sox and Brewers are among the clubs that could be seeking some long-term help at the hot corner.

Photo courtesy of Ilgan Sports.

Ah-Seop Son Does Not Draw Any Bids From MLB Teams

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Korean outfielder Ah-seop Son did not draw any bids after being posted recently by KBO’s Lotte Giants, Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap News reports on Twitter. That means that Lotte will retain his rights, though Yoo tweets that Son could also end up joining a Japanese club.

The news comes as something of a surprise, as it had seemed that the 27-year-old would draw some interest. MLB teams have shown an increased willingness to pay for Korean talent, and Son offers a high-contact, high-OBP bat at a prime age. Over the last five years, he’s averaged a robust .333/.409/.476 slash in the hitter-friendly KBO.

While his situation is interesting in its own right, there are other factors at play here as well. Lotte controls Son for the 2017 season as well as this one, meaning the team might not have been as willing to let him go. He’ll also be eligible for posting again next winter.

Meanwhile, it’s now or never for the team to cash in on another key player: third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang. Because the KBO rule book only allows clubs to take one bid per offseason, only one of those two players — both of whom requested to be posted — could end up moving to North American this year.

Today’s news, then, clears the way for Hwang to test the waters. Lotte is reportedly prepared to do just that. While there’s some disagreement as to which player stands the better chance at a successful transition to the majors, with Hwang’s huge 2015 season standing out somewhat against his overall track record, there appears to be less supply available on the hot corner market.

KBO Notes: Kim, Son, Hwang

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Korean outfielder Hyun-soo Kim (whose name is occasionally Romanized as Hyeon-soo Kim) confirms today that he’s interesting in signing with an MLB team, Yonhap News Agency reports. (Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan had previously reported that Kim was looking to continue his career in North America.) Kim has recently been involved in the Premier 12 tournament in Tokyo.  “I haven’t had a chance to set specific plans for my future because I wanted to concentrate on the Premier 12,” he says. “I will have to talk to my agent afterward, but there’s no reason to turn down interest from major league clubs. I’d love to play in the majors.” Kim has played nine seasons for the Doosan Bears, batting an excellent .318/.406/.488 in what Passan notes is a tough hitting environment by KBO standards. Kim doesn’t have the power that Byung-ho Park and Jung-ho Kang demonstrated in Korea, but he’s a terrific contact hitter. “He’s just great at putting bat on ball,” a scout told Passan. “He’s got a Royals-type offensive profile.” He’s also still just 27, and as an international free agent, he’s free to sign with any team and won’t require a posting fee.

  • With Kang already having a year under his belt with the Pirates, and with Park, Ah-seop Son, Kim and Seung-hwan Oh potentially attracting interest this offseason (along with first Dae-ho Lee, a Korean first baseman who was playing in Japan), there’s no shortage of intrigue surrounding Korean players looking to join MLB teams. It’s possible that the talent in the KBO has simply improved recently, Joe Lemire of USA Today writes. But it’s also possible the increased interest is due not so much to improved talent in Korea, but to changes in the ways MLB teams are allowed to pursue talent. “There’s only so many avenues to acquire players,” says an NL executive. “With the cap on draft and international (amateur free agents), now you can go over there and acquire big league-ready players, and it doesn’t go against your spending cap.” Experts feel that about a dozen players in the KBO are capable of handling the jump to the Majors, writes Lemire.
  • Many executives prefer third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang to Son, his Lotte Giants teammate, Passan writes. The problem is a rule that stipulates that a KBO team cannot accept bids on two players that have been posted in the same offseason. The bidding for Son will conclude Monday. If Lotte accept the top bid, then it risks allowing Hwang to leave as a free agent next season without collecting a posting fee for him. Son, on the other hand, is not eligible for free agency until after 2017, so Lotte might be able to maximize its earnings by rejecting the top bid for Son, taking bids on Hwang, and posting Son again next year. The team, however, earned negative publicity when it refused to allow Son to skip a road trip to be with his dying father, so it’s possible the Giants could accept Son’s bid as a way of avoiding the perception that they’re treating him unfairly.

KBO’s Lotte Giants To Post Outfielder Ah-Seop Son

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The Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization will post right fielder Ah-seop Son for MLB teams to bid upon this offseason, according to the Yonhap News Agency (hat tip: Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). Lotte had reportedly been mulling over the difficult decision of whether to post Son or third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang, both of whom had asked the club to post them. However, KBO’s league rules state that a team can accept only one bid on a posted player per offseason, and a league ruling was made that Lotte could not simply post them simultaneously and then select the top bid.

Per Yonhap, if the Giants don’t receive a bid that is to their liking on Son, or they accept a bid but Son and the winning team cannot come to a deal on a Major League contract, the club will then immediately make Hwang available via the posting system. If a bid for Son is accepted and he does indeed sign with a big league club, then Lotte almost certainly will lose Hwang for nothing next offseason, as he’s set to become a true free agent next winter and could negotiate with MLB clubs without the restrictions of the posting system.

Because of that, it’s at least a mild surprise to see Son posted first, as he’d have been eligible to be posted next winter as well. However, the Yonhap report indicates that the Giants elected to post Son first due to a superior track record over the past five seasons. While Hwang set multiple career-highs in 2015, most notably in home runs (by a wide margin), Son’s been the steadier hitter over the past half-decade.

Dating back to 2011, Son has batted .333/.409/.476 as opposed to Hwang’s .289/.357/.438. Son has averaged 12 homers and 16 steals per year in that time, while Hwang has averaged respective totals of 12 and 17. (Hwang’s 26 homers in 2015 skew those averages somewhat, though so, too, do Son’s 36 steals in 2013.) The duo’s 2015 production — .317/.406/.472 for Son and .290/.350/.521 for Hwang — made the decision difficult for Lotte.

Son, who is represented by agent Rick Thurman of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, will turn 28 during Spring Training next season. He will be posted under the old, blind-bid posting system that still applies to KBO. As a reminder, that means all 30 clubs will have the opportunity to submit a bid of any amount to secure negotiating rights for Son’s services. If Son’s team accepts the bid — and the Giants could neglect to do so if they don’t think it to be a high enough price for one of their top players — that team would then have 30 days to negotiate a big league contract with Son and Thurman. If a deal can’t be reached, Son would return to Lotte for the 2016 season, and the MLB club that won the bidding would receive its money back. As noted above, should that scenario play out, the process would start over with Hwang, with all 30 teams being eligible to place a bid.

Son will become eligible to be posted starting on Nov. 1, and due to the possibility that Lotte could have to go through the month-long bidding process twice this winter, it’d make sense for the club to post him as early in the offseason as possible. Teams will be burning through their budgets over the course of the winter, and waiting until later in the offseason raises the possibility of a team feeling its spent all it can on free agency or of acquiring an alternative to either player either via free agency or trade.

For the time being, Son will join a crowded free agent market for corner outfielders that is headlined by Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes but also features Colby Rasmus, Alex Rios, Steve Pearce and Rajai Davis, among others.

Jae-Gyun Hwang, Ah-Seop Son Ask To Be Posted By KBO Team

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OCT. 20: KBO has determined that Lotte will not be permitted to post both Hwang and Son simultaneously, per a new report from Yonhap. However, if the first player posted by the Giants fails to reach a deal with a Major League club, the Giants could then post the other player.

KBO players are eligible to be posted beginning on Nov. 1 and at any point until March 1, though it’d obviously behoove Lotte (or any other club) to post its players earlier in the offseason, when MLB teams have more money to spend. Per the Yonhap report, the Giants plan to try to convince both players to stay in KBO for another season.

OCT. 16: Korean third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang and outfielder Ah-seop Son have both asked their team, the Lotte Giants, to be posted for Major League teams to bid on this offseason, according to a report from Korean media outlet Yonhap News (link is in English).

However, we’re not likely to see both players make the jump to Major League Baseball in 2016, as the Korea Baseball Organization’s rules stipulate that a team can only accept a posting bid on one player per offseason. That, however, does not technically mean that both cannot be posted. A person familiar with the league tells MLBTR that there’s an internal debate among KBO officials as to whether or not the Giants could still post both players. In that instance, the team would be limited to accepting a bid on one or the other. To this point, given the limited number of players to jump from KBO to MLB, there’s been no precedent for a team desiring to post multiple players in the same offseason.

At this juncture, the Giants haven’t given an indication as to whether or not they’ll post either player, per the Yonhap report. From a pure business standpoint, though, it would make the most sense to post Hwang. The 28-year-old third baseman has eight years of service time in KBO, and players become eligible for international free agency after nine seasons, meaning Hwang could leave without the restriction of the posting process next offseason. Son, on the other hand, has seven years of service time and could be posted again next winter.

Hwang enjoyed a breakout season in 2015, shattering his previous career-high in home runs. The right-handed hitter batted .290/.350/.521 with 26 homers on the season after never having totaled more than 18 in a season. It’s worth noting that KBO did up its number of regular-season contests from 128 to 144 this season, but even on a per-plate-appearance basis, his homer output markedly increased, and he won the KBO’s annual home run derby this season as well. Hwang is said to be a good defensive third baseman, and he’s played in every KBO game dating back to 2011, so he has durability on his side also.

Son is a few months younger and will play all of the 2016 season at age 28 (Hwang will turn 29 next July). The left-handed hitter doesn’t have Hwang’s power upside but is a better contact hitter and has posted consistently superior on-base percentages. Son batted .317/.406/.472 with 13 homers and 11 steals (17 attempts) in 116 games this year and has hit .306 or better with at least a .370 OBP each year dating back to 2010. He’s previously swiped as many as 36 bases in a season. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported recently that Son hoped to be posted and was being represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

It’s not known what type of posting fee either player would command, but as a reminder, KBO still uses the old, “blind” posting method from which Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball has moved away. Under the KBO posting system, all 30 teams would be able to submit a blind bid of any amount, with the Giants then accepting the highest bid. From that point, the team that won the bidding would have a month to negotiate a contract with the player and his representatives. If an agreement isn’t reached, the player would return to the Giants, and the posting fee would be returned to the team that had won the bidding.

Jung Ho Kang, a close friend of Hwang, cost the Pirates a $5MM posting fee plus a guaranteed four-year, $11MM contract. That deal, of course, looks to be an incredible bargain for GM Neal Huntington in hindsight. It will be interesting to see if the success of Kang makes teams more willing to wager larger posting fees on future Korean players even though neither Hwang nor Son possesses the same level of power.

MLBTR Mailbag: KBO, Rangers, Reds, Dickey, Sano

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Thanks for all of your questions this week. Remember that you can ask about whatever is on your mind in our Tuesday afternoon chats (~2pm central) or through the Mailbag email address: mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com.

Jung Ho Kang has surprised alot of people playing above the Pirates initial expectations. What other KBO players, besides Nexen’s Byung Ho Park, do you believe can make the transition from the KBO to MLB? — Art Y.

Lotte Giants third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang is one name I’ve been told to keep an eye out for. He’s 28 years old, won’t turn 29 until next July and is hitting .286/.343/.531 with 24 home runs this season. Those numbers aren’t as gaudy as Kang’s or those of Park, but I’d imagine that Hwang will garner some interest from Major League teams this offseason if his team posts him. Hwang won the KBO’s home run derby in 2015 and will be coming off a pair of impressive seasons in Korea.

How is the Rangers’ starting rotation shaping up for 2016? Are there any big name prospects that could be inserted next year? And who do you think the staff ace will be, Darvish or Hamels? — Kenny K.

The Rangers traded a number of their top prospects — including Jake Thompson, Jerad Eickhoff, and Alec Asher — to the Phillies in the Cole Hamels trade. The team still has Chi Chi Gonzalez, a former first-round pick, as an option in the farm system, but I think they’ll look to add at least one more proven arm this winter. Yu Darvish is a better pitcher than Hamels, for my money, but how he recovers from Tommy John remains to be seen. I don’t think the Rangers are concerned about putting an “ace” label on either one of them, nor should they be.

I’d expect next season’s rotation to include Darvish, Hamels, Derek Holland, Martin Perez and either Gonzalez or a starter that isn’t currently in the organization. Nick Martinez and Nick Tepesch are serviceable stopgaps, but the Hamels acquisition was made primarily to help this team contend in 2016 and beyond. Whether they look to re-sign Yovani Gallardo or add a similarly established mid-rotation arm like Ian Kennedy or Mike Leake, adding some certainty makes sense given the injury troubles they’ve had in recent seasons.

With the Reds being heavily invested in Votto/Bruce/Bailey and seemingly committed to Hamilton, what are best steps to get back into contention? Of course Winker and Stephenson are pieces; what else might be explored? — Tony R.

Getting “back into contention” seems to imply that the team can do so in 2016, and I don’t believe that to be the case. The Cardinals, Pirates and Cubs, as currently constituted, make the NL Central the toughest division in baseball. The Reds’ best bet, in my eyes, is to spend another season trying to bolster their crop of young talent. There are too many questions — Billy Hamilton’s OBP, the health of Homer Bailey, Zack Cozart and Devin Mesoraco, a disastrous bullpen beyond Aroldis Chapman — to make a run at the division realistic.

Moving Brandon Phillips’ contract to clear an everyday spot for Eugenio Suarez at second base would be a good start to things for the Reds this winter. He can still play a solid second base, and 2015 has been a nice rebound for Phillips, but shedding a nice chunk of the $27MM he’s owed would be highly beneficial.

Chapman, Jay Bruce and even Todd Frazier are all names the Reds should be willing to listen on, as they’re a small market club that probably can’t afford to meet the long-term asking price of Frazier or Chapman. Spend another year stockpiling pitching to pair with Raisel Iglesias, a hopefully revitalized Bailey and Anthony DeSclafani (though DeSclafani’s platoon woes — 4.85 FIP/4.76 xFIP vs. left-handed hitters — are troublesome).

Should Toronto exercise Dickey’s $12 million option or can they acquire a superior, or equal, SP in the FA market at the same price? — Pete T.

Dickey’s poor start and still-underwhelming season numbers lead me to believe most people think this answer’s a flat no, but for me, it’s a yes. The Blue Jays hold a $12MM option with a $1MM buyout on Dickey’s age-41 season, making it an $11MM decision.

R.A. Dickey has been incredibly durable, and the relative certainty of 200+ innings carries extra value for a club that has so many question marks throughout the rest of its rotation. Also at play is the fact that Dickey has quietly had a very strong few months. After a poor start to the year, he’s sporting a 3.19 ERA in 118 2/3 innings. FIP (3.98) and xFIP (4.65) are less optimistic in that time, but Dickey has maintained a well-below-average BABIP over the past six seasons, making the .279 mark he’s posted in this recent stretch seem more sustainable.

The Blue Jays didn’t get the ace they’d hoped when they acquired Dickey, and the price they paid (Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud) looks poor in hindsight. But Dickey doesn’t need to be an ace by any stretch of the means to justify an additional $11MM of spending on a one-year deal. That’s mid-rotation starter money, and he still fits that bill.

Why does it seem that every news outlet says Carlos Correa is going to win AL ROY when Miguel Sano has played better than him? — Jackson L.

Sano has out-hit Correa by a wide margin, but he’s done so in 100 fewer plate appearances while spending nearly all of his time at DH. Correa’s played a respectable shortstop while hitting about 35 percent better than the league-average bat this season. The average shortstop, in comparison, has been about 15 percent worse than the league-average bat in 2015. Sano’s been absolutely outstanding, but he lacks the playing time Correa has amassed, and more importantly, defense matters. If anyone were going to steal it from Correa, my vote would go to Francisco Lindor.  Sano is in the mix, to be sure, but he’d need a poor finish from Correa and continued dominance at the plate to pass him up.

International Notes: Hwang, Diaz, Sierra, Arozarena, Rodriguez

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Korean third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang has drawn quite a bit of notoriety for an enormous bat flip on a game-tying home run last month, but the Lotte Giants infielder should probably be drawing recognition for the fact that he could be posted this winter following what is shaping up to be a monster age-27 campaign in Korea. Hwang, who just turned 28, won the KBO home run derby and is currently batting .302/.352/.570 with 22 homers through 414 plate appearances. It’s true that the KBO is a very hitter-friendly environment, but Hwang’s numbers are nonetheless impressive. The fact that Pirates shortstop Jung Ho Kang has transitioned well to the Major Leagues could also help Hwang’s case this offseason, if posted. Hwang’s team does have incentive to post him, as he can become a true free agent following the 2016 season, at which point he could leave without the Giants receiving any compensation for one of their best players. It’s not certain that Hwang will end up being posted, of course, but given the relative dearth of free agent options at third base this winter, one can imagine teams showing interest in Hwang if he does become available.

A few more notes on some international players…

  • Cuban outfielder Yusniel Diaz registered with the commissioner’s office to file for free agency prior to May 15 of this year and, as such, should become eligible for free agency during the current signing period, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. The 18-year-old should have won the Serie Nacional Rookie of the Year Award in Cuba in the opinion of many, but he defected after the season and was not honored. He hit .348/.447/.440 in his lone pro season in Cuba and would be subject to international spending limitations upon reaching free agency. Badler’s article also contains a highlight video of Diaz for those interested in catching a glimpse of the potential big leaguer.
  • Badler also has a highlight video of right-hander Yaisel Sierra, adding that the 23-year-old pitcher has established residency in a new country and is merely waiting to be declared a free agent by Major League Baseball. When that happens in the next couple of months, Sierra will be exempt from bonus pools and can sign a Major League deal for the any amount of money or length of time a team is willing to offer. We’ve had several notes on Sierra over the past few months here at MLBTR.
  • Badler offers an additional look at outfielder Randy Arozarena and shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez (the 21-year-old defensive wizard that did win Rookie of the Year honors after Diaz’s defection). Arozarena already has residency in Mexico and could be declared a free agent in the coming months (he’s subject to bonus pools), while the light-hitting Rodriguez is further removed from free agency (he, too, will be subject to international bonus pools).

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