Lance Lynn

Pitching Notes: Gray, Lynn, Morton, Breslow

By Mark Polishuk | December 13, 2018 at 6:44am CDT

The Yankees are asking for “high-end Major League talent” in exchange for Sonny Gray, George A. King III of the New York Post hears from an official on a team interested in acquiring the right-hander. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of the Yankees’ steep asking price for Gray, though as King notes, it may be a while before a trade emerges unless the club is willing to lower its demands. One can’t blame the Yankees for aiming high, and there’s certainly enough interest in Gray that the team can shop around, though the Yankees may not have quite enough leverage to make such a big ask. Intriguing peripherals notwithstanding, Gray did have a 4.90 ERA last season, and he has become even more of an expendable piece now that the Yankees are on the verge of re-signing J.A. Happ. With Happ, Luis Severino, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, and C.C. Sabathia all in the fold, there isn’t even any room for Gray in New York’s rotation if the club hangs onto him until Opening Day.

More on the ever-developing pitching market…

The Nationals were considering Lance Lynn for their rotation, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports (via Twitter), but they weren’t willing to give the veteran righty the three-year guarantee Lynn seems to have found from the Rangers. Lynn would have filled the rotation spot left open now that Tanner Roark has been dealt to the Reds, though with Lynn off the board, Washington will keep looking at other veteran arms.
The Twins weren’t one of the teams interested in Charlie Morton, according to 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson (Twitter link). Minnesota is known to be on the lookout for pitching, though the Twins have thus far been more focused on position player additions (i.e. Jonathan Schoop and C.J. Cron) than new arms. The Astros, Rangers, and Rays were the only teams known to be looking at the veteran right-hander, who agreed to a two-year, $30MM guarantee with Tampa Bay yesterday. One would imagine more teams beyond just that trio checked in on Morton, given the righty’s impressive numbers over the last two seasons.
Veteran southpaw Craig Breslow is considering retirement, and has been talking with the Red Sox and other teams about non-playing jobs, NBC Sports Boston’s Evan Drellich writes. The 38-year-old Breslow pitched in the Blue Jays’ minor league system in 2018, and wasn’t able to crack the big league roster in order to add a 13th Major League season to his resume. Breslow has long been seen as a candidate to move into a front office, managerial, or coaching role once he decided to hang up his spikes, and he is exploring all options as he considers whether or not to move onto this next stage or to continue pitching.

NL West Rumors: Lynn, Roark, Giants, Cervelli, Dodgers, Reds, Greinke, Padres

By Mark Polishuk | December 13, 2018 at 3:29am CDT

A busy day of pitching transactions included Tanner Roark being traded from the Nationals to the Reds, and free agent Lance Lynn nearing an apparent agreement with the Rangers. Those moves take two potential Giants targets off the board, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reported that San Francisco had interest in its own Roark deal, while The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly noted that the Giants had interest in Lynn before his reported price tag (three years and $30MM from Texas) rose too high for their liking. The Giants are known to be exploring reinforcements for a rotation that has still has Madison Bumgarner as the ace, but a lot of inexperience and question marks in the rest of the starting five.

Some more from around the NL West…

The Dodgers have been in touch with the Pirates about catcher Francisco Cervelli, MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports. Coming off a solid 2018 season, Cervelli has received trade interest from several teams. The 32-year-old is only under contract through 2019 (at $11.5MM in salary), so that type of short-term fit could appeal to a Dodgers team that has top catching prospects Keibert Ruiz and Will D. Smith getting closer to cracking the MLB roster. In addition to starters like Cervelli, Gurnick notes that L.A. is also looking at “fallback options” like veteran catcher Nick Hundley.
The Dodgers have been heavily linked to the Reds in trade talks, and while Yasiel Puig has prominently featured in these rumors, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman (Twitter links) hears that Puig hasn’t been involved in one of the latest proposals. This version of a deal would see Matt Kemp and Alex Wood go to Cincinnati in exchange for Homer Bailey, which would shave roughly $13MM off of the Dodgers’ luxury tax payroll calculations since Kemp’s contract has a higher average annual value than Bailey’s deal. Given Bailey’s struggles and injury problems over the last few seasons, one would imagine L.A. might pursue something more substantial back (i.e. a prospect or two) rather than pure salary relief, though it’s worth noting that the Dodgers acquired Kemp last offseason in a deal that certainly appeared at the time to be simply a bad contract swap. Clearing some luxury tax room would likely also allow the Dodgers to make another big-ticket addition.
Zack Greinke might not be dealt until the trade deadline, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets, as the Diamondbacks feel they could get more for the ace right-hander in July than they could now, with so many other starters available on the market. Those other pitchers also don’t come with Greinke’s hefty $95.5MM contract attached, making it difficult for the D’Backs to find a trade partner at the moment.
With the Padres hunting for a utility infielder, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) suggests a few options with ties to the organization. The Rangers’ Jurickson Profar or the Diamondbacks’ Nick Ahmed would make sense as trade targets, as GM A.J. Preller is very familiar with Profar from their time together with the Rangers, and Ahmed was a “favorite” of manager Andy Green when Green was on Arizona’s coaching staff. Veteran free agent Daniel Descalso could also be a fit.

Trade Rumors: Cubs, Hardy, A’s, Tigers, Holt, Yankees

By Mark Polishuk | December 12, 2018 at 12:33pm CDT

The Cubs have been linked to the reliever market, though they may wait until January before making any new acquisitions. As one source speculates to the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Gonzales, the Cubs might first need to clear some payroll space before adding to their bullpen. Rumors of a lack of a spending capacity have loomed over Chicago’s offseason, and the crunch could be tighter than anticipated if the team will have to move other salaries to afford even mid-tier relief pitching signings. Gonzales runs through a few of the names on the Cubs roster that could possibly be dealt in salary-clearing moves, though he notes that several of these options don’t look too feasible, as players are either coming off down years (i.e. Brian Duensing, Brandon Kintzler) or they’re coming off good years (i.e. Jose Quintana, Ben Zobrist) and thus still have value to a Cubs team looking to contend in 2019.

Some more trade rumblings from around the Winter Meetings…

The Athletics have some interest in Tigers left-hander Blaine Hardy, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser reports. Hardy started 13 of his 30 appearances in 2018 and posted some generally solid (3.56 ERA, 3.00 K/BB rate) numbers, though he didn’t miss many bats with a 6.9 K/9. Hardy is only projected to earn $1.2MM next season and he is controllable through two more arbitration-eligible seasons beyond 2019, making him a particularly good fit for the budget-conscious A’s. With a rotation still dotted with injury question marks, the A’s could use Hardy as a swingman again, deploying him as a starter on occasion or possibly coming in to pitch after an “opener” starts the game. Despite this need for pitching, Oakland could be playing the waiting game on starting options, as Slusser notes that the club has yet to contact free agent arms like Derek Holland, Gio Gonzalez, or Lance Lynn. Also from Slusser’s piece, he notes that the Athletics will still look to re-sign catcher Jonathan Lucroy even after acquiring Chris Herrmann yesterday.
There have been a number of names on the Red Sox roster (some surprising) mentioned as trade candidates within the last 24 hours, and the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo mentions that Brock Holt is another name that has received interest. A deal seems unlikely, however, as the super-utilityman is slated to handle second base if Dustin Pedroia isn’t ready for the start of the season. Holt rebounded from a poor 2017 campaign to hit .277/.362/.411 over 367 PA for the World Series champs last season, spending most of his time as a second baseman but also making starts at shortstop, third base, first base, and both corner outfield slots.
As usual, a ton of trade speculation has swirled around the Yankees, and GM Brian Cashman told reporters (including George A. King III of the New York Post) that he has been asked about virtually every player on his roster. That list even includes James Paxton, as teams checked in to see if New York would consider flipping the star southpaw after acquiring him from the Mariners last month (needless to say, the Yankees declined). Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton were the only two players Cashman said he hadn’t yet been asked about.

West News & Rumors: Haniger, Santana, Bumgarner, Rangers, Morton, Rockies, Myers

By Connor Byrne | December 11, 2018 at 9:07pm CDT

Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger is not untouchable, but if they’re going to trade him, it’s going to take a substantial offer. General manager Jerry Dipoto is holding out for a three- to four-player package headlined by a pair of “high-level prospects,” including a pitcher, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. While Haniger may continue in Seattle, there’s a growing likelihood they’ll trade first baseman Carlos Santana for prospects, according to Divish. The expensive Santana, who’s only a little over a week into his Mariners career, has drawn interest from several teams since the M’s acquired him from the Phillies.

Here’s more from the game’s West divisions:

The likelihood of the Giants trading ace Madison Bumgarner this offseasn is dropping, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. It’s more probable the Giants will move Bumgarner at next summer’s trade deadline – if they’re out of contention, that is – Feinsand hears. Bumgarner, 29, is entering his last year of team control (and perhaps the final season of his storied Giants tenure), in which he’ll earn a reasonable $12MM.
Even though the Rangers are in a rebuild, the club has “strong interest” in 35-year-old right-hander Charlie Morton, Jeff Wilson of the Star Telegram reports. Morton spent the previous two seasons in Texas, where he did brilliant work for the Astros. He’s not the only veteran starter on Texas’ list, as tweets from TR Sullivan of MLB.com and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News indicate the team has at least discussed J.A. Happ, Lance Lynn, Yusei Kikuchi, Shelby Miller, Martin Perez, Derek Holland, Nate Karns and Sam Howard.
Contrary to a prior report, the Rockies are not interested in Padres slugger Wil Myers, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets. Myers presumably would’ve taken over at first base in Colorado had it acquired him, but that doesn’t appear to be in the cards. The 28-year-old is owed a guaranteed $64MM through 2023, which could make him a tough sell after back-to-back seasons of unspectacular offensive production.
Even after signing Chris Herrmann on Tuesday, the Athletics will continue to monitor the market for catchers, according to GM David Forst (via Jane Lee of MLB.com). However, Forst noted that “it’s nice to be in a spot right now where we have two Major League catchers who fit well,” referring to Herrmann and Josh Phegley.
The Rockies have hired Dave Magadan as their hitting coach and moved Ron Gideon to first base coach, GM Jeff Bridich told Nick Groke of The Athletic and other reporters Tuesday. Magadan will take over for Duane Espy, whom the Rockies parted with last month. A major league infielder from 1986-2001, Magadan has garnered significant coaching experience since his playing career ended. The 56-year-old was the Diamondbacks’ hitting coach from 2015-18, but they let him go after the season.

Trade/FA Rumors: Braves, M’s, Haniger, Mets, Puig, Yanks, Lynn

By Connor Byrne | December 8, 2018 at 10:06pm CDT

The latest rumors from around the majors…

The Braves, who are seeking outfield help, contacted the Mariners about Mitch Haniger and the Diamondbacks regarding David Peralta, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. However, Atlanta was turned away in both cases, per Burns. It’s unclear how far those discussions went, but with the Mariners in a full rebuild and the Diamondbacks seemingly going backward, it’s unsurprising the Braves showed interest in Haniger and Peralta. The soon-to-be 28-year-old Haniger is unquestionably among the most valuable outfielders in the game, considering both his on-field performance and four remaining years of team control – including another pre-arb season. As you’d expect, general manager Jerry Dipoto would need to be “blown away” to trade Haniger, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal says (video link). Peralta, meanwhile, was similarly outstanding in 2018, but he’s neither as youthful (31) nor as controllable as Haniger. Peralta has a pair of arb-eligible years left, and is projected to earn an affordable $7.7MM in 2019.
With Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig possibly on the outs in Los Angeles, the Mets figure to at least inquire on the 28-year-old, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. Puig would give the Mets another right-handed outfielder, which is on general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s wish list, without having to make a long-term commitment. He’s only under control for another year, at a projected $11.3MM.
Free-agent right-hander Lance Lynn is among Plan B starting options for the Yankees, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported this week. Per Feinsand, New York was “engaged with” Lynn even before another of its potential free-agent possibilities, Nathan Eovaldi, re-signed with Boston. The Yankees and Lynn are already familiar with each other, as the Bombers acquired the 31-year-old from the Twins last July and benefited from his presence down the stretch. Lynn totaled 54 1/3 innings of 4.14 ERA/2.17 FIP pitching with superb strikeout and walk rates (10.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9) as a member of the Yankees, but that came after he underwhelmed as a Twin. Thanks in part to his unimpressive Minnesota stint, Lynn’s projected to collect a much less expensive contract than Eovaldi and former Yankee target/newly minted National Patrick Corbin have received this offseason.

Yankees Acquire Lance Lynn From Twins For Tyler Austin

By Jeff Todd | July 30, 2018 at 6:14pm CDT

The Twins and Yankees have announced a trade that will send veteran righty Lance Lynn to New York. First baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin and minor-league right-hander Luis Rijo are headed to Minnesota.

Notably, the Twins will also send some cash in the swap. Lynn is earning $12MM this year, around $4MM of which remains to be paid. The sides will split the paychecks from this point forward. That will allow the Yankees to remain more or less cash-neutral after sending out righty Adam Warren in another trade this evening.

The Yanks clearly prefer Lynn to Warren, as the former will take the place of the latter on the roster. Though Lynn has worked exclusively as a starter since establishing himself in the majors, he seems likely to work from the bullpen upon his arrival in New York. While his numbers lag those of Warren, though, Lynn provides a clear backstop in the rotation.

There have been some positives this year for Lynn. He’s getting swinging strikes (10.1%) and groundballs (50.8%) more than ever before while operating near his peak velocity levels (94.1 mph). Still, there’s no sugarcoating the results. Through 102 1/3 innings in Minnesota, Lynn allowed 5.10 earned runs per nine.

While the magnitude of his difficulties has come as a surprise, many observed that the long-effective hurler seemed a strong candidate for regression when he reached the open market last winter. He had enjoyed a string of seasons in which he suppressed home runs to an extent that did not seem sustainable, then benefited from an unnaturally low BABIP-against (.244) upon returning from Tommy John surgery in 2017. This year, Lynn has allowed a .322 BABIP and 15.0% rate of home runs per flyball.

Of course, the market was aware of those concerns and priced them in. Lynn’s body of work still seemed impressive enough to support a multi-year deal, but he settled for a $12MM pillow contract with the Twins. The organization didn’t get what it bargained for, but then it also doesn’t need to worry about any ongoing salary entanglements.

Austin was a piece the Yankees could part with at will, as he just did not seem to have a place on the active roster and was in his final optionable year. The 26-year-old split the 2018 season between the majors (where he produced at a league-average clip) and Triple-A. In parts of four seasons at the highest level of the minors, Austin carries a .270/.347/.479 sash with 32 home runs through 829 plate appearances. He’ll likely enter camp next year with at least a shot at carving out a role on the 2019 Minnesota roster.

As for Rijo, he won’t turn twenty until September but did recently crack the High-A level. In 39 innings on the year in the low minors, he carries a 2.77 ERA with 32 strikeouts against just three walks.

Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter links) first reported the deal, with Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeting it was for Lynn. Both reporters also had further details (Twitter links.)

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Photos.

AL Central Rumors: Escobar, Gibson, Royals, ChiSox

By Steve Adams | July 29, 2018 at 10:36pm CDT

Prior to trading infielder Eduardo Escobar to the Diamondbacks, the Twins approached Escobar’s camp about a potential extension, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. However, talks between the two sides didn’t gain much in the way of momentum, which ultimately led Minnesota to move him for a package of three prospects. Neal adds that the Twins are open to trading impending free agents Brian Dozier, Zach Duke and Lance Lynn, though he offers a similar sentiment to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal in reporting that Minnesota isn’t inclined to trade Kyle Gibson, who is controlled through 2019. Rather, Neal suggests that Minnesota may offer Gibson an extension this winter on the heels of what is increasingly shaping up to be a breakout season. Any such conversation with Gibson’s camp has yet to take place, though, as 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson recently tweeted.

Here’s more from the division…

Following the acquisitions of outfielder Brett Phillips and right-hander Jorge Lopez in the Mike Moustakas trade, Royals general manager Dayton Moore suggested to reporters that his club may not be eyeing an especially lengthy rebuilding process (link via Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star). Moore indicated that the proximity of both Phillips and Lopez to the Majors held significant appeal to the Kansas City front office. “We didn’t want to do a prospect-type deal in this case, because of the nature of where we are at the major-league level and what we’re trying to accomplish,” said Moore. “We don’t like losing games and we don’t like where we are right now with the major-league team, so we wanted to try to seek talent that was going to help us sooner than later.” That meshes nicely with the Royals’ targeting of college arms in the top several rounds this year’s draft.
Though White Sox fans are ravenously anticipating the promotion of prospects Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech (particularly the former), general manager Rick Hahn preached patience when asked about the pair’s timeline to the Majors (link via Tom Musick of the Chicago Sun-Times). “While you can look at a stat line or you can look at a box score and say, ‘This guy looks like he’s doing well, looks like he’s ready,’ our checklist that we want these guys to answer is a little more lengthy than that,” Hahn said, though he declined to delve into specific elements that need improvement with each player. Hahn added that even a trade of a player on the roster (an outfielder or starter) wouldn’t necessarily prompt a promotion for either. “It’s not going to be a function of any level of eagerness that fans or coaches or myself or the front office has,” said Hahn. The GM also discussed the trade of Joakim Soria and potential for other moves.

AL Central Notes: Jimenez, Mejia, Dozier, Reyes, Lynn, Reyes

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | March 14, 2018 at 10:34pm CDT

The White Sox announced on Wednesday that they’ve optioned top outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez to Double-A Birmingham. The 21-year-old homered twice and hit a triple in nine spring plate appearances with the Sox, but he was never viewed as a candidate to break camp with the team. Jimenez has just 18 games of Double-A ball to his credit and has yet to play Triple-A, so he’ll head to the minors for additional development. The centerpiece of last summer’s Jose Quintana blockbuster with the crosstown Cubs, Jimenez figures to be a critical long-term piece on the South Side of Chicago, though ChiSox fans will likely have to wait at least a few months before getting a look at him in the Majors. That’s just fine with Jimenez, as Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com writes, though the youngster also made clear he thinks he is ready to play at the game’s highest level.

AL East Notes: Tulo, Axford, Clippard, Torres, O’s, Cobb, BoSox

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | March 13, 2018 at 10:58pm CDT

Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons signaled on Monday that Troy Tulowitzki won’t be ready for Opening Day, writes MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. “I think you can write Tulo off [for Opening Day] right now,” said Gibbons of his shortstop, who is currently dealing with a bone spur in his right heel. Tulo’s lack of availability likely means the Jays will carry just seven relievers to open the season Morosi notes, which will allow the team to bring four middle infielders — Devon Travis, Aledmys Diaz, Yangervis Solarte and Gift Ngoepe — when they break camp.

Meanwhile, both John Axford and Tyler Clippard are likely to make the Blue Jays’ bullpen after signing minor league deals, per Morosi. Gibbons praised a new two-seam fastball that Axford has been utilizing as well as improved control from the veteran righty. “What’s jumped out at me is he’s keeping that thing in the zone,” said Gibbons. “What little I’ve known in the past, at times he could scatter, but really that hasn’t happened at all this spring. That’s encouraging. And he still throws really, really hard.”

Twins Sign Lance Lynn

By Kyle Downing and Steve Adams | March 12, 2018 at 2:13pm CDT

The Twins have continued their aggressive, late foray into the free-agent market, announcing on Monday that they’ve signed right-hander Lance Lynn to a one-year contract. He’ll earn $12MM, per the team, confirming previous reports on his salary. The deal reportedly allows Lynn to earn another $2MM worth of incentives — half each upon reaching 170 and 180 innings. Lynn, a client of Excel Sports Management, will get right going with the Twins and start their Grapefruit League Game against the Orioles tomorrow, per the team’s announcement.

The pact makes Lynn the latest victim of a slow-moving offseason in which a number of high-profile players have been forced to settle for one-year deals that look diminutive in comparison to those they were expected to receive. At the outset of the offseason, we ranked Lynn ninth on our list of the top 50 free agents, predicting that he’d receive $56MM over four years. More recently, our player profile for the righty suggested he could even achieve a $60MM deal. Obviously, the (relatively) meager $12MM guarantee from the Twins falls significantly short of those expectations. He’ll instead join Mike Moustakas, Logan Morrison, Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gonzalez as players who were widely expected to merit hefty multi-year pacts but will ultimately be guaranteed less money than reliever Juan Nicasio.

As for the Twins, the deal comes as the latest move of an incredibly busy (and cost-efficient) offseason during which the club has managed to patch its rotation quite nicely. After missing out on Yu Darvish, to whom the club reportedly offered a nine-figure contract that would’ve shattered the club record, the Twins traded a low-profile prospect for Jake Odorizzi and have now gotten an incredible bargain on Lynn. Minnesota also managed to bring Morrison to Minnesota on just a $6.5MM deal with incentives and a vesting option. Though Lynn and Morrison were widely expected to command in the vicinity of $100MM in combined guarantees, the Twins will promise them a total of just $18.5MM. The club has also shored up their bullpen this winter by signing Addison Reed, Zach Duke and Fernando Rodney.

Lynn will join Odorizzi as a newcomer in the rotation, which will also eventually feature three holdovers in the form of Ervin Santana, Jose Berrios and Kyle Gibson. Santana, however, will be out for as much as the first month of the season after undergoing surgery in February to repair an injury in his right middle finger. The increased number of off-days early in the season could cause the Twins to largely get by without a fifth starter in that time, though lefty Adalberto Mejia and veteran Phil Hughes (returning from his second thoracic outlet surgery) are among the on-hand options should a fifth starter be needed. The addition of Lynn likely pushes Tyler Duffey back to the bullpen and further lessens the organization’s need to rush top prospects Fernando Romero and Stephen Gonsalves to the Majors.

The 30-year-old rejected a qualifying offer from the Cardinals at the outset of the offseason, so the Twins will be forced to forfeit a 2018 draft pick after signing him. But because the Twins were revenue-sharing recipients in 2017 and didn’t exceed the luxury tax threshold, that pick will be just their fourth-highest of the draft (number 95 overall). They’d normally be required to surrender their third-highest pick, but for Minnesota that’s a protected selection in Competitive Round B. For Lynn’s part, he’ll no longer be eligible to receive a qualifying offer next year thanks to a provision in the new CBA.

Lynn’s spent his entire career thus far with the Cardinals, who selected him with a supplemental first round pick in 2008. He reached the majors for the first time in 2011, and pitched his first full season in the majors the following year. From that point, he chucked 752 2/3 innings for the Redbirds (to the tune of a 3.39 ERA) across four seasons before tearing his UCL and undergoing Tommy John surgery in November of 2015. After returning to the mound to kick off the 2017 campaign, the righty made 33 starts and posted a 3.43 ERA.

Although it seems on the surface that he picked up right where he left off, pre- and post-Tommy John surgery Lynn don’t look like the exact same pitcher. While he boasted a career K/9 of 8.67 prior to going under the knife, his 2017 mark was a meager 7.39. Likewise, his 4.75 xFIP last season was almost exactly a full run higher than the 3.74 figure he owned prior to 2016. His control wasn’t quite as good either, as evidenced by a 3.77 BB/9 mark in 2017. His pre-Tommy John mark was just 3.35. These statistical red flags, along with a 0.6 MPH drop on his average fastball, may have been part of the reason teams were wary of giving him a long-term pact. Still, he’s at least got durability going for him; outside of 2016 he’s thrown at least 175 innings in each of his full major league seasons.

The Lynn deal seems to spell bad news for fellow right-hander Alex Cobb who remains on the free agent market. It’s tough to imagine that Cobb, who’s also one season removed from Tommy John surgery and owns similar career run-prevention numbers, will be able to substantially eclipse Lynn’s guarantee. With just under three weeks until Opening Day, it’ll be interesting to see what type of contract the top remaining free-agent starter can secure, especially in relation to his most statistically comparable open-market competitor.

FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported the two sides were close to a deal (via Twitter). MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reported the agreement and the terms (Twitter links). Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press tweeted details of the incentives.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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