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Giants, Tony Watson Reach New Deal

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December 22: As it turns out, Watson actually didn’t exercise his player option; rather, he and the Giants negotiated a new deal that will pay him $3MM in 2020, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. He’ll still have the chance to earn $4MM worth of incentives, bringing his potential 2020 earnings to a total of $7MM.

November 2: Giants reliever Tony Watson has exercised his player option for 2020 with San Francisco, according to Kerry Crowley of Bay Area News Group (link).

Watson arrived in San Fran in 2018 via a modest two-year, heavily incentivized deal that promised him a combined $6.5MM over the first two years of the deal, with a 2020 option attached. Watson’s option for 2020 is guaranteed at $2.5MM, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today relays that Watson will have the opportunity to earn $7.5MM total in 2020 via incentives (link); At the time of the deal’s signing, it was reported that Watson had the ability to earn $14MM over two years or $21MM for three years, depending on escalators and performance bonuses.

Regardless of the particularities of his salary structure, this offseason would have likely marked an inopportune time for the 34-year-old Watson to hit the open market. 2019 marked the lefty’s first season pitching to an ERA in excess of 4.00, and he also logged some of the lowest strikeout totals (6.83 K/9) of his career in the process. Worse yet, a broken wrist ended his season prematurely in early September.

Of course, between 2013 and 2018 Watson was one of the game’s most reliable southpaw bullpen arms, recording a 2.46 ERA in 424.2 innings with the Pirates and the Dodgers. Now, the Boras client can suit up for San Francisco for one more go-around in 2020 in hopes of recapturing that old form and reentering the market again in advance of the 2021 season.

Steven Souza Jr. Reportedly Recovered From Knee Surgery, Generating Interest

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Former Rays and Diamondbacks outfielder Steven Souza Jr. is running at 100 percent and drawing interest from a handful of teams as he looks to bounce back from a devastating knee injury, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets. Souza underwent surgery in April after tearing the ACL, LCL, PCL and posterolateral capsule in his left knee in a gruesome and gut-wrenching injury at home plate at the end of Spring Training. Per Morosi, the Rays, Giants, Cubs and Rangers are among the teams who’ve shown interest.

That report paints a fair bit of overlap between the markets for Souza and Nicholas Castellanos — he’s reported to be interested in signing with the Giants, Cubs or Rangers — though it’s doubtful that any club has Souza ranked ahead of Castellanos (beyond teams whose payroll simply won’t accommodate Castellanos). That said, Souza could certainly be a fallback option for a team that misses out on Castellanos and/or fellow right-handed-hitting corner outfielder Marcell Ozuna.

Looking at the teams listed, the budget-conscious Rays are reportedly hoping to reel in a right-handed bat and assuredly won’t spend at the level required for Castellanos or Ozuna. But they’re plenty familiar with Souza, his makeup, clubhouse presence and on-field upside. Souza spent three seasons in Tampa Bay before being traded to Arizona, but it’s fair to wonder whether he’d be amenable to playing his first season post-surgery on the artificial surface at Tropicana Field.

The Cubs, operating in a decidedly non-Cubs manner over the past two winters, are reportedly looking to shed payroll to avoid a second slap on the wrist for luxury tax purposes. They paid out $7.6MM in luxury fees this year but seem motivated to avoid a second year of taxation despite the fact that a second-year offense would only see their penalty level increase from 20 percent to 30 percent. Nearly every report out of Chicago this offseason has signaled that a Castellanos reunion is far-fetched, but Souza would represent a more affordable option with some upside.

Meanwhile, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said prior to the offseason that adding power to a lineup that was largely devoid of home run threats would be a priority this winter. A healthy Souza fits that description and also fits with the slate of short-term signings the Giants have made under Zaidi.

The Rangers moved on from Nomar Mazara during the Winter Meetings and traded Delino DeShields this past weekend, creating some space in the outfield. They’re a largely left-handed club, so Souza’s right-handed bat could hold some appeal if other options (Castellanos in particular) don’t pan out.

Souza, 31 in April, was worth about four wins above replacement in 2017 when he hit .239/.351/.459 with 30 home runs, 21 doubles, two triples and 16 stolen bases (in 20 tries). He’s graded out as a strong defender in right field, per metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average, although coming off such a major knee reconstruction, there’ll surely be some skepticism about his mobility and how well he’ll be able to track down fly balls.

Latest On Nicholas Castellanos

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We’re still a couple weeks from the new year, but the majority of Major League Baseball’s premier free agents have already left the board since the market opened at the beginning of November. Outfielder Nicholas Castellanos stands out as one of the few still-unsigned players with significant earning power, as MLBTR predicted he’d receive a four-year, $58MM guarantee when free agency started.

Considering the high-spending nature of free agency thus far, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Castellanos outdo projections on his forthcoming deal. Regardless, the soon-to-be 28-year-old has reportedly identified a few teams that have impressed him during his first-ever trip to the market. Castellanos regards the Cubs, with whom he finished last season, as well as the Giants and Rangers as clubs “who value him for more than just his offense and that treat “clubhouse culture” as more than just T-shirts and talking points,” Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic writes (subscription link).

It’s not clear how high any of the above teams are willing to bid for Castellanos, but there is at least interest in a reunion on the Cubs’ part, per Sharma. Although the team itself fell apart late in the year and wound up outside the playoff picture, Castellanos was brilliant after coming over in a July trade with Detroit. He slashed .321/.356/.646 with 16 home runs in 225 plate appearances as a Cub during a season-ending hot streak that came at an opportune time on the cusp of free agency.

Thanks in large part to his production in Chicago, 2019 went down as Castellanos’ fourth straight above-average offensive season by measure of wRC+ and OPS+. On the other hand, often regarded as defensively challenged (first as a third baseman and now in the grass), Castellanos combined for a less-than-stellar minus-9 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-5.2 Ultimate Zone Rating as a corner outfielder between the two teams. Castellanos’ well-documented limitations in the field have likely upset his market, and they could help prevent a team in the NL – where there’s no designated hitter option – from breaking the bank for him.

In the Cubs’ case, they already have Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Jason Heyward as prominent corner OF-capable players. Barring a major trade (Bryant? Schwarber?), which does seem to be a distinct possibility, it may be hard to fit Castellanos on their roster in 2020. Plus, while it seems they’d welcome Castellanos back in an ideal world, the Cubs have clear payroll concerns that could help stop a reunion from coming to fruition. Even though the Cubs haven’t been active in upgrading their roster this winter, Jason Martinez of Roster Resource projects them for a $214MM luxury-tax payroll next year. If that holds, they’ll outspend the $208MM threshold by more than $6MM. So, barring salary-cutting trades or a willingness on Chicago’s part to pay the tax, it’s difficult to envision Castellanos in its uniform again.

Conversely, neither the Giants nor Rangers should come close to the tax in 2020. However, at least for San Francisco, it’s up in the air whether it’ll be aggressive in attempting to boost its playoff odds for next season. The Giants don’t figure to contend then, after all, and pouring money into free agency hasn’t been president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi’s M.O. since he assumed the reins last year.

Meantime, this has been a fairly active offseason for the Rangers, who have spent a solid chunk of cash on a few acquisitions (pitchers Corey Kluber, Kyle Gibson, Jordan Lyles and Joely Rodriguez). The Rangers also just freed up an outfield spot by trading Nomar Mazara and could next try to reel in a big hitter in an effort to generate excitement as they get ready to open a new ballpark.

Chris Heston Eyeing Comeback Following 2019 Shoulder Surgery

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Former Giants right-hander Chris Heston announced that he has his sights set on a big league comeback after undergoing a significant procedure on his right shoulder this past June (link to Twitter thread). Heston had surgery to repair his labrum and biceps tendon while also “cleaning up” his rotator cuff. His right shoulder had been bothering him for the past “couple years,” he adds.

Heston, 31, was limited to 19 1/3 minor league innings in 2018 and pitched 72 2/3 innings between the Majors and minors back in 2017. He hasn’t topped 100 innings in a season since racking up 177 2/3 frames out of the Giants’ rotation back in 2015 — a season that saw him throw an 11-strikeout no-hitter against the Mets in what was just his 13th Major League start. Overall, the righty pitched to a 3.95 ERA with 7.1 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a strong 53 percent ground-ball rate. Despite the presence of veterans like Tim Hudson, Tim Lincecum, Jake Peavy, Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain on the San Francisco staff that year, Heston finished second in starts (31) and innings to Madison Bumgarner.

It’s been a rocky go of things for Heston since that time, as he somewhat surprisingly fell off the Giants’ radar almost entirely the following season. The team’s signings of Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija impeded his path to the big leagues in 2016, and it seems that Heston’s shoulder began barking not long thereafter. In total, he’s only thrown 189 1/3 innings (big leagues and minors combined) since his terrific rookie campaign in 2015.

Heston is planning to throw for clubs in late February in hopes of securing a minor league contract. The righty notes that he’s picked up his real estate license during the early stages of an arduous rehab process but makes clear that his goal is to continue his pitching career now that his shoulder has been repaired.

Details On Madison Bumgarner’s Agreement With The Diamondbacks

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Madison Bumgarner became the latest free agent pitcher to leave the open market, agreeing to a five-year, $85MM deal with the Diamondbacks on Sunday.  While reports from earlier this week suggested that Arizona was in the mix, it still raised a lot of eyebrows to see the D’Backs (who weren’t considered likely to either make a big free agent signing or pursue a big-ticket pitcher) wind up as Bumgarner’s new destination.  Here’s more on the signing…

  • The Diamondbacks were Bumgarner’s top choice in free agency “provided they could pay him at an appropriate level,” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) hears from a source close to the left-hander.  The $85MM guarantee was enough to get it done, though $15MM of the money is deferred.  While it wasn’t quite the five-year/$100MM commitment Bumgarner and his camp were reportedly hoping to land, it could be that the D’Backs came close enough, or — as Rosenthal speculates — perhaps no team was willing to go to nine figures for Bumgarner’s services.
  • Rosenthal and his fellow scribes at The Athletic discussed the Bumgarner signing in a roundtable, with Andrew Baggarly noting that new Giants manager Gabe Kapler hadn’t yet spoken with the southpaw as of the Winter Meetings.  In Baggarly’s view, that was the sign that Bumgarner wasn’t returning to San Francisco.  “If the Giants had legitimate interest, and believed they had a legitimate chance, you can bet that calls and meetings would’ve been set up. Kapler would have begun the back-channeling before he even got the job,” Baggarly writes.
  • A counter-argument of sorts is provided by Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links), who reports that the Giants offered Bumgarner a four-year contract in the range of $17MM per year in average annual value.  “One of [Bumgarner’s] confidants” believes the lefty would have re-signed with the Giants had they offered him the same deal as Arizona, Schulman writes, except the fifth year might have been enough to pull the D’Backs of San Francisco and perhaps other suitors.  Indeed, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link) reports that the Twins were also unwilling to give Bumgarner a fifth year.
  • The fact that Bumgarner went to something of a mystery team creates even more of a crunch for teams who were known to be more fervently pursuing rotation help.  Ironically, the team that could benefit from this crunch could be the D’Backs themselves.  As The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan puts it, “the Diamondbacks may have just created the starting pitching scarcity they need to trade Robbie Ray for his best value.”  There has been wide speculation that Ray could be dealt this offseason, as Ray is entering the final year of his contract and is projected to earn $10.8MM in his last year of arbitration eligibility.  With Bumgarner now in the fold, the D’Backs could feel enough comfort in their rotation to move Ray and both address other needs while getting his salary off the books at the same time.
  • As a final coda on Bumgarner’s tenure with the Giants, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group notes that Bumgarner might not have reached free agency if it weren’t for a pair of injuries — Bumgarner’s infamous dirt biking accident in April 2017, and then the fractured hand suffered on his last Spring Training outing in 2018.  In both instances, the Giants were on the verge of broaching extension talks with their longtime ace.

MLBTR Poll: Nicholas Castellanos’ Contract

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With free agency’s top three players all having come off the board at the Winter Meetings, fans can now turn their attention to the second tier of the market. Chief among those second-tier players is Nicholas Castellanos. The youngest free agent among MLBTR’s top 50, the 27-year-old (28 in March) has compiled a strong multi-year offensive track record. Since the start of 2017, he has slashed .287/.337/.505 (121 wRC+). He also has the fortune of hitting the market fresh off a dynamic second-half tear following a trade from the Tigers to the Cubs. Even more importantly, that midseason swap allowed him to hit the market unencumbered by a qualifying offer.

Castellanos’ defensive shortcomings have been thoroughly discussed, and they figure to drag down his market somewhat. He washed out at third base, and the Tigers bumped him to the corner outfield. Unsurprisingly, that transition got off to a dreadful start, as Castellanos rated as 31 outs below average, per Statcast, over his first season-plus on the grass. To his credit, he took a significant step forward with the glove in 2019. Last year, Statcast had Castellanos as just two outs below average, while UZR and DRS each felt he cost his teams about five to ten runs defensively. It’s highly unlikely Castellanos will ever be even average with the glove, but he has shown enough competency to pique the interest of NL suitors. Teams needn’t have a DH slot to plug Castellanos’ potent bat into the lineup. They just have to be willing to stomach less-than-ideal range in the corner outfield.

Castellanos’ youth gives him a broad range of appeal. Teams not poised to contend in 2020 could still pursue Castellanos and expect a few peak years in 2021 and beyond. Whether he would be amenable to joining a non-contender after suffering through a few miserable years in Detroit isn’t clear, but he should have plenty of options. To this point in the offseason, we’ve heard Castellanos linked to the Rangers, Diamondbacks, Marlins, and Reds. The Cubs, too, obviously like the player, but they are seemingly unwilling to take on the cost a Castellanos deal would require. At the start of the offseason, MLBTR readers considered the cross-town White Sox the plurality favorite, as did the MLBTR staff. They haven’t been publicly tied to Castellanos this offseason, though, and they’ve seemingly addressed their right field situation through other means. To this point, the strongest tie to Castellanos has been with the Giants. One rival executive thinks it a foregone conclusion he’ll end up in San Francisco, although there’s ample time for the sweepstakes to go in any number of directions.

What of Castellanos’ price tag? He’s a tough free agent to pin down. The MLBTR staff forecast a four-year, $58MM deal at the start of the offseason. There are perhaps wider error bars on Castellanos than many free agents, though. He obviously has wide appeal, having been linked to almost a third of the league over the past month. The market, too, has proven stronger than anticipated for quite a few players in the early going. That said, we’re only a few months removed from the Tigers trading Castellanos to Chicago for a pair of mid-tier prospects. That came on the heels of months of Detroit not finding any offers to their liking despite Castellanos’ prominent availability on the trade block. There’s no doubt Castellanos improved his stock somewhat by tearing the cover off the ball in Chicago, but it wasn’t all that long ago that teams seemed to regard him as a fine but hardly game-changing player.

As we did recently with Josh Donaldson, let’s turn things over to you to gauge the Castellanos market.

Where will Castellanos sign (answer order randomized)? Poll link for app users.

 

For how long will the contract be? Poll link for app users.

 

What will be the final number? Poll link for app users.

NL Notes: Giants, Bumgarner, Bauer, Manfred, Padres, Yates

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The Giants “remain engaged” on franchise legend Madison Bumgarner, according to the last check of the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman (link). Obviously, the word “engaged” can be taken to mean any number of things–ranging from casual contact to protracted negotiation. It is notable, though, that Bumgarner’s longtime team apparently hasn’t been scared off by the increasing amount of competition for his services.

Since November, we’ve heard the Twins, Padres, Dodgers, Reds, White Sox, Diamondbacks, and Cardinals all linked to the lefthander to varying degrees. It became clear that MadBum’s reps were seeking something in excess of $100MM after they apparently passed on a reported $70MM-plus offer from Arizona earlier this offseason. Recent ceiling-raising deals for Stephen Strasburg and Gerrit Cole have likely only helped position such a nine-figure contract as a probable outcome.

More Saturday notes from around the NL…

  • Add Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer to those critical of proposed changes from Rob Manfred and the league office. Well, perhaps “critical” doesn’t exactly do Bauer’s Saturday comments justice–perhaps “scorched earth” would be a better descriptor? “At least Rob Manfred is trying to ruin baseball at all levels and isn’t discriminating,” Bauer said on Twitter today. “Something to be said for consistency, I guess.” Bauer then asked followers what their “most hated Rob Manfred idea” was, before following up with a second tweet that characterized Manfred’s proposed changes as a “money grab”. While players should be entitled to their own opinions, it rates as newsworthy to see a public-facing employee criticize a central administrative office so, well, publicly. Whether other players share Bauer’s enmity toward proposed changes–which center around minor league contraction–is an open question.
  • Although it still remains to be seen if his club will make a front-end addition to its pitching staff, Padres GM AJ Preller certainly feels like their Drew Pomeranz addition will help make its bullpen one of MLB’s best. “I think the way Drew pitched at the end of last season, what Kirby’s done the last three years and especially last year, we feel really good about the back part of our bullpen,” Preller said of pairing Pomeranz with closer Kirby Yates, as quoted in an article from Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. Interestingly, Preller also made some comments that, if we’re inclined to close reading, could be seen as something of a statement on Yates’ future with the club. “If that ends up being something that plays out for us over the course of Drew’s four years, and we have lights out back of the bullpen, that would be ideal, honestly,” Preller said. Yates only has one year of control remaining, and extension talks have seemed rather touch-and-go to this point. Preller didn’t mention the Hawaiian by name in the last part of that quote, and his use of the word “ideal” should also be noted; still, it does give some indication of how the team’s top baseball operations mind envisions the club’s pen in future seasons. Jeff Sanders of the Union-Tribune relayed that the club plans to resume contract talks with Yates after, in Preller’s words, the club gets “a better sense of where we’re at payroll wise, where we’re at roster wise” over the next few weeks.

Giants Acquire Zack Cozart

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Dec. 12: The Angels announced that they’ve acquired left-hander Garrett Williams from the Giants as a player to be named later, thus completing the Cozart swap. Sending him out as a player to be named later seems likely have been a measure of ensuring that Williams wasn’t selected in today’s Rule 5 Draft.

Williams, 25, was the Giants’ seventh-round pick back in 2016 and just completed his second season at the Double-A level, where he posted a 3.60 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 5.0 BB/9, 0.49 HR/9 and a 55.7 percent ground-ball rate in 110 innings (20 starts, nine relief outings). Williams, who was the Giants’ No. 29 prospect at MLB.com and landed outside the top 29 at FanGraphs, draws praise for a plus curveball but is obviously lacking in the command department. He’s averaged 4.9 BB/9 in his pro career to date, including a 5.7 mark in two seasons of Double-A ball.

Dec. 10: The Giants have acquired infielder Zack Cozart and shortstop prospect Will Wilson from the Angels for cash considerations or a player to be named later, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports. San Francisco will pay all of Cozart’s $12.167MM salary for 2020, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.

Cozart joined the Angels as a high-priced free-agent signing two winters ago, when he inked a three-year, $38MM contract after a career campaign with the Reds. But Cozart was neither healthy nor effective as a member of the Angels, with whom he consistently struggled to perform and dealt with injuries. The 34-year-old took just 107 plate appearances in 2019, when he slashed a horrid .124/.178/.144 without a home run and missed the majority of the season with shoulder problems. Cozart’s year came to an end in mid-July when he underwent what the Angels called an “arthroscopic debridement of his left shoulder.”

Getting rid of Cozart looks like a major score for the Angels, who could use his money to further improve their chances of landing a major free agent (Gerrit Cole? Anthony Rendon?). In the Giants’ case, it’s unclear how much playing time Cozart will receive next season. They already have Evan Longoria at third base and Brandon Crawford at shortstop, after all, with youngster Mauricio Dubon possibly in line to garner the lion’s share of reps at second base.

Considering Wilson’s involvement, this may be a case of the Giants essentially buying a prospect. The 21-year-old Wilson, formerly with North Carolina State, is just months removed from joining the Angels as the 15th pick in the 2019 draft. The Angels paid $3.4MM to lock up Wilson at the time, but they’ve now deemed him expendable in an effort to get Cozart’s money off the books.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

FA Rumors: Reds, Ozuna, Giants, Didi, Brewers, Thames, Rox, Chirinos

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The Reds continue to show interest in free-agent corner outfielder Marcell Ozuna, Jon Morosi of MLB.com and Jon Heyman of MLB Network relay. In fact, the Reds and Ozuna’s camp have been in contact in the past 24 hours, Morosi adds. However, Ozuna is not expected to sign during this week’s Winter Meetings, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Instead, he seems inclined to wait for third basemen Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson to sign, which Sherman observes would leave him as the top bat on the open market (though Nicholas Castellanos may have something to say about that). A four-year deal is in play for Ozuna, Sherman suggests.

  • The Giants, Brewers and Reds were the runners-up for shortstop Didi Gregorius, per reports from Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia and C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. The presence of his former Yankees manager Joe Girardi in Philadelphia helped influence Gregorius to take the Phillies’ one-year, $14MM offer on Tuesday. Of the other teams involved, the Giants’ inclusion is particularly interesting. They already have an expensive veteran shortstop in Brandon Crawford, who has a sterling defensive reputation. Speculatively, the Giants could have been after Gregorius with the intention of playing him at second base. They wound up acquiring a different infielder, former Angel Zack Cozart, on Tuesday.
  • The Brewers are considering a reunion with first baseman/outfielder Eric Thames, general manager David Stearns told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters Tuesday. The club bought out Thames’ option for $1MM last month in lieu of paying him $7MM next season, but doing so left the Brewers dangerously thin at first base. Outfielder Ryan Braun may be an option at the position, but manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday (via Haudricourt) that he’s not going to be the Brewers’ primary choice there in 2020.
  • Robinson Chirinos, Austin Romine and Matt Wieters are among the available catchers the Rockies have spoken with, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports. The offensively solid Chirinos looks like the most appealing of the trio, as he could earn a multiyear contract worth in the neighborhood of $10MM. Whether the Rockies would be willing to go to those lengths is unknown, though it’s obvious they need help behind the plate. Their catchers (including current starter Tony Wolters) posted bottom-of-the-barrel offensive production in 2019.

Gerrit Cole Rumors: 12/10/19

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Where’s Gerrit Cole going to land? That’s what everyone wants to know. We’ve got a poll going this morning, but otherwise we’re eagerly awaiting the day’s news on the top free agent.

We’ll track the chatter here …

  • The Cole sweepstakes is closing in on an ending, reports Heyman, who adds it would take “a major upset” for him to sign with someone other than the Yankees, Angels or Dodgers.

Earlier Reports

  • There is “serious and intense” bidding going on for Cole, who looks more and more likely to reach an agreement at the Winter Meetings, Heyman tweets. It’s “likely” the Astros and the Giants are the mystery clubs in the Cole derby, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, though the sources he has spoken with have cast on doubt on the hurler ending up with either team. That seemingly leaves the Yankees, Angels and Dodgers to fight it out for Cole.
  • The Astros may be one of the mystery teams, per the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, who writes that they’re considering making a late charge to re-sign Cole. He was, of course, an enormously important part of the Astros’ pitching staff from 2018-19, and owner Jim Crane said last month the team would at least make an effort to keep him. Keeping Cole would likely at least push the Astros over the second level of the luxury tax ($228MM), as Sherman notes, but the reigning AL champions do have some holes in their rotation with him and Wade Miley as free agents. Perhaps a desire to keep Cole, AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke together atop the Astros’ staff will drown out any tax concerns for Crane.
  • Agent Scott Boras confirmed recent reports that indicate a deal could come together quickly. He told reporters gathered for his annual media scrum that a decision may come “in the short term,” as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports (Twitter links). Boras also says there are two mystery teams involved in Cole’s market, though it’s not evident just what constitutes a mystery team from his perspective.
  • Cole’s major pursuers are known (Angels, Yankees, Dodgers), along with a few lurkers (Rangers, Phillies). But there’s also a mystery team involved, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). Heyman himself casts doubt upon the legitimacy of this unidentified organization, noting that it is difficult to envision a new entrant to the market vaulting past the existing bidders. Indeed, it is quite difficult to peg a serious bidder among the remaining teams around the league. There are certainly other contenders that would love to add Cole, but in every case there’s reason to question the plausibility. That said, there have been surprises in the past and nothing can be ruled out entirely until there’s a team announcement on a signing.
  • Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle notes (via Twitter) that he has been given reason to believe that the Giants would represent “a desirable destination” from Cole’s perspective. But he says he is not aware whether the team is involved and cautions that he has no reason to believe the San Francisco organization is a serious possible landing spot for the right-hander.
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