Giants Rumors

Pitching Rumors: BoSox, Ottavino, Giants, Kikuchi, Rangers

By Connor Byrne | December 10, 2018 at 1:09am CDT

It’s “believed” that free-agent reliever Adam Ottavino is near the top of Boston’s bullpen wish list, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. The same is true of the previously reported David Robertson, per Heyman. With closer Craig Kimbrel and setup man Joe Kelly as their best remaining free agents, it’s no surprise that the world champion Red Sox are exploring the top of the market for bullpen help. Those two led full-time Red Sox relievers in innings pitched last season, and Kimbrel was particularly effective. The 33-year-old Ottavino may have been even better, though, as the former Rockie was among the game’s elite relievers in 2018 despite having to pitch his home games at the hitter-friendly Coors Field. Ottavino placed fourth among relievers in average exit velocity against (84.9 mph), sixth in fWAR (2.0), 11th in K/9 (12.98, against 4.17 BB/9), 13th in innings (77 2/3) and 17th in ERA (2.43), putting himself in position to score a lucrative contract in free agency.

Morosi’s Latest: Bumgarner, Realmuto, Padres, Yankees, Gray, Fiers, Graveman, Jays, Happ

By Mark Polishuk | December 9, 2018 at 9:17pm CDT

Madison Bumgarner has been an oft-mentioned trade candidate this offseason, and the Giants are reportedly open to at least discussing their longtime ace. As the Winter Meetings begin, however, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi tweets that San Francisco isn’t close to a Bumgarner trade. It remains to be seen if the Giants will actually go ahead with dealing the southpaw, as the team seems to still be weighing its rebuild-or-reload options under new GM Farhan Zaidi. Morosi has previously mentioned the Phillies, Braves, and Brewers as three teams interested in Bumgarner if a trade were to develop, though his latest tweet adds the Yankees to that list as well. Bumgarner is only under contract through the 2019 season, and even though his numbers have been solid but less than ace-like over the last two years, he would still provide a notable boost to any rotation.

Here’s more from Morosi’s Twitter feed…

The Padres have a “genuine interest” in acquiring J.T. Realmuto, while the Yankees aren’t in serious talks with the Marlins about the All-Star catcher. Yankees GM Brian Cashman was quick to deny rumors about his team’s interest in Realmuto last week, and New York already has Gary Sanchez behind the plate for the foreseeable future (though some rumors indicated that Sanchez would’ve gone back to Miami as part of a Realmuto swap). San Diego, meanwhile, has its own established catcher in defensive whiz Austin Hedges, plus one of the game’s top prospects in Francisco Mejia behind the plate. It’s fair to speculate if Mejia could potentially head back to the Marlins as part of a package for Realmuto, and the Padres certainly have the overall prospect depth that Miami is demanding for Realmuto’s services. Since Realmuto is controlled only through the 2020 season, his acquisition would indicate that the Padres and GM A.J. Preller are perhaps ready to end their rebuilding process and begin to compete by at least 2020, if not even next season.
Speaking of the Padres and Yankees, the two teams continue to discuss a potential Sonny Gray trade. Morosi noted on the continued talks between the two sides earlier this week, and rumors of the Padres’ interest in Gray date back to last month. Pitcher-friendly Petco Park would seemingly be an ideal place for Gray to rebound from his rough stint in the Bronx, especially since Gray’s drastic home/road splits from 2018 already indicated that his struggles were particularly contained to Yankee Stadium.
Mike Fiers and Kendall Graveman are two names on the Blue Jays’ list of pitching targets. With an inexperienced starting five projected for 2019, the Jays were known to be looking at rotation help this winter — particularly if, as Morosi notes, the team decides to trade Aaron Sanchez or Marcus Stroman as part of its rebuilding efforts. Fiers and Graveman were both recently non-tendered by the A’s, and fit Toronto’s need for short-term additions are a relatively low cost. Fiers was in this same position last winter, as he signed a one-year deal with the Tigers and turned in solid numbers both before and after a midseason trade to Oakland. Graveman would likely be pursued for a two-year deal with a low salary in the first year, as the right-hander is likely miss all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Graveman was originally drafted by the Jays in 2013 (when Alex Anthopoulos was GM) and traded to the A’s in November 2014 as part of the four-player package that brought Josh Donaldson to Toronto.
With Patrick Corbin and Nathan Eovaldi off the board, “J.A. Happ is viewed as the next key domino in the pitching marketplace,” Morosi writes. Happ has received interest from as many as 10 teams, as his age (36) would seemingly make him more amendable to a short-term contract, thus widening his market beyond that of a younger pitcher like Dallas Keuchel, whose desire for a longer-term and more expensive contract limits his list of suitors. It stands to reason that many of the same teams interested in both Happ and Keuchel, to say nothing of other free agent arms like Yusei Kikuchi or Charlie Morton, so it stands to reason that we could see something of a run on starting pitching if Happ or any of those names were to sign in the near future.

NL News & Rumors: Cubs, Schwarber, Mets, Giants, Bucs, Braves

By Connor Byrne | December 9, 2018 at 3:48pm CDT

The Cubs, who have always been bullish on Kyle Schwarber, continue to spurn inquiries for the slugger, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. Still only 25 years old, Schwarber just turned in a 3.2-fWAR season in which he batted .238/.356/.467 (115 wRC+) with 26 home runs in 510 plate appearances and unexpectedly received positive marks in left field (two DRS, 9.8 UZR). Schwarber will play his first of three potential arbitation seasons in 2019, when he’s projected to earn just $3.1MM.

Here’s more from the National League:

Unsurprisingly, the Mets aren’t willing to part with both Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo in a trade for Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, Jon Heyman of Fancred reports. Moreover, the Mets don’t want to trade young infielder Amed Rosario at all, Heyman adds. As great as Realmuto is, it wouldn’t make sense for the Mets to trade Conforto and Nimmo – their most valuable outfielders – for two years of control over him. Conforto still has another three years of control left, while Nimmo has four more – including a pre-arb season in 2019.
The Giants hired Farhan Zaidi as their president of baseball operations a month ago, but Pirates general manager Neal Huntington was among the candidates they spoke with before then, according to Heyman. It’s unclear how serious the Giants’ interest in Huntington was, but it is known that he’s under contract in Pittsburgh through 2021. Next season will be Huntington’s 12th as the Pirates’ GM.
More on the Mets, who – along with the previously reported Chili Davis – have added Chuck Hernandez and Luis Rojas to their coaching staff, Heyman tweets and the the team has since made official. Hernandez will be their bullpen coach, while Rojas will serve as a quality control coach. Hernandez worked as the division-rival Braves’ pitching coach from 2017-18. They dismissed him after last season.
Speaking of the Braves, they’ve hired Gary Rajsich to work in professional and amateur scouting, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Rajsich had been the Orioles’ scouting director since 2011, bu they booted him from their front office last month.

At Least 5 Teams Interested In Josh Harrison

By Connor Byrne | December 8, 2018 at 11:28pm CDT

Josh Harrison had a year to forget in 2018, leading the Pirates to buy out the veteran infielder after the season and end a relationship that began in 2009. Nevertheless, no fewer than five teams have shown interest in Harrison this offseason, according to Fancred’s Jon Heyman, who lists the Astros and Giants among clubs that have at least considered the 31-year-old. Heyman previously reported interest from the Yankees, Reds and Nationals.

Harrison’s coming off an up-and-down tenure in Pittsburgh, where he debuted in 2011 and managed to reach the 2.0 fWAR in two individual seasons. He was at his best during a 4.8-fWAR showing in 2014, which led the Pirates to award him an extension worth a guaranteed $27.3MM early in 2015.

Harrison went on to combine for an unspectacular 5.4 fWAR during the rest of his stint with the franchise. He was especially disappointing in 2018, when he totaled 0.3 fWAR and batted .250/.293/.363 (78 wRC+) with minimal power (eight home runs, .113 ISO) across 374 plate appearances. While Harrison only logged a .285 weighted on-base average in 2018, he posted an even less inspiring .275 xwOBA, per Statcast. Of course, it’s worth noting Harrison’s season began in terrible fashion when he suffered a fractured left hand – an injury that sidelined him from mid-April to mid-May and could have played a role in his drop in production.

Harrison, to his credit, is just two years removed from a 2017 campaign in which he was among the Pirates’ most valuable players. He also comes with vast experience at second and third base, two positions where he has been a plus defender for the majority of his career. But it could be difficult for Harrison to garner playing time at either position in Houston, which boasts superstars Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman at those spots and also has Aledmys Diaz and Yuli Gurriel on hand as versatile options. Like the Astros, the Giants feature established players at second and third – Joe Panik and Evan Longoria – but those two joined Harrison in struggling last season. The Giants’ new president of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi, seems to be looking for infield help as a result.

Latest On Giants Front Office Hires

By TC Zencka | December 8, 2018 at 12:38pm CDT

With the winter meetings only a day away, attention league-wide is focused on player movement, but the music hasn’t stopped on the annual game of musical chairs played in front offices and dugouts around the league. News is trickling out of San Francisco about the top thinkers being hired to advise Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi on matters of scouting.

Zack Minasian was tabbed to lead pro scouting efforts, per the Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly (via Twitter). Minasian spent fourteen years with the Milwaukee Brewers, the last two as a special advisor to GM David Stearns. He spent six years prior as the director of pro scouting, the same role he assumes in San Francisco. As Baggarly explains in a later tweet, Minasian’s position is principally responsible for the coordination of the scouting staff for both the major and minor leagues, a tremendous undertaking given the current climate around baseball. On a fun note that Baggarly explores in his full article on the Athletic (subscription link), Minasian’s father is the longtime clubhouse attendant for the Texas Rangers. The elder Minasian gave the younger his first opportunity in baseball as his assistant when junior was 11-years-old.

Another new hire in San Francisco, Michael Holmes, will replace longtime amateur scouting director John Barr, Baggarly tweets. Holmes has worked on the other side of the bay in Oakland since 2004, most recently as assistant scouting director. Holmes will be charged with managing amateur scouting efforts, including oversight of the draft. He has big shoes to fill, as Barr’s tenure began in 2008 with the drafting of Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford. Recent drafts have proved less fruitful, however. Holmes will attempt to modernize the Giants scouting department, finding ways to utilize the plethora of advanced metrics now available to front offices.

Giants To Sign Cameron Rupp

By Jeff Todd | December 7, 2018 at 7:08pm CDT

The Giants have agreed to a minor-league deal with backstop Cameron Rupp, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). It comes with a MLB Spring Training invite and a potential $750K salary if Rupp can crack the roster.

Of course, Rupp failed to see any action in the bigs last year, breaking a five-year streak in which he had. That came as something of a surprise, as the 30-year-old had seen rather extensive action previously with the Phillies and provided some real thump for a backstop.

Over his 1,127 total plate appearances at the game’s highest level, Rupp owns a .234/.298/.407 batting line with 39 home runs. Despite his on-base issues, that’s a solid amount of offense given the position. Splitting his time last year between the top affiliates of the Rangers, Mariners, and Twins, Rupp slashed .223/.320/.425.

Of course, teams generally prioritize defensive capabilities in their backup catchers, and Rupp’s reputation is not exactly stellar in that regard. He graded as one of the game’s worst framers in 2017, though he had scored in range of average previously. It seems likely Rupp will come to camp bidding for a chance to back up Buster Posey behind the plate in San Francisco.

Giants Notes: Bumgarner, Kikuchi, Pence, Offseason, Righetti

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | December 5, 2018 at 11:04pm CDT

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi dropped some thoughts on a pair of left-handed pitchers in an interview today on KNBR. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi recently kicked off a round of speculation on MadBum with a report suggesting the Giants were open to discussing him and had held talks with the Brewers and Phillies. Zaidi cast quite some doubt on that characterization, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area relays on Twitter. The newly minted San Francisco exec says a peer with another org rumored to have been in touch on Bumgarner cracked: “Hey, I hear we’re talking to you guys about Madison Bumgarner. Should we be?”

Zaidi further joked: “That gives you a little sense of the accuracy of some of the stuff that’s out there.”

A bit more out of San Fran…

In that same chat, Zaidi gave greater credence to the idea that the Giants could have interest in Yusei Kikuchi, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. The club has scouted Kikuchi “extensively,” according to Zaidi, who predicted that the market is likely to build on the Japanese hurler in advance of and into the coming Winter Meetings. Whether and to what extent the Giants will push for a deal remains to be seen, though Zaidi noted that as a West Coast club, the Giants could be a geographic fit for Kikuchi. Kikuchi has until early January to come to terms with a big league organization, and at 27 years of age, he’s young enough that he could be a key contributor for the Giants in a couple of years even if they do embark on some degree of a rebuild over the next year or two.
In a Q&A with NBC’s Jessica Kleinschmidt, Hunter Pence reveals that he’s heard from “a couple” teams this offseason but has not yet heard from the Giants. However, CEO Larry Baer told Pence that the Giants would be represented this offseason when the veteran outfielder heads to the Dominican Winter League to test out some adjustments he’s made to his swing in an effort to rediscover his form at the plate. Pence discusses some of those changes with Kleinschmidt and unsurprisingly adds that he would “absolutely” be open to a return to the Giants. As Pavlovic notes in an overview of the Giants’ roster, outfield depth is just one of several areas that Zaidi could look to add some veteran help this winter. Backup catcher, the starting rotation and bullpen are among the other ares that seem likely to be addressed.
The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly also runs through the many needs facing Zaidi this offseason (subscription required), suggesting that the Giants will look at some “non-splashy” additions to the outfield mix — such as a right-handed-hitting platoon partner for Steven Duggar, for instance. Both Pavlovic and Baggarly point out that substantial rotation depth was a hallmark of Zaidi’s Dodgers, so the organization could look to field a group of options that is eight or nine arms deep (presumably, with some of those options coming on minor league deals and being stashed in Triple-A).
Despite the changes in the front office, former pitching coach Dave Righetti, who spent the 2018 season as a special advisor to former GM Bobby Evans, will “definitely” have a role with the team, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Righetti worked with Evans to help evaluate pitchers during Spring Training, and he also evaluated the organization’s minor league arms and weighed in on some prospects leading up to the draft. Righetti previously spent 18 seasons on the Giants’ Major League coaching staff.

Projecting Payrolls: San Francisco Giants

By Rob Huff | December 4, 2018 at 9:07am CDT

With the Winter Meetings set to kick off next weekend, we’re moving to the tenth installment of this series. Here are links to the previous team payroll projections:

Philadelphia Phillies
Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Angels
Atlanta Braves
New York Yankees
Chicago White Sox
Boston Red Sox
Minnesota Twins
Milwaukee Brewers

If you have questions about financial information made available to the public and the assumptions used in this series, please refer to the Phillies piece linked above.

Today, we look into a club whose on-the-fly re-stocking in 2018 largely backfired, keeping them out of the playoffs for the second consecutive season for the first time since 2009: the San Francisco Giants.

Team Leadership

Unlike many of the teams that we have examined in this series, the Giants’ ownership structure is highly diversified and somewhat secretive. 2008 began with Peter Magowan’s 15th year as managing general partner of the club. Magowan began the year in turmoil in the aftermath of the Mitchell Report and ended the year having transitioned his management role to Bill Neukom. Neukom ran the show only until 2011 at which time Charles B. Johnson became the plurality member in the LLC that owns the ball club. Johnson reportedly owns approximately 25 percent of the team as part of a group of approximately 29 co-owners.

Despite the complicated ownership structure, the front office enjoyed tremendous continuity. Brian Sabean ascended to the role of general manager in 1997 and held that job through the 2014 season before climbing to Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations, with Bobby Evans handling day-to-day operations starting in 2015. No more. Sabean was reassigned out of Baseball Operations following the 2018 season, at which time Evans was fired.

The executive tasked with re-imagining the San Francisco front office? Former Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi. Zaidi spent a decade in the Bay Area with Oakland before spending the last four years in Los Angeles. As the new President of Baseball Operations, Zaidi will oversee the first major transition in San Francisco’s baseball management in two decades.

Historical Payrolls

Before hitting the numbers, please recall that we use data from Cot’s Baseball Contracts, we’ll use average annual value (“AAV”) on historical deals but actual cash for 2019 and beyond, and deferrals will be reflected where appropriate. And, of course, the value of examining historical payrolls is twofold: they show us either what type of payroll a team’s market can support or how significantly a given ownership group is willing to spend. In the most useful cases, they show us both. We’ll focus on a 15-year span for the Giants, covering 2005-18 for historical data as a means to understanding year 15: 2019. For the Giants, this time frame covers a period of rebuilding that ultimately fueled three World Series winners. We’ll also use Opening Day payrolls as those better approximate expected spending by ownership.

Those payrolls were remarkably stagnant through 2010 before taking a leap in 2011 that became an annual tradition throughout much of the years that followed.

During this period of increased spending, the Giants did reach luxury taxpayer status for the first time in 2015, remaining there for each of the next two seasons before resetting their status in 2018 by falling under the threshold. The team paid just $8.8 million in aggregate luxury tax payments over those three seasons, so the tax hasn’t substantially impacted team spending over our time frame.

While Major League spending has increased dramatically over the time period above, the Giants haven’t allocated substantial resources to international amateur bonuses. It seems as though the cash increases were focused nearly exclusively on the Major League roster that made regular trips to late October throughout this decade.

Future Liabilities

Get ready for lots of big numbers for multiple years.

The big-money, long-term commitments are staggering.

Cueto, owed $71 million over the next three years presuming that the Giants buy out his 2022 option, was a star during his debut season with San Francisco in 2016, producing 5.5 WAR in leading the team’s rotation as they made their most recent playoff trip. Cueto’s 2017 season was marred by numerous injuries, including the dreaded forearm strain that served as a precursor to a nightmarish 2018 spent largely on the disabled list before he underwent Tommy John surgery last August. As a result, the Giants likely expect little to nothing from him again in 2019.

Like Cueto, Posey underwent a significant operation in August. Unlike Cueto, Posey has produced at a consistently elite level throughout the course of his contract, until this year’s career-worst 106 wRC+. While Posey’s hip operation figures to hamper his efforts to prepare for the season, he should be ready around Opening Day.

Samardzija was solid during his first year in San Francisco before a strong second year in 2017. Unfortunately, the remarkably durable righty finally succumbed to the injury bug, losing most of 2018 to a shoulder injury that lingered into the start of the offseason. With only two years left on his deal, it’s possible that the Giants have received as much value as they’ll be getting from that contract.

The next two players are both longtime Giants who played key roles on championship teams but have settled into roles as solid regulars instead of impact stars. Both Belt and Crawford are young and talented enough to rebound in 2019, but neither contract represents excellent value, especially Belt’s as the first base market has largely collapsed since he signed his extension.

The next two contracts look bad. Really bad. Melancon arrived in San Francisco to shore up the back of a wobbly bullpen. However, bouts with forearm injuries have limited his chance to make an impact. When he has pitched, he’s been solid but certainly nothing close to what the Giants expected from him given his contract. Longoria appears headed down a startlingly similar path, struggling mightily in his first season since arriving from Tampa Bay via trade. At 33, Longoria faces long odds to reattain star status, but the Giants would likely be happy if he returned to being a solid regular for at least a few more years.

We’ll skip to Watson for a moment. The veteran lefty structured his contract in such a way that the Giants stayed just under the luxury tax threshold, and he rewarded the team by delivering the finest season of his career in 2018, despite an across-the-board drop in velocity.

Now for the skipped contract: Bumgarner. The longtime ace and World Series hero finds himself at a crossroads that would have been inconceivable two years ago. Bumgarner made at least 31 starts each year from 2010-16, but an April 2017 shoulder injury suffered in a dirt bike accident, perhaps combined with years of significant usage, has changed his trajectory going forward. The Giants are willing to listen on their ace as he heads toward free agency next year.

In the aggregate, San Francisco is as committed to their current roster as any team in the league. Overhauling the roster would require a bevy of big-salary moves from Zaidi.

Given this amount of guaranteed money, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Giants have very little in the way of arbitration-eligible talent. After they said goodbye to Hunter Strickland and Gorkys Hernandez, key reliever Will Smith is, incredibly, the only arbitration-eligible Giant who hasn’t already agreed to terms with the club. Here are their arbitration projections, noting that both Sam Dyson and Joe Panik have already come in at salaries south of those projected by MLBTR and Matt Swartz:

While Smith missed all of 2017, he returned in 2018 and filled the role of bullpen ace that Giants leadership hoped to see Melancon fill.

What Does Team Leadership Have to Say?

Very little regarding the specifics of the 2019 payroll. Given their recent payroll push into the baseball stratosphere of spending, the Giants are largely expected to maintain a significant payroll next year. While Zaidi has hinted at something of a mini-rebuild — perhaps including a Bumgarner trade — there’s no indication from management or ownership that payroll will plummet.

Kerry Crowley of The Mercury News expects payroll to stay in line with that of current years, coming in shy of the luxury tax line but among the top figures in the league.

Are the Giants a Player for Bryce Harper or Manny Machado?

Probably. It’s a bit tougher to see a Machado fit given that the Giants would likely have a whale of a time trying to move Crawford or Longoria right now. But Harper makes plenty of sense for a team in need of youth, power, and an influx of talent. He certainly checks all three boxes. As a kid from Nevada, it’s likely that the Giants at least get a chance to pitch the young slugger on the benefit of playing on the West Coast.

What Will the 2019 Payroll Be?

The Giants are much tougher to peg than most other teams given the relative silence of their front office and the equally likely possibilities that they rebuild on the fly or go for a return to glory in 2019.

Entering the next phase of the offseason, the Giants hold a payroll of $156.0 million, $162.8 million for luxury tax purposes.

If the Giants can get Harper to commit to the team, I expect that his commitment will be accompanied by ownership’s commitment to enter taxpayer territory for the next two or three years in order to field a viable winner. It’s going to take additional cash to get there.

If Harper doesn’t come to town, expect to see the team remain under the tax line, albeit arriving close to that figure. With the tax threshold at $206 million and somewhere north of $13 million counting for player benefits, the Giants figure to want that tax payroll to come in around $190 million to leave them with a bit of wiggle room.

Projected 2019 Payroll: $185 million cash ($204 million for luxury tax)

Projected 2019 Payroll Space: $29 million

Giants Likely To Hire J.P. Ricciardi In Advisory Role

By Steve Adams | December 3, 2018 at 3:51pm CDT

Former Blue Jays general manager and Mets special assistant J.P. Ricciardi is finalizing a new contract to join the Giants’ front office as a senior advisor, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). It’ll be the first of what should be several front office additions for new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. Andrew Baggarly and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported talks between the two sides (Twitter link).

The 59-year-old Ricciardi spent eight years as a special advisor to the general manager in New York played a prominent role in the front office between the time at which Sandy Alderson stepped down as general manager and Brodie Van Wagenen was hired as Alderson’s successor. Ricciardi, along with fellow advisor Omar Minaya and assistant GM John Ricco, shared the workload of overseeing the Mets’ baseball operations department for much of the summer following Alderson’s departure. The Mets announced last month that the two sides had “mutually” agreed to part ways.

Ricciardi is no stranger to the Bay Area, having come up through the ranks with the Athletics in the late 80s and early 90s. The veteran exec broke into the front office side of the game as an area scout with the A’s in 1986 and rose to the titles of scouting supervisor, national crosschecker and, in 1999, director of player development. The Blue Jays hired him as their general manager in 2001 — a role he’d hold for eight years before being replaced by Alex Anthopoulos in 2009. Ricciardi has worked extensively with both Alderson and current A’s executive vice president Billy Beane in the past and will bring more than three decades of scouting and player development experience to his new post if and when the organization makes the hiring official.

Pitching Market Notes: Eovaldi, Yankees, Happ, Kikuchi, Gray, MadBum

By Jeff Todd | December 1, 2018 at 1:14am CDT

After a busy day of arbitration decisions, it’s worth taking stock of some recent developments in the broader market. We’ve already touched upon some major storylines today, with looks at Patrick Corbin (link), Zack Greinke (link), and Carlos Carrasco (link). Here’s more …

Though Corbin seems to be captivating the market at present, chatter on Nathan Eovaldi is also “heating up,” per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Unsurprisingly, the Red Sox and Astros are presently seen as prime contenders to land him. With the American League shaping up to be another clash of titans, those organizations are positioned t stake some dough on Eovaldi’s upside.
The Yankees are a major player on Corbin, of course, but also some other arms — and not just as a backup plan. Indeed, per Jayson Stark of The Athletic (via Twitter), the club could even add another significant starter if it does get Corbin. That’d be quite a surprise, given that the team would appear to have a clear starting five if Corbin signs, but perhaps there’s a way to pull something off that would still make sense and leave the club with immense rotation depth.
Meanwhile, southpaw J.A. Happ is said to have “ten teams chasing” him at this point, per Jon Heyman of Fancred. One of those is the Brewers, who’d presumably like to bolster their rotation but also don’t appear to have an immense amount of money to use. Of course, giving up on Jonathan Schoop clears a big piece of payroll, so long as the club finds a way to address its infield needs without using all the savings.
There’s also a “strong” market for Japanese hurler Yusei Kikuchi, Heyman tweets. Unsurprisingly, west coast clubs — the Dodgers, Padres, Giants, and Mariners, at least — appear to be lining up for the 27-year-old. It’s still hard to know what kind of salary and duration he’ll be able to command. But as this particular list of clubs shows, Kikuchi’s unusual youth will play a major role in his market by opening the door to quite a few organizations to pursue him.
Elsewhere, the Yankees are still trying to offload an asset in Sonny Gray. Per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, with GM Brian Cashman saying he has discussed a multitude of different scenarios involving Gray, including some larger deals. That suggests that the Yanks are comfortable hanging onto Gray for a while as they sort through the possibilities, rather than putting him on the market and taking the best deal then available.
Gray is as good as gone from the team’s perspective, but that’s clearly not the same situation for Giants ace Madison Bumgarner. The burly southpaw is reportedly on the table. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be priced at a level that will lead to a deal. Indeed one organizational source tells Heyman (Twitter link) they “don’t see [Bumgarner] going anywhere this winter.” Certainly, the Giants have little need to dump Bumgarner if they aren’t getting something worthwhile in return. Teams with interest, though, will remain wary of a big price for one season of a player with recent shoulder woes and some performance questions.

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