Giants Rumors

Giancarlo Stanton Rumors: Saturday

By Kyle Downing | December 2, 2017 at 9:04pm CDT

Both the Cardinals and the Giants have recently been given permission to speak with NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton’s representatives. As we get deeper and deeper into the Stanton Saga, we’ll keep track of today’s rumors in this post.

Stanton was actually present with his lead representative, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, at meetings with the Cardinals and Giants last week, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag. Both teams’ GMs attended those summits, adds Heyman, who suggests that Stanton’s presence shows he’s serious about joining either club. Indeed, neither the Cardinals nor Giants have been eliminated from the Stanton derby, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.

Earlier…

In a detailed piece, Heyman references a number of different anonymous sources in expressing skepticism that Stanton would approve a trade to St. Louis. Five different people close to Stanton apparently told Heyman that they believe he’d choose the Giants over the Cardinals if given a choice, and with a full no-trade clause on his side, Stanton has a big say in the matter. One of Heyman’s sources states that the West Coast would be the outfielder’s first choice, the East Coast would be his second choice, and the Midwest would be his last choice. Of course, as Heyman also notes, it’s worth mentioning that talks with St. Louis have progressed to a point at which their front office reps were invited to meet with Stanton’s camp; it seems unlikely that would happen if a trade to the Cardinals was a firm “no” from the reigning home run champ. According to another one of Heyman’s sources, the Marlins believe a trade agreement can be reached with the Giants. However, the Dodgers (who are reportedly Stanton’s first choice) are “not disinterested”. If that’s indeed the case, he could simply choose to wait out the trade process and hope L.A. and Miami can work out an agreement.
Buster Olney of ESPN reports via Twitter that the Marlins are more focused on moving as much of Stanton’s salary as possible than they are on maximizing their prospect return. As Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel both point out in their own tweets, this news is considerably in the Giants’ favor. The Cardinals have far more to offer in terms of prospects, but they don’t have a history of doling out enormous contracts to free agents. The Giants, on the other hand, are payroll juggernauts, and although they have nearly $190MM in payroll guarantees for 2018 already, that number could drop considerably next year with the potential departures of Hunter Pence and Denard Span. This doesn’t mean a deal with the Giants is imminent, but it does seem to make them a better trade partner for the Marlins.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy was apparently not present at the meeting between the San Francisco brass and Stanton’s representatives on Thursday, according to a tweet from Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s a fairly minor detail, but it does seem to decrease the likelihood that a trade is truly on the brink of taking place.

2017 Non-Tenders

By Jeff Todd | December 1, 2017 at 7:10pm CDT

The deadline to tender 2018 contracts to players is tonight at 8pm EST. We’ll keep track of the day’s non-tenders in this post (all referenced arbitration projections courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) …

The Giants non-tendered righty Albert Suarez, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Suarez, 28, was not yet eligible for arbitration.
Righty Tom Koehler and infielder Ryan Goins are heading to the open market after being non-tendered by the Blue Jays, per a team announcement.
The Rays announced that lefty Xavier Cedeno has been non-tendered, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
The Cubs non-tendered catcher Taylor Davis, per a team announcement. He was not yet eligible for arbitration.
Four Rangers players have not been tendered contracts, per a club announcement. Righties Chi Chi Gonzalez, A.J. Griffin, and Nick Martinez have been cut loose along with infielder Hanser Alberto. Griffin ($3.0MM projection) and Martinez ($2.0MM) were both noted as non-tender candidates by MLBTR. The other two players were not yet eligible for arbitration. Gonzalez was a former first-round pick who had struggled of late and underwent Tommy John surgery in July.
The Diamondbacks have also non-tendered lefty T.J. McFarland, who had projected at a $1.0MM salary.
The Reds non-tendered lefty Kyle Crockett, a pre-arb lefty who was only recently claimed on waivers, per a club announcement.
Per a club announcement, the Brewers have non-tendered veteran righty Jared Hughes. He will end up being the only 40-man player not to receive a contract from Milwaukee. Hughes had projected at a $2.2MM arbitration value. The 32-year-old is a master at inducing grounders and has turned in repeatedly excellent results. He also averaged a career-best 93.9 mph on his sinker in 2017.
The Mariners have non-tendered lefty Drew Smyly and righty Shae Simmons, per a club announcement. While the former was expected, due to Smyly’s Tommy John surgery, the latter rates as something of a surprise given his cheap $700K projection. Of course, it’s possible the club is not optimistic of his chances of bouncing back from arm troubles.
The White Sox will not tender a contract to reliever Jake Petricka, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). He had projected to take home $1.1MM in his second trip through the arb process. Also non-tendered, per a club announcement, were righties Zach Putnam and Al Alburquerque as well as infielder Alan Hanson.
It seems that righty Bruce Rondon will wind up his tenure with the Tigers, as the organization is set to non-tender him, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free-Press (via Twitter). Rondon was long viewed as a potential late-inning arm for the Tigers, but had some notable run-ins with the organization, struggled with control, and never consistently produced at the MLB level. Though he projected to earn just $1.2MM, Rondon will be allowed to find a new organization. He will turn 26 later this month.
The Diamondbacks will non-tender righty J.J. Hoover, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Hoover projected at just $1.6MM, but Arizona is watching every penny as it seeks to return to the postseason with a tight payroll situation. The 30-year-old turned in 41 1/3 innings of 3.92 ERA ball in 2017 with 11.8 K/9 but also 5.7 BB/9 on the year.
The Royals announced that they have non-tendered outfielder Terrance Gore. Though Gore was not eligible for arbitration, teams occasionally utilize today’s deadline to prune their 40-man rosters. Gore had quite an interesting run with Kansas City, scarcely playing at all during the regular season and then appearing as a speed-and-defense asset in the team’s two storied postseason runs. Now, though the fleet-footed 26-year-old is out of options. With an upper minors OPS that hovers just over .600, Gore just was not going to break camp with the club. It seems reasonable to think there’s a chance he’ll return to the organization on a minors deal, though Gore will also have a shot at exploring the broader market.

Cardinals Will Meet With Giancarlo Stanton’s Representatives

By Jeff Todd | December 1, 2017 at 5:50pm CDT

The Cardinals have a meeting scheduled with representatives of star Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter links). The 2017 NL MVP, who is being shopped as the Marlins seek to trim payroll, has the ability to block any trade by virtue of his full no-trade rights.

Yesterday, Stanton’s reps sat down with the Giants’ brass, so it seems that at least these two organizations have obtained authorization from Miami to discuss their pursuit of Stanton directly with his camp. Tonight’s news rather clearly indicates that there is no deal in place with San Francisco, so it seems there’s still time for the situation to develop before Stanton ends up changing hands. (Of course, it’s also still possible that won’t come to pass.)

With respect to the Giants, there’s also no reason to believe they are out of the race. To the contrary, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets that Miami is still eyeing some of San Francisco’s young talent. He says the Marlins are looking specifically at top Giants prospect Heliot Ramos as well as righty Tyler Beede, first baseman Chris Shaw, and catcher Aramis Garcia — along with major league second bagger Joe Panik. That’s not to say that all of those players would be included in any prospective deal, of course; rather, it seems those are the names in play at the moment.

While it’s within the Marlins’ rights to allow other teams to speak with Stanton, it seems there are at least some parameters to be minded. Per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, via Twitter, MLB rules require that the team “have a general understanding on trade terms.”

All things considered, this is rather an unusual state of affairs for a trade candidate. But in a year in which Shohei Otani has been recruited like a five-star high school athlete, perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising to see anther unique situation arise.

Certainly, Stanton is a fairly unique asset. Beyond the fact that there’s an opportunity to grab a 28-year-old player who is arguably the game’s preeminent power hitter, his contract creates quite some opportunity and risk. Stanton is owed another $295MM on his long-term deal but also has the right to opt out after three seasons.

Giants Meet With Giancarlo Stanton’s Representatives

By Jeff Todd | November 30, 2017 at 10:42pm CDT

10:42pm: The meeting should not be read as an indication that a deal is about to go down, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro cautions on Twitter. Rather, he says, “a trade is not considered imminent” and the Marlins “remain engaged with other clubs” regarding Stanton.

8:42pm: The Giants have sent executives to meet with representatives of star Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, according to Craig Mish of Sirius XM (Twitter links). It is not clear whether the meeting, which is said to be taking place in Los Angeles, will also include Stanton himself. Top organizational figures are on hand for the Giants, though,with president of baseball operations Brian Sabean, GM Bobby Evans, and skipper Bruce Bochy all trekking south.

Obviously, such a sit-down could only occur if the Marlins have authorized the discussion. In all likelihood, it seems, permission would only be given if the teams believed they could potentially finalize a deal involving Stanton, whose approval would be needed for any swap given his full no-trade rights.

Earlier today, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discussed the parameters of possible interactions between Stanton and his pursuers. Of course, he was addressing the point in reference to the Cardinals’ efforts to land the star performer, and it’s not clear at this point whether the St. Louis organization will be afforded such an opportunity.

Throughout the offseason, rumors have surrounded the possibility of the Marlins dealing Stanton — their biggest star, and also the league’s highest-paid player. The west coast native is believed to prefer to play close to his Los Angeles home, but the hometown Dodgers have only operated at the fringes of the market thus far.

Some have suggested of late that the situation — which has seemingly backed into something of a stalemate since the end of the GM Meetings — could end up playing out more slowly. Both Stanton and the Marlins, perhaps, would prefer to see the Dodgers enter the fray. Or, perhaps, other organizations could join the Giants and Cardinals, the clear top two pursuers to this point.

There has been some discussion of possible trade scenarios between the teams, but on the whole it is not clear just what kind of package could be contemplated if the San Francisco brass can convince Stanton to join on. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi discussed a potential return for Stanton in an article earlier today, but also made clear that MLB.com had not confirmed that any of the rumored players had actually been formally offered or asked for. And others — such as Bob Nightengale of USA Today, on Twitter — have cast doubt on the idea that the true potential trade package has yet been stated publicly. There is, however, indication from some quarters that the Giants are willing to take on the bulk or even all of Stanton’s contract, as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.

With respect to the talks between Stanton’s representatives and his would-be new employers, it’s possible to imagine any number of topics being discussed. No doubt Stanton will be interested to learn more about the organization’s plans to return to contention after a disastrous 2017 campaign. As Nightengale notes in another tweet, though, it’s also possible there could be some contractual negotiations. Because Stanton would stand to take a hit to his bottom line by playing half his games in California, his representatives might conceivably request some kind of compensation.

Giants Have Discussed Andrew McCutchen With Pirates

By Jeff Todd | November 29, 2017 at 12:39pm CDT

The Giants and Pirates have “remained in contact” regarding star outfielder Andrew McCutchen, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link). McCutchen could represent an alternative to Giancarlo Stanton for the San Francisco organization, Morosi suggests.

This is the first time we’ve seen the 31-year-old McCutchen come up clearly in trade rumors this winter. He’s owed $14.5MM for the 2018 season and will reach free agency thereafter.

McCutchen is no longer the superstar he once was, but did just wrap up a productive 2017 campaign. In 650 plate appearances, he slashed .279/.363/.486 and hit 28 home runs.

Metrics are not enamored of McCutchen’s glovework in center, so he doesn’t seem like a direct replacement for Denard Span, who’s expected to move into a corner spot. But Cutch’s ability to handle some time up the middle certainly doesn’t hurt. He’s also a far less committing acquisition target than is Stanton.

It’s not immediately clear what it might take to get the Bucs to part with their franchise icon. Moving the salary would help the organization seek some other improvements, though losing McCutchen would also mean creating an immediate hole — even if the team is comfortable relying upon Austin Meadows and/or piecing together some platoon pieces. Given McCutchen’s standing with the fan base, there’s added motivation for the Pirates to hold out for a worthwhile return. And the organization will be cognizant of the possibility of instead dealing him at the trade deadline, if the ballclub does not compete, or making him a qualifying offer at the end of the coming season.

Shohei Ohtani Rumors: Tuesday

By Jeff Todd | November 28, 2017 at 4:13pm CDT

Though Shohei Ohtani has not even yet been officially posted — that’s expected as soon as Friday — the supreme young talent is drawing plenty of attention from MLB organizations. Those clubs received a memorandum over the weekend asking them to provide information to Ohtani and his representatives on a variety of subjects, which is only the beginning of a highly unusual and utterly fascinating recruitment process.

Here’s the latest:

Though Ohtani is limited to a signing bonus and a minor league contract in coming to the Major Leagues, he stands to earn substantially more through marketing endorsements, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Marketing agents have predicted to Nightengale that between endorsements back in Japan and in the United States, Ohtani could command north of $20MM annually. That’d make him MLB’s highest-paid player in terms of off-the-field revenue.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic spoke to agent Scott Boras (who was in the running to represent Ohtani before Ohtani signed CAA and Nez Balelo) as well as MLB chief legal officer Dan Halem about Ohtani’s earning capacity. Unsurprisingly, Boras offered sharp criticism of a system that won’t allow Ohtani to top a $3.535MM signing bonus at this point. “He is precocious, greatness cast adrift, forced into the MLB lifeboat,” said the always colorful Boras. “And his admission is handcuffs that prevent him from getting at least what his older, lesser valued peers received—in Tanaka’s case, more than $150 million.” Halem, as one would expect, wholly disagreed with Boras’ notions, pointing out that it was Ohtani who passed on the chance to sign with MLB clubs as an amateur out of high school, which could have jump-started his earning potential. And, it was Ohtani who asked to be posted as an amateur just two years before he could have been posted as a professional. The free column has quite a few quotes from both Boras and Halem on the matter and is well worth a full look.

Earlier Updates

As teams sit down to their assigned task, Travis Sawchik of Fangraphs reasons that the questionnaire’s request for information on “player development, medical, training and player performance philosophies and capabilities” may be the single most important factor. As Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes, the new CBA’s inclusion of additional off-days ought to help make it easier for Ohtani to pitch and hit at the game’s highest level. Just how teams propose to accomplish that, in combination with the player health and fitness management they already utilize, could well be be a significant element in Ohtani’s decision.
MLB.com’s Jon Morosi discusses the eight teams that he believes have the best shot at landing Japanese star Shohei Ohtani — while acknowledging that we still really don’t know what factors will drive the decision. It’s a worthwhile primer on some of the background considerations that may play into things. For instance, Morosi notes that Los Angeles is home to the largest mainland Japanese-American community, representing a potential feather in the cap for the Dodgers, though certainly several other competitive organizations can point to their own, similarly robust international communities and other such considerations. It’s all still reading tea leaves at this point; fortunately, we have SB Nation’s Grant Brisbee to gather and interpret them for us (in this post).
Of course, as Morosi notes, the Rangers have done as much or more grunt work developing a presence in Japan as any organization. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News recently broke down the team’s pursuit of Ohtani in a post that’s well worth a full read. Aiding the Rangers, he writes, is the fact that the organization has “laid groundwork in Japan for six years” and can point to its successes with Yu Darvish.
The Reds have “serious interest” in Ohtani, as president of baseball operations Dick Williams says and C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Williams says the team has “some optimism” that it “can make a case for why we would present a good opportunity” to a player that is looking at far more than just money. Like the Rays, another rumored small-market suitor, it seems the Cincinnati organization feels there’s little to lose by putting its best foot forward.
Some bigger spenders have roster and other limitations that may impact their pitches to Ohtani. As Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post recently wrote, that seems to be the case for the Nationals. Still, the Nats evidently plan to be among the teams that respond to Ohtani’s inquiries and at least make an attempt to land him. Club president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo discussed his intentions on MLB Network yesterday (more on that, including audio, here).
Both of the Bay Area organizations would surely also love to add Ohtani, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, and each has dedicated some attention to watching him in the past. While their front offices weren’t looking to lobby much, Giants GM Bobby Evans called Ohtani “impressive” and Athletics GM David Forst says “a two-way player with his abilities would be an asset for any team.” To the extent that Ohtani prioritizes geographic proximity to his native Japan, the San Francisco-Oakland region would figure to hold appeal and might at least allow these organizations to get a foot in the door.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/27/17

By Steve Adams | November 27, 2017 at 3:42pm CDT

Here are Monday’s minor moves from around the league…

The Padres have signed right-hander Jonathan Aro to a minor league contract, per Aro’s agent, Gene Mato (Twitter link). The 27-year-old Aro, who was traded from the Red Sox to the Mariners as part of the Wade Miley/Carson Smith deal, has recorded excellent numbers at the Triple-A level but has yet to receive an extended look in the Majors. That Aro received a 50-game suspension earlier this season for a violation of MLB’s joint drug agreement didn’t help his case in that regard. Still, Aro owns a lifetime 2.96 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in 130 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He’s a pronounced fly-ball pitcher, though that’s less of an issue at San Diego’s Petco Park than it would be in some settings.
Outfielder Brandon Barnes is joining the Indians on a minor league contract, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The PSI Sports Management client hit .276/.331/.420 with Miami’s Triple-A affiliate last season but didn’t appear in the Majors — his first season without big league action since splitting the 2011 season between Double-A and Triple-A. The 31-year-old Barnes has drawn considerably above-average reviews for his work in the outfield, per Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating, but he’s a career .242/.289/.356 hitter. Barnes can play all three outfield spots and could conceivably fill a role similar to the one Austin Jackson held in Cleveland last year, but although he’s a right-handed bat, he lacks Jackson’s track record against left-handed pitching.
The Giants announced that infielder/outfielder Orlando Calixte has been outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento after clearing waivers. The 25-year-old batted .143/.185/.163 in 55 MLB plate appearances in San Francisco and hit .243/.283/.421 in 401 Triple-A plate appearances last season. Calixte has seen brief action with the Giants and Royals over the past two seasons and is a career .247/.300/.382 hitter in parts of eight minor league seasons. He was designated for assignment last week when San Francisco was setting its roster prior to the Rule 5 Draft.

Giancarlo Stanton Trade Rumors: Monday

By Steve Adams | November 27, 2017 at 2:49pm CDT

The Giancarlo Stanton trade saga has been one of the top storylines of the offseason, and there’s no end in sight at the time being. To date, the Cardinals and Giants have reportedly submitted formal offers, while the Dodgers and Red Sox have also been linked to the slugger.

We’ll track today’s developments on the Stanton front right here:

ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that other clubs have gotten the sense that there’ll be resolution on the Stanton talks one way or another by the time the Winter Meetings kick off on Dec. 10 (all Twitter links). That is to say, the Marlins will either have traded him by that point or interested parties will have exhausted their patience and begun to explore other possibilities on the trade and free-agent markets. Crasnick also notes that while the Cardinals and Giants are the most-cited suitors, there are other clubs that are in active pursuit of Stanton.

Earlier Updates

Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports that Stanton has given the Marlins a list of teams to which he’d accept a trade, and the Dodgers are among those teams (all links to Twitter). Per Morosi, the Dodgers and Marlins have discussed some Stanton trade scenarios, but the Giants and Cardinals have shown more focused interest in Stanton. Some teams interested in Stanton feel the Dodgers are his top choice, which could slow negotiations as Stanton could veto any deal until knowing for certain that the Dodgers don’t plan on making a move for him. At this point, however, Stanton has not rejected any trades, according to Morosi.

Rays Claim Micah Johnson From Giants

By Steve Adams | November 27, 2017 at 2:43pm CDT

The Rays announced on Monday that they’ve claimed infielder Micah Johnson off outright waivers from the Giants. San Francisco had designated Johnson for assignment last week prior to setting the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.

Once considered the second baseman of the future for the White Sox, Johnson went from Chicago to the Dodgers by way of the three-team trade that sent Todd Frazier to the Reds to the ChiSox. Johnson spent the 2016 season in the Dodgers’ organization but was flipped to Atlanta last January. He enjoyed a solid run with Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate, hitting .289/.377/.400 in a small sample of 155 plate appearances but also missed a significant portion of the year due to a fractured left wrist.

Thus far in the offseason alone, Johnson has gone from the Braves, to the Reds, to the Giants, to the Rays — all via claims off of outright waivers.

Cafardo’s Latest: Stanton, Arrieta, JBJ, Zimmermann

By Connor Byrne | November 25, 2017 at 3:55pm CDT

The latest on Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton comes from the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, who reports that the Red Sox currently have “tepid” interest in the NL MVP. Notably, Miami isn’t enamored of Boston’s farm system, per Cafardo, though he notes that the Marlins’ main motivation in trading Stanton would be to rid themselves of his contract. As such, one shouldn’t rule out Stanton to the Red Sox if they’re willing to take on a significant portion of the $295MM coming his way over the next decade.

While it’s unclear how much of Stanton’s deal the Red Sox would be open to absorbing, the Giants are “willing to take on a lot” of it, Cafardo writes. The Giants have shown more interest than anyone else in Stanton, Cafardo hears, and he adds that they’re prepared to exceed the luxury tax threshold for the fourth straight year if necessary. As of now, they and the Cardinals are the only known teams that have submitted offers to the Marlins to acquire Stanton.

Headlines

Giants Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect