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NL Notes: Dews, Nationals, Desmond, Baez, Reds

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The Braves organization suffered a difficult loss over the weekend, as long-time coach, advisor, and instructor Bobby Dews passed away at 76 years of age. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman explains how deeply embedded he was in the team’s fabric, even as he spent less time around the ballclub in recent years. We join all those around the league in tipping our cap to Dews and offering our condolences to his family and friends.

A few notes from the National League …

  • Following the Nationals’ reported agreement with Stephen Drew on a one-year deal, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post breaks down what the club’s bench could look like. As Janes notes, the addition of Drew will give first-year Nationals manager Dusty Baker four left-handed bats on the bench (Jose Lobaton, Clint Robinson and Matt den Dekker being the others, as things stand). His versatility, as well as the versatility of fellow newcomer Daniel Murphy (who can also handle third base, first base and, in a pinch, left field) gives Baker plenty of options to mix and match. A significant addition may or may not be coming, Janes writes, noting that the pursuit of top free agents such as Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist at least indicates that the club has money to spend. However, even if the team doesn’t land an additional center field option, the much-needed addition of some left-handed options in recent weeks has brightened the 2016 outlook.
  • Former Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond has long been rumored to be dabbling in the idea of signing as a Zobrist-esque super-utility player, and ESPN.com’s Buster Olney suggests the Giants could be a fit for him in such a role. Desmond could be the regular left fielder, even see time in center, and function as a reserve or injury replacement in the infield, Olney reasons.
  • Speaking of converting infielders to the outfield grass, Cubs youngster Javier Baez has seen time in center field in the Puerto Rican winter league, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat noted recently. It doesn’t seem that the organization is looking to press him into regular duty there, at least at present, but would at least like to have the option of deploying him in the outfield on occasion.
  • The Reds’ two Rule 5 picks have a solid chance of sticking with the club, C. Trent Rosecrans writes for Baseball America. Outfielder Jake Cave (from the Yankees) makes for a good fit because he hits from the left side, assistant GM Nick Krall tells Rosecrans. And Krall adds that southpaw Chris O’Grady (via the Angels) has shown an ability to retire batters on both sides of the box, with good command helping to make up for average stuff.

Latest On Yoenis Cespedes’ Market

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DEC. 30: Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes that after checking around with the Orioles in light of their connection to Cespedes, he doesn’t get the sense that any deal is close. Kubatko writes that a team source indicated no chance of the Orioles going near MLBTR’s projected $140MM price tag on Cespedes, and another source told Kubatko that a contract proposal hasn’t even been presented to ownership at this time. Pitching remains the Orioles’ primary focus at this time, according to Kubatko.

DEC. 29: The Orioles and White Sox are emerging as the favorites to land outfielder Yoenis Cespedes “for now,” reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). According to Sanchez, the Giants and Angels are also “in the mix,” and the Rangers are monitoring the situation (though Sanchez’s implication seems to be that they’re relatively far removed from a serious pursuit).

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports linked the ChiSox to Cespedes earlier this morning while reporting that the club was actively seeking an outfield upgrade. Per Rosenthal, longtime division rival Alex Gordon is still on the Sox’ radar as well as the team searches for a superior corner option — presumably, an upgrade over Avisail Garcia. Either Garcia or Melky Cabrera would be logical candidates to lose playing time in the event of an outfield acquisition for the Sox, though the team could try to find a taker for some of Adam LaRoche’s contract and move Cabrera to DH instead. Cabrera, though, batted a solid .288/.330/.449 with 11 homers from June 1 through season’s end after initially struggling with his new team in 2015, so he’s probably still in the team’s plans. (The $29MM owed to him from 2016-17 undoubtedly plays a role in that picture as well.)

The Orioles have a clear need for additional help in the outfield corners, as Adam Jones currently projects to be flanked MLB newcomer Hyun-soo Kim and Nolan Reimold. While Kim, one of the top hitters in the Korea Baseball Organization over the past several years, could emerge as a viable everyday option, he’s untested and figures to have some form of adjustment period even if he does prove to be a quality Major Leaguer. Adding Cespedes to the mix would lessen the need for immediate production from Kim, who could perhaps be eased into MLB a bit more, as countryman Jung Ho Kang was with the Pirates in 2015.

For Baltimore, adding Cespedes would unquestionably require a franchise-record contract (though the same could be said of the White Sox), as Jones’ six-year, $85.5MM deal is the largest in club history at this time. Baltimore has made a strong effort to retain slugger Chris Davis this offseason, reportedly offering $150MM over a seven-year term. Cespedes’ ultimate price tag could approach that point, though many predictions, including MLBTR’s six-year, $140MM projection from early November, have him falling shy of that mark. An earnest pursuit of Cespedes would at the very least clash with previous reports pertaining to the Orioles, which indicated that the team was only interested in spending this type of money on Davis and would not re-allocate the funds to another top-tier free agent were Davis to ultimately sign elsewhere. While the extent of their willingness to spend may be somewhat uncertain,it seems unlikely that the Orioles would be able to sign both Cespedes and Davis. In other words, if Baltimore does indeed bring Cespedes into the fold, it would probably spell the end of Davis’ tenure with the Birds. Should that prove to be the case, the Orioles can deploy trade acquisition Mark Trumbo at first base in 2016, giving the club a wealth of right-handed pop between Cespedes, Trumbo, Jones and Manny Machado.

The Angels have long been connected to corner outfield upgrades, and GM Billy Eppler has said he believes owner Arte Moreno will approve a luxury tax penalty for the right player. The rest of the team’s moves this winter, however, would seem to indicate a strong preference to remain underneath that $189MM barrier, however, as the additions of free agents Daniel Nava and Craig Gentry as well as trade pickups Yunel Escobar and Andrelton Simmons have all been of the lower-cost variety (financially speaking).

As for the Giants, they’ve been more than willing to spend this offseason, adding both Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto to their rotation after a strong pursuit of Zack Greinke came up short and giving Brandon Crawford a $75MM extension. The three players received a combined $285MM in guaranteed money from the Giants, and GM Bobby Evans recently said on MLB Network Radio that he still hopes to add a left fielder, thereby shifting Gregor Blanco into a valuable fourth outfield role. Evans emphasized the trade market in that interview, though one wouldn’t expect a GM to openly broadcast his desire to spend top dollar on a free-agent upgrade, either.

NL Notes: Cabrera, Cardinals, Phillips

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In 2015, Matt Duffy thrust himself into the baseball limelight for his play on the field as well as his social media presence, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.  As far as the baseball part goes, Duffy says that he isn’t stressing over whether he can manage a repeat performance in 2016.

“I think it’s human to think about that,” Duffy said. “But you just get back to what made me able to do it. I wasn’t worrying about hitting .300 or hitting ten homers.  I did it by focusing on the most simple thing: See the ball as big as I can and put a good swing on it. As soon as you think about other people’s expectations, you lock yourself up trying to do the simplest things.”

Here’s more out of the National League:

  • Mark Simon of ESPN.com looked at new Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and stacked him up against everyone else at his position at shortstop.  Ultimately, Cabrera does not grade out as an elite option, but he is an upgrade over what the Mets had there prevously.  A major league scout told Simon that Cabrera profiles similarly to former teammate Jhonny Peralta. “I don’t think he’s a top-15 shortstop, but he’s in the middle of the pack,” said the scout. “What I like about in him is his ability to switch-hit, and I like his hands defensively. Everything he gets to, he’ll catch. Range-wise, he’s limited, but he’s still a quality baseball player. He knows how to do little things that help his team win. He may not match up to the kids at shortstop athletically, but he’ll surpass them in baseball intelligence. His brain is top-10. He’s still a very good guy to have on a major-league roster.” Cabrera inked a deal with the Mets which will guarantee him $18.5MM over the next two seasons plus a club option that could keep him in place through 2018.  As it stands, Cabrera might go down as the Mets’ biggest free agent splash this winter.
  • The Cardinals must focus on offensive development to remain a perennial contender, Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch opines.  Thanks to revenue sharing, even smaller market teams are able to lock up their young bats well before they can ever hit the open market.  Historically, the Cardinals have shied away from the high-ceiling potential of high school hitters in favor of college players with quick developmental potential.  Now, with three selections within the first 40 or so picks, Gordon believes that the Cards can afford to go with more long-range prospects.
  • Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News cannot understand why Reds Brandon Phillips refused to sign off on a trade that would have sent him to the Nationals.  The second baseman reportedly wanted enhancements made to his current pact, which calls for him to earn $27MM over the next two years.  McCoy views the veteran as greedy for making those demands and can’t fathom why he wouldn’t want to play for a winning team like the Nationals, especially when it means that he could have been reunited with Dusty Baker.  Of course, after the Nats agreed to sign Daniel Murphy, there’s no real chance of that deal coming back together.

Outrighted: Rondon, Monell, Cunniff, Robertson

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In addition  to the large number of minor signings and waiver claims today, there have been quite a few outrights from around the league. Righty A.J. Achter has already been outrighted by the Angels, but here are the rest of the day’s outright assignments…

  • The Pirates have outrighted right-hander Jorge Rondon to Triple-A Indianapolis. While Rondon hadn’t been previously designated for assignment, the Buccos needed to clear a roster spot to make way for John Jaso and his new two-year contract, and Rondon was the 40-man casualty. Rondon carried a 2.23 ERA over 60 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year, with 7.4 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. He was once rated among the top thirty prospects of the Cardinals, and has a track record of solid, if unspectacular, numbers in the minors.
  • The Mets have outrighted catcher Johnny Monell to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin (Twitter link). Monell was designated for assignment last week when the team needed a roster spot for the recently re-signed Bartolo Colon. Monell, 30 next March, received his second taste of Major League action last season, collecting a career-high 52 plate appearances with New York. Prior to that, his lone experience in the big leagues was a brief eight-game stint with the 2013 Giants (nine plate appearances). In the Majors, Monell is a .161/230/.196 hitter across his small sample of 61 PAs, but he has a sound track record in the minors, where he’s put together a .279/.356/.455 batting line with 31 homers across 1012 PAs in Triple-A.
  • Right-hander Brandon Cunniff has been outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett by the Braves after clearing waivers, according to a tweet from the team. A former 27th-round draft pick by the Marlins, Cunniff spent three seasons in the independent Frontier League following his brief minor league career with the Marlins. The Braves plucked him from the indy circuit in June of 2013, and he rather quickly rose through their ranks over the past two years. Cunniff posted a brilliant 2.02 ERA in Double-A and jumped directly to the Majors, where he posted a 4.63 ERA with a 37-to-22 K/BB ratio in 35 innings.
  • MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets that outfielder Daniel Robertson has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A by the Mariners after being designated for assignment last week. Robertson lost his roster spot to the re-signed Hisashi Iwakuma but is clearly a player valued by GM Jerry Dipoto, who acquired him from Texas while serving as GM of the Angels and again picked him up from the Halos this winter after taking over the Mariners’ GM job. In 277 career plate appearances, Robertson is a .274/.324/.325 hitter. He also boasts a solid minor league track record and is capable of playing all three outfield positions, making him a valuable depth option for a big league team.

Rosenthal On Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals

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After discussing the Mets’ budget-conscious offseason spending thus far — and questioning the team’s choice of an apparently conservative route after a run to the World Series last year — Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports runs through a variety of notes from around the league. Here are some highlights:

  • Even as the Dodgers pursue Kenta Maeda, the team is continuing to show interest in Scott Kazmir, per Rosenthal — despite an already heavily left-handed rotation. And there is some sentiment among rival executives that L.A. could make a play for yet another southpaw, Wei-Yin Chen.
  • The Giants remain unlikely to play at the top of the free agent outfield market, according to the report, but might look at the next level down. Two names in play are Dexter Fowler and Gerardo Parra, with another possibility being the addition of a right-handed-hitting platoon partner for Gregor Blanco. San Francisco is also in communication with the Rockies on their outfielders, Rosenthal’s colleague Jon Morosi reports.
  • The Cardinals did not sign Mike Leake with intentions of spinning off another starter for outfield help, says Rosenthal. As he notes in another post, signing Leake — while allowing John Lackey to walk — came with some draft benefits, as the club didn’t have to sacrifice a pick to add the former and will gain a selection for losing the latter.

Giants GM Bobby Evans On Left Field, Bullpen

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Last week, the Giants surprised many when they inked starter Johnny Cueto to a six-year, $130MM deal.  Now that the rotation has been bolstered, GM Bobby Evans says that he’s moving on to addressing the team’s left field situation.

“I given our commitments in pitching, I think now is a good time to look at left field and versatility there has value for us,” Evans told MLB Network Radio (audio link).   “We look at [Gregor] Blanco and, he’s been our starting left fielder in the World Series and our starting center fielder in the 2014 World Series so we don’t want to dismiss his ability to help us for a ton of at-bats and a ton of games but if we could put him more in a fourth outfield spot, we feel like we would be stronger.”

When discussing the possibility of further additions this winter, Evans pointed out that the team still has “flexibility” to spend, even after the significant contracts given to Cueto and Jeff Samardzija.  The GM says that the Giants will be open to exploring both the free agent market and the trade market for ways to make the team better, but it doesn’t sound as though the bullpen will be among their top priorities.

“You always want to find a way to get better in the bullpen, [but] I think it’s the one area of the farm system that’s most ready to help us,” said Evans.  “We saw that in [Hunter] Strickland and Josh Osich.  Osich, in many ways, replaces Jeremy Affeldt in the fact that he can pitch to both lefties and righties and pitch in any point in the game.  But, with that said, we’re at least going to keep our antennas up.  It’s not where I want to spend my next dollar, necessarily, because we have depth in the minor leagues, but I recognize that you win with a good bullpen and we need to make sure we’re strong there.”

Ultimately, we shouldn’t expect to see the Giants make a run at a higher-priced free agent reliever such as Tyler Clippard.  By the same token, after dropping big bucks on a pair of free agents already this winter, it’s safe to say that the Giants aren’t going to get involved on an expensive left fielder like Justin Upton, unless his market takes a surprising and drastic nosedive.

Dodgers Notes: Cueto, Friedman, Chapman

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Here’s a look at the Dodgers:

  • In an interview with MLB Network Radio, agent Bryce Dixon said that the Dodgers were in on Johnny Cueto “up until the last couple days” (Twitter links via Jon Morosi of FOX Sports).  Dixon thought that Cueto would have been a “real good fit” for the Dodgers, but, in the end, the Giants made the stronger offer.  At the Winter Meetings in Nashville (before a deal was struck with the Giants) Dixon told MLBTR that he thought Cueto could help form a strong rotation alongside Clayton Kershaw in Los Angeles.
  • Mark Whicker of the Los Angeles Daily News isn’t sure that he understands Andrew Friedman’s plan for the Dodgers.  He doesn’t feel that Friedman has made unwise deals, but he also doesn’t feel that Friedman’s moves fit together well.  Whicker is also concerned about the Dodgers’ lack of a clear No. 2 next to Kershaw after the departure of Greinke and Cueto signing with the Giants.  He opines that landing Jose Fernandez from the Marlins would be the best way to fill the No. 2 spot in the rotation and also supports the idea of trading for Rays hurler Jake Odorizzi, something L.A. has explored.
  • The Dodgers are damned if the do and damned if they don’t, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes.  If the Dodgers retained Zack Greinke, signed Hisashi Iwakuma, and dealt for Aroldis Chapman, they’d get slammed for spending too much.  Now that they haven’t made those moves (for different reasons), some folks are critical of what they view as inaction on the part of Los Angeles’ front office.  “I remind the thin-skinned people in front offices of the smart words Hyman Roth gave Michael Corleone in that hotel room in Havana — ‘This is the business we have chosen,’ ” Dodgers president Stan Kasten said by phone. “The criticism and fishbowl scrutiny is just part of the business. … I am really proud to represent a team that has won 90 games and the division title [each of the last three years]. Yet, that is not good enough for our fans, the media, ownership and me. That is the way it should be. We are the Dodgers, we represent Los Angeles. We should expect to compete for the top every year. Criticism is what goes along with that, which is just fine.”

NL West Notes: Rockies, Cueto, Dodgers

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The Rockies have made a few small moves this offseason, but they haven’t yet addressed their rotation, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes. It’s unclear where the Rockies will go from here, Saunders writes — a deal with the Indians might have made at least a bit of sense, although, via ESPN’s Buster Olney (Insider-only), the Indians don’t appear to see any urgent need to deal Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar. A trade with the Rays might be a possibility, but the Rays have already been connected to a number of other teams (including, today, the Cardinals). And as was reported yesterday, the Rockies weren’t able to get Kevin Gausman from the Orioles in return for Carlos Gonzalez. Here’s more from the NL West.

  • Giants GM Bobby Evans says his team’s MRI of Johnny Cueto’s elbow “looked great,” Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets. Cueto had a flexor strain last season, but it appears to be healed. It sounds, then, like the Cueto’s physical exam reassured the Giants that their $130MM commitment to him was the right move.
  • The Dodgers’ end of the three-way Todd Frazier trade (in which they received youngsters Frankie Montas, Micah Johnson and Trayce Thompson) added talent to the organization, but their return also initially appeared a bit puzzling given that they presumably plan to compete in 2016. The deal might, however, be part of a broader plan to add talent that they can use to acquire veterans, Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles writes. That could mean they trade for a young starter like Jose Fernandez or Sonny Gray. As Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times recently tweeted, top Dodgers exec Andrew Friedman answered affirmatively when asked if the Frazier deal made him feel better about dealing prospects. “Obviously, we’re having a lot of conversations that involve us potentially trading some prospects in different-type scenarios,” says Friedman. “This wasn’t necessarily directed at that, but it’s connected in the same way every move we make has some connection. Expanding our talent base is helpful on multiple fronts.”
  • Dave Cameron of Fangraphs , meanwhile, suggests a package that the Dodgers could use to land Chris Archer of the Rays. Such a deal could conceivably be based around young Dodgers infielder Corey Seager, with the deal also potentially including someone like Rays reliever Jake McGee. Cameron notes that the Dodgers would be reluctant to part with Seager, but, of course, the Rays would be reluctant to part with Archer as well, and the two teams have plenty to offer one another.

Details On Jonathan Papelbon’s Current No-Trade List

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DECEMBER 18: That list was apparently the one in effect for 2015, as Crasnick now provides a list that, he says, will be in effect for the year to come. It is the same as the prior iteration except for four changes.

On this new list, the Braves, Reds, Royals, and Mariners have moved into the group of teams to which Papelbon can reject a trade. Meanwhile, the Giants, Phillies, Tigers, and Yankees are now among the clubs to which Papelbon may freely be dealt, without his authorization.

DECEMBER 15: Nationals reliever Jonathan Papelbon has the right to name 17 clubs to which he cannot be traded without his consent, and ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on this year’s list.

Papelbon can block deals to the following clubs: the Athletics, Blue Jays, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Marlins, Orioles, Phillies, Pirates, Rangers, Rockies, Tigers, Twins, White Sox and Yankees. The league’s remaining teams can acquire the controversial veteran without his approval.

No-trade lists tend to reflect both personal preferences and strategic considerations. It’s hard to know the precise motivations here, but it’s worth remembering that Papelbon has previously made good use of his no-trade rights in exerting leverage. In approving the trade that sent him to D.C. last year, Papelbon received assurances he’d be used as the closer and picked up a guarantee of his 2016 option (though that would have vested anyway and he took a discount to facilitate the move).

While an exceedingly public spat with star Bryce Harper has led to wide speculation that Papelbon will be dealt, Nats GM Mike Rizzo has maintained that the team won’t simply cut him loose for whatever it can get. Papelbon is neither cheap ($11MM) nor young (35), but he’s continued to produce quality results and represents a fair value from a pure baseball perspective.

Giants Sign Johnny Cueto

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DEC. 17: Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that Cueto doesn’t receive a no-trade clause but will pick up a $500K bonus if he’s moved to another team (links to Twitter). Baggarly adds that the seventh-year option is for $22MM and comes with a $5MM buyout. Additionally, he notes, Cueto still gets the $5MM buyout if he opts out of the deal after the 2017 season.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has the contract’s entire breakdown (Twitter link). Cueto receives a $5MM signing bonus and a $15MM salary in 2016. He’ll then be paid $21MM annually from 2017-21. Heyman also notes that the option buyout will be given to Cueto in the form of a bonus, should he opt out of his deal, thereby giving him a guarantee of $46MM over the first two years of the deal and, effectively, a four-year, $84MM player option.

DEC. 16: The Giants have officially announced the deal.

DEC. 14:, 3:37pm: The Giants have made their second significant rotation splash of the offseason, announcing on Monday that they’ve agreed to a six-year contract with right-hander Johnny Cueto, pending a physical. The Bryce Dixon client will reportedly receive a $130MM guarantee and an opt-out clause after two seasons. The contract is said to pay Cueto $46MM prior to the opt-out and also contains a club option for a seventh season, should Cueto elect not to opt out.

With this new contract, Cueto will have the ability to hit the free-agent market again in advance of his age-32 season. As we saw with Zack Greinke this winter, that timing can be highly beneficial to a pitcher. Cueto would have to forfeit a guaranteed $84MM over a four-year term in order to exercise that out clause. While that’s a notable sum, it’s certainly not difficult to see him having a case for more if he pitches up to his previous standards across the first two seasons of the deal.

Cueto, who turns 30 in February, split the 2015 season between the Reds (with whom he had spent his entire career) and Royals, working to a 3.44 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a 42.5 percent ground-ball rate. Those numbers are down, by his standards — the result of some late struggles with the Royals that saw Cueto log a 6.49 ERA over his final 51 1/3 regular-season innings in Kansas City. While health wasn’t said to be an issue for Cueto, he did miss a start with a minor elbow issue earlier in the summer, though the Royals still felt comfortable trading three prospects — left-handers Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb and Cody Reed — for him, and Cueto was brilliant for his first three starts in Royal Blue.

It’s not certain what the cause for Cueto’s troubles in Kansas City were, though some issues with the placement of catcher Salvador Perez’s target and the adjustment to the American League were oft-cited suggestions for his diminished results. Cueto was inconsistent in the playoffs but hurled a pair of utterly dominant gems (in addition to a pair of shakier outings), capping off his 2015 season and his brief Royals career with a one-run, complete-game masterpiece against the Mets in Game Two of the World Series. The pair of excellent postseason outings likely quelled some of the concerns over Cueto’s health, and this contract, plus his reported $120MM offer from Arizona, indicate that some clubs haven’t been overly scared by his elbow.

Cueto will join fellow offseason signee Jeff Samardzija in slotting behind ace Madison Bumgarner atop a new-look Giants rotation. They’ll be joined by right-handers Jake Peavy and Matt Cain, with 2015 rookie Chris Heston presumably serving as a valuable swingman — taking over the role formerly held by the non-tendered Yusmeiro Petit.

The $130MM guarantee and $21.7MM annual value are a steep price, to be sure, but a healthy Cueto has proven to be worthy of that type of commitment when at his best. From 2011-15, Cueto worked to a 2.71 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 despite pitching his home games at one of MLB’s most hitter-friendly environments: Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. In that time, the lone pitcher to throw at least 800 MLB innings and post a better ERA than Cueto’s mark of 2.71 was Dodgers ace and new division rival Clayton Kershaw. One can imagine, then, that moving from GABP to the extremely pitcher-friendly AT&T Park in San Francisco, would stand to benefit Cueto’s already impressive numbers. (Of course, one could’ve made the same argument about the spacious Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, although Cueto moved to a new league in that scenario.)

From a payroll perspective, the Giants already have about $130MM committed to 12 players, plus a sizable raise coming for first baseman Brandon Belt, who MLBTR projects to earn $6.2MM next season. As such, Cueto’s new deal will push the club’s payroll commitment to around $153MM before factoring in Belt’s new contract. That’s a sizable sum and is within striking distance of last year’s $173MM Opening Day mark. However, San Francisco will see Peavy, Angel Pagan, Gregor Blanco, Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez all come off the books following the 2016 campaign, so there’s plenty of long-term flexibility to accommodate a sizable yearly salary for Cueto.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the Giants were making a big push for Cueto. ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that the two sides had reached an agreement (via Twitter). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported the term (Twitter link). ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reported the guarantee (Twitter link). Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the club had confirmed the deal, adding details on the opt-out and club option (links to Twitter). Heyman tweeted that Cueto would get $46MM prior to the opt-out.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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