Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Giants Rumors

West Notes: Cueto, Giants, Astros, Dodgers

By | at

Giants GM Bobby Evans discussed the prospective addition of Johnny Cueto yesterday, noting the deal’s upside, as Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com reports. “You have a guy that has a chance to be an elite presence in your rotation if he’s healthy and we can play good defense behind him and he uses our ballpark to his advantage,” said Evans. Of course, the deal is not yet official, though Evans’s comments appear to suggest that the club isn’t too worried about the physical, which John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle says (on Twitter) will likely take place Wednesday.

Here’s more from out west:

  • The San Francisco GM also addressed the team’s outfield search, indicating that he’ll continue to keep an eye on all potential options in the market. But a significant move isn’t likely after the commitments to Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, Pavlovic reports.
  • ESPN.com’s Keith Law discusses the Cueto move, explaining that there’s a good deal of risk for the Giants but noting that there are some positives. For one thing, says Law, the veteran looks to be a good fit for spacious AT&T Park; for another, the early opt-out provision (after two years) arguably makes better sense than other such uses of that type of clause. Of course, it ultimately all comes down to whether Cueto will return to form or if his rough second half is an indication of the future.
  • The Astros would “definitely like to bring in another starter,” owner Jim Crane said yesterday, as Jose de Jesus Ortiz tweets (video link). Houston has real interest in Yovani Gallardo, could potentially match up on Mike Leake, and remains interested in a reunion with Scott Kazmir, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. The team doesn’t appear to be moving on Kenta Maeda, he adds, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if GM Jeff Luhnow and co. decide to wait out the market and “bargain hunt.”
  • Former big league catcher Josh Bard is likely to join the Dodgers coaching staff, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. He’s expected to slot in as the bullpen coach, Morosi suggests.

Giants, Johnny Cueto Progressing Toward Deal

By | at

3:17pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the two sides are making progress on a deal and could have an agreement in place soon (Twitter link).

2:34pm: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Giants and Cueto are discussing a deal that “easily” tops the $120MM figure he rejected from Arizona. The Dodgers and “a couple others” are still in the mix, but the Giants are working the hardest to get something done. The deal being discussed with San Francisco (and others) will “likely” contain an opt-out clause, Heyman adds.

1:48pm: The Cardinals and Dodgers have both “dabbled” in Cueto’s market, tweets Crasnick, but both teams were hesitant to even approach the reported $120-126MM that Cueto rejected, let alone exceed it.

1:24pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that action on Cueto does indeed seem to be picking up (links to Twitter). One source that spoke to Crasnick and knows Cueto’s market well feels that the right-hander could ultimately top the $120-126MM offer he rejected from the D-backs.

12:46pm: The Giants are making a “strong push” for right-hander Johnny Cueto, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

San Francisco, of course, was a finalist for the services of Zack Greinke but lost out to a stunning last-minute push by the division-rival Diamondbacks. Since that time, they’ve added Jeff Samardzija on a five-year, $90MM contract, but they’ve reportedly been open to bringing in another starter in addition to that signing. Cueto has already rejected a six-year offer from the D-backs that was reported to be worth $120-126MM in total, which should serve as a barometer of sorts when gauging the type of money it will take to sign him. Of course, it’s not certain that Cueto will sign for more than that figure — his market may have some down a bit, he may simply not have wanted to play with the D-backs, etc. — but it’d be a surprise to see him take substantially less just two weeks after that reported offer.

Cueto, 30 in February, posted a combined 3.44 ERA in 212 innings with the Reds and Royals this past season. His late struggles with Kansas City are well known at this point, as he recorded a 6.49 ERA over his final 51 1/3 innings on his new club. Cueto had mixed results in the playoffs, struggling in two starts but also delivering a pair of masterpieces, including a one-run, complete game victory over the Mets in Game Two of the World Series.

Cueto missed a small amount of time over the summer with a minor elbow injury that never sent him to the disabled list. Regardless, the earlier injury and rocky performance with the Royals has created a fair amount of skepticism surrounding him this offseason, at least in the media. Clearly, with at least one club willing to offer a significant six-year contract, teams aren’t completely scared off by any uncertainties that may exist regarding his right elbow.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/13/15

By | at

Let’s catch up on some recent minor league transactions, all from Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted.

  • The Reds announced the signing of right-hander J.C. Ramirez to a minor league contract earlier this month.  Ramirez posted a 5.32 ERA over 23 2/3 innings with the Diamondbacks and Mariners in 2015, and he was outrighted by the M’s after the season.
  • The Athletics signed left-hander Eric Surkamp to a minors deal.  Surkamp pitched in just one MLB game in 2015, a 3 1/3 inning relief stint for the Dodgers.  He has a 6.47 ERA over 57 innings with the Dodgers, White Sox and Giants in a career that was slowed by missing all of 2012 due to Tommy John surgery.
  • The Giants signed infielder Ramiro Pena to a minors contract.  Pena hit .244/.288/.330 over 610 PA as a utilityman with the Yankees and Braves from 2009-2014, and he spent 2015 with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate.
  • The Angels signed veteran right-hander Ramon Ramirez to a minor league contract.  Ramirez threw at least 63 2/3 innings in all but one season from 2006 through 2012, soaking up innings as a bullpen workhorse and posting a 3.32 ERA over 428 frames for five different clubs in that span.  After being dealt to the Giants at the 2010 trade deadline, Ramirez posted an 0.67 ERA in 27 relief innings to help San Francisco reach the postseason in what ended up as a World Series championship year.  Ramirez has pitched just 6 2/3 Major League innings over the last three seasons, however, and he spent 2015 in the Mexican League.
  • The Indians signed righty Felipe Paulino to a minors deal.  Paulino posted a 4.93 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 over 104 innings with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate.  The 32-year-old looked to have turned a corner as a Major Leaguer after joining the Royals in 2011 and he got off a hot start in K.C.’s rotation in 2012 before injuries forced him to undergo Tommy John surgery.  He last appeared in the majors in 2014 as a member of the White Sox, and he has 403 2/3 career innings over six years in the bigs.

Crasnick On The Outfield Market

By | at

With Jason Heyward finally off the board, the rest of the outfield market can begin to shift into place, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. Here’s a sampling of what Crasnick sees shaping up around the league:

  • The Royals would like to bring back free agent Alex Gordon at the right price, but they could also jump into the market for one of the Rockies outfielders. Per Crasnick, Carlos Gonzalez would require a serious haul – perhaps one or both of Raul Mondesi or Miguel Almonte. He doesn’t believe Charlie Blackmon or Corey Dickerson would require either player. I’m not sure I agree with this assessment. While Gonzalez is definitely the more recognizable name, Dickerson and Blackmon cost less, are younger, and come equipped with more club control. It’s also arguable as to which of the trio is expected to be best over the next few years. In any event, with the Royals window wide open, they do match up well for one of the Rockies outfielders.
  • If the Royals fall short of Gordon or a trade asset, an outfielder like Denard Span, Gerardo Parra, or Dexter Fowler should help to keep the pressure off Jarrod Dyson. All three would cost substantially less than Gordon, but they also carry assorted warts including platoon issues and checkered injury histories.
  • The Angels and Giants would like a quality outfielder, but they have multiple positions to fill with limited resources. If the Giants go in on another starter like Mike Leake, they’ll be out on top outfielders like Justin Upton. Similarly, the Angels still need to address second base and left field. Their barren farm system will force them to use the free agent market.
  • The Reds have only received a couple of feelers on outfielder Jay Bruce. Entering his age 29 season, Bruce has been a below average hitter in each of the last two seasons. This despite hitting in one of the friendliest parks for hitters. While I do think a team will eventually roll the dice on Bruce, it won’t be until after more quality outfielders leave the marketplace.

Reported Runner-Up Offers For Heyward And Greinke

By | at

The most important numbers involved in any free agent scenario are, obviously, the final deal terms. But the offers made by other clubs are not only interesting but also potentially tell us something about the market — both at the time of the signing and even moving forward.

We heard plenty of discussion today about how much cash was dangled in front of two of this year’s three biggest free agent pieces: Jason Heyward and Zack Greinke. Heyward reportedly agreed with the Cubs for eight years and $184MM, with a contract provision allowing him two separate opportunities to opt out of the deal and re-enter the market. Meanwhile, after exercising just such a clause to jump back into the free agent waters, Greinke inked a mind-blowing six-year, $206.5MM deal with the Diamondbacks (which included some very significant deferrals).

Before entering those arrangements, both players considered multiple other arrangements. For Heyward, the elusive $200MM barrier was reportedly met or exceeded by both the Nationals and the Cardinals. (Per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch — here and here — and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, on Twitter.) And at least one other team, possibly the Angels, also beat Chicago’s total guarantee with its bid. (That’s per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, Twitter links; see here for the Halos’ late interest.)

Notably, though, we’ve not been told how many years Washington and St. Louis covered in their offers, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that it seems neither met the $23MM AAV that Heyward will reportedly receive. And as Keith Law of ESPN.com stresses on Twitter, it’s even more important to bear in mind that the opt-out opportunities carry significant value and that Heyward will owe less in state taxes in Illinois than he would have in the other locales.

While acknowledging the opt-out value, Passan notes that it’s nevertheless “uncommon” for a player to turn down a greater overall guarantee, and that’s largely true in the abstract. But it’s important to remember, too, that Heyward’s unique market placement — he hasn’t even reached the halfway point between 26 and 27 years of age — makes his situation quite a bit different from that of most free agents.

For one thing, Heyward’s age arguably increases the worth of those bail-out clauses even further, since he’ll gain the right to re-enter the market in advance of his age-29 season. That’s still early for a free agent, and might give Heyward a chance not only to step up his AAV (if his performance increases and/or salary inflation continues) but also to tack on more years down the line. Greinke pulled exactly that trick despite turning 32 before signing his new deal, and the upside for Heyward is even greater.

Also, gaining two opt-out points will allow Heyward to assess his market timing while keeping the future guarantee in his back pocket. That not only adds to the value going to him in this deal but also increases the uncertainty and risk for the Cubs.

It’s worth noting, too, that even if Heyward does play out the full eight years in Chicago, he’ll stand to hit the market again before he turns 35. That’s exactly the point in his career that Ben Zobrist finds himself as he joins the Cubs on a four-year, $56MM contract. There’s good reason to believe that Heyward will be plenty capable of continuing to earn money on the open market at the end of his deal, which makes it much easier (and arguably wise) to forego another year (or two) of commitment for a relatively marginal bump in the overall guarantee — all at the cost of annual earning power.

Simply put, without knowing whether the other bidders were willing to include similar opt-out terms, and without knowing the length of their proposals, it’s impossible to compare the offers. From my perspective, though, the deal that Heyward ultimately agreed to is a better contract for him than the straight ten-year, $200MM deal that we at MLBTR thought Heyward could command (see here and here).

As for Greinke, the veteran righty said today in his introductory press conference that he was literally minutes away from signing with some unknown other club before Arizona swept in. ESPN’s Molly Knight tweeted that the Giants were actually the runners up, making Greinke a six-year, $195MM offer.

But San Francisco’s president of baseball operations Brian Sabean has said publicly that the club was not comfortable promising Greinke a sixth year. And both Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area (Twitter link) and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (also on Twitter) strongly disputed the notion that the Giants had come anywhere near the D-Backs’ offer.

The Dodgers, too, are said to have balked at going to six years on Greinke, as MLB.com’s Mark Saxon was among those to note recently (Twitter link). It remains unclear how high the Los Angeles offer was, and whether it or another team was the one that nearly struck a deal with Greinke.

Looking at all of those reported offers, it seems clear that there are several clubs that have the capacity and willingness to spend much more money this winter than they have so far. That’s not to say that all will actually put that cash right back into free agency. But the potential is there, and it’s also notable that an unexpected team (the Diamondbacks) put so much cash onto the market.

All said, there’s plenty left to be spent. And that makes sense: more than half of MLBTR’s top fifty free agents — including six of the top ten — remain unsigned at present.

International Notes And Signings: Hacker, Brigham, Morel, Cordier, Matsuda

By | at

We’ve heard a lot about N.C. Dinos slugger Eric Thames, who was just crowned the MVP of the Korea Baseball Organization. He continued to rack up awards, but was joined in the trophy room by teammate Eric Hacker, who picked up the KBO’s “Golden Glove” for pitching. As Yonhap’s Jee-Ho Yoo explains, it goes to the best player at each position, unlike the more familiar precious metal-and-leather award utilized in the majors. Hacker, 32, has logged 18 MLB innings but has been a fixture in the Dinos’ rotation for the last three campaigns. He worked to a strong 3.13 EAR with 7.2 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 over 204 innings — quite an impressive feat in the hitter-friendly KBO.

Here’s more on the international market, including some recent player movement from the U.S. to Asia:

  • Righty Jake Brigham is headed to Japan’s Rakuten Golden Eagles, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. The 27-year-old cracked the big leagues for the first time last year with the Braves, but was hit hard in a doze appearances. He did, however, put up a solid 3.46 ERA with 6.8 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in his 91 Triple-A frames (including 15 starts).
  • In addition to adding Brian Bogusevic, the NPB’s Orix Buffaloes have inked deals with Brent Morel and Erik Cordier, NPB Tracker’s Patrick Newman tweets. Morel, a 28-year-old third baseman, has seen action in each of the last six MLB seasons but hasn’t exceeded 35 games played since back in 2011. He slashed .286/.337/.448 over 472 Triple-A plate appearances last year with the Pirates and Athletics organizations. Cordier, a fireballing righty who’ll soon turn 30, has thrown 18 1/3 frames with the Giants and Marlins but has never harnessed his big heater enough to be seen as a consistent MLB pen piece. He was, however, rather dominant last year in the highest level of the minors.
  • The Padres have long been said to be among the teams with the strongest interest in Japanese third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda, and Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets that the club could be weighing a multi-year offer. Though Matsuda may be interested in seeing how his market develops, Lin suggests that the Pads might be willing to make a two-year commitment — or, at least, one guaranteed year plus an option.

Fernandez Notes: Marlins, Diamondbacks, Giants

By | at

The Marlins seem unlikely to trade Jose Fernandez, or make other major moves, before the end of the Winter Meetings, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald writes. “I think that’s a possibility, and we’re not upset,” says Marlins executive Michael Hill over the possibility that they’ll leave Nashville mostly empty-handed. “I don’t think we’d be disappointed, because it’s not over.” Hill adds that the Marlins are looking for starting pitching, but could also pursue bullpen upgrades if they deem the cost of acquiring pitching too high. Here are a couple more notes on Fernandez and the trade rumors swirling around him.

  • After making a very costly trade for Shelby Miller, Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart should follow his plan to its logical conclusion and find a way to trade for Fernandez also, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan writes. The Miller trade and the Zack Greinke signing indicate that the Diamondbacks believe they can be competitive for the next three seasons, after which Miller and Patrick Corbin can depart. Arizona has an option on Paul Goldschmidt for 2019, and then he can leave, too. Stewart’s trade of Aaron Blair and 2015 No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson show that he lives in the moment, which makes Fernandez a perfect fit. The Diamondbacks could include Corbin, Braden Shipley, Archie Bradley and others in a five-for-one or six-for-one type of deal to make a trade happen, Passan suggests. (That might not be too farfetched, as the Marlins and Diamondbacks reportedly discussed a deal centered on Corbin and Swanson before the Snakes dealt Swanson to Atlanta.) That would give the Diamondbacks a top three of Greinke, Fernandez and Miller, making them terrifying — at least in the short term.
  • The Giants are still looking for another starting pitcher. That pitcher could come via trade, and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the Giants would be “all in” on Fernandez (who they’ve recently discussed with the Marlins). The price for Fernandez appears, obviously, be extremely high, and the Giants don’t have an exceptionally strong farm system, so making a trade work would probably tricky even if the Marlins were clearly willing to make one.

Rangers Notes: RH Bat, Barnette, Moreland, Catchers, Nathan

By | at

The Rangers are “making progress” in talks with a yet-unknown right-handed hitter, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. That hitter isn’t Mike Napoli, Grant hears, and while he initially noted that the Rangers have some interest in Steve Pearce, he’s since tweeted that it’s not Pearce, either. Ideally, the Rangers want a player that can handle first base and also spell Josh Hamilton in left field against left-handed starters, Grant notes. There aren’t many right-handed first base/outfield types on the market at present, though I wonder if Ryan Raburn could be of interest in such a role, provided he can prove capable at first.

A few more Rangers notes…

  • General manager Jon Daniels “hasn’t been motivated” by any of the trade talks he’s had regarding Mitch Moreland, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (links to Twitter). Wilson adds that if the Rangers are to make any trades, they’ll likely trade away prospects or Major League relievers rather than dealing from their core of position players or starting pitchers.
  • Wilson also reports that the Rangers are among the teams with interest in right-hander Tony Barnette — a former D-backs farmhand that broke out as a dominant closer with Japan’s Yakult Swallows in recent seasons. Yakult set a $500K posting fee on Barnette, and MLBTR reported recently that five teams were in the mix for his services. Daniels confirmed the interest to Wilson tonight when speaking to the media.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Rangers checked in with the Orioles on Matt Wieters after Wieters accepted the one-year, $15.8MM qualifying offer. Wieters, of course, would’ve had to approve any trade proposal that may have arisen (as is stipulated by the CBA for players who accept QOs), but talks went nowhere anyhow, according to Rosenthal.
  • The Rangers like Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy but consider the cost to acquire him to be prohibitive, Rosenthal further tweets. That shouldn’t come as a surprise in light of a tweet from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt, who says the asking price for Lucroy begins with highly touted minor league slugger Joey Gallo.
  • The Rangers were one of eight clubs to visit with right-hander Joe Nathan in Nashville, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The Giants and Tigers also met with the former All-Star at the Winter Meetings as he seeks a new team while recovering from 2015 Tommy John surgery.

Giants, Cardinals Interested In Wei-Yin Chen

By | at

The Giants and Cardinals are both interested in left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, who calls the Royals another possible fit and says the Nationals may take a look at Chen if they don’t sign Mike Leake (a deal between the Nats and Leake is said to be unlikely at this point).

Chen, 30, is coming off a nice four-year run with the Orioles which was highlighted by a particularly strong two-year platform in 2014-15. Over the past two seasons, he’s logged a 3.44 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 to go along with a 40.8 percent ground-ball rate in 377 innings of work. A move to any of the clubs listed could benefit Chen’s production, as he’s struggled with home runs in the American League East (career 1.24 HR/9). The Giants and Royals, in particular, play in spacious parks that tend to suppress home runs.

St. Louis offers, in my eyes, the best mix of both need and financial capability of the listed clubs. The Giants have already inked Jeff Samardzija — though they’re still connected to other arms and could bring in a second starter — while the Royals have a number of needs and have never spent the type of money which Chen figures to command. (MLBTR projected a five-year, $80MM contract.) Then again, Kansas City has a good relationship with Chen’s agent, Scott Boras, and the reigning World Champs could use a boost in the rotation.

Johnny Cueto remains the top arm on the market, but Chen is joined by Leake and Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda as one of the more intriguing arms remaining in free agency. To this point, he’s also been linked to the Cubs, whereas a return to the Orioles has been deemed unlikely. Earlier today, MLBTR’s Zach Links was on hand when Boras held court at Nashville’s Winter Meetings. Boras characterized Chen’s market as “strong” and, as Zach noted, made one of the types of comments we’ve come to expect of Boras over the years, noting that Chen’s ERA within the AL East over the past two seasons is lower than that of David Price.

Mets Deep In Talks On Neil Walker With Pirates

By | at

2:16pm: Then again, Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears a deal is indeed near. (Twitter link.)

2:05pm: Ackert’s source now tells her a deal is “definitely in the works” but is “not close to being done.” (Twitter link.)

2:02pm: The Mets are “closing in” on a deal for Walker, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports (via Twitter).

1:00pm: It appears that the Pirates are targeting starting pitching in any deal for Walker, according to a series of reports.

Jon Niese of the Mets is one name that has come up in talks as a “possible return” for Walker, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. He’s owed $9MM for the coming season, which is close to Walker’s expected cost, and can also be controlled via successive $10MM and $11MM options.

As for the Angels, it’s not clear which of several possible players could make the most sense. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times suggests on Twitter that Hector Santiago would make for a “good fit” in Pittsburgh, but I’d have to think the Bucs would need to add to Walker to pry him free. Meanwhile, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes in a tweet that C.J. Wilson could be a part of a trade, though he notes that the Halos would have to add cash for that to line up.

Meanwhile, the Nationals do have interest but it is “nothing serious,” per MLB.com’s Bill Ladson (via Twitter).

11:35am: The Angels are also among the teams with strong interest, according to reports from Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) and Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link). The Dodgers also have interest, he adds, though it’s not as significant.

11:22am: The Nationals have joined the Mets with interest in Pirates second baseman Neil Walker, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. Both teams heavily pursued Ben Zobrist in free agency and are now apparently looking at backup options.

Notably, the Mets were spurned by Zobrist despite feeling confident that they would get a deal done. And the Nationals joined the Giants in topping the offer that he eventually took with the Cubs, according to a report from James Wagner of the Washington Post. It’s apparent, then, that both clubs had serious interest.

Given that the division rivals were said to be looking at Zobrist primarily as a second baseman, Walker represents a less-versatile, less-accomplished, but younger alternative. The 30-year-old is also a switch hitter, though he’s been far better against righties than lefties. He’s never put up the numbers that Zobrist has at the plate, but does own a strong .272/.338/.431 career batting line.

Walker is quite a different asset from Zobrist, though, as he’s only under team control for one more season. MLBTR projects that he could command $10.7MM through the arbitration process.

Pittsburgh also had talks with the Orioles, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets, but those discussions were ended when they failed to develop any traction.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top