Rays Sign Sergio Romo
FEBRUARY 13: Romo is guaranteed $2.5MM in the deal, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The deal is official.
FEBRUARY 9: The Rays have agreed to terms on a one-year, Major League deal with right-hander Sergio Romo, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). He can earn up to $2.75MM, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter link), though the amount guaranteed remains unclear. The deal is still pending a physical. Romo is a client of Meister Sports Management.
Romo, 35 next month, was cut loose by the Dodgers after struggling through 25 innings in Los Angeles last season but found new life when L.A. sent him to the Rays in a minor trade following a DFA. In 30 2/3 frames with Tampa Bay, Romo thrived, pitching to a minuscule 1.47 ERA with an excellent 28-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 38.8 percent ground-ball rate.
Though Romo’s average velocity on his four-seamer and sinker both checked in under 87 mph last season, his penchant for missing bats didn’t deteriorate whatsoever. While one wouldn’t think it when looking at the radar gun, Romo has averaged better than a strikeout per inning in all but two seasons of his career, and he averaged 9.5 K/9 on the season as a whole in 2017. That impressive mark was accompanied by a 14.9 percent swinging-strike rate that tied him with Cody Allen for 25th among 155 qualified relievers.
Romo will serve as an elder statesman in a young and rather inexperienced Tampa Bay bullpen. At present, Alex Colome projects as the team’s closer, though trade rumblings surrounding his name have persisted even as Spring Training approaches. The Rays are reportedly still under ownership directive to cut a bit more payroll, and that figures to be ever the more true after adding Romo on a one-year deal — even if it comes at a modest rate. Should Colome ultimately be moved, it stands to reason that Romo, formerly the Giants’ closer, could find himself in the mix for saves early in the season.
[Related: Updated Tampa Bay Rays depth chart]
Beyond Romo and Colome, the Rays’ bullpen, at least from the right side, looks somewhat undefined. Dan Jennings and Jose Alvarado should hold down spots as southpaws, while Matt Andriese figures to pitch from the right side in a multi-inning capacity (though Andriese could end up in the rotation depending on whether Jake Odorizzi, another trade candidate, is moved prior to Opening Day).
Other right-handers who could work in a middle relief or setup capacity include Austin Pruitt, Chaz Roe, Andrew Kittredge, Ryne Stanek, Chih-Wei Hu, Jamie Schultz and Diego Castillo — each of whom is on the 40-man roster. The Rays will also have some veterans with big league experience in camp on minor league deals, including righty Evan Scribner and lefties Vidal Nuno and Jonny Venters.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AL East Notes: Beltran, Rays, Yankees, Orioles
Just-retired slugger Carlos Beltran turned down a front office role with the Yankees earlier this offseason, reports The Athletic’s Marc Carig (subscription link). Beltran says that only a managerial position would’ve dissuaded him from his plan to take at least a year off from the game after retiring as a player, but he would consider other roles in the future. Carig chronicles Beltran’s indoctrination to the business side of baseball, which began back in a 2003 arbitration hearing with the Royals. Now, Beltran draws praise from executives like Cashman and field staff like Astros manager A.J. Hinch, who both effused praise for Beltran’s baseball acumen and future in the game in interviews with Carig.
Elsewhere in the AL East…
- Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times examines some of the many open questions facing the Rays as camp opens. He says the organization is still “working hard through the spring thaw” to work out trades that will draw down payroll. Interestingly, that could come through some kind of swap that includes not only a pitcher but also a more expensive position player, says Topkin, who suggests that Corey Dickerson or Denard Span could be moved along with righty Jake Odorizzi. That concept seemingly increases the variety of potential outcomes that one might imagine, though it doesn’t help provide much clarity to an overall market situation that remains largely unresolved as camps open.
- The Orioles have discussed the possibility of a non-roster invitation to Spring Training for Pedro Alvarez, Michael Bourn, Colby Rasmus and Michael Saunders within the past week, according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. It’s a bargain-hunter’s collection of names, considering the fact that higher-profile left-handed bats such as Logan Morrison, Carlos Gonzalez, Jon Jay and Jarrod Dyson remain available in free agency. (Morrison, of course, isn’t an outfielder at this point in his career, though the same is true of Alvarez.) The O’s have been interested in Rasmus and Saunders in prior offseasons, Encina notes, though it’s not clear what Rasmus’ plans are at present. The veteran outfielder stepped away from the game for personal reasons last July, and there hasn’t been much mention of him this winter.
- While he still expects the Orioles to acquire at least one starter via trade or free agency, Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com also indicates that he expects right-hander Mike Wright to get another opportunity to prove himself in the rotation in April. The 28-year-old Wright is out of minor league options, Connolly notes, adding that the Orioles do not want to give up on Wright despite a lack of results in the Majors. Wright has a paltry 5.86 ERA, 5.46 FIP and 5.16 xFIP in 144 2/3 big league innings, but he’s been considerably better in Triple-A, where he owns a lifetime 3.53 ERA in 389 2/3 frames — including a flat 3.00 ERA in 240 1/3 innings across the past three seasons.
- Beyond all the other uncertainties permeating the game this spring, there are still a fair number of unresolved arbitration cases, as our 2018 MLB Arbitration Tracker shows. As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca notes on Twitter, Blue Jays righty Marcus Stroman had his hearing yesterday, though results aren’t yet known. Meanwhile, Orioles starter Kevin Gausman is still hoping to work something out rather than heading for a hearing tomorrow, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets.
Twins Notes: Archer, Rays, Arrieta, Sano, Duke
The latest buzz from the Twin Cities…
- The Twins made the Rays a trade offer involving Chris Archer “as recently as two weeks ago,” La Valle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The two clubs have often been linked in rumors this winter as Minnesota explores seemingly all free agent and trade options for starting pitching, with Archer and fellow Ray Jake Odorizzi both drawing attention from the Twins. Earlier reports stated that the Rays had interest in Max Kepler, and Neal notes that Kepler would be likely be targeted “as part of any package for Archer.” Of course, it remains to be seen if the Twins or any team can meet the Rays’ enormous asking price for the controllable young ace; Archer said last month that he feels that he’ll still be pitching in Tampa Bay in the coming season.
- Also from Neal’s piece, he lists several other free agent pitching options for the Twins, though Jake Arrieta doesn’t appear to be a likely candidate. “The Twins’ chances of signing Arrieta…are remote,” Neal writes. While Minnesota was willing to offer a five-year, $100MM+ deal to Yu Darvish, it doesn’t look like the club is willing to make such a splurge for Arrieta, and will instead look at less-expensive options.
- Major League Baseball’s investigation into assault accusations leveled against Miguel Sano isn’t likely to be completed before the Twins begin full Spring Training exercises, Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes. Past league investigations (as per the domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy) have varied in length, so there isn’t any clear timeline for when the results of the Sano case could be made public.
- With his career as a starting pitcher faltering in 2013, Zach Duke decided to embrace being a reliever after some blunt words from his wife Kristin, the newly-signed Twin tells Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “She kind of had to beat it through my head that I was done as a starter,” Duke said. “My wife just kind of said, ‘Listen, nobody is interested in you as a starter anymore. They’ve seen it, babe. There’s nothing changing. They know what they’re going to get as a starter, and nobody wants it anymore.’ ” Kristin’s advice ended up turning her husband’s career around, particularly after a late-season run of success out of the Reds’ bullpen in 2013. Over the last four seasons, Duke has a 2.85 ERA, 2.62 K/BB rate and a 10.0 K/9 over 198 2/3 relief innings.
Quick Hits: Odorizzi, Angels, Bauer, Tribe, Suspensions, McKenry
The Angels are among many teams that have been in talks with the Rays regarding right-hander Jake Odorizzi, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Odorizzi would be the second noteworthy offseason addition to an Angels staff that welcomed potential ace Shohei Ohtani back in December. He’d also offer the Angels a more proven option than just about all of their current starters, with the exception of Garrett Richards and arguably Matt Shoemaker. Although the 27-year-old Odorizzi is coming off a disappointing, injury-shortened season, he has fared respectability in his career – 705 1/3 innings of 3.83 ERA/4.23 FIP ball – and comes with two years of affordable arbitration control. Odorizzi will head to an arb hearing Monday to determine whether he’ll make $6.05MM or $6.35MM in 2018, Topkin notes.
More from around the game…
- Indians righty Trevor Bauer had his own arbitration hearing this past Thursday, per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. Results should come out this weekend, Hoynes hears. Bauer, who’s in his second of four possible arb years, filed for $6.52MM – a healthy amount more than the $5.3MM the team offered.
- Four minor leaguers – Rays catcher Nick Ciuffo, Padres right-hander Alex Cunningham, Phillies righty Steve Geltz and Pirates second baseman Mitchell Tolman – received suspensions for drug use on Saturday (via Bob Nightengale of USA Today, on Twitter). The harshest punishment went to Geltz, who will serve a 100-game ban without pay after testing positive for a drug of abuse for the third time in his career. The 30-year-old, who signed a minor league deal with the Phillies last month, previously sat 50 games in 2014 after testing positive for marijuana. Meanwhile, Ciuffo, Cunningham and Tolman each got 50-game suspensions. Ciuffo and Tolman tested positive for a drug of abuse for the second time, while Cunningham tested positive for an amphetamine. The most notable member of that trio is the 22-year-old Ciuffo, whom the Rays selected in the first round of the 2013 draft and who currently sits 27th on MLB.com‘s ranking of the team’s top 30 prospects. Ciuffo, who got an invitation to big league camp prior to the suspension, took to Twitter on Saturday to apologize.
- Former major league catcher Michael McKenry retired from baseball earlier this month, Erik Bacharach of the Daily News Journal relays. The 32-year-old McKenry told Bacharach he “had a lot of opportunities to play,” but he’ll instead work as Middle Tennessee State University’s director of player development and, according to Adam Berry of MLB.com, serve as a Pirates broadcaster. McKenry played with the Pirates from 2011-13 and was particularly effective in ’12, when he hit .233/.320/.442 with 1.7 fWAR in 275 plate appearances. He also saw major league action with the Rockies, who selected him in Round 7 of the 2006 draft, and Cardinals. McKenry concluded his playing career last season as a member of Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, with which he racked up 272 PAs and batted .209/.338/.324.
FA/Trade Rumblings: Yanks, Lynn, Odorizzi, O’s, D-backs, D. Santana
The Yankees, continuing to seek help for their rotation, have “monitored” free agent right-hander Lance Lynn‘s marketplace this offseason, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com. However, a Lynn signing may be difficult for the Yankees because of their desire to stay under the $197MM luxury tax threshold in 2018. They have around $15MM to spend, Morosi notes, and Lynn’s next deal could pay him somewhere near that figure on an annual basis. At the beginning of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Lynn would receive $14MM per year.
More from New York and a few other major league destinations:
- The Yankees have also shown offseason interest in Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi, as have the AL East rival Orioles, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required). Odorizzi would represent an affordable option for the Yankees, Orioles or any of the other teams known to be pursuing him, as the 27-year-old will earn a bit north of $6MM in 2018 – his second-last year of arbitration eligibility. Although, given that Odorizzi’s an extreme fly ball pitcher, it’s debatable whether he’d be a good fit for either New York or Baltimore – both of which play their home games at home run-friendly venues.
- The Diamondbacks and Brewers discussed outfielder Domingo Santana earlier this offseason, but the teams couldn’t work out a deal, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. Milwaukee was seeking starting pitching in return for Santana, per Cafardo, which you’d expect for a team that has been on the lookout for rotation help throughout the offseason. The D-backs, meanwhile, want another outfielder and have attempted to re-sign the top hitter available in free agency, J.D. Martinez, making their interest in Santana understandable. Santana won’t even be eligible for arbitration until next winter, so he’d obviously make far less of a dent in Arizona’s payroll than JDM.
- In addition to the previously reported Yanks, the Mets asked the Diamondbacks about utilityman Brandon Drury at some point this offseason, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. Drury is still with the D-backs, though a deal could still come together before the season, Piecoro suggests. It probably won’t be with the Mets, though, considering they’ve signed third baseman Todd Frazier, outfielder Jay Bruce and infielder Jose Reyes in recent weeks.
Reactions To And Effects Of The Yu Darvish Deal
It took over three months, but the premier free agent in this year’s class finally came off the board Saturday. Right-hander Yu Darvish agreed to join the Cubs on a six-year, $126MM guarantee that includes an opt-out clause after 2019. As you’d expect, a bevy of media reactions to the agreement have come in over the course of the day. Here’s a look at several…
- When the offseason began in November, Darvish “wasn’t really” on Chicago’s radar, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports on Twitter. However, it seems the Cubs benefited from this winter’s slow-moving free-agent market in this case, as it helped lead to a lower-than-expected price tag for Darvish and a major splash for the North Siders. Darvish went into the winter seeking an accord along the lines of Stephen Strasburg‘s (seven years, $175MM) or new teammate Jon Lester‘s (six years, $155MM), Patrick Mooney of The Athletic details (subscription required).
- While there’s a well-known fondness between Darvish and the Rangers, with whom he has spent the majority of his career, Texas was “not even close” to landing him, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hears. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News adds that Texas didn’t make an offer to Darvish, and the club wouldn’t even have been willing to guarantee him $75MM in total if it did. The Rangers have a glaring need for a front-end starter, but they’re not close enough to contention to splurge on one, Grant writes. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels, who has a good relationship with Darvish, spoke highly of the 31-year-old on Saturday. “I am very happy for Yu and hope he gets everything he wants,” Daniels said (via Wilson). “He will go down as one of the best pitchers in Rangers history. I expect he’s going to be very good wherever he goes.”
- The Dodgers, Darvish’s other ex-team, made him an offer, but it fell short of the Cubs’, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) and Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times report. Contrarily, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets that LA was “said to have offered in the same ballpark” as Chicago. Although, signing Darvish would have made it difficult for the Dodgers to achieve their goal of staying under the $197MM luxury tax threshold in 2018.
- Likewise, tax concerns stood in the way of a Yankees-Darvish union. New York never even made Darvish an offer, Rosenthal tweets.
- The small-market Twins aggressively went after Darvish this winter, even meeting with him in Texas at some point, per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press. Their offer to Darvish was for at least five years and $100MM, according to Heyman (Twitter link). The Twins’ courtship of Darvish went for naught, though, perhaps thanks to their dislike for opt-out clauses and a wariness toward giving him a sixth year, writes Berardino, who adds that they could now look to top available starter Jake Arrieta. On the trade front, Rays righties Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi remain on Minnesota’s radar, relays Berardino, though he suggests the Twins would have to give up too much for the former. Meanwhile, Rosenthal reports that there’s a belief among rival executives the Twins could still add a starter via both free agency and the trade market. Along with Odorizzi, he lists free agent Alex Cobb and Astros righty Collin McHugh as hurlers who have drawn Minnesota’s interest.
- The upstart Brewers were part of the Darvish derby, too, and the belief is that they also submitted a proposal of at least five years and $100MM, Heyman tweets. However, Rosenthal hears that Milwaukee’s offer “was not as competitive as reports indicated.” Further, Rosenthal suggests that the Brewers may have primarily been in the running just to drive up the price for the NL Central rival Cubs. Regardless, with Darvish now out of the mix, Odorizzi and the Athletics’ Jharel Cotton are trade possibilities for the Brew Crew, according to Rosenthal.
- In addition to the previously listed Twins and Brewers, the Dodgers and the Phillies are still targeting starters in the wake of the Darvish deal, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. Philadelphia is aggressively pursuing a short-term addition, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Andrew Cashner, Chris Tillman, Jaime Garcia and Jason Vargas are all possibilities, Feinsand adds.
- Keith Law of ESPN (subscription required) has mixed feelings on the Darvish pact. While it “appears to be a bargain salary,” Law has reservations about the length, contending that it’s one or two years too long, and he doesn’t regard Darvish “a pure ace.” Darvish has become too reliant on his cutter and not reliant enough on his slider, which has led to vulnerability against left-handed hitters, Law observes. However, Darvish may have “some untapped potential right now” if he leans more on his slider, per Law, who at least sees him as a significant near-term upgrade for the Cubs.
AL East Notes: Neander, Rays Stadium, Hicks, Jays
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times takes an interesting look at how Erik Neander came to land atop the Rays‘ baseball operations department. Neander took an unusual path to his current position, with data providing his hook into the Tampa Bay baseball operations department — but only after a lot of hustle. At MLBTR, we often field emails and chat questions about how to break into the business; perhaps this article serves as something of a guide for what kind of effort it might take, even if you do have ability to go with the passion.
Here’s more from the AL East:
- While Neander will do all he can to squeeze value out of limited payroll resources, the Rays‘ ongoing stadium efforts remain critical to the organization’s long-term viability. On the heels of recent news that the club has settled on a preferred site, Topkin and others at the TB Times have compiled a comprehensive look at the current state of play surrounding the proposed site in Tampa Bay’s Ybor City. Those with interest in the subject will need to read the full post for its many details; suffice to say that a variety of challenges still lay ahead to convert this idea into reality.
- Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks says he’s coming to camp with sights set on winning a starting job in center, as Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports. The 28-year-old unquestionably impressed in 2017, with a surprising .266/.372/.475 batting line and 15 home runs. Of course, that’s the first time the switch-hitter has posted above-average offensive production and he has still yet to top four hundred plate appearances (due to performance issues and, more recently, injuries) in a given season. Plus, the Yankees have to consider Jacoby Ellsbury, who isn’t likely to find time playing in the corners with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on hand along with Brett Gardner. It’s certainly still possible that the Yanks will clarify the roster logjam before the start of the season. If not, though, it seems reasonable to anticipate that Ellsbury will at least take a fair amount of time against right-handed pitchers. (While Ellsbury has long thrived against righties, Hicks has traditionally been better against southpaws.)
- John Lott of The Athletic examines the seven recent PED suspensions doled out to Blue Jays Latin American farmhands in a subscription-only post. Of course, there are lots of difficult issues surrounding this subject, due in large part to the difficult incentive system facing these young players. In the case of the Toronto prospects, they were caught using the kinds of unsophisticated substances that MLB deputy commissioner Dan Halem says are easy to detect. Of course, this isn’t a problem facing only the Blue Jays. The Latin American signing and development system, which typically involves so-called buscones and very youthful players, has long been riddled with problems.
Rays To Sign Dustin McGowan
The Rays have struck a minor-league deal with righty Dustin McGowan, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). He’ll receive an invitation to MLB camp and would earn a $1.5MM salary in the majors, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).
Soon to turn 36, the former first-round pick has spent the past two campaigns with the Marlins. He posted a notable bounceback effort in 2016 but stumbled in last year.
To be fair, McGowan did still managed to handle 77 2/3 frames over 63 appearances, so he’s still capable of bearing a substantial load. But he had a tough season in the results department, posting a 4.75 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.
Despite carrying a typically solid 50.9% groundball rate last year, McGowan coughed up 13 home runs. He also lost some velocity after showing career-best rates in 2016, but still averaged over 94 with both his four and two-seam fastballs.
In the aggregate, it seems McGowan will have his work cut out to earn a shot on the Opening Day roster. At a minimum, he’ll have a chance to establish position on the overall reliever depth chart. It’s worth remembering that there could yet be some added opportunities in Tampa Bay depending upon how the rest of the offseason unfolds.
Latest On Rays’ Stadium Search
The Rays are set to host a press conference this afternoon to announce that they’ve settled on a preferred site for a new ballpark, per a report from Steve Contorno, Zack Sampson and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Hillsborough County commissioner Ken Hagan tells Contorno that the Rays will seek to move the team from St. Petersburg to Tampa — specifically a site on the outskirts of the Ybor City neighborhood near the Channel District.
“I’m hopeful this will continue to build momentum on our effort to bring the Tampa Bay Rays to Ybor,” Hagan says, adding that an announcement on the design of a new ballpark could follow in the near future. Generally speaking, the proposed new site would seemingly be more accessible to fans in Tampa (which has a larger population than St. Petersburg) as well as those in surrounding suburbs and cities, given its proximity to public transportation and major highways, the Times trio notes.
While the upcoming announcement is a definitive step forward in what has been a seemingly interminable process for the Rays in their quest to move out of one of the sport’s most antiquated facilities, there are still numerous hurdles to clear. Notably, financing for the construction of a new stadium must still be pieced together. A corporate campaign led by local businessmen will be announced today as well, and the number of sponsors and ticket packages the Rays can generate through that endeavor will impact the expected outlay. But, a price tag on the stadium can’t be ascertained until the design is finalized, and that process is still ongoing, per the report, in part due to the cost of a roof serving as a something of a roadblock.
It also remains to be seen exactly how much Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg is willing to commit to the financing of the stadium. Contorno and his colleagues report that the county initially “scoffed” at Sternberg’s suggestion of $150MM, deeming it too small a sum considering a projected cost of upwards of $700MM in total.
The point should also be made that determining a preferred location does not guarantee that the team will eventually break ground at that site. One need not look any further than Oakland as evidence of that fact; the A’s back in September made a similar announcement, touting the Peralta Community College District in Oakland as a viable spot for a new facility and appeared poised to move forward in gaining private funding — much like the Rays are set to do now. Just three months later, though, the district’s board of trustees shocked the A’s by passing a vote to halt the negotiations with the team.
Even if the Rays avoid similar landmines, the process of finalizing the design, generating the necessary funding and navigating the logistics of a construction undertaking of this magnitude will not be a short one. Hagan says that the hope is for the financial component of the process to be sorted out before the end of 2018. The Rays would not actually be on track to play games in the new stadium until 2022 or even 2023, per the Times, and they’d still owe the city of St. Petersburg some back pay in that event for breaking a lease with Tropicana Field that currently runs through 2027 — a sum of $2-3MM annually, depending on the timing of their theoretical move to a new site.
Latest On Eduardo Nunez
Feb. 8: Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com tweets that the Braves can be counted among the teams that have “serious” interest in Nunez. Atlanta has something of an opening at third base, where Johan Camargo is presently projected to serve as a bridge to prospect Austin Riley.
However, there have also been multiple reports that the Braves aren’t likely to make a big splash at the hot corner; David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution recently characterized any such addition as unlikely, and FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported earlier today that the Braves would primarily be open to a one-year deal with any third base target. Given the fairly robust level of interest in the versatile Nunez, it seems unlikely that he’d command only a one-year pact.
Feb. 6: Veteran infielder Eduardo Nunez has long seemed likely to command fairly broad interest, though his market got underway only recently since he spent the early part of the offseason recovering from a knee injury (though he was able to avoid surgery). It still seems that there’s some room for development in his market, as interest continues to percolate.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, via Twitter, the Rays have joined the division-rival Red Sox and Yankees with interest. Tampa Bay, according to Rosenthal, is generally gauging the market for right-handed bats while simultaneously fielding interest in some of its presently more expensive assets, including Jake Odorizzi and Alex Colome. In theory, either or both could be traded for younger, more controllable assets while clearing some salary for a free-agent addition such as Nunez.
Nunez has been tied most closely in recent weeks to Boston (see here and here), and Rosenthal wrote again tonight that the Red Sox have shown interest in re-signing him. But he has also been connected to both New York organizations and a host of other possible destinations given his experience at third base, shortstop, second base and in left field. While Nunez doesn’t thrive at any one position and grades out below average at several, the ability to place him at multiple spots on a short-term basis holds plenty of appeal all the same. He’s also taken his offensive game to a new level in recent seasons, slashing .296/.332/.443 in 1290 plate appearances for the Twins, Giants and Red Sox dating back to the 2015 campaign.
Of course, the Mets are no longer a reasonable possibility; per John Harper of the New York Daily News, the club believed it could’ve signed Nunez for approximately the same price it paid Todd Frazier (two years and $17MM). After some internal debate, though, the club opted for Frazier’s power and glovework at the hot corner over Nunez’s superior batting average and baserunning prowess but weaker contact profile and glovework.