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Blue Jays Rumors: Encarnacion, Catchers, Bullpen

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The latest on Toronto:

  • The Blue Jays continue to monitor and stay in touch with free agent first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Encarnacion’s preference is to re-sign with the Jays, but he’s talking less with them than he is with other teams, per Heyman. Notably, Toronto general manager Ross Atkins expressed pessimism Wednesday about re-upping Encarnacion. While the 33-year-old’s market has seemingly shrunk in the past week, agent Paul Kinzer isn’t worried that Encarnacion will have difficulty securing a sizable contract – whether with the Jays or another team. “Not only is he the best player in this class, he’s one of the best in baseball,” Kinzer told Heyman. “We’re going to be fine. He and I are patient. He’s good” (Twitter links here).
  • Having lost left-handed setup man Brett Cecil to the Cardinals, the Blue Jays are on the hunt for a southpaw reliever, leading to interest in Jerry Blevins, Mike Dunn and Javier Lopez, report Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi. However, the contracts given to Cecil (four years, $30.5MM) and fellow lefty Marc Rzepczynski (two years, $11MM) have perhaps driven up the prices for Blevins, Dunn and Lopez, meaning the Jays could scour the trade market for a cheaper option than free agency offers, Nicholson-Smith and Davidi observe.
  • Along with Chris Iannetta, fellow free agent catchers Bobby Wilson and Geovany Soto are on Toronto’s radar, write Nicholson-Smith and Davidi. The Blue Jays are looking for someone to back up Russell Martin, whose 2016 reserves – Josh Thole and Dioner Navarro – are also on the open market.

Rockies Looking To Acquire Pitching

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With Ian Desmond now in Colorado and free agent slugger Mark Trumbo a candidate to join him, the Rockies may soon have a surplus of quality position players. Center fielder Charlie Blackmon’s name was already in the rumor mill before the Rockies agreed to a five-year, $70MM deal with Desmond on Wednesday, so the odds of the team moving him have perhaps increased since. General manager Jeff Bridich responded to that Wednesday, telling reporters – including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post – that the Rockies “have not had any intention of trading” Blackmon. At the same time, he didn’t rule it out.

“As I’ve said before, we’re just going to keep our ears open and eyes open,” said Bridich. “That’s just part of the business.”

If the Rockies do deal Blackmon, odds are they’ll try to acquire starting pitching in return – especially if they sign Trumbo. Picking him up would likely push Desmond from first base to an outfield that, in addition to Blackmon, currently includes Carlos Gonzalez, David Dahl and Gerardo Parra. But Colorado fully intends to play Desmond at first, sources told Saunders, which could certainly affect both Trumbo and Blackmon. Regardless, the Rockies are indeed searching for a high-end starter, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), and acquiring a major rotation piece would have to come via trade thanks to the weakness of this year’s free agent class. One front-line starter in whom the Rockies have interest is Toronto right-hander Marcus Stroman, but the Blue Jays are unwilling to swap him for Blackmon, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network (Twitter link).

Although the Blue Jays are in need of outfield help, something Blackmon would certainly provide, their reluctance to part with Stroman isn’t particularly surprising. After all, Stroman exceeded the 200-inning barrier and posted a 60.1 percent ground-ball rate in 2016, and ERA estimators like FIP (3.71), xFIP (3.41) and SIERA (3.62) indicated that he deserved better than his 4.37 ERA. Moreover, the 25-year-old Stroman is far younger than Blackmon, 30, and is under team control for longer. Stroman is set to make his first of four possible trips through arbitration this offseason, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $3.5MM award. Blackmon, meanwhile, is two years from free agency and will make an estimated $9MM in 2017 after slashing .324/.381/.552 with 29 home runs and 17 stolen bases in 641 plate appearances last season.

Whether or not the Rockies land another starter, Bridich reiterated Wednesday that they’re pushing to improve their bullpen, which was among the majors’ worst last season. With their top southpaw from 2016, Boone Logan, now on the open market, the Rockies have turned some of their attention to fellow left-handed free agent reliever Mike Dunn (via Thomas Harding of MLB.com).

“We’ve looked at just about every free-agent reliever, and with him being in the National League, we’ve seen him a number of times and there’s some level of familiarity there,” Bridich said of the longtime Marlin. “And he’s still available. He’s somebody, to a certain degree, we’re paying attention to.”

The Rockies are also in on right-hander Brad Ziegler, with Bridich telling Harding, “He’s certainly a good pitcher, and with how many times we’ve seen him and faced him, we feel like we know him real well.” 

As Bridich pointed out, the Rockies are familiar with Ziegler, who was with the NL West rival Diamondbacks from 2010 until they traded him to Boston last July. Given his grounder-heavy ways (a 66.3 percent rate over 596 2/3 career innings), the 37-year-old Ziegler would seemingly be a solid fit at home run-happy Coors Field. He also has experience as a closer, having amassed 52 saves over the past two seasons, and would be a strong bet to serve in that role with the Rockies.

Edwin Encarnacion Rumors: Wednesday

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Edwin Encarnacion has seen a number of potential suitors sign alternatives in the past week, as the Astros (Carlos Beltran), Yankees (Matt Holliday), Blue Jays (Steve Pearce) and Rockies (Ian Desmond) have all signed players that project to see time at first base/DH with their new clubs. He’s the clear top bat in free agency, but his market is murky for the time being. Here’s the latest on the former Jays slugger…

  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels says the team is unlikely to sign a top free agent like Encarnacion, MLB.com’s TR Sullivan tweets. “I don’t know how else to say it,” Daniels says.
  • The Blue Jays don’t think it’s likely they can land Encarnacion, MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm tweets. “If there’s a way, I don’t see it. I don’t think Paul (Kinzer) sees it either but we haven’t stopped trying,” GM Ross Atkins says.
  • Encarnacion is currently in “wait and see” mode, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). At present, offers aren’t even in the three-year, $60MM range, according to Passan, although he quotes one GM that suggested that Encarnacion is too talented to see his market dip much more: “Teams shouldn’t overplay their hands with him, either. He’s too good for the price to go much lower.”
  • The Indians and Rangers are both still talking with Encarnacion’s camp, according to ESPN’s Marly Rivera (Twitter link). Both teams have an obvious spot to put a highly productive first base/DH bat, though the price tag will be a significant factor, of course. Cleveland routinely deals with payroll constraints, and while they received a World Series windfall, it’s still difficult to envision them outbidding all other interested parties. And as for the Rangers, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Rangers don’t currently have the available funds to land Encarnacion.

Blue Jays, Brett Oberholtzer Agree To Minors Deal

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The Blue Jays have agreed to a deal with southpaw Brett Oberholtzer, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that it’s a minor league contract.

The 27-year-old Oberholtzer struggled mightily in 2016, though, pitching to a career-worst 5.89 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 42.3 percent ground-ball rate in 70 innings between the Philies and Angels. The former Astros southpaw found himself traded to the Phillies last winter as part of the Ken Giles blockbuster, but he struggled with both teams for which he pitched in 2016 and elected free agency after being outrighted earlier this offseason.

Oberholtzer has a 4.36 ERA to go along with 6.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 39.3 percent ground-ball rate in 324 big league innings. He doesn’t dominate lefties like so many other left-handed pitchers, so if he ends up making the club at some point in 2017, Oberholtzer is more of a swingman option than a candidate for situational work against lefties late in games.

AL East Notes: Sox, Rays, Erasmo, Bautista, Iannetta, Cashman, Orioles

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Today’s acquisition of Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers will end Boston’s foray into the relief market for the winter, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters (including Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe).  Most notably, this would seem to end any chance of the Sox re-signing Koji Uehara or Brad Ziegler.  Thornburg will join closer Craig Kimbrel, Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes, Robbie Ross, Fernando Abad and (when he is healthy) Carson Smith in the Sox bullpen, plus with Chris Sale now in the rotation, Clay Buchholz, Drew Pomeranz or even Eduardo Rodriguez could now be bullpen options.  Pomeranz or Rodriguez would help add some left-handed depth to the pen, as Abad struggled mightly after coming to the Sox last season.  Here’s more from around the AL East…

  • With Sale off the board, the Rays’ starting pitchers could become even hotter trade commodities, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Some of the teams connected to the Rays’ pitching in trade talks already this winter (such as the Nationals, Astros and Braves) were also suitors to land Sale from the White Sox.  The Rays have received more interest in Drew Smyly and Alex Cobb than Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi since the latter two come at much higher asking prices.
  • Erasmo Ramirez has also drawn some interest, Topkin reports.  The former starter-turned-workhorse reliever for the Rays in 2016 posted a 3.77 ERA, 52.5% grounder rate and 6.25 K/9 over 90 2/3 innings, with 63 of Ramirez’s 64 games coming out of the bullpen.  MLBTR projects Ramirez to earn a $3.5MM salary through arbitration next season, which could be a bit pricey for Tampa’s liking.
  • The Blue Jays’ talks with Jose Bautista’s representatives today didn’t appear to bring much progress towards a reunion, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports.  Bautista’s market seems rather unclear at this point, with some wondering if a more creative contract (such as front-loaded deal with a player opt-out clause after the first year) could be in store for the veteran slugger.
  • The Blue Jays also spoke with catcher Chris Iannetta’s representatives today, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  The Mariners declined their $4.25MM club option on the veteran catcher following a season that saw Iannetta hit .210/.303/.329 over 338 PA, eventually ceding regular duty to Mike Zunino in Seattle.  The Jays are in need of a backup catcher for Russell Martin after parting ways with Josh Thole and Dioner Navarro testing the open market.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman doesn’t expect to add a starting pitcher at the Winter Meetings, telling reporters (including George A. King III of the New York Post) that “it’s a tough market and the price tags are extremely high. We could play on a lot of things because we have a lot of prospects people desire and we desire them, too. I would say it’s less likely for us to acquire a starter.”
  • The Orioles have had success in landing qualifying offer free agents late in the winter, and Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun writes that this strategy could benefit the team again this offseason.  Edwin Encarnacion’s eventual deal will bring some clarity to the market for big bats, though there is still enough uncertainty around the likes of Mark Trumbo and Ian Desmond (not to mention other non-QO free agents) that the Orioles could find some quality hitting at a relatively low price come January or February.

Blue Jays In Talks With Jose Bautista; Indians Also Interested

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The Blue Jays met with longtime slugger Jose Bautista today and have resumed talks to bring him back to Toronto, broadcaster Hazel Mae tweets and FanRag’s Jon Heyman confirms (Twitter links). Heyman had previously reported that the Jays had shown little interest in reopening discussions with Bautista, so their meeting with him today appears to represent a change in direction. He adds that the Jays perked up around the time that the Indians expressed interest in Bautista, which itself seems to be a new development. (Heyman adds that the Orioles might have been another possibility, but that they preferred to keep the draft pick they would lose as a result of signing Bautista, and they apparently actually told Bautista’s representation that Orioles fans simply didn’t like him.)

The Jays have already added Kendrys Morales to their DH mix this offseason, but they could certainly still use Bautista in right field. The Indians, meanwhile, were recently in talks with another Blue Jays free agent, Edwin Encarnacion, but at last check, those talks didn’t appear to be moving forward. Bautista is coming off a modest (for him) .234/.366/.452 season, and he rejected a qualifying offer, but MLBTR still projects that his established power bat could earn him a three-year, $51MM deal this offseason.

Latest On Dexter Fowler

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Following up on last night’s report of a four-year, $60MM offer from the Blue Jays to Dexter Fowler (via FanRag’s Jon Heyman), Mark Saxon of ESPN.com reports that a rival exec tells him the Cardinals’ initial offer is believed to be in the same range.

Heyman previously reported that Fowler’s camp was of the belief that he could land an $18MM annual value, so there’s no indication that either offer is close to getting a deal done at this point. But, the pair of hefty offers to Fowler serve as a strong indicator that the switch-hitting center fielder is enjoying a much more robust market than he did last winter when his stagnant market ultimately culminated in a one-year deal to return to the Cubs.

Fowler once again rejected a qualifying offer this winter, but he’s coming off a brilliant offensive season that also saw him play markedly better defense in center field after he altered his positioning. The former Rockies/Astros/Cubs center fielder is capable enough in the outfield that he should be able to help any club with a vacancy at any outfield slot, and his strong .266/.369/.419 batting line and 38 homers (in addition to 44 stolen bases) across the 397 games he spent with the Astros and Cubs in 2014-16 should sufficiently dispel concerns that his above-average offensive performance was a product of the time spent at Coors Field earlier in his career.

Chris Colabello Rejects Outright Assignment, Elects Free Agency

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The Blue Jays announced this morning that first baseman/outfielder Chris Colabello has elected free agency after rejecting an outright assignment.

The 34-year-old had a terrific season with the Jays in 2015, hitting .321/.367/.520 with 15 homers in a part-time role that afforded him 360 plate appearances. However, his 2016 campaign was rough on multiple levels, as he was first hit with an 80-game suspension for a failed PED test and then went just 2-for-29 with three walks and no extra-base hits in a total of 32 Major League plate appearances. Colabello broke into the Majors with the Twins in 2013 as a 29-year-old after spending nearly a decade on the independent circuit and has a career .257/.314/.424 batting line in 793 Major League plate appearances.

East News & Rumors: EE, BoSox, Yanks, Jays, Bruce, Marlins

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Free agent designated hitter/first baseman Edwin Encarnacion has three preferred landing spots – the Blue Jays, Red Sox and an unidentified team – a major league source told Rob Bradford of WEEI. The mystery club isn’t the Yankees, per Bradford, and they’re likely out of the running for Encarnacion (if they were ever in it) after adding Matt Holliday. The Blue Jays could be out, too, as they’ve reached deals with two first base/DH types in Kendrys Morales and Steve Pearce this offseason. The fact that Toronto moved on to other options so quickly after Encarnacion rejected its four-year, $80MM offer came as a surprise to the longtime Jay, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB Network.

More from the majors’ two East divisions:

  • Despite reported interest in Holliday and now-Astro Carlos Beltran, Boston didn’t make offers to either, Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. “I figured we would wait to see what takes place later on, who’s out there. Our priority is to try to get a guy that can pitch the eighth inning for us,” said Dombrowski, who’s working with a limited amount of spending room because of a desire to stay under the $195MM luxury-tax threshold. “There’s a little bit more of a drive to [stay under]. But I can’t tell you where we we’re going to end up,” he stated. “There are penalties attached that I would rather not be in a position that we have to incur.” That would seem to rule out any possibility of Encarnacion to Boston, which already looked unlikely entering Monday. As for the bullpen, Dombrowski is unsure whether he’ll acquire a setup man via trade or free agency, but he hasn’t ruled out re-signing either Brad Ziegler or Koji Uehara.
  • The Yankees are one of “several” teams engaging in “ongoing” dialogue with free agent infielder Luis Valbuena, his agent, Steve Schneider, told Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Bombers have so far balked at the demands of Valbuena, who is seeking a multiyear deal and wants an everyday role. New York won’t be able to offer a daily place in its lineup to Valbuena unless it deals third baseman Chase Headley, but the club hasn’t had any luck doing that. Valbuena, 31, spent the previous two years in Houston and is coming off his third straight strong offensive campaign, though his season ended in August because of hamstring surgery.
  • The Blue Jays continue to have interest in acquiring outfielder Jay Bruce from the Mets, but they’re “offering little,” relays FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Toronto nearly acquired Bruce from Cincinnati last offseason, but the deal fell apart and he went on to hit .250/.309/.506 with 33 home runs in 589 plate appearances with the Reds and Mets. New York is now likely to move Bruce, who will make $13MM next season in the final year of his contract.
  • The Marlins are “looking outside the organization” for a backup catcher to replace now-Diamondback Jeff Mathis, team president Michael Hill said Monday (Twitter link via Spencer). A.J. Ellis came up as a possibility Monday.

Outfield Notes: Fowler, Dyson, Soler, Herrera, Revere

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The latest in outfielder rumors…

  • The Blue Jays have offered Dexter Fowler a deal in the neighborhood of four years and $60MM, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports.  This falls short of the $18MM in average annual value that Fowler and his representatives are seeking, though it isn’t such an insurmountable gap that it would rule the Jays out of the running for the free agent outfielder.  The Cardinals continue to be interested in Fowler, Heyman notes, while the Giants and Nationals have also been linked to him in past reports and several other teams are speculative matches for Fowler in all three outfield positions.
  • Royals outfielder Jarrod Dyson is another Cardinals target, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).  Dyson has the benefit of coming at a much lower financial or trade cost than Fowler or Royals teammate Lorenzo Cain, plus he would be a good fit for a St. Louis team that has defensive upgrades as a stated offseason goal.
  • The Royals like Jorge Soler, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine tweets.  Rated as one of the game’s best prospects just two years ago, Soler has shown only a few glimpses of his potential at the MLB level and doesn’t have a clear path to regular playing time within the very crowded Cubs outfield.  The Cubs shopped Soler last offseason, and Levine speculates that a deal could be worked out involving K.C. closer Wade Davis, as Chicago is one of several teams interested in Davis.
  • There is some speculation that the Phillies would be open to trading Odubel Herrera, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets.  It would surely take quite a bit to make a deal happen, as Herrera has gone from Rule 5 pick to an everyday contributor for Philadelphia who has hit .291/.353/.419 and 23 homers over his two big league seasons.
  • With the Angels looking for a fourth outfielder who preferably hits from the left side of the plate, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register speculates that Ben Revere could be a good fit.  Revere had a brutal 2016 season and was non-tendered by the Nationals, but Fletcher notes that he has been an Angels target in the past and could be a potential bounce-back candidate.
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