Yankees Interested In Thairo Estrada
The Yankees are interested in signing Thairo Estrada, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (X link). New York is now the second team known to be in on Estrada’s market, as the Rockies were also linked to the veteran earlier this week.
There’s plenty of familiarity between the two sides, as Estrada was an international signing for the Yankees back in 2012 and he appeared in 61 games for New York during his first two Major League seasons (2019-20). It wasn’t until after the Yankees traded Estrada to the Giants in April 2021 that the infielder broke out as a productive big leaguer, hitting .266/.320/.416 over 1203 plate appearances for San Francisco during the 2021-23 seasons.
Estrada’s performance dropped off badly last season, however, and the Giants outrighted him off their 40-man roster at the end of August after Estrada batted only .217/.247/.343 in 381 PA. Wrist problems plagued Estrada for much of the summer, further hampering an offensive approach that has never led to much hard contact. Estrada has also been limited in his capacity to get on base, and his 2.6% walk rate in 2024 was the second-lowest of any player in baseball with at least 350 PA.
In the wake of this down year, Estrada surely isn’t being viewed as a starting candidate in the Bronx, though his versatility makes him an interesting candidate for a part-time or bench role. The large majority of Estrada’s MLB playing time has come at second base, but he has seen a decent amount of time as a shortstop while also chipping in as a third baseman and corner outfielder. Estrada’s career splits are pretty even, yet on paper, his right-handed bat could complement the left-handed hitting Jazz Chisholm Jr., who is expected to hold down the starting role at either second or third base.
Chisholm and shortstop Anthony Volpe have two of the starting infield jobs spoken for, and Chisholm’s versatility gives New York some flexibility in deciding how to address second or third base. Conceivably, the Yankees could add Estrada to their in-house collection of DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Oswald Peraza and let that whole group serve as something of a rotating bench/platoon mix while rotating Chisholm between the keystone and the hot corner. Or, the Bronx Bombers could go bigger with more of an everyday infield option, though those endeavors are probably on hold until the Yankees learn whether or not Juan Soto will be returning to the team.
Manfred: Golden At-Bat Idea Has Gotten “A Little Buzz”
December 6: Jesse Rogers of ESPN followed up with Manfred about the golden at-bat idea. The commissioner emphasized that there’s “a very long road” from an idea being considered before it can be implemented and that he’s not personally in favor of the change, though he does encourage things like this to be discussed.
December 2: MLB hasn’t shied away from considering rule changes over the past few seasons. The league has unilaterally implemented a pitch clock, a three-batter minimum for pitchers (barring injury), shift limitations, and incentivized base stealing with pickoff limits and larger bases. MLB and the Players Association also agreed to implement a universal designated hitter in the 2022 collective bargaining agreement.
That hasn’t dissuaded commissioner Rob Manfred from considering other changes. Perhaps the most extreme suggestion that the commissioner has publicly floated would be the possibility of implementing a “golden at-bat” rule. Jayson Stark of The Athletic published a lengthy piece on Monday detailing potential variations of that concept.
At its core, the golden at-bat idea is to allow a team one opportunity to call upon a hitter who is in the lineup but not due for the upcoming at-bat. It’d be somewhat akin to pinch hitting with a player who is already in the game. As Stark notes, the rule could be narrowed to limit when teams could use the golden at-bat (e.g. after a certain inning, only when they’re trailing, etc.)
In October, Manfred suggested there could be some support within the league for exploring that concept. In an appearance on The Varsity podcast with Puck’s John Ourand (X link), Manfred said at the time “there was a little buzz around” the concept at a recent owners meeting. The commissioner said that idea is “in the conversation-only stage right now.”
It’s worth stressing that there’s nothing to suggest MLB has any plans to test this idea. There’s a significant gap between it surfacing in casual conversation and its appearance in any of Spring Training, the minors, or at the All-Star Game — much less in meaningful MLB contests.
The purpose would be to increase the number of high-leverage plate appearances that go to top hitters. That’d create more drama in close games, but it’d be a radical change to the sport. The fixed nature of the batting order often leaves huge at-bats in the hands of less heralded players. One could argue that’s a flaw in comparison to other sports where teams can choose to turn the ball to their stars when games are on the line. At the same time, many of baseball’s most magical moments come when players at the bottom of the order rise to the occasion with key hits.
While implementing one golden at-bat wouldn’t entirely eliminate those opportunities, it’d reduce them. It’s also an inherently artificial measure that’d represent a fundamental change from the way baseball has been played throughout its history. That’s arguably true of some other recent rule adjustments, but the golden at-bat would probably have a much bigger effect than any of the other changes.
Stark’s column goes into much more detail about the strategy implications that would be at play, as well as concerns about tradition and inflated record totals that’d come with allowing teams to give their best hitter an extra at-bat every game. Stark speaks with players, front office personnel, and longtime skipper Joe Maddon (many of whom express their disapproval for the concept) about the idea in a piece that’s worth a full read.
Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
The hot stove is starting to warm up, with multiple deals being signed in the recent days and weeks. If you have a question about a past transaction, a look ahead to the rest of the winter or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Ty France Open To Playing Catcher
Ty France hit free agency at the start of the offseason when the Reds outrighted him off their 40-man roster. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets that the former Mariner is open to catching opportunities as he fields interest from other teams. Feinsand adds that France has already received at least one guaranteed contract offer, though it’s not clear how many teams (if any) view him as a realistic option for work behind the plate.
France has never played catcher in an MLB or minor league game. He’s not wholly unfamiliar with the position though. As a member of the Padres early in his career, France took catching reps at the team’s alternate training site during the 2020 canceled minor league season. He was reportedly viewed as a potential emergency catcher in both San Diego and Seattle, though neither team ever got into a situation where they were compelled to use him.
At 30 years old with no in-game catching experience, France is probably no more than a third catcher or emergency option. It’d be a huge task for him to acclimate to the receiving and game-calling nuances for even semi-regular work at the position. Still, there’s little harm for France in expressing a willingness to entertain catching if a team offered him the opportunity.
France’s lack of defensive value is the biggest knock against him. While he has a bit of experience at both second and third base, he doesn’t have the quickness to play either position regularly. France played almost exclusively first base in 2024. He received poor defensive marks there as well. Defensive Runs Saved graded him seven runs below average, while Statcast estimated he was nine runs below par.
For a couple years, France offset that minimal defensive profile with a big performance at the plate. He combined for a robust .284/.354/.441 slash between the 2020 deadline deal that sent him to Seattle and the end of the ’22 season. His production dipped to a .250/.337/.366 line in 2023. The decline continued this year, as France got out to a .223/.312/.350 start before the Mariners designated him for assignment. A move to hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park didn’t spark his bat. France hit .251/.292/.391 in 52 games for the Reds.
FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each graded France’s 2024 performance below replacement level. That made it an obvious call for Cincinnati to decline to tender him an arbitration contract that likely would’ve topped $8MM. It wasn’t out of the question that France would be limited to minor league offers, but Feinsand’s report indicates there’s at least one team willing to give him an Opening Day job. That’d very likely be on a low base salary, potentially with incentives based on his games or plate appearances.
MLBTR TikTok Focus Group
This website is 19 years old. I am the owner of the site, and I’m 42 years old. I have two teenage children and another who is 12, and they have helped me realize that MLB Trade Rumors might benefit from having a presence on TikTok.
I’ve played around with TikTok recently and understand the basic idea, but it’s not an app I would use naturally. So before launching an MLB Trade Rumors account, I’d like to talk to people who use TikTok regularly.
We are looking for 12 people for a focus group who meet these criteria:
- Available to join a Zoom call on Wednesday December 4th at 7pm central time
- Use TikTok regularly
- Use this website/app regularly
- Would like to help us out by answering my questions for an hour. Generally I am trying to figure out what an entertaining and/or informative MLBTR TikTok account would look like and what you’d like to see.
If you’d like to participate, please enter your email address into this Google Form. I will select roughly a dozen people at random from that list to participate in a one-hour TikTok/MLB Trade Rumors discussion over Zoom on Wednesday December 4th at 7pm central time.
I assume more than 12 people will add their email, but I think a larger group would be hard to manage for an open discussion. All who enter their email will be added to a list where I may send emails about future TikTok focus groups or surveys (your email will not be used for any other purpose).
A few quick notes on this topic:
- I’m not sure we’ll be launching an MLB Trade Rumors TikTok, but I’m leaning toward it.
- The possibility of TikTok being shut down in the U.S. likely won’t affect my decision, because we’d be cross-posting to YouTube Shorts.
- This account would not be run by a current member of the MLBTR writing staff. We would hold a separate hiring process for this, but I’m not ready to do that yet.
Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
The hot stove is starting to warm up, with a multi-year free agent signing and a notable trade in recent days. If you have a question about a past transaction, a look ahead to the rest of the winter or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
The offseason is here, though the stove isn’t exactly hot yet. If you have a question about a past transaction, a look ahead to the winter or anything else baseball related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Chris Sale, Garrett Crochet Named Comeback Players Of The Year
Major League Baseball conducted its 2024 awards show on Thursday evening. MLB revealed a host of honors, most notably Comeback Player of the Year and the Hank Aaron Award winners. The top honors from the Baseball Writers Association of America — the MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year awards — will wait until next week.
Braves lefty Chris Sale and White Sox southpaw Garrett Crochet were named Comeback Players of the Year. Sale rebounded from a middling final season in Boston in which he was limited to a 4.30 ERA in 20 starts. He starred for Atlanta, turning in an MLB-best 2.38 ERA across 177 2/3 innings. He’s favored to win his first Cy Young next week.
Crochet, who was limited to 12 2/3 innings of relief by elbow and shoulder problems in 2023, was one of the game’s biggest breakout performers. The former first-rounder moved into Chicago’s rotation and turned in a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts. While the Sox eased his workload late in the season, he managed 209 strikeouts across 146 innings. Crochet is the top pitcher known to be available on the offseason trade market.
Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani were named the respective winners of the AL and NL Hank Aaron award, given to each league’s best offensive player. Ohtani also picked up the Edgar Martinez award as MLB’s best designated hitter. Guardians star Emmanuel Clase and Cardinals fireballer Ryan Helsley won the respective Reliever of the Year honors in each league. Much like Crochet, Helsley is one of the winter’s top trade candidates.
MLB also announced its 1st and 2nd teams. Those are not league specific and are designed to honor the best player at each position. Those are as follows:
1st Team
- Catcher: William Contreras, Brewers
- First Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays
- Second Base: Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks
- Third Base: José Ramírez, Guardians
- Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals
- Outfield: Mookie Betts, Dodgers
- Outfield: Aaron Judge, Yankees
- Outfield: Juan Soto, Yankees
- Designated Hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
- Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes, Orioles
- Starting Pitcher: Chris Sale, Braves
- Starting Pitcher: Paul Skenes, Pirates
- Starting Pitcher: Tarik Skubal, Tigers
- Starting Pitcher: Zack Wheeler, Phillies
- Relief Pitcher: Emmanuel Clase, Guardians
- Relief Pitcher: Ryan Helsley, Cardinals
2nd Team
- Catcher: Salvador Perez, Royals
- First Base: Bryce Harper, Phillies
- Second Base: Jose Altuve, Astros
- Third Base: Manny Machado, Padres
- Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, Mets
- Outfield: Jarren Duran, Red Sox
- Outfield: Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers
- Outfield: Jackson Merrill, Padres
- Designated Hitter: Yordan Alvarez, Astros
- Starting Pitcher: Dylan Cease, Padres
- Starting Pitcher: Shota Imanaga, Cubs
- Starting Pitcher: Michael King, Padres
- Starting Pitcher: Seth Lugo, Royals
- Starting Pitcher: Framber Valdez, Astros
- Relief Pitcher: Mason Miller, Athletics
- Relief Pitcher: Kirby Yates, Rangers
MLB Announces Silver Slugger Winners
MLB and Louisville Slugger announced the 2024 Silver Slugger award winners. MLB had announced the list of finalists last week. The results are as follows:
American League
- Catcher: Salvador Perez, Royals (5th Silver Slugger)
- First Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays (2nd)
- Second base: Jose Altuve, Astros (7th)
- Third base: José Ramírez, Guardians (5th)
- Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals (1st)
- Outfield: Aaron Judge, Yankees (4th)
- Outfield: Juan Soto, Yankees (5th)
- Outfield: Anthony Santander, Orioles (1st)
- Designated hitter: Brent Rooker, Athletics (1st)
- Utility: Josh Smith, Rangers (1st)
- Team award: Yankees
National League
- Catcher: William Contreras, Brewers (2nd)
- First base: Bryce Harper, Phillies (4th)
- Second base: Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks (1st)
- Third base: Manny Machado, Padres (2nd)
- Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, Mets (4th)
- Outfield: Jackson Merrill, Padres (1st)
- Outfield: Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers (3rd)
- Outfield: Jurickson Profar, Padres (1st)
- Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (3rd)
- Utility: Mookie Betts, Dodgers (7th)
- Team award: Dodgers
BBWAA Announces Awards Finalists
The Baseball Writers Association of America announced the finalists for the 2024 awards. Those are top three vote getters (listed in alphabetical order) for the four biggest awards: MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year. Winners will be revealed next week, as will each voter’s individual ballot.
MVP
American League
- Aaron Judge (Yankees)
- Juan Soto (Yankees)
- Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals)
National League
- Francisco Lindor (Mets)
- Ketel Marte (Diamondbacks)
- Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)
Cy Young
American League
- Emmanuel Clase (Guardians)
- Seth Lugo (Royals)
- Tarik Skubal (Tigers)
National League
- Chris Sale (Braves)
- Paul Skenes (Pirates)
- Zack Wheeler (Phillies)
Rookie of the Year
American League
- Colton Cowser (Orioles)
- Luis Gil (Yankees)
- Austin Wells (Yankees)
National League
- Jackson Chourio (Brewers)
- Jackson Merrill (Padres)
- Paul Skenes (Pirates)
Manager of the Year
American League
- A.J. Hinch (Tigers)
- Matt Quatraro (Royals)
- Stephen Vogt (Guardians)
National League
- Carlos Mendoza (Mets)
- Pat Murphy (Brewers)
- Mike Shildt (Padres)
—————————————————–
There’s some intrigue with the Cy Young finalists in particular. Clase landing in the top three over a starter like Corbin Burnes or Cole Ragans is somewhat surprising. Cleveland’s closer had an all-time great showing — awards are voted on before his shaky postseason performance — but it’s rare for a closer to get into this territory. Clase becomes the first reliever since Francisco Rodríguez in 2008 to earn a top three finish.
In the National League, the biggest development is Skenes landing in the top three for Cy Young. The Pittsburgh righty had a sensational rookie season, posting a 1.96 ERA while striking out nearly a third of batters faced. He only started 23 games and logged 133 innings after being called up in May, however, so it wasn’t clear if his workload was sufficient to get into finalist territory. Skenes is the first rookie to secure a top three Cy Young finish since José Fernández in 2013.
The remainder of the balloting came without a ton of suspense. Ohtani and Judge are expected to win the MVP, while Skubal and Sale should secure the first Cy Young wins of their respective careers. Ohtani would become the 13th player in history to win MVP three times and would join Frank Robinson as the only players to win the award in each league. It’d be Judge’s second such win.
Things are more open with the awards for the top rookies and managers. There wasn’t a dominant rookie showing in the American League. All three NL finalists would have been prohibitive favorites to win the award if they played in the AL. (Even Shota Imanaga and Masyn Winn, who were squeezed out of a loaded NL field, might’ve won in the American League.) Manager of the Year is always one of the most difficult to predict given the difficulty in quantifying a manager’s impact when a team outperforms general expectations.
The awards will be announced as follows:
- Nov. 18: Rookie of the Year
- Nov. 19: Manager of the Year
- Nov. 20: Cy Young
- Nov. 21: MVP