The slog that has become the Major League Baseball offseason continues into the second week of January with dozens and dozens of unsigned free agents. Spring training is five weeks away and we're seemingly waiting on Bryce Harper and/or Manny Machado to sign and start moving the rest of the market. Until then, it's rumor mill time. Let's dive in
Heading into the 2018-19 offseason, Phillies owner John Middleton confirmed what everyone had been speculating: His team was ready to spend "and maybe even be a little bit stupid about it." The Phillies have already met with prized free-agent slugger Manny Machado at Citizens Bank Park and are awaiting his decision. On Monday we learned from USA Today's Bob Nightengale that the Phillies have a face-to-face meeting with superstar free-agent slugger Bryce Harper this Saturday in Harper's hometown of Las Vegas.
The Phillies have been linked to both Harper and Machado this offseason and already splashed some cash this winter with big signings totaling $73 million, for outfielder Andrew McCutchen and relief pitcher David Robertson.
Free-agent infielder Manny Machado completed his three-team tour before the new year, meeting with the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox. And it was just last month when the White Sox's acquisition of first baseman Yonder Alonso -- Machado's brother-in-law -- had us wondering whether or not the family connection gave the White Sox an advantage in the Machado sweepstakes. Now, we're wondering if Machado's wife's preference has a bigger influence. According to Wallace Matthews of the New York Daily News, Machado's wife, Yainee, is reportedly interested in living in the Big Apple.
But let us not forget that when Patrick Corbin was going through his decision process earlier this offseason, it seemed like almost all signs were pointing to the Bronx. He had grown up a Yankees fan, the Yankees had been interested in acquiring him in the past and Corbin's younger brother even tried to get him to return to his home state during the best-man speech at Corbin's wedding. Then, the lefty signed with the Washington Nationals. We'll just have to wait and see if Machado's familial influence is enough to sway him towards the Yankees.
Giants ace lefty Madison Bumgarner is set to hit free agency after the 2019 season and the team seems to be in a bit of a crossroads with so many of their championship core players past their prime. As such, it seems logical that a Bumgarner trade might be coming either this offseason or during July if the Giants aren't contending.
On that front, MLB.com is reporting that the Brewers are the most likely destination for the four-time All-Star.
The Brewers and Giants have had substantive communication about a Bumgarner trade this winter, sources say, and the Brewers are continuing their internal deliberations about how much they're willing to give up in order to acquire the three-time World Series hero.
Bumgarner, 29, has only managed 38 starts in the last two seasons combined thanks to a pair of freak injuries. Last season, he was 6-7 with a 3.26 ERA (119 ERA+), 1.24 WHIP and 109 strikeouts in 129 2/3 innings. It's unclear past "prospects" what the Brewers would need to give up in order to land one year of Bumgarner.
Without making more additions this offseason, the Brewers rotation appears to be Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, Zach Davies, Brandon Woodruff and Jimmy Nelson, though Nelson's health is a question and Corbin Burnes could make a move from the bullpen.
Heading into the offseason, it was glaringly obvious that the Reds needed to add starting pitching in order to hope to contend in 2019. They've already added lefty Alex Wood and righty Tanner Roark via trades, but the rotation still seems less than sturdy:
- Wood
- Luis Castillo
- Roark
- Anthony DeSclafani
- Tyler Mahle
Sure, there's upside, but Castillo disappointed in a big way last season while DeSclafani disappointed in his return from injury and Mahle was subpar and inconsistent. Roark has been slightly below average since his outstanding 2016 season.
All this is why the Reds are still looking at starting pitching, including in free agency. Enter lefty Dallas Keuchel:
Keuchel isn't hitting free agency at the best portion of his career. He won the Cy Young in 2015 but last season pitched to a 3.74 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and led the majors in hits allowed. Still, perhaps this means his price drops down into the range of the Reds. Getting him on a team-friendly deal while he switches over to the NL could wind up a coup for the Reds.
How much is the Cubs' front office being handcuffed by ownership? Ken Rosenthal's latest column from The Athletic notes that the Cubs would have to make a trade that clears salary even in order to sign a lower-tier reliever like Adam Warren.
It's hard for me to wrap my head around the decision-making this offseason if this is truly the case. Why would the Cubs pick up Cole Hamels' $20 million option (with the Rangers taking Drew Smyly and $7 million as part of the deal) if they essentially now have no money left? Why not non-tender Addison Russell given his domestic violence baggage instead of picking up what looks like something around $4.3 million in arbitration? Those two decisions just don't seem like they were made by a team that is desperate to save money, but apparently the Cubs really wanted to retain both Hamels and Russell that badly. It's a head-scratcher.
What remains, per all reporting this offseason, is a team that can't really spend much more at all due to budget constraints given by ownership.
Two-time All-Star reliever Kelvin Herrera has agreed to sign a two-year, $18 million deal with the White Sox, per a report. Full story here.
The Padres "remain interested in acquiring Sonny Gray," reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network. As I noted late last season, the Padres are poised for a leap into contention soon, possibly even this season. The one area where they could stand to upgrade immediately is in the rotation. Buying low on Gray -- whom the Yankees are trying to move this offseason -- for one year to see if moving to the NL West from AL East and into a pitcher-friendly park helps him to revert to being a valuable pitcher makes a lot of sense.
Gray, 29, had a 4.90 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 130 1/3 innings last season. In 2017, he pitched to a 3.55 ERA (122 ERA+) and remember, back in 2015 he was an ace (third in Cy Young voting).
Reliever Blake Parker is finalizing a deal with the Twins. The free agent will ink a one-year, $3 million pact with Minnesota, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Parker, 33, was very good in 2017, posting a 2.54 ERA and 0.83 WHIP with 86 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings. He earned a shot at holding down the Angels' closer job in 2018, but he regressed some. He had a 3.26 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 70 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings. He gave up too many home runs (12, which is 1.6 HR/9) while the hit rate, walk rate and strikeout rates all got worse.
Still, it's entirely possible Parker returns to what he was in 2017, in which case that's a very good bullpen arm.
As for the Twins, the bullpen is a bit of a work in progress. Right now, either Addison Reed or Trevor May would be the closer.
The trade talk surrounding Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto has lasted for months now, and Miami's asking price continues to be very high. In order for a trade to happen, Marlins president Derek Jeter is telling his baseball operations department that he wants to get a quality big leaguer in return, according to The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo.
Here's more from Cafardo:
According to industry sources, Jeter is letting his baseball ops people know that he needs a major league player back in return for catcher J.T. Realmuto. The feeling is the Marlins got burned in the Christian Yelich deal with the Brewers and they're going to make sure they get a young, controllable, proven major leaguer in a package for the sought-after catcher. The Astros and Braves seem to be hanging in there on talks that seem endless.
Realmuto, who turns 28 in March, has two years remaining in arbitration before qualifying for free agency in 2021. At the end of the 2018 season, Realmuto's agent, Jeff Berry of CAA, told MLB Network radio that his client was not interested in signing an extension with the Marlins.
There have been a number of teams -- the Dodgers, Astros, Rays and Padres are the frontrunners -- that have expressed some level of interest in Realmuto.
Realmuto hit .277/.340/.484 with 30 doubles and 21 homers in 125 games last season.
The Chicago White Sox are in negotiations with free agent outfielder Jon Jay, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. Potential terms are not yet known.
As Rosenthal notes, the 33-year-old is a good friend of Manny Machado as well as Machado's brother-in-law Yonder Alonso who the White Sox traded for last month. The three players train together in Miami in the offseason, and each wrote about it for The Players' Tribune in 2017.
Here's a bit Jay wrote in the article:
The three of us all come from the similar backgrounds. I've known Yonder since he was 10. And we've both known Manny since he was a young kid coming up. We're from the same neighborhoods, the same culture, so it's just natural for us to stick together.
Jay, 33, spilt last season between the Kansas City Royals and Arizona Diamondbacks, and was a National League Gold Glove Award finalist. In 143 games, Jay posted a .268/.330/.347 slash line. He could be a strong veteran presence to Chicago's clubhouse, as well as a boost to the outfield unit that's currently anchored by Nicky Delmonico, Adam Engel and Daniel Palka.
After the White Sox's acquisition of Alonso, this Jay signing could be another attempt to lure Machado to the South Side.