Another one of the winter's top free agents found a home on Friday: Josh Hader signed a five-year, $95 million deal with the Astros. Here's hoping the rest of the market will have similar luck in the coming days, as four of our top 10 free agents remaining available as spring training draws near. Here are Monday's rumors, news, and notes.
Yankees, Mets in on relievers
You can count the Yankees and Mets as both having interest in free-agent right-hander Hector Neris, according to SNY's Andy Martino. Neris has been rumored as being in the market for a multi-year deal, something that Martino acknowledges as a possibility.
Additionally, the Yankees and Mets continue to have interest in lefty Wandy Peralta. Peralta spent parts of the last three seasons with the Yankees, accumulating a 2.82 ERA across 165 appearances.
McHugh announces retirement
Longtime big-league right-hander Collin McHugh, most recently a member of the Braves, announced his retirement on Monday on his Instagram account.
Here's part of what he wrote:
16 years later, it's finally time for me to hang 'em up. And as cringey as it might sound, I'm proud of myself. Proud that I didn't give up. Proud of the clubhouses I've been lucky enough to have a locker in. Proud to be a member of the @mlbpa alongside this generation of amazing ballplayers.
McHugh, 36, pitched in 346 games during his career, amassing a 3.72 ERA (109 ERA+) and a 3.45 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His contributions were worth an estimated 12.3 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference.
McHugh appeared with five teams at the big-league level: Astros, Mets, Braves, Rays, and Rockies. He was originally an 18th-round pick.
Basallo drawing interest
The Orioles have received calls on teenage catching prospect Samuel Basallo, according to MASN's Roch Kubatko. Unsurprisingly, given that Basallo is considered one of the top young backstops in the minors, Kubatko notes the Orioles "probably would have to be blown away by an offer" to consider moving him at this point in time.
Basallo, who won't turn 20 until August, batted .313/.402/.551 with 20 home runs across three levels last season, including a four-game cameo in Double-A to end the year.
The Orioles figure to remain active on the trade market as they seek a frontline starting pitcher. Just don't expect Basallo to be part of the outgoing package.
