[stevenash]

You know Rizzo's job is in jeopardy when he Nationals hire Jennings as an 'assistant'

[MexicanStallion]

This is a nice upgrade for Toronto. I imagine they make him the closer.

Blue Jays acquired RHP Drew Storen from the Nationals for OF Ben Revere.


The Nationals had been desperately seeking to trade Storen, who had been the club's closer prior to last July's deadline deal for Jonathan Papelbon. The 28-year-old owns a career 3.02 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 321/96 K/BB ratio over 334 innings. His fantasy value will be driven by his role in the Jays' bullpen, which will either be in the closer's role or in a setup capacity in front of Roberto Osuna.

[EmpireMaker]

The Nationals and Blue Jays have officially struck a deal that will send outfielder Ben Revere to the Washington and reliever Drew Storen to Toronto, as Jon Heyman first reported on Twitter. A player to be named later will also head to D.C., and the Nats will kick in cash sufficient to offset the differences in the players’ anticipated 2016 salaries, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.
MLBTR projects Revere to earn $6.7MM this year in arbitration. He’s also eligible for one more season of arb control thereafter. Storen, meanwhile, projects at a $8.8MM salary in his final year of eligibility.
While it isn’t quite a blockbuster, this move certainly rates as a significant trade for both clubs. As I noted in breaking down the Nats’ offseason back in November, a deal along these lines between these two clubs has long made conceptual sense — though it’s also understandable that both wanted to explore other possibilities before pulling the trigger. Much like the deal that sent Jon Niese to the Pirates for Neil Walker earlier this winter, this trade involves two similarly-priced assets being exchanged as each organization seeks to address their respective needs.

For the Nats, adding a left-handed-hitting outfielder who is capable of playing center field has long been a priority. While there have been suggestions at times that the club might have looked for a more significant piece to build out its outfield, it ultimately settled on a solid option in Revere who can share time in center with Michael Taylor and spell Jayson Werth in left, potentially creating a three-man rotation for two slots that should function well alongside Bryce Harper. In some ways, he’s a faster, younger, lighter-hitting version of the just-departed Denard Span, though it’s certainly arguable that the former Nat had a better glove.
The team’s relationship with Storen had long seemed destined to end. After replacing him once in the closer’s role with Rafael Soriano, the Nats ruffled some feathers by adding Jonathan Papelbon down the stretch last year. Needless to say, that move blew up in spectacular fashion, and seemingly created some tension between the organization and its former first-round draft pick.
On the Jays’ side of the equation, Revere was something of a luxury. Acquired at the trade deadline last summer, his essential role can be filled by Michael Saunders, who missed all of last year but is expected to return to full strength in 2016. And Dalton Pompey also joins Kevin Pillar in the outfield mix (along with superstar Jose Bautista, of course).

By bringing in Storen, the Jays have added a big arm to the back of the pen without taking on a lengthy commitment. There’s no denying that the 28-year-old has struggled at times, but he’s also been dominant for lengthy stretches. Whether he’s serving in a set-up capacity in front of Roberto Osuna or even taking the 9th himself, there’s good reason to believe that Storen can be a valuable late-inning arm.
Of course, both players in this trade come with their share of demerits. Revere, 27, doesn’t hit for power or draw walks. Though he’s always made a ton of good contact and doesn’t strike out much, any dip in contact ability or speed could spell trouble. And he’s a mystery on the defensive side of the equation. After garnering strong defensive metrics at times with the Twins, Revere has looked lost at times on his routes and generally received quite poor ratings in recent seasons.
So long as he can get on base enough, though, Revere seems a good bet at least to function as a solid fourth outfielder. He’s still plenty young, and delivers serious value with his legs. He has 80 steals on the ledger over the last two years and is second only to speed demon Billy Hamilton in Fangraphs’ total baserunning value measure (BsR) over those seasons. Notably, Revere has also generally posted neutral platoon splits, though he was quite a bit more effective last year against right-handed pitching.
And Storen has been somewhat fickle on the mound, with his general excellence sometimes punctured with ill-timed lapses. It’s all but impossible to know whether that’s a genuine cause for concern or just a sample blip, but there is a perception that he’s faltered in the brightest lights. Of course, he’s also locked up 95 saves, so it isn’t as if he’s a stranger to succeeding in high-leverage spots.
All told, Storen owns a 3.02 ERA in his 334 big league frames. He’s struck out an average of 8.6 and walked 2.6 batters per nine for his career, but his K rate jumped significantly last season. Storen’s average fastaball velocity trended up, topping 94 mph for the first time since 2012, and he got big results with his slider. He ended the season with a 12.2% swinging-strike rate that was the second best of his career. On the other hand, Storen also put up wider-than-usual platoon splits.
There are broader impacts here, too. For one thing, it now seems rather unlikely that the Nats will re-enter the outfield market. The move seemingly takes them out of the running for Gerardo Parra and would make a play for Justin Upton or Yoenis Cespedes seem even more remote. On the other hand, Washington could still stand to add to the bullpen and has been rumored to be considering moves in the starting staff as well. The Jays seem less likely to tinker at this point, though making a bullpen upgrade without taking on more salary could in theory open some creative options.

[Shortstop]

What did that card get valued at, in its peak?

Around $100 I think..the Upper Deck.

I remember having several dozen on his Donruss Rookies cards..about $7 @ its peak.

Unfortunately, the value of these once treasured cards has significantly declined...

[Shortstop]

I've always thought highly of Ben Revere.

Playing to his "potential" he would be a perennial, All-Star caliber MLB player...

[Otters27]

What is the forecast for Josh hamilton this year. His days seem far behind him

[El Nino]

What is the forecast for Josh hamilton this year. His days seem far behind him

Depends on his health. I'd say 100 games, 15 HR's, 70 RBI's would be generous.

[Chi_archie]

Unfortunately, the value of these once treasured cards has significantly declined...

yep, as a kid I thought they would pay for college

[koz-man]

Unfortunately, the value of these once treasured cards has significantly declined...

As a kid my uncle worked at a local Topps corp and he would get me all the sports cards ya could want.

My bedroom walls were covered will the full uncut sheets of baseball cards and My mother was throwing out sports cards as fast as my uncle was getting them for me back then.

Now I heard they discard cards like it was Fort Knox.

[stevenash]

I've always thought highly of Ben Revere.

Playing to his "potential" he would be a perennial, All-Star caliber MLB player...

I never liked Revere at leadoff.
You want him the lineup for speed and a good glove (below average arm however) but not at leadoff, I'm fine with that.
On base percentage is terrible, .328 career OBA is not getting it done at the top of the order.
736 career hits 638 of those are singles.

Would rather have a leadoff guy with a little more pop, with a higher OBA rate, I get the fact Revere hits .295 lifetime, I'll take a .280 guy with same speed with a .360 OBA

[MexicanStallion]

Another cuban in the mix.

The Marlins are one of several teams pursuing Cuban RHP Yaisel Sierra, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal.

He's expected to land a bigger contract than Raisel Iglesias, who signed a seven-year, $27 million pact with Cincinnati in 2014. Pitching is clearly a priority for the Marlins, who have also shown interest in left-hander Wei-Yin Chen and just signed Edwin Jackson. Sierra defected to the United States from Cuba last April. He owns a 16-21 record across 131 appearances for Holguin and Sancti Spiritus in the Cuban National Series.

[Andy117]

This is a nice upgrade for Toronto. I imagine they make him the closer.

Blue Jays acquired RHP Drew Storen from the Nationals for OF Ben Revere.


The Nationals had been desperately seeking to trade Storen, who had been the club's closer prior to last July's deadline deal for Jonathan Papelbon. The 28-year-old owns a career 3.02 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 321/96 K/BB ratio over 334 innings. His fantasy value will be driven by his role in the Jays' bullpen, which will either be in the closer's role or in a setup capacity in front of Roberto Osuna.

He better hope that Cespedes stays out of the AL East.

[yisman]

He better hope that Cespedes stays out of the AL East.

seems Cespedes can't find anyone willing to pay up

[BigSpoon]

This is a nice upgrade for Toronto. I imagine they make him the closer.

Blue Jays acquired RHP Drew Storen from the Nationals for OF Ben Revere.


The Nationals had been desperately seeking to trade Storen, who had been the club's closer prior to last July's deadline deal for Jonathan Papelbon. The 28-year-old owns a career 3.02 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 321/96 K/BB ratio over 334 innings. His fantasy value will be driven by his role in the Jays' bullpen, which will either be in the closer's role or in a setup capacity in front of Roberto Osuna.

I like the deal as a Blue Jays fan. Revere played well down the stretch but Toronto needed another bullpen arm. Saunders or Pompey can play in LF to replace Revere.

[EmpireMaker]

The Mets want a reliever, but they’ll patiently wait for one to fall into their lap, writes Mike Puma of the New York Post. Antonio Bastardo and Tyler Clippard are both options, but GM Sandy Alderson doesn’t want to go beyond a one-year contract for either. Bastardo is asking for three-years while Clippard’s demands are unknown. Alderson has a history of finding relievers during Spring Training, and the club does possess decent, if unproven, depth at the position.
Preliminary contract extension talks have occurred between the Cubs and President Theo Epstein, tweets 670 The Score. Cubs owner Tom Ricketts says the two sides are “generally on the same page,” with regards to the talks. Epstein is entering the final season of a five-year, $18.5MM deal signed in 2011.

[koz-man]

I never liked Revere at leadoff.
You want him the lineup for speed and a good glove (below average arm however) but not at leadoff, I'm fine with that.
On base percentage is terrible, .328 career OBA is not getting it done at the top of the order.
736 career hits 638 of those are singles.

Would rather have a leadoff guy with a little more pop, with a higher OBA rate, I get the fact Revere hits .295 lifetime, I'll take a .280 guy with same speed with a .360 OBA

I agree 100%. OBA is so important from a lead-off hitter...imo

[Chi_archie]

Another cuban in the mix.

The Marlins are one of several teams pursuing Cuban RHP Yaisel Sierra, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal.

He's expected to land a bigger contract than Raisel Iglesias, who signed a seven-year, $27 million pact with Cincinnati in 2014. Pitching is clearly a priority for the Marlins, who have also shown interest in left-hander Wei-Yin Chen and just signed Edwin Jackson. Sierra defected to the United States from Cuba last April. He owns a 16-21 record across 131 appearances for Holguin and Sancti Spiritus in the Cuban National Series.

good name

[El Nino]

seems Cespedes can't find anyone willing to pay up

The Revis of MLB.

[stevenash]

Can you imagine if the Reds move Votto to the Blue Jays?

[Andy117]

seems Cespedes can't find anyone willing to pay up

Yeah he hasn't had much of a market. He wrecked Storen back in August.

[Shortstop]

yep, as a kid I thought they would pay for college

As a kid my uncle worked at a local Topps corp and he would get me all the sports cards ya could want.

My bedroom walls were covered will the full uncut sheets of baseball cards and My mother was throwing out sports cards as fast as my uncle was getting them for me back then.

Now I heard they discard cards like it was Fort Knox.

Haha! Great stuff!

I'll always remember how excited I got as I tore into a new pack of cards.

Always wanted that coveted, hard to find rookie card or favorite player card.

And how could we forget that hard as a rock slice of pink gum that came with each pack!

[yisman]

Can you imagine if the Reds move Votto to the Blue Jays?

Votto finally get to play in Canada? I wouldn't do if it I were TOR

[Shortstop]

seems Cespedes can't find anyone willing to pay up

The Revis of MLB.

Haha! Great comparison! Both have more talent than Jesus, but don't know how to handle it...

[EmpireMaker]

• Sixteen-year-old Cuban outfielder Lazaro Armenteros held a showcase for scouts on January 8th and “early returns…have been mixed at best,” ESPN.com’s Eric Longenhagen tweets. Several sources described Armenteros as “unable to play center field” and “too muscular & stiff,” though he did receive a very good grade of between 6-7 (based on the scouting grading scale of 2-8) on his running. Between 150-200 scouts were expected to attend his showcase, and one veteran scout even cited such names as Willie Mays and Bo Jackson to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale last month in terms of comparable power and speed, though the caveat that Armenteros was still quite “young and raw” in his ability. There has been quite a bit of speculation about the phenom known as “Lazarito,” as this was the first time MLB scouts had been able to see him in any sort of baseball activity since the summer of 2014. It isn’t yet known if Lazarito will be cleared to sign with a Major League team during this international signing period or the next (which begins on July 2).

[BigSpoon]

Can you imagine if the Reds move Votto to the Blue Jays?

I'd like him on the Blue Jays for the next 3 years or so but not for the next 8 seasons and $192M remaining on his contract that takes him to age 39.

[MexicanStallion]

Seung-Hwan Oh's deal with the Cardinals is reportedly worth $11 million over two years with a club option for 2018.

Daniel Kim of KBSn passed along those translated financial details from South Korea's Ilgan Sports. Oh, nicknamed "The Final Boss" and "Stone Buddha" in Asia for all his success closing games, should be officially introduced at a press conference early this week in St. Louis -- weather permitting. He'll work as a setup man for the Cardinals ahead of star stopper Trevor Rosenthal. Oh, 33, held a 1.81 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and 772 strikeouts in 646 1/3 innings between the Korea Baseball Organization and Japan's Central League.

[koz-man]

Ken Griffey Jr. was honored at Safeco Field on Friday night during a red-carpet ceremony in which the Mariners said his No. 24 would become the first number retired in franchise history.

[MexicanStallion]

Long term project for the Reds.

MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports that the Reds have agreed to terms with Cuban shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez on a $6 million contract.

Rodriguez left Cuba last May in order to pursue a contract with a major league team and has finally found a home. Known more for his glove than his bat, the 21-year-old batted .265/.301/.284 with no home runs and 12 steals over 304 plate appearances in his last year in Serie Nacional. He will be subject to the international bonus pools and won't be big league-ready for a while.

[El Nino]

Saw the Yankees confirmed Chapman is going to be the closer going into spring. Thought that was sort of obvious.

[koz-man]

Long term project for the Reds.

MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports that the Reds have agreed to terms with Cuban shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez on a $6 million contract.

Rodriguez left Cuba last May in order to pursue a contract with a major league team and has finally found a home. Known more for his glove than his bat, the 21-year-old batted .265/.301/.284 with no home runs and 12 steals over 304 plate appearances in his last year in Serie Nacional. He will be subject to the international bonus pools and won't be big league-ready for a while.

Finally the Reds make a somewhat positive move.

[yisman]

Saw the Yankees confirmed Chapman is going to be the closer going into spring. Thought that was sort of obvious.

you'd think, but the Yankees don't always do the logical thing with their bullpen

[EmpireMaker]

The Rockies have agreed to a three-year, $27.5MM deal with outfielder Gerardo Parra, according to Wilmer Reina of Diario la Verdad (Twitter links). Jon Heyman also reported the signing via Twitter. The contract includes an option for a fourth year at $12MM, which includes a $1.5MM buyout. Parra will earn $26MM over the first three years of the deal, it appears.

[EmpireMaker]

Marlins To Sign Wei-Yin Chen

By Jeff Todd | January 12, 2016 at 11:49am CST
12:26pm: Chen will receive just $6MM this year and $14MM for 2017, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Obviously, that would mean the team could get two prime years of the southpaw at a bargain rate if he opts out. (And the club could also pick up a draft pick via a qualifying offer in that scenario.)
12:15pm: There’s a player opt-out after two years, Heyman tweets.
The option year is a vesting player option, Rosenthal tweets. That’s a somewhat unusual provision; presumably, Chen would gain the right to choose between a one-year guarantee or free agency if he reaches certain milestones.
12:10pm: Chen will be guaranteed about $80MM, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. That’s exactly what MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted before the offseason.
The vesting option could boost the total value to $96MM, per Heyman (via Twitter). The agreement does not include a no-trade clause, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports adds on Twitter.
It largely goes without saying, but the deal will not be formalized until Chen undergoes a physical.
11:55am: There’s a deal in place for five years with a vesting option for a sixth, Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweets.
11:49am: The Marlins are “closing in” on a deal with free agent lefty Wei-Yin Chen, Jon Heyman reports on Twitter. Miami’s ongoing negotiations with the Scott Boras-represented veteran were reported earlier this morning by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
With the move, Miami has significantly upgraded a rotation that long seemed in need of a quality arm. The team lost Henderson Alvarez to free agency after non-tendering him, and that left the club with some uncertainty behind ace Jose Fernandez. Chen will join Jarred Cosart and Tom Koehler as near-locks for the staff, with Edwin Jackson now joining in-house options such as Adam Conley, Brad Hand, David Phelps, Justin Nicolino, Jose Urena, and Kendry Flores. (Some of those names, of course, could well end up in the pen.)
As Chen turned down a qualifying offer at the start of the offseason, he’ll cost the Marlins their top non-protected pick, which will come in the second round. The club’s first overall selection, at seventh overall, is protected. The Orioles, meanwhile, will stand to pick up a compensation pick for losing Chen.
It’s easy to forget that the Marlins were viewed by many as a legitimate contender heading into the 2016 season. A lot has changed since then, certainly, but the team’s young core still features a lot of talent. And while Chen himself has faced his share of questions, there’s no denying that he upgrades the Miami staff.

[Shortstop]

Seung-Hwan Oh's deal with the Cardinals is reportedly worth $11 million over two years with a club option for 2018.

Daniel Kim of KBSn passed along those translated financial details from South Korea's Ilgan Sports. Oh, nicknamed "The Final Boss" and "Stone Buddha" in Asia for all his success closing games, should be officially introduced at a press conference early this week in St. Louis -- weather permitting. He'll work as a setup man for the Cardinals ahead of star stopper Trevor Rosenthal. Oh, 33, held a 1.81 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and 772 strikeouts in 646 1/3 innings between the Korea Baseball Organization and Japan's Central League.

"Stone Buddha"

Best nickname I've heard in a long time!

[Shortstop]

Finally the Reds make a somewhat positive move.

Haha! Maybe the Pirates will now, too...