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Cardinals made a smart move, not easy.Comment -
Astros sign Carlos Beltran to a 1-year deal worth $16M. Houston very active this offseason so far. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...houston-astrosComment -
9:49pm: Melancon has four-year offers worth upward of $60MM from the Giants, Nationals and perhaps one other team, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Giants have likely made the strongest offer, tweets Rosenthal.
2:17pm: The Giants are still on the lookout for a closer, and are more likely to find one via the free agent market rather than a trade, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick writes (all Twitter links). Giants GM Bobby Evans says the team likes all of the so-called Big Three options, which include Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon.
Crasnick further notes that Melancon might make the most sense of the bunch since they pursued him last summer and since he should cost less than Chapman or Jansen. (Also, unlike Jansen, Melancon would not require the loss of a draft pick.) The Giants met last month with the agents of all three players.
Melancon is coming off a terrific season with the Pirates and Nationals in which he posted a 1.64 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 with a strong 54.2 ground ball percentage. He doesn’t have the dominating strikeout totals of Chapman or Jansen, but his results speak for themselves. The Nationals have also reportedly pursued him this winter, and his market has been surprisingly robust, with guesses about what he might be able to get trending upward to the four-year/$60-million range.Comment -
I thought Pujols already fixed his feet
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If you've wondered whether Chris Carter was the first HR champ to get nontendered...correct! ESPN Stats & Info says the only thing close is the 1974 White Sox selling Dick Allen to the Braves because he said he was going to retire. Then the Phillies talked him into unretiring.Comment -
This guy has been really good the last few years.
11:59pm: Benoit’s deal is a one-year contract and it will be finalized when he passes a physical, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
10:04pm: The Phillies are close to a deal with veteran reliever Joaquin Benoit, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury reports. The contract is expected to be announced before the end of the Winter Meetings on Thursday.
Benoit’s 15th big league season was really like two seasons in one, as he struggled with both the long ball and his control over 24 1/3 innings with the Mariners before being traded to the Blue Jays in late July. In Toronto, Benoit turned things around in spectacular fashion, posting an 0.38 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 2.67 K/BB rate and just one home run allowed over 23 2/3 IP as a Blue Jay. He missed out on the Jays’ postseason run due to a torn calf muscle suffered in a bench-clearing brawl with the Yankees in late September.
Assuming a deal is finalized, the Phillies would be the seventh team Benoit has suited up for during his long career. The 39-year-old has somewhat flown under the radar as one of the best relievers in baseball in recent years, posting a 2.40 ERA, 3.56 K/BB rate and an even 10.0 K/9 over 427 bullpen innings since the start of the 2010 season.
As Salisbury notes, Benoit does have some closing experience but for now likely slots in alongside Pat Neshek as the veteran setup options behind Hector Neris and Jeanmar Gomez. Salisbury speculates that Benoit could give the Phils added depth so the team could shop Neris or Gomez; Neris in particular would draw a lot of attention on the open market, though Philadelphia would want a lot in return.Comment -
Blue Jays sign Steve Pearce to a 2-year $12.5M deal. This move pretty much shuts the door on Edwin returning. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...onto-blue-jaysComment -
Pujols is still very productive. The 10 yr/$250 million contract is obviously more backloaded.Comment -
Cubs GM Jed Hoyer indicated Jason Heyward will be in Az. this winter working a lot with Eric Hinske as he attempts to rework his swing to be more productive.
Damn....I hope so!!!!Comment -
Giants agree to 4-year $62M deal with closer Mark Melancon. Risky to give long term contracts to relief pitchers but SF was really desperate. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...con-reach-dealComment -
The first week of November, we learned via his agent that Encarnacion was in search of a five-year, $125 million deal. It’ll be a penetrating miracle if he comes anywhere close to that now. Even back then, I figured that was a pipe dream for a player entering their age-34 season. Money’s whatever when you’re a big market club, but where you start playing with fire is when you’ve committed a large average annual value to a player in their age-37 and 38 seasons, which is what you’d be doing with a five-year commitment to Encarnacion.
At the start of all this, there was no shortage of suitors for Encarnacion’s services. You had plenty of teams with deep pockets and postseason aspirations as early as 2017. You had the Yankees, the Astros, the Blue Jays, the Rangers, and the Red Sox are always looming, regardless of how disinterested they claim to be. One by one, let’s look at the list of who Encarnacion’s suitors were at the start of the offseason.
Astros: Ever since Twitter became a thing, every offseason, there’s always the one big free agent signing where the 15-year-old kid has the information, or the Spanish-speaking writer that nobody’s ever heard of has a report, or the dude who met an agent at a bar and got the scoop after a few beers throws a tweet out there, but you never know what’s legit and what’s not. That was Encarnacion this year. There were a few random reports that he was going to the Astros, and that it was a sure thing, done deal. Then they signed Carlos Beltran to be their DH next year. Now, does that completely take them out of the Encarnacion sweepstakes? Not quite. As Ken Rosenthal suggested, Houston could have Beltran DH, move Yulieski Gurriel to left field, and put Encarnacion at first base. They’d have to trade Evan Gattis, because they also traded for Brian McCann to be behind the plate primarily, but they could make it work. It’s just a matter of if they’d want to make that financial commitment, and that doesn’t seem likely.
Yankees: After the Astros landed Beltran, I assumed that removed Houston from the Encarnacion chase, which, to me, made the Yankees the next most logical spot for him to land. And then they signed Matt Holliday to a one-year deal worth $13 million a day later. This makes sense, but at the same time it doesn’t. I had read that Holliday was New York’s backup plan at DH, which means that obviously they were interested, but a fallback plan for what? Encarnacion? Why did the Yankees go to Holliday as their Plan B if their Plan A is still out there? Their Plan A wasn’t Beltran, it sounds like. The Yankees never made Beltran an offer, and their interest only went as far as “kicking the tires”, which doesn’t seem like very much interest at all. Is Encarnacion’s asking price so unreasonable that he’s costing himself major players in his market?
Blue Jays: About a week ago, Encarnacion’s agent said that the Blue Jays are “showing Edwin the most love.” If that’s true, then he’s ******, because we already know that the best offer that Toronto made to Encarnacion was four years and $80 million, which he rejected. If that’s the “most love” that he’s gotten, then clearly no team is going to come anywhere close to his five-year, $125 million asking price. That, and the Blue Jays have since taken that offer off the table, so as far as we know, the best offer he’s gotten doesn’t even exist anymore. You also have to consider that the only team, as far as we know, who stepped up to the plate with a competitive offer responded immediately to Encarnacion rejecting that offer by signing DH Kendrys Morales, and then added a first baseman in Steve Pearce today, effectively eliminating themselves as a suitor for Encarnacion. Sorry, Jays fans. It looks like Toronto has officially moved on.
Rangers: Now you’re getting down to those, “Meh, I guess it seems like a fit,” kind of teams. The Rangers need a DH after losing Beltran to the Astros, so naturally one would assume that there could be a fit here for Encarnacion. However, Rangers GM Jon Daniels has said that he wants to fill the first base/DH position with internal options like Ryan Rua, Joey Gallo, and Jurickson Profar. I don’t know if I buy that, though. None of those three players are middle of the order bats, at least not in 2017. But it’s not like Texas will be in rough shape with their 3-4-5 hitters consisting of something like Adrian Beltre, Rougned Odor and Jonathan Lucroy. Those three players combined to hit .287 with an .844 OPS in 2016. Sure, it’d be nice to add Encarnacion into that mix, but they don’t necessarily have to. In regards to whether or not Encarnacion could end up in Arlington, Buster Olney tweeted: “Sources who familiar with him says Rangers could be an interesting match.”
Red Sox: If you believe all that we’ve been hearing and reading as it relates to Boston’s interest in Encarnacion, then the Red Sox were never really in on him at all. I’m sure they’ve done their due diligence and established contact with the player’s agent, because that’s standard procedure, but as far as legitimate interest goes, there hasn’t been any. And that kind of blows my mind. Sure, I can see them not wanting to enter the fray at five years and $125 million, but if the Yankees are out, the Astros are out, the Blue Jays are out, and the Rangers are showing minimal interest, why are the Red Sox not pouncing on the opportunity to snatch up Encarnacion at a price tag that’s far less than what was previously anticipated? I’m not even advocating that they go out and sign the guy no matter what, but at least show some friggin’ interest here. They have a clear need for a bat like his after David Ortiz’s retirement, and they have the money to get it done, too. They’ll shell out $95 million to fat penetrate Pablo Sandoval to do absolutely nothing, but then they want to cry about the luxury tax when there’s a 40+ home run guy on the free agent market. Bananaland.
I find this implosion of Encarnacion’s market to be fascinating, so I kind of have to wonder how the hell it’s gotten to this point. How does arguably the top free agent this winter become a player with a dried up market with very few serious suitors remaining, just one month into the offseason? There’s two major factors here, and they kind of go hand in hand. Encarnacion rejected a qualifying offer from Toronto, which means that any new team that wants to sign him must cough up a draft pick in order to do so.
Not wanting to lose a draft pick is one factor, but the fact that there are several other options that won’t cost a draft pick, AND as much years or dollars, is another. Beltran was traded mid-season, so he was not eligible to be made a qualifying offer, and the Royals and Cardinals didn’t make qualifying offers to Morales and Holliday, respectively. No draft pick compensation was tied to any of the three DH-types who have signed already, which made them more enticing to the Astros, Blue Jays, and Yankees. Beyond that, those three players signed for a combined five years and $62 million. No draft pick compensation, short years, manageable dollars.
The thing is, this sucks right now for Encarnacion, but it could theoretically get worse, because there is another DH/first baseman type with no draft pick compensation tied to him, who has yet to sign. Not only that, but the teams that have shown the most interest in this player are also the teams that are seemingly the only suitors that Encarnacion has left. That man is Mike Napoli, and the Red Sox and Rangers have expressed “serious” interest in him. If Napoli takes another suitor off the board for Encarnacion, then what does he really have left? One team? Yikes.Comment -
Yankees retiring Jeter's #2 on May 14th.Comment -
Heyward deal so crazy, they did need him though.Comment -
In one of the biggest Winter Meeting blockbusters in recent history, the Red Sox and White Sox have announced a trade that will send Chris Sale from Chicago to Boston in exchange for prospects Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz.
In acquiring Sale, the Red Sox will add one of the game’s most dominant pitchers to add to a star-studded rotation that’ll also feature David Price and Rick Porcello, with other options including Eduardo Rodriguez, Steven Wright, Drew Pomeranz and Clay Buchholz. As such, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski should have no shortage of rotation depth from which to deal if he desires to utilize that theoretical surplus to address other areas of need on the roster.
[Related: Updated Chicago White Sox Depth Chart and Boston Red Sox Depth Chart]
Sale will head from Chicago to Boston on the heels of a season in which he posted a 3.34 ERA with 9.3 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and a 41.2 percent ground-ball rate in 226 2/3 innings. Since cementing himself as a top-of-the-rotation arm, Sale has posted a collective 3.04 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 1015 2/3 innings. He’s set to earn just $12MM next season, and the Red Sox will hold club options valued at $12.5MM and $13.5MM for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, respectively.
While there was concern earlier in his career that centered around Sale’s unorthodox delivery, his arm has held up better than nearly any pitcher in the sport. Since 2012, Sale’s innings total ranks 12th among 227 qualified starting pitchers. His 10.0 K/9 is eighth in that same span, and he ranks fourth in the Majors in fWAR and third in RA9-WAR in that time as well. His average fastball dipped a bit in 2016 but still checked in at a healthy 92.8 mph.
Sale drew heavy interest from a number of teams ranging from the Astros to the Braves to the Nationals, but as of late last night it was the Nats that reportedly had a real chance at pushing a deal across the line. The Red Sox seemingly upped their level of aggression overnight, however, and will emerge from the Sale sweepstakes without having been forced to surrender any member of their expected Opening Day roster. Washington made a last-ditch effort to salvage a deal, but fell shy, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. Given the intense interest, it’s no surprise that the Red Sox ultimately paid a heavy price to add the power lefty.
With three years of club control at a combined total of $38MM and that track record of dominance, Sale was one of the most valuable trade commodities in Major League Baseball, and he commanded an according price. Moncada, 21, looked overmatched in a brief September cameo with the Red Sox in 2016, but he rates as one of the top overall prospects in all of MLB and was listed as the game’s No. 1 prospect on the midseason Top 100 list from Baseball America. He currently rates as the No. 1 prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com.
BA dropped Moncada down to No. 2 on Boston’s list of top 10 prospects this offseason (subscription required and highly recommended) but noted that he possesses the size and strength of a linebacker with elite speed on the basepaths and a left-handed approach that elicits comparisons to Robinson Cano. Add at least average defense at second base to that blend of power and speed, and even if Moncada isn’t a dominant hitter from the right-handed side of the dish, there’s still legitimate star upside. MLB.com’s report on him likens him to “Cano with more speed” and notes that few middle infield prospects come with this type of offensive upside. He should immediately become the White Sox’ second baseman of the future, joining 2017 sophomore Tim Anderson to form an envy-inducing double-play tandem for years to come.
Moncada’s 2016 season was nothing short of brilliant, as he batted .294/.407/.511 with 15 home runs and 45 stolen bases in just 106 games between Class-A Advanced and Double-A before briefly jumping to the Majors late in the year. To this point in his minor league career, he’s stolen 94 bases in 109 tries — a success rate of 86.2 percent.
Signed out of Cuba to a record-shattering $31.5MM signing bonus (which came with a 100 percent luxury tax for the Red Sox), Moncada is a versatile switch-hitter that has spent the bulk of his minor league career at second base but has also been said to be capable of playing shortstop, third base and the outfield. That $31.5MM signing bonus was spread out over three years, but the Red Sox are reportedly picking up the tab on the remainder of the money he’s owed and all of the tax obligations as well.
Kopech, 20, ranks just two spots behind Moncada on that list of top Red Sox prospects over at BA. The former No. 33 overall pick (2014) generated plenty of buzz this year when he reportedly hit 105 mph in a minor league game, though Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that some scouts believe that mark to be an embellishment. Nonetheless, Kopech regularly works in the triple digits with his fastball and reached Class-A Advanced as a 20-year-old in 2016, where he pitched to a dominant 2.25 ERA with 14.2 K/9, 5.0 BB/9 and a 42 percent ground-ball rate.
BA’s scouting report notes that one evaluator called him the best minor league arm he saw all season and likened his combination of elite velocity and a low-90s slider to a younger version of Mets ace Noah Syndergaard. There are some character questions — Kopech was suspended for use of a banned stimulant and later broke his hand in a fight with a teammate — but the talent is clear. MLB.com rates Kopech 67th in baseball at the moment and calls him a potential front-of-the-rotation starter, especially after working to simplify his mechanics in 2016. He’s a bit of a longer-term asset, as it’ll probably be 2018 before Kopech is ready to debut, but the upside the Sox are receiving here is significant.
Sticking on BA’s list of top 10 Red Sox prospects, Basabe checks in at No. 8. The 20-year-old’s twin brother (Luis Alejandro Basabe) was traded from Boston to Arizona in exchange for Brad Ziegler this past summer. Luis Alexander has enough range in center field to have a floor as a fourth outfielder but also has average or better tools across the board, per BA. Basabe, who hit .264/.328/.452 with 12 homers and 25 steals between Class-A and a brief five-game stint in Class-A Advanced, could stand to improve his contact skills (119 strikeouts in 474 plate appearances), but gives the White Sox a potential everyday center fielder down the line if he can find a way to put bat to ball with more regularity.
The 22-year-old Diaz, not to be confused with the former Mets outfielder of the same name, spent the 2016 season pitching for Boston’s Class-A affiliate and worked to a 3.88 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 and a 58 percent ground-ball rate in 60 1/3 innings of relief work. He comes with the least fanfare of the four prospects in this deal but still has an upper 90s heater that has reached triple digits. MLB.com rated Diaz 28th on their midseason list of top Red Sox prospects, noting that in addition to a power fastball has a pair of inconsistent but promising secondary pitches in his slider and splitter. Diaz hasn’t made a start as a pro, so he seems like a pure relief prospect, but if he’s able to harness his control a bit and develop the secondary pitches, it sounds like there’s a potential late-inning relief arm there.
Stepping back and looking at the whole scenario from a bigger-picture perspective, the move certainly signals a move toward a rebuild for which many ChiSox fans have long clamored. Chicago GM Rick Hahn is reportedly open to trading anyone with fewer than four years of service time, which means first baseman Jose Abreu, closer David Robertson, third baseman Todd Frazier and outfielder/DH Melky Cabrera all figure to see their names bandied about in the days, weeks and months to come.
The greater question is whether Hahn & Co. will listen to offers on Sale’s now-former co-ace, Jose Quintana, who is controlled for four more years at a nearly identical total price. The Pale Hose also have one of the game’s most appealing outfield trade candidates in Adam Eaton, who is locked up through at least 2019 and has two club options on his highly affordable deal. If the White Sox want to go for a complete tear-down, the pieces are in place for Hahn to execute an accelerated rebuild given the level of MLB-ready (or near-MLB-ready) talent he can acquire in exchange for the most appealing assets on his top-heavy 25-man roster.Comment -
Red Sox definitely the favs in the AL in 2017.Comment -
Good to see Pablo Sandoval getting his shit together...
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wow. he looks totally different. good for him!!!!Comment -
Cubs and Royals finalize trade, swapping Wade Davis and Jorge Soler.Comment -
Wade Davis (traded from the Royals to the Cubs) owns the lowest ERA in MLB history as a reliever (1.51) among all pitchers with at least 250 career innings in relief. He is the only pitcher in MLB history to have multiple seasons with at least 50 IP and an ERA of 1.00 or lower (2014 and 2015).Comment -
Yankees sign Chapman, 5 years $86 million.
Unreal money. My guess, the Cubs pulled them out of the Chapman running early and went after Davis. Much smarter move on the Cubs part.
Last edited by El Nino; 12-08-16, 12:13 AM.Comment -
The Yankees and free agent closer Aroldis Chapman have agreed to a five-year contract worth $86 million, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal and multiple reports.Comment
