The 2018 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

[koz-man]

Kidnapped mother of Pirates' Elias Diaz rescued in Venezuela



CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan authorities say police have rescued the mother of Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz three days after she was kidnapped.
Zulia state Gov. Omar Prieto announced Sunday evening on his Twitter account that 72-year-old Ana Isabel Soto was rescued earlier in the day by judicial police, state police and other security officers.
Prieto said in a second tweet that he has ordered state police to investigate a police anti-drug team for alleged involvement in the kidnapping. He gave no other details, but Venezuelan media said five officers had been arrested in the case

[ApricotSinner32]

Kidnapped mother of Pirates' Elias Diaz rescued in Venezuela


CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan authorities say police have rescued the mother of Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz three days after she was kidnapped.
Zulia state Gov. Omar Prieto announced Sunday evening on his Twitter account that 72-year-old Ana Isabel Soto was rescued earlier in the day by judicial police, state police and other security officers.
Prieto said in a second tweet that he has ordered state police to investigate a police anti-drug team for alleged involvement in the kidnapping. He gave no other details, but Venezuelan media said five officers had been arrested in the case

[batt33]

Kidnapped mother of Pirates' Elias Diaz rescued in Venezuela
think she moves

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan authorities say police have rescued the mother of Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz three days after she was kidnapped.
Zulia state Gov. Omar Prieto announced Sunday evening on his Twitter account that 72-year-old Ana Isabel Soto was rescued earlier in the day by judicial police, state police and other security officers.
Prieto said in a second tweet that he has ordered state police to investigate a police anti-drug team for alleged involvement in the kidnapping. He gave no other details, but Venezuelan media said five officers had been arrested in the case

Think she moves?

[yisman]

Surprised they got her back

She should leave

[EmpireMaker]

The Nationals have acquired utilityman Matt Reynolds from the division-rival Mets, per a club announcement. Cash considerations will go to New York in the agreement for Reynolds, who had been designated for assignment recently.
Reynolds, 27, has struggled in his limited MLB opportunities and was squeezed off of the Mets roster as the team has continued to add infielders. The Nats had an unexpected opening arise recently when young catcher Raudy Read was hit with a PED suspension.
Though he has accomplished little in limited MLB time, Reynolds has shown an ability to line up all around the infield and in the corner outfield. And he has posted a solid (albeit PCL-aided) .289/.348/.419 slash in over a thousand career trips to the plate at Triple-A.
To crack the Nationals’ active roster, Reynolds would likely need to beat out Wilmer Difo for an infield reserve spot. Of course, he could instead be optioned to Triple-A to serve as affordable and versatile depth, or the Nats could attempt to sneak him through waivers at some point.

[JMobile]

The Nationals have acquired utilityman Matt Reynolds from the division-rival Mets, per a club announcement. Cash considerations will go to New York in the agreement for Reynolds, who had been designated for assignment recently.
Reynolds, 27, has struggled in his limited MLB opportunities and was squeezed off of the Mets roster as the team has continued to add infielders. The Nats had an unexpected opening arise recently when young catcher Raudy Read was hit with a PED suspension.
Though he has accomplished little in limited MLB time, Reynolds has shown an ability to line up all around the infield and in the corner outfield. And he has posted a solid (albeit PCL-aided) .289/.348/.419 slash in over a thousand career trips to the plate at Triple-A.
To crack the Nationals’ active roster, Reynolds would likely need to beat out Wilmer Difo for an infield reserve spot. Of course, he could instead be optioned to Triple-A to serve as affordable and versatile depth, or the Nats could attempt to sneak him through waivers at some point.

All this time I thought they were talking about Mark Reynolds. Never heard of Matt.

[koz-man]

David Price has talked to J.D. Martinez and "would love to have him" with Red Sox. But Price added that players wait years for free agency and deserve to take their time in pursuit of the best deal. (Noteworthy, perhaps, that Price said most players "usually" get to go through free agency only once. Price has an opt-out of his contract and could choose to re-enter the market next winter.)

[Chi_archie]

Kidnapped mother of Pirates' Elias Diaz rescued in Venezuela


CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan authorities say police have rescued the mother of Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz three days after she was kidnapped.
Zulia state Gov. Omar Prieto announced Sunday evening on his Twitter account that 72-year-old Ana Isabel Soto was rescued earlier in the day by judicial police, state police and other security officers.
Prieto said in a second tweet that he has ordered state police to investigate a police anti-drug team for alleged involvement in the kidnapping. He gave no other details, but Venezuelan media said five officers had been arrested in the case

great news

[Cross]

Time to get the f out of Venezuela!

[yisman]

Dodgers re-signed Utley yesterday

[ApricotSinner32]

David Price has talked to J.D. Martinez and "would love to have him" with Red Sox. But Price added that players wait years for free agency and deserve to take their time in pursuit of the best deal. (Noteworthy, perhaps, that Price said most players "usually" get to go through free agency only once. Price has an opt-out of his contract and could choose to re-enter the market next winter.)

[Andy117]

All this time I thought they were talking about Mark Reynolds. Never heard of Matt.

He's nothing special, but you know that already. AAAA player.

[EmpireMaker]

11:33am: San Francisco isn’t the only team in the mix, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, who tweets that the Phillies, Red Sox, and unstated other teams are also still involved.
10:20am: The Giants are engaged in “serious contract talks” with southpaw reliever Tony Watson, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports (via Twitter). It is not clear at this time what sort of contractual terms the sides are contemplating, but Watson is clearly the best lefty pen piece still unsigned at this stage.
This is certainly an interesting bit of news, due largely to San Francisco’s closely watched effort to improve while staying shy of the competitive balance tax line. Recent tabulations have suggested the team is only $2MM or so beneath the $197MM threshold at present, leaving little room for a player of Watson’s anticipated price.
If the Giants were to accept the luxury tax for the 2018 season, it’s at least fair to wonder whether they’d plan to go further over the line to add other players. On the other hand, part of the team’s strategy could be to engineer a mid-season sell-off to get back below the line if things don’t go quite as hoped.
As things stand, the Giants’ depth chart features Steven Okert as the top southpaw on hand. Josh Osich and D.J. Snelten also represent 40-man options, with recent minor-league signee Derek Holland perhaps also factoring in the mix if he cannot earn a rotation slot. San Francisco will ultimately hope for a bounce back from Will Smith, who is looking to return from a Tommy John procedure that was performed just before the start of the 2017 season, but clearly there’s some room for improvement.
Entering the winter, Watson was tabbed as the 44th-best free agent in MLBTR’s ranking of the top 50 open-market players. We guessed the 32-year-old could command $12MM in total guaranteed money over two years. While he has plenty of general late-inning experience, our assessment was that he’d be pursued (and paid) more as a quality lefty specialist. Watson, after all, has long been much more effective against opposing lefties.

[BigSpoon]

David Price has talked to J.D. Martinez and "would love to have him" with Red Sox. But Price added that players wait years for free agency and deserve to take their time in pursuit of the best deal. (Noteworthy, perhaps, that Price said most players "usually" get to go through free agency only once. Price has an opt-out of his contract and could choose to re-enter the market next winter.)

Can't see him opting out of the 4 years and $127M left on his contract after 2018.

[Chi_archie]

Can't see him opting out of the 4 years and $127M left on his contract after 2018.

es

especially in this current market, which looks to continue

[JMobile]

We'll, Matt Kemp looks happy working out in a Dodgers uniform. You think he thinks he'll be a Dodger for this year?

[koz-man]

Yankees pitching prospect Albert Abreu had an emergency appendectomy last Tuesday. He's been told he shouldn't miss too much spring training; hopes to start doing some exercises and working out next week.

[Cross]

Can’t believe Dodgers resigned Utley. He was an easy out all post season.

[yisman]

es

especially in this current market, which looks to continue

no way he opts out.

extremely overpaid

[ApricotSinner32]

no way he opts out.

extremely overpaid

[batt33]

Hearing will smith is about 3 weeks behind the start of the season..

[EmpireMaker]

For the last several weeks, virtually all of the buzz around J.D. Martinez has centered around two teams — the Red Sox and Diamondbacks. Various reports have stated that the Sox have a five-year offer on the table for the slugger that is worth somewhere between $100MM and $125MM, possibly closer to the former figure than the latter. Martinez and agent Scott Boras came into the offseason with a much higher salary in mind, and while time and a lack of suitors has likely dropped that initial $210MM price tag quite a bit, Boston’s apparent unwillingness to increase its offer has turned the situation between Martinez’s camp and the Red Sox into something of a “staredown.”
The D’Backs, meanwhile, also won’t come close to a $210MM figure but their approach has been to see if Martinez would accept some type of unique contract (i.e. a shorter-term deal on a higher average annual value, possibly with a player opt-out clause after a season or two) to return to the desert. Boras has personally met with D’Backs managing general partner Ken Kendrick multiple times over the offseason, plus Martinez said after the season concluded that he greatly enjoyed playing for Arizona, so there is certainly some opportunity for a reunion between the two sides.
Obviously, Martinez’s particularly good relationship with the D’Backs opened the door for their chances at signing him to a deal that may fall short of his original target — he and Boras aren’t likely to be as flexible for a team that Martinez isn’t as familiar with, or isn’t planning on contending in 2018. Still, since the stalemate in the Red Sox negotiations has opened the door for one team to get involved in Martinez’s market, could others follow suit?
Compiling a list of potential JDM suitors in mid-February is tricky, despite the fact that Martinez would boost any lineup in baseball. Concerns about Martinez’s injury history and his lack of defensive value as an outfielder haven’t gone away, and the unprecedentedly slow free agent market is also an impediment to a signing on a couple of fronts. Firstly, a team could pass on Martinez for one of several other notable bats who are available at a lower price. Secondly, some of the “Team X could be a fit for Martinez if they made another trade” scenarios are problematic since these hypothetical teams could be wary of having a positional surplus in a market where potential trade partners could, again, just opt to sign someone else.
Let’s begin by eliminating the teams that clearly don’t seem feasible, whether because they’re rebuilding or due to a lack of payroll: the Marlins, Reds, Padres, Pirates, Rays, Royals, Tigers, Indians, and Athletics. It’s worth noting that while San Diego and Kansas City may be prepared to offer a nine-figure contract to Eric Hosmer, their interest in such a splurge extends specifically to Hosmer himself due to his youth (he is over two years younger than Martinez).
Beyond those teams, you have another wide array of clubs who can likely be eliminated since they’ve already added outfielders this winter or had crowded outfield/DH situations to begin with: the Mets, Phillies, Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays, Yankees, Angels, and Astros. A few of these teams were linked to Martinez in rumors earlier in the offseason, but St. Louis (Marcell Ozuna), San Francisco (Andrew McCutchen), and Toronto (Curtis Granderson, Randal Grichuk) all went in different directions for their outfield needs.
With 21 teams and the Red Sox and D’Backs already covered, let’s look at the seven remaining clubs, some more feasible than others…
Orioles: Signing Martinez would push top prospect Austin Hays from right field favorite to versatile fourth outfielder, likely spelling Martinez or Mark Trumbo (whomever isn’t the DH) on a regular basis as a late-inning defensive replacement. With Manny Machado and Adam Jones both entering their final year under contract, signing Martinez would be a clear sign that Baltimore plans to contend beyond the Machado/Jones era should both leave in free agency. Unless the O’s plan to simply try and out-mash opponents next year, however, it seems far more likely that the team will use any available dollars on pitching, as the Orioles still have as many as three rotation spots that are still up in the air. Beyond that, Baltimore generally only spends big money when it comes to extending or re-signing their own players, not in splurging on new talent.
Rangers: Essentially, it’s the same scenario as the Orioles, with Martinez blocking another notable prospect (Willie Calhoun) and serving as long-term lineup reinforcement if other big stars (Elvis Andrus/Adrian Beltre) aren’t back in 2019. The only difference is that Texas has already made some significant moves to shore up its rotation, and GM Jon Daniels has been open to big free agent signings in the past. A connection here also seems pretty far-fetched, as the Rangers have been wary about further extending payroll this winter.
Mariners: GM Jerry Dipoto is much more prone to make a big trade than a big free agent signing, plus Seattle already has Mitch Haniger and Ben Gamel lined up for regular corner outfield duty, with Nelson Cruz locked in at designated hitter. With Cruz only under contract for one more season, however, the Mariners could envision a scenario where Gamel becomes a bench player while Martinez fills the other corner slot, with an eye towards Martinez shifting into a DH/part-time outfielder role come 2019. A Seattle/Martinez link makes only a bit more sense than the Rangers or Orioles since it’s a better positional fit, and if a Martinez contract will require some outside-the-box thinking at this stage in the offseason, one can’t rule out the team that acquired Dee Gordon to play center field.
Rockies: Or, for that matter, maybe you can’t count out the team that signed Ian Desmond last winter to play first base. Signing Martinez would send Desmond back to first, which would temporarily block prospect Ryan McMahon. Desmond could shift back to the outfield in 2019, potentially, if Charlie Blackmon left in free agency and Gerardo Parra’s club option wasn’t exercised, leaving the 2019 Colorado outfield as some combination of Desmond, JDM and possibly Raimel Tapia or David Dahl. Moreso than the O’s, Rangers, or Mariners, the Rox are my favorite of the “block a good prospect to go for it in 2019” group, though as with the other teams, payroll is also a concern. Signing Martinez would more or less rule out re-signing Blackmon, and the team also presumably needs some future payroll space available to explore a Nolan Arenado extension. There’s also added risk in a Martinez signing for a National League team given the lack of a DH spot to account for his defensive issues.
Nationals: Realistically, Washington is in the “crowded outfield” group thanks to their set alignment of Adam Eaton in left, Michael Taylor in center and Bryce Harper in right. Signing Martinez would put Eaton or Harper in line for much more center field duty than the Nats would like, as Taylor would be pushed to the bench. That said, the relationship between Boras and the Lerner family is so well-documented that one can’t ignore the Nationals when it comes to any high-profile Boras client. Plus, you could make the argument that Taylor’s presence allows for regular rest for Martinez, Harper, and Eaton, which helps the trio with checkered injury histories stay fresh throughout the season and into October. The Nats are another team facing significant free agent departures after 2018 in the form of Harper and Daniel Murphy, so Martinez is a hedge against either departing. (Which creates another interesting dynamic since Harper is also represented by Boras.)
White Sox: Like the Phillies’ signing of Carlos Santana this offseason or the Nationals’ signing of Jayson Werth in December 2010, a White Sox/Martinez contract would be the type of “stay tuned” deal made by a rebuilding team that is announcing its impending intention to compete. The White Sox have lots of payroll room, plus lineup space at DH or in either corner outfield spot — Martinez and Avisail Garcia would play every day, with Leury Garcia also seeing a lot of action and Nicky Delmonico and the players in the center field mix battling for bench duty. (There’s also a chance Eloy Jimenez could force his way into the picture sometime during the season.) Such a signing would be a bold move from GM Rick Hahn, though it may be too much of a risk at this point in Chicago’s rebuilding process. Inking Martinez would essentially be declaring that the rebuild will be over in 2019, and that may be too early a call given that so many of the promising young players in the organization have yet to establish themselves at the MLB level, or have yet to reach the bigs whatsoever.
Twins: Okay, so this one is one of those “Team X could be a fit for Martinez if they made another trade” situations I decried earlier in this post, though this one comes with some basis in recent rumors. With the Rays reportedly interested in Max Kepler, a scenario exists where Minnesota deals Kepler as part of a trade package for Jake Odorizzi or Chris Archer. With a newly-created hole in right field, the Twins then sign Martinez, who could also join the team’s planned DH rotation (especially if Miguel Sano faces a suspension). Needless to say, adding JDM would more than address the Minnesota lineup’s issues against left-handed pitching. A Martinez contract would be a big expense for a smaller-market team like the Twins, and their offseason focus has been almost entirely pitching-centric. On the flip side, the team has so little payroll committed beyond 2018 that they could feasibly add Martinez, one of Archer or Odorizzi, and still be able to afford another decent starter given the stalled free agent market.

[Chi_archie]

oh boy! Spring training is upon us!

[yisman]

Orioles

Cashner

2 years

$16 million

[BigSpoon]

Orioles

Cashner

2 years

$16 million

Had a nice bounce back season in 2017 but I think it will ultimately be a bad signing for the O's. He's gonna get eaten alive in the AL East.

[Cross]

AL East not easy on pitching, agreed.

[JMobile]

Rizzo, the school shooting from yesterday was his high school he attended.

[yisman]

Blue Jays signed Jaime Garcia. 1 year, $8 million

[koz-man]

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred: "There are going to be (pace of play) rule changes before the start of the MLB season."

[koz-man]

Yu Darvish is throwing his first ‘pen and short-hopped his first pitch. Catcher Wilson Contreras jokingly said to him: "Do you need a cutoff?"

[batt33]

oh boy! Spring training is upon us!

About time!

[Cross]

Yu should have asked him about how he got shut down by him at Wrigley in game 3 of NLCS.

[EmpireMaker]

The Blue Jays have inked lefty Jaime Garcia to a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $10MM. That includes a $8MM salary for the coming season as well as a $2MM buyout on a club option valued at $10MM.

Garcia, a client of Moye Sports Associates, can also reportedly earn up to $2MM annually in incentives based upon innings pitched. He’ll receive $500K upon reaching 150, 160, 170, and 180 frames in a given season.
With the move, Toronto has seemingly completed its starting five for the coming season. Garcia will presumably step in at the back of a rotation that also includes quality youngsters Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez along with veterans Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ.
[RELATED: Updated Blue Jays Depth Chart]
Garcia, 31, rated among the winter’s fifty best free agents in the estimation of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes. We predicted that Garcia would be able to command a two-year contract at a $8MM annual salary. While this deal falls short of our best guess in terms of a guarantee, it does include avenues for Garcia to end up earning more.
The results haven’t been all that exciting for Garcia over the past two seasons. While his 4.55 ERA since the start of 2016 isn’t terribly appealing, it’s notable that Garcia has accumulated 328 2/3 innings in that span — nearly as many as he registered over the prior four seasons. He has also continued to generate grounders on over 55% of the balls put in play against him and boosted his swinging-strike rate to 11.1% last year.
So long as Garcia is able to maintain his health, then, he figures to represent a useful addition to the Toronto staff. The shoulder problems that haunted him in 2013 and 2014, especially, have not been a limiting factor of late. Garcia averaged a career-high 91.3 mph with his fastball in 2017.

[Chi_archie]

The Blue Jays have inked lefty Jaime Garcia to a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $10MM. That includes a $8MM salary for the coming season as well as a $2MM buyout on a club option valued at $10MM.

Garcia, a client of Moye Sports Associates, can also reportedly earn up to $2MM annually in incentives based upon innings pitched. He’ll receive $500K upon reaching 150, 160, 170, and 180 frames in a given season.
With the move, Toronto has seemingly completed its starting five for the coming season. Garcia will presumably step in at the back of a rotation that also includes quality youngsters Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez along with veterans Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ.
[RELATED: Updated Blue Jays Depth Chart]
Garcia, 31, rated among the winter’s fifty best free agents in the estimation of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes. We predicted that Garcia would be able to command a two-year contract at a $8MM annual salary. While this deal falls short of our best guess in terms of a guarantee, it does include avenues for Garcia to end up earning more.
The results haven’t been all that exciting for Garcia over the past two seasons. While his 4.55 ERA since the start of 2016 isn’t terribly appealing, it’s notable that Garcia has accumulated 328 2/3 innings in that span — nearly as many as he registered over the prior four seasons. He has also continued to generate grounders on over 55% of the balls put in play against him and boosted his swinging-strike rate to 11.1% last year.
So long as Garcia is able to maintain his health, then, he figures to represent a useful addition to the Toronto staff. The shoulder problems that haunted him in 2013 and 2014, especially, have not been a limiting factor of late. Garcia averaged a career-high 91.3 mph with his fastball in 2017.

that's a good deal

[koz-man]

Yu should have asked him about how he got shut down by him at Wrigley in game 3 of NLCS.

Good Burn!!