Good luck to every today gentlemen another day another dollar.
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Add the Reds to the many teams interested in coveted free-agent right-hander Zack Wheeler, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required). Wheeler’s longtime team, the Mets, as well as the White Sox, Twins, Angels, Padres, Yankees and Blue Jays are also among the clubs that have been connected to him early this offseason.
Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams indicated last month the Reds would be active in free agency, though expectations were the team’s focus would be on the offensive side. After all, the Reds finished last season 25th in the majors in both runs and wRC+, yet there’s already plenty of talent in their rotation. The team currently boasts Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Trevor Bauer and Anthony DeSclafani as locks for its starting staff next year. That said, signing Wheeler would perhaps give Cincinnati an elite rotation on paper, and now that catcher Yasmani Grandal (a target for the Reds who signed with the White Sox on Thursday) is off the board, an agent told Rosenthal the club may be prepared to redirect a significant portion of its available funds to Wheeler.
The 29-year-old Wheeler would immediately become one of the biggest signings in Reds history, with MLBTR predicting he’ll land a $100MM deal over a half-decade this offseason. Wheeler would give the Reds yet another front-of-the-rotation type, having pitched to a 3.96 ERA/3.48 FIP with 8.98 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 across a career-high 195 1/3 innings in 2019. That output was enough to convince the Mets to hit the flamethrowing Wheeler with a $17.8MM qualifying offer, which he rejected. Because he’s a QO recipient, signing Wheeler would cost the Reds their third-highest pick in 2020. That won’t scare Cincy off, though, as Williams said last week the team will consider signing players who received a QO.Comment -
That Reds pitching staff is getting scarier.Comment -
Would love to see the Angels sign Cole.Comment -
Sure to much more free agency action earlier than in years past.
Especially in a bargaining agreement year.Comment -
- The Mariners have an overcrowded, if not star-studded outfield picture coming into 2020, with veterans like Mallex Smith, Mitch Haniger, and Domingo Santana competing for playing time with youngsters hoping to establish their MLB credentials (Jake Fraley, Braden Bishop and Kyle Lewis). With Daniel Vogelbach locked into the designated hitter role, they are without that resource for at-bats, not to mention the further overpopulation that comes from rostering the versatile skillsets of Dee Gordon, Shed Long, Austin Nola, Dylan Moore, and Tim Lopes – all of whom are capable of spending time on the grass. Regardless, GM Jerry Dipoto is not tempted to sell-low and trade Haniger, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns. Despite Haniger’s injury-riddled 2019, Dipoto has not softened on his fervor for Haniger as a cornerstone player. Johns quotes Dipoto as saying, “He embodies almost everything about what we stand for and what we’re trying to set up in our systems and our programs.” Dipoto foresees Haniger returning to right field this season and occupying one of the 2 through 4 spots in the batting order.
- Lefty reliever Blaine Hardy has begun to attract interest on the free agent market, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck (via Twitter). Beck names the Twins as one team that has shown interest, though multiple organizations appear to be in on the ex-Tiger. Hardy, 33 in mid-March, was drafted by the Royals, but spent the entirety of his MLB career with the Tigers. After Detroit signed him to a minor league deal following the 2012 season, Hardy would make his major-league debut during the 2014 season, pitching to a 2.54 ERA across 38 appearances. Outside the 70 appearances he made in 2015, Hardy has been up-and-down most seasons, making between 21 and 39 appearances in the majors every year from 2016 to 2019. In all, he amassed 233 appearances across 6 seasons with the Tigers (13 starts in 2018) with a 3.73 ERA/4.11 FIP and pretty even splits between lefties and righties.
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madbum's teams of interest,
giants...
Braves...close to home.
Yankees...Have the money......but not the bat
Phillies..shown interest in the past
Padres...Comment -
I thought Twins might be in on MadBum as well.Comment -
Luis Ortiz just got knocked the fuk outComment -
Yankees hire female hitting coach, believed to be a first
When Rachel Balkovec reports to spring training on Feb. 1 in Tampa, she will make baseball history. Balkovec was hired by the New York Yankees as a hitting coach earlier this month, according to The New York Times, and she is believed to be the first woman to join an MLB organization as full-time hitting instructor.
Balkovec, 32, will serve as a roving minor league instructor, per MLB.com.
i know yall wanna know if she is hot or not
not bad
<a href="https://imgbb.com/"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/tC6M1P0/static1-squarespace.png" alt="static1-squarespace" border="0"></a>Comment -
Players are going to be dogging her like crazy .Yankees hire female hitting coach, believed to be a first
When Rachel Balkovec reports to spring training on Feb. 1 in Tampa, she will make baseball history. Balkovec was hired by the New York Yankees as a hitting coach earlier this month, according to The New York Times, and she is believed to be the first woman to join an MLB organization as full-time hitting instructor.
Balkovec, 32, will serve as a roving minor league instructor, per MLB.com.
i know yall wanna know if she is hot or not
not bad
<a href="https://imgbb.com/"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/tC6M1P0/static1-squarespace.png" alt="static1-squarespace" border="0"></a>
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^
I'd hit that.
(I couldn't resist what can I say I'm incorrigible).Comment -
Sausage fest coming to her.Yankees hire female hitting coach, believed to be a first
When Rachel Balkovec reports to spring training on Feb. 1 in Tampa, she will make baseball history. Balkovec was hired by the New York Yankees as a hitting coach earlier this month, according to The New York Times, and she is believed to be the first woman to join an MLB organization as full-time hitting instructor.
Balkovec, 32, will serve as a roving minor league instructor, per MLB.com.
i know yall wanna know if she is hot or not
not bad
<a rel="nofollow" href="https://imgbb.com/"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/tC6M1P0/static1-squarespace.png" alt="static1-squarespace" border="0"></a>Comment -
The Cubs are showing “continued interest” in Royals’ second baseman/outfielder Whit Merrifield, reported Jon Paul Morosi of MLB Network earlier this week. The two-time reigning MLB hits leader is guaranteed just $15.25MM over the next three seasons (with a team option for a fourth) under the affordable extension he signed with Kansas City in January.
It’s not difficult to see why the Cubs are interested in Merrifield, but they (or any other suitor) will have a hard time prying him away from KC. Merrifield (31 in January) has been extremely durable and productive the past three seasons. Since the start of 2016, he’s taken 2,404 plate appearances of above-average hitting (.296/.344/.445, 109 wRC+), while chipping in elite baserunning and passable defense at multiple positions. The Cubs have an uncertain mix at Merrifield’s primary position, second base. Addison Russell is a non-tender candidate, and Ben Zobrist is a free agent. Nico Hoerner, David Bote and Robel García are promising options to varying extents, but none is a proven MLB contributor. Merrifield would be an unquestioned upgrade.
Of course, that combination of productivity and affordability has made him a staple in Kansas City, which hasn’t expressed any desire to let Merrifield go. Royals’ general manager Dayton Moore wouldn’t move Merrifield for anything less than a “crazy” offer (in the executive’s words) at July’s trade deadline. More recently, Moore admitted that no one on the roster is entirely untouchable given the club’s ongoing rebuild, although he then lauded the All-Star as a player and person, giving no indication the front office has seemingly changed course on trade discussions.
With the Royals’ resistance to trading Merrifield in the past, it seems unlikely anything will come to fruition with the Cubs or any other team in the immediate future. If Kansas City were to market Merrifield aggressively, other teams beyond Chicago would surely enter the fray. That said, it’s interesting that Theo Epstein and the rest of the Cubs’ front office have considered a Merrifield pursuit as one of the many options on the table for a team seemingly poised for a roster restructure this offseason.Comment -
Is the Reds’ interest in Marcell Ozuna more of a red flag that they don't think a trio of Jesse Winker, Phillip Ervin and Aristides Aquino in the corners won't hold up well, or are they just trying to improve anywhere and everywhere?
-- Matt E., on Twitter
It’s more of the latter. This team needs to improve offensively after ranking 12th in the National League in runs scored and batting average this past season. Even though Cincinnati hit a club-record 227 home runs, the lineup scored only five more runs in 2019 than in ’18. It needs guys who can get on base and drive them in.
Outfield is a natural spot to seek upgrades for a variety of reasons. First, both Winker and center fielder Nick Senzel are coming off injury-shortened seasons and have durability questions. Aquino had a historic August of knocking homers, but his numbers collapsed in September, so it’s harder to predict what he might do in 2020.
A lefty hitter, Winker has a significant career split vs. right-handers (.307) compared to left-handers (.176). The right-handed-hitting Ervin, who got the most playing time of his career in 2019, was a .349 batter vs. lefties and .227 vs. righties. They could work as a platoon until one of them proves they can hit well against both types of pitchers. But acquiring someone like Ozuna, Nicholas Castellanos or Corey Dickerson offers more of a sure thing on offense.Comment -
Merrifield probably just a pipe dream. Cubs would be stupid to give up one of their top 4 prospects for him. His speed will diminish quickly now that he is 31.Comment
