Winter meetings start Monday. Sounds like it will be lots of action!!
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Chicago Cubs agree to 1-year contract with reliever Dan Winkler
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs and reliever Dan Winkler agreed Friday to a one-year contract that pays $750,000 in the majors.
The 29-year-old right-hander is 8-2 with two saves and a 3.68 ERA in 117 relief appearances over five seasons with Atlanta. He was 3-1 with a 4.98 ERA in 27 outings for the Braves last year before getting traded to San Francisco for pitcher Mark Melancon on July 31. Winkler spent the rest of the season in the minors.
The Cubs went 84-78 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Winkler gets a $200,000 if he's in the minors. He can earn $750,000 in performance bonuses for games pitched: $50,000 each for 30 and 35, $75,000 apiece for 40 and 45, $100,000 each for 50 and 55, and $150,000 apiece for 60 and 65.Comment -
Sounds like the Yankees r prepared to open the check book up for Cole. Up to him if he wants the Yanks or go west to LAComment -
Refreshing to see movement early. No waiting until the last minute and into the season for free agent signing like the last couple of years.Comment -
The Rangers feel like they’re in solid position on star third baseman Anthony Rendon, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes. It appears as if the possibility of a shorter deal at a premium AAV might hold some appeal to the Rangers as well as Rendon. But it’s tough to gauge the likelihood that he’ll land in Texas. Per Sullivan, the sides have yet to launch “serious negotiations” on the price tag. You can be sure that Scott Boras will not rush into a signing if he feels competition can drive the price up yet further, so there’s likely some market development yet to come.
More recent chatter …
- Agent Scott Boras expressed skepticism regarding the Nationals’ recent declaration that they can’t afford both Rendon and Stephen Strasburg. The super-agent tells Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link) that he sees ample capacity for the D.C. organization, which has done quite a lot of business with Boras over the years (to mutual satisfaction, for the most part). Britt Ghiroli provides further assessment of the situation in another Athletic piece, proffering a sensible distinction between what the club can do and what it prefers. As she points out, too, it’s also possible that owner Mark Lerner made the comments to buttress his bargaining position. And it’s probably fair to add that the Nats have generally not shied from carrying big payrolls and making large commitments in the recent past.
- Also skeptical? Rival executives, regarding the likelihood of the Red Sox trading Mookie Betts, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). That’s really not surprising to hear, though the reasoning offered by Nightengale’s sources is a bit confounding. The issue, he says, is that rival clubs won’t offer all that much for the outstanding outfielder. They “can simply wait until he’s a free agent next winter” rather than taking on a big salary and giving up valuable prospects. That seems to miss the point in large part, as a team acquiring Betts now would be doing so specifically to pick up his highly valuable age-27 season. Renting one of the game’s best players would obviously alter a team’s outlook for the coming season rather drastically; it stands to reason it’d cost something to do so.
- Lefty Rich Hill has not only drawn wide interest despite major elbow surgery … it seems he’s open to considering offers from all teams, so long as they have hopes of winning in 2020. In an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link), Hill says he’s not focused solely on his two preferred landing spots (the Dodgers and Red Sox). While it seems that he’d still rather end up in one of those two places, the veteran says that they “might not work out.” He’s open to considering other contenders. And Hill left no doubt that he anticipates playing a big role in the 2020 season, saying he hopes to be ready to roll by June.
- The Angels are planning to sit down with backstop Martin Maldonado at the Winter Meetings, per Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). That’s not especially portentous news, as Fletcher points out, as teams hold many such meetings this time of year. Still, it’s a notable connection, particularly since the catching market has developed on a relatively rapid timetable. The 33-year-old Maldonado spent on the Halos roster in 2017 and 2018, so the organization is plenty familiar with him.
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Yankees GM rappels building, gets fan's message on Gerrit Cole
STAMFORD, Conn. -- While Brian Cashman was descending the outside of a building Friday, the New York Yankees general manager came across a message taped to a 10th-floor window from a fan: Please sign Gerrit Cole.
Cashman, whose rappelling adventure has become a holiday tradition, confirmed he met with Cole in California on Tuesday and spoke with another free-agent pitcher, Stephen Strasburg, the following day.
"It was a great opportunity, clearly it was very public, that we met with Gerrit Cole and Strasburg while I was on the West Coast," Cashman said. "At least, that's who you all are aware of so far. Who knows who I met with?"
The Yankees have made signing Cole their clear offseason priority and have ownership-level approval to offer him a record-setting deal, sources familiar with their plans told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Thursday.
Cole and Strasburg are the top pitchers on the free-agent market. The Yankees would like to add an ace to a rotation that already includes Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and J.A. Happ.Comment -
I’m hearing Yankees trading Adujar to the Pirates for Josh Bell.
NYY could use a LH bat (Bell is a switch hitter)Comment -
My KC Royals just signed Trevor Rosenthal.
The Trevor Rosenthal that pitched in relief 12 games for the Nationals last season.
ERA in those 12 games was a hefty 22.74
12 games, 6.1 innings pitched, 8 hits 15 walks. How the hell you walk 15 batters in 6 1/3 innings?
It’s mind boggling, it boggles the mind.
Any-hoo, 6 1/3 innings pitched 16 earned runs which is a 22.74 ERA and a WH/IP of 3.63
Chew on that for a minute, a WH/IP of 3.63 means you allow almost 4 base runners per inning.
Just because Trevor can throw doesn’t mean he can pitch.Comment -
- Red Sox ace Chris Sale finished the 2019 season on the injured list with inflammation in his throwing elbow. However, there’s “no doubt” he’ll be ready for spring training, he told reporters (including Adam Fisher of the Fort Myers News-Press). Sale was cleared to begin throwing last week, and he offered a few details on his offseason program yesterday. Currently, Sale is throwing three times a week, he said, and he plans to up his workload soon before moving to long-toss and, eventually, mound work. Sale’s peripherals were dominant again last season, but his 147.1 innings of 4.40 ERA ball no doubt made for some disappointing results. The Sox will be hoping for more typical bottom line numbers from the star southpaw in 2020.
- The Mariners don’t plan on making any noteworthy additions on the position player side in free agency, GM Jerry Dipoto indicated to reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). “We have very likely the position player club you are looking at right now, barring the potential for a trade, which is always possible,” Dipoto said. While Dipoto didn’t mention any specific trade possibilities, Divish notes the organization would like to find a taker for Dee Gordon to open second base up full-time for Shed Long. Doing so, though, would be a difficult task, with Gordon due $13.8MM in 2020 and coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons.
- Nevertheless, the Mariners could be in line for some modest upgrades on the pitching staff, Dipoto suggested to Divish in the same piece. “We do have some ongoing conversations with potential free-agent additions,” Dipoto said, presumably referring to pitching upgrades given his declaration that the position player grouping was largely set. Dipoto added that any acquisitions are likely to be flyers on bounceback players, in a similar vein to the club’s earlier signings of Carl Edwards, Jr. and Kendall Graveman. Speculatively speaking, players like Michael Wacha, Blake Treinen, or Pedro Strop all have strong track records but are coming off disappointing 2019 seasons. All three figure to command a higher guarantee than was necessary to bring in Edwards ($950K) or Graveman ($2MM), though.
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Moose ready to 'bring a championship back'
CINCINNATI -- Newly-signed Reds second baseman Mike Moustakas has been through his share of media scrutiny over the course of his career. He was in the national spotlight for several years as part of the Royals' nucleus that won the World Series in 2015, and later, he proved to be a valuable addition to a Brewers club that has had strung together postseason pushes in more recent times.
So answering questions, in bulk, from inquiring minds is nothing new to the newest member of the Reds' infield. It's fair to assume, however, his question-and-answer session on Friday will stand out as unique he's experienced as a Major Leaguer.
Presumably, Moustakas has not been asked on a regular basis in the past if he feels terrible when he goes home at night because "Moooooose" and "Boooooo" sound so similar that it's hard to tell what fans are yelling. It's also safe to say he's rarely asked about his favorite color, movie and musical group. Leave it to the kids to get right down to business, which they did, during the always-entertaining Kids Only Press Conference, a staple of Redsfest every year.
• Eager to join Reds, Moose eyes postseason bids
The half-hour session, which took place on the main stage at Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati on Friday, gave fans of all ages a glimpse into Moustakas's personality. But there was one big caveat -- only the tiny tots got to ask the questions.
For the record, Moustakas's favorite color is (obviously) red. His favorite band is the Red Hot Chili Peppers, his favorite movie is Top Gun and his biggest inspiration in his life is his dad.
• Moose signing brings excitement to Redsfest
And what about that "Mooooooose" chant that might be mistaken for something else slightly less pleasant?
"It's actually really nice," Moustakas said to an inquiring young fan, "because you can't tell if they're booing you."Comment -
Classic clipComment -
I’m a die hard KC Royals fan two things you guys need to know about Moose.
a) he’s a gamer
b) he’s a little bit nuttyComment -
Rendon is planning on retiring at age 35?Comment -
So maybe 7 years, 250 million for Cole?Comment -
Still no Hall of Fame for Dale Murphy.
Ted Simmons got in today though.Comment -
Hyun-Jin Ryu has drawn looks from multiple teams this offseason, though the Dodgers have also considered a reunion and are “in” on the southpaw, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman writes (via Twitter). The Blue Jays and Twins are among the other clubs known to have some degree of interest in Ryu, who has pitched only for the Dodgers since coming to Major League Baseball prior to the 2013 season.
As Heyman notes, the Dodgers are also pursuing Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, so it could be that L.A. views Ryu as something of a fallback if both Cole and Strasburg sign elsewhere. Ryu isn’t exactly a bad consolation prize, coming off a season that saw him post a 2.32 ERA, 6.79 K/BB rate, and 8.0 K/9 over 182 2/3 innings and finish second in NL Cy Young voting. Then again, Ryu will also be 33 years old on Opening Day and comes with a lengthy injury history, placing something of a ceiling on his next contract. The left-hander entered the offseason hoping to land a three- or four-year contract, and MLBTR projected three years and $54MM in our ranking of the winter’s top 50 free agents (Ryu finished ninth in our listing).
Ryu accepted a qualifying offer to remain with Los Angeles last winter, which means that he can be signed by any team this offseason without any draft compensation tied to his services. That will increase the chances that he and agent Scott Boras can land that fourth year, as while teams might hesitate at committing to such an injury-plagued pitcher through his age-36 season, Ryu will only become more attractive to pitching-needy teams as other top arms drop off the board.
For instance, if the Dodgers do miss out on both Cole and Strasburg, they could opt to offer a fourth year to ensure that they can land at least Ryu and beat out other teams who didn’t sign the top two pitchers on the market. Or, a non-contender like the Blue Jays might be willing to offer the fourth year in order to lure Ryu to a team that isn’t lined up to compete in 2020. The added wrinkle to this entire situation is that Boras represents Ryu, Cole, Strasburg, and (another notable pitcher in the “second tier” of free agent arms) Dallas Keuchel, so the agent will have intimate knowledge of what teams are willing to offer his clients.Comment
