72 replies to this topic

[tony&rodney]

Smyly, Ray, and Morton are off the board. It is clear that there is money and we can all just forget all of the discussions of woe for the owners' costs.

The poor, like Tampa, will need to scramble and win with astute trades and development. The rich, like NY teams, can do whatever and still profit. The Twins are somewhere in between and this winter will surely test management's direction, because the team is clearly at a point where the middle ground will see them fall back.

Atlanta has done Falvine a favor, now these guys need to proceed aggressively or the window ......

[biggentleben]

With a lot of the best bats in the market guys that work best with a team that has a DH available, it is notable that so far, the notable guys off the board have all been arms. I'd wager most NL teams would love to negotiate heavily with guys like Ozuna, Brantley, and Cruz, but if there's no surety about a DH in the NL in 2021, that changes the interest of those NL teams. Any good agent is going to wait until they can bring in the most potential teams.

[biggentleben]

As a Braves fan, a rotation of:

 

Soroka

Fried

Morton

Smyly

Anderson

 

...in some order is very nice, with guys like Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson to quickly fill in. After seeing Robbie Erlin, Jhoulys Chacin, and Tommy Milone make multiple starts on a first place team, this is much better!

 

Also, for those discussing "there's definitely money out there!" the Braves had more than $70M come off the books this offseason from contracts even with projected arbitration raises. If the team only replaced 70% of that and made 30% cuts, that gave the team in the area of $50M to spend this offseason just to get back to 2020 spending levels. Not every team has the same financial flexibility this year, so these numbers thrown out to Smyly and Morton may not be indicative of a market.

[beckmt]

According to mlbtraderumors, both Sonny Gray and Brett Snell are being shopped.This may be just a looksee if they can generate an overwhelming offer and then take it.  

I am more convinced that the Rays may trade Snell then Gray will move from Cincinnati.Stay tuned offseason may be more interesting than expected.

My concern is that many teams will cut payroll and if the Twins are not increasing payroll, they could look at 3 - 7 superteams on a 1 - 2 year basis in what is supposed to be our window.

Also Astros may trade Correa, also from mlbtraderumors.He is one year away from free agency. Scary

[tony&rodney]

Agree with biggentleben about the market flexibility of some teams. However, on Twins Daily, it should be noted that the Twins are a team with flexibility. Their biggest decisions are how to fit both Rosario and Cruz or cut away from one or both to other options. This might be an exciting winter with a host of desirable free agents: Kike Hernandez, Profar, Realmuto, Hendriks, Hand, Bauer and others. 

The list of starting pitchers that may be available in trade is also impressive. Snell, Gray, Darvish, and Lynn are all notable possibilities. The Twins are ready now and there are options to provide for significant roster upgrades. I wish that MLB and MLBPA would make a call on the DH soon. 

[Danchat]

 

 

The Royals have agreed to a deal with southpaw Mike Minor, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).The contract will become official when Minor passes a physical.

ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports that it is a multi-year pact between the two sides, with MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand adding that the contract is for two years.This tops MLBTR’s prediction of a one-year, $6MM contract for Minor, and he is now the first free agent of the 2020-21 offseason to sign a multi-year contract.

 

[Danchat]

Minor got 2 years, $18M. May to Mets for $15M over 2 years.

[whosafraidofluigirussolo]

Along with the Twins' tender and non-tender decisions that we've all been talking about, before and after the deadline, all the non-tenders from across the league have been announced.

https://www.mlbtrade...ender-2020.html

 

I suppose this did turn out to be an interesting non-tender deadline, as many of us expected, but a lot of this list looks like players at or pretty close to replacement level, just like any other year.

 

I don't follow all the teams enough to know who's who in many cases, but for the Twins' needs, by far the most interesting name to me on this list is reliever Archie Bradley. Besides him--

Albert Almora or Delino DeShields as a right-handed-hitting backup outfielder who can play CF?

Adam Duvall as a RH platoon outfielder who can't play CF (maybe that means he's basically Brent Rooker with better defense)?

Keynan Middleton, Hansel Robles, Ryne Stanek as relievers who've had some past success?

 

Not looking terribly promising to pluck a difference-maker from the non-tender wire, despite all the activity, but maybe there's someone in here. Dunno.

 

 

[cmoss84]

Would love the Twins to kick the tires on Andrelton Simmons and Schwarber.

 

Polanco's contract isn't bad, but the last 2 years will not be pretty. Would rather have Simmons play SS for a year or two as a bridge to Lewis. Would be interesting to see who they could get in a trade for Jorge. 

 

Schwarber can DH. Play LF. Emergency catch. Good OPS and OB guy. 

[Danchat]

Mets have reportedly offered C James McCann a 4 year deal. They’re clearly going to be in on many deals this offseason.

[Danchat]

Some Twins updates:

 

 

In the latest edition of his podcast, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports that the Twins have some interest in former Indians ace Corey Kluber (audio link, Twins chatter beginning at 8:07). That’s not a huge surprise given that president of baseball operations Derek Falvey was in Cleveland’s front office when Kluber was acquired from the Padres and broke out as a star. Elsewhere on the rotation front, Wolfson notes that the Twins are not among the most aggressive suitors for Jake Odorizzi to this point. Odorizzi would prefer to return to Minnesota, all things being equal, but is receiving stronger interest from other teams. Wolfson adds that the Twins had interest in Mike Minor before he landed with the Royals but weren’t willing to go near the surprising two-year, $18MM deal he landed in Kansas City.

Looks like the Twins are not the favorites to get Odo back, but could make a move for Kluber.

[Danchat]

 

 

In an out-of-the-blue move, the Angels have acquired closer Raisel Iglesias and cash from the Reds in exchange for right-hander Noe Ramirez and a player to be named later, per announcements from both teams.

Raisel Iglesias | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

It’s the latest indication that the Reds are looking to cut costs. In addition to their surprising decision to non-tender Archie Bradley last week, the Reds have also reportedly been open to moving right-hander Sonny Gray, who is owed two years and $20MM on his contract. Iglesias is signed for $9.125MM this coming season and will be a free agent following the 2021 season.

Wow, the Angels got Iglesias for pennies on the dollar. The big market teams are going to benefit with the mid-market teams like Cincinnati cutting payroll. I'd make this move in a heartbeat - $9M for Iglesias is a very reasonable deal with the numbers he's put up.

[nicksaviking]

With all the big moves Cincinnati made the last two years, this is crazy. They were gearing up to make a run, and now their window of contention was just the one year, 2020?

 

This does not bode well for the other non-major market teams.

[Danchat]

 

The White Sox are acquiring right-hander Lance Lynn from the Rangers, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. Righty Dane Dunning is heading to Texas in the return, Jeff Passan of ESPN tweets. The Rangers will also receive a second player, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. It’ll be another young pitcher, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

The Sox get Lynn at $8M for CHW's #6 prospect according to Fangraphs, and a second prospect. Seems like a fair trade for both sides.

[Danchat]

 

 

Chuck Garfien of NBC Sports Chicago reports that the White Sox have signed outfielder Adam Eaton to a one-year, $7 million deal.
The deal includes a club option for a second year valued at $8.5 million. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com says there's a $1 million buyout on that option. Eaton is back in Chicago after previously playing for the club from 2014-2016. Of course, he was eventually dealt to the Nationals in the deal that brought Lucas Giolito back to the White Sox. Eaton, 32, is coming off a bad year where he batted just .226/.285/.384 over 41 games before going down with a fractured left index finger. Still, the White Sox believe in the possibility of a bounceback and apparently preferred him over the other options to fill the void in right field.

 

Looks like the White Sox are banking on Eaton rebounding and providing good defense as a corner outfielder. He's been a good bet for getting singles and walks before 2020, but perhaps that will mesh well with the sluggers they already have on their roster.

 

 

[Danchat]

 

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports the Mets and free agent catcher James McCann are "closing in on" a four-year deal worth roughly $40 million.

 

 

Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that the Rangers have agreed to a one-year contract with free agent outfielder David Dahl.
The deal will be for around $3 million according to Passan, which is slightly more than he was projected to make in arbitration. The 26-year-old former top prospect was non-tendered by the Rockies after another injury-plagued season in 2020. Still, the former first-round pick owns a tremendous blend of power and speed and is a terrific defender in center field. He should find his way into the Rangers lineup on a nightly basis and should provide ample fantasy value -- provided he's able to avoid the injured list

 

[Danchat]

 

 

Rays signed RHP Michael Wacha to a one-year, $3 million contract.
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first reported news of the deal and now it's become official. Wacha served up nine home runs in just 34 innings for the Mets in 2020, but he also posted the best strikeout and walk rates of his career. The fact that the Rays saw value in him suggests that there could be more potential here.

 

[Danchat]

 

 

Tigers signed RHP Jose Urena to a one-year, $3.25M contract.
Jon Heyman of MLB Network first reported news of the deal earlier Wednesday and the Tigers have now officially announced it. Urena will have the opportunity to make an additional $250,000 in incentives.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Astros and Jason Castro "are in serious talks and could be headed for a deal soon."
It's unclear at this point what the particulars of the contract might be. Castro, of course, spent his first six season of his career with the Astros before moving on to the Twins, Angels and Padres.

 

The Tigers add another back-end starter, and the Astros bring Castro back. Free Agency has been molasses-slow, as expected.

[Danchat]

 

The Nationals have a new first baseman. In an out-of-the-blue Christmas Eve swap, Washington has acquired Josh Bell from the Pirates in exchange for right-handed pitchers Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean, according to announcements from both clubs.

Getting two years of control of Bell for two decent pitching prospects sounds like a win for the Nationals. 

[biggentleben]

 

Getting two years of control of Bell for two decent pitching prospects sounds like a win for the Nationals. 

Bell isn't exactly great outside of 2019, and he's a DH in the field. It will be interesting how he truly helps, but maturation from Kieboom and Robles could give the Nationals just enough behind their aging top 3 in the rotation to have one more run before FA and age closes their window.