With some buzz arising yesterday about the Astros possibly pursuing Tigers superstar Miguel Cabrera, Houston GM Jeff Luhnow suggested that it was more smoke than fire, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. While he wouldn’t comment specifically, and acknowledged that the team discusses “lots of different scenarios” with its rivals, Luhnow largely doused the rumor. “I was asked, ’Would we consider a trade for a Hall of Fame-caliber first baseman,’ and we’re considering everything,” said Luhnow. “I think the media kind of ran with that.”
- We’ve also heard plenty of discussion of the Yankees possibly dealing catcher Brian McCann, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post has the latest. The Astros, Braves, and Nationals are “believed interested,” says Sherman, though we’ve yet to hear truly clear reporting connecting any single team to the backstop this winter. That’s due in part to the fact that McCann enjoys full no-trade protection. McCann’s agent, B.B. Abbott, did acknowledge that his client might be amenable to a return to Atlanta, where he makes his home, and will otherwise consider opportunities — with factors including location, competitiveness, and playing time — on a case-by-case basis. “He would look hypothetically at [the Braves] very seriously if [Yankees GM Brian Cashman] is able to do it,” said Abbott. “If it is a team a little closer to home that has a chance to contend that fits X, Y and Z, Mac will look at it and determine if it is a fit.” Abbott emphasized that McCann doesn’t have any kind of list of pre-approved teams, preferring instead to allow the organization to present any possible trade to him if it arises, and is hardly demanding that he be sent elsewhere.
- Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen says that he “fully anticipates” that righty Zack Greinke will pitch in Arizona next year, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. That’s not terribly surprising, and is hardly a committing comment, but it certainly suggests that the new D-Backs front office won’t be seeking to shed as much of Greinke’s contract as it can this winter. While the organization would surely need to entertain any serious offers for the veteran, the smarter course at this point may be to allow him to rebuild some value before seeking to unload the huge future commitment.
- The third base market could potentially see a bit of action via trade, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says that the Padres are getting bites on Yangervis Solarte and the White Sox are listening on Todd Frazier. Of course, there isn’t an enormous amount of demand around the game, and Justin Turner remains available as a high-quality free agent, though it’s certainly possible to imagine organizations like the Dodgers, Red Sox, Braves, and Brewers pursuing additions at the hot corner. The biggest conceivable trade piece, of course, would be Evan Longoria of the Rays, and Rosenthal says that Tampa Bay will indeed be open to considering offers. But it still remains quite difficult to see a deal coming together on him.
- The Mariners aren’t ruling out pursuit of a shortstop, though they feel comfortable with what they have, GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters including MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. Ketel Marte remains the incumbent regular, and Dipoto also cited Shawn O’Malley and Mike Freeman as internal depth pieces. On the one hand, said the GM, any more would be “more significant than finding somebody who can augment our situation at Triple-A.” On the other, it wouldn’t necessarily be a blockbuster. “If we do something at shortstop, it’s going to be more of a veteran guidance type of player,” said Dipoto. “Maybe the shortstop version of a Carlos Ruiz, but the market is not brimming with that type of player.” Free agent possibilities could in theory include Erick Aybar and Alexei Ramirez, but it seems they don’t hold much appeal for Seattle. Alternatively, the M’s could certainly also re-join their summer efforts to acquire Zack Cozart, or pursue a somewhat lesser-regarded veteran such as Danny Espinosa, though we’ve heard no specific suggestions as yet.
- White Sox GM Rick Hahn discussed the status of reliever David Robertson, who some view as a possible trade piece this winter, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports. He’s owed $25MM over the next two years and wasn’t quite himself in 2016, but robust demand for closers could make him a rather significant target. Offseason meniscus surgery isn’t expected to limit Robertson in camp, says Hahn. And the veteran reliever will also have a chance to fully recover from glut issues that Hahn says may have contributed to his struggles last year.
Michael Macaulay-Birks
I vote Robertson to Boston, LOLH
MB923
That’s actually a possibility.
slider32
McCann to the Nats may be the best fit, he is a good replacement at catcher and he is veteran. If the Nats are willing to give up a pitcher like Feede, I could see Cashman paying down his contract to 12 million a year. There aren’t any better options out there this winter at that price, I think he is better than Castro or Wieters.
ctguy
He’s been linked to several teams, but he has a full no trade clause which makes things difficult. Also his agent says that he would consider going to a contender. Both Washington
metseventually 2
I would love to see McCann in Washington, as a Mets fan.
bravesfan1998
Me too. Easy out in the number 5 spot if they do haha
MB923
McCann had Unanimous MVP numbers compared to the catchers the Mets had.
cba93
McCann has been washed for 5 years now. If anyone is willing to take on 12 mill a year for him then the Yankees should give him up. That 12 mill is a similar contract to Andrew Miller haha
MB923
McCann is ranked 7th out of 40 qualifying catchers the last 5 years in WAR. If you’re talking about his bat, it ranks 11th out of the 40 (based on wRC+). Or was it his Defense? That ranks 9th (based on Fangraphs Def).
You must have extremely high standards for a player Not to be “washed up”. Usually I use 3 year samples but you specifically said 5, so I used 5.
McCann got market value contract. As did Miller. Both from the same team too. I’m not sure what your argument is, but it doesn’t argue against mine (that McCann was far and away better than anything the Mets put out there).
slider32
That’s apples and Papelbon.
cxcx
Miller actually got below market; the Astros offered him more than the Yankees did.
slider32
Be careful what you wish for, remember Daniel Murphy!
gojira15
Robertson seems the most logical trade chip for the Sox. Just about every team could use him and many can afford him.
Interested to see what happens in the 3B market. I feel we could see a surprise.
dro03
Yeah but he is the only trade chip that can be moved without either rebuilding or buying. I think they would be selling somewhat low though, so I’m not too keen on them moving him. And it would just feel like a pointless move regardless, they really need to figure out if they are buying with a heavy increase of payroll to $150M or trade Sale/Q.
theo2016
they have figured it out. they are selling.
steelerbravenation
I didn’t think McCann back to the Braves but after reading this I think it will happen. Don’t think Coppy lettin Folty go though
bbritton209
I don’t think it will happen. Yankees will want too much for him and McCann is not the player he was. His 20 HRs were in a hitter friendly environment and came with partial DH duties. He won’t have those luxuries in Atlanta. So Atlanta won’t want to give up the types of people the Yankees would want in return.
slider32
As of right now McCann is the DH and back up catcher for the Yanks, Cashman will only trade him for a good pitching prospect. Teams that are talking to the Yanks about him know that by now!
coldgoldenfalstaff
Luhnow needs to stop being in love with his prospects and make some trades to go for it.
RunDMC
But not when it’s for Ken Giles.
hozie007
But any notion of Miggy going to Houston is laughable…at $30 m/yr for the next 7 years, potentially 9 if his options vest. I would think Luhnow would be talking to Toronto about Sanchez or Estrada.
cba93
Miggy is the smartest hitter in the world and is a willing teacher. Look what he has done for jd Martinez and other guys in that lineup like maybin. Not only is he still the best rh bat there is but he could help Correa be the next arod
connorreed
Be careful what you wish for…Luhnow has dealt away quite a few prospects.
If they didn’t trade for Carlos Gomez, Ken Giles, Evan Gattis, Mike Fiers, and Cy Sneed, they’d still have Jonathan Villar (.285/.369/.457, 19 HR, 62 SB), Folty (4.31 ERA, 1.297 WHIP, 8.1 K/9) and Velasquez (4.12 ERA, 1.328 WHIP, 10.4 K/9), not to mention prospects Josh Hader, Brett Phillips, Mark Appel, Thomas Eshelman, Adrian Houser, and Rio Ruiz.
Having those guys back would solve a lot of the problems Houston is facing this offseason.
And back in 2013, there was some consideration about a megadeal for Giancarlo Stanton centered on Correa and Springer. And as good as Stanton is, that would have been an awful deal if Lunhow wasn’t in love with his prospects!
Astros2333
I’m wavering on this. There wasn’t any room for Villar (replaced by Correa), Ruiz was also excess (replaced by Bregman. Phillips is still developing (replaced by Yuli). Appel (#1 pick) still hasn’t made his ML debut (replaced by Devinski). Folty looks erratic (replaced by Feliz). Right now the main loss looks like VV and it hurt me to see him dominate this year. I would love to have Miggy but I don’t want Houston to run into the Albert Pujols problem; father time is undefeated and $30mm is not something I want the team tied down to.
alt2tab
Hey if the Astros want a hall of fame first baseman, I’m sure the Angels wouldn’t mind sending them Albert Pujols
A'sfaninUK
After 2006, pretty sure Astros fans still curl up in the fetal position just thinking of his name.
AstrosWS20
Yes, we do.
A'sfaninUK
If the White Sox traded anyone not named Anderson or Rodon they would accumulate enough in a return that they possibly could contend in 2017 anyway, and definitely in 2018 and beyond.
ChiSoxCity
Impossible.
theo2016
just trade sale for pederson, puig, de leon and bellinger.
trade jose abreu to the red Sox for swihart and devers.
teams already better.
Priggs89
No thanks on that Sale deal. If we were talking about post-rookie year Puig, then it’d make sense for the White Sox. That’s not the player they’d be getting though, unfortunately.
theo2016
Uhm look at the other 3 names. above average cf with 4 years of control, number 3 starter that’s big league ready, and the best bat in the minor leagues in bellinger. puig is basically just a lottery ticket, but he’s still easily providing some surplus value.
Priggs89
You don’t trade Chris Sale for “above average.” You need to get at least 1 player (if not multiple) with the potential to turn into a superstar.
You could make the argument for Pederson if you really like him, but I personally don’t think he’ll ever hit enough to make that jump. He might end up doing it and prove me wrong, but there’s too much risk there to have him be the headliner for Chris Sale in my opinion.
I already touched on Puig. He looked like he was going to turn into a superstar after his first year in the league, but obviously his value has taken a tremendous hit since then.
DeLeon’s ceiling is a #2 starter if everything goes perfectly, which isn’t bad by any means, but it’s not what I’d be looking for as the #2 piece in a deal. If you replaced him with Urias, then this deal would be closer to what the Sox would be looking for.
And calling Bellinger the best bat in the minors is arguable at best. Maybe if he played a premium position or the Sox thought he could move to the outfield full time, then it could work. But 1B is not one of the positions I’d be targeting.
I may be well off base, but that’s just my opinion. Even if a deal was headlined by Urias, I personally would still prefer to look elsewhere. The White Sox have done significantly better drafting and developing young pitchers than position players, so if it was me, I’d focus heavily on young MLB ready (or close to it) position players. Personally, my top 3 teams to make a deal with would be Boston, Houston, and Washington.
DonPugh
Here is a list of the best White Sox position players that reached AA ball while in the White Sox farm system since 2000..
Joe Crede 2008 All Star
Aaron Rowand 2007 All Star
Miguel Oliva
Brian Anderson
Mike Morse
Ryan Sweeney
Chris Young 2010 All Star
Chris Getz
Gordon Beckham
Jordan Danks
Tyler Flowers
Jayson Nix
Dayan Viciedo
Eduardo Escobar
Brent Morel
Josh Phegley
Tyler Saladino
Carlos Sanchez
Trayce Thompson
Micah Johnson
Marcus Semien
Tim Anderson
With this track record, how can any White Sox fan have any faith that they’ll trade for or draft the right prospects. A total of 3 All Star game appearances, 2 coming while they played for a different team.
Twingo
Would love to see Solarte suit up for the M’s next season. This feels like a Jerry Dipoto move. Good hitter, can spell Seager or Cano to keep their legs fresh, can DH to give Nellie a break and can be a great RH platoon over at 1B with Vogelbach. He’d be a great clubhouse fit as well.
AndThisGameBelongsToMySanDiegoPadres
Solarte at first base is not a thing. Period.
Anyway he’s kinda underrated, nowhere near free agency and the Padres have no Major League ready replacement in their system so I don’t see a trade happening.
Grey Suit
They have major league replacements in Schimpf, Asuaje and Spangenberg.
AndThisGameBelongsToMySanDiegoPadres
If we trade Solarte, we have to start two of those guys at 2nd and 3rd. Schimpf is one if he can keep doing what he did in 2016 (far from a guarantee). Spangenberg is a serious injury risk and Asuaje would never be starting on a contending team.
zippytms
Solarte is backed up by Schimpf, Spangenberg, Asuaje, Amarista, Pirela, and probably Rosales. Jamie Romak was just signed to a minor league contract and we’ll probably see a few others this offseason (like Jemile Weeks, Nick Noonan, and Rosales last year). Casey McElroy could fill in if needed. There’s depth there, just nothing worth getting super excited about.
Keep in mind, this season isn’t about contention or winning. It’s about development and adding value. If the lineup needs some duct tape to get through the season, so be it. If trading Solarte brings back some young MLB-ready pitching, it might be worth it. I’d hate to see him go, but that’s the business.
AndThisGameBelongsToMySanDiegoPadres
Amarista and Pirela will probably be non-tendered and Rosales is a free agent so no, he is not backed up by them.
AstrosWS20
If I’m the Astros I offer Encarnacion 5yrs/$137.5M with an opt out after 2 years. That’s an annual salary of $27.5M. Yes it’s steep, but it’d do wonders for the Astros. That lineup would be stacked! If he opted out after 2 years it wouldn’t be the worst thing either because that’d be about the time we’d have to pay our young players and the top hitters in our minors would be ready for the call.
AndThisGameBelongsToMySanDiegoPadres
Opt outs are ALWAYS a bad thing for the team. If he’s playing well enough that he opts out it means he’s playing well enough that you would WANT to pay him that much money.
slider32
GMs that don’t like opt outs are living in the past, this game is a year to year deal. You can’t say you don’t like opt outs and then say you don’t want long term contracts if you want to win.
AstrosWS20
Exactly. I don’t like opt outs either, but it’s sadly part of the game.
JT19
And if he starts playing badly? He’s not going to opt-out if he won’t make that money back on the market. And that would limit the ability to extend the young players?
slider32
Yes, Shields is good example of this, but the Royals won the world series, and Cespedes is another example on a team that didn’t win. The question teams have to ask is do you really want that player that has to be signed long term, Cespedes might be that guy this year. Tanaka is another example, he had a Cy Young year. Where would the Yanks be without him, I’ll tell you, in last place the last 2 years.
JT19
I think opt-outs are fine, but if I was a GM, I would only do it if it came with a financial caveat. As in, give a guy an opt-out but either the deal is back-loaded, front-loaded, or the AAV is lower than normal. I’m obviously not a GM but if I was, I wouldn’t want to give a guy top dollar over the length of the contract (say $27.5 million a year if we take the number suggested above) and an opt-out. Just way too much risk involved to give in to all of a player’s financial demands and to include the opt-out.
slider32
Remember the Yankees had an opt out on A-Rod and CC, the problem is they didn’t exercise them.
rivera42
The players actually had the opt-outs, and they did exercise them. The problem was that the Yankees didn’t let them go, they instead re-signed them to longer deals for more money.
Whyamihere
his agent was asking for 5/125. why would the Astros add money and an opt out to that?
AstrosWS20
To get him. Do you want to get in a bidding war with the Rangers and the price goes up even higher or he goes to the Rangers? The Red Sox and Blue Jays also might be bidding against each other. Give him a bit more than what he wants with a deadline to accept and get him in the bag right away so you can focus on filling the other holes for the rest of free agency.
GarryHarris
Miguel Cabrera will always hit better than Edwin Encarnacion. They are the same age; Encarnacion had his best season while Cabera had one of his worst. Still, Cabrera had more total bases than Encarnacion. They’re not in the same class.
theo2016
encarnacion just had his worst season out of the last 4 years. they are very much in a similar class However.
AstrosWS20
This is obvious but do you want to give up 4 highly touted prospects and pay all that money that Cabrera is owed. Cabrera’s contract is also much longer.
Wainofan
What’s realistic package for longoria? Great 3b, face of franchise, but aging and huge contract? What about Frazier?
connorreed
I don’t think Longo would be a great trade candidate for the Rays. Like you said, he’s the face of the franchise. He’s worth a lot more to Tampa than he is to everybody else.
He had a great comeback season, but there are some things to point out.
* Other GM’s aren’t going to just forget about the two well-below-average seasons he posted before this year.
* It won’t be long before he’s limited to DH duties. Longo has posted a total of -0.5 cumulative dWAR from 2014-2016 (compared to 7.2 dWAR from 2009-2011).
* There’s still a lot left on his contract. He’s owed a total of $99 million and is signed for the next six seasons at $16.50 million a year.
* He’s on the wrong side of 30
That said, he still has trade value. I definitely think he’s more valuable than Frazier.
I’d think that the best fit would definitely be LA if they don’t resign Turner.
theo2016
he’s a card fan asking about prospect cost because the cards are moving carpenter to first. nothing about fits.
waino, Sox would probably take Matt Adams and a 10-15 arm.
gojira15
I think Frazier has more value than that. Adams is a platoon bat who’s in his arb years and can only play 1B. I don’t see STL being too interested in Frazier with Gyorko on the roster, but the cost would be more like Wong and a pitching prospect. Maybe with cash thrown in.
theo2016
Adams hit better against lefties this year albeit sss. he also comes with 3 yrs of control and would save the white Sox 10 mil this year. the 10-15 arm might be a little low but Frazier isn’t all that valuable.
therealryan
Longoria was not a well below average player in 2014-2015 by any stretch of the imagination. He posted 3.3 and 4.1 fWAR seasons. Longoria is a 4 win player getting paid like a 2 win player. Even factoring in his age related decline, there is surplus value in his contract.
slider32
If Longo is traded it might be the Dodgers if they don’t sign Turner.
glasgowcelticno1
Would Travis Shaw for David Robertson be a fair trade
gojira15
Makes sense. I think the Sox would win that trade easily.
theo2016
in terms of surplus sure. but white Sox never do that. shaw can’t hit. think swihart and shaw.
nyyankee15
If Ariz wants to trade Greinke send him to Yanks for Ellsbury and CC and Yanks will take on his whole salary.
JT19
Doesn’t Greinke have a NTC? If so, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t approve it. I think he’s stated before that he wouldn’t go to New York or Boston because of the spotlight. Also, even if he did approve a deal, Yanks would have to throw in more. Both Ellsbury and CC are bad contracts and I doubt the D’Backs want to trade one questionable contract for two bad ones (even if one of them is expiring this year).
JT19
Also that deal wouldn’t be saving the D’Backs that much money (unless you count the deferrals). Based on that deal, the D’Backs would be taking on more salary next year and then once CC’s contract expires, they would see a savings of about $10 million a year (the difference between Ellsbury and Greinke’s contracts). Don’t get me wrong, $10 million is a lot of money…enough for a player or two depending on position…but not enough to warrant that deal. At that point, the D’Backs would be better off eating that salary difference and asking for a better return.
AndThisGameBelongsToMySanDiegoPadres
He doesn’t have a no-trade clause but no is going to want to trade for him so…
theo2016
this is ridiculous.
JT19
It’s the typical Yankee fan who has been spoiled by them winning so much in the 90s and early 2000s trade idea. As in, give me your star player (or at least very good player that fills a hole on my team) and my team will send you back our scraps and/or bad contracts.
brat922
I am ready for Justin Turner to be a Giant! He has killed us at AT
lucienbel
I don’t really follow the Braves so perhaps someone here can explain this to me, but from an outside perspective, the Braves trading for McCann doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. I feel like teams in a rebuild don’t want to get older and more expensive behind the plate like that.
Again, as one who doesn’t really follow the Braves, the only way it’d seem to make sense is if: a.) They’re really bad at catcher or b.) The Yankees eat a large portion of the salary and they only give up prospects from positions they already feel they’re set at.
Dookie Howser, MD
No, you are right, this doesn’t really make sense. The main reasons why the Braves keep popping up is the McCann played on the Braves and did well there and was well liked. And the Braves have no catcher and the Yankees are trying to trade him. It looks like there could be a match at a quick glance, but dig any deeper and I don’t see it happening.
Points for McCann to Atlanta:
– Braves need a catcher
– Yankees open to trading him.
– Well liked in Atlanta (both in the clubhouse and by the fans)
– Lots of young arms in ATL could use a veteran catcher behind the dish.
Points Against McCann to Atlanta:
– The Braves balked at paying to keep a fan favorite because of the length/cost of the contract. Trading for that contract at the end/most expensive part doesn’t make sense.
– He is not getting any young, when the Braves are in the midst of a rebuild.
– No DH in the NL to give him spells behind the plate.
– The Braves would probably ask for the Yankees to pick up a significant portion of his remaining salary, which the Yankees would ask for prospects back. I don’t see the Braves being willing to give up much what the Yankees would be asking for.
Even from more of a marketing/business/sell tickets at the new park perspective it doesn’t make much sense. The club clearly wants the face of the Braves going forward to be Dansby/Tehran/Freddie, bringing back and old fan favorite now is sending the wrong message, I think.
AndThisGameBelongsToMySanDiegoPadres
Solarte is a 3rd baseman with 3 more years of club control who posted an .808 OPS this past season. So any trade for him would have to be a fair return for the player I just described.
SixFlagsMagicPadres
Yeah I could realistically see him getting traded in the coming year, preferably during this offseason. I would imagine Preller would try to get some pitching in return.
bts76
Would like to see White Sox send Robertson back to Yanks for McCann. Sox need a veteran C to help groom Zach Collins
garrog1949
Trade with A’s—————-Vogt and Gray for M.Smith,Blair,Ellis,B.Davidson,Peres and Recker.