The Red Sox have reached out to agent Scott Boras regarding free agent Matt Holliday, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The soon-to-be 37-year-old has played the outfield almost exclusively in his career as a member of the Rockies, Athletics and Cardinals, but it’s likely he’d serve as a designated hitter for the David Ortiz-less Red Sox. Holliday would be a reasonably priced option for a Boston team that’s reluctant to spend past the $195MM luxury-tax threshold, though his numbers fell off last year in St. Louis. The career .303/.382/.515 hitter dealt with injuries and batted a so-so .246/.322/.461 in 426 plate appearances. He did swat at least 20 home runs for the 10th time, however.
More from Cafardo:
- Third baseman Justin Turner, arguably the best player left on the market, is likely to re-sign with the Dodgers, according to Cafardo. Aside from the Cardinals showing some degree of interest in Turner, there hasn’t been much chatter regarding the 32-year-old to this point. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicts Turner will return to the Dodgers on a five-year, $85MM deal after a season in which he slashed .275/.339/.493, totaled 5.6 fWAR, and set career highs in plate appearances (622) and home runs (27).
- The Astros are willing to listen to offers for catcher/designated hitter Evan Gattis and right-hander Collin McHugh, per Cafardo. Gattis, who has two years of team control left and will make $5.2MM in 2017, has perhaps become movable with the Astros having added catcher Brian McCann and DH/outfielder Carlos Beltran this offseason. The Astros don’t seem as well off in their rotation, even after signing Charlie Morton, and the 29-year-old McHugh led the team in innings pitched (184 1/3) this past season and posted decent numbers (4.34 ERA, 8.63 K/9, 2.63 BB/9). MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $4.6MM salary in 2017 for McHugh, who will make his first of three trips through arbitration.
- The Royals could trade both star closer Wade Davis and outfielder Jarrod Dyson within the next week, writes Cafardo. From a financial standpoint, Davis would certainly represent a cheaper option than top-tier free agent closers Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon, as he’s due a reasonable $10MM next season – the final year of his contract. Teams have expressed interest in Davis since the summer, while the speedy, defensively adept Dyson is also on clubs’ radars. Like Davis, Dyson is set to become a free agent after next season. Swartz projects a $2.5MM salary for him in 2017.
- Roughly 10 teams have contacted free agent right-hander Jason Hammel’s representative, Alan Nero, according to Cafardo. Although the 34-year-old Hammel is fresh off three straight solid seasons, the Cubs declined his 2017 option last month. That came at an opportune time for Hammel, who should be in line for a multiyear deal as one of the top starters in a weak free agent class.
- Given that they’re aiming to slash payroll and get younger, the Tigers are willing to deal closer Francisco Rodriguez, relays Cafardo. K-Rod is due $6MM next year, his age-35 season, after converting 44 of 49 save chances and logging a 3.24 ERA, 8.02 K/9, 3.24 BB/9 and career-high 54.7 percent ground-ball rate in 58 1/3 innings in 2016.
Really hope the dodgers resign the leprechaun
You mean, Animal the Muppet?
Easily the best videos the Dodgers put on the big screens last season. Come on JT, where else you gonna get that?
It seems like a JD and Krod to San Francisco could work out but does SF have the prospects to land both?
The Giants farm isn’t very good. And iirc AlAl said he’s looking for young outfielders, which I don’t think they have.
I just don’t see K-Rod and his 88 mph fastball requiring any major cost. It’s a shame that fastball speeds, instead of effectiveness, dictates the closer market. To the Tigers, he’s the closer. To any other team, he will be setting up. I really think he has more value to Detroit, than anything they will be offered back. It will be a shame if he is moved to save a whole 5.5 MM. Hopefully some team will PAY for him what he’s worth.
Yeah he hasn’t lit up the gun for a while, yet he’s still effective. I understand that it’s not just an “outs are outs” mentality, and that some outs are more repeatable and predictive of future performance than others, but the guy has been good for over a decade. He’s not an elite sub-2 ERA guy but I’d love to have him in my bullpen, regardless of how hard he throws.
It might not be very exciting, but results are results. He would be a great 8th inning guy that can step into the closet role do to injury/underperforming/closing multiple days in a row. I don’t think he would get a ton but with his salary he certainly has value.
Agreed. Further driving down his value are the top notch free agents available. May as well keep him for now and wait for the spring training or in-season injuries on other teams which will then spike his worth.
IMO signing Holliday would be a better move for the red sox he’s younger (barely). And I prefer a rh I know this will cause a debate but we have enough left hand/ hitters in the lineup for fenway. (Bradley, benintendi, catcher position, and 3b) that’s 4 out of 9 not to mention holt on the bench. The versatility is nice even for a few games Holliday did play 10 games @1b if he plays 20 he could spell ramirez for those games causing the rotation that dd wanted from the dh position.
I would rather spend on bolstering the bullpen than signing somebody like Holliday. They already have a platoon of Young/Holt that is serviceable at DH. I would sign Holland, resign Ziegler or Uehara on the cheap, and trade for Davis.
Id rather have Holt in the field at 3rd over Moncada right now, he needs more MiLB experience
Holliday is cheap and only one year he doesn’t prevent them from signing Holland and or Zeigler. If they need to save $ they can always trade Buchholz and have both. Holt cannot have an everyday position on this team.
Shaw should be @ 3b against rh until moncada is ready.
Until the 2017 July Deadline we should not need to get a FA 1B/DH player. With Hanley and Young batting against lefties and Shaw, Sandoval, Holt and Marco Hernandez doing it against righties it’s for now more than enough without Moncada, where he should be playing every day in AAA until he gets his act together to be sent back to the Majors. Holt and Hernandez should be alternating rest days, where specially Brock must not be used as an every day player.
Maybe the Braves bring Gattis back!
They have no place to put him
I honestly see the mets making a move for gattis, he can play first if Duda is hurt again, plus catch or learn the outfield. they need another big bat behind cespedes.
He won’t need to learn the outfield. He has played Left quite a bit. Although, it’s left and only left.
Ces wants left…so Gattis wouldn’t be playing there. I think the Mets can do better than Gattis due to the prospect cost. Grandy and/or Bruce need to be moved first anyway.
I was thinking the same thing yesterday, with the Beltran pick-up combined with the McCann trade, at bats will become fewer for Gattis. I as a Braves fan I would love it, me as a Gattis owner in Fantasy Baseball would love it even more now that the Astros line-up is getting very crowded. I’m sure Braves Fans will site Gattis doesn’t have a true position or he’s injury prone, but you can’t deny his power or his presents.
We know he power we saw his moon shots. We also saw he isn’t a very good fielder at any position he is a work in progress as a catcher he tried the outfield he kept getting hurt and costing too many key hits. He doesn’t fit the braves mo we want a solid defense catcher who can help our pitching staff and young pitchers. Not gattis and low ba power only approach. Awesome player though cool back story for a journeyman but he isn’t fit for the braves plan anymore
The astros just have too many offensive players.
Cafardo and others are misinterpreting Tigers GM Al Aliva. He wants to get young and cheaper…. But he still wants to compete. They don’t want prospects thgat are years away. They want MLB ready players.
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So he wants to get younger, cheaper players that are just as good as his old expensive players? So does every other GM.
That’s not true. When Dombrowski took over as Detroit GM they were a last place team. He wanted to trade for older, more expensive players who were better than the younger, cheaper players they had. You come from St Louis where they are always competitive so it is understandable why you didn’t get it.
AA is in a bad spot.
If you remember before Dave Dombrowski’s time as GM, Randy Smith changed the type of team the Tigers were trying to assemble 3 different times. The constant second guessing and change in strategy is evidence of owner interference. I believe the Tigers owners are not only back to that, but now AA must contend with two different generations of ownership with opposing viewpoints.
Currently, the Tigers, like the city of Detroit, are old, expensive and not financially self-sufficient. It is not assembled as a “team” but as several individuals. I don’t see another fool ownership team coming in and rescuing them like the Dodgers did with the Red Sox (They took Josh Becket, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto off the Red Sox in order to acquire Adrian Gonzalez).
AA’s objective is to soften the Tiger’s past financial blunders and minimize the imminent “rot on the vine” for the next 7 years..
Nothing has changed. For 5 years the teams salary structure has been geared to being over budget until after the 2017 season when it would return to normal. New contracts were signed over this period with that goal always in mind. Anybody paying attention knew that. With that date a year away, AA would like to get a jump start on it if he can and still stay competitive. Otherwise, some guys will be allowed to walk with no replacements.
I think that’s just your interpretation, BG. Until we actually see Al Al make a move, we won’t know. I agree that they will probably not be looking for rookie league players, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they trade for someone that is still a year away. They can then fill the major league spot with a 1 yr FA signing.
NOOOOOOO DON”T TRADE GATTIS I LOVE HIM 🙁
What would Cubs have to give up for 1 year rental of Wade Davis?
even for a rental, royals might ask for ian happ and another prospect
Sticker shock right now.
As a Cardinals fan, I’d rather they not sign Turner, a guy who is coming off a career year. But he never came close to those numbers he produced last year. Was it a one shot wonder? I don’t want to see them resign Holiday. He’s getting too long in the tooth.
Uh Justin Turner has come close to those numbers if not been better in both 2014 and 2015.
2014: 155 OPS , 2015: 139 OPS , 2016: 124 OPS . And he was about league average for the three years before while playing 1B, 2B, SS, 3B. Career 118 OPS , 136 over the past three years with versatile defense
OPS plus, don’t know why the plus sign didn’t show up
Red Sox need valbuena
I’m confused. If the tigers are trying to shed payroll…KRods 6mil is pocket change and affects almost nothing salary wise. I don’t get why they are so anxious to shed money on solid, cheap players.
One of two possibilities I can think of. And I hope GMs are smarter than me. First if you package him with someone more expensive the two somewhat balance each other out and the Tigers might not need to include cash. Second since his contract value is low and still effective Tigers could get a better prospect back in exchange. I do mostly agree with an above comment about keeping him until Trade Deadline. But his trade return value will probably not be any higher than it is now. Hopefully my thoughts make sense to others
Or, they are moving Sanchez or Pelfrey to the bullpen and think Bruce Rondon is ready to close.
You can only cut where you can. The large contracts are Miggy, JV, Victor, Zimmerman, Anibal. The first 4 have no trade clauses, and Anibal’s performance has limited his trade appeal. That leaves J-UP, JDM and Kinsler as the next largest contracts J-Up had a poor season and a 20 team no trade. Kinsler has a 10 team no trade. JDM and K-Rod are fully tradable. Does that help?
Since they are not mandated by the owner to shed solid cheap players I guess they won’t do anything this winter unless they are overwhelmed by an offer.
They really shouldn’t move players just to move players/contracts. The team, as it stands, really doesn’t have any glaring holes, except for CF, which was the result of the one move they made this year, and back up catcher.
I’ve coveted Turner for the Mets all offseason, but there’s pretty much 0 chance of them signing him.
What are Tigers seeking in return for Verlander. Not to many teams will line up to pay 3/84 or 4/106 & give up top prospects to do it. He’s still good but will be 34 with a lot of miles on his arm.
Not sure why the Astros would want to move McHugh. He is reliable, an innings eater and reasonably priced.