The Royals are interested in re-signing first baseman Eric Hosmer, but their pursuit of the longtime franchise cornerstone isn’t going particularly well, Jon Heyman of FanRag suggests (Twitter link). Kansas City’s belief is that “there are much bigger deals elsewhere” for Hosmer, according to Heyman, though he points out that the club was similarly pessimistic before it managed to re-up free agent outfielder Alex Gordon two offseasons ago. Gordon landed a four-year, $72MM pact, which stands as the largest deal in Royals history. Hosmer figures to obliterate that total, with MLBTR projecting a six-year, $132MM payday.
More from the American League:
- The Angels introduced newly signed Japanese ace/slugger Shohei Ohtani during a Saturday press conference, at which general manager Billy Eppler told reporters that the team “definitely” expects him to continue as a two-way player in the majors (Twitter links via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). Ohtani won’t play the outfield, however, which comes as no surprise considering the Angels already have Mike Trout, Justin Upton and Kole Calhoun occupying spots in the grass. As for the Angels’ pitching staff, Eppler noted that the club is “very open minded” to utilizing a six-man rotation. That would seem to benefit not only Ohtani, who pitched once a week in Japan, but the rest of an Angels staff that dealt with a spate of injuries in 2017.
- Speaking of six-man rotations, the Rangers could be prime candidates to go that route in 2018 if they manage to bring back Yu Darvish, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News observes. The Rangers didn’t enter the offseason planning to spend big money on a single player, but Grant wonders if they’ll pivot from that strategy after failing to reel in Ohtani. As such, he proposes offering a four-year, $80MM guarantee to Darvish and including incentives and a fifth-year vesting option. While that seems light for the longtime Ranger and recent Dodger, Grant posits that both Darvish’s affinity for Texas and the prospect of going with a six-man rotation – something the hurler advocates – could help sway him toward a reunion.
- In another piece, Grant runs down a Winter Meetings to-do list for the Rangers, arguing that they should look to spend on a top-tier free agent starter (Darvish would qualify), improve their bullpen, attempt to trade Shin-Soo Choo and retain their key prospects. Regarding the bullpen, the Rangers are more inclined to target multiple affordable relievers than sign one of Wade Davis or Greg Holland, per Grant.
kaotik169
Highly doubt the Rangers bring Darvish back…. especially the way he talked about how much he disliked his time there..
WalkersDayOff
Dont recall darvish saying anything like that
kaotik169
He said he lost his passion for baseball with the Rangers.. and started to regain it after he left
Dodgethis
He also said being in LA made him realize he took Texas for granted.
Sibert18
That was a loss in translation partly. He didn’t dislike it here and said he would return he’s just not going to give us much if any discount
justin-turner overdrive
By the looks of it Darvish is a lock to go to the Angels.
madmanTX
Nothing’s a lock til it happens–ask the Yankees and Mariners.
Philliesfan4life
Not sure the angels are gonna spend on pitching, they have the depth already they need to just stay healthy, I’ll be happy if they just sign lance lynn for the rotation. Im hoping they do sign mike moustakus.
angels fan 3
Signing moose would be awful
ken48tribe
Moose would be a whole lot better than Valbuena at 3rd both offensively and defensively.
angels fan 3
Is he worth giving up draft pick, international pool money and the contract to where he likely won’t be worth it? I’ll take valbuena over Moose defensively. I think Todd Frazier would be the better guy to sign for any team. Plus Eppler has said he would like the obp to be higher and Moose does not make the obp higher.
jgb2412
Not true, I’m pretty sure after getting Ohtani and not wanting to sign with a team that had a prominent Japanese player. So i’m going to assume Angels don’t bring in any Japanese player unless it’s somebody like Ichiro just to be a 4th OF and mentor to Ohtani, but even that is a long shot in my opinion.
socalbum
When he came to the Dodgers he was very complimentary of his time as a Rangers and the coaching he received.
JKB 2
He never said he disliked his time with the Rangers
bradthebluefish
The “dislike” was how brutal the fans can be, which Darvish eventually realized was the fans being passionate and caring about the team. So it was all good in the end.
txjags
Dilly, Dilly!
justin-turner overdrive
KC needs to commit to a rebuild, not go after Hosmer.
jwarden15
Couldn’t agree more and I say that as a royals fan
CursedRangers
The Rangers should consider trading more than just Choo. They just don’t have the talent to compete against the Astros, and maybe now even the Angels.
As much as I love watching him play, trade Beltré and move Gallo back to his natural position. Trade Andrus and give Profar a chance. Trade Hamels and Choo. Rebuild the farm and get the talent levels built up for when the Rangers move into their new stadium.
madmanTX
Nice Backdoor try to a rebuild under the guise of improving the team. Not gonna happen.
angels fan 3
Hamels back to the Phillies
halofan20
ShOTANI!!!!
thatdude69
Idk.. if I was Darvish I’d go as far away as I possibly could from the Astros after what they did to him twice. Lol
strosbro96
if you can’t beat em, join em
24TheKid
I don’t think he’ll want to play with Guriel.
ericl
That wouldn’t be an issue. Darvish forgave Guriel after Guriel apologized. Darvish was very gracious about it & Beltran facilitated the interaction
Thronson5
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Angels sign Darvish. They need to upgrade their pitching not only starting but bullpen and I’ve heard Darvish and Othani want to pitch together as they are friends and talk often. Imagine that rotation if Richards, Heaney, Othani, Darvish, Shoemaker and Skaggs or whoever they put in the 5 and 6 spot. That would be a pretty good rotation and you add Othani’s bat into the mix with Trout, Up
Thronson5
Sorry..with Trout and Upton. The Angels can definitely turn things around there. I’m not a Angels fan but I think they will be fun to watch this year especially if Jake more additions this offseason.
Cat Mando
@Thronson5…to your point…in Ohtani’s words
MLB.com: What’s your relationship like with Yu Darvish?
Ohtani: I train with him in the offseason, and he reaches out once in a while. He takes good care of me.
MLB.com: Would it be better for you and Darvish to be on separate teams
Ohtani: Being on the same team would be great, but being on separate teams would also be great, because I would get to face him.
Philliesfan4life
I wanted them to add lance lynn, they need a bulldog in that rotation since weaver left. I am pushing for them to add the moose, who knows what they will do at the winter meetings.
rez2405 2
Funny .. alot of angel fans are pushing for the exact opposite. To not sign moose
C. A. Hevia
Those must be the ones that realize Moose is an out machine and that their GM, has gone on record as saying improving the team OBP is his primary goal. The juice baseball driven power surge was nice last year from Moose, the career worst walk rate was not…
aff10
Grant proposed 4/$85M for Darvish. Wow, would his market have to crater for that to be feasible. I’d be floored if he barely doubles Tyler Chatwood
jamesa-2
It depends on the team though. If he takes that contract AND is also slated into a 6-man rotation, it’s a huge expected monetary loss on his part, but a massive incentive gain as well. There are really only two teams right now even contemplating the possibility, though I think we might see two more consider it soon.
So yes, it would be a mighty friendly contract compared to what he is actually expected to get, But, he’s in a position to turn that cash into a game-changing (literally) quality of life change. Furthermore, if he signs with Texas, the taxes will be significantly lower, meaning that he keeps more of the dollars AND gets to switch to the 6-man rotation, something he has advocated for in the past.
Realtexan
Welcome back to the Rangers YU. This is a no brainer here folks.
gammaraze
This idea irks me. If the Rangers are going to bring back Darvish, they shouldn’t have traded him away… Having Darvish on the team might have persuaded Ohtani to choose Texas.
Cat Mando
If they hadn’t traded Darvish he still would not be a Ranger atm, he would still be a FA just as he is now. How would that have persuaded Ohtani?
gammaraze
There’s a period where a pending free agent can only be talked to by their current team… Free agency doesn’t start until after this period. In free agency, unless he were to have been blown away with an offer, there’s no way Darvish accepts a deal before Ohtani comes off the board.
Harry h
Please no Darvish for the Angels he’s not a big game pitcher. I would rather have Lance Lynn.
ericl
If Boston doen’t get involved on Hosmer, what is his market going to actually look like? If he only has San Diego & Kansas City to choose from, would he take less from the Royals to stay where he started? Of course, St. Louis could make a play for him after failing in their pursuit of Stanton. That would be the one team that could offer him both money & a chance to win (assuming Boston isn’t in on him).
rycm131
Heard from a STRONG source there is a lot of “under the table”’stuff the Angels are giving Ohtani
davbee
Your drug dealer is not a “strong source.”
Cat Mando
We all heard from strong sources that the NYY were the favorites to sign him. On top of that, with the scrutiny that teams are under if any of that “stuff” violates Attachment 46 of the CBA they will lose Ohtani and a whole lot more. Do you really think any team would be that stupid when signing the highest profile IFA ever?
RockHard
Darvish’s quote about losing some of his love for the game while in Texas is referring to when A.J. persinski was the Cather for one season in 2013… A.J. is a known tool and he’s been gone from Texas for 4 full seasons now… do some reasearch..
Coal tender
Darvish has not been an “ace” pitcher for the Rangers nor the Dodgers. I think he can be had “cheap” if price is right. The Astros have had his number while in Ranger and Dodger uniform. Gets behind early in games he starts.