Free-agent left-hander Rich Hill drew interest from ten teams at last week’s GM Meetings, he tells J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). That interest was in spite of the primary revision surgery Hill has undergone this offseason, which will likely sideline him until at least June. However, Hill, 40 in March, has remained extremely effective when he’s been able to pitch, and it seems teams are keen on him despite the injury risk. The veteran didn’t indicate whether he’d prefer to sign this offseason and rehab under the supervision of a team or wait until he’s fully healthy to showcase for teams next summer.
- The Twins have right-hander Zack Wheeler “very high on their list of pitching targets,” reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). That’s unsurprising, as Wheeler is the number three starting pitching option on this year’s free agent market. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted in the Twins’ offseason outlook, the organization’s long-term payroll is relatively open, and starting pitching stands as the team’s biggest need this offseason. José Berrios and Jake Odorizzi are the only locks to be in the rotation next season. Wheeler figures to draw a robust market, as the MLBTR staff forecasted him for a five-year, $100MM deal at the offseason’s outset.
- The Orioles have named Rockies assistant Anthony Sanders their first base coach, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Jon Morosi of MLB.com first reported the O’s would hire him for that role. Sanders is a former professional outfielder who spent 14 years coaching with the Rockies. He’ll take over for Arnie Beyeler in Baltimore.
- The Rays have hired former Astros scout Greg Brown as their hitting coordinator, Jon Heyman of MLB Network relays. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first suggested the Rays would choose Brown, who had been the head coach at Nova Southeastern University. Heyman notes Brown signed now-Red Sox star J.D. Martinez back when he was a scout with Houston. Of course, Martinez didn’t truly blossom until he ended up in Detroit several years later.
What will Hill get for half a year? $6mil?
Probably a minor league deal.
Makes sense so he doesn’t take a 40 man spot out of ST. A few $million signing bonus w/an escape clause in July and a few $million in bonuses for every 5 starts?
I think $6 million is a pretty good estimate. Look at dude’s numbers the last 3 years. They’re pretty impressive. He won’t be signing a minor league deal.
He’s guaranteed not to pitch until June. And he’s had more health problems than any starting pitcher in the bigs. I can’t imagine he gets 6 million bucks guaranteed. I’m sure he’ll get the option to make that with incentives but I’d be surprised if he gets anymore than 2-3 million in base salary. And even that might be a high estimate.
Friedman migth sign him to be the next GM.
I wonder who will end up as their second base coach?
LOL!
As a 40-yr old, and a pitcher who is quite familiar with the DL (or IL if you really must)…………
I would be “Signing A Deal Now”…..and getting paid to rehab.
Too Risky to take a chance on a Big Contract Later……..
2 year contract for $2 million with incentives that can max to 10m, similar to Wainwright’s contract might be convincing?
Agreed
Now that the Os have locked down their 1B coach, everything is going to start clicking. The Postseason now runs through Baltimore.
LOL
Maybe like in the year 2024
Not yet; have to get a Quality Control Coach first….
Reporter: “How are you going to control quality on the O’s this year?”
Coach: “Quality control will be easy; we ain’t got none”..
LOL!
I hear this Brown guy, the scout, has a great pair of binoculars.
He may have been one of the scouts who complained about the scheme…..
Angel’s should grab Hill, 2 year 6 Million ….
The Angels had hill, by stats, the worst pitcher in Angel history.
Rich Hill faced all of four batters for the Angels in 2014. baseball-reference.com/players/h/hillri01.shtml
Friedman migth sign Rich Hill to be the next GM.
Unless the Twins offer insane money to Wheeler I don’t even understand how this is a topic…When was the last time the twins offered insane money? The White Sox have done way way more work in their rebuild.. They have a ton of money to spend and NEED 1-2 good pitchers to make all their hard work luring and developing prospects worth it. . I don’t see the Twins getting Wheeler or Bum. The White Sox won’t let it happen. The Twins are the only obstacle to the White Sox taking the division. With the long rebuild finally over the White Sox are ready to pounce. RF DH and 2 starters and maybe a BP piece.. They are in a much better position than the twins. They have more youth and team control over vital players. If the offers are equal no way a player chooses the Twins over the White Sox. The White Sox were willing to give Machado over 300 mil. They haven’t spent half that this offseason. They still have enough to sign bum and wheeler and a rf with extra to spend. With the Cubs going down hill the White Sox should get those guys and turn Chicago upside down.
When have the White Sox EVER spent “insane money?” The Twins on the other hand have at least given Mauer a $180M+ contract and $85M to Morneau. The Twins also have plenty of money to spend and have a lot of future payroll flexibility. As far as needs, the Twins probably have the biggest rotation need out of any playoff team from this past season. I honestly can see this turning into a bidding war. Neither team is likely to be in on Cole or Strasburg, so I see either being willing to overpay a bit for Wheeler and I wouldn’t count the Twins out.
I’ll give you Mauer’s massive overpay, but Morneau’s was $80M over 6 years. Grandal’s and Abreu’s contracts are every bit as substantial as that.
And you can’t ignore the fact that they tried to guarantee Machado $30M+ per year. It obviously didn’t work out (probably a good thing), but that’s money they were willing to spend.
There’s a rumor out there that they currently have the high bid on Wheeler. We’ll see how it plays out.
Mauer and Morneau’s deals were signed like a decade ago so with inflation their value is being understated. Also, with Mauer’s contract, for a number of years it was a top 10 contract. Grandal and Abreu’s do not even compare. Despite being a large market team, the White Sox have been quite stingy in the past in regards to player contracts. The current TV deals though have given clubs increased revenue streams and that greatly helps. Both teams are young and have excellent payroll flexibility and I expect both to be in the running and extend big offers. The team that lands him is anybody’s guess right now.
The Sox aren’t stingy this offseason, so there goes your argument. Just accept it, Twins fans. The Sox have more money to spend than the Twins.
Your comment makes little sense as both teams have a ton of money freed up and both have $50M+ to potentially spend on FAs. Both the Twins and White Sox have more than enough to land Wheeler. It all depends on how far each team’s FO is willing to go and the decision from the player. Right now it’s no question that both are towards the front of the pack in signing him and it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
One free agent signing and these south side guys start losing their minds
The White Sox haven’t been good for a while, so they routinely get overlooked as big market team with resources. OP is correct, however. The Sox’s young talent puts them in a position not only target top players in the FA market, but also to block the division rival twin in the process.
The Grandal signing should not be overlooked. If they’re willing to spend a franchise record sum on a FA catcher, then it’s almost certain they’ll surpass that contract with one or two of the top pitchers currently available.
Remember, the cubs beat Minnesota out for Yu Darvish’s services on a $125MM contract a few years ago. It would not surprise me to see Wheeler and MadBum brought to the Southside on identical 5yrs/$125MM each.
What you say is true, but it’s also every bit as true for the Twins. I imagine the FO would view it as quite bad to lose out on Wheeler, especially to the Sox and would have to face him a number of times each season. The key difference here I think is that the Twins are much further along in their rebuild now then when trying to sign Darvish and their contention window is now wide open. This I think will give the FO greater confidence in how much they decide to spend on pitching. Also, there is NO WAY that anyone gives MadBum that kind of contract. If Arrieta was only able to get $75M/3, MadBum is not getting 5 years, especially with his durability issues in recent years.
@purple
Twins won 101, White Sox 72 in 2019 – how have the White Sox “done way more work in their rebuild”? The Twins won their division, that usually signifies a successful rebuild completed.
Twins payroll was 125M, White Sox 91M. Twins had more players earning 7M+ than the White Sox. The average age difference between the players on the two clubs is minimal – position players for CWS 27.6, Twins 27.8; pitchers CWS 27.6, Twins 28.2.
The White Sox should trade for Starling Marte & Keone Kela from the Pirates for OF Steele Walker who is blocked for the next 4 years or so, LHP Bernardo Flores who is taking up 40 man space yet not on the depth charts, 1B Gavin Sheets who is blocked behind Abreu & RHP Jonathan Stiever who is a high A pitcher with upside. Marte can mentor the young players & split time with Engel in CF and fill in RF for Robert for the next year or 2 while Kela would offer a strong needed piece to the back end of the pen. The Sox can then get 2 SP from free agency and roll with Collins in DH using it to rest other starters as well or sign Encarnacion. The Pirates are not getting flashy top prospects but this trade would fit both teams needs and put the White Sox well on there way to becoming a dominant factor next year.
To jhonnybaseball you said it your self.It will set the withesox to become contenders for the next seasons to come.If anyone is getting flashy its the withe sox.