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Trade Notes: Giles, Cubs-Braves Talks, Ozuna, Lind

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While the Phillies are downplaying the possibility of trading Ken Giles this offseason, there’s an expectation among other teams that he’ll be dealt either this winter or in July, according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark. Stark heard that the asking price on Giles is steep — at least two or three high-ceiling prospects — and that the Phillies are willing to hang onto him if their price isn’t met. My first thought upon seeing the Craig Kimbrel trade return was to wonder what type of haul the Phillies could receive in exchange for Giles. While Giles hasn’t established himself to the level that Kimbrel has, of course, he’s still earning just over $500K per season, won’t be arbitration-eligible for two more years and can be controlled through 2020. The Phillies are within their rights to seek a huge return.

Here’s more on the trade market:

  • The Cubs and Braves have had talks regarding Atlanta’s controllable, MLB-level pitching, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). That would appear to involve Julio Teheran and/or Shelby Miller, as it’s hard to imagine Chicago having interest in any other Braves starters for immediate MLB jobs. Rosenthal writes that the Cubs are “doing background work” on somewhere around a dozen rotation options, while colleague Jon Morosi has said that the team is in contact with nearly the same number of free agent starters. Meanwhile, the Braves are looking to get young position players back if they ship out arms, per Rosenthal.
  • As we’ve heard suggested previously, the Marlins are asking other clubs for young pitching in return for outfielder Marcell Ozuna, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports (links to Twitter). It’s always seemed likely that Ozuna would be dealt, as MLBTR explained in its post on the club’s offseason outlook, and one of Crasnick’s sources confirmed that the sentiment is held around the league. “I’d be surprised if they keep him,” said an anonymous executive. “Loria clearly can’t stand the guy and everybody knows it.”
  • There’s “lots of activity” on Brewers first baseman (and prospective DH) Adam Lind, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. The righty-masher could end up being the next veteran asset shipped out of Milwaukee, says Rosenthal, and that certainly wouldn’t be surprising.

Added To The 40-Man: Reds, Padres, Braves, Jays, Cards, Nats

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The deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster and thereby protect them from this year’s Rule 5 Draft is tomorrow night at 8:00pm ET. As such, there will be a large volume of players added to 40-man rosters in the coming day as well as a handful of moves to clear 40-man space for those new additions. The Astros’ trade of Jonathan Villar and release of Robbie Grossman and Luis Cruz earlier today, for instance, created three new spots on their 40-man for the purpose of protecting prospects. Players who signed at 18 or younger must be added to the 40-man roster within five years of signing or be exposed to all 29 other teams in the Rule 5 Draft. Players who were 19 or older at the time they signed must be added within four seasons.

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has more specifics on the intricacies of the Rule 5 Draft for those that are interested. Mayo also notes that 11 of MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects are in need of protection from the Rule 5 Draft, and he goes on to list the players from each organization’s Top 30 prospects who must be added by tomorrow night in order to be protected.

With all of that said, here’s today’s list of players that have been added to the 40-man roster…

Earlier Updates

Latest On Market For Darren O’Day

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10:56pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman hears differently from Rosenthal, tweeting that the Braves’ early interest in O’Day has dwindled as his price has risen.

10:26pm: There’s been no shortage of teams connected to Darren O’Day this winter, and ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Dodgers are in “big time” pursuit of the former Orioles setup ace, noting that two sources have said as much to him in the past week. A more surprising team now being linked to O’Day, though, is the Braves, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Atlanta is in the midst of a rebuilding phase but is nonetheless eyeing O’Day as well as left-hander Matt Thornton, Rosenthal writes, adding that execs from other clubs feel that the Braves could actually submit the largest offer for O’Day’s services.

O’Day is said to be seeking a four-year pact in the range of $28-36MM total and reportedly left last week’s GM Meetings with multiple offers in hand. Presumably, none of the offers extended to him in Boca Raton were in that range, but the Dodgers have been connected to O’Day from the onset of the offseason and were said by Crasnick last week to have “significant” interest, which seemingly hasn’t waned as widespread interest potentially works in O’Day’s favor.

While Atlanta makes a curious fit, it should be noted that despite the fact that 2014-15 was an offseason spent largely rebuilding, the team did add veteran Nick Markakis on a four-year deal. Adding O’Day would be a similar win-now move amidst a slew of other re-tooling maneuvers, though any multi-year deal agreed to would extend into the 2017-18 window in which Atlanta aims to contend with a rebuilt staff of impressive young pitchers.

Thornton’s asking price isn’t known at this time, but the 39-year-old vet did just conclude a 2015 campaign that saw him work to a pristine 2.18 ERA in 41 1/3 innings. While Thornton’s strikeout numbers (5.0 K/9) are down considerably from his peak years with the White Sox, he held left-handed opponents to a miserable .198/.205/.279 batting line and was also reasonably effective, albeit not dominant against right-handers as well (.229/.333/.357).

Los Angeles and Atlanta are just two of many teams that have reportedly shown interest in O’Day. He’s also been linked to the Tigers, Mets, Cubs, Nationals, Red Sox and Royals. Of course, Boston and Detroit have already acquired help for the back of their bullpens and may not wish to spend to this extent to further bolster their relief contingents.

Braves Notes: Freeman, Allard, Bethancourt

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Prior to the emphatic comments by Braves general manager John Coppolella in which he denied that his team will trade Freddie Freeman, Freeman’s name came up in trade talks with the Astros, three sources told Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. The scenario being discussed is described by Passan as a blockbuster that would’ve included five other players, but he also adds that the discussions “went nowhere” when Freeman’s name was brought up. Passan goes on to examine the Braves’ rebuild situation, noting that the team is poised not only to pick third in next year’s draft but is also rumored to be preparing for massive expenditures on the international prospect front, as others have suggested as well. While there’s risk in centering a rebuilding effort around young pitching due to the generally volatile nature of pitching prospects, the Braves are doing so at a time when the next winter’s free-agent market is bereft of quality arms, which could prevent them from the feeling the frantic need to add arms that so many clubs experience each winter.

A few more notes on the Braves…

  • Despite the re-signing of A.J. Pierzynski, the Braves haven’t given up on young catcher Christian Bethancourt, writes MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Both Coppolella and president of baseball operations John Hart spoke highly of Bethancourt when asked by Bowman, but as he writes, few foresaw the defensive struggles Bethancourt has endured in his young career. Bethancourt’s arm — given an 80-grade by some scouts — has lived up to the hype, but he he’s surrendered 14 passed balls in just 73 games as a Major League catcher. His rate of one every 44 innings is far and away the most frequent in the Majors, as Tyler Flowers’ rate of one every 80.4 innings was the next most-frequent among catchers with 600+innings in 2015, Bowman points out.
  • David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, meanwhile, offers a different take on the Braves’ opinion of Bethancourt (Twitter link). O’Brien notes that in spite of whatever kind words the Braves will publicly make in regards to Bethancourt, his sense is that the organization now believes that, in hindsight, he was overrated as a prospect. The team, of course, won’t say that, but Bowman did note in the above-linked column that it was somewhat telling when Bethancourt started only 14 games after being recalled from the minors in August last season.
  • Braves 2015 first-round pick Kolby Allard underwent a second back surgery after the completion of the Gulf Coast League season, the Braves blog ChopCounty.com first reported (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Mark Bowman spoke to a Braves official who said that this surgery was less severe than the last operation that Allard underwent to repair his back (Twitter link). A stress reaction in Allard’s back suffered back in March caused his draft stock to slip, as he had previously been considered a potential top five pick. Allard lasted until the Braves’ No. 14 pick, and he threw six innings of one-hit ball with 12 strikeouts and no walks in his small sample of GCL action after signing.

Giants, Dodgers Have Expressed Interest In Shelby Miller

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The Giants and Dodgers have “checked in” on Braves righty  Shelby Miller, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports on Twitter. We already heard recently of interest from another NL West club, the Diamondbacks, though those talks apparently did not progress (Twitter link).

It’s not entirely clear at this point what level of interest the Braves have in dealing the 25-year-old righty. He re-emerged last year in Atlanta after being acquired in the Jason Heyward trade, contributing 205 1/3 innings of 3.02 ERA pitching with 7.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. MLBTR projects Miller to earn $4.9MM in his first of three trips through arbitration.

The Braves have already made clear that they’ll trade just about anyone on their roster, after a major sell-off last year and recent send-off of shortstop Andrelton Simmons. GM John Coppolella has said that the team will not trade first baseman Freddie Freeman, but it seems plausible to think that any other players could be had for the right price.

Young pitching has clearly been the focus of Atlanta’s acquisition efforts thus far, and the club has built an impressive stable of arms. Most recently, high-upside hurler Sean Newcomb headlined the Simmons swap. And a number of other pitchers were already installed in the upper reaches of the farm last winter.

On the surface, then, it might be asked why the Braves would have any interest in dealing players such as Miller and Julio Teheran, both of whom are affordable, well-regarded, younger pitchers. (You could say the same of already-dealt lefty Alex Wood.) The answer, perhaps, is that the value of these kinds of pitchers is arguably highest right now, when the club is simply not ready to compete, making it an opportune time to cash them in for assets that will be of greater utility down the line. It’s also worth noting that, as with Simmons, both Miller and Teheran will enjoy fairly significant raises over the coming seasons.

Both San Francisco and Los Angeles, of course, are said to be hunting for significant rotation upgrades this winter. The division rivals have both had their share of injuries in the rotation and seek multiple new arms. For the opposite reasons that might motivate the Braves to deal a player like Miller, it’s certainly plausible to imagine both clubs having interest in the concept of sacrificing near-future value for a mid-prime major leaguer who is at least controllable for a few seasons at a reasonable rate of pay. That’s all the more true, of course, given that both the Giants and Dodgers are said to be weighing significant free agent pitching investments.

It’s obviously not worth speculating too much about what kind of return might entice the Braves, but there’s little question that both prospective trade partners have the assets needed if the motivation is there. And it’s worth remembering that the Atlanta front office has proven itself highly creative in structuring deals. Of course, it remains to be seen whether there’s a match to be made with these — or other — teams.

Coppolella: “We Are Not Trading Freddie Freeman”

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The Braves have come under quite a bit of fire, with many stating that the team is tanking in order to accelerate its rebuild in the wake of last week’s Andrelton Simmons trade. Freddie Freeman’s name has come up in frequent trade speculation over the past week, Braves GM John Coppolella adamantly denied to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that the Braves will even entertain the notion of trading their first baseman.

“I cannot make it any more clear: We are not trading Freddie Freeman,” Coppolella said. “We are not. I’d give my right arm before we trade Freddie Freeman. It is not happening.”

While Twitter skeptics will undoubtedly have their fun by responding to that quote saying Freeman will be traded by this coming weekend, that type of on-record, absolutist statement is rare for a top-ranking baseball ops exec to make. (For instance, there’s a misconception that A’s president Billy Beane said last offseason that he wouldn’t trade Josh Donaldson, but the comments pertaining to Donaldson were made by an anonymous team official.)

Of course, a team could still completely bowl the Braves over with a trade proposal for Freeman that would put Coppolella and president of baseball operations John Hart in a tough position, but the strong likelihood in light of a statement of this magnitude is that Freeman will indeed remain in Atlanta. The reason for hanging onto Freeman, Coppolella explains, is that the “tanking” crowd has a fundamental misunderstanding of the Braves’ intentions.

“If we truly were going to tank, we wouldn’t have had [Erick] Aybar come back in the [Simmons] trade,” said Coppolella. “If we were trying to tank, we wouldn’t have signed A.J. Pierzynski. If we were trying to tank, we would have traded [Cameron] Maybin at the deadline last year, and we had plenty of offers.”

Coppolella maintains that the Braves strongly want to win in the near future and urges critics not to judge the results of the trades immediately upon their completion but rather to wait a couple of years. The Atlanta GM acknowledges that his club won’t win 100-plus games in 2016 but voices a strong belief that the team can win more next season than it did in 2015.

While Coppolella is adamant that there’s a method to all of the Braves’ perceived madness and staunchly rejects the idea of trading Freeman, Nightengale does write that further trades from Atlanta could be on the horizon. The team still hopes to shed the contracts of Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn — two players acquired to accelerate the alleviation of the financial burden that Chris Johnson’s contract had presented — and a strong offer for Maybin could pry him away from Atlanta as well.

Likewise, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reported tonight that the Diamondbacks and Braves had discussions about Shelby Miller, but the D-Backs balked at the asking price, which Rosenthal says would’ve come from Arizona’s big league roster and could have been standout center fielder A.J. Pollock (links to Rosenthal on Twitter).

Cafardo’s Latest: Royals, Parra, Bradley, Hanley

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The Royals feel that Ben Zobrist might re-sign with the team but Alex Gordon “is likely gone,” the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo writes in his weekly notes column.  With a possible hole to fill in left field, Cafardo reports that the Royals are considering free agent outfielder Gerardo Parra.  Kansas City is more concerned with defense than offense in replacing Gordon, so Parra’s hitting (which has never been his strong suit, apart from a BABIP-fueled outburst in the first half of 2015) may not be a major issue for the Royals.  Here’s some more from Cafardo…

  • The Royals, Cubs and Mariners were all reported to have interest in Jackie Bradley last week, and Cafardo adds the Mets and “perhaps the Nationals” to the list of teams checking in on the Red Sox outfielder.  Despite all this trade buzz, Bradley may remain in Boston since baseball ops president Dave Dombrowski has long had interest in Bradley himself, even exploring acquiring him from the Sox when Dombrowski was the Tigers’ general manager.  Dombrowski has already implied that the Sox may be through with big trades for young talent in the wake of shipping four prospects to San Diego for Craig Kimbrel, which would mean that Bradley could indeed be staying put at Fenway Park.
  • An NL general manager doesn’t think the Red Sox can get through the 2016 season without parting ways with at least one of Hanley Ramirez or Pablo Sandoval.  Dealing either for value looks to be near impossible since both players have large contracts and are coming off rough seasons, but “sometimes you have to cut your losses.  A big-market team like Boston can do that,” the GM said.  “They have to decide whether having those two players in their clubhouse, in what is otherwise a young, accountable clubhouse, is worth it. You don’t want players tearing down what you’re trying to build. So whatever method was used to acquire those players didn’t work. So now you have to have your own chemistry lesson and determine if you can live with those guys. I would think they’d try to move one or both.”
  • Tigers GM Al Avila is upgrading the club’s analytics department from one full-time employee to three, as well as interns and some outside consultants.
  • The Braves talked to Chris Iannetta’s agents before re-signing A.J. Pierzynski to fill their need at catcher.  Iannetta has been linked to the Mariners in recent days, though there have been conflicting reports as to exactly how close he is to joining the M’s.

Braves Notes: Freeman, Teheran, Markakis, McGuirk

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Here’s the latest from Atlanta…

  • Braves GM John Coppolella tells David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter links) that “we have not had any trade discussions on Freddie Freeman.”  O’Brien also hears that the club hasn’t had any talks about Julio Teheran and that the Braves don’t intend to trade either player.  Coppolella’s statement runs counter to a Ken Rosenthal report from earlier today claiming that Atlanta was shopping Freeman, Teheran and “everyone owed money,” in the words of one source.  While the GM could be employing some gamesmanship, O’Brien believes (Twitter link) Coppolella’s denial could carry some weight, as he previously didn’t deny that Andrelton Simmons was being shopped prior to the shortstop being dealt to the Angels.
  • In another tweet, O’Brien notes that he didn’t ask Coppolella whether or not Nick Markakis’ name had surfaced in trade talks.  O’Brien thinks the Orioles, Markakis’ former team, could be interested in bringing the right fielder back to Baltimore.  It also wouldn’t surprise O’Brien if the Braves traded Cameron Maybin this offseason.
  • As part of a wide-ranging interview with Phil W. Hudson of the Atlanta Business Chronicle (links to part one and part two), Braves chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk said that the club plans to raise payroll in response to the expected revenue increase from their new stadium.  A top-10 payroll should be feasible, McGuirk said.  He “won’t give you a timetable, but you will start seeing major jumps” by January 1, 2017.  (The new stadium is expected to be ready for Opening Day of the 2017 season.)
  • McGuirk and team president John Schuerholz began to see trouble brewing for the club during the winter of 2013 in regards to a lagging farm system, though they resisted making any major changes since the Braves were winning at the time.  The collapse at the end of the 2014 season was “the catharsis” for the franchise to reload the minor league system that McGuirk notes was so instrumental to the Braves’ success in the 1990’s and 2000’s.  I recommend reading all of Hudson’s interview, as it also contains comments from McGuirk about how the payroll is set, infrastructure and development of the new ballpark, corporate sponsorships and much more information about the business side of the Braves’ operations.

Rosenthal On Freeman, Padres, Kemp, Cubs

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This afternoon, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports released a news-filled column with rumblings from around the league.  The whole article is worth a read, but here’s a look at some of the highlights:

  • The Braves are shopping first baseman Freddie Freeman, according to officials from three different clubs that have spoken with Rosenthal.  One of Rosenthal’s sources added that the possibility of Freeman getting traded was “the talk of the [Arizona] Fall League” among scouts earlier this month.  Freeman’s salary is set to rise from $12MM in 2016 to $20.5MM in ’17 and the Braves might not want to pay out those salaries as they look to rebuild.  After trading shortstop Andrelton Simmons, it’s clear that the Braves are not too fearful of the fan backlash that comes from trading star players.
  • Another official asserts that the Braves are “shopping everyone owed money.”  That could mean that the likes of right-hander Julio Teheran, right fielder Nick Markakis, and center fielder Cameron Maybin are for sale.  Earlier today, we learned that some folks within the Orioles organization would be open to a reunion with Markakis.  After a down year, Teheran’s value isn’t as high as that of Simmons, but Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com recently wrote that there’s a “good chance” that he would be made available.
  • Sources tell Rosenthal that the Braves “are talking to a number of…non-compensation free agents, including some veteran relievers.”  Ultimately, Rosenthal writes, it’s hard to tell what the Braves’ goal is in 2016.  In the end, the gameplan might be to sell off Freeman and Teheran, land even more prospects, and land a top choice in the 2017 draft.
  • The Padres are shopping right-hander Tyson Ross and outfielder Matt Kemp, major league sources tell Rosenthal.  Kemp is owed $86MM over the next four years and Rosenthal wonders aloud if the two players could be packaged together in order to facilitate a deal.  Ross, 29 in April, is under club control for two more seasons.  In 2015, he pitched to a 3.26 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 across 33 starts.  Kemp, meanwhile, posted a .265/.312/.443 slash line that was below his career average with 23 homers in 2015 while playing poor defensively.
  • Sources say that the Cubs will “at least explore” the trade interest they are getting in right fielder Jorge Soler and infielder Javier Baez, Rosenthal writes.  Meanwhile, the Cubs do not intend to move third baseman Kris Bryant, shortstop Addison Russell or left fielder Kyle Schwarber.  If the Cubs were to move Soler or Baez, they would likely seek their pitching equivalent, meaning a player with similar service time and talent that’s roughly the same age.
  • The Rays are getting bites on relievers Jake McGee and Brad Boxberger, particularly after the Craig Kimbrel deal, according to sources.  Furthermore, teams are also zeroing in on Rays starters.

AL East Notes: Price, Yankees, Davis, Markakis

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Signing free agent David Price could be a prudent move in the long run for the youth-minded Yankees, John Harper of the New York Daily News opines.  The Yankees are slated to have lots of spending room next offseason, but the pitching market next winter will not be nearly as robust as it is now.  By signing Price, the Bombers can secure a true ace while they have the opportunity.  Money, of course, could be a roadblock, but Harper suggests that the Yankees could trade Brett Gardner and his sizable salary to soften the blow, a move that could be possible following the acquisition of Aaron Hicks.

How much could Price cost?  Recently, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes projected that the veteran hurler could garner a seven-year, $217MM deal on the open market.  However, he pegged the Cubs as his landing spot.

Here’s a look at the AL East:

  • Orioles GM Dan Duquette told Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette of SiriusXM (link via ESPN) that they have the resources to both retain Chris Davis and add a top of rotation starter.  “And by that, I mean a No. 1, 2 or 3 starter,” Duquette said (via Cash Kruth of MLB.com). “So there’s some in that group [of free agents]. I don’t think there’s that many No. 1 starters, but there’s some twos and threes in there that we could be very competitive on.”  Duquette also said he expects free agency to move much more quickly this offseason because all parties understand the qualifying offer system much better than they have over the past two offseasons.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com wonders if the Orioles would pursue a reunion with Nick Markakis.  It’s not clear whether the Braves would considering moving the outfielder, who still has three years left on his free agent deal.  Not everyone in the O’s organization is on board with the idea of bringing Markakis back to Baltimore, but there are people in the organization with interest in at least talking to Atlanta, Kubatko writes.
  • With defense valued highly across the majors, it couldn’t be a worse time for the Red Sox to try and unload Hanley Ramirez, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald writes.  Ramirez would seemingly appeal only to an American League team that needs a DH and Lauber theorizes that a team like the Orioles could have interest if Davis goes elsewhere.  Even for a DH-needy team, a Ramirez deal could be a hard sell given his contract.
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