Jeff Todd | MLB Trade Rumors

Three Teams Pursuing Rich Hill

By Jeff Todd | February 3, 2021 at 10:40pm CDT

There are at least three teams making serious pushes to land southpaw Rich Hill, according to a report from WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. The Rays, Brewers, and Mets are each in pursuit of the veteran hurler.

Hill is closing in on his 41st birthday, but still spun 38 2/3 innings of 3.03 ERA ball last year over eight starts with the Twins. There’s little question he’s deserving of an important role on a big league pitching staff, even if it’s unreasonable to expect he’ll turn in a full starter’s workload over the entirety of a 162-game season.

While the results were excellent, Hill did show some worrying signs in Minnesota (with the obligatory short-sample alert). He managed only a 31:17 K/BB ratio, far off of the sparkling strikeout and walk numbers he had routinely sported in prior years with the Dodgers. Hill also shed a few ticks off his fastball — not that he has ever been reliant upon overwhelming velocity.

It’s not surprising to see the Rays and Brewers in the hunt for Hill. Both teams have moved away from traditional pitcher usage patterns in recent seasons and would have little trouble scheming up ways to maximize Hill’s unique capabilities. The Mets do not fit in quite the same manner, but could plug the ageless southpaw into the back of their rotation mix and plan to get him regular respite from the typical five-day pitching schedule.

One team is notably absent from the set of reported pursuers: the Red Sox. Bradford notes that the Boston organization has seemingly backed away from its initial interest after making other additions. That’s likely a bit of a disappointment for Hill, who resides in Massachusetts and has made clear that geographical location is one of his chief concerns (along with the ability to compete for a title). For what it’s worth, the Mets are obviously nearby and the Rays play frequently in the northeast.

Giants To Sign Zack Littell

By Jeff Todd | February 3, 2021 at 9:14pm CDT

The Giants have inked reliever Zack Littell to a minor-league pact, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). He’ll receive an invitation to participate in MLB camp this spring.

Littell, 25, has thrown 63 2/3 total innings over the past three seasons, recording a cumulative 4.52 ERA. He has a pedestrian 49:23 K/BB ratio in that span.

It’ll be interesting to see if Littell can regain his footing with a new organization. He produced quite promising results in 2019, but lost his roster spot with the Twins last year after five of the 31 batters he faced went deep.

Jackie Bradley Jr. Reportedly Seeking Lengthy Contract

By Jeff Todd | February 3, 2021 at 8:19pm CDT

We’ve heard a fair bit of chatter surrounding free agent center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., who has been linked to a variety of potential suitors. To this point, though, it hasn’t been clear what sort of contract he might command.

It seems Bradley and agent Scott Boras are hoping to leverage strong demand into a much longer deal than might have been anticipated. Bradley is “seeking a significant contract, perhaps beyond four years,” sources tell Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter).

Reaching a contract of that duration would be quite the achievement, particularly in this market. Bradley is a quality performer who’d fit quite a few rosters, but there was little reason entering the winter to think he’d have a shot at a deal past two or three guaranteed seasons. MLBTR predicted a two-year, $16MM pact.

To be fair, Bradley is the type of player who seems likely to remain useful for a lengthy stretch. He’s a glove-first, left-handed-hitting outfielder who’ll likely have a late-career role as a fourth outfielder even once he’s deemed incapable of handling everyday duties in center.

That said, we’re talking about a soon-to-be-31-year-old player with a lifetime .239/.321/.412 batting line. Bradley is a very good defender and baserunner but mostly profiled as a solid regular rather than a star with the Red Sox. He was at his best in an injury-shortened 2020, though it’s hard to believe teams will put too much weight on his BABIP-boosted 120 wRC+ after three-straight campaigns of below-average output with the bat.

Whether there’s any realistic hope of a four — (or more?) — year pact isn’t yet clear. Perhaps it’s plausible if Bradley is willing to take a lesser average annual value. If nothing else, the fact that Boras is evidently tossing around such figures just weeks before Spring Training would seem to speak to the level of market interest in Bradley.

Latest On Cardinals’ Free Agents

By Jeff Todd | January 28, 2021 at 12:15am CDT

At the outset of the offseason, it seemed plausible to imagine a world in which Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina, and Kolten Wong would return to the team without ever really testing free agency. Instead, Wainwright and Molina eschewed quick reunion deals in favor of market exploration and the club declined its option over Wong.

As Spring Training closes in, the fates of all three players remain unknown. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch updates the market situation of these St. Louis stalwarts.

Wainwright is unsurprisingly drawing a good amount of interest, it seems. Goold says that the veteran righty is sitting on multiple offers, including one from the upstart Padres. Details remain unknown — including how the San Diego team would propose to fit him in a loaded rotation mix. Neither is it clear how strongly Wainwright is considering alternative destinations at this point.

The Cards are still pursuing both Wainwright and Molina, per Goold, having extended “updated offers” to each player. There’s no further word as to whether the longtime teammates are coordinating in a bid to land in the same place, as they’ve discussed previously.

It’s quite a different situation with respect to Wong, who enjoyed a quality run with the Cardinals but doesn’t have quite the organizational standing of the aforementioned legends. The second bagger has reportedly had contact with his former employer, but it’s far from clear that they’re headed for a reunion. Goold writes that the club has “not actively pursued” a new deal with Wong.

The Cards remain in a somewhat odd situation on the heels of a good-but-not-great season. The org hasn’t had a losing season since 2007, has quite a bit of talent on hand, and has a tantalizing opportunity to capitalize on an NL Central division that may be the game’s weakest. At the moment, though, the club is taking an outwardly passive approach to the offseason.

The above-linked article contains further exploration of the situations. It also features updates on the winter ball action of Molina and key righty Carlos Martinez.

Angels Not Expected To Pursue Trevor Bauer

By Jeff Todd | January 27, 2021 at 11:04pm CDT

Though they’ve been linked in the past, at least speculatively, the Angels are evidently foregoing pursuit of top free agent starter Trevor Bauer. Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Los Angeles organization just doesn’t see itself as a match.

The report doesn’t formally stamp out the possibility of a deal with Bauer, but it comes just shy of doing so. Torres pegs the odds of the sides lining up at “practically zero.”

This development makes for a bit of a surprise given the Halos’ need for a top starter and Bauer’s ties to Southern California. One might’ve expected some effort to land the high-grade hurler, at least to a certain point in the bidding.

Interestingly, it doesn’t appear to be a situation where the market has simply moved past the team’s valuation of the player. Money is a factor, to be sure. Torres indicates that the Halos’ budget likely doesn’t have anywhere near the space needed to fit Bauer — at least, barring the authorization of a pocketbook expansion by owner Arte Moreno.

Cash is generally king, but it may not be the dispositive factor here. Torres cites the presence of Mickey Callaway as a major roadblock. Callaway’s relationship with Bauer is, she writes, “believed to be eroded beyond repair” from the grating time the pair spent with the Indians organization.

If indeed Callaway and Bauer are oil and water, the Angels may not be a fit at any (realistic) price. That could leave the Mets in the driver’s seat, though other clubs have been connected to Bauer and there’s still time for some dark horses to emerge.

Blue Jays Acquire Steven Matz

By Jeff Todd | January 27, 2021 at 8:35pm CDT

9:15pm: The teams have announced the deal.

8:35pm: The Blue Jays and Mets are closing in on a swap that would send lefty Steven Matz to Toronto, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Robert Murray of Fansided tweeted that a trade between the clubs was coming; Michael Mayer of Metsmerized had tweeted that a Matz move was in the works.

Three right-handed pitchers will head back to New York in the arrangement: Josh Winckowski, Sean Reid-Foley, and Yennsy Diaz. (Via Murray, on Twitter, and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, also via Twitter.)

Matz, 29, is due $5.2MM after agreeing to avoid arbitration. He will qualify for free agency after the 2021 campaign. The Mets obviously determined they could better allocate that salary for other needs. Whether it’ll be part of a big payout to lure Trevor Bauer remains to be seen; there’s still no reason to believe anything is imminent on that front.

While he has at times featured as a high-quality big-league starter, Matz has had his share of difficulties of late. The Long Island native wraps up a six-year run with the Mets having thrown 579 2/3 innings of 4.35 ERA ball.

While Matz made thirty starts apiece in 2018 and 2019, arm issues were a recurring problem. He spent time on the injured list in 2020 and ended the campaign with a brutal 9.68 ERA in just 30 2/3 frames of action.

That unfortunate short-season effort came with a few bright spots. Though Matz surrendered a ton of hard contact, he also managed a career-best 25.4% strikeout percentage while delivering his sinker at an average of 94.5 mph.

Clearly, the Jays believe Matz still possesses the necessary physical tools to deliver a good number of useful innings. He’ll likely have a chance to battle for a rotation spot in camp, though the team could also plan to use him in a swingman or even pure relief capacity.

The Mets will get some reward for deciding to tender Matz a contract. None of the three arms acquired come with high-grade prospect billing, but each will have a chance to contribute in the near term.

Both Reid-Foley and Diaz have debuted in the majors, meaning they also occupy 40-man roster spots (albeit with options remaining). The former threw 71 2/3 innings of 4.40 ERA ball over three seasons with the Jays, carrying a suboptimal 76:48 cumulative K/BB ratio. Diaz has just one appearance to his name, but turned in a solid showing at the Double-A level in 2019.

As for Winckowski, he’s still due for further seasoning. The 22-year-old reached the High-A level in 2019. Over 127 1/3 total frames that year, he turned in a sturdy 2.69 ERA. Winckowski will (again) be eligible for the Rule 5 draft after the 2021 campaign.

Latest On Trevor Bauer

By Jeff Todd | January 22, 2021 at 9:24pm CDT

JAN. 22, 9:24pm: The Twins are not in the race after all, Rosenthal reports.

8:39pm: The Mets’ interest in Bauer “has become more focused” since the Blue Jays agreed to sign Springer, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Jays are “believed” to still be in the running, however, and the same goes for the Dodgers and Twins. There’s no word on whether the Angels remain a possibility.

JAN. 21: It’s “believed” that the Mets and Angels have the best chance to land Bauer, per Feinsand. Meanwhile, despite the interest the Dodgers have shown in Bauer, it “still feels like a long shot to most industry sources” that he will end up with them, Feinsand writes.

JAN. 20: It appears the Dodgers have entered the market for top free agent hurler Trevor Bauer. ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan connected the two sides (Twitter link), with Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link) adding further detail to the situation.

At the moment, all that’s known is that the L.A. ballclub has initiated contact with Bauer’s camp and that the team’s interest is in a shorter-term pact. Both of those nuggets of information fail to surprise.

It has long felt inevitable that we’d see a connection between the SoCal native and the reigning world champs. Indeed, that’s just the outcome MLBTR prognosticated would ultimately come to fruition. Among other things, Bauer has expressed an inclination to pursue shorter-term, higher-AAV contract scenarios of the sort that the Dodgers have dangled to other premium players.

That’s not to say Bauer is sure to wear Dodger blue. The other team in Los Angeles remains a factor, among quite a few others. With some truly astronomical sums potentially in play, anything could still happen.

Bauer’s willingness to entertain creative offers also helps keep the door open to a variety of organizations. It may well be possible to make a competitive pitch without committing to an uncomfortably long guarantee.

For instance, the Blue Jays have already taken on a lengthy deal this winter by signing George Springer, perhaps reducing their appetite for another. But the Toronto organization may yet attempt to lure Bauer, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand notes on Twitter. Whether or not that potential effort would be based around a shorter term isn’t clear, but it’s certainly one potential avenue.

The Springer contract has surely buoyed Bauer’s own hopes for a monster deal — whether he chooses to maximize total guarantee or his annual salary. Amid so much uncertainty, a hefty $150MM pact makes clear that teams still have serious money to commit to payroll when they so choose.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/20/2021

By Jeff Todd | January 21, 2021 at 12:15am CDT

Let’s check in on the latest minor moves from around the game …

The Red Sox have a deal of the minor-league variety with right-hander Zac Grotz, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter). Grotz receives an invitation to MLB Spring Training in the agreement. He’ll be looking to reach the majors for the third-straight year after reaching the professional ranks as a 28th-round pick. The former Mariner has surrendered twenty earned runs with a 22:19 K/BB ratio through 24 2/3 MLB innings.
The Winnipeg Goldeyes of the indy ball American Association have announced the addition of a pair of former big league hurlers. 31-year-old Ryan Dull will seek to earn his way back into the affiliated ranks after a series of tough campaigns. He excelled for the Athletics in 2016 but has struggled with injuries and performance lapses since. Also coming aboard is righty Josh Lucas, who has thrown 37 1/3 innings of 5.54 ERA ball at the game’s highest level (including a brief stint alongside Dull with the Athletics in 2018). Additionally, former Phillies farmhand Kyle Martin will be back to reprise his role as a top slugger for the Goldeyes.

Matt Dermody To Join Seibu Lions

By Jeff Todd | January 20, 2021 at 8:51pm CDT

Southpaw Matt Dermody will join Japan’s Seibu Lions for the 2021 season, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports on Twitter. It’s a single-season pact, the financial particulars of which remain unknown.

Dermody had been slated to return to the Cubs after briefly appearing with the organization last season. The Chicago organization granted him his release to pursue what is in all likelihood a better earning opportunity in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

It’s a good outcome for Dermody, a thirty-year-old hurler who has accrued only minimal MLB experience to this point (26 1/3 innings over three seasons). He was relegated to indy ball action in 2020 until the Cubs came calling with an offer.

Though he has some experience starting games in the low minors, Dermody has mostly functioned as a reliever as a professional. Over 87 1/3 total Triple-A innings, he carries a 4.12 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 23 walks.

Pitching Notes: Soria, Zimmermann, Sale, Price, LeBlanc

By Jeff Todd | January 13, 2021 at 11:10pm CDT

It seems veteran hurler Joakim Soria is drawing quite a lot of interest from the American League West. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Angels, Astros, Athletics, and Rangers are all pursuing Soria to some degree. Of course, most teams could stand to add an experienced late-inning reliever coming off of a quality season, so it stands to reason that just about every club in a competitive division would give a look. Soria, 36, registered a strong 2.82 ERA last year in Oakland, though that’s hardly a determinative measure on its own for a reliever in a shortened season. The well-traveled hurler managed only a 9.6% swinging-strike rate, his lowest in quite some time, and suddenly shifted to being a heavy flyball pitcher (though he wasn’t punished with many home runs in the short sample).

Headlines

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect