Zachary Links | MLB Trade Rumors

Dodgers OF Andre Ethier Out 10-14 Weeks

By Zachary Links | March 22, 2016 at 4:33pm CDT

The Dodgers announced that Andre Ethier has suffered a broken leg, as Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The fractured right tibia will sideline the outfielder for 10-14 weeks. Luckily, the outfielder will not require surgery.

Ethier, 34 in April, slumped to a .249/.322/.370 slash line in 2014 but rebounded in a major way in 2015. Last year, Ethier slashed .294/.366/.486 with 14 homers across 445 plate appearances, primarily as a platoon bat. After he restored his value, the Dodgers received trade interest on Ethier this winter, including some bites from the White Sox. With a crowded outfield, the Dodgers probably could have afforded to part with the two-time All-Star, but Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi shot down that talk in February, referring to Ethier as a “really important part” of the team. Indeed, after his bounce-back campaign, the Dodgers were looking forward to seeing what Ethier’s left-handed bat could do in 2016. Now, they’ll have to wait until the summer to find out.

For his career, Ethier has a strong batting line of .286/.359/.464 across ten seasons for the Dodgers. He has two years remaining on his contract and is owed $38MM, including a modest buyout on an option for 2018. Aside from Ethier, the Dodgers have outfielders Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford, Scott Van Slyke, Trayce Thompson, and Enrique Hernandez on the 40-man roster. Ethier’s 10-and-5 rights kick in next month, but Zaidi has publicly said that he is not concerned about that happening.

AL Central Notes: Tigers, Cespedes, Indians, Twins

By Zachary Links | March 22, 2016 at 3:55pm CDT

Before signing Justin Upton, the Tigers were also in on free agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, as Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Detroit was open to a reunion with the slugger, but they liked Upton “slightly more.” The Tigers offered Cespedes a four-year deal, but had the Upton agreement not come together, they could have potentially gone to five years, Heyman says.

Why did they prefer Upton to Cespedes? Well, in part (link), the Tigers loved Upton’s consistent demeanor and his personality. Upton also came with the endorsement of Alan Trammell and Kirk Gibson. When all was said and done, Upton agreed to a six-year, $132.75MM deal with Detroit and Cespedes stayed with the Mets on a three-year deal that will allow him to opt out after year one.

Here’s more from the AL Central:

Some Indians fans have been critical of the team’s decision to sign Mike Napoli, Rajai Davis, Juan Uribe, and Marlon Byrd (minor league deal) to one-year pacts rather than make one high-priced free agent splash this winter. Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer explained the Tribe’s thinking a little bit while pointing out the pitfalls of pricey multi-year deals, like the ones given to Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn. The Indians wound up committing ~$104MM to both players and recently they had to trade both veterans to try and unload a portion of that money.
Carlos Quentin has a June 1st opt-out in his deal with the Twins, assistant GM Rob Antony tells Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter). However, there’s also a “gentleman’s agreement” to cut him loose prior to that date if the team does not have big league plans for him. Quentin appeared destined for retirement before he had a change of heart during the offseason.
Ryan Sweeney has a straight minor-league deal with no opt-out clause or right to demand his release, Antony tells Berardino (on Twitter). Sweeney sat out the 2015 season in an effort to allow his body to heal from multiple ailments. While he was out of the game, the veteran collected on the $2MM still owed to him by the Cubs.
Outfielder Darin Mastroianni also has a straight minor-league deal with the Twins, according to Berardino (Twitter link). The assistant GM says that the 30-year-old (31 in August) didn’t even ask the club for an opt-out due to his comfort with team brass. Mastroianni signed on with Minnesota in December.

Carson Smith To Be Placed On DL

By Zachary Links | March 22, 2016 at 2:24pm CDT

Red Sox reliever Carson Smith will be placed on the disabled list after an MRI revealed that he has suffered a strain of his flexor mass muscle, as Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald tweets. Smith is expected to pitch this year, but there is currently no timetable for his potential return.

Smith, 26, exited Monday’s game after experiencing forearm tightness just five pitches into his outing. As it turns out, that tightness was foreshadowing for a more serious issue. Fortunately, however, the pain was not the result of damage to the ulnar collateral ligament, which could have necessitated Tommy John surgery. Late last month, MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum delved deep into the causes of and warning signs for Tommy John surgery. In his research, Woodrum found that Smith was among the players with a slightly elevated risk of requiring TJ.

The Red Sox acquired Smith this offseason along with southpaw Roenis Elias when they traded Wade Miley and Jonathan Aro to Seattle. Smith was being counted upon for a significant late-inning role, so the Red Sox are obviously less-than-thrilled about today’s news. As Jeff outlined on Monday, there’s still plenty of late-inning depth for Boston, starting with closer Craig Kimbrel plus veterans Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa.

Last year marked Smith’s first full season in the majors. He took the opportunity and ran with it, recording a 2.31 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 across 70 innings.

White Sox Won’t Shop Chris Sale

By Zachary Links | March 20, 2016 at 9:02pm CDT

Despite a potential rift between Chris Sale and the White Sox’s front office, the team will not be trading its ace. General Manager Rick Hahn has no interest in moving Sale, multiple baseball sources tell Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com. This comes on the heels of one White Sox official telling Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe that there is “no chance” of a Sale deal taking place.

Last week, Sale weighed in on the controversy between Adam LaRoche and the team regarding his son’s presence in the clubhouse. After the ace’s pointed words for president Kenny Williams, rival teams quickly began to wonder if one of the game’s brightest young pitchers could suddenly come available. Hayes writes that Hahn received “a few new inquiries” from GMs hoping to acquire the soon-to-be 27-year-old in recent days.

Sale, 27 on Mar. 30, earned his fourth-straight All-Star selection in 2015 by pitching to a 3.41 ERA with career-bests in K/9 (11.8) and BB/9 (1.8) across 208.2 innings. Across six big league seasons, Sale has a 2.91 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. Not only is Sale a tremendous pitcher, but he is under team control through the 2019 season thanks to a contract that is considered to be one of the most team-friendly pacts in the game today. Sale is slated to earn $9.15MM in 2016 and $12MM in 2017 before options in the 2018 and 2019 seasons that would pay him $12.5MM and $13.5MM. Ultimately, Sale is regarded as an untouchable player in Chicago and some recent friction between the player and the team president will not give way to a trade.

MLBTR Originals

By Zachary Links | March 20, 2016 at 7:26pm CDT

A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR the last seven days:

Brett Ballantini caught up with White Sox GM Rick Hahn in an exclusive interview. In the Q&A, Hahn spoke about prospect Tim Anderson, the differences between this offseason and the previous one, and much much more.
In Dunedin, Florida, Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin spoke to MLBTR about his trip through free agency prior to the 2015 season. “It wasn’t stressful or anything. [Free agency] has never really been a stressful process for me,” Martin said. “I don’t have any kids or anything like that. I don’t have any family, so there’s nothing for me to answer to. The ability for me to play at home, for the team I grew up cheering for, that always had a good ring to it for me. The other options were [the Dodgers] and the Cubs, and those are really good places to play, so it was all positive for me. I really enjoyed the process this time.”
On this week’s edition of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast, host Jeff Todd spoke with Washington Post national baseball writer Barry Svrluga about some of the biggest storylines surrounding the Nationals in 2016. Jeff also spoke with MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth to discuss what’s ahead for the Pirates. A new episode of the podcast is released every Thursday and can be accessed on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
Steve Adams looked at the Tigers’ aggressive offseason and noted that newly-elevated GM Al Avila is continuing the team’s win-now approach. The Tigers initially looked to replace Yoenis Cespedes on the cheap, but they went on to ink Justin Upton to a lucrative deal which could potentially only last for two seasons. The Tigers also pounced early in free agency with the addition of starter Jordan Zimmermann.
The Cubs are eager to win in 2016 and they laid out major money this winter to help accomplish that goal. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes ran down the team’s moves, including their free agent pickups of Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, John Lackey, and Dexter Fowler. In the reader poll at the close of the piece, more than 77% of you gave the Cubs an “A” for their winter dealings.
There’s a new GM in Seattle and a whole lot of change on the roster. Charlie looked back on the Mariners’ offseason and the moves that were made to help support the club’s talented core.
Tim compiled this year’s list of out-of-options players using MLBTR’s sources.
The Giants surprised many by signing both Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto this offseason. Jeff looked back at those significant signings in addition to the other moves made by Bobby Evans & Co. In the team’s “deal of note” section, Jeff broke down the lucrative extension for Brandon Crawford.

Rangers Content With Current Catching Situation

By Zachary Links | March 20, 2016 at 5:43pm CDT

The Rangers have reportedly been in the market for a catcher in recent weeks, but that search has apparently been put on the back burner. On Sunday, Texas GM Jon Daniels indicated that he will not be adding another catcher between now and Opening Day, as T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com writes.

“At this point I anticipate both our catchers are in camp,” Daniels said. “We are open if there is a true improvement to the team, but we’re not going to change for change’s sake.”

Daniels admitted that he has talked “a little bit” with rival teams about acquiring a catcher, but Sullivan gleans that the asking prices for Derek Norris and Jonathan Lucroy have simply been too high. Ultimately then, the Rangers will head into April with Robinson Chirinos behind the dish and a handful of veteran catchers jostling for the No. 2 job.

But, aside from Bobby Wilson, Chris Gimenez, and Michael McKenry, Sullivan notes that 2010 sixth-round pick Brett Nicholas has looked strong in camp and could also find his way on to the roster. Daniels says that the team wasn’t sure what they had in Nicholas but his performance as of late has the club viewing him as “a big league-capable catcher.” On the other hand, Nicholas can be stashed in the minors whereas the team’s trio of veterans probably can’t. Gimenez is out-of-options and Wilson and McKenry have opt-out opportunities if they’re not on the big league roster.

In a perfect world, the Rangers would probably prefer to have Lucroy or Norris to shore things up behind the plate, but they are not presently willing to meet the demands of the Brewers or Padres in order to make a trade happen. The salaries of both players ($4MM and $2.9MM), respectively, are also factors. Even though those are relatively modest sums, the team is already said to be well over their projected payroll thanks to the Ian Desmond signing.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Freese, Blue Jays, Bradley

By Zachary Links | March 20, 2016 at 4:34pm CDT

Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere:

TPOP is happy about the Bucs adding David Freese.
Same Page Team sized up the Blue Jays’ fifth starter competition.
Inside The Zona wants Archie Bradley to anchor the D’Backs’ pen.
L.A. Dodger Report says Austin Barnes is going to be very important.
Camden Depot has a couple of bones to pick with Fangraphs’ projected standings.
About Sports says the Braves need to be smart with their prospects.
Swingin A’s wonders who will win the last bullpen job.
Jays Journal wonders if the Jays and A’s could match up again on a pitching deal.
Philliedelphia looked at the Phillies’ fifth outfielder spot.
Super Two Sports previewed the 2016 Blue Jays.
Pinstriped Prospects spoke with a former MLB pro scout about the Bombers’ youngsters.
Sports Heaven defended White Sox GM Ken Williams.
Nats GM previewed this year’s bats in fantasy.
Big Three Sports is optimistic about Kris Bryant.
Wayniac Nation wonders if 2015 was a fluke for the Twins.
Think Blue PC says Caleb Dirks is making his mark.
Pirates Breakdown wonders if Juan Nicasio can crack the starting five.
Dynasty Digest is high on Tyler White.
Chin Music Baseball says is amped for Corey Seager in 2016.
Bleeding Royal Blue advocated for baseball’s evolution.
Redbird Rants is worried about the Cards’ rotation.
Clubhouse Corner discussed Bo Schultz’s journey.
Outside Pitch pondered the impact of Adam LaRoche’s retirement.
Roto Professor ranked MLB’s top prospects.
Baseball Prospectus spoke with Marco Estrada.
Baseball Hot Corner has some sleepers you should target.
Rascals Of The Ravine shared some tales from Spring Training.
The Runner Sports looked at the Astros’ chopping block.

Please send submissions to Zach Links at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.

Russell Martin Reflects On Last Year’s Free Agency Process

By Zachary Links | March 13, 2016 at 3:10pm CDT

Russell Martin could have gone just about anywhere last offseason, but when all was said and done, he went home. The Toronto-born catcher inked a lucrative five-year, $82MM contract with the Blue Jays, turning down a field of suitors headlined by two large market teams. As one of the winter’s top prizes on the open market, Martin says that he was at ease knowing that he would wind up with a quality contract from a desirable team.

“It wasn’t stressful or anything. [Free agency] has never really been a stressful process for me,” Martin told MLBTR at the Blue Jays’ Spring Training complex in Dunedin, Florida. “I don’t have any kids or anything like that. I don’t have any family, so there’s nothing for me to answer to. The ability for me to play at home, for the team I grew up cheering for, that always had a good ring to it for me. The other options were [the Dodgers] and the Cubs, and those are really good places to play, so it was all positive for me. I really enjoyed the process this time.”

In addition to the Dodgers and Cubs, the Pirates made an effort to retain the catcher and the Mariners also got into the mix. For some, free agency is nerve-wracking, but Martin had no reason to get worked up given that several teams were anxious to give him eight figures per year. Martin was, perhaps, less plugged into talks than your average player on the open market, telling MLBTR that he only instructed his agent to reach out to him when there were major developments.

At this stage, Martin is obviously settled in and well-acclimated with his Blue Jays club. Last spring, Martin’s No. 1 task was to get acquainted with a completely new set of pitchers. This spring, the Blue Jays have a few new arms (including J.A. Happ) but Martin was happy not to have to start from scratch.

“Things are easier this year because I had a whole new pitching staff when I first got here. This year, I only had to focus on a few guys instead of like 20 guys. This year is a lot easier and things are a lot smoother. I can spend time with the new guys but still continue to build relationships with the guys that were here last year,” Martin explained.

Thanks to his long-term pact with Toronto, Martin shouldn’t have to think about the prospect of free agency again until after the 2019 season, at the earliest.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

MLBTR Originals

By Zachary Links | March 13, 2016 at 1:57pm CDT

A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR the last seven days:

MLBTR caught up with Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada in the Blue Jays’ Spring Training clubhouse. In a one-on-one chat, Estrada opened up about his offseason negotiations with Toronto, which culminated with a two-year deal. “We tried to get a third or fourth year. I don’t think it was ever going to be close on their part. Obviously, I tried. I wanted less money for more years, but they didn’t want to do it. It’s fine. I like the deal I got now. I guess the AAV went up and it was only two years but, it’s good, you know, I can’t complain,” Estrada said.
In Clearwater, Florida, Phillies pitcher Jeremy Hellickson spoke about the November trade that brought him to Philly. Within the chat with MLBTR, Hellickson confessed that it’s a little awkward being one of the rotation’s “veterans” at 28 years of age. “It is a little bit weird being one of the veteran guys on this rotation,” said Hellickson. “It was kind of the same situation alst year [in Arizona] but the game is getting younger. There are guys getting called up at 21 or 22 years old. I don’t feel old at 28, but 28 is kind of old in this game right now.”
C. Trent Rosencrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer joined host Jeff Todd on this week’s edition of the MLB Trade Rumors podcast to discuss the Reds’ offseason moves, their crop of young pitchers, and proper beard care. That last one might not be true. A new episode of the podcast is released every Thursday and can be accessed on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
The Cardinals will be without Jhonny Peralta for an extended period of time and they’ll need to replace his production somehow. MLBTR’s Steve Adams took a detailed look at some potential replacements for the shortstop (?). The free agent market doesn’t have many exciting names left, but Steve pointed out several interesting players that could be available via trade.
Charlie Wilmoth kicked off MLBTR’s Offseason In Review series with a look back on the moves made by the Reds.
Steve, a native Minnesotan, penned a detailed review of the Twins’ offseason moves. The Twins’ deal of note, Steve writes, was a surprising one, as Minnesota won the bidding on first baseman Byung Ho Park.
Many expected the Rockies to sell this offseason, but that’s not exactly how things played out. Jeff looked back on Colorado’s somewhat surprising winter.
MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes tipped his cap to White Sox GM Rick Hahn for an offseason in which the club improved its 2016 prospects without mortgaging its future.
Steve reflected on the Indians’ offseason and the moves made by the club’s revamped front office. On the whole, Steve isn’t so sure that the Tribe did enough to build around the team’s terrific pitching.
The Brewers aren’t positioned to be world-beaters in 2016, but they do have a promising future, as Charlie writes.

A’s Claim Andrew Triggs From Orioles

By Zachary Links | March 13, 2016 at 1:05pm CDT

The Orioles announced that right-hander Andrew Triggs has been claimed off of release waivers by the A’s. Baltimore cut Triggs from the roster late last week to make room for the addition of Pedro Alvarez.

Triggs, 27 on Wednesday, is no stranger to trades, having gone from the Royals to the Orioles in a minor trade last April. In 2015, Triggs mowed down his Double-A competition, posting a 1.03 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9. However, it remains to be seen whether he can enjoy similar success at a higher level. Triggs only has a cup of coffee in Triple-A on his resume with the rest of his experience coming at Double-A and lower levels.

The Orioles reportedly were hoping to re-sign Triggs on a minor league deal, but Oakland spoiled those plans.

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