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Cubs Have Done Due Diligence On Kenley Jansen

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  • The Cubs have done background work on Kenley Jansen, arguably the top free agent closer, but it doesn’t appear they’re seriously pursuing him, major league sources told Rosenthal. The World Series champions don’t want to overspend on a closer because it could preclude them from making a big signing in the near future (Japanese superstar Shohei Otani, for instance), notes Rosenthal. That would seemingly rule out the Cubs re-signing Chapman, who joins Jansen as one of the two best relievers available. MLBTR projects record contracts for both Jansen and Chapman, and Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer has already indicated that the team isn’t necessarily looking to splurge on a reliever.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Players Added To The 40-Man

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We’ll use this post to keep track of the players being added to their teams’ respective 40-man rosters today, which is the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. Players must be added to the big league roster within either four years (if they were 19 or older at the time of their original signing) or five years (if 18 or younger) of their signing year in order to be shielded from selection.

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo took a look at some of the biggest names who face roster decisions, though most of those won’t be much in question. At the fringes, teams must also consider the major league readiness of the player, since that factors heavily into whether they’ll be taken and kept. Any drafting team, of course, must keep a player on its active MLB roster for the full season (with certain exceptions relating to the DL) in order for their control rights to vest. Adding a player to the 40-man too early can have its own risks, because it limits flexibility and could require a team to expose that player to waivers if a need arises. With 26-man rosters reportedly under consideration, the Rule 5 draft could be quite intriguing this year, and that may bleed into today’s decisions as well.

Below is a division-by-division rundown of the names that were added to each team’s 40-man roster (plus the various waiver claims that spawned from teams trying to outright players to protect Rule 5-eligible prospects). We won’t delve into each player’s background, but if you’re looking to a little more about the names that were added, I’d highly recommend this tremendous, in-depth examination of each team’s additions by Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper. If you want to see how the moves look in the context of a team’s roster, head over to Roster Resource for your club’s depth chart.

Onto the moves…

American League West

American League Central

American League East

National League West

National League Central

National League East

Cubs Claim David Rollins

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The Cubs have claimed lefty David Rollins off waivers from the Mariners, per a team announcement. He can be controlled at the league minimum salary.

It could be that Chicago intends to try to slip Rollins through waivers itself. After all, the Cubs are at the end of the line for waiver claims, meaning that every other organization passed on a chance to snag the 26-year-old.

There’s plenty to like about the numbers Rollins has posted at Triple-A over the past three years. Over 60 2/3 innings, he owns a 2.82 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against just 1.2 BB/9. But things haven’t quite worked out yet in the majors. He owns a grisly 7.60 ERA in 34 1/3 frames over the past two years, and struggled in particular in 2016 — with 12 hits and seven walks against just six strikeouts in his 9 91/3 innings. Rollins also showed a drop in average fastball velocity in 2016 (91.1 mph) as against his debut year (92.4 mph).

Clearly, though, the Cubs are intrigued enough by Rollins to place a claim. Whether or not he’ll have much of a shot there, or whether he’ll instead largely serve as depth, remains to be seen.

No Discussion Of Jason Heyward In Trade Talks

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  • Jason Heyward’s dreadful first season with the Cubs isn’t likely to result in a change of scenery, Heyman also reports. There has been no mention of the still-youthful outfielder in trade talks this winter, which certainly isn’t surprising give that there’s $169MM left on his contract. Even if Chicago were to desire a trade, it would likely have little choice but to hope that Heyward can find his way at the plate to rebuild some value.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Mike Trout, Kris Bryant Win MVP Awards

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Mike Trout of the Angels and Kris Bryant of the Cubs won the most valuable player awards in their respective leagues, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced tonight.

If Trout’s win is a surprise, it’s only because many wondered of the impact of the fact that his team wasn’t in contention. Looking only at his numbers, the case was rather clear, and he got 19 of 30 first-place votes. It may have been only a typical season for Trout, but a .315/.441/.550 batting line, 29 home runs, and 30 steals (combined with outstanding baserunning and quality defense in center) represented the best all-around output in baseball. This is his second MVP, and the fifth consecutive year he has finished in the top two of the voting.

Mookie Betts was the other top contender for the American League prize, and he was Trout’s equal in most offensive areas excepting OBP (.363), but his context-adjusted output wasn’t anywhere near as good (171 wRC+ for Trout, 135 for Betts). That said, Betts was every bit as good on the bases, and graded better defensively, but still finished over 1 WAR behind. He received nine first-place votes. Star Astros second baseman Jose Altuve came in third in the race.

On the National League side, it was long apparent that Bryant would win. He very nearly did so unanimously, but second-place finisher Daniel Murphy garnered one top nod. In just his second season in the majors, Bryant blasted 39 home runs, put up a 149 wRC+, and made a difference with his glove and legs. That he was the best player on the best team in the game surely didn’t hurt.

It was a truly great campaign for the Nationals’ Murphy, too, who slightly topped Bryant in overall offensive production (156 wRC+) but wasn’t nearly as good in the other areas of the game. Corey Seager of the Dodgers, who took the Rookie of the Year award, finished an impressive third.

Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello Win Cy Young Awards

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Max Scherzer of the Nationals and Rick Porcello of the Red Sox have won the Cy Young Awards in their respective leagues, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced tonight.

That’s the second time the 32-year-old has taken home the hardware, though his prior award came in the American League (in 2013, with the Tigers). Scherzer led the N.L. with 228 1/3 innings, twenty wins, and a 0.968 WHIP. He ended the year with 2.96 ERA with 11.2 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.

That showing was good enough to beat out Cubs hurlers Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks — who finished second and third, respectively. Scherzer ended up with 25 of the 30 first-place votes, reflecting a strong consensus, but in truth it was a widespread field full of worthwhile contenders. That includes the absurdly dominant Clayton Kershaw, who probably would have run away with the award had he not missed a dozen starts due to injury, and the dearly departed Jose Fernandez, who garnered down-ballot consideration after a dominant season that ended in tragedy.

Porcello’s win came over fellow finalists Justin Verlander of the Tigers and Corey Kluber of the Indians. All were worthy contenders in a year in which nobody put up a truly dominant year. The best A.L. pitchers on a rate basis was reliever Zach Britton, who managed a fourth-place finish despite the innings limitations inherent to his job.

The vote came with its share of controversy. Verlander received 14 of the 30 available first-place votes, but narrowly missed the award when he was left off of two ballots altogether. The 33-year-old threw 227 2/3 innings of 3.04 ERA ball, with 10.0 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9, whereas Porcello racked up 223 frames of 3.15 ERA pitching on the back of 7.6 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9. The difference, perhaps, was that the ultimate victor managed a sparkling 22-4 win-loss record, whereas Verlander carried a less notable 16-and-9 mark.

Dexter Fowler To Reject Qualifying Offer

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Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler will reject the team’s one-year, $17.2MM qualifying offer, writes FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman (he also previously tweeted the news). Fowler has been widely expected to do just that despite the problems he faced after rejecting a QO from Chicago last winter, as he even said himself recently on ESPN’s Sportscenter that he would be a free agent again this offseason.

Dexter Fowler

Fowler, 31 in March, had a career year at the plate, hitting .276/.393/.447 with 13 homers and 13 stolen bases — providing well-rounded value in every facet of his offensive game. As the switch-hitter himself told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale last month, though, it was questions about his glove that led to skepticism over Fowler’s value and ultimately prompted him to linger on the free agent market. As Fowler explained in that interview, he altered his positioning in center field, believing himself to be playing too shallow (the Cubs agreed), and the results manifested in both his Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved marks. Both metrics graded him as one run above average, which isn’t a ringing endorsement but is a significant step forward for a player who had delivered negative ratings in each of the five previous years.

Of course, if Fowler is an average or even slightly below average center fielder, he could probably perform well in either corner outfield slot, and there are undoubtedly teams that would like to see him in either left field or right field (and atop their lineup) in 2017. His reported near-deal with the Orioles last February, for instance, would’ve sent Fowler to right field, and the market will surely present similar opportunities this winter as well. Fowler, though, has considerably less competition on the free agent market for outfielders this time around and is also coming off a better all-around season in terms of offense, defense and baserunning (he rated as MLB’s eighth-best baserunner in 2016, per Fangraphs’ BsR metric).

While the Cubs would probably love to have Fowler back on a short-term deal once again — they could sort the subsequent outfield logjam via offseason trades and platoons in 2017 — the market should present a considerably better offer for Fowler this time around. On paper, he makes sense for any number of teams, including the Blue Jays, Cardinals, Giants, Dodgers, Phillies, Mariners, Rangers and Athletics, among others. While not all of those teams will have interest in Fowler at the price he could command, interest should still be great enough that he’ll land the payday that eluded him last winter. MLBTR rated him sixth on our top 50 free agent list and pegged him for a four-year, $64MM deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

David Ross Adjusts To Retirement

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David Ross’ pursuit of another World Series ring in his final season was one of the many great subplots of the Cubs’ championship run, and now the veteran catcher is adjusting to retirement, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat writes.  “There hasn’t been a big lull for me.  I ended it the best way I could,” Ross said.  “It’s a storybook and a dream.  I was saying to my wife, ’This offseason’ — and she said, ’It’s no more the offseason; this is life.’”  The widely-respected Ross has often been cited as a future manager or coach, and while he’ll be meeting with Theo Epstein after Thanksgiving to discuss a possible future role with the team, Ross is looking forward to more well-deserved time with his family.  Here’s some more from around the majors as we start a new week…

  • How can the Cubs best position themselves for a repeat in 2017?  MLB.com’s Phil Rogers has a few suggestions, including re-signing Dexter Fowler, acquiring Sean Doolittle (if healthy) from the A’s, and packaging some of the club’s top prospects together to trade for a front-of-the-rotation starter.

Cubs Add Jose Rosario To 40-Man Roster

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  • The Cubs have added right-hander Jose Rosario to their 40-man roster and re-signed righty Nick Sarianides and catcher Gioskar Amaya to minor league contracts. The 26-year-old Rosario has been with the Cubs throughout his professional career, which began in 2009, and logged a combined 2.50 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 at three minor league levels in 2016. Sarianides, formerly with Cleveland and Arizona, threw 25 innings with the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate this year and put up a 3.60 ERA, 10.08 K/9 and 3.24 BB/9. Amaya, 23, has hit .274/.356/.388 in seven seasons with various Cubs minor league affiliates.
  • The Padres have signed righties Trey McNutt and Bryan Rodriguez to minors contracts. McNutt, once a well-regarded Cubs prospect, nearly went to Boston in 2011 in a deal for now-Chicago president Theo Epstein. He remained with the Cubs through 2015, though, before latching on with the Padres this past season. The 27-year-old threw a mere 7 1/3 minor league innings in his first season with the Friars organization. Rodriguez combined for 145 1/3 innings between the Padres’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, totaling a 4.46 ERA, 5.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9.

Cubs’ Theo Epstein Discusses Offseason Plans

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Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein allocated up to $272MM to free agents Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and John Lackey last winter. Now, a year later, the architect of the 2016 World Series champions expects a relatively quiet offseason.

[RELATED: Cubs Offseason Outlook]

“We made two offseasons worth of acquisitions last winter, two offseasons worth of spending,” Epstein told Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. “We were very open about that at the time, knowing this winter there wouldn’t quite be the same type of talent available to us.”

Epstein admitted, though, that a loss to the Indians in Game 7 of the World Series might have led to a “different kind of mindset.”

“Sometimes when you do win it, it can allow you to take a little bit of a deep breath and survey the landscape more objectively,” he said.

The Cubs have two high-profile free agents in center fielder Dexter Fowler, to whom they extended a $17.2MM qualifying offer last week, and closer Aroldis Chapman. If Fowler rejects the QO by Monday’s deadline and signs elsewhere on the open market, the Cubs will still have plenty of in-house outfield options in Heyward, Zobrist, Kyle Schwarber, Jorge Soler, Albert Almora and Matt Szczur. Heyward and Almora jump out as potential successors to Fowler in center, though the former has far more experience in right field and Epstein isn’t yet eager to hand the role to the latter. Instead, he’d add someone to “complement [Almora] and allow him to grow into the job” – likely a lefty-swinging center fielder, per Sullivan. As this year’s free agent list shows, center fielders who should come at modest prices and are either left-handed or switch-hitters include Jon Jay, Coco Crisp and Michael Bourn.  Picking up one of them (or anyone else) would further crowd the Cubs’ outfield, perhaps making a Soler trade even more probable than it appears now. Epstein remains bullish on the 24-year-old, but he isn’t ruling out moving him.

“We don’t have any untouchables, but I still think there’s a lot more in there offensively,” stated Epstein. “He hasn’t had the season yet where he has put it all together, hit 30 home runs and been a force in the middle of the lineup. But it’s so obviously in there. We’d like to see him reach his full potential with us, if possible.”

Soler looked like a star in the making late in the 2014 season, his first taste of major league action, when the Cuba native slashed .292/.330/.573 in 97 plate appearances. Soler has tumbled to earth since, having hit .253/.328/.413 in 668 PAs dating back to 2015, though he’s under control through 2020 and could tantalize outfielder-needy teams if Chicago shops him.

It’s possible the Cubs could acquire pitching in a Soler trade, either in the bullpen to help replace Chapman (general manager Jed Hoyer has indicated they’re not looking to spend big money on a reliever) or the rotation. Having declined Jason Hammel’s option last week, the Cubs might be in the market for starting help to complement an enviable top four of Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks and Lackey. For now, swingman/Game 7 World Series closer Mike Montgomery is the favorite to take over Hammel’s vacated fifth spot. Montgomery told MLB Network Radio earlier this week that he’ll enter spring training as a starter (Twitter link), but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Cubs at least land more depth for their rotation – whether in a Soler deal or by other means.

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