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Blue Jays Sign Kirby Yates

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JANUARY 20: The Jays have announced the signing.

JANUARY 19, 7:54pm: Yates will receive a $5.5MM guarantee with up to $4.5MM in performance bonuses, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports.

7:50pm: It’s “expected” Yates will get a one-year, $8.25MM deal with incentives, Rosenthal tweets.

4:31pm: The Blue Jays and free-agent reliever Kirby Yates have agreed to a contract, pending a physical, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweeted earlier Tuesday that the two sides were nearing a deal. Yates is a Beverly Hills Sports Council client.

This could be an enormous pickup for the Blue Jays’ bullpen, but it will depend on how well Yates bounces back from the bone chips in his right elbow that limited him to 4 1/3 innings last year. Yates was arguably the premier reliever in the majors during the prior two years, in which he combined for 123 2/3 innings of 1.67 ERA pitching with a 32.7 K-BB percentage that ranked third among relievers during that span. Yates also racked up 53 saves then, including an NL-high 41 in 2019, and earned the lone All-Star nod of his career.

The Padres likely could not have imagined Yates experiencing the type of success he enjoyed in their uniform after claiming him off waivers from the Angels early in 2017. It wasn’t the first underdog experience for the 33-year-old Yates, a former undrafted free agent who failed to establish himself with the Rays and Yankees earlier in his career.

Now, if a deal between him and Toronto comes to fruition, Yates will return to the AL East to join bullpen that ranked near the bottom of the majors (24th) with a 4.71 ERA last season. The Blue Jays have since seen relievers Anthony Bass, Ken Giles and Wilmer Font reach free agency, though only Bass was an effective part of their bullpen a season ago. Giles entered last year as the club’s closer before dealing with serious injury issues of his own, but Yates may take his place during the upcoming season if he’s healthy. Regardless, Yates joins fellow righty Tyler Chatwood as the second notable bullpen addition Toronto has made this week.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

FA Notes: Dodgers, Marwin, Mets, Tigers, BoSox, Anibal, Teheran

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The Dodgers are seeking a right-handed-hitting infielder, and free-agent third baseman Justin Turner is their No. 1 choice, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. While the team has shown interest in fellow righty-hitting infielder Marcus Semien, Heyman notes it may be difficult for the team to sign both players. Turner spent 2014-20 as a Dodger and has been one of the majors’ top hitters during his Los Angeles tenure. The 36-year-old is reportedly seeking a four-year contract, however, and it’s tough to envision the Dodgers or anyone else saying yes to that.

  • The Twins have expressed interest in re-signing utility player Marwin Gonzalez, Mark Feinsand and Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com report. The switch-hitting Gonzalez spent the first several years of his career in Houston, where he was particularly productive during its World Series-winning season in 2017, but has seen his numbers tumble since then. The Twins signed Gonzalez to a two-year, $21MM guarantee before 2019, but he slumped to a .248/.311/.387 line with 20 home runs in 662 plate appearances over the life of that contract. Gonzalez did play every defensive position but catcher and center field as a Twin, though, and that versatility is surely among the reasons they could re-sign the 31-year-old.
  • Enrique Hernandez, another free-agent utilityman, received “pretty strong” interest from the Mets before they fired general manager Jared Porter on Tuesday, Heyman relays. It isn’t clear whether the Mets are still in on Hernandez now that Porter is out of the organization. Hernandez, 29, lined up all over the diamond with the Dodgers from 2014-20, but his offensive production has lacked over the past couple seasons. He slashed just .230/.270/.410 with five home runs in 148 plate appearances last year.
  • The Tigers have interest in free-agent catcher Jason Castro, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. As Morosi notes, Castro played under new Tigers skipper A.J. Hinch for two seasons when he was the Astros’ manager. The 33-year-old Castro would give the Tigers a credible veteran at catcher, where Grayson Greiner and Jake Rogers – who have struggled in the majors – are the only 40-man options on the roster right now. Castro, who divided last season between the Angels and Padres, looked to be nearing a reunion with Houston late last month, but things have gone silent on that front in recent weeks.
  • The Red Sox “were ready to move on” two-time AL Cy Young-winning righty Corey Kluber before he agreed to a one-year, $11MM deal with the archrival Yankees last week, but they might have wanted to structure his contract differently, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. With the Red Sox unlikely to contend in 2021, Speier suggests their preference may have been to sign Kluber to a one-year pact with an option. Kluber is a Massachusetts resident, but with New York more likely to push for a World Series in 2021, he found the Yankees to be a more appealing pick than the Red Sox.
  • Twenty-four teams attended the showcase for free-agent righties Anibal Sanchez and Julio Teheran on Tuesday, per Heyman, who adds that both hurlers could sign in the near future. While the 36-year-old Sanchez and Teheran, 29, have accomplished plenty in the majors, they’re looking for contracts at a less-than-ideal time after performing poorly in 2020. Sanchez could only muster a 6.62 ERA in 53 innings with the Nationals, while Teheran put up an even more disastrous 10.05 mark over 31 1/3 frames as an Angel.

Phillies Rumors: Realmuto Offer, Pitching Depth, Herrera

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The Phillies’ most recent offer to J.T. Realmuto is “believed” to be about $110MM, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Jayson Stark of The Athletic reported last Friday that the Phils had recently put forth a new five-year offer worth “slightly” more than $100MM. It’s not clear whether that’ll get the job done, as Realmuto has reportedly been intent on setting a new record for average annual value among catchers — currently held by former Twins star Joe Mauer ($23MM).

Still, the Phillies’ chances have to be considered vastly improved from where they stood early in free agency. The Mets have inked James McCann on a surprising four-year deal, while other potential Realmuto suitors have spent heavily in other areas. Toronto agreed to a six-year deal with George Springer. The Nats have made several mid-tier additions (Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber, Jon Lester). The Angels, too, have gone that route with Jose Quintana, Raisel Iglesias, Jose Iglesias and a new catcher of their own, Kurt Suzuki. Others could certainly enter the bidding, or one of those suitors could yet find room for Realmuto, but the Phillies have to be encouraged by how the market has panned out thus far.

A few more notes out of Philly…

  • The Phillies were in attendance yesterday when right-handers Julio Teheran and Anibal Sanchez threw for teams, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. Either hurler would give the Phils some needed depth at the back of the rotation, and neither would be expensive after struggling through poor 2020 seasons. President of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski yesterday suggested he’s still on the hunt for rotation depth and could find some via minor league deals with non-roster invites to Spring Training. Sanchez has revitalized his career after one non-guaranteed deal already and could be forced to do so again. Teheran, though, won’t turn 30 until next week and was a perfectly serviceable starter as recently as 2018-19. It’s at least worth noting that Dombrowski, while serving as Tigers GM, acquired Sanchez from the Marlins and re-signed him to a five-year, $80MM contract that offseason.
  • Odubel Herrera is no longer on the Phillies’ 40-man roster but remains with the organization under the five-year, $30.5MM contract he signed back in December of 2016. Herrera hasn’t played in the Majors since receiving an 85-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, though, and Dombrowski did little when speaking to reporters this week to indicate that Herrera has a chance of returning (link via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). “We’re still in a position where we are discussing that internally,” said Dombrowski. While he noted that Herrera has gone to counseling, Dombrowski would only state that Herrera’s status is something the club will “continue to talk through from an internal perspective.” Herrera’s contract expires at season’s end.

Jays Refute Report Of Deal With Brantley

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12:20pm: Though Mae, The Athletic, MLB Network and several other national outlets have all reported a deal is in place, a Blue Jays official now refutes that notion to Mae (Twitter link). That official’s statement, per Mae: “The team remains interested in Michael Brantley but there is no deal currently in place.”

It’s possible that there are some semantics at play, of course, as the reported contractual agreement was still pending completion of a physical. Reports after the initial word of yesterday’s agreement with Kirby Yates pushed back similarly, stressing no deal was completed, as Yates was still in the process of taking his physical.

Jeff Passan of ESPN and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com both tweet that a deal could yet be pushed across the finish line, even though nothing is final just yet. Still, the door seems to remain cracked for Brantley to yet land elsewhere.

10:57am: The Blue Jays have continued their frenzied free-agent strike, agreeing to a three-year contract with outfielder/designated hitter Michael Brantley, Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae reports (via Twitter). The deal is pending a physical. Brantley is represented by Excel Sports Management.

Michael Brantley | Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

Brantley follows his former Astros teammate, George Springer, to Toronto on the heels of the Jays’ agreements with right-handers Kirby Yates and Tyler Chatwood. It’s a dramatic crescendo after months of the Jays being linked to virtually every free agent on the market — one that gives Toronto one of the deepest lineups not just in the American League but in all of Major League Baseball.

While Springer was rightly heralded as the top bat on the offseason market, Brantley has a legitimate claim to being the second-best hitter available. The former seventh-round pick has displayed elite bat-to-ball skills and hit for a high average since his Major League debut back in 2009, but since a breakout showing with Cleveland in 2014, Brantley has more quietly ranked among the game’s elite bats, hitting a combined .311/.371/.481 in more than 3100 plate appearances over that stretch. In that time, Brantley’s 131 wRC+ — indicating he’s been 31 percent better than an average hitter after adjusting for park and league — ranks 29th among 398 qualified hitters. (Springer’s 134, in fact, sits just five spots higher.)

Not only has Brantley been among the best overall hitters in the game during that seven-year stretch — he’s also been one of the most difficult to strike out. Only four players have a lower strikeout percentage than Brantley’s 10.1 dating back to 2014. Springer himself has dropped his strikeout rate considerably, punching out at a career-low 17.1 percent in 2020. The Jays’ newest pairing, then, not only brings plenty of power to the table but also will further improve upon a 22.4 percent strikeout rate that was the 11th-lowest in MLB.

The addition of Brantley and Springer gives the Jays a host of outfield options on the 40-man roster, as that pair will join incumbents like Teoscar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Randal Grichuk and Derek Fisher. Between that potential logjam and a similar collection of options behind the plate (Alejandro Kirk, Danny Jansen, Reese McGuire, Riley Adams, Gabriel Moreno), there’s been plenty of speculation about the Jays utilizing those ostensible surpluses to acquire pitching help on the trade market.

Springer and Brantley will become anchors in a lineup that already boasts an impressive collection of young talent, headlined by budding superstar Bo Bichette as well as Gurriel, Hernandez, Cavan Biggio, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Rowdy Tellez. It’s still possible the Jays will add an infielder to that mix, but the rotation, led by Hyun Jin Ryu, figures to be the primary area of focus in the days and weeks to come.

Prior to their agreement with Brantley, the Jays had about $98MM committed to a dozen players and were more than $80MM shy of the $210MM luxury tax barrier. For a club that carried a payroll of nearly $165MM as recently as 2017-18, there’s obviously considerable room to further supplement the roster even after signing Brantley. It’s possible, too, that the Jays could trade away some players who alter that financial outlook; Grichuk is owed $28MM over the next three years, while Gurriel is owed $13.4MM in that same stretch. Hernandez is signed for $4.325MM in 2021 and controlled via arbitration through 2023.

Frankly, the Blue Jays ought to have the payroll capacity to take their pick of available free-agent starters and relievers, should they choose. They’ve already met with Trevor Bauer who, like Brantley, is a known entity to Jays president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins, who were the Indians’ general manager and director of player development at the time Bauer was traded from Arizona to Cleveland. Toronto has also been tied to Jake Odorizzi, a client of the same agency that represents Springer, Brantley and Chatwood alike. The trade market presents myriad opportunities, and now that the Jays have Springer and Brantley set in place, they’ll have a better idea of their budget and which players they feel are potentially expendable.

Regardless of which specific arms the Jays add to the mix, it’s clear that they’ll be adding some form of pitching. The magnitude of those additions will go a long way in determining just how good this club can be, but it’s clear right now that the Jays are emerging as credible threats to both the Yankees and the Rays in the American League East.

Royals Sign Wade Davis To Minor League Deal

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The Royals announced Wednesday that they’ve signed right-hander Wade Davis to a minor league contract. Davis, a client of Jet Sports, will presumably be invited to Major League Spring Training and compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster..

This marks the second straight year in which Kansas City has brought back one of its former All-Star closers on a minor league arrangement. The Royals inked Greg Holland to a similar contract a year ago and reaped considerable benefit when Holland not only turned in a rebound campaign but also agreed to return in 2021 on an affordable one-year deal.

Interestingly, The Athletic’s Alec Lewis reports (via Twitter) that Davis signed the exact same contract as Holland did a year ago. Davis will earn a $1.25MM salary if he makes the big league roster and can secure an additional $1.125MM via incentives. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Davis can also opt out of the contract late in Spring Training if he does not make Kansas City’s Opening Day roster.

The Royals traded Davis to the Cubs in exchange for Jorge Soler prior to the 2017 season — a deal that has paid off for GM Dayton Moore and his staff in the long run. Soler led the league in home runs in 2019 and has emerged as a key piece in the Royals’ lineup, though he’s currently controlled for just one more season. Still, the Royals will now have the potential to benefit from both players in that one-for-one swap just four years after making the deal.

Davis was quite good in what proved to be a one-year stop with the Cubs, but things went south for him not long after going to the Rockies on a three-year deal with a record-setting (for a reliever) $17.33MM annual salary. Davis racked up 43 saves in the first year of the deal but did so with a rather pedestrian 4.13 ERA. A few particularly ugly blown saves were the culprit in that lackluster mark, however, and Davis’ strikeout and walk numbers remained strong.

In the second and third years of the deal, though, the wheels completely came off, as Davis was blown up for a 9.77 ERA and a 5.37 SIERA in 47 innings. At his best with the Royals, Davis was striking out 39 percent of the hitters he faced and walking just eight percent of them. In 2019-20, he punched out 19.5 percent of opponents, walked 13.9 percent of them and surrendered 10 home runs in those 47 frames. Davis was hampered by a shoulder strain in 2020, which may have contributed to a greatly diminished 91.7 mph average velocity on his fastball.

There’s little harm for the Royals in seeing if they can catch lightning in a bottle with Davis as they did last winter with Holland and, even more so, Trevor Rosenthal. He’ll vie for a spot in a bullpen that is set to lose some notable veterans but has a handful of intriguing, young, hard throwers hoping to establish themselves in 2021.

Blue Jays Still Pursuing Michael Brantley

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Even after agreeing to a franchise-record $150MM deal with George Springer last night, the Blue Jays are trying to hammer out a deal with outfielder/designated hitter Michael Brantley, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). There are “legit legs” to a potential Springer/Brantley package deal, TSN’s Scott Mitchell adds, noting that the Jays are “very open” to such an arrangement despite a glut of outfield options already on the roster.

Of course, few of the Jays’ in-house options can plausibly stack up to Brantley at the dish. The 33-yeaar-old has been among the sport’s best pure hitters throughout his Major League career and, since his power developed in a breakout age-27 campaign back in 2014, he’s been one of the game’s best all-around performers at the plate.

In that time, Brantley has logged 731 games and tallied 3145 plate appearances while posting a brilliant .311/.371/.481 batting line. He drew a walk in 8.3 percent of those plate appearances and has been one of the game’s toughest players to strike out, fanning at just a 10.1 percent pace.

Brantley just wrapped up a two-year, $32MM deal in Houston, where he and Springer were teammates and, as Rosenthal explored over the weekend when first suggesting an NBA-esque “package deal,” where they became close friends. Given Brantley’s consistency and his recent excellence in Houston, another multi-year deal seems likely.

Beyond the relationship between Springer and Brantley, the Blue Jays’ front office knows exactly what type of player and teammate they’d be getting in Brantley. President/CEO Mark Shapiro was the Indians’ general manager when Cleveland acquired Brantley from the Brewers as part of 2009’s CC Sabathia blockbuster, while current Jays GM Ross Atkins was Cleveland’s director of player development at the time. Brantley was still in Cleveland at the time Shapiro and Atkins were hired away by the Blue Jays.

There are myriad avenues for the Jays to make a lineup work, were Brantley to eventually join the fray. Presumably, he’d split his time between left field and designated hitter, joining Springer, Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in that outfield carousel. Randal Grichuk and Derek Fisher seem the likeliest outfield bets to be squeezed out of playing time, but that’s largely true even with only Springer on board. Grichuk, still owed $28MM over the next three seasons, would seem an even likelier trade candidate than he already does if Brantley were signed.

Adding Brantley would also chip away at the DH time available to Rowdy Tellez. The Jays could work him into the mix at first base if they’re earnest about giving Vladimir Guerrero Jr. another shot at third base, although the general expectation is that Guerrero will eventually settle in as a first baseman/designated hitter himself. The Jays could look at moving Gurriel from left field back to the infield, be it at second base or third base (depending on where Cavan Biggio settles in), though such an infield alignment would come with some notable defensive questions.

All of that, of course, is putting the cart before the horse unless or until negotiations with Brantley pick up steam. Such “problems” are also the type of headaches that rebuilding teams look forward to having while struggling through their lean years; having “too many” talented hitters for nine spots in the lineup is hardly a bad thing, and the inherent depth associated with that situation has become one of the hallmarks of World Series-caliber clubs in recent years. And, as Mitchell notes, signing Brantley would allow the Jays to be even more comfortable dipping into their outfield and catching depth to improve the pitching staff on the trade market.

Whether Brantley ultimately joins Springer in Toronto (or Buffalo), one of the broader takeaways from the Blue Jays’ interest is that this is a team that is still intent on improving even after adding Springer and agreeing to terms with former Padres closer Kirby Yates. Toronto is still more than $80MM shy of the $210MM luxury-tax barrier and, assuming an even distribution of Springer’s $25MM annual salary, only has about $98MM in guaranteed contracts, spread among 12 players. For a team that has twice hiked its payroll north of $160MM (2017-18), there’s still an enormous amount of space for further additions.

Diamondbacks To Sign Chris Devenski

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8:28am: Devenski’s contract is a minor league deal, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The right-hander would earn a $1MM salary in the Majors with the opportunity to pick up an additional $350K via incentives for appearances and games finished.

7:34am: The Diamondbacks have agreed to a deal with right-handed reliever Chris Devenski, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The ALIGND Sports client underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery in September and elected free agency after clearing waivers in October.

Devenski, 30, has spent his entire Major League career to date with the Astros organization. Originally a 25th-round pick of the White Sox back in 2011, he found himself traded to Houston just 14 months after the draft, as part of the deal sending Brett Myers to Chicago.

It wasn’t that long ago that Devenski looked to be an emerging bullpen weapon for the ’Stros. “Devo” finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year voting back in 2016 after racking up 108 1/3 innings of 2.16 ERA ball with a 3.23 SIERA, a 25.5 percent strikeout rate and a minuscule 4.9 percent walk rate. He was similarly effective in 2017, tossing 80 2/3 frames with a 2.68 ERA/2.99 SIERA and what still stands as a career-best 31.6 percent strikeout mark.

Devenski took a step back in 2018-20, however. Although his strikeout and walk numbers remained generally solid, he began giving up hard contact at increasing rates and became exceptionally homer-prone, averaging 1.73 long balls surrendered per nine frames in that time. Statcast measured his 2016-17 hard-hit rate at just 26.7 percent, but his 2018-19 mark jumped all the way to 35.2 percent.

Prior to this past September’s elbow surgery, Devenski threw just 3 2/3 innings, having spent the rest of the year on the injured list. In that small sample of work, his once-94.8 mph average fastball had dipped to 92.9 mph.

There’s plenty of upside for the D-backs in signing Devenski, who’ll add an experienced arm to a largely untested group of Arizona relievers. In terms of service time, right-hander Yoan Lopez (2.011) is the most experienced reliever on the Diamondbacks’ 40-man roster. Arizona also added veteran southpaw Ryan Buchter on a minor league contract just yesterday, and it stands to reason that GM Mike Hazen and his staff will continue to hunt for affordable bullpen help in the weeks ahead.

Latest On George Springer, Blue Jays

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8:55pm: The “sense” is that Toronto is “gaining some momentum” in its attempt to sign Springer, Heytman tweets. The Blue Jays appear to be the front-runners to reel in Springer, who Heyman notes could get upward of $125MM on his contract, but the Mets aren’t out yet.

9:58am: The Blue Jays are believed to be “making a push” to bring free-agent outfielder George Springer into the fold, Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet report. The two sides were expected to reconnect early this week, per the report. In a related note, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweeted yesterday that Springer “could” make a decision by the end of the week. While that’s certainly not the most concrete phrasing, its juxtaposition with the Sportsnet update seems to suggest that Springer’s market is heating up with under a month until Spring Training is set to begin.

Earlier this month, SNY’s Jim Duquette said in a television segment that the Jays had offered Springer a five-year deal that checked in south of his $150MM asking price. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman pegged the offer in the $115MM range yesterday (video link), noting that the Mets’ best offer has been believed to be in that same ballpark.

The Springer market has been characterized as a two-horse race for weeks now, and Toronto’s primary competition in Queens has already spent aggressively to acquire Francisco Lindor, Carlos Carrasco, James McCann and Trevor May (in addition to retaining Marcus Stroman via qualifying offer). Whether the Mets would cross the luxury-tax barrier in order to sign Springer remains to be seen. Multiple reports over the past few weeks have suggested that Springer’s preference is to play close to his home in New Britain, Conn., but Davidi and Nicholson-Smith write that Springer’s interest in the Jays is “genuine,” with geography posing a minimal obstacle.

In terms of payroll capacity, the Jays have a relatively clean slate moving forward. Toronto has just shy of $68MM committed to 10 players for the 2021 season, and they’ll of course need to round out their roster with pre-arbitration players earning somewhere in the vicinity of the league minimum. The club has just $35MM in guaranteed contracts on the books in 2022 and $36MM in 2023, with zero dollars in guarantees beginning in 2024.

The Blue Jays’ front office has spoken openly about its desire to add top-tier talent this winter as the organization continues a shift from a rebuilding mode to a win-now mindset. Last year’s signing of Hyun Jin Ryu set a precedent for acquiring high-end talent, and the Jays are known to have had interest in virtually every top free agent and trade candidate on this year’s market.

Thus far, that hasn’t resulted in much actual talent acquisition. Toronto has signed rebound candidates Robbie Ray and Tyler Chatwood, and they’re reportedly meeting with right-hander Kirby Yates today as the two sides inch closer to a potential agreement. But the Jays have also finished as a runner-up on several notable targets, including DJ LeMahieu and Lindor.

At this point, Springer appears to be the team’s priority among the market’s remaining big fish, though if he spurns their interest and lands with the Mets or an unexpected suitor, the Jays could intensify their pursuit of J.T. Realmuto and/or Trevor Bauer.

Trade/FA Notes: Santander, Profar, Bart, Yates, T. Williams

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Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander has drawn trade interest this winter, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. However, as Kubatko suggests, that doesn’t necessarily mean Santander will go anywhere. The 26-year-old is coming off a highly productive season in which he batted .261/.315/.575 (130 wRC+) with 11 home runs, and he’s not scheduled to become a free agent until after 2024. Santander will earn a projected $1.7MM to $3MM in arbitration next season. All of that makes Santander an appealing trade candidate, but the Orioles could simply retain him as a building block.

  • The Padres are still attempting to re-sign free-agent infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. The switch-hitting Profar, 27, spent last season with San Diego, where he batted .278/.343/.428 (111 wRC+) with seven home runs in 202 trips to the plate. Defensively, Profar divided most of his time between left field and second base. Tommy Pham and Jake Cronenworth are among the options for the Padres at those spots, but the team seems to believe it will be able to keep fitting Profar in if it re-signs him. MLBTR predicted at the start of the offseason that Profar would land a one-year, $7MM contract in free agency.
  • Clubs “routinely ask about” Giants catcher Joey Bart in trade talks, Rosenthal writes. The Giants are not actively attempting to move the 24-year-old, though, according to Rosenthal. Bart, the second overall pick in the 2018 draft, got off to a rough start in the majors last year with a .233/.288/.320 line, no home runs and 41 strikeouts against three walks in 111 plate appearances. However, Bart was dominant at the Double-A level the previous season. He or Patrick Bailey, the Giants’ first-round pick last summer, could end up as their answer at catcher when the iconic Buster Posey departs (potentially after next season).
  • The Twins were among the finalists for reliever Kirby Yates before he agreed to join the Blue Jays on Tuesday, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News relays. It’s not surprising the Twins were in on one of the open market’s highest-profile relievers, as their bullpen has taken hits this offseason with Trevor May, Sergio Romo and Tyler Clippard getting to free agency. May signed with the Mets, though Romo and Clippard remain without contracts.
  • Former Mets general manager Jared Porter was part of negotiations for right-hander Trevor Williams before the team fired the executive Tuesday, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. It’s unclear if the Porter-less Mets will continue pursuing Williams, whom the Pirates designated for assignment in November, especially after acquiring fellow starter Joey Lucchesi from the Padres on Monday. Williams was a solid part of the Pirates’ rotation from 2017-18, but he struggled to a 5.60 ERA/5.01 SIERA in 201 innings and 37 appearances (all starts) between 2019-20.

Don Sutton Passes Away

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Baseball Hall of Famer Don Sutton has passed away, his son Daron announced Tuesday. The former major league right-hander was 75 years old.

Sutton had a storied career with the Dodgers, Angels, Brewers, Astros and Athletics from 1966-88. Most of his time in the majors (16 years) was spent with the Dodgers, with whom he amassed 233 of his 324 regular-season victories. The Dodgers retired Sutton’s number in 1998.

Sutton is tied with fellow legend Nolan Ryan for 14th in wins and ranks seventh in innings pitched (5,282), having piled up more than 200 frames in a whopping 20 seasons. The workload never seemed to have a negative effect on Sutton, as he finished his career with a 3.26 ERA and currently ranks seventh in strikeouts with 3,574. Sutton also earned four All-Star berths during his time in the bigs.

After he was done playing, Sutton spent time in the broadcast booth with the Dodgers, Braves and Nationals. Sutton’s longest run as a commentator was with the Braves, who placed him in their Hall of Fame 2015.

MLBTR mourns the loss of a baseball great and sends our condolences to Sutton’s family and fans.

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