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Quick Hits: SoxFest, Banuelos, Rule Changes

By TC Zencka | January 27, 2019 at 10:08am CDT

White Sox GM Rick Hahn recognizes there will be some disappointment and finger-pointing if the White Sox don’t come away with Manny Machado or Bryce Harper this offseason, but he’s not ready to say more about the ongoing negotiations than necessary. Hahn did flat-out reject the idea of signing both free agent stars, as two monster contracts would hamper the long-term flexibility to a harmful degree. While Hahn spoke openly about Machado rumors, he is unhappy with the number of leaks, both true and untrue, coming from the Southside, per the Athletic’s James Fegan. As irritating as the leaks are, Hahn assured the crowds at SoxFest that they will continue to confront leaks of all varieties with honesty. Fegan also notes that former top prospect Manny Banuelos has generated more hype than usual for an unestablished 27-year-old. The Sox preempted Banuelos’ minor league free agency by acquiring him via trade from the Dodgers in November. Banuelos has been around the block, spending time with the Braves and Yankees, starting six games for the former in 2015. He put together a solid campaign last season for the Dodgers’ Triple A affiliate, throwing 108 2/3 innings, with a 9-7 record, 3.73 ERA and 10.52 K/9 versus 3.48 BB/9. Now, rumblings from the league office, and more from SoxFest in Chicago…

Baseball’s offensive landscape has shifted due to record strikeout totals, increased bullpen usage, shorter stints from starting pitchers and more meticulous long-term bullpen management. These trends have been spotlit by the increased media attention paid to service time manipulation, most-famously in the case of Kris Bryant, as well as the Tampa Bay Rays’ recent revelation that has already made its way into common baseball parlance: the opener. In an effort to curb these trends, Major League Baseball is getting set to present the Players’ Association with rule change proposals that may include the institution of a pitch clock, reinstating the 15-day disabled list and increasing the amount of time an optioned player must spend in the minor leagues, back to 15 days from the current minimum of 10 – though nothing official has yet been released, per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. The league office could force feed these rule changes with a year’s notice, but Commissioner Rob Manfred is unlikely to use such an aggressive tactic. It will be up to the players, then, to decide whether these proposals are good for the game.
Of note, the league has made strides in quickening the pace of the game, as average 9-inning game times sped up from 3 hours, 5 minutes, 11 seconds in 2017, to 3 hours and 44 seconds last year. Trimming mound visits without a pitching change from 7.41 to 4.01 certainly had a hand in cutting out those 4+ minutes. Quantifying the impact of these changes is difficult, giving baseball circles more than enough fodder for debate, though it seems the “state of the game” conversations will continue throughout the next two years leading up to the expiration of the current CBA in 2021.
White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper won’t kowtow to the wisdom of the opener anytime soon, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun Times. The way Cooper sees it, the role of the starter on the White Sox has not changed, and he still expects to get 6+ innings out of his guys. That’s been a tough ask of late as the Southsiders have built their staff from the ground up via development and trades. Next season is a key year for their young arms, as the trio of Carlos Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito look to cement their place in the rotation before the arrival of the next wave of high profile prospects like Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech and Dane Dunning, the latter two of whom are working their way back from injury. Ivan Nova rounds out the top four in Cooper’s rotation, with Dylan Covey in competition with Banuelos for the five slot. There are still plenty of arms on the free agent market, however, and GM Rick Hahn says the team is working on 3-4 potential acquisitions. Given the collective injury troubles plaguing Chicago’s cavalcade of young arms, it would not be surprising in the least to see one or two veteran arms brought into camp on cheap or minor-league deals.

AL Notes: Orioles, Jones, Indians, Tigers, Cowart

By Connor Byrne | January 26, 2019 at 11:54pm CDT

Here’s a quick look around the American League:

In terms of name value, Adam Jones ranks among the majors’ most prominent free agents, thanks to a successful 11-year run with the Orioles. Jones is coming off a below-average season, though, and as a 33-year-old corner outfielder whose best days as a hitter and defender are gone, he hasn’t drawn much reported interest in free agency. But there’s at least a glimmer of a chance the longtime Baltimore fan favorite will end up back with the Orioles, Joe Trezza of MLB.com relays. Asked Saturday about the possibility of re-signing Jones, rookie general manager Mike Elias said, “I don’t think anything is a dead issue,” and added the Orioles are “monitoring everything.” At the same time, however, Elias suggested the rebuilding club may continue to avoid major league free agency, as it has done so far this winter. Should that prove to be the case, it seems likely to rule out a return for Jones, who figures to command a big league deal.
The Indians ran a franchise-high payroll in every season from 2016-18, each of which included an AL Central title, but that degree of spending “was unsustainable,” president Chris Antonetti said Saturday (per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com). “So we did need to reposition ourselves financially, which we were able to do with a series of moves earlier in the offseason and provide ourselves that necessary financial flexibility that we needed (for 2019 and beyond).” After opening last year with a payroll in the $135MM range, the Indians are projected to begin 2019 near $119MM, according to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Obviously, then, Cleveland hasn’t been aggressive in upgrading its roster this winter, though it’s still the favorite in its division. If the Indians find themselves in contention during the summer trade season, they should be in position to bolster their roster from outside, Antonetti noted. For now, though, any further offseason additions will be modestly priced, Hoynes writes.
The Tigers claimed infielder Kaleb Cowart from the Mariners on Thursday with the idea of using him as a two-way player, general manager Al Avila confirmed Saturday (via Chris McCosky of the Detroit News). “We felt there was a possibility of a two-way guy here,” Avila said. “We’re going to put him on the mound and see if he can recapture what our guys saw when he was drafted.” Cowart was a first-round pick of the Angels in 2010 as a position player, but he impressed Tigers scouts back then as a high school pitcher. “I always followed his career because of what I saw him do on the mound,” said assistant GM David Chadd, who was the Tigers’ director of scouting during Cowart’s draft year. At the time, Cowart offered a 92 to 95 mph fastball “with heavy life and a slider he threw for strikes,” in addition to a splitter, Chadd recounted. Now, given that Cowart has been a woeful hitter in the majors, has no minor league options remaining and is set to face plenty of competition for an infield spot, the 26-year-old’s best hope to make the Tigers may be to show he can be a viable MLB pitcher, as McCosky points out.

NL Notes: Mets, Harper, Machado, Rockies, Dodgers, Kenley, Reds

By Connor Byrne | January 26, 2019 at 10:35pm CDT

The Mets haven’t been connected to outfielder Bryce Harper or infielder Manny Machado – the best free agents available this offseason – in part because, “I don’t know how many teams have two $30-million players,” COO Jeff Wilpon said this week (via Tim Healey of Newsday). Wilpon was alluding to the Mets’ highest-paid player, outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who will make just shy of $30MM per year over the next two seasons. But Cespedes is not under contract thereafter, may not even play in 2019 because of heel problems, and will have insurance cover some portion of his money while he’s on the shelf. Still, whether the outfield’s a pressing need for the Mets is debatable, as they have Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, Juan Lagares and Keon Broxton headlining that group. Wilpon noted the Mets “have some pretty good lefty outfielders” in Nimmo and Conforto, lessening the need for Harper. Entering the offseason, they weren’t as fortunate on the left side of their infield, where Machado could have made a huge difference. The team has since signed Jed Lowrie, though, and it’s seemingly content to go forward with him as its primary third baseman and Amed Rosario at shortstop. However, even after reeling in Lowrie (and acquiring other pricey veterans in Robinson Cano, Wilson Ramos, Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson), the Mets are still roughly $40MM under the luxury tax, Healey points out. Nevertheless, the big-market club is apparently content to stay out of the sweepstakes for both Harper and Machado.

Pirates Notes: Galvis, Gonzalez, Payroll, Free Agency, Taillon

By Connor Byrne | January 26, 2019 at 9:00pm CDT

The latest out of Pittsburgh…

The Pirates have been connected to free-agent shortstop Freddy Galvis this winter, though general manager Neal Huntington suggested Saturday that a deal between the two sides won’t come together. “We feel like we got a young Freddy Galvis. His name is Erik Gonzalez,” said Huntington, who added the Pirates are optimistic Gonzalez and fellow middle infielder Kevin Newman will “be as good if not better than what Freddy Galvis or any of the others who are out there right now or any of the players we can get in a trade right now” (via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). The 27-year-old Gonzalez didn’t provide much at the plate in Cleveland from 2016-18, but Pittsburgh was excited to acquire him in November, and he’s now the favorite to serve as its Opening Day shortstop. Pirates scouts were “beating the table” to get Gonzalez, who they believe will be “’above average. Dynamic. Very good. More range than anybody you’ve had at short maybe some you have managed,'” manager Clint Hurdle said.
Gonzalez is one of a slew of cheap players for the budget-conscious Bucs, who are poised to enter the season with an outlay under $75MM, Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates. Huntington defended the Pirates’ low-payroll ways Saturday, telling Adamski, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and others that they’ve succeeded in the past in spite of their financial disadvantages and adding: “Spending gives you a larger margin for error and what GM wouldn’t want a larger margin for error?” It does not guarantee you anything other than you spent money. The upgrade is not guaranteed.” And though the Pirates haven’t closed the door on making further additions on the open market, where they’ve picked up Lonnie Chisenhall, Jordan Lyles and Jung Ho Kang this winter, Huntington seemingly isn’t a big fan of taking that route. Free agency’s a “losing game,” according to Huntington. “When you sign a free agent, you have automatically outbid everybody else to get him 95, 99 percent of the time. You have theoretically overpaid to get that free agent.”
Pittsburgh is far from the only team eschewing sizable free-agent contracts this offseason, which Pirates right-hander and union representative Jameson Taillon spoke about Saturday. Taillon’s fellow players are “pretty riled up and pretty upset” about the current state of affairs, revealed Taillon, who was present for the union’s recent board meetings, Brink reports. While Taillon conceded that players are hard to sympathize with because many are earning millions of dollars, he pointed out that “the owners are making money too, and they’re making way more than we are.” The players, mindful of that fact, may be more inclined to go to arbitration rather than accept what often end up as team-friendly extensions during their arb-eligible years, Taillon contended. Taillon’s words are the latest indication that the players and owners could be in for an ugly labor war when the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2021.

Nationals Sign Luis Sardinas

By Connor Byrne | January 26, 2019 at 7:45pm CDT

The Nationals have signed infielder Luis Sardinas to a minor league contract, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports.

The 25-year-old Sardinas had been available since he elected free agency in October, which came after a nearly two-season run with the Orioles. Sardinas was barely a factor in the majors as an Oriole, with whom he collected 20 plate appearances (all last year), but did total 578 PAs with their Triple-A affiliate from 2017-18. He previously saw Triple-A action with the Rangers, with whom he was a top-1oo prospect on multiple occasions, as well as the Brewers, Mariners and Padres.

In all, the switch-hitting Sardinas is a .285/.318/.369 batter in 1,466 attempts at the minors’ highest level, which is hardly impressive but still far outshines the .224/.272/.292 line he has posted in 500 major league PAs. Sardinas last racked up extensive big league experience in 2016, when he amassed 197 PAs between Seattle and San Diego and hit .244/.295/.356.

AL West Notes: Astros, Rangers, Athletics

By Connor Byrne | January 26, 2019 at 6:13pm CDT

Astros owner Jim Crane said Friday that the team’s still interested in re-signing free agents Dallas Keuchel and Marwin Gonzalez, and president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow addressed that Saturday. The Astros “would, of course, love” to have those two back, Luhnow admitted, though he declined further comment on their futures. Luhnow did, however, reveal “there is a decent likelihood” the Astros will make another move, perhaps to pick up starting pitching, relief or position player help, and that he wouldn’t hesitate to trade top prospects to improve the Astros’ rotation. “I did it twice already. And I’m prepared to do it again,” said Luhnow, who swung blockbuster trades for right-handers Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole from 2017-18 and whose club has lost fellow starters Keuchel, Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers Jr. since last season ended. The Astros haven’t made any significant trades yet this offseason, though it hasn’t been for lack of effort. They’ve finished second or third in multiple deals, according to Luhnow, who noted, “We’ve tried and we’ll continue to try” (Twitter links via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com and Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle).

The latest on a couple of Houston’s division rivals…

The Rangers have spent big in the past, and 26-year-old superstars Bryce Harper and Manny Machado remain free agents as February approaches, potentially making either a fit for the club. However, Texas is not in position to make a splash on the open market this winter, general manager Jon Daniels told TR Sullivan of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday. “We are probably a year away from adding cornerstone-type pieces,” Daniels said. “Our plan all along has been to get the staff in place, get this young group in place, develop them, put in our new systems and as we move into the new ballpark, kind of change the focus.” The “young group” Daniels referenced includes Nomar Mazara, Joey Gallo, Rougned Odor and Jose Leclerc, among others, Sullivan reports. While any of those players could be trade chips, it seems the current plan is to keep them around as the Rangers gear up for their move to Globe Life Field in 2020.
Even after signing Mike Fiers and Marco Estrada in free agency, the Athletics may land another starter before spring training, according to general manager David Forst (via Melissa Lockard of The Athletic; subscription required). The A’s were quite reliant on utilizing the opener strategy in 2018, though Forst suggested both Fiers and Estrada will continue as traditional starters. As of now, those two are projected to join any of Daniel Mengden, Paul Blackburn, Chris Bassitt, Aaron Brooks, Frankie Montas or even high-end prospect Jesus Luzardo in the A’s season-opening rotation, per Forst. Oakland also has several rehabbing hurlers – including the trio of Sean Manaea, Jharel Cotton and A.J. Puk – and they’re all making progress, as Lockard details. When healthy, some of those pitchers might factor into the A’s bullpen, a group that could pick up another left-hander, Forst revealed. The only southpaw reliever on their 40-man roster is Ryan Buchter, who excelled in 2018. Securing further catching depth is on the team’s radar, too, executive vice president Billy Beane stated (via Chris Haft of MLB.com). While the A’s do have a quality catcher prospect in Sean Murphy, who could debut in 2019, their behind-the-plate situation at the major league level is uninspiring. Their only 40-man catchers are Josh Phegley and free-agent signing Chris Herrmann, and those two haven’t done much in the majors.
Meanwhile, although Athletics outfield prospect and ex-Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray declared for the 2019 NFL Draft earlier this month, the A’s expect him to report to camp. “There’s been nothing from their side that suggests otherwise,” Beane said Saturday (via Haft). Murray, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, may end up as a first-round pick in the NFL, which would seem to make it a long shot that he’d ever suit up for the A’s.

Blue Jays Sign Javy Guerra To Minors Deal

By Mark Polishuk | January 26, 2019 at 4:29pm CDT

The Blue Jays have signed right-hander Javy Guerra to a minor league contract and invited him to their big league Spring Training camp, as per a team announcement. MetsMerized’s Michael Mayer (Twitter link) first had the news of the signing earlier this month.

Guerra, 33, posted a 5.55 ERA, 7.6 K/9, and 2.50 K/BB rate over 35 2/3 innings out of the Marlins’ bullpen last season. That marked Guerra’s highest innings total in four seasons, as injuries, a 50-game suspension for a drug of abuse, and just simple ineffectiveness at both the MLB and Triple-A levels kept Guerra from re-establishing himself as a solid reliever. He did manage a 3.00 ERA over 21 frames with Miami in 2017, albeit with uninspiring peripherals.

It has been some time since Guerra has delivered quality results for a big league bullpen, though he was an effective arm for the Dodgers in 2011-12 and for the White Sox in 2014. With 213 1/3 MLB innings under his belt, he’ll also be one of the more experienced arms vying to win a job in Toronto’s bullpen.

Padres Pursuing Manny Machado

By Steve Adams | January 26, 2019 at 4:10pm CDT

TODAY: The Padres are considering a face-to-face meeting with Machado, The Athletic’s Dennis Lin tweets. Machado held some well-publicized meetings with the Yankees, White Sox, and Phillies last month, and it isn’t known if he has sat down with any other mystery suitors. As Lin and Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday (subscription required), however, multiple sources said they’d be “shocked” if San Diego signed Machado or Bryce Harper, with another source describing the Padres as a “longshot” for either player.

FRIDAY: The Padres have jumped into the Manny Machado derby as a late entrant and hope to sign the four-time All-Star as their primary third baseman, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. While the Friars weren’t one of the early “mystery teams” for Machado, Acee notes, they’ve recently entered the bidding given the unexpectedly quiet market for Machado to this point.

The extent to which the Padres are willing to go in order to sign Machado remains to be seen, though the Friars did sign Eric Hosmer to an eight-year contract that came with a $144MM guarantee just a year ago. Machado is two years younger than Hosmer was when he signed that contract and, of course, has a vastly superior overall track record.

Signing Machado would give the Padres a premium third baseman to pair with fast-rising prospects Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Urias. If a Machado agreement does come to fruition, that quartet (Hosmer included) would seemingly comprise San Diego’s infield of the future, as both Tatis and Urias figure to receive the opportunity to cement themselves as regulars at some point in the 2019 season.

San Diego stood out as a plausible “mystery team” for Machado, as noted yesterday at MLBTR, given the team’s wealth of young talent, relatively open long-term payroll outlook and lack of a premier third-base prospect. While paying Machado at an annual rate upward of $30MM would clearly be a steep price for a Padres team that not long ago had a collective team payroll only a bit north of that ($37.9MM in 2010), the organization has just $64.25MM on the books in 2020 and $44MM in 2021. Beyond that, Hosmer’s contract was actually front-loaded, meaning his $21MM salary will actually drop to $13MM per year in the final three seasons of the contract.

Add to those circumstances that the Padres have a veritable tidal wave of young talent on the cusp of the Majors, all of which will be pre-arbitration for at least three seasons and arb-eligible for three years after that, and the team looks like it can support a few sizable annual salaries even if it continues to operate on a fairly restricted budget. Bringing Machado into the fold could slash the team’s 2019 profitability — though adding him to the mix would surely boost ticket sales, at least early on — but the money they still owe to Phil Hughes, Jedd Gyorko and Kazuhisa Makita will all be off the books after 2019 (none of the three are on the 40-man roster any longer). Similarly, the Padres will see their commitment to Hector Olivera finally evaporate after the 2020 campaign.

Payroll could be manipulated/reduced in other ways, as well. Certainly, the first season of Machado’s contract could come at a discounted rate, with higher salaries put into place in the forthcoming seasons. Additionally, the Padres are known to have been seeking a trade partner for Wil Myers, and if they can successfully move the remaining $64MM on his contract (or a portion of it), that’d also go a long way toward clearing room on the ledger for Machado.

At a certain point, given the reportedly tepid interest in Machado was bound to lead to some unexpected clubs jumping into the mix (if, in fact, interest ever was tepid; agent Dan Lozano had plenty to say on the to-date reporting regarding his client in a statement issued last week). The Phillies and White Sox are still known to be serious suitors for Machado’s services, with the Yankees lurking on the periphery at the very least. There were reportedly multiple “mystery” teams in the mix for Machado as well, however, so it’s quite possible that another suitor or two will emerge before he puts pen to paper and brings finality to his long-running free-agent saga.

AL Notes: Verlander, Correa, Hahn, ChiSox, Elias, Font

By Mark Polishuk | January 26, 2019 at 3:26pm CDT

Buzz from around the American League…

There haven’t been any extension talks between Justin Verlander and the Astros front office, the right-hander told reporters, including MLBcom’s Brian McTaggart (Twitter and video link). “I don’t know what their organizational plans are. It’s something I wouldn’t be opposed to….we’ll see what happens,” Verlander said. It isn’t necessarily surprising to see a lack of negotiations between the two sides at this point, since most teams wait until their offseason business is complete and Spring Training begins before turning focus to extending in-house talent. Still, there is some urgency in Verlander’s case, given that 2019 is his last guaranteed year under contract (he agreed to waive a possible vesting option for 2020 as part of his trade to Houston in August 2017). Verlander is coming off one of his finest seasons, a campaign that saw him finish second in AL Cy Young Award voting after leading the league in both K/BB rate (a career-best 7.84) and strikeouts (290, another career high) while posting a 2.52 ERA over 214 innings. There certainly doesn’t appear to be much evidence that Verlander is slowing down, even though he turns 36 in February.
There also haven’t been any long-term contract talks between Carlos Correa and the Astros, the shortstop tells the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome. Persistent back problems limited Correa to just 468 plate appearances in 2018 and a .239/.323/.405 slash line, easily the worst of his four MLB seasons. “For me, right now is not the time to talk about [an extension],” Correa said. “Obviously coming off the injury last year and the down year. I’m looking forward to bouncing back this year, be the player I am and we go from there.” The first step is an arbitration hearing between Correa and the Astros on January 31, with Correa submitting a $5MM salary figure for 2019 and the team counting with a $4.25MM offer. This is Correa’s first of three years of arbitration eligibility, so there is still plenty of time for the two sides to eventually work out a longer-term deal once Correa feels he’s coming off a better platform year.
White Sox GM Rick Hahn said he would “be personally disappointed” if the team didn’t sign Manny Machado or Bryce Harper, though he told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and other reporters that the mere pursuit of such top-tier stars represents a new stage of the team’s rebuild. “The fact that we are now sitting here in a potential position — or at least in a position where, if we don’t convert, people are going to be disappointed — I think is an important step forward for this organization,” Hahn said.
The Orioles aren’t likely to sign any free agents to multi-year contracts this winter, GM Mike Elias told Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com and other media, and the team could avoid any Major League contracts whatsoever for free agents. With the O’s in the early stages of a rebuild, the team wasn’t much of a candidate to be making any long-term commitments, as the focus will instead be on giving time to young players. That said, Elias didn’t close the door on any possibilities for his club, noting “we’re looking for ways to be opportunistic and true with the players that are left unsigned right now.”
Rays right-hander Wilmer Font has recently started to throw fastball-only bullpen sessions and expects to be ready for Spring Training, he tells MLB.com’s Juan Toribio. Font suffered a lat strain in late June that wound up being a season-ending injury, rather than an eight-week DL stint as originally projected. The injury brought an abrupt end to a very promising start for Font as a Ray, since the righty had a 1.67 ERA over his first 27 innings for Tampa after the club acquired him from Oakland in May. A healthy Font would give the Rays yet another intriguing pitching weapon, able of a traditional bullpen role or perhaps again working as an “opener.”

Agent: Nicholas Castellanos Prefers Trade Before Spring Training

By Steve Adams | January 26, 2019 at 1:58pm CDT

TODAY: Avila addressed the comments today, telling MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery (Twitter links) and other media that “That’s something where he felt like he needed to express that publicly. That’s fine. [The comments] have no effect on the team or his performance or anything like that. He’ll come in in great shape. He’ll come in and compete and he’ll be one of our better hitters in the lineup and I expect him to have a great season.” The general manager also reiterated that a trade “can’t be forced.”

THURSDAY: Nicholas Castellanos has seen his name bandied about the rumor circuit enough to know that the Tigers intend to trade him before this season’s non-waiver deadline, and his agent, David Meter, tells Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press that Castellanos would prefer to open Spring Training with a new team if it’s a foregone conclusion that he’ll be moved eventually anyhow. However, Detroit general manager Al Avila said today (link via Will Burchfield of 97.1 FM The Ticket) that the market for Castellanos has been “frustrating” and plainly stated that, “…right now, really, I don’t have anything going on,” with regard to Castellanos talks.

Castellanos, 27 in March, is entering his final season of club control and has already agreed to a $9.95MM salary for the upcoming season. It’s no secret that the Tigers are well into a large-scale rebuild, and as a pending free agent, Castellanos stands out as an obvious trade piece. The two sides have reportedly discussed long-term arrangements in the past but failed to find a common ground.

There’s little denying that Castellanos is a high-quality bat that could deepen the lineup for any contending club. Over the past three seasons, he’s batted a combined .285/.336/.495 with 67 home runs, 107 doubles and 19 triples in 1790 trips to the plate. He’s cut back on his strikeout rate over the past two seasons as well and, in 2018, notched a career-best 7.2 percent walk rate that helped him post a career-high .354 on-base percentage. Castellanos isn’t the premier slugger that the Tigers had on their hands in J.D. Martinez, but he’s also younger and less expensive.

Like Martinez, however, the primary knock on Castellanos is his outfield defense. The converted third baseman shifted to right field full-time last season due to poor defense at his original position, but the results in the outfield weren’t any better. Castellanos graded out extremely poorly (-19 DRS, -12.9 UZR and a league-worst -24 Outs Above Average), which makes him a tough sell to a National League club. While it’s probably fair to expect that his glovework can improve with more reps at a still relatively new position, any team acquiring Castellanos to play in the field regularly would do so knowing that he’d be giving back a portion of the value provided by his excellent bat.

Fenech reports that the Tigers’ asking price for Castellanos has been one “top-level” prospect, adding that Detroit would need to feel it was receiving better value than a potential pick in the 2020 draft. That indicates that the organization considers Castellanos a potential qualifying offer candidate following the ’19 season.

Beyond Castellanos’ defensive shortcomings, the Tigers are in a tough spot with regard to trading Castellanos given that several plausible suitors have recently filled holes in other ways. The Dodgers reportedly struck a deal with A.J. Pollock just a few hours ago, and the Braves re-signed Nick Markakis earlier this week. The Rays, meanwhile, signed Avisail Garcia last week, and the division-rival Twins, who could’ve viewed Castellanos as a DH candidate, instead signed Nelson Cruz to a one-year deal with an option.

The Astros were also said to be in on Cruz and stand out as a speculative on-paper fit for Castellanos, and the Indians are known to be seeking some additional outfield help. Perhaps the Phillies could view Castellanos as something of a fallback option if their higher-profile pursuits don’t pan out, but Rhys Hoskins’ poor defense in left field was a catalyst for this offseason’s trade of Carlos Santana, and Castellanos’ struggles were similar, if not more substantial, to those of Hoskins. The Giants are reportedly in the mix for outfield help but don’t seem likely to pay a premium for a one-year rental (and also surely are wary of the defensive question marks). Similar sentiments could apply to the White Sox.

Of course, teams interested in Castellanos also figure to be reluctant to pay a premium when there are still so many corner-outfield options available in free agency. Marwin Gonzalez, Adam Jones, Carlos Gonzalez, Denard Span and Derek Dietrich are just some of the many alternatives in free agency, and while Castellanos is a safe bet to outperform most of that bunch (excepting Marwin Gonzalez, perhaps), the cost of acquisition would be only money. In the case of all but Marwin, in fact, each of that bunch should cost less than Castellanos’ $9.95MM total commitment. The trade market also has alternatives in the form of Hunter Renfroe, Eric Thames and others.

It’s understandable that Castellanos would want to know his fate sooner rather than later, but at the same time, there’s a greater supply of players with his skill set (or close to it) than there is demand. An injury to a contending club’s designated hitter or corner outfielder in Spring Training could create a new suitor, however, so perhaps it wouldn’t be the worst thing for Castellanos if he’s still with the Tigers when camp opens.

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