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Astros Place Brian McCann On DL, Designate Jordan Jankowski

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The Astros have placed catcher Brian McCann on the 10-day DL and designated righty Jordan Jankowski for assignment, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter links). Jankowski will lose his 40-man spot to allow the club to select the contract of Max Stassi, who is needed to fill in for McCann.

It isn’t yet known what kind of absence McCann is facing, though it doesn’t sound like there’s too much cause for concern. The veteran backstop is said to be dealing with right knee soreness. Given Houston’s commanding position in the AL West standings, some down time for McCann won’t likely hurt.

In McCann’s steady, the 26-year-old Stassi will get his first MLB time in 2017. He has appeared very briefly in each of the four prior campaigns; while it seemed he’d get a longer look in 2016, that failed to come about due to an injury and Stassi ended up losing his 40-man spot.

Thus far in 2017, Stassi has turned around what had been a lengthy offensive malaise. Through 287 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, he’s slashing .266/.383/.473 with a dozen home runs and greatly improved plate discipline (13.2% walk rate against a 23.3% strikeout rate).

Jankowski will not control his fate. He’ll either end up with another organization (via trade or claim), land back at Triple-A Fresno after being outrighted (without right of refusal), or be set onto the open market (if the ’Stros don’t wish to keep him).

Thus far in 2017, the 28-year-old Jankowski has failed to carry a sub-4.00 ERA for the first time as a professional. Through 40 1/3 innings at Triple-A, he owns a 5.13 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9. Jankowski did earn his first MLB call-up, though he was knocked around in 4 1/3 innings, and could intrigue other organizations with his history of big strikeout numbers.

Astros Place Brian McCann On DL, Select Juan Centeno’s Contract

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The Astros have placed catcher Brian McCann on the seven-day concussion disabled list, retroactive to Saturday, and selected the contract of fellow backstop Juan Centeno from Triple-A, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (on Twitter).

McCann is now the second prominent Astro to hit the DL since Saturday, joining ace Dallas Keuchel on the shelf. Like Keuchel, McCann has thrived for the 29-14 Astros, owners of the majors’ best record. McCann, whom Houston acquired from the Yankees in an offseason trade, has slashed .269/.365/.454 with six home runs and as many walks as strikeouts (17) in 126 plate appearances. On the defensive side, the 33-year-old has continued a careerlong trend of serving as a plus pitch framer, according to Baseball Prospectus.

Fortunately for the Astros, they do have a quality reserve behind McCann in the power-hitting Evan Gattis, who has also performed well this season. Centeno, an offseason minor league signing, will back up Gattis. The 27-year-old Centeno has been great this season at Triple-A, where he has slashed .368/.395/.487 line in 83 PAs, though he hasn’t been nearly as successful in the majors. In 258 big league PAs, including 192 with the Twins last year, Centeno has hit .236/.290/.338. Behind the plate, BP ranked him among the majors’ worst framers in 2016.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Pomeranz, McCann, Rays, Odorizzi, Blue Jays

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With Rick Porcello and Chris Sale suddenly looking like the only healthy and reliable members of the Red Sox starting five, Boston’s rotation is “a house of cards,” in the words of CSNNE.com’s Evan Drellich (video link).  Lou Merloni, Jared Carrabis, and Drellich discuss Boston’s lack of pitching depth in the wake of David Price’s season-opening DL stint and Drew Pomeranz having to leave an outing today due to left triceps tightness.  The controversial circumstances of the Red Sox/Padres deal that brought Pomeranz to Boston last season are also revisited, with Carrabis noting that “the trade looks like it keeps getting worse every single day” from the Sox perspective given Pomeranz’s ongoing injury problems.

Here’s more from around the AL East…

  • Brian McCann has nothing but fond memories of his time with the Yankees, though he told Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media that being traded to the Astros represents “a best-case scenario for both sides.”  McCann was willing to waive his no-trade protection in order to join “a team filled with talent…young talent that’s going to be together for a while” that would allow him to regularly catch, while the Yankees were clearly going with Gary Sanchez as the catcher of both the future and the present.  “You’ve got to see what you have, and what they have is a very talented catcher that is going to be there for a long time,” McCann said, noting that he himself displaced a veteran catcher (Johnny Estrada) when he first broke into the bigs as a rookie with the Braves in 2005.
  • Players face a big decision when presented with the opportunity to sign an early-career extension, as Evan Longoria and Jake Odorizzi of the Rays tell Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  Longoria’s first extension with the Rays (a six-year, $17.5MM deal signed just a week into his big league career) drew some criticism at the time, though Longoria saw it as a chance to “have this security for myself and my family and just play and relax.”
  • Odorizzi, meanwhile, passed on a discussed extension with the Rays two offseasons ago.  Topkin reports that the proposed extension would have been a six-year deal worth close to $30MM in guaranteed money, with over $20MM more available via two additional club option years.  Such a deal would’ve covered at least two of Odorizzi’s free agent seasons and potentially kept him under team control through his age-33 season.  Odorizzi doesn’t regret turning down the extension, saying “sometimes it boils down to, and I hate to say it, but the dollar amount.  We all know the money in this game and the value of players and what your value is.  And sometimes it just doesn’t match up.  That’s just the circumstances.”
  • The Blue Jays hope to gain a competitive advantage with their high performance department, as Sportsnet.ca’s Arden Zwelling takes a look inside the all-encompassing plan dedicated to keeping players physically and mentally prepared year-round.  Club president Mark Shapiro hired sports psychologist Angus Mugford last year to create the high performance department, which has now grown into a 43-person staff consisting of fitness trainers, dieticians, mental coaches, and more.  The department’s focus on each player’s individual status helped the Jays decide to keep Aaron Sanchez in the rotation last season, as since Sanchez had so diligently been keeping himself in good condition, there was less fear that he would wear down after throwing so many innings.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Astros, Royals, Gagne

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Two weeks ago, the Dodgers were leaning toward having left-hander Julio Urias open the season in their rotation. It now appears he’ll begin in the minors as they attempt to tamp down his workload, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The 20-year-old phenom threw a career-high 122 innings between the majors and minors in 2016, and LA wants to keep him fresh this season for a potential playoff run. Should the Dodgers send down Urias, they’d choose among Brandon McCarthy, Alex Wood and “wild card” Hyun-Jin Ryu to fill their final two rotation spots, adds Sherman (Twitter links here).

Elsewhere around the majors…

  • Houston’s acquisition of catcher Brian McCann from the Yankees in November played a key role in their December signing of designated hitter Carlos Beltran, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow informed Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. “As we recruited Beltran, bringing McCann over was a big part of getting Beltran to accept coming over here,” said Luhnow. Teammates in New York from 2014-16, McCann and Beltran have already been quite valuable behind the scenes for the Astros, per Luhnow. “These two guys have been a tremendous boost to the environment in our clubhouse,” he stated. “I’m so glad they’re here.”
  • When he accepted the Royals’ two-year, $12MM guarantee as a free agent last month, southpaw Travis Wood seemed like a decent bet to start 2017 in their rotation. But another offseason acquisition, trade pickup Nate Karns, has emerged over Wood and Chris Young as the clear favorite for Kansas City’s last starting spot, tweets Sherman. The right-handed Karns, 29, made 46 starts with the Nationals, Rays and Mariners from 2013-16 and logged a 4.19 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 3.69 BB/9 over 249 innings. The 30-year-old Wood worked solely as a reliever with the World Series champion Cubs last season, which came after he racked up 133 starts in Cincinnati and Chicago from 2010-15. He recorded the same ERA as Karns (4.19) to go with 7.11 K/9 against 3.15 BB/9 during that 776-inning span.
  • Free agent reliever Eric Gagne, 41, is making a case for a contract in the World Baseball Classic, though the Team Canada righty and 2003 NL Cy Young winner realizes he’d first have to succeed in the minors to have any chance at returning to the majors. “I know the game, I know how it happens, I know they need spots on the 40-man roster and don’t want to release a young guy for a 41 year old, so of course I’d be willing to do anything,” the former closer told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Gagne, who hasn’t pitched in the bigs since 2008, worked out for five teams before the WBC, writes Davidi, and has since fared well in the tournament. “Words are irrelevant at this point. Clubs are seeing it with their own eyes,” Gagne’s agent, Scott Leventhal, told FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).

Market Chatter: Rays, Gray, Yankees, Sale, Rodriguez

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There’s an expectation among rival executives that the Rays will trade one of either Drew Smyly or Chris Archer this winter, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney in his latest blog (Insider subscription required and recommended). Other teams are also expecting that Tampa Bay will trade closer Alex Colome, who moved into the ninth inning following an injury to Brad Boxberger and delivered a brilliant breakout season in the Rays’ bullpen, though we haven’t really heard any specific clubs tied to him. Smyly is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $6.9MM this winter in his latest trip through the arbitration process, while Colome is not yet eligible for arbitration (though he’s building a nice case for himself when he does reach that point). Because Colome hasn’t reached arbitration and comes with an additional four years of club control, the Rays should be able to ask for a sizable haul. Of course, those same factors also mean that Tampa Bay doesn’t need to feel an urgency to move Colome, as he’d earn scarcely over the league minimum in 2017. The 27-year-old posted a pristine 1.91 ERA and averaged 11.3 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 to go along with a 47.1 percent ground-ball rate in 56 2/3 innings.

A bit more on some other possible trade and free agent scenarios around the league…

  • The Athletics are “actively listening to offers” for right-hander Sonny Gray, per Olney. Gray’s name has been a mainstay in trade rumors over the past year and a half, but with a $3.7MM salary projection for next season and Oakland looks more likely to move veteran pieces, there’s a better chance this winter that he’s moved than there has been in previous trade seasons. Of course, teams may be wary of Gray’s 5.69 ERA and time on the disabled list this past season, and the A’s aren’t likely to consider selling Gray at a discounted price, so agreeing on price with interested teams certainly presents some hurdles. Gray is still just 27 and is controlled for another three seasons.
  • With Brian McCann shipped out today, the Yankees appear to be turning their attention to additions to the roster. Pitching is at the top of the list, with Rich Hill a possible target, Olney tweets. And he adds that slugger Carlos Beltran remains a target. As James Wagner of the New York Times reports (Twitter links), GM Brian Cashman says that the organization is looking to add bats. While it isn’t committed to spending big, he says he expects to continue discussions with top-of-the-market hitter Yoenis Cespedes. “I’m sure we’ll talk again,” said Cashman of his contact with Cespedes’s reps. “Now that we have more flexibility, it gives us more choices.”
  • Though the Braves have been connected to several top young starters, their focus is on trying to work a deal with the White Sox for Chris Sale, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It’s still unclear just how hard Atlanta will push to pry him loose, and certainly Chicago isn’t in a position where it needs to move its affordable, excellent, and still-youthful ace. And as O’Brien notes, the Braves have signaled previously that they aren’t interested in emptying their farm to move toward contention — though there may be an added willingness to give up some premium assets in this case, as would certainly be necessary to get something done.
  • The Blue Jays are looking into infielder/outfielder Sean Rodriguez, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports. It seems that Toronto would like to add a right-handed-hitting piece with some defensive versatility, with Rodriguez joining Steve Pearce as plausible targets. The idea would be to utilize such a player as a platoon complement to first baseman Justin Smoak (a switch-hitter who struggles against lefties) and in the corner outfield.

Astros Acquire Brian McCann

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The Astros have acquired catcher Brian McCann from the Yankees, per team announcements. Prospects Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman will head back in return. The Yankees will pay $5.5MM of McCann’s $17MM annual salary for the two guaranteed years remaining on his deal, Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweets.

Houston has promised a bold offseason, and this acquisition certainly delivers on that promise. The veteran slugger will add a power left-handed bat and shore things up behind the plate for the ’Stros, who had been in need with Jason Castro now a free agent. McCann, who waived his no-trade clause to facilitate the deal, will pair with Evan Gattis behind the dish. Both will likely also to see time in the DH role. Joel Sherman of the New York Post spoke with McCann’s agent, B.B. Abbot, who says that the catcher was told he’d have the opportunity to shoulder the bulk of the load behind the dish. (Links to Twitter.)

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[RELATED: Updated Astros Depth Chart]

McCann, 32, has been solid since joining the Yankees before the 2014 season, but hasn’t quite delivered the top-quality offensive production for which he was known before signing a five-year, $85MM contract. In 1,565 plate appearances with New York, McCann has slashed .235/.313/.418 and swatted 69 home runs. He also has continued to rate well as a pitch-framer, while also doing a solid job of controlling the running game and handling balls in the dirt.

Houston will be on the hook for $11.5MM in each of the following two seasons under the new arrangement. The Astros will take full responsibility for McCann’s 2019 option, which stands as a $15MM club option but could convert to a player option if he meets certain playing time requirements. (Specifically, it vests if he has 1,000 plate appearances in 2017-18, starts at least 90 games behind the plate in 2018, and doesn’t end that year on the DL.)

The move won’t spell an end to Houston’s offseason, of course. The club already added starter Charlie Morton, but is looking to do more to boost their offensive production, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

For the Yankees, McCann became expendable with the emergence late last year of touted youngster Gary Sanchez. While he could still have functioned as a DH and part-time receiver, McCann was a rather expensive insurance policy given that the team also has Austin Romine on hand behind the dish. With strong market demand, the opportunity to add young assets again held appeal.

[RELATED: Updated Yankees Depth Chart]

That doesn’t mean, of course, that New York is packing things in for 2017. Far from it. Olney tweets that the club will look to redirect some (or all) of the savings on McCann to a better-hitting slugger. He says that the Yanks have interest in bringing back Carlos Beltran, who has drawn wide interest in the early-going.

While financial considerations surely played a role in the swap, the Yankees were no doubt intrigued by the two player they received. Abreu is the more highly regarded of the two; as J.J. Cooper of Baseball America explains, he throws a live fastball that occasionally nears the triple-digits. With a four-pitch arsenal, he perhaps has a chance to stick as a starter. Still, he only just turned 21 and struggled with his command last year at the Class A and High-A levels.

Guzman, meanwhile, has even more velocity, with his heater ticking up to 102-103 mph at times. Cooper notes, though, that he’s more effective when he’s operating at a slightly lower velocity (in his case, the upper-nineties). While the long-term outlook suggests that Guzman will end up in the pen, he is said to have a promising slider and also a change-up that’s in the works. The 20-year-old has yet to move past Rookie ball, but showed big strikeout ability (12.2 K/9) in his time in the Gulf Coast and Appalachian leagues last year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Sale, Archer, Jays, Halos, McCann, Catchers

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Talk about White Sox ace Chris Sale figures to be persistent this winter whether he gets moved or not, and FOX’s Ken Rosenthal has the latest installment in his newest notes column. Rosenthal echoes yesterday’s report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that the Nationals are interested in Sale and adds more context to the matter. Per Rosenthal, the Nats would shut talks down if the Sox were insistent on Trea Turner’s inclusion in the deal, but they have numerous other high-end prospects — the Nats are prospect-rich with names like Victor Robles, Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez, among others — that could entice Chicago. While the Nats have more glaring needs (catcher, center field), they’ve expressed interest in both Sale and Chris Archer of the Rays (and other Tampa Bay starters) with an eye toward further deepening their rotation to maximize their postseason chances. Rosenthal reminds that the Nats appeared to have a stacked rotation even when they signed Max Scherzer, and the NL East is continually improving, putting more pressure on GM Mike Rizzo and his staff.

A few highlights from the column, which I’d recommend checking out in its entirety…

  • The Blue Jays are still seeking a left-handed-hitting outfielder, and Rosenthal lists Josh Reddick and Dexter Fowler as possibilities, though Fowler would need to be willing to move to a corner to accommodate Kevin Pillar’s borderline superhuman glove. They’re also in the market for a right-handed platoon partner for Justin Smoak at first base, with Steve Pearce standing out as a possible target. The need for a platoon partner is somewhat counterintuitive since Smoak is a switch-hitter, however Smoak hit just .209/.284/.337 as a right-handed hitter last year and has hit lefties at a woeful .223/.279/.378 clip over the past three seasons.
  • Rosenthal lists the Angels’ Tyler Skaggs and Matt Shoemaker as potential under-the-radar trade candidates, speculating that the team could potentially move someone such as Skaggs (as part of a trade package) if it meant landing a premium second baseman like Minnesota’s Brian Dozier. That appears to be a speculative link at this juncture, but Dozier’s name will be a popular one this winter given the Twins’ last place finish and obvious need for pitching. The 29-year-old slugged 42 home runs for Minnesota in 2016 and is under club control for a total of $15MM through the 2018 season.
  • The Yankees and Astros are “at an impasse” in trade talks over Brian McCann, though Houston can certainly turn elsewhere in its hunt for catching help and general offensive improvements. The ’Stros were in on Kendrys Morales before he agreed to a his deal with Toronto, per Rosenthal.
  • Free agent catchers could come off the board quickly, with Jason Castro and defensive stalwart Jeff Mathis among those drawing strong early interest. Rosenthal points out that last year, Chris Iannetta, Alex Avila, Brayan Pena and Geovany Soto all signed prior to Dec. 1. Castro’s market in particular appears to be fast-moving, as he’s already reported to be weighing offers from three American League clubs and could receive a fourth from Minnesota this week.

Latest On Yankees, Brian McCann

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5:28pm: In something of a contrary report, ESPN.com’s Andrew Marchand says that the organization doesn’t believe it should or will send money to facilitate a deal involving McCann. Of course, these can be squared in a way: Passan’s report suggests that the team would only pay part of McCann’s ongoing obligations if it was to receive a substantial return, which would suggest a scenario in which the Yankees were effectively buying other assets with cash.

1:50pm: Brian McCann’s name has predictably surfaced in trade rumors this winter, following Gary Sanchez’s breakout in New York, and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports provides the latest update, tweeting that the Yankees are willing to eat as much as $17MM of the remaining $34MM on McCann’s contract but want “multiple top young players in return.”

The 32-year-old McCann (33 in February) isn’t the offensive force that he once was behind the plate but has still drilled 20+ homers in nine consecutive seasons and is coming off a .242/.335/.413 season that represents a significantly above-average year offensive year relative to other backstops around the league. He has a full no-trade clause as part of the five-year, $85MM deal he signed with the Yankees prior to the 2014 season, although McCann must also recognize that Sanchez will catch the majority of the Yankees’ games next season, so perhaps he’d approve a deal to a team that allows him more time behind the dish. In addition to the no-trade clause, the remaining $34MM on his contract was a potentially major roadblock for interested teams, although the Yankees’ willingness to pay down up to 50 percent of that certainly makes McCann a reasonable financial investment.

That said, I’d have to imagine that many teams would still balk at the idea of surrendering top-tier prospects for a 33-year-old catcher, even if he’s “only” on a two-year, $17MM commitment. The free-agent market bears numerous younger options, including Matt Wieters, Jason Castro and a currently injured Wilson Ramos. McCann remains an above-average pitch-framer, but his caught-stealing rate took a step back last season and some clubs will inevitably wonder how well he can hold up behind the plate over the final two seasons of his deal. There’s sure to be interest, given the level of money the Yankees are apparently willing to commit, but depending on how literally one takes Passan’s adjectives of “top” and “young,” finding a sufficient return could be tough.

And it should be noted that despite the Yankees’ preference to get younger, holding onto McCann is far from a terrible outcome. He can still serve as the team’s backup catcher on days that Sanchez can’t get behind the plate, and he has enough bat to get semi-regular plate appearances as a DH. While the $17MM price tag is excessive for a player with a good-not-great bat and only occasional time behind the dish, the Yankees can afford to make it work.

The Astros are reported to be one team with interest in McCann and are said to be “desperate” to add a catcher and a left-handed bat, so McCann’s appeal there certainly makes some sense. He could pair with right-handed-hitting Evan Gattis to give the ’Stros a pair of sluggers that will see most of the time behind the plate and would help to balance out a righty-heavy lineup there. McCann’s former team, the Braves, were also commonly linked to him in August after he cleared revocable trade waivers. At one point, Atlanta was said to be willing to pay half of McCann’s contract, which would suggest that there’s a potential match at present from a financial perspective. However, FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported in September that if the Braves were to pay that much of the contract, they wouldn’t be willing to send significant prospects back to the Yankees.

Trade Chatter: Miggy, McCann, Greinke, Third Basemen, M’s, D-Rob

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With some buzz arising yesterday about the Astros possibly pursuing Tigers superstar Miguel Cabrera, Houston GM Jeff Luhnow suggested that it was more smoke than fire, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. While he wouldn’t comment specifically, and acknowledged that the team discusses “lots of different scenarios” with its rivals, Luhnow largely doused the rumor. “I was asked, ’Would we consider a trade for a Hall of Fame-caliber first baseman,’ and we’re considering everything,” said Luhnow. “I think the media kind of ran with that.”

  • We’ve also heard plenty of discussion of the Yankees possibly dealing catcher Brian McCann, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post has the latest. The Astros, Braves, and Nationals are “believed interested,” says Sherman, though we’ve yet to hear truly clear reporting connecting any single team to the backstop this winter. That’s due in part to the fact that McCann enjoys full no-trade protection. McCann’s agent, B.B. Abbott, did acknowledge that his client might be amenable to a return to Atlanta, where he makes his home, and will otherwise consider opportunities — with factors including location, competitiveness, and playing time — on a case-by-case basis. “He would look hypothetically at [the Braves] very seriously if [Yankees GM Brian Cashman] is able to do it,” said Abbott. “If it is a team a little closer to home that has a chance to contend that fits X, Y and Z, Mac will look at it and determine if it is a fit.” Abbott emphasized that McCann doesn’t have any kind of list of pre-approved teams, preferring instead to allow the organization to present any possible trade to him if it arises, and is hardly demanding that he be sent elsewhere.
  • Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen says that he “fully anticipates” that righty Zack Greinke will pitch in Arizona next year, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. That’s not terribly surprising, and is hardly a committing comment, but it certainly suggests that the new D-Backs front office won’t be seeking to shed as much of Greinke’s contract as it can this winter. While the organization would surely need to entertain any serious offers for the veteran, the smarter course at this point may be to allow him to rebuild some value before seeking to unload the huge future commitment.
  • The third base market could potentially see a bit of action via trade, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says that the Padres are getting bites on Yangervis Solarte and the White Sox are listening on Todd Frazier. Of course, there isn’t an enormous amount of demand around the game, and Justin Turner remains available as a high-quality free agent, though it’s certainly possible to imagine organizations like the Dodgers, Red Sox, Braves, and Brewers pursuing additions at the hot corner. The biggest conceivable trade piece, of course, would be Evan Longoria of the Rays, and Rosenthal says that Tampa Bay will indeed be open to considering offers. But it still remains quite difficult to see a deal coming together on him.
  • The Mariners aren’t ruling out pursuit of a shortstop, though they feel comfortable with what they have, GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters including MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. Ketel Marte remains the incumbent regular, and Dipoto also cited Shawn O’Malley and Mike Freeman as internal depth pieces. On the one hand, said the GM, any more would be “more significant than finding somebody who can augment our situation at Triple-A.” On the other, it wouldn’t necessarily be a blockbuster. “If we do something at shortstop, it’s going to be more of a veteran guidance type of player,” said Dipoto. “Maybe the shortstop version of a Carlos Ruiz, but the market is not brimming with that type of player.” Free agent possibilities could in theory include Erick Aybar and Alexei Ramirez, but it seems they don’t hold much appeal for Seattle. Alternatively, the M’s could certainly also re-join their summer efforts to acquire Zack Cozart, or pursue a somewhat lesser-regarded veteran such as Danny Espinosa, though we’ve heard no specific suggestions as yet.
  • White Sox GM Rick Hahn discussed the status of reliever David Robertson, who some view as a possible trade piece this winter, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports. He’s owed $25MM over the next two years and wasn’t quite himself in 2016, but robust demand for closers could make him a rather significant target. Offseason meniscus surgery isn’t expected to limit Robertson in camp, says Hahn. And the veteran reliever will also have a chance to fully recover from glut issues that Hahn says may have contributed to his struggles last year.

Astros Interested In Brian McCann

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The possibility of a Brian McCann trade has been speculated about for months, driven in large part by the emergence of Gary Sanchez, and Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports that the Yanks have already identified a potential trade partner. Meanwhile, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Astros are interested in McCann, though it’s not definitively clear that Houston is the unnamed team referenced by Feinsand. It’s worth noting that neither report is an indicator that a deal is close at this time, though Feinsand’s report does seem to suggest that GM Brian Cashman has had some level of productive talks.

McCann, 32, has full no-trade protection and will need to approve any trade, and Cashman says he hasn’t spoken to his catcher about the possibility of anything yet. “[McCann’s agent, B.B. Abbott] said, ’Keep me posted; why don’t you guys go through the process and if you have something you need to talk to us about, give us a call,” Cashman explained. “…He hasn’t told me no on anything. I do have a personal belief of what’s more workable than others.”

Per Feinsand, the Astros are “desperate” to add both a catcher and a left-handed bat, so the fit certainly makes plenty of sense. Houston’s lineup is pretty heavy in terms of right-handed hitters, with George Springer, Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Evan Gattis and Yulieski Gurriel all hitting from the right side of the dish. Houston GM Jeff Luhnow In addition to McCann’s no-trade protection, his contractual status could serve as an impediment. The Astros may not be keen on paying McCann the full $34MM he’s owed over the next two seasons, though the Yankees could include some cash to help offset the financial burden for Houston. Furthermore, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told Morosi earlier today that he foresees the team’s payroll escalating next season, so Houston should have the funds to make the move work if Luhnow and Cashman can agree on a prospect return and if McCann approves the deal.

Houston is currently set to lose Jason Castro to free agency, leaving Gattis and Max Stassi as the primary catching options within the organization. McCann would give the ’Stros a left-handed bat to replace Castros — and a more productive one, at that. Castro was solid against right-handed pitchers this past season but hit just .210/.307/.377 overall, while McCann provided a much more robust .242/.335/.413 slash and has hit at least 20 homers in nine straight seasons.

As for the Yankees, if they do ultimately find a trade for McCann, they could pursue free-agent DH options, according to Feinsand. He lists shorter-term options like Carlos Beltran, Kendrys Morales and Mike Napoli as more likely candidates than Edwin Encarnacion or Mark Trumbo, who could both command four-year deals this winter (and perhaps five, in Encarnacion’s case).

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