Daniel Murphy

Free Agent Notes: Kazmir, Murphy, Span, Royals

By Steve Adams | December 22, 2015 at 9:53pm CDT

Now that the Cardinals have signed right-hander Mike Leake to a five-year deal, they’re out of the mix on lefty Scott Kazmir, tweets CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. The Nationals, Orioles and Royals are among the clubs still looking at Kazmir, according to Heyman. A report from Monday indicated that the Athletics and Astros were also among the finalists for Kazmir, who reportedly has received three-year offers that come with annual rates in the $12-13MM range. However, Kazmir’s hope is said to be a four-year contract. Earlier tonight, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun wrote that he didn’t foresee the O’s going four years on Kazmir (or any other free-agent starter, for that matter).

A few more notes on what is still a very deep class of free agents…

Daniel Murphy hasn’t been aggressive in seeking new opportunities for much of the offseason, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post, as he maintained hope that he would return to the Mets right up until their acquisition of Neil Walker from the Pirates. The Mets, according to Puma, were clear in telling Murphy that they intended to go in another direction this offseason, but Murphy sought more than the one- to two-year offers with which the Mets were comfortable and seems to have been hoping that an increased offer from the Mets would materialize.
Agent Scott Boras has been seeking a three-year deal for client Denard Span, industry sources tell Puma in a second column. The Mets had genuine interest in Span, according to Puma, but they weren’t keen on committing to a center field partner for Juan Lagares beyond the 2016 season. Beyond that, the Mets didn’t want to wait for Span’s January showcase before moving to add a left-handed bat, as doing so would’ve meant risking their alternative options signing elsewhere in the interim.
Royals GM Dayton Moore wouldn’t comment to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan when asked about negotiations with Alex Gordon — specifically, Jim Bowden’s previous report at ESPN that the Royals are offering $12-13MM per year on a four-year deal — or extension talks with catcher Salvador Perez. Moore did, however, openly voice his desire to add a corner outfielder and another starting pitcher. “We feel we have quality depth in the outfield, but we have a desire for an experienced corner outfielder. And we would like another quality starting pitcher,” said Moore. Per Flanagan, the Royals hope to have seven or eight players that are viable rotation options on the roster to open the season. At present, Kansas City has Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez, Danny Duffy, Chris Young and Kris Medlen as options, plus lefty Jason Vargas recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Nationals Interested In Daniel Murphy

By Zachary Links | December 16, 2015 at 11:19pm CDT

The Nationals have interest in free agent Daniel Murphy, a baseball source tells Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Second base has been one of the Nationals’ biggest needs this offseason so a pursuit of Murphy would make a good deal of sense.

Murphy, 31 in April, boasted the best contact rate in baseball among qualified hitters in 2015. After hitting a career-high 14 home runs in the regular season, Murphy smashed seven more in the span of seven postseason games against the Dodgers and Cubs. On the flipside, Murphy is a below average defensive second baseman who owns a weak -6.3 UZR/150 rating. Last year, he managed only a -3.3 UZR/150 rating at second base which actually turned out to be the best of his career.

At the outset of the offseason, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted that Murphy would land a four-year, $56MM deal with the Angels, Yankees, and White Sox getting involved. At the time of this writing, it’s not exactly clear who the leading teams are for the infielder, who turns 31 in April. The incumbent Mets apparently haven’t ruled out a reunion with Murphy, though they would like to sign him to a one- or two-year deal. Meanwhile, with unprotected first round picks will have to think long and hard before signing Murphy, who rejected the Mets’ QO earlier this offseason.

Earlier this week, the Nationals reportedly had trade discussions with the Reds regarding Brandon Phillips. While Phillips is intriguing, Washington is said to be gunning for a left-handed hitting second baseman to bring balance to their lineup. Murphy could do just that, though he cannot offer defense on the level of Danny Espinosa.

Mets Notes: Murphy, Niese, Walker, Cabrera

By charliewilmoth | December 9, 2015 at 5:48am CDT

The Mets were surprised by Ben Zobrist’s decision to spurn them for the Cubs, but that doesn’t mean they’re likely to re-sign Daniel Murphy as a backup plan, Mike Puma of the New York Post writes. Puma notes that the Mets would have interest in Murphy on a one- or two-year contract, but they expect him to get four years elsewhere. The Mets are also “lukewarm” on Howie Kendrick and Asdrubal Cabrera. Ian Desmond is another possibility, with Wilmer Flores moving to second, but the Mets are wary about his defense. Puma notes that the Mets could just go with 21-year-old Dilson Herrera at second and focus on upgrading elsewhere. That option strikes me as a fairly good one — Herrera is young, but he’s hit brilliantly in the upper minors and certainly looks like he’ll be ready to start soon if he isn’t already. Here’s more on the Mets.

The Mets have listened to trade offers regarding lefty Jon Niese, Puma writes. If they were to deal Niese, they could use Rafael Montero as their fifth starter until Zack Wheeler is ready to return after having had Tommy John surgery in March.
The Mets are interested in Pirates second baseman Neil Walker, but aren’t optimistic they’ll be able to swing a deal, Puma tweets. Walker could conceivably take over at second base for the Mets in 2016, after which he’ll be a free agent.
The Mets met with Ben Zobrist’s representatives at Octagon yesterday, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York tweets, but the two sides actually talked about other Octagon players. That could mean anything, but via MLBTR’s Agency Database, Octagon clients who could be of interest to the Mets include Cabrera, Gerardo Parra, Fernando Rodney and Edward Mujica. Cabrera and Parra have both recently been connected to the Mets.

Mets Willing To Give Ben Zobrist Four-Year Deal; Others Still In Mix

By Jeff Todd | December 6, 2015 at 10:19pm CDT

10:13pm: Zobrist’s priority is to play for a winning club, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, leaving the Braves “behind” in the race.

Meanwhile, Mets assistant GM John Ricco acknowledged today that the club has serious interest, as ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports. “We’ve had conversations with his guys,” said Ricco of Zobrist, “and we’ll definitely be meeting with them [at the Winter Meetings].” He added: “It’s pretty obvious we think he’s a fit.”

New York expects a decision to be made in the coming days, though it hasn’t apparently been given any such assurances by Zobrist’s camp. The club is “not sure … which direction [it] would go” if Zobrist heads elsewhere, Ricco said. He notes that the Mets haven’t ruled out Daniel Murphy and acknowledged that the team has “touched base” with “all of the free agents,” including middle infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, who Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reported (Twitter link) could be an option.

7:57pm: More than one team is willing to guarantee four seasons in a contract with free agent super-utilityman Ben Zobrist, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). The Mets are one such club, per the report, which indicates that there are others as well.

Other teams in the mix include the Mets, Nationals, Giants, and a “mystery team,” Heyman says. Earlier today, Marc Carig of Newsday reported (Twitter links) that six clubs remained involved with Zobrist to some extent.

Zobrist wrapped up his on-site visits with a trip to the Giants’ AT&T Park today, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes has learned. And the hotly-pursued veteran appears to be lined up for a decision in the coming days, as Carig adds.

But that doesn’t mean he’s done with meetings. Indeed, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweeted earlier today that Zobrist would meet with representatives of the Nationals at the Winter Meetings — which are being held in his home town of Nashville. And it stands to reason that he’ll have cause to chat with other organizations as well.

Heyman’s Latest: Cueto, Giants, Rangers, Alvarez, Puig

By Mark Polishuk | December 5, 2015 at 8:47am CDT

Johnny Cueto tops the list as the key player to watch at the Winter Meetings, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes in his latest Inside Baseball piece. Several big-market clubs have already checked in on Cueto and the Dodgers may hold particular interest since they considered trading for Cueto at the deadline last summer but held off out of a desire to keep their top prospects. Heyman’s piece was written before the news of Zack Greinke’s deal with the Diamondbacks broke, so it stands to reason that the Dodgers’ interest could be even greater with Greinke off the board. The Cardinals, Heyman reports, haven’t checked in on Cueto, as the righty “had a rough relationship with Cardinal Nation while starring in Cincinnati.”

Here are some of the hot stove highlights of Heyman’s lengthy news roundup…

The Giants may pursue not one but two pitchers now that they’ve missed out on Greinke. San Francisco is “believed to have big money to spend” and they’ve been connected to such names as Mike Leake and Jeff Samardzija.
The Rangers are receiving a lot of interest in many of their top relievers, including closer Shawn Tolleson, Jake Diekman, Sam Dyson and the newly-acquired Tom Wilhelmsen.
The Rangers’ shopping list includes a right-handed bat for lineup balance and a starting pitcher likely to fill out the back of the rotation. Texas is also looking for a young catcher. Earlier this week, the Rangers were said to be working on a deal to add a catcher but no trade materialized.
Pedro Alvarez has received calls from five teams, including the Indians, since being non-tendered by the Pirates earlier this week.
Another non-tendered Alvarez, former Marlins righty Henderson Alvarez, is also drawing a lot of interest on the open market, with 10 teams checking in. Though 2015 was a lost year for Alvarez due to injuries and he may miss some time in 2016 in the wake of shoulder surgery, it’s no surprise that Alvarez is a hot commodity given his track record.
The Marlins’ desire to trade Marcell Ozuna is well-known, though Heyman notes that one obstacle is Miami’s lack of a ready-made replacement in center field. In a tweet from this morning, Heyman wonders if Dexter Fowler could be pursued since Fowler was formerly tutored by new Miami hitting coach Barry Bonds. There hasn’t yet been any sign that the Marlins are interested in Fowler, however.
Speaking of Marlins trades, closer A.J. Ramos and third baseman Martin Prado have both drawn interest but Heyman figures the team isn’t too likely to part with either player.
A few teams called the Dodgers to ask about Yasiel Puig’s availability but the Dodgers aren’t keen on selling low on the outfielder. The team intends to “try to reach him” and inspire Puig to return to his old form. The Dodgers are more likely to trade Carl Crawford or Andre Ethier if they do decide to move an outfielder, though dealing either could be hard given the crowded outfield market (not to mention both players’ salaries).
Daniel Murphy was connected to the Dodgers this offseason but he “doesn’t appear to be at the forefront” of the team’s plans at the moment.
The Mets seem to be more serious about adding a platoon partner for Juan Lagares in center field rather than sign an everyday center fielder like Fowler or Denard Span.
Brett Gardner’s name has surfaced in trade rumors this winter but “there isn’t currently any traction for a trade” between the Yankees and any other teams.
The Yankees are another team monitoring the free agent pitching market and New York “may be laying in the weeds” to make its move on Samardzija or Wei-Yin Chen.
Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar would be a fit with the Cubs but there is “nothing to that one at the moment.” It’s hard to see Toronto dealing the defensively-spectacular Pillar given how their next best center field option (Dalton Pompey) is still unproven at the Major League level and struggled badly when given the everyday job last April.

Mets Notes: Zobrist, Murphy, Tejada, O’Day

By Steve Adams | November 18, 2015 at 9:37pm CDT

The Mets are “very interested” in Ben Zobrist and had a conference call with his representatives at Octagon today, reports Tim Rohan of the New York Times (links to Twitter). Rohan notes, however, that there are as many as 10 teams seriously interested in Zobrist, most of whom are also contenders. Zobrist, who is seeking a four-year deal, is listening to the pitches from each club and wants to play for a winning team. Newsday’s Marc Carig writes that there’s been a “steady dialogue” between the Mets and Zobrist’s camp, but there’s no indication that the Mets are willing to enter a bidding war for the versatile switch-hitter. And Adam Rubin of ESPN New York writes that Mets officials indicated to him last week that their internal expectation was for Zobrist’s robust market to price him out of their comfort zone. To this point, the Mets haven’t made a formal offer to a free agent, Rubin adds. (Although that’s probably true of several clubs.)

Here are a few more notes pertaining to the reigning NL champs…

The Mets are expected to make a “legitimate bid” for Daniel Murphy, writes Rubin in a second piece. He adds that some within the Mets organization feel that Murphy might consider an offer from the Mets even if they don’t make the strongest bid due to his longstanding relationship with the team. Carig tweets that it’s still unlikely there will be a reunion though, unless Murphy is willing to leave significant money on the table, adding that the Mets passed on the opportunity to discuss an in-season extension (to which Murphy was open). MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets that the Mets seem to value Zobrist’s versatility (i.e. his outfield capability) over Murphy, but the team may very well get outbid on both free agents anyhow.
Rubin also writes that the Mets are moving toward a non-tender of shortstop Ruben Tejada, whose raise in arbitration is beyond what the team is interested in paying him coming off his second broken fibula and considering his rather light bat. MLBTR projects a $2.5MM salary for Tejada, though Rubin’s report is based on a $3MM+ figure that could come about if the team were to lose a hearing to Tejada.
Earlier this morning, Ken Rosenthal reported that Darren O’Day is seeking a four-year contract in the $28-36MM range, and while the Mets have been linked to O’Day, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that he was told New York “most likely” wouldn’t remain in the mix if the price escalated to those levels.
One more from Rubin, who writes that finding a left-handed complement to Juan Lagares in center field is currently the priority for the Mets, though they’re also “poking around” the trade market for a shortstop and considering setup men to add to the back end of their bullpen. The team doesn’t envision any major additions prior to the Winter Meetings, which begin on Dec. 7, Rubin adds.

2015 Qualifying Offer Decisions

By Steve Adams | November 13, 2015 at 4:26pm CDT

The deadline or players to accept or reject their one-year, $15.8MM qualifying offers was today at 5pm ET. We already know that Colby Rasmus will become the first player to ever accept a qualifying offer, and Marco Estrada reached a two-year deal with the Blue Jays. Brett Anderson also accepted his qualifying offer from the Dodgers.

Here are the updates on the rest of the 20 players that received qualifying offers one week ago today…

Ian Desmond will reject the Nationals’ offer, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. He’ll be joined on the open market by Jordan Zimmermann, who did the same, per a tweet from MLB.com’s Bill Ladson.
While Brett Anderson will be returning on a one-year deal, Howie Kendrick and Zack Greinke have rejected their qualifying offers from the Dodgers, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links),
It’s an obvious one, but Alex Gordon will hit the open market rather than taking a one-year deal from the Royals, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Likewise, Justin Upton and Ian Kennedy of the Padres will participate in the open market his fall (per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune, on Twitter) and Dexter Fowler has turned down his offer from the Cubs, as Paul Sullivan of 670thescore.com tweets.
The Cardinals will stand to pick up draft choices if Jason Heyward and John Lackey sign elsewhere, as they too have rejected the offer, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).
Daniel Murphy and Jeff Samardzija have declined their offers, per reports from Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter) and Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com (also via Twitter).
Gallardo has declined his QO, Stevenson now tweets.
As expected, Hisashi Iwakuma has turned down the qualifying offer issued to him by the Mariners, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.

Earlier Updates

Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram hears differently on Gallardo, reporting that he’s still deciding whether or not to accept (links to Twitter). Gallardo’s camp has spoken to multiple other clubs about a deal, but the righty is still mulling a return to his hometown team.
Yovani Gallardo will decline the Rangers’ qualifying offer in search of a multi-year contract, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Gallardo never seemed likely to accept the deal, though there may have been a bit of temptation given the fact that Gallardo is a Fort Worth native. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that he spoke to Gallardo’s agent, Bobby Witt, and was told that he’s yet to officially inform the Rangers one way or the other (Twitter link).

Those who are unfamiliar with the process can refer to MLBTR’s explanation of the qualifying offer system for full details.

NL West Notes: Dodgers’ Targets, Giants, Padres, Rockies

By Jeff Todd | November 11, 2015 at 12:56pm CDT

The Dodgers are prioritizing Zack Greinke over David Price in free agency, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Los Angeles also has at least some interest in Daniel Murphy (as well as a return of Chase Utley, as previously reported elsewhere) as the team weighs the possibility of finding a left-handed hitter that can play second and third. While it’s not yet clear whether the Dodgers front office will ultimately be a team that paces actual free agent spending, it seems obvious that L.A. will play a major role in driving the market.

Crasnick On Price, Greinke, Heyward, Upton, Murphy, Starlin

By Steve Adams | November 10, 2015 at 4:32pm CDT

ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick conducted his annual Hot Stove survey, polling a number of front-office executives and scouts about some of the top names available both in free agency and on the trade market. Crasnick asked respondents to weigh in on David Price vs. Zack Greinke; Jason Heyward vs. Justin Upton; Chris Davis vs. Yoenis Cespedes; which of Colby Rasmus or Daniel Murphy would be able to sustain some of his postseason success; which of Jeff Samardzija or Ian Desmond is a better rebound candidate; which of Javier Baez or Starlin Castro is more likely to be traded; and which of Alex Gordon, Ben Zobrist or Johnny Cueto is likeliest to return to the Royals. Crasnick has full voting and plenty of quotes from execs/scouts for those who wish to read the piece in its entirety, but here are some particularly interesting highlights…

More respondents felt comfortable giving a nine-figure deal to Greinke than to Price, though the expectation is still that Price’s deal will top Greinke’s due to age. Crasnick quotes a pair of scouts that rave about Greinke’s delivery and how he can age well due to his intelligence and lack of reliance on pure velocity. One NL scout likened Greinke to Greg Maddux.
Heyward won the voting over Upton when asked which would perform better over the life of his next contract, though there was a reasonably even split, and many scouts quoted by Crasnick are concerned with Heyward’s reliance on defensive value and what one described to be a high-maintenance swing.
Murphy won the voting over Rasmus in their question, and one American League special assistant offered an interesting take to Crasnick: “If I was a team and I had a market for Murphy, I’d want him playing third base. I don’t like him at second. The ball finds him, like it did in the World Series. He got exposed there.” Murphy does have experience at third base, and we’ve mentioned him as a possible option for teams in need of help at the hot corner here at MLBTR, as the free-agent market presents little beyond Murphy and David Freese.
More respondents felt that Castro is likelier to be traded than Baez, even though as one scout put it, Baez would “fetch more of a haul.” An AL GM offered an interesting take on Castro’s contract, however, telling Crasnick: “Castro showed enough at two positions this year that his contract will seem like a fair deal once the free-agent class this year gets paid.” Castro, who is owed about $38MM over the next four seasons, certainly isn’t cheap and isn’t without his risks. He was a replacement-level player in 2013 and played that way for much of the 2015 season before his bat came to life late in the season following a switch to second base. Of course, Castro also sported an unsustainable .388 BABIP in September and October, which somewhat inflated his production.
Cespedes and Samardzija narrowly won the voting on their respective question, while Gordon was far and away the most popular answer in the Royals realm.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Pen, Prospects, Rays, Yankees

By Jeff Todd | November 9, 2015 at 7:20pm CDT

The GM Meetings are underway with a bang, at least according to Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. He says “it’s actually been a busier first day than normal,” as Ian Browne of MLB.com tweets, and actually indicated that he thought the team had already been very close to striking a trade before it fell apart. Dombrowski was among the baseball operations leaders who spoke with the media today, and we’ll be covering the comments of him and others over the course of the evening.

Here’s the latest from the AL East:

The Red Sox are chasing at least one or two good arms in the pen, said Dombrowski (via Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald, on Twitter). He’d like one of those pitchers to be capable of backing up Koji Uehara as the team’s closer. Indeed, Dombrowski declined to rule out the possibility of adding a pitcher who has served recently in a 9th-inning role.
Dombrowski said that the Red Sox’ highly-regarded group of prospects has drawn quite a bit of interest, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com tweets. “Yes, I will say that unequivocally,” he explained. The veteran executive also indicated that he’s feel comfortable with the organization’s array of young talent even if some were utilized in trade, as Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter. For more on Boston’s stock of trade chips, check out this piece from the Globe’s Alex Speier.
The Rays struck an important trade just days ago, of course, but that doesn’t mean the club’s work is done, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. President of baseball operations Matt Silverman said that the organization “still [has] some areas to address,” though that deal means that the focus is now narrower. He added that he sees the club’s current “depth” as a means of addressing those needs. A trade of James Loney — and some of his $8MM salary — could be pursued now that Logan Morrison is in the fold, Topkin suggests.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman largely rejected the notion of pursuing former Mets infielder Daniel Murphy in free agency, as Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports. “I think if we’re going to pursue something … we have two offensive-profile players already at that position,” Cashman replied when asked about Murphy. “So I think if we did any changing there it would be seeking more balance of both sides of the ball.” Cashman was, of course, referring to Rob Refsnyder and Dustin Ackley. The former is regarded as a strong hitting prospect who lacks defensive polish, while the latter was moved to the outfield by his former club.

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