Updating the Hottest Questions of the 2014-2015 MLB Offseason, Week 8
Several MLB teams already completed their holiday shopping for 2015, crossing items off their wish lists early in a frantic offseason.
Yet with a week left in 2014, several high-profile storylines loom large across the diamond. Most involve marquee names far from guaranteed to stay put before Opening Day. If this offseason has taught fans anything, few players are truly off limits.
Will anyone purchase some late presents before the New Year rolls around? Now that winter is truly upon us, general managers will feel added pressure to address weaknesses while planning ahead to 2015 and beyond.
Maybe it won't beat the new video game found under the tree yesterday, but the gift of endless possibilities continues to bestow baseball fans this offseason.
What Are the Atlanta Braves Doing?
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The Atlanta Braves are having a bizarre offseason, undergoing a rebuilding phase while also signing veterans on the free-agent market.
When they traded Jason Heyward—who posted a team-high 5.1 fWAR last season—out of fear of losing him for nothing next year, the writing was on the wall. The font became even larger when they jettisoned Justin Upton for a package of prospects.
If they're restocking for the long haul, that's perfectly fine. After going an underwhelming 79-83 last season, new president John Hart probably felt the current roster missed its window of opportunity.
If that's the case, why sign 31-year-old Nick Markakis to a four-year deal? Is he really their desired Freddie Freeman sidekick for the future? They also made another free-agent splash, inking A.J. Pierzynski to a one-year deal.
Securing a short-term placeholder doesn't interfere with their future plans, but it does mean they're serious about sticking Evan Gattis in left field. In a 48-game trial there two seasons ago, he was held responsible for minus-10 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS).
Sustaining that poor play would easily make him baseball's worst defensive left fielder. Is that steep price worth paying for someone with a career .304 on-base percentage?
They also fortified the bullpen by signing Jason Grilli for two years. Now that they have an alternative locked up, they could really look ahead by dealing star closer Craig Kimbrel, a notion The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's David O'Brien shut down.
That's a shame, because a premium closer—even the best one in baseball over the past few years—is a luxury a losing squad can't afford. Relievers are a volatile species, and the Braves have a long hill to climb to contention during his remaining three years under contract.
How Will the Cincinnati Reds Handle Johnny Cueto's Pending Free Agency?
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The Cincinnati Reds have a tough decision on their hands with Johnny Cueto, who hits free agency next offseason. Do they dedicate their resources to extending him now, hope for the best next winter or part ways before risking the same result with no return?
If they don't act fast, they'll have to play out the season with his potential departure looming over them. Agent Bryce Dixon told CBS Sports' Jon Heyman that the ace will cease negotiations once the 2015 season begins.
Dixon said:
"He'll give it until Opening Day. Then he's going to be focused on the season and trying to do what he can for Cincinnati. If something happens, we're probably to keep it to this off-season. We're not going to be looking to do something this summer.
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After Cueto went 20-9 with a 2.25 ERA and 242 strikeouts, Dixon is setting the bar high for his client. When Heyman mentioned teammate Homer Bailey's six-year, $105 million deal as a comparison, he reported that "Lester is a better comp ... Scherzer's the closest comp."
Lester will earn $155 million through six years for the Chicago Cubs, and the unsigned Scherzer reportedly wants north of $200 million. Hearing those expectations, general manager Walt Jocketty needs to pick up the phone and start fielding some calls.
Touting a 7.41 career strikeouts per nine innings, Cueto is no Scherzer. Although he pitched a yeoman's 243.2 innings in 2014, that marked only the second time he exceeded 200 frames in a single season. He's a great pitcher, but not a perennial Cy Young candidate worth such a hefty investment.
The Reds already moved Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon, so they have to know a title isn't in the cards next season. Cash out on Cueto now with his value at a peak. A letdown 2015 could deflate his stock for a deadline move.
Do the San Diego Padres Have Another Blockbuster Planned?
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The San Diego Padres grabbed all the headlines by landing not one, not two, but three big-name outfielders. Penciling Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Wil Myers in the batting order sure looks good after ranking last in run production during 2014, but the moves may also prove impractical.
For starters, who will play center field? Kemp has the experience there, but that experience involves him being the worst defender by a massive margin. Accruing all the talent now leaves Seth Smith, Cameron Maybin and Will Venable all out of work.
Such a surplus begs the question: Does A.J. Preller have something else up his sleeve?
Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News brought up San Diego's interest in Cole Hamels, with Myers serving as the bait. In a conflicting report, U-T San Diego's Dennis Lin said the club plans to keep all three acquisitions and insert Myers at center.
It's scary to imagine what an ace of Hamels' caliber could accomplish in Petco Park. Last year, the lefty procured a 1.82 ERA away from Citizens Bank Park, and the spacious park led Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner to ERAs of 1.88 and 1.43, respectively, at home.
Perhaps Preller is simply collecting value wherever he can find it, worrying about how it all jells together later. The Padres don't necessarily need Hamels, but they certainly didn't need all three new outfield bats.
At the least, Smith should draw interest from clubs looking for a strong lefty to take the tall end of a platoon. Venable fills that role to a lesser extent, so having both rot away on the bench makes little sense for an organization that wouldn't mind some more pitching and infield depth.
Will Troy Tulowitzki Get Traded to New York?
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This popular New York shortstop retired, creating a huge void in the Big Apple that only Troy Tulowitzki could fill. After losing 96 games last year, will the Colorado Rockies jettison their franchise player?
According to Heyman, both the Yankees and Mets have inquired about him, with the Mets getting deeper into trade talks that have not progressed well.
"The Mets maintain interest in Rockies star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, but it's clear there's a major gap to bridge in negotiations between the teams, with differences in ideas of player compensation and financial considerations, as well.
Meantime, a couple other teams—including the rival Yankees—are said to have checked in recently on Tulowitzki in the wake of the report here late last week that talks between the Mets and Rockies were ongoing.
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It's more of a pipe dream for the Yankees, who don't have the prospects to satisfy Colorado's demands. Tulowitzki created a stir by ditching the Rockies and the Bluth banana stand to catch a game at Yankee Stadium.
The more likely scenario resides in Flushing, where the Mets can offer a package revolving around top prospect Noah Syndergaard. Heyman, however, wrote that the Rockies also want Zack Wheeler, who netted a 9.08 K/9 ratio during his first full MLB season.
If the Mets made it their mission to land the 30-year-old shortstop, they could make it happen. If the Rockies had no reservations about trading the brilliant, yet oft-injured slugger, he'd be gone. Both sides seem to have reluctantly entered the conversation out of peer pressure.
Why would the Rockies want to trade a home-grown star who hit .340/.432/.603 last year? And why would the Mets gut their farm system for a veteran who has played 130 or more games once since 2010 while inflating his other-worldly stats inside Coors Field?
Is Ben Zobrist the Next Big Name on the Move?
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When even the slightest chance emerges of a high-caliber player getting dealt, his name circulates the rumor mill for weeks, months or even years on end until a resolution occurs. So during a year in which the Tampa Bay Rays expelled David Price and Myers, the silence on Ben Zobrist became increasingly eerie.
Fox Sports' Jon Morosi had no hard news to report, but he discussed the lack of attention around the undervalued infielder.
"Surprisingly, relatively little has been written or said about the possibility of a Ben Zobrist trade," Morosi wrote. "That should change soon. There’s a decent chance Zobrist will be traded between now and Opening Day, for a number of reasons."
He cited Zobrist's contract, which expires at the end of 2015, as well as his positional flexibility expanding the field of suitors. Not viewed as the traditional star, the 33-year-old's track record says otherwise.
Over the past five years, Zobrist has compiled a 26.9 WAR, which ranks seventh among position players behind Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Andrew McCutchen, Adrian Beltre, Mike Trout and Jose Bautista. Despite his lack of premium contact or power, he reaches base at a stellar clip while playing plus defense across the diamond.
The time where those skills go unnoticed has long passed. Someone will give him a substantial deal next winter, and it won't be the Rays unless he takes a considerable hometown discount. In the past, the small-market club has shown no hesitation to wring some value out of pending free agents via the trading block.
If the Zobrist rumor mill doesn't heat up before Opening Day, he'll become a primary talking point come July.
All advanced statistics are courtesy of FanGraphs.
