Fresh MLB Offseason Winners and Losers 1 Month from Spring Training
A handful of Major League Baseball teams are scheduled to have pitchers and catchers report Feb. 18, which means only one thing: We're barely a month out from the official start of spring training.
That makes right about now as good a time as any to update the winners and losers of this active offseason so far.
In the interest of keeping things fresh, the focus will be on any moves, signings, trades or decisions that have been made since the calendar flipped to 2015 and who was impacted by each—for better or worse.
Because not everyone can be a winner.
Winner: John Hart, Atlanta Braves President of Baseball Operations
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In taking over from former general manager Frank Wren, John Hart became the Atlanta Braves president of baseball ops in October and immediately realized that he needed to remake the organization's back-of-the-pack farm system. In under three months, he's done just that.
Hart has made a number of trades, many of which involved popular Braves players like Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and most recently Evan Gattis. That's a tricky path to walk for a fanbase that has come to expect a contending team year in and year out, but Hart has gone almost all-in on his rebuilding approach.
In particular, the Gattis deal, which was carried out Wednesday, looks like a potential coup. Hart was able to land two highly regarded prospects in righty Mike Foltynewicz and third baseman Rio Ruiz, along with a flier in right-hander Andrew Thurman.
As entertaining and powerful as El Oso Blanco was—he hit 43 homers in his first two MLB seasons—Gattis also is already 28 years old, has poor on-base skills (.304 career OBP) and lacks the ability to play any position on a regular basis.
All in all, the deal brings the following youngsters to Atlanta in this offseason's overhaul (deep breath): Arodys Vizcaino, Shelby Miller, Tyrell Jenkins, Max Fried, Jace Peterson, Mallex Smith, Dustin Peterson, Manny Banuelos, Ricardo Sanchez, Foltynewicz, Ruiz and Thurman.
Following the Gattis swap, Keith Law of ESPN writes:
"Atlanta, meanwhile, has gone from a bottom-five system in baseball to likely a top-10 system, overhauling its major league roster while adding a broad mix of near- and long-term talent to its farm, in this case trading a player somewhere near the apex of his value for a very strong return.
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Braves fans may be bummed to see so many of their stars go, but they have a lot to look forward to in the near future.
All that's left to do? Trade closer Craig Kimbrel. Hart, however, recently told Mark Bowman of MLB.com, "We have never entertained trading (Kimbrel) and have had zero conversations with any clubs about Craig. I want him finishing out a World Series win."
Except Kimbrel, the game's best closer, would command a solid return and essentially is an expensive luxury at this point for a team that likely won't be anywhere near the playoffs—let alone a World Series—for a couple of years. At that point, Kimbrel's contract will be nearing its end.
Loser: James Shields, RHP, Free Agent
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Just after the new year, reports surfaced that free-agent right-hander James Shields had an offer worth $110 million on the table, as Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported.
That's a heck of a lot of dough to fork over to a 33-year-old with a lot of innings on his arm. And yet, Shields apparently didn't go for the proposal because—get this—it came from a team for which he didn't want to play, per Rosenthal.
Now? Well, Shields is left trying to land a nine-figure contract from some other club, all while Max Scherzer—the top free agent on the market—is still out there. That's a tough spot to be in, and it could wind up costing Shields millions.
Winner: Yunel Escobar, SS, Washington Nationals
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Simple: Yunel Escobar goes from the rebuilding Tampa Bay Rays to the retooling Oakland Athletics to the rock-solid Washington Nationals, who look primed for another NL East title.
All in the span of a few days.
Loser: Jordy Mercer, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates
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After a very credible 2014 campaign in which Jordy Mercer appeared to have cemented himself as the starting shortstop of the Pittsburgh Pirates by posting a .693 OPS, smacking 41 extra-base knocks and playing some of the best defense at the position, he now has to worry about South Korean star Jung-ho Kang in the picture.
And the reigning Korean Baseball Organization MVP, who finalized a four-year, $16 million deal with the Pirates this week, already is gunning for Mercer's gig. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has this from Kang, "If I get an opportunity to play consistently, I think I can play better (than Mercer)," he told the Yonhap News Agency. "I think I'll have to talk to the team about my position, but I'd like to play shortstop."
To his credit, Mercer handled those potentially incendiary remarks gracefully, telling Biertempfel, "It's good to see he's got confidence coming in. All of us can use that, for sure. If we all set our sights on one goal and have confidence in our ability, the sky is the limit for this team. So it's exciting to see it."
A little friendly competition is a good thing, but don't think this will be an easy situation going forward—maybe for either player.
Winner: Yoan Moncada
5 of 5Fellow Cuban international free agent Yoan Lopez, a 21-year-old right-hander, just scored a record $8.27 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, so the price for elite players from the small island nation continues to go up.
That's more good news for Yoan Moncada, the 19-year-old switch-hitting infielder who is widely considered the top available Cuban talent on the market.
And there's more: The teams that are considered the heavy favorites for Moncada—who still needs to be cleared by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) before he can sign a contract with an MLB club—are only the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, as Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs reports, as well as the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com.
As soon as Moncada becomes unblocked, which could happen at any point now, he is going to get paid.
Statistics are accurate through the 2014 season and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.
To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11.
