MLB Teams Who Enter Winter Meetings Most Desperate to Deal
Let’s be clear, there probably isn’t a single MLB general manager who's truly desperate as the winter meetings get set to start in San Diego if we use the strictest definition of the word. It’s simply too early in the offseason.
If, however, we look at the word from the perspective that something is urgently needed, there are several teams that fit that bill. Truth be told, every MLB club has a hole on the 25-man roster that desperately needs to be filled, but there are four that stand above the rest.
For the record, all but one of the teams chosen here had fine seasons in 2014. Heck, one of them won the World Series last year. But they’ve all reached a point where the areas of concern are best addressed now, before any of the high-profile guys are off the board.
With that, here are four MLB teams entering the winter meetings most desperate to make a deal, either via free agency or trade.
4. Texas Rangers
1 of 4
The Texas Rangers lost out on Torii Hunter. After signing Colby Lewis to a one-year deal earlier this week, they have only three starters penciled in for next season—Yu Darvish, Derrick Holland and Lewis. The bullpen needs an upgrade.
Yeah. It’s safe to say general manager Jon Daniels needs to do something big in San Diego.
Regarding the starting rotation, Evan Grant from The Dallas Morning News points out that Daniels’ options are abundant:
"The Rangers have talked with San Diego about Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross. They have discussed both Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister with Washington, though both pitchers can only be controlled for one year.
On the free agency front, the Rangers targets are mostly in the middle of the market, which means the club has to be patient until guys at the top of the market sign and set a market value. The targets likely include Justin Masterson and possibly one of the pair of recently non-tendered Atlanta Braves talented, but oft-injured due of Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlen.
"
Something will get done to improve the rotation, eventually, but what Daniels needs to do at the winter meetings is find an outfielder and some bullpen help.
Regarding the outfield, Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi is reporting the Rangers are now in the hunt for Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp. The fact that Daniels is considering adding a player with five years and $107 million remaining on his contract should be all the proof you need that he appreciates the urgency of the situation.
True, he will likely try to include a guy like Elvis Andrus in any deal, but the larger point remains: Daniels is exhausting all options when it comes to the lineup.
The reason the GM is being as thorough as he is resides in the fact that there is a lot of talent on the roster. Sure, the Rangers finished behind the Houston Astros in the American League West, but injuries are largely to blame for the club’s poor performance.
Look no further than the fact that Jurickson Profar missed the whole season and Prince Fielder, Shin-Soo Choo, Alex Rios, Martin Perez, Darvish and others finished the year on the disabled list. Flat out, the season was a disaster, but the core is in place.
It must be noted that one-year options aren’t on the list of things to do. “We have a very talented nucleus, which I expect to add to this winter,” Daniels said, via Jeff Wilson from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “but I don’t know about going big on one-year fits.”
That said, Daniels has options. He would be wise to pursue as many as possible at the winter meetings.
3. San Francisco Giants
2 of 4
The San Francisco Giants are on the verge of losing a sizable portion of their roster.
They’ve already lost Pablo Sandoval. Ryan Vogelsong and Jake Peavy are both free agents who could land elsewhere. Sergio Romo and Michael Morse are drawing legitimate interest from a number of clubs.
Simply put, general manager Brian Sabean could find a total of five key contributors from the club that won the 2014 World Series wearing different uniforms in 2015. Adding to the urgency is that the uncertain future of those four isn’t the only thing Sabean needs to be concerned about.
See, the Giants have only one proven starter in the rotation under contract next year—Madison Bumgarner. True, he’s sensational, but he can’t do it alone. And let’s not overlook the fact that Tim Hudson, Angel Pagan, Jeremy Affeldt and Tim Lincecum are all free agents after next season.
As far as potential fits go, the Giants are leaving no stone unturned.
They are “all in” on left-hander Jon Lester, per CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. Sabean is also “showing interest in Ervin Santana, among others,” according to Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi.
Henry Schulman from the San Francisco Chronicle noted that the Giants are also “contemplating a reunion with Melky Cabrera.” Most recently, Ken Rosenthal, also from Fox Sports, pointed out that the club is “turning aggressive on [Chase] Headley” as a replacement for Sandoval at third base.
Making the situation more desperate for Sabean is that his top targets could be off the board in a matter of days. Lester, for example, already has multiple contract offers on the table, and Cabrera is drawing the interest of several teams other than the Giants.
With the number of free agents the Giants have, coupled with the lack of rotation depth and players entering the final year of their accords, Sabean would be wise to be the aggressor at the winter meetings.
2. Baltimore Orioles
3 of 4
As Eduardo A. Encina from The Baltimore Sun noted, “The [Baltimore] Orioles will have much more work to do” in San Diego after losing “three key pieces of [their] 2014 playoff team.”
Of course, Encina was referring to the departures of Nelson Cruz (Seattle Mariners), Nick Markakis (Atlanta Braves) and Andrew Miller (New York Yankees). Their losses leave Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette with a roster that is a shell of what it once was.
He’s going to have to be aggressive to replace at least one of them at the winter meetings.
To be sure, Duquette is going to have to break tradition in San Diego to make his club better. After all, he has made exactly one trade (acquiring Dana Eveland from the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2011) and signed one free agent (Nate McLouth in 2012) at the winter meetings since ascending to his current position, per CSN Baltimore’s Rich Dubroff.
This offseason, however, the Orioles are coming off their first American League East title since 1997, and the other clubs in their division aren’t slowing down.
The Toronto Blue Jays have been active, signing Russell Martin and trading for Josh Donaldson, among other moves. The Boston Red Sox inked Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez to fresh money. And the New York Yankees recently acquired Didi Gregorius from the Arizona Diamondbacks and gave Miller a four-year, $36 million contract.
As it stands, the Orioles are going to have to get creative.
If Duquette is looking to facilitate a trade, he has pieces to move, including Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy. The Orioles are in on Matt Kemp, per Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, and are involved in discussions with the Braves for Justin Upton, according to Jon Morosi, also from Fox. True, Gausman and Bundy are potential stars, making a deal unlikely, but the price to acquire talent is high.
On the free-agent front, the Orioles are rumored to be looking at free-agent outfielder Michael Morse, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. They were also interested in Melky Cabrera as a “fallback option” should Markakis sign elsewhere, per MASNSports.com’s Roch Kubatko. Well, Markakis signed with the Braves, so there’s that.
All of this is to say that the time to be active is now.
Even Duquette acknowledged the fact that his club is not the same. “We lost the home runs, we lost the experience, we lost the on-base capabilities” when Cruz and Markakis left, according to a separate article by Encina (subscription required).
Now, Duquette went on to point out that the O's didn’t overpay to keep both players around, and he has faith in the farm system, but something has to be done. Competing next season may depend on it.
Think about it.
Is Alejandro De Aza really a suitable replacement for Markakis? What about Emilio Bonifacio, who was mentioned by Dan Connolly from The Sun? Can the fanbase realistically expect Steve Pearce to put up another 6.0 WAR?
And no, Delmon Young is not a fourth outfielder. De Aza might be, but Young certainly isn't, yet the Orioles are considering bringing him back, according to Connolly.
So while Buck Showalter is a fine skipper, “In Buck We Trust” only works when he has the talent on the field.
Again, Duquette is going to have to leave his comfort zone, but something needs to be done.
.png?w=256)
1. Seattle Mariners
4 of 4
Fresh off signing Nelson Cruz to a four-year, $58 million contract and giving third baseman Kyle Seager a seven-year, $100 million extension, Seattle Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik is in a unique position.
See, handing out $158 million in new contracts typically suffices for an offseason's worth of activity. But not for the Mariners.
No, they are one player, maybe two, away from being legitimate favorites in the American League West next season. They are that close to going into 2015 as the club that can unseat the Los Angeles Angels from the top spot.
The reality is not lost on Zduriencik.
He has shown interest in Melky Cabera, per Bob Dutton from The News Tribune. “A switch-hitter would be tremendous,” Zduriencik said. True, the club may prefer a right-handed bat, “but you’re not going to walk away from a good hitter,” he continued.
Cabrera isn’t the only outfield bat available, however.
Matt Kemp is widely rumored to be available, and the Mariners have interest, per Fox Sports' Jon Morosi. And while Justin Upton’s status is uncertain, the recent signing of Nick Markakis by the Braves leaves some, including Joel Sherman from the New York Post, to suggest that it is now “easier to trade” a player of Upton’s ilk.
The bottom line is this: Zduriencik needs to make a move or two at the winter meetings. He has the talent should he choose to address the team’s needs via trade. And he has come too far to tighten the purse strings in free agency.
The time to strike and finalize the 25-man roster is now. Zduriencik has to grab the players he wants immediately or risk losing them to another club.
Expect an active week from the Mariners.
Unless otherwise noted, all traditional, team and advanced statistics are courtesy of FanGraphs.com and Baseball-Reference.com. Contract information pulled from Cot's Contracts. Transaction, injury and game information are courtesy of MLB.com.
Follow @MatthewSmithBR
.png?w=480)
