10 Moves MLB Teams Should Still Make Before Spring Training Begins
We are less than a month from the start of spring training, but there is still work to be done this offseason, as teams look to put the finishing touches on their roster for the season to come.
James Shields is the big chip remaining on the free-agent market, but he is far from the only player still looking for a new home that is capable of making a positive impact in 2015.
It's also worth continuing to keep an eye on the trade market. It has been as busy an offseason for trades as any in recent memory, and teams may not yet be done dealing.
Then there are the handful of extension candidates who could be looking to bang out a new deal before Opening Day rolls around. Those negotiations could heat up as the offseason comes to a close.
So with all of that said, here is a look at 10 moves that teams should still make before spring training begins next month.
Los Angeles Angels Sign RP Neal Cotts
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Out of baseball altogether in 2010 and 2011, Neal Cotts made a surprising comeback for the Texas Rangers in 2013. He's been a solid lefty arm out of the bullpen the past two seasons.
Over a combined 131 appearances with the Rangers, he's posted a 2.84 ERA, 1.156 WHIP and 9.3 K/9, and at this point he's the top remaining lefty on the free-agent market.
The 34-year-old should still be able to find a major league deal before the offseason is over, and one team that would certainly benefit from adding his services is the Los Angeles Angels.
After spending the bulk of the 2014 season without a reliable southpaw out of the bullpen, the Angels landed Cesar Ramos in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this offseason.
However, he's likely to serve in more of a swingman and long reliever role than as a late-inning arm, and bringing Cotts on board on a one-year deal could further bolster a solid relief corps.
Colorado Rockies Sign SP Roberto Hernandez
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Despite ranking last in the majors with a 4.84 ERA last season, the Colorado Rockies have yet to make a significant addition on the pitching side of things this offseason.
Their starting rotation will once again be anchored by Jorge De La Rosa, while Jordan Lyles and Tyler Matzek both have some upside after showing flashes of being plus starters last season. But as a whole, Colorado's staff once again looks like a weakness.
The market for free-agent starters is fairly thin at this point, but one guy who could make sense on a low-cost deal is Roberto Hernandez.
The 34-year-old went 8-11 with a 4.10 ERA (4.85 FIP) and 1.391 WHIP last season in 164.2 innings of work, and while he doesn't have the same overpowering stuff he did back when he was pitching under the name Fausto Carmona, he still has some value.
In particular, his ability to generate ground balls makes him an attractive option for the Rockies. He posted a 49.7 percent ground-ball rate last season and has a 56.8 percent rate over the course of his nine-year career, according to FanGraphs.
Signing him to something like the one-year, $4 million deal Ryan Vogelsong recently signed with the San Francisco Giants would give the Rockies some useful rotation depth and perhaps a nice trade chip come July.
Houston Astros Sign SP Kyle Kendrick
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Interested in adding some veteran depth to their starting rotation, the Houston Astros made a serious run at signing Ryan Vogelsong. However, he eventually opted to return to the San Francisco Giants.
While the pitching market has thinned, there are still some useful arms the team could now turn its attention toward signing, per Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.
"With the Astros losing out on Vogelsong, they might turn their sights to comparable free agents such as (Chris) Young, Kevin Correia, and Kyle Kendrick," wrote Cafardo.
The 30-year-old Kendrick might be the most attractive option of the group.
He is a workhorse capable of eating innings, and he's still relatively young compared to the alternatives of Correia (34) and Young (35).
He's won 31 games with a 4.43 ERA (4.31 FIP) and 1.347 WHIP while averaging 180 innings over the past three years. Those might not be headline-grabbing numbers, but it represents solid production from a back-of-the-rotation arm.
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Tampa Bay Rays Acquire 1B Ryan Howard from the Phillies
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I know, I know, but hear me out.
The Tampa Bay Rays have the arms to be one of the best pitching teams in the league in 2015, but their offense looks like it could be among the worst in baseball.
They may have upgraded at positions like catcher (Rene Rivera) and shortstop (Asdrubal Cabrera), but they have also traded away four of their most productive offensive players from a year ago in Wil Myers, Ben Zobrist, Matt Joyce and Sean Rodriguez.
In fact, Evan Longoria was the only player on the team with more than 12 home runs and 70 RBI last season, and the Rays were the lowest-scoring team in the AL at 3.78 runs per game.
The DH spot looked like a prime area to add some pop this offseason after the position produced just a .703 OPS and 16 home runs last season. Yet Tampa has yet to add a power bat of any sort.
Enter Ryan Howard.
The 35-year-old is a shell of the player he was in his prime, and he hit just .223/.310/.380 last year. However, Howard did manage to hit 23 home runs and drive in 95 runs in what was his first healthy season since 2011.
Now the obvious sticking point is the $60 million Howard is still owed over the next two seasons, and it remains to be seen how much of that the Phillies would be willing to eat.
However, they do appear motivated to move him after general manager Ruben Amaro told 97.5 The Fanatic that the team would be better off without him.
"We've talked to Ryan, and I told him that in our situation it would probably bode better for the organization not with him but without him. With that said if he's with us, then we'll work around him. We'll hope he puts up the kind of numbers that we hope he can and we'll see where it goes from there.
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If the Phillies were willing to eat something like $50 million of that remaining money, he could be an attractive option as a $5 million player the next two years.
Milwaukee Brewers Re-Sign RP Francisco Rodriguez
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The Milwaukee Brewers waited until Feb. 7 to sign Francisco Rodriguez last offseason, and it looks like there is at least a chance the veteran reliever could be another late-offseason addition to the Brewers roster.
The team is in talks with the 33-year-old, according to Buster Olney of ESPN, as it looks to round out a bullpen that also lost Zach Duke and Tom Gorzelanny to free agency this winter.
All things considered, K-Rod wound up being a relative bargain on the one-year, $3.25 million the team signed him to. He saved 44 games and made the All-Star team for the first time since 2009.
Rodriguez was virtually untouchable to open the season, allowing just eight hits and zero earned runs in 19 innings of work over his first 19 appearances and converting all 15 of his save chances.
However, that phenomenal start helped disguise what was a fairly mediocre season the rest of the way, as he converted 29 of 34 save chances with a 4.22 ERA over his final 50 appearances of the season.
A 4.50 FIP and a .216 BABIP both point to some fairly significant regression in 2015, but at a price similar to what he cost last season, he'd be worth bringing back.
Toronto Blue Jays Acquire RP Jonathan Papelbon from the Philadelphia Phillies
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The Philadelphia Phillies have finally started unloading some veteran pieces this offseason, but they have yet to find a taker for closer Jonathan Papelbon.
"Never seen a player meet expectations and have as little trade value as (Jonathan) Papelbon)," tweeted Jon Heyman of CBS Sports earlier this offseason.
The 34-year-old had what was by all accounts a solid season last year, converting 39 of 43 save chances with a 2.04 ERA, 0.905 WHIP and 8.5 K/9 in his third season in Philadelphia.
However, he is owed $13 million this coming season with a vesting option for $13 million in 2016 if he finishes 48 games in 2015.
He also provides a list with 12 teams he'd be willing to accept a trade to each year, with Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly providing that updated list. Papelbon has a right to veto a deal to the other 17 clubs.
The Toronto Blue Jays are not among the teams on that list, but if they were willing to exercise his 2016 option in advance, he may welcome a chance to move to a team expected to be in contention.
The Blue Jays have shown an all-in mentality this offseason with the signing of Russell Martin and acquisition of Josh Donaldson, but they do still have a glaring hole at the back of the bullpen.
As it currently stands, Brett Cecil and prospect Aaron Sanchez are the leading candidates to close for the Blue Jays. Bringing aboard Papelbon would certainly make the relief corps better as a whole.
Cleveland Indians Extend SP Corey Kluber
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After an under-the-radar performance in 2013, Corey Kluber officially broke out this past season when he took home AL Cy Young honors.
He finished the 2014 season 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA, 1.095 WHIP and 269 strikeouts in 235.2 innings of work, emerging as one of the best pitchers in all of baseball.
The Indians would no doubt love to keep their emerging star long term, and Kluber is an interesting case when it comes to extension talks, as there's a good chance he'll be just as motivated as the Indians to get a deal done.
A late-bloomer, Kluber is already 28 years old, and he's still a year away from reaching arbitration eligibility. That means he won't reach free agency for the first time until his age-33 season, so there's a good chance he won't have a nine-figure payday waiting for him at that point in his career.
While he could simply go year to year through the arbitration process, the stability of a long-term deal with such a short track record of success may be hard to pass up.
To this point, the Indians and general manager Mark Shapiro have yet to begin extension talks with Kluber, but it's something that could be explored in the near future, as he told reporters.
"Corey represents all of the things we look for in players: dependable, reliable person, committed to his work ethic, talented. Then you look at contracts and you say, 'Can we find that point where we're both comfortable with the shared risk?' We don't know that right now. That's something that we'll have to look at. As prioritization of the calendar goes, it's something we'll probably look at over the next couple of months.
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Probably the sooner the better for the Indians, as the price of pitching continues to climb.
Cincinnati Reds Extend SP Johnny Cueto
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As expected, it's been a busy offseason for the Cincinnati Reds, with the team trading upcoming free agents Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon during the winter meetings.
There are still decisions to be made about the long-term makeup of the starting rotation, though, as Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake are also set to hit free agency following the 2015 season.
Cueto is coming off of the best season of his career, as he went 20-9 with a 2.25 ERA and 0.960 WHIP while leading the NL with 242 strikeouts in 243.2 innings of work.
That earned him a second-place finish in NL Cy Young voting. After an injury-plagued 2013 season, the 28-year-old is poised for a huge payday, whether it's in the form of an extension from the Reds or on the open market next winter.
According to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com, Cueto is open to an extension with the Reds, but he is only willing to negotiate until Opening Day rolls around.
"He loves Cincinnati and wants to stay with the Reds," agent Bryce Dixon said. "But he does not want to be a distraction in the middle of the season if he has not signed. He wants there to be some sort of closure once the season starts."
The Reds have the makings of a terrific long-term rotation, with Tony Cingrani, Robert Stephenson, Anthony DeSclafani and Jonathon Crawford all more or less big league ready and Homer Bailey signed long term.
Locking up Cueto to anchor will no doubt cost well in excess of $100 million, but it could be a necessary cost to keep the Reds in the NL Central hunt moving forward.
Boston Red Sox Sign SP James Shields
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By all accounts, the Red Sox appear to be happy with the current makeup of their starting rotation after adding Rick Porcello, Wade Miley and Justin Masterson this offseason to the incumbent duo of Clay Buchholz and Joe Kelly.
"You never close your eyes to opportunities, but we’re not actively engaged in anything right now," general manager Ben Cherington told reporters in a late-December conference call. "We’d feel very good if we opened the season with the guys we have."
That's all well and good, but for a team that looked to be going all-in with the signings of Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval, it's still hard to imagine it not adding a front-line starter before spring training begins.
Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe agreed:
"For me it makes no sense to do all they’ve done — and they’ve done a lot with formidable lineup additions like Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez; three new pitchers in Rick Porcello, Wade Miley, and Justin Masterson, who are all good interior pieces – and not go after the ace.
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With Max Scherzer and Jon Lester signed and it looking less and less likely that Cole Hamels or Jordan Zimmermann will be traded, the only remaining ace-caliber arm on the market appears to be James Shields.
For whatever reason, the market simply has not developed for the 33-year-old workhorse, despite an impressive track record of success.
"There was a rumor of $110 million, five-year offer for Shields a few weeks ago, and either that was a mirage or it came from a place Shields didn't prefer," wrote Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
His price could start dropping as we push closer to the start of spring training. If he winds up available on something like a five-year, $80 million deal, the Red Sox would be wise to change their tune and add the ace that still looks to be lacking from their roster.
St. Louis Cardinals Extend RF Jason Heyward
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It's been another successful offseason for the St. Louis Cardinals, and it started out with the team acquiring outfielder Jason Heyward and setup man Jordan Walden from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for young starter Shelby Miller and prospect Tyrell Jenkins.
The 25-year-old Heyward is set to hit free agency at the end of the season, and according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the Cardinals would like to sign him to an extension.
"(GM John) Mozeliak said there is no doubt the club “would be interested in pursuing something” that keeps Heyward a Cardinal. That something portends to be a record contract for the club, surpassing the seven-year, $120 million deal signed by Matt Holliday. But because of Heyward’s age, such a deal would also include what are usually regarded as a players’ peak years.
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It's rare that a player as good as Heyward hits the open market at his age, as even offering up a seven-year extension would still only run through his age-32 season.
Heyward has yet to fully deliver on the tremendous offensive potential he showed when he broke into the league as a 20-year-old back in 2010, but that hasn't stopped him from being one of the most valuable players in baseball.
Terrific on-base skills, good speed on the bases and phenomenal defense in right field helped him to a 7.0 WAR in 2014, and he still has plenty of upside moving forward.
One way or another, Heyward is likely going to cash in with a deal well north of $100 million, and after giving up four years of team control with Miller, it's hard to imagine the Cardinals letting him get away.
All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference, unless otherwise noted.
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