MLB Winter Meetings 2015 Day 2: Analyzing Impact of All the Latest Deals, Rumors
After a flurry of action and talk at Day 1 of the winter meetings, Day 2 ended up being pretty darn busy in its own right.
There were a couple impact moves on the second day of Major League Baseball's annual get-together in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, most notably Ben Zobrist choosing his new team and Shelby Miller being shipped to a new home.
Also on Tuesday, the rumor mill had all the latest information on what's going on with Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman and his alleged domestic violence incident, as well as the latest on Jose Fernandez, Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and others.
For a complete recap of Day 2's news and notes, step into the box whenever you're ready.
Cubs Sign Ben Zobrist
1 of 12
Source: Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com
According to an earlier report from Rosenthal, Ben Zobrist's choice came down to the Cubs and the New York Mets. Evidently, he prefers the Windy City to the Big Apple.
In Zobrist, the Cubs are getting baseball's most versatile player. The 34-year-old is a switch-hitter with a good batting eye and a strong contact habit at the plate, and he rounds out his offensive game with a bit of power and speed. His glove is best used at second base and in left field on defense, but he has been played pretty much everywhere throughout his career.
To be sure, Zobrist's best days may be behind him. But he showed in 2015 that he's not over the hill. Despite missing a good chunk of time due to knee surgery, he still posted an .809 OPS and hit 13 homers. The season ended with him playing a starring role in the Kansas City Royals' run to the World Series.
Zobrist fits well on the Cubs. Their whiff-happy lineup will benefit from having his steady bat at the top, and the Cubs are likely to take full advantage of his versatility on defense. Zobrist figures to play primarily second base and occasionally fill in for the defensively challenged Kyle Schwarber in left field.
When the Cubs added Zobrist, they freed themselves up to trade Starlin Castro. Speaking of which...
Cubs Trade Starlin Castro to the Yankees for Adam Warren and Brendan Ryan
2 of 12
To the New York Yankees: 2B Starlin Castro
Second base has been a major problem for the Yankees since Robinson Cano left town. Over the last two seasons, Yankees second basemen rank 29th in MLB in fWAR.
They're obviously hoping Castro can fix that. This is a risky proposition, as he's been essentially a replacement-level player in two of the last three seasons and is owed about $40 million through 2019.
One bright side is that Castro is only heading into his age-26 season. Another is that he responded well to his move from shortstop to second base in 2015, hitting over .350 from the middle of August through the end of the season. As far as upside plays go, the Yankees could have chosen a worse gamble.
To the Chicago Cubs: RHP Adam Warren and INF Brendan Ryan
As soon as the Cubs signed Zobrist, they had no need to hold onto Castro. In turning him into Warren and Ryan, they've done well.
Warren is an unspectacular pitcher, but a useful one. He posted a 3.29 ERA as a swingman for the Yankees in 2015, making 17 starts and 26 relief appearances. He's likely ticketed for long relief in Chicago's bullpen for now, but he's a good bit of rotation insurance should the need arise.
Just as important is that Warren won't be going anywhere any time soon. The 28-year-old is under club control for three more seasons.
It's unclear what Chicago's plans for Ryan are. His reputation as an other-worldly defender precedes him, but he's now nearly 34 with fading health. The Cubs may have agreed to take him just to save the Yankees $1 million on Ryan's salary.
Braves Trade Shelby Miller to Diamondbacks for Ender Inciarte and Others
3 of 12
Source: Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com
To the Arizona Diamondbacks: RHP Shelby Miller and LHP Gabe Speier
The Diamondbacks already bolstered their starting rotation by signing Zack Greinke to one of the most expensive contracts in baseball history. Now, it's even more bolstered.
Miller is a former top prospect who seemed to lose his way in 2014, but he rebounded in his first (and only) season in Atlanta in 2015. Though he lost 17 games, he posted a 3.02 ERA in 205.1 innings.
Miller benefited greatly from adding some versatility to his pitch mix, adding a sinker and cutter to go with his four-seamer. The different looks made Miller one of the league's top contact managers, as Baseball Savant put him in the top 15 in lowest average exit velocity.
At 25, Miller appears to be coming into his own. And because his free agency isn't due until after 2018, the D-Backs figure to have him for at least three more seasons.
Starting pitching was a big question for Arizona in 2015. With Greinke and Miller joining a healthy Patrick Corbin, that shouldn't be the case again in 2016 and beyond.
Elsewhere in the trade, Speier is a 20-year-old left-hander who posted a 2.86 ERA in 33 appearances (no starts) for the Detroit Tigers' Single-A affiliate in 2015.
To the Atlanta Braves: OF Ender Inciarte, RHP Aaron Blair and SS Dansby Swanson
The Braves seem afraid to actually use the word, but they're rebuilding. Fortunately for them, this trade should help them get to where they want to go.
In Inciarte, the Braves are getting a 25-year-old who's controlled through 2020, and a good one at that. Inciarte is coming off a year in which he hit .303 with a .747 OPS, also rating as a terrific defender in both left and right field.
Meanwhile, Blair and Swanson are a good pair of prospects. Blair is power right-hander who is rated by MLB.com as baseball's No. 61 prospect. Swanson is a talented two-way shortstop who was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 draft and is now rated by MLB.com as baseball's No. 10 overall prospect.
Basically, what the Braves have done is turn Miller's breakthrough year into a young star outfielder, one very good prospect and one elite prospect. That's a job well done.
.png?w=256)
Padres Trade Jeff Gyorko to Cardinals for Jon Jay
4 of 12
Source: Cardinals Twitter account
To the St. Louis Cardinals: INF Jedd Gyorko and cash considerations
On the surface, this appears to be a power grab by the Cardinals. Gyorko has slugged 49 home runs in only 364 career games, making him a welcome addition to a Cardinals offense that ranked 25th in home runs in 2015.
It's what else the Cardinals stand to gain that's the question, though. Gyorko owns a .236 career average and a .293 career OBP and has rated poorly wherever he's played on defense.
As such, the righty swinger's biggest appeal to the Cardinals may be his career .776 OPS against left-handed pitching. That highlights him as a good platoon partner for Kolten Wong at second base, and perhaps Matt Adams at first base.
Regarding the cash considerations, Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com reports that the Cardinals are taking on $26 million of the $33 million remaining on Gyorko's contract.
To the San Diego Padres: OF Jon Jay
The Padres are getting healthy doses of outfield depth and versatility. Justin Upton's free agency put the Padres in need of the former, and Jay's ability to play all three outfield spots gives them the latter.
The Padres are also making a worthwhile upside play with Jay's bat. He's coming off a season in which he hit just .210 with a .563 OPS but is a career .287 hitter with a .738 OPS. Not surprisingly, the lefty swinger has been especially effective against right-handed pitching, posting a .750 career OPS.
The Padres don't figure to have Jay for very long. He's only under contract at a little under $7 million for 2016. Given that and where the Padres are, their idea may be to turn Jay into summer trade bait.
Rockies Sign Jason Motte and Chad Qualls
5 of 12
Source: Rockies Twitter account
Jason Motte Contract Terms: Two years, $10 million
Chad Qualls Contract Terms: Two years, $6 million
The Colorado Rockies endured the worst bullpen in baseball for 2015. Their relievers combined for a 4.70 ERA, dead last in MLB.
At first glance, it may look like the Rockies are fooling themselves in hoping that Motte and Qualls can help fix their bullpen. Motte is coming off a modest 3.91 ERA with the Chicago Cubs in 2015, and Qualls is coming off a downright poor 4.38 ERA with the Houston Astros.
However, the Rockies do have some hopes to hang their hats on.
Though Motte hasn't looked as overpowering as he was in heyday since returning from Tommy John surgery in 2014, he did see a velocity uptick in 2015. After averaging 93.9 mph in 2014, he averaged an even 95.0 mph in 2015. As such, the 33-year-old may be able to improve on last year's 6.3 K/9.
As for Qualls, some metrics posit that he actually pitched a lot better than his 2015 ERA indicates. Though he was plagued by home runs, he once again posted a strong K/BB ratio and racked up plenty of ground balls. The latter, especially, is a habit that will play well in Colorado.
Did the Rockies pay too much for Motte and Qualls? Probably, yeah. But it is toward high prices that the relief market is trending, and their deals pretty much ensure things will stay that way.
Braves Sign Tyler Flowers
6 of 12
Source: Scott Merkin of MLB.com
Contract Terms: Two years, $5.3 million
The last time Tyler Flowers was in the news, he was being non-tendered by the Chicago White Sox. Now, he's signing a contract worth more than the $3.5 million that MLB Trade Rumors projected him to make in arbitration.
The 29-year-old has spent parts of seven seasons in the major leagues but has only been a mainstay in the majors in the last two seasons. In those, he failed to impress with his bat, hitting just .240 with a .674 OPS.
Flowers does offer some value on defense, though. He's been about average at throwing out runners over his career. And in 2015, Baseball Prospectus' metrics put Flowers among the top 10 pitch-framers in MLB.
On the Braves, Flowers figures to be the right-handed half of a catching platoon with A.J. Pierzynski. If Pierzynski turns into trade bait during the 2016 season, Flowers may well find himself handling a full-time job.
Rumor: Dodgers Hold Meeting to Choose Course on Aroldis Chapman
7 of 12
Rumor: "Dodgers meeting to decide what to do on Chapman after scouring legal reports: pivot to something else or wait and see how this resolves."
Late on Monday night, Jeff Passan and Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reported that Aroldis Chapman was involved in an alleged domestic violence incident at his Florida home in late October. It may have involved him choking his girlfriend. It definitely involved him firing eight shots from a handgun.
Before that, the big Chapman story of the day was that the Cincinnati Reds had agreed to trade the flame-throwing relief ace to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Needless to say, that trade is now on hold.
The Dodgers do have the power to walk away, but Sherman's report makes it clear they're not in a rush to do that. The Dodgers are going to weigh all the parameters first, and there are plenty of those.
The big one is that Chapman is now being investigated by MLB as part of the league's new domestic violence policy. Rosenthal notes that Chapman's case is a tricky one for MLB, and MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre basically said as much in comments to the press.
“It takes time to gather information, and the same thing with the José Reyes thing,” Torre said, per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, referring to the ongoing case involving the Colorado Rockies shortstop. “We want to make sure we have all the information and then the decision will be made. The only timetable is when we feel we've got as much information as we can get.”
It is noteworthy that Chapman was not arrested following the alleged incident. But according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, MLB's position is that the lack of an arrest isn't a factor in the league's investigation. The league is definitely going to take its time, though, as Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post reports that the league's goal is have a decision by spring training.
Eventually, MLB could decide to suspend Chapman. If so, his situation would become even more complicated.
As Jon Morosi of FoxSports.com reported, Chapman needs 138 days of major league service in 2016 to qualify for free agency at the end of the season. A suspension could keep him from getting that far and could delay his free agency until after 2017.
So, it's possible the Dodgers could have an elite reliever for two seasons rather than just one if they complete the trade. For them, that could be worth the PR nightmare that trading for him would bring.
One way or another, don't expect this situation to be resolved soon.
Rumor: Marlins Owner Doesn't See Anything He Likes for Jose Fernandez
8 of 12
Source: Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com
Rumor: Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria says, “There is nothing I am thinking about doing at the moment with him.”
For anyone who has been following along with the Fernandez sweepstakes, this shouldn't come as a big surprise. The idea of the Miami Marlins actually trading their ace right-hander has always seemed unlikely, and the team's rumored asking price hasn't exactly greased any wheels.
MLB.com's Joe Frisario has reported that "at least a dozen" teams have checked in on Fernandez, but it's clear the Marlins want the world for him. Passan reported Monday that the Marlins asked the Los Angeles Dodgers for prized youngsters Corey Seager and Julio Urias. On Tuesday, Frisario reported that the New York Yankees probably don't have enough for Fernandez even if they start with young right-hander Luis Severino.
The Marlins aren't crazy to set demands so high for Fernandez. He may be a year removed from Tommy John surgery and only three years away from free agency, but a healthy Fernandez is basically a step below Clayton Kershaw. In three seasons, he's used strong control, a blistering fastball and a curveball that is not of this earth to rack up a 2.40 ERA.
Mind you, this doesn't mean Fernandez is entirely unmovable.
According to Rosenthal, the Dodgers are trying to get a third team involved in their pursuit of Fernandez. Also, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reported Tuesday morning that there's a "mystery team" in the Fernandez sweepstakes that, as once source told Stark, has made a "very strong bid" for the 23-year-old.
In other words: Don't expect a trade, but stay tuned.
Rumor: Jason Heyward Is the Cubs' Next Big Target
9 of 12
Rumor: "After landing starter John Lackey for a fraction of the cost, the Cubs are focusing the money they saved on trying to get top free-agent outfielder Jason Heyward, sources say."
With the likes of Jeff Samardzija signing for $18 million per year and David Price and Zack Greinke signing for over $30 million per year, the Cubs' signing of John Lackey to a mere two-year, $32 million contract does indeed come off as a money-saving investment.
If the Cubs are going to put that saved money to use, it might as well be on Heyward.
At just 26 years old, Heyward is unusually young for a free agent. He's also a very strong all-around talent, as he packs a good bat and quality baserunning and is the best defensive right fielder in baseball. Between his youth and his talent, he's arguably the top position player available in free agency.
Of course, that means he won't come cheap.
Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors predicted that it may take a contract as big as 10 years and $200 million to land Heyward, who will also cost a team a draft pick. But even that doesn't sound like too much for the Cubs, who are a big-market team that's short on big long-term commitments and plenty loaded with young talent.
If the Cubs sign Heyward, one wonders if the idea would be to have him play center field. If not, adding Heyward and putting him in right field would only make it easier for the Cubs to trade Jorge Soler.
Rumor: Angels in 'Ongoing Conversations' with Justin Upton
10 of 12
Source: Jon Morosi of FoxSports.com
Rumor: "Angels and Justin Upton's representatives having ongoing conversations."
If nothing else, this tells us the Los Angeles Angels are leaving no stone unturned in their search for a left fielder. They've been linked to Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon and even Jason Heyward. And now, Upton.
This gives you an idea how bad the Angels' left field situation was in 2015, as the club's left fielders finished dead last in MLB in adjusted offense. It also points to how there's currently a big hole out in left field, where the Angels are slated to go with Efren Navarro.
Suffice it to say Upton is a better player than him. The 28-year-old owns a career .825 OPS and has averaged 26 home runs and 16 stolen bases per season since 2009. The downside is that he's one of the most notorious hot-and-cold hitters in MLB, but on the whole, he's plenty productive.
Naturally, the cost to sign Upton will be high. Dierkes sees seven years and $147 million in his future. In addition, signing Upton would cost the Angels a draft pick. Because their farm system is as thin as any in baseball, that's somewhat less than ideal.
However, club owner Arte Moreno may not care. He's used to the Angels being contenders, and he's shown he has no problem spending money to make sure things stay that way.
Rumor: Rangers 'Surveying' Interest on Prince Fielder
11 of 12
Rumor: "Hearing Rangers surveying clubs' interest in picking up bulk of Fielder's contract. Not getting much response."
Take this one with a grain of salt. According to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels denied that the Rangers are shopping Fielder.
But if they really are, we can give them credit for having the right idea.
Fielder's career seemed to be on thin ice in 2014, when he struggled early on before undergoing season-ending neck surgery in May. But he bounced back in a big way in 2015, hitting .305 with 23 home runs and and .841 OPS. Like that, his value has been reestablished.
Sure, the Rangers could take that as their cue to hold onto him. But because Fielder is nearly 32 years old and pretty much restricted to designated hitter duty, his 2015 season is more likely to be a short-lived spike than a real return to form.
So, if the Rangers are going to try to get out of most of the $90 million they still owe Fielder over the next five years, the time is now.
However, it's not surprising to hear Grant say there's not a ton of interest in Fielder out there. His status as a DH-only player limits his appeal to half the league, and his age makes the prospect of taking on the "bulk" of his contract a risky proposition.
Never say never, of course. But if the Rangers actually manage to move Fielder, it will be a surprise.
News and Notes
12 of 12
Here are some other rumors and tidbits from Day 2 of the winter meetings:
- The Arizona Diamondbacks made their signing of ace right-hander Zack Greinke official, per the club's Twitter account.
- Ditto the Chicago Cubs and their signing of John Lackey, per the club's Twitter.
- According to Stark, Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda has officially been posted by the Hiroshima Carp.
- The Washington Nationals appeared to have a deal with right-handed reliever Shawn Kelley on Tuesday, but Nats general manager Mike Rizzo told Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post that nothing is final. In fact, a deal isn't even "necessarily close."
- According to TR Sullivan of MLB.com, the Texas Rangers are talking to the Cleveland Indians about starting pitching after falling short on Shelby Miller, Jose Fernandez and Drew Smyly. However, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports that Cleveland isn't shopping its arms.
- According to Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland is, however, in talks with veteran outfielder Rajai Davis. One figures they see him as insurance for the injured Michael Brantley.
- Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reported that the Baltimore Orioles met with slugging first baseman Chris Davis on Tuesday. After re-signing Darren O'Day, they'd surely love to re-sign Davis and keep his power bat.
- Another first baseman of interest is Milwaukee Brewers platoon specialist Adam Lind, whom Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel considers "good as gone."
- Lind isn't the only lefty-swinging first baseman out there. According to Nightengale, the Chicago White Sox are also shopping Adam LaRoche.
- Mike Leake remains one of the most attractive starting pitchers on the open market, and Heyman reports that he has the attention of the Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals.
- Elsewhere, Heyman reports that veteran left-hander Cliff Lee wants to continue his MLB career on a one-year deal, preferably with a winner.
- Speaking of winners, Morosi reports that the world champion Kansas City Royals like Gerardo Parra as a Plan B if they can't re-sign Alex Gordon.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked. Special thanks to MLB Trade Rumors for putting all the rumors in reports in one place.
.png?w=480)
