MLB Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz Amid Lockout
As the MLB lockout drags on, two stories remain prominent: Which team will land Trevor Story, and who will the Mets bring on board as their latest manager?
The interest in Story has not quite been as plentiful as expected, creating questions about his ability to warrant the big-money deal some thought he was destined for at the beginning of the offseason.
Might a shorter-term deal with a contender reignite interest in him for next year?
That question and the latest interviewee for the Mets skipper position headline this crop of MLB rumors.
Mets Conduct Interview with Dodgers Coach for Vacant Manager Position
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The New York Post's Joel Sherman reported the Mets wrapped up their first round of interviews for its manager position by interviewing Dodgers first-base coach Clayton McCullough.
McCullough turned down an early-career opportunity to play for the Seattle Mariners in 1998, opting instead to play college ball at Eastern Carolina. He would go on to be drafted (a second time) by Cleveland but would spend his days playing developmental ball before being hired as Toronto's minor league manager, where he compiled a winning record.
He joined the Dodgers organization in 2015 and was named first base coach in 2021.
McCullough is a young prospect of a managerial candidate, the complete opposite of someone like Buck Showalter, who has also been interviewed by the Mets and is the favorite to win the job. The former Orioles skipper left the team "pretty impressed" following his interview, per the New York Post's Mike Puma.
McCullough's lack of experience as a manager in the bigs likely hurts the likelihood of him getting the job. The Mets have spent record amounts of money this offseason and want to win now. They don't have time to hire an unproven commodity and let him find his footing in the role.
The first base coach may one day get his shot at running a team, but for now, this feels like a club just doing its due diligence in the search for the guy who will lead it for the foreseeable future.
Blue Jays Pursued Corey Seager Before Rangers Deal
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The Toronto Blue Jays were in the sweepstakes for star shortstop Corey Seager before his move to the Texas Rangers, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported: "The Blue Jays were the mystery entrant in the Seager sweepstakes, but they too were unwilling to match Texas' mega-offer."
That mega-offer was for 10 years and $325 million.
Seager ultimately signed with the Rangers, but the idea of him joining a lineup that also includes Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is destined to be one of those great "what if?" questions.
Seager was an MVP candidate for the world champion Dodgers in 2020 and remained consistent for the team in 2021, during which he achieved a .306 batting average, a .394 on-base percentage and an OPS of .915. In the field, he amassed 104 putouts and a fielding percentage of .975, proving he was as much an asset defensively as offensively, if not more so.
He earned the enormous contract as one of the hottest free agents in the sport this year, and he joins Marcus Semien in what will be a revamped Rangers lineup in 2022.
The Blue Jays did manage to strengthen their rotation in free agency, adding former San Francisco Giant Kevin Gausman.
Possibility That Trevor Story Signs a One-Year Deal
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Trevor Story entered free agency as one of the most coveted shortstops in the game, seemingly destined to sign a big-money contract that would eat up the next six or seven years of his career.
Instead, he may have to settle for a one-year "prove it" deal, per reports from ESPN's Kiley McDaniels and NBC Sports Boston's John Tomase, potentially with either the New York Yankees or Red Sox.
It's not particularly surprising that Story isn't attracting suitors willing to throw endless money over the course of a half-decade at him. He regressed, significantly, in every measurable category in 2021.
There were fewer home runs (24), a less-impressive batting average (.251) and his lowest total bases in a regular-length season since 2017.
In a contract year, he failed to live up to the standard that teams had come to expect, hurting his chances of landing a deal that rivaled that of Corey Seager or whatever Carlos Correa ultimately ends up with.
It is not the first time a one-year deal has worked out for a player.
Gausman turned a one-year deal with the Giants into a big payday from the Blue Jays earlier this offseason and, as Tomase reminded, Semien used a season in Toronto to earn a massive deal with the Rangers.
While he may have to wait a season to get the deal he expected, Story will benefit in the long run if he can catch on with a team on a short-term contract and rediscover the output that earned him the attention of the media and set lofty expectations in the first place.
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