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Free-agent starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann looks to be the first domino to fall in the free-agent market, as he reportedly has found a new home in Detroit.

Continue for updates.

Tigers Reportedly Reach Deal with Zimmermann

Sunday, Nov. 29

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported the two sides have agreed to terms, which were not disclosed.

On Saturday, Jon Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported talks between the team and Zimmerman had “become serious.”

The Tigers housed elite arms such as Max Scherzer and David Price as recently as 2014 and 2015, respectively, and have seen a falloff from Anibal Sanchez and Justin Verlander.

They missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010 and will need to improve at the top of the rotation if they want to play meaningful baseball in October next year.

The Tigers fired general manager Dave Dombrowski in August, and his replacement, Al Avila, may be inclined to make a big splash in the offseason to help vault the Tigers back into contention.

Dodgers Reportedly Considered Zimmermann

Sunday, Nov. 29

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported Zimmermann “is drawing healthy interest from the Dodgers.” He added, “The Dodgers may lose Zack Greinke, so Zimmermann would be a decent replacement as a No. 2. But there could be another free agent on their minds, as well as a mid-to-end rotation guy.”

Zimmermann, 29, is expected to command more than $100 million, per Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors.

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After two injury-plagued years, free-agent outfielder Shane Victorino could be a solid buy-low candidate for teams seeking depth in the outfield this offseason. 

Continue for updates. 

Cleveland Reportedly Contacted Victorino

Saturday, Nov. 28

According to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Victorino is “one of the many outfielders the Indians have contacted” so far this offseason. 

Cleveland is desperately seeking depth in the outfield, especially with star left fielder Michael Brantley undergoing shoulder surgery in early November that could keep him out of action up to six months.

The Indians are always limited in what they can spend on the market, so Victorino could be a nice stop-gap player for them to focus on while waiting for Brantley to return. The soon-to-be 35-year-old was on Cleveland’s radar three years ago before he eventually signed a three-year deal with Boston. 

Victorino helped the Red Sox win a World Series in 2013, hitting a memorable grand slam against Detroit in Game 6 of the ALCS, but injuries have limited him to 101 games the past two years and he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in July. 

The Flyin’ Hawaiian posted a .230/.308/.292 line with one home run in 178 at-bats between the Red Sox and Angels last season. 

Even though Victorino is a limited player at this stage of his career, he does boast value as a platoon player with an .859 career OPS against left-handed pitching. 

As long as Victorino can stay healthy, which is a huge question mark at this stage of his career, there’s the potential for him to be a quality outfielder for another season or two. 

Stats per Baseball-Reference.com

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In an era of baseball when right-handed power is at a premium, South Korean slugger Byung-ho Park figured to draw a lot of attention, with the Minnesota Twins winning the bidding rights to negotiate with the 29-year-old. 

Continue for updates. 

Park Reportedly Traveling to Minnesota

Saturday, Nov. 28

According to a report from Naver Sports, per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press, Park is flying to America on Sunday with a stop in Chicago before traveling to the Twin Cities. 

“From there, Park will head to the Twin Cities, where he is scheduled to meet with Twins officials and undergo a physical exam,” according to Berardino’s translation of the report. “If ‘negotiations proceed smoothly,’ the report states, Park could be introduced as the newest member of the Twins next week.”

Berardino did note that it is “unclear” if this means that Park has agreed to terms on a deal with the Twins or at least made progress on a contract. 

Twins general manager Terry Ryan said after the team won the bidding for Park with a $12.8 million posting fee that he was “hopeful of coming to an agreement,” per Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.

Park has been one of the premier sluggers in Korean baseball for years, posting a .343/.436/.714 line in 140 games last year with the Nexen Heroes. It’s not a one-to-one transition from the Korean Baseball Organization to Major League Baseball, but the Twins saw enough potential in the bat to put up a lot of money just to speak with him.

The Twins do have a logjam at first base and designated hitter right now, with Joe Mauer, Miguel Sano and Trevor Plouffe sharing time at the positions.

Park’s presence would create more chaos, though teams are never going to shy away from adding a bat and will worry about where to put someone when the problem arises. 

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The MLB offseason is nearly a month old, and thus far, there hasn’t been the overwhelming activity we saw at the same point last winter.

Despite it still being early, there are a few teams already headed toward failed offseasons. The New York Yankees, Miami Marlins and Cleveland Indians still have time to right their wrongs, but each organization is already behind the eight ball with the 2016 season on the horizon.

Let’s take a closer look at what each team is plotting this winter, and why they are missing golden opportunities to improve through a loaded free-agent class. 

Cleveland Indians

A refusal to spend in free agency could cost the Indians a chance to truly compete in 2016. 

Cleveland has the makings of an elite rotation. Indians starters finished second in the AL in ERA and topped MLB in strikeouts per nine innings last season. Carlos Carrasco (fifth), Corey Kluber (sixth), Danny Salazar (12th), and Trevor Bauer (24th) all ranked in the top 25 in K/9 last season.

The issue was that the Indians paired a fairly anemic offense with that electric rotation. The Tribe scored 669 runs in 2015, which put them 11th out of 15 AL squads. 

Seems fairly simple, right? Add a few offensive pieces, and the Indians could be really dangerous in 2016. 

Unfortunately, Cleveland may have to rob Peter to pay Paul to accomplish that. Per Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, the Indians are actively shopping their starting pitchers in hopes of acquiring outfield upgrades. 

With outfielder Michael Brantley out until at least May with a shoulder injury, the Indians have become even more desperate for offense. As B/R’s own Zachary Rymer points out, Cleveland has little leverage in potential trade talks due to its lack of options. 

It may be uncharacteristic for Cleveland to make a splash in free agency, but this is the winter to do so. If new general manager Mike Chernoff decides against that course of action, the Indians will have no choice but to subtract from one of the top rotations in MLB. 

Miami Marlins

My, how things have changed. 

Last winter, the Marlins seemed like a team on the cusp of contending for a playoff spot. With a core of young talent developing into everyday players at the same time, Miami was a trendy pick to make noise in the NL. 

But that hype didn’t translate to wins in 2015. The Marlins finished 20 games under .500, firing manager Mike Redmond in the process. Now, Miami seems to be running off some of its young talent that had so many baseball folks drooling prior to last season. 

The most damning rumors involve ace Jose Fernandez. Andy Slater of 940-AM WINZ and iHeartRadio has reported that the Marlins have grown tired of Fernandez’s attitude:

As I reported last week and on Tuesday, the Marlins front office is not happy with Fernandez’s attitude. “Jose talks to management like they are children,” another player source told me. I’ve now learned, it goes beyond that.

On at least two occasions in the Marlins clubhouse this season, Fernandez approached [Miami president of baseball operations Michael] Hill — according to multiple player sources — and openly said “when are you going to trade me?”

To be fair, Slater backtracked on those comments and numerous MLB sources, like Joel Sherman of the New York Post, have since reported that Fernandez is unavailable this winter. Still, the club’s rocky relationship with its ace is a development that Marlins fans can’t be happy to see. 

A Miami youngster who most certainly is available is outfielder Marcell Ozuna. ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick has reported that the Fish are seeking a young starter in return, and that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria “can’t stand” Ozuna. 

Owners and players disagree all the time, but it seems counter-productive to trade away a 25-year-old one year removed from a 23-homer, 85-RBI season from a squad loaded with young talent. 

But that’s what Loria is reportedly looking to accomplish. The Marlins should be adding cost-effective veterans to pair with its young core, not shopping two players with immense upside. 

New York Yankees 

In one of the surprises of the winter thus far, the Yankees have been relatively quiet on the free-agent front. 

That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Under the late George Steinbrenner, the Yankees were notorious for throwing money at high-profile free agents that allowed the club to remain somewhat relevant each season. However, those long-term deals often left the Yankees with aging stars making way more than they should.

With new principal owner Hal Steinbrenner, there’s been a renewed focus on growing young talent and maintaining draft picks instead of losing them as compensation for signing free agents. The Yankees have been active in free agency, but it’s been a far cry from the free-spending days of the early 2000s.

As for 2015, Steinbrenner has announced publicly that the Yankees will maintain their newfound thinking by trying to upgrade the roster without splurging on a free-agent splash.

“Yet an interview session with the Yankees’ managing general partner left little doubt that, for now, this winter’s plan is similar to last winter’s, only with less financial wiggle room — and, to be fair, fewer holes to fill,” said Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.

However, New York isn’t far away from being a serious player in the American League. If there is an offseason to revitalize the old Yankee free-agent philosophy, it’s this one.

The Yankees could use another arm to pair with a promising rotation of Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, Michael Pineda and Nathan Eovaldi. New York’s starting staff is talented, but Tanaka, Pineda and Eovaldi each dealt with injuries last season, and Severino remains relatively inexperienced. 

With so many starters waiting to ink their signatures on the free-agent market, it seems like the Yankees should be interested in bringing one of them to the Bronx. If Steinbrenner deems David Price or Zack Grienke too expensive, Jordan Zimmermann, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija are more cost-effective options. 

Trading for a starter is obviously a possibility, but that would seem to defeat the purpose of grooming homegrown players for major league roles. The Yankees have the farm system that should allow them to be aggressive in free agency to fill their holes, but are holding firm on their new way of thinking.

In the meantime, other AL teams are passing them by. 

All stats courtesy of FanGraphs. 

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Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig will face an investigation from Major League Baseball after he was reportedly involved in a brawl at a bar and allegedly shoved his sister. 

According to TMZ Sports, Puig and his sister were drinking together at a bar in Miami before getting “into a heated argument…and things escalated when he pushed her.” Per TMZ Sports, employees at the bar ran over to break it up, leading to Puig getting physical with them.

Continue for updates.

Dodgers President Comments on Puig

Monday, Nov. 30

TMZ Sports spoke to Dodgers president Stan Kasten, who spoke on the investigation into Puig and his status on the team:

MLB to Investigate Puig’s Involvement in Bar Fight

Friday, Nov. 27

According to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, MLB is going to investigate Puig using the league’s newly implemented domestic violence policy.

Hernandez provided more details from the incident:

The bouncer told police Puig had sucker-punched him. Puig said the bouncer was overly aggressive. Neither said they were interested in pressing charges, and (Major Delrish Moss) said the police considered the case closed.

The Dodgers declined to comment, as did Puig’s agent.

In August, per Paul Hagen of MLB.com, the league and Major League Baseball Players Association agreed to a new policy that covers domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. Under the agreement, the commissioner’s office investigates every allegation.

Once the investigation is complete, the commissioner decides “on appropriate discipline, with no minimum or maximum penalty under the policy.” Players are allowed to appeal the decision.

Puig is coming off the worst season of his brief MLB career, playing a career-low 79 games because of injuries. The 24-year-old hit .255/.322/.436 with 11 home runs, but on Nov. 21, Hernandez noted the Dodgers aren’t likely to trade Puig because his stock is so low.

This alleged incident will lead to more questions about Puig, though MLB’s investigation is likely to take some time before providing a final verdict.

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Left-hander J.A. Happ on Friday signed a three-year deal worth $36 million with the Toronto Blue Jays, according to MLB Roster Moves. 

It will be Happ’s second stint with the Blue Jays after he spent two-plus seasons in Toronto beginning in 2012.

With the Seattle Mariners and Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015, Happ posted a winning record for the first time since 2010, when he was with the Houston Astros. He also struck out a career-high 151 batters in 172 innings. 

The turnaround came after he was traded to the Pirates in the last few hours before the deadline. After starting the season 4-6 with a 4.64 ERA in Seattle, Happ finished 7-2 with a 1.85 ERA while donning black and gold. 

Most of the credit could go to Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage, per Travis Sawchik of TribLive.com:

Searage saw Happ using inefficient movement in his delivery. Instead of striding directly to home plate, Happ, like [Francisco] Liriano and [Edinson] Volquez, had too much rotational movement in his motion[,] which dropped his arm slot and made the ball easier to track for opposing hitters. It also negatively impacted his control.

New motion and all, Happ is a nice pickup for the Blue Jays, who are looking to build up their rotation. Toronto had a potent offense that led the league in scoring last season, but the team’s pitching prevented it from getting over the American League Champion Series hump and into the World Series.

The Blue Jays recently re-signed Marco Estrada, who at times last season was their second-best starter, and acquired Jesse Chavez in a trade with the Oakland Athletics. They also have R.A. Dickey, and Happ could step into the middle of the rotation. 

If Toronto is able to sign David Price, whom it traded for at the deadline, and the young Marcus Stroman puts together a full season, the Blue Jays rotation could be one of the American League’s stronger units.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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After just one season as a member of the Oakland Athletics, infielder Brett Lawrie could very well be on the move via trade this offseason.

Continue for updates.

Report: A’s ‘Likely’ to Deal Lawrie

Friday, Nov. 27

In the wake of the A’s acquiring second baseman Jed Lowrie from the Houston Astros Wednesday, Lawrie looks to be the odd man out in Oakland.

According to Susan Slusser of SFGate.com, both Lawrie and third baseman Danny Valencia are on the trade block and are drawing interest from American League teams, but Lawrie is more likely to go due to his versatility.

The 26-year-old Lawrie can play both second base and third base, and he is coming off his best statistical season at the plate as he hit .260 with career highs in home runs (16) and RBI (60).

Lawrie—who was born in Canada—spent the first four seasons of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was shipped to the A’s, however, in a deal that sent 2015 AL MVP Josh Donaldson up north.

Although Lawrie certainly didn’t compare to Donaldson, he was fairly productive for Oakland, which is why it came as something of a surprise when they brought back Lowrie just one year after allowing him to walk via free agency.

While Lawrie has yet to reach the full potential he has displayed since the Milwaukee Brewers made him a first-round pick in 2008, he showed signs of progress in 2015.

Lawrie may not be a great fit for Billy Beane’s Moneyball approach in Oakland, though, as his on-base percentage of .299 last season was a career low.

Team’s are often willing to pay for potential in Major League Baseball, and since Lawrie should be on the verge of entering his prime, the A’s may be able to get a solid return if they decide to send him packing.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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The early stages of the MLB offseason are generally filled with speculation as to where the top free agents might sign and rumors as to which players are expected to be available on the trade market.

This offseason has been no exception, and as we close in on the winter meetings and some legitimate action on both fronts, the influx of rumors should only increase.

With that in mind, what follows is a look at each team’s best trade asset for the offseason.

While players did not necessarily need to have been named in concrete trade rumors to be included on the following list—and some of these are very much speculative—they did need to have a realistic chance of being traded.

In other words, you won’t see Mike Trout or Clayton Kershaw on the following list.

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Aroldis Chapman has created quite the market for himself.

Triple-digit fastballs on the regular, an ERA and FIP living below 2.00, nearly 16 strikeouts per nine innings and four consecutive All-Star appearances in four utterly dominant seasons have made the Cincinnati Reds lefty closer one of the best at his position in his era. And now he carries that title while the Reds embark on a rebuild that could bury them in the National League Central for the next few seasons, at least.

So, unsurprisingly, the team has put Chapman, its onetime Cuban prize, on the trade block for all to see, explore and bid upon. The asking price is high, even with other coveted back-end relievers floating around the free-agent and trade pools.

That pool previously included Craig Kimbrel, one of the sport’s most dominant closers. Chapman and Kimbrel were seen as the two biggest fish, but the Boston Red Sox angled Kimbrel two weeks ago for a haul of prospects in a deal that had mixed reviews for the Sox.

That deal slightly altered the market for Chapman in that the Red Sox are no longer players in the bidding, but in no way has it changed the way the Reds value their closer’s market value. They will still demand top-end talent in return, as they should.

“Kimbrel was a bit of a different animal than Chapman, in terms of club control,” Reds general manager Dick Williams told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. “We didn’t feel like we missed out on a deal with them. There will be other teams that are interested in Chapman.”

Several teams have interest in Chapman, but the asking price hurriedly puts an end to some of that. The Reds dangled him before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, though nothing came of it because teams like the Houston Astros, New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks felt the cost was too rich. 

The potential suitors are deeper in the offseason—those three clubs and at least the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals can be added to the list—but the Reds are still asking a ton in return for a closer with a salary in the $13 million range for next season before he can become a free agent. For comparison, Kimbrel is owed $25 million through 2017 with a $13 million club option. He is not just a one-year rental like Chapman.

Despite the lack of club control with Chapman, he will still draw a significant return because he is the kind of arm that can change a team’s postseason outlook. He can turn a hopeful team into a contender and a good team into a legitimate World Series threat simply by locking down the eighth or ninth inning.

And he might do that as soon as a week from now, as the Cincinnati Enquirer‘s C. Trent Rosecrans noted:

#Reds Walt Jocketty said there’s ‘nothing close’ with Aroldis Chapman. Hopes to get something done by the Winter Meetings

— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) November 19, 2015

Even teams with established closers, like the Dodgers and Nationals, are exploring Chapman’s market. The reason is the entire market is looked at differently now than it ever was in the past.

While it was universally accepted—and surely still is, but with this new twist—that bullpens can be remade and revamped at minimal cost, the elite, premium arms are being coveted more than ever because of what dominant bullpens have recently meant to teams like the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals. Those teams have won the last two World Series with massive contributions from their bullpens and in spite of just so-so starting pitching—Madison Bumgarner aside, of course.

That has put a new premium on top-flight relievers, even with high price tags. That is why the Reds will not, and should not, budge on their asking price. Not before the winter meetings, at least.

“I don’t control who is out there or who will be interested,” Williams told Sheldon. “We feel that there are other offers. We feel that he’s the best closer out there, so [we] hope good stuff can happen.”

@jaysonst Other teams say Reds are targeting big-league ready young players in any package they get back for Frazier or Aroldis Chapman

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) November 16, 2015

The Red Sox are obviously out of the Chapman picture after acquiring Kimbrel, and so are the Detroit Tigers, most likely, after trading for Francisco Rodriguez. With those arms off the board, along with Joaquin Benoit after he was traded to the Seattle Mariners, the interest in Chapman could pick up in the next week or so.

Looking forward, if Chapman remains on the trading block beyond December, his price could drop. The Reds cannot afford to keep him through next season and gain nothing more than draft-pick compensation when he walks into free agency. He is too valuable an asset to get just one player in return.

The problem for the Reds is other teams also know this, and they could wait out the reliever market until names like Darren O’Day and potentially Andrew Miller are signed or traded. That would lower the number of teams with a desire for Chapman and could cause the Reds to pull the trigger on a lesser deal than what they currently envision.

What is clear is that, as of now, the Kimbrel trade has not shifted the Reds’ belief that they should get a premium player package for Chapman this offseason. However, the sooner they can strike a deal and before the reliever market changes much more, the more likely they are to get something close to what they want. Chapman’s market has not played out much to this point, but that could change dramatically in the next week or two.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but the Major League Baseball offseason is already one month old.

Or just about, anyway. Certainly, enough time has passed for us to look back and take stock of what’s happened. What better way to do that than with a list of the biggest winners and losers of the offseason?

We’re going to look at four of each, which range from players and teams that have done well to players and teams that haven’t done well. And while this list won’t really be a countdown of any sort, we can tease that the biggest loser of them all is an entire market.

For now, we’ll begin with a winner. Step into the box whenever you’re ready.

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