MLB

Surprise Potential Suitors for the Top 2016-17 MLB Offseason Names

Offseason rumors tend to look like a stock car race.

There are early front-runners, of course. And those teams linked to players in the early stages of the offseason do, quite frequently, end up acquiring said player.

But like any great stock car race, there’s jostling for position. Teams one-up each other, whether in the trade or free-agent markets. Trailing teams often make a last-minute effort and land a player, which nets baseball its share of offseason surprises.

So here are some of this offseason’s biggest names and possible suitors that may shock the collective baseball world. Some are based on speculation, while others have been linked to a specific player. But in all cases, such an acquisition would make sense based on the team’s needs.

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Esurance MLB Awards 2016 Results: Winners and Twitter Reaction

Major League Baseball’s 2016 season officially came to an end on Friday night with Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout taking home top honors as the best major leaguer at the Esurance MLB Awards show. 

That was one of 19 awards given out as voted on by former MLB players, front-office executives, media and fans to determine the best of the best in the sport last season.  

Here is a full list of winners in each category, per MLB.com:

While the Chicago Cubs’ thrilling World Series victory was the dominant topic of the 2016 season, no discussion of this year would be complete without a tribute to Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully

It was only fitting that after 67 years of calling Dodgers games, Scully would be given the opportunity to showcase his brilliance in dramatic fashion as the team won the National League West on Charlie Culberson’s walk-off home run in the 10th inning against the Colorado Rockies.

There are many great announcers in MLB, but there was no other call in 2016 that deserved to be honored more than Scully‘s final call at Dodger Stadium.

Sticking with the Dodgers, star shortstop Corey Seager capped off a huge week by winning the award for best rookie in 2016. He took home NL Rookie of the Year honors from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Monday and was an NL MVP finalist on Thursday. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Seager‘s Rookie of the Year win increased the number of Dodgers’ already-massive lead in that category over the rest of the NL:

Just as Seager was a repeat winner in the rookie category, Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer comes away from this week with multiple trophies after being named the best pitcher in MLB and earning best performance for his 20-strikeout game against the Detroit Tigers in May. 

The celebration for Scherzer‘s Esurance win wasn’t televised, though it would be hard to top what happened after he was named NL Cy Young winner on Wednesday, per MLB GIFs:

The Cubs and Cleveland Indians were well-represented in the awards, as was expected for the two best teams in the sport in 2016. 

The American League champion Indians had two of their most memorable moments rewarded. Tyler Naquin’s walk-off inside-the-park homer against the Toronto Blue Jays was arguably their biggest moment of the regular season, capping off a thrilling come-from-behind win against one of the AL’s top teams. 

In what would have been the defining moment of the MLB season if things played out differently in Game 7 of the World Series, Rajai Davis’ game-tying home run against Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman was awarded best postseason moment. 

Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor took home the honor for best defensive player after receiving his first career Gold Glove award earlier this month. 

Fortunately for Lindor, he wasn’t punished by the voters when his brother caused a stir during the young shortstop’s 23rd birthday with a cake mishap, which he posted to Twitter:

Other Indians rewarded for their efforts included Terry Francona as best manager for navigating the team through pitching injuries to their first division title since 2007 and ace reliever Andrew Miller for best postseason player. 

Per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, Miller set three postseason records for relief pitchers:

The Cubs, who beat the Indians in the World Series to end their 108-year title drought, took home four trophies. 

Theo Epstein was the easiest choice of the night in any category as best executive. The babyface president of the Cubs took over the team in 2011, rebuilt the entire foundation by hitting big on draft picks like Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber, stealing Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell, Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks in trades and investing wisely in free agency for Jon Lester. 

With Francona and Epstein being honored on this night, it’s only fitting their last link to the 2004 Boston Red Sox also took home a trophy, as David Ortiz was honored as the best hitter. 

Ortiz, who will enjoy retirement before Cooperstown calls him in five years, had an incredible final season with a .315/.401/.620 slash line and 38 home runs. 

Per Christopher Kamka of Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Ortiz shattered the MLB record for most extra-base hits in a season by a player in aged 40 or older:

The Red Sox were unable to send Ortiz into the sunset with his fourth World Series title, but it’s hard to argue with how his career came to a close. 

In the final award given out, Trout just continues to rack up trophies for being awesome. That’s not a scientific term, but there’s no better way to describe what the Angels star has done through each of his first five full MLB seasons. 

Trout took home his second AL MVP award on Thursday, beating out Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts and Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve. The 25-year-old has never finished lower than second in MVP voting and led the league in runs (123), walks (116) and on-base percentage (.441) in 2016. 

The comparisons between Trout and Mickey Mantle have been made dating back to 2012, with the YES Network providing the latest evidence these two might actually be the same player:

It’s difficult to say Trout will get better next season, because how do you improve upon two MVP awards at the age of 25? Yet there truly seems to be no limit on what the Angels star is capable of doing on a baseball field. 

The Angels need to do a better job of building a team around Trout to maximize his skills while they still can. For now, though, admiring what the young star is doing will carry you through the long winter until baseball returns in 2017. 

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The Braves Shouldn’t Be the Team to Break the Prospect Bank for Chris Sale

The Atlanta Braves seem to have a Chris Sale obsession. I say we stage an intervention before it gets any worse.

Who’s with me?

OK, maybe some concessions are in order first. The Braves and Sale are indeed a match made in hot stove heaven from a strictly on-paper perspective. Veteran signees R.A. Dickey and Bartolo Colon will boost a starting rotation that posted a 4.87 ERA in 2016—but not as much as Sale would.

The lefty ace, currently of the Chicago White Sox, has a 3.04 ERA since 2012 and has finished in the top five of the American League Cy Young voting every year since 2013. Did you know only the best pitchers can do things like that? It’s true.

Sale, 27, isn’t the only ace trade chip on Atlanta’s radar. According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves are also eyeing Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Chris Archer and Oakland A’s right-hander Sonny Gray.

Sale, however, is their “focus.” And if this report from ESPN.com’s Buster Olney is any indication, said focus is part of a real effort to do something:

It’s possible this is just a PR smokescreen. With back-to-back 90-loss seasons (95 in 2015 and 93 in 2016, to be exact) in their wake and a new ballpark on the horizon for 2017, the Braves may be leaking these interests to generate some goodwill among their fans.

After all, going through with a blockbuster trade for an ace would be quite the departure from what was being said earlier in November.

“You don’t buy No. 1 starters,” Braves general manager John Coppolella said, via O’Brien. “You grow them. You draft them, you develop them. For us, it’s not efficient for us to go out and buy a No. 1 starter. Unless something drastically changes, you won’t see us going after a No. 1 starter.”

Buying a No. 1 starter on this winter’s free-agent market is basically impossible. Rich Hill, 36, is the best option there is, and his age and durability issues make it tough to stick the No. 1 label on him.

As such, the only way a team can snag a No. 1 starter this winter is on the trade market.

Sale is the crown jewel of said market. And not just because of his talent. His contract controls him through 2019 at a total of $39.5 million. 

When Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs crunched the numbers, he put Sale’s surplus value on top of that at $84.5 million. Per other numbers crunched by Kevin Creagh and Steve DiMiceli at The Point of Pittsburgh, that makes Sale worth at least a top-10 hitting or pitching prospect plus a little extra.

But in this winter’s market, that’s likely just the starting point in trade negotiations. The lack of options on the open market and Sale’s combination of name value, on-field value and surplus value puts the White Sox in a position to demand several of a team’s best prospects.

For what it’s worth, the Braves are among the few teams that can do a trade like that.

Keith Law of ESPN.com had their farm system ranked No. 1 in MLB as recently as July. That’s a credit to how well the Braves have rebuilt through trades and the draft. The one untouchable in their system is likely Dansby Swanson, whom the Braves would presumably like to keep as their starting shortstop after his successful breakthrough late in 2016.

Everyone else would presumably be on the table for a Sale trade. Ozzie Albies. Sean Newcomb. Kolby Allard. Ian Anderson. Mike Soroka. Touki Toussaint. Max Fried. And so on.

The Braves would have every reason to give up several of those names if an ace starting pitcher were the missing link between them and contention in the NL East as soon as 2017. But therein lies the rub.

Does anyone think this team is just one player away from being ready to win?

Sure, the Braves did go 37-35 after the All-Star break in 2016. But they did so while allowing 23 more runs than they scored. That’s a glaring warning not to read too much into their surge.

It’s early, but the 2017 projections at FanGraphs only have the Braves improving from 68 wins to 74 wins. Sounds about right for a team that would be mostly the same except with full seasons from Swanson, who is very good, and Dickey, Colon and Matt Kemp, who are not very good.

There’s not a ton of uncertainty elsewhere in the NL East, either. The Washington Nationals are going to be good. The New York Mets will at least have their arms. The Miami Marlins will at least have their bats. None of the three figures to plummet and open a door for the Braves to sneak through.

Of course, the Braves wouldn’t be under too much pressure to win immediately with Sale. But playing the long game with him doesn’t make much sense, either.

With Sale due for free agency after 2019, the clock would begin ticking in 2018. One problem there is that trading for him will have emptied the farm system of quite a few prospects who might have been graduated to the majors or used in trades.

That would force the Braves to load up in the 2017 and 2018 free-agent markets that will be better stocked than this one. But other teams will be looking to do the same thing, and even the Braves’ new stadium may only be so helpful in allowing them to spend competitively.

A better idea would be to give up on Sale and prioritize Archer instead. He has a contract that runs for two years longer at virtually the same price. His prospect cost may be the same because of that, but at least it would put the Braves in a better position to play the long game. And with a pitcher who’s darn good in his own right.

Or, the Braves could do nothing and continue to build from within. They’re headed in the right direction in that regard. Rather than try to jump ahead, keeping it slow and steady is the way to go.

It’s not often an intervention urges the subject to keep doing what they’re doing, but…Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

                         

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked. Payroll and contract info courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

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Andrew Cashner to Rangers: Latest Contract Details, Comments, Reaction

Andrew Cashner turned in arguably the worst season of his career in 2016, but the Texas Rangers took a chance on him Friday to the tune of a one-year, $10 million contract.

Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported the terms of the agreement. TR Sullivan of MLB.com also passed along word of the free-agent signing.

Cashner started his career with the Chicago Cubs and pitched down the stretch of the 2016 season for the Miami Marlins after they acquired him from the San Diego Padres via trade. He posted a 5.98 ERA and 1.75 WHIP in 12 appearances for Miami, which both would have represented career-worst numbers throughout an entire season.

However, Cashner flashed his potential as a No. 2 or 3 starter in 2013 and 2014 with the Padres. He posted a 1.13 WHIP in each season and appeared to be coming into his own as an impact pitcher at the major league level. Still, there was a drastic decline in performance the next two years:

Injuries are part of the concern, as he went on disabled list in 2016 with a strained neck and dealt with a shoulder injury and elbow injury in 2014 that limited him to just 19 starts. Considering he hasn’t been the same since that 2014 campaign, it is not hard to speculate his health impacted his overall performance.

At his best, Cashner’s fastball often exceeds 95 mph, per FanGraphs. If he can remain healthy in 2017 and tap into the effective power pitcher he was from 2013-14, the Rangers will end up with one of the better under-the-radar signings of the offseason. 

He’ll likely join a rotation headlined by Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish. Finding more mid-rotation options to bolster the group behind those co-aces was one of the biggest things on the team’s offseason to-do list. A bounce-back year from the newest addition would be a key step in the right direction.

He is still just 30 years old and should be relatively fresh considering he has never pitched more than 184.2 innings in a season throughout his career. Cashner’s new team hopes that translates into an effective 2017 effort.  

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Kris Bryant Joins Dustin Pedroia, Cal Ripken in Elite Category After Winning MVP

Kris Bryant won the NL MVP on Thursday, joining Dustin Pedroia and Cal Ripken as the only players in MLB history to win Rookie of the Year, MVP and a World Series within their first two seasons.

Bleacher Report will be bringing sports fans the most interesting and engaging Cold Hard Fact of the day, presented by Coors Light.

Source: B/R Insights

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Top Bounce-Back Candidates Available on the 2016-17 MLB Offseason Market

Superstar-caliber players generally dominate headlines each MLB offseason.

They will be agreeing to big-money deals and are often viewed as the missing piece that could push a team over the top in its pursuit of a championship.

However, scouring the market for bargains and taking a flier on a potential bounce-back candidate can be just as important in building a successful contender.

Just look at last season, when guys like Ian Desmond (TEX), Mike Napoli (CLE), Chris Carter (MIL), Matt Joyce (PIT), David Freese (PIT), Fernando Rodney (SD), Neftali Feliz (PIT), Brandon Kintzler (MIN) and Carlos Torres (MIL) all signed modest, one-year deals after disappointing 2015 seasons, only to emerge as key contributors for their respective clubs.

Meanwhile, the trade market also provided bounce-back or breakout gems, led by Jean Segura (ARI), Jonathan Villar (MIL) and Drew Pomeranz (SD).

With that in mind, what follows is a look at the 10 most intriguing bounce-back candidates on the offseason market, ranked based on upside and potential impact.

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Projecting the Domino Effect If MLB’s Biggest 2016 Hot Stove Rumors Come True

Who’s up for some hot stove fan fiction?

Hey, we might as well indulge ourselves while we wait for Major League Baseball’s offseason to kick into high gear. There have been some moves, but nothing too major yet.

All the big moves exist only as rumors. They might not come true. Or maybe they will! That’s the exciting part about rumors.

So, let’s run with it and imagine what would happen if some of the biggest rumors became realities.

    

Miguel Cabrera to the Houston Astros

The Houston Astros have answered two of their big question marks, trading for Brian McCann to play catcher and signing Josh Reddick to patrol their outfield. Not bad. Not bad at all.

But one big need remains. Only two teams got a lower OPS from their first basemen than the Astros in 2016. The first name mentioned in a recent report from Jon Morosi of MLB Network would sure do the trick of getting that squared away:

Yes, that Miguel Cabrera. The Detroit Tigers star with the two MVP awards, four batting titles and 446 career home runs. Way to aim high, Astros. 

Of course, there may not be much to this. In fact, a man who would know says there’s not.

“I was asked, ‘Would we consider a trade for a Hall of Fame-caliber first baseman,’ and we’re considering everything. I think the media kind of ran with that,” Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow told Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle.

Still, this idea isn’t as outlandish as that one from WFAN’s Sweeny Murti about the New York Yankees trading for Mike Trout. The Astros are a win-now team with an obvious need, young talent to spare and enough payroll flexibility to take on a good chunk of the $220 million remaining on Cabrera’s contract. 

Cabrera going to Houston would be the clearest sign yet that the Tigers are indeed in sell mode. Detroit GM Al Avila would be flooded with calls about what else he’s got. 

But we’ll get back to that.

A more immediate matter is how the Texas Rangers, the two-time reigning American League West champs, would respond to Houston’s act of aggression. They’d surely rethink their position, as reported by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, to bolster their starting rotation with a mere back-end type.

The solution: Chris Archer.

Rosenthal notes the Rangers had “extensive trade discussions” with the Tampa Bay Rays around the summer trade deadline. It was around then that Morosi pitched a trade for Archer centered around super-utility man Jurickson Profar. Something like that could still work this winter, and the resulting upgrade in Texas’ rotation would be a good counter for Cabrera going to Houston.

Elsewhere in the AL East, Cabrera ending up in the AL West would be good news for the Boston Red Sox. It would take perhaps their primary competitor for Edwin Encarnacion off the table.

Oh, sure. It’s out there from Rob Bradford of WEEI that the Red Sox aren’t that interested in the 33-year-old slugger. But after using his trademark pull power to average 39 home runs over the last five seasons, Encarnacion is the ideal candidate to fill David Ortiz’s shoes at designated hitter and take aim at the Green Monster.

If the Red Sox don’t have to pay more than the four-year, $92 million contract predicted by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams and Jeff Todd of MLB Trade Rumors, they’d surely stop being coy and get signing Encarnacion over with.

That would be a bummer for Jose Bautista, who Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported “loves” Boston and Fenway Park. That, in turn, would be good news for the Toronto Blue Jays, who could bring Bautista back to play right field.

With the Red Sox adding a slugger and the Blue Jays retaining one of their own, the Baltimore Orioles would be left to mull how to keep up. The obvious choice would be to re-sign 2016 home run king Mark Trumbo, who may not have much of a market outside Baltimore anyway.

Of course, these AL East clubs also wouldn’t mind seeing Archer out of the division. But elsewhere, Archer going to Texas would have an impact in the National League East.

    

Chris Sale to the Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals’ starting rotation is headed by a two-time Cy Young winner in Max Scherzer, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t use an upgrade.

According to Rosenthal, one of their ideas is to deal for Archer. Him coming off the table would be extra incentive to go for their plan A: Chris Sale.

Yeah, yeah. They can get in line. But they would fit well at the front of said line. The Nationals can offer the Chicago White Sox an array of young arms. They can also afford the $38 million Sale will be paid through 2019. And as Rosenthal notes, Nats GM Mike Rizzo does like his “bold moves.”

The Nationals trading for Sale would put the rest of the NL East on high alert. Especially the New York Mets, who would have extra incentive to add the big bat they require.

More than likely, that would mean sticking with their preferred target: Yoenis Cespedes. This from Mike Puma of the New York Post:

With draft-pick compensation around his leg thanks to his rejection of his qualifying offer, the Mets have the advantage of not having to surrender a pick if they re-sign Cespedes. If they were to add a couple of years on top of the two years and $47.5 million the 31-year-old opted out of, a deal could get done.

The Nats and Mets loading up would call for drastic measures in Miami. But since the Marlins don’t have the resources to fill the tragically vacated position atop their rotation, they’d have to move on to the next best thing: a shutdown closer.

According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, Kenley Jansen is the guy they want. The former Los Angeles Dodgers closer would cost a pretty penny, but he and his career 2.20 ERA would do the trick of giving the Marlins the “super pen” Heyman says they crave. 

With Jansen off the board in the East, two closer-needy clubs out West would be left to fight over what’s left. That would mean…

    

Aroldis Chapman to the San Francisco Giants

Anyone who caught even a fleeting glimpse at their bullpen down the stretch in 2016 won’t be surprised to hear this, but here goes: The San Francisco Giants really want a closer.

“We are getting one of the big closers,” a Giants official told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, referencing Jansen, Aroldis Chapman and Mark Melancon.

If Jansen signing with Miami narrowed their choice to Chapman and Melancon, Chapman would be the clear solution.

Yes, he’d be more expensive than Melancon. Chapman wants a $100 million contract, according to Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago. But with a 1.84 ERA since 2012 and a career rate of 15.2 strikeouts per nine innings, Chapman is just the guy for the Giants to go all-out for.

To boot, his never-ending supply of 100 mph fastballs would be a welcome addition to a bullpen that’s tied for last in average fastball velocity since 2012.

Jansen signing with the Marlins and Chapman signing with the Giants would put the Dodgers in a bind with their own closer hole. They’d either have to sign Melancon or pursue other options.

After having a competent bullpen for the first time in ages in 2016, it’s easier to imagine the Dodgers concluding now’s not the best time to risk trending backward. With a 1.80 ERA since 2013, Melancon would keep them moving forward.

A bright side is that Melancon would come much cheaper than Chapman or Jansen. That would leave money in the Dodgers’ pockets to fill other holes, such as the glaring ones at third base and second base.

The third base one is easy. They could just re-sign Justin Turner, who’s lacking in obvious fits outside of Los Angeles anyway. At second base, the Dodgers could pursue the idea that popped up on Morosi’s feed this week:

Trading for Ian Kinsler would allow the Dodgers to retain the scrappy mentality that Chase Utley brought to second base in 2016, except with a lot more talent. Kinsler had an .831 OPS and won a well-deserved Gold Glove in 2016, and he has been generally underrated for 10 years now.

The Giants may have it in mind to make signing a closer their only big move. But if the Dodgers get Melancon and round out their infield with Turner and Kinsler, the Giants would need another big splash.

Per Morosi, said splash could be pulled off with a deal of their own with Detroit:

J.D. Martinez, eh? Good idea. His 83 dingers over the last three seasons are just the thing for the Giants’ left field hole and power-starved offense.

After that…uh…hmmm…

You know, I think that’s all the speculation I can muster. We didn’t hit every player or every team, but I daresay we hit enough. We’ve put together a rousing story of what could happen this winter.

What will happen? That’s a different story. We’ll experience it soon enough.

    

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked. Contract info courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

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Updating the Hottest Questions of the 2016-2017 MLB Offseason, Week 3

Imagine the 2017 seasons as a bunch of puzzle pieces spread all over a table.

We know which players will influence the outcome of the upcoming baseball season, but we don’t know how they will fit together. The winter provides us with many of those answers.

But until free agents sign and teams conclude trade talks, a handful of questions will surround the 2017 offseason. These are the biggest among them.

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How Would Yankees and Red Sox Inaction Change the Offseason Buyer’s Market?

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are the perennial giants of the MLB offseason.

They’re always among the game’s biggest spenders. This year, they’ve also got stellar farm systems, meaning mega-trades are theoretically on the table.

It’s possible, however, that Boston and New York could tinker around the edges without significantly impacting the winter landscape.

If so, they’ll ironically be factors by being non-factors—and make a weak free-agent class into the ultimate buyer’s market.

After trading for closer Craig Kimbrel and signing left-hander David Price to a seven-year, $217 million pact last winter, among other moves, Boston apparently intends to take a more passive approach.

As president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said prior to the general managers’ meetings in Arizona, per Tim Britton of the Providence Journal:

Compared to last year, we were going full-bore for a closer, we were going full-bore for a No. 1 starting pitcher. I don’t know what’s going to happen because you don’t know what phone call’s going to take place. There are some clubs looking to move players. I’m not so sure patience may not end up being [best in] this situation.

Or, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald put it, “The Red Sox’s lavish winter of a year ago could never be an annual blueprint, not even for George Steinbrenner.”

Translation: Don’t look for the Sox to throw their bulk around.

The Yankees, meanwhile, signaled their intentions when they traded veteran catcher Brian McCann and cash considerations to the Houston Astros on Thursday for a pair of pitching prospects, per ESPN.com’s Andrew Marchand.

The move made sense, with super-rookie Gary Sanchez ready to take over behind the dish. It also continued a rebuild in the Bronx that began with the trades of relievers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller and proven postseason masher Carlos Beltran at the 2016 deadline.

The Yankees aren’t waving the white flag. They remained in contention until the end of September despite their uncharacteristic sell-off.

They’ve shown interest in bringing back Chapman, despite his $100 million demands, reported by CSN Chicago’s Patrick Mooney. And New York may be looking to unload its cache of minor league chips for newly minted American League MVP Mike Trout, according to CBS New York’s Sweeny Murti.

“You don’t accumulate all those prospects with the intent of keeping them all,” an unnamed scout told Murti. “They have value, and it makes complete sense to spin off four or five of them for Trout.”

It’s possible the Yanks are prepared to gut their suddenly fertile farm for a generational talent like Trout. It’s also exceedingly doubtful the Halos will make him available.

The safe bet is that New York keeps its young talent, offloads another veteran or two—outfielder Brett Gardner is a prime candidate—and rolls into 2017 with the youth movement in full swing.

Would the Yankees obliterate the system for a win-now swap?

“[If] you’re an organization that’s one piece away, and you back the truck up with four or five players to finish off, you’d have to be one piece away,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters in October. “And I would not recommend that type of decision-making as we approach the 2017 season. I think that would be a dangerous approach.”

Getting back to our original point: An inactive offseason from the Yanks and Sox would equal bad news for the winter’s free agents.

Hitters such as Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista and Mark Trumbo are counting on an AL bidding war. All of them profile best as designated hitters. If the Junior Circuit’s top two spenders are out, prices will slide.

Yours truly linked the Red Sox and Encarnacion with a David Ortiz heir apparent angle. Dombrowski, however, applied a wet blanket.

“Do you want to tie up that one spot with one individual?” the Boston executive said to the media. “I’m not sure. So if you said, ‘One year,’ well, maybe one year is different. But from a long-term basis, do you want to do that? I’m not sure.”

The Yankees, likewise, could tip the market for closers. If they’re not ready to entertain Chapman’s nine-figure asking price, it will drive down the cost for the Cuban fireballer and other bullpen studs such as Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon.

Other high-payroll franchises, including the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers, will bid aggressively for relievers. Sluggers like Encarnacion will find homes.

If you remove the Yanks and Sox from the equation, however, nearly every bidding war is reduced to a skirmish.

It’s never wise to assume Boston and New York will sit it out. A seismic swap or mega-contract is always within the realm of possibility for these deep-pocketed antagonists. With so much burgeoning talent on both sides, the rivalry is about to reheat, as ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber and Andrew Marchand elucidated.

Baseball’s offseason giants, however, are showing signs of sleepiness.

If they keep snoring, the 2016-17 offseason will adjust accordingly.

     

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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McCann, Reddick Give Houston Strong Vets to Help Push Young Astros Over the Hump

On Thursday, the Houston Astros sent a message to their fanbase, and it was loud and clear: We want to get back.

Back on track. Back to the postseason. Back into position as one of baseball’s up-and-coming contenders.

The message was delivered with a pair of moves. The ‘Stros engineered a trade with the New York Yankees, flipping pitching prospects Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman for veteran catcher Brian McCann, per the Yankees PR staff. They also inked right fielder Josh Reddick to a four-year, $52 million deal, per Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan.

With that, Houston plugged holes behind the dish and in the outfield and added a pair of solid veteran pieces to bolster the club’s youthful core.

Let’s start with McCann. The 32-year-old backstop became superfluous for the Yankees after the emergence of rookie sensation Gary Sanchez. While he isn’t the player who made seven All-Star teams between 2006 and 2013 with the Atlanta Braves, he still has value.

McCann hit 20 home runs in 2016 despite ceding playing time to Sanchez down the stretch and rated as the American League‘s third-best pitch-framer, per StatCorner.

He’ll replace free-agent catcher Jason Castro, also a lefty swinger, and represents an offensive upgrade across the board:

McCann is owed $17 million in each of the next two seasons, but the Yankees will pay $5.5 million of that, per ESPN The Magazine‘s Buster Olney. In turn, the ‘Stros surrendered some talent. Abreu became the No. 10 prospect in New York’s loaded farm system, per MLB.com.

It takes something to get somethingand Houston got something.

“Brian McCann is a great fit for the Astros, as he is not only a good defensive catcher, he is also a left-handed hitter with proven run-producing ability,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said in a statement, per the Houston Chronicle‘s Jake Kaplan. “His experience and his ability to impact his teammates will be a significant benefit to our team.”

Reddick is coming off an injury-shortened year in which he played just 115 games with the Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 2015, however, he hit .272 with 20 home runs, and he’s a plus defensive outfielder who could slot into left with George Springer the unmovable incumbent in right.

Reddicklike McCannrepresents an upgrade over his predecessor, free agent Colby Rasmus, who posted a .206/.286/.355 slash line in 2016. Reddick hit .281/.345/.405.

A four-year commitment north of $50 million may raise a few eyebrows, but it could end up being below market value in a weak free-agent class.

In 2015, the Astros finished 86-76, slid into the postseason as a wild card and pushed the eventual champion Kansas City Royals to five games in a division series.

Last year, they missed the dance with an 84-78 mark and wore the scarlet “R” for regression.

Still, Houston boasts an enviable offensive core, headlined by second baseman Jose Altuve (.338 average, 24 HR, 30 SB), shortstop Carlos Correa (.274 average, 20 HR, 96 RBI), Springer (.815 OPS, 29 HR, 82 RBI) and 2015 No. 2 overall pick Alex Bregman.

Astros starting pitchers ranked in the middle of the MLB pack in 2016 with a 4.37 ERA, with 2015 Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel taking a big stumble. The bullpen is a strength, but Houston could use more pitching, even after signing sinkerballer Charlie Morton to a two-year, incentive-laden deal Wednesday, per Kaplan.

The ‘Stros, though, are squarely in the mix in the wide-open AL West. The defending division champion Texas Rangers are nominal favorites, but Houston is a few key moves from vaulting over the hump.

McCann and Reddick count as key moves. They may preclude other high-profile machinations, including the intriguing rumored trade for the Detroit Tigers‘ Miguel Cabrera.

The takeaway, however, is that the Astros are being aggressive early. They’re filling needs. They want to get back.

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All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


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