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The Los Angeles Dodgers are in search of an answer at second base, and a report Friday revealed they have held discussions involving Texas Rangers utility man Jurickson Profar.

Continue for updates.

Dodgers Exploring Profar Among Second Base Options

Friday, Jan. 20

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, L.A. is attempting to pry Brian Dozier away from the Minnesota Twins, but it has also looked into Profar as a fallback option.

Rosenthal characterized a Profar trade as unlikely, but he has yet to land a defined role with the Rangers.

The Curacao native was among the hottest prospects in baseball a few years ago as a second baseman, but injuries forced him to miss the 2014 and 2015 campaigns before he return to the majors in 2016.

Profar appeared in 90 games for Texas last season, hitting .239 with five home runs and 20 RBI.

The 23-year-old switch-hitter was utilized all over the field, as he appeared in at least 11 games each at third base, second base, first base, left field and shortstop.

While Profar is a useful commodity for the Rangers due to his flexibility, there doesn’t appear to be a regular spot available for him in the lineup for 2017.

He also becomes arbitration eligible starting in 2018, per Spotrac, which could increase Texas’ interest in trading him.

Injuries have held Profar back, and he has yet to come anywhere close to reaching his potential, but he is oozing with talent.

Trading him now may not be the smartest move from Texas’ perspective since his value is likely lower than ever, but that makes him an ideal target for a team in need of infield help, such as the Dodgers.

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Outfielder Mark Trumbo agreed to re-sign with the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, the team announced. 

Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun first reported the deal on Thursday. 

According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the three-year deal is for $37.5 million. ESPN’s Jim Bowden reported Trumbo has a limited no-trade clause for seven teams and incentivized, tiered bonuses dependent on how many times he wins the Silver Slugger award. 

Trumbo, 31, had a career year for the Orioles in 2016, hitting .256 with 47 home runs—the most in the major leagues—and 108 RBI. His home run and RBI totals were both career highs.

While Trumbo flashed excellent power earlier in his career—from 2011 to 2013, he hit 95 home runs with 282 RBI for the Los Angeles Angels—he established himself as one of baseball’s most dangerous power hitters last season.

That was in stark contrast to his stints with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners in 2014 and 2015, when he totaled just 36 homers and 125 RBI.

His surge in production left him as one of the most appealing free agents on the market for teams looking to add a big bopper to the middle of their lineups. That made Baltimore’s chances of retaining him uncertain, though Trumbo seemed inclined to return to the Orioles following the season.

“I love it here,” he told Steve Melewski of MASN after the team’s Wild Card Game loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. “Had a great time and I’m sure we’ll talk at some point. Who wouldn’t (want to come back)? It has been an absolute blast this year.”

The Orioles wanted him back just as much and now will be hoping that Trumbo’s power numbers were his new norm and not an outlier.

If Trumbo doesn’t knock the ball out of the park, his value wanes. He’s a below-average fielder, and he’s unlikely to provide a great batting average or on-base percentage. Baltimore bet big money that Trumbo’s power surge will continue in 2017.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

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Free-agent closer Neftali Feliz is on the move once again, as he signed Thursday with the Milwaukee Brewers, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo confirmed Passan‘s reports and added that it is a one-year deal worth $5.35 million (with a max of $6.85 million with incentives).

Feliz has been no stranger to free agency.

He was granted free agency from the Texas Rangers in July 2015 and joined the Detroit Tigers, only to hit the market once again after that season.

He then signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates during the winter prior to the 2016 season. 

The 28-year-old has been unable to maintain the level of play that made him one of baseball’s best young arms out of the bullpen upon his arrival to the majors. 

During his second season in 2010 as a 22-year-old, Feliz posted a 2.73 ERA and 40 saves, earning his first and only All-Star selection. The following year would see him rack up another 32 saves as he was Texas’ closer during its run of two consecutive American League championships.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2012, Feliz was limited to just six games in 2013 before a strong return the following year. In 2014, he posted a 1.99 ERA in 30 appearances with 13 saves. 

Feliz saw his ERA swell to 6.38 in 2015 with the Rangers and Tigers as a setup man in what was by far his worst season in the majors. But he did manage to bounce back fairly well last year, cutting his ERA to 3.52 as a late-inning option in Pittsburgh. 

Now in Milwaukee, Feliz will have an opportunity to become the team’s go-to closer. In 2016, the Brewers had inconsistencies at that spot, as Jeremy Jeffress and Tyler Thornburg combined for 40 saves. 

However, the Brewers blew 22 save opportunities, which was tied for eighth-most in the majors. In an attempt to revamp their situation, they dealt Jeffress at the trade deadline to the Rangers as a part of the Jonathan Lucroy deal and traded Thornburg to the Boston Red Sox during the winter meetings.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. 

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The Miami Marlins reached an agreement Thursday to acquire starting pitcher Dan Straily in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds in return for a package headlined by pitching prospects Luis Castillo and Austin Brice.

The Reds confirmed they had moved Straily in exchange for Castillo and Brice and outfielder Isaiah White. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported the trade was close.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports provided further details about the Reds’ plan for the pitchers:

Straily, a former promising prospect in the Oakland Athletics organization, is coming off his best MLB season to date with the Reds in 2016. The right-hander posted a 3.76 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with 162 strikeouts in 191.1 innings across 34 appearances, including 31 starts.

The 28-year-old Marshall product enjoyed initial success with the A’s, accumulating an ERA slightly under 4.00 across his first two seasons. His numbers dropped off in a major way with Oakland and the Chicago Cubs in 2014, however, and he struggled again with the Houston Astros the following year.

Surprisingly, he managed to get his career back on track despite playing his home games in the bandbox known as Great American Ball Park. The Reds’ home stadium ranked fourth in baseball in terms of home runs per game last year, per ESPN.com.

While Straily wasn’t immune to the park factors, giving up 31 homers, his splits were interesting. He was much better at home, finishing with a 2.90 ERA and 13 home runs allowed, compared to a 4.70 ERA and 18 home runs allowed on the road in the same number of outings.

Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer passed along comments from the veteran starter last September about his mindset when it comes to giving up the long ball.

“I don’t go to work every fifth day and think, ‘Oh, let’s try not to give up home runs today,'” Straily said. “When I get through a game and there are no home runs, it’s like, ‘Sweet.’ But some of those days when I do give up home runs, that’s usually all the runs I give up. I’d rather do that than give up back-to-back doubles.”

The advanced numbers do provide some cause for concern. His 3.76 ERA last season was a career best, but his xFIP checked in at 5.02, per FanGraphs. That’s mostly due to his low batting average on balls in play (.239) and high left-on-base percentage (81.2).

Ultimately, the Marlins are betting their more spacious stadium can rectify Straily’s problems with the home run. Marlins Park ranked 26th in home runs per game in 2016. But that alone doesn’t mean he’ll start posting No. 1 or No. 2 starter numbers.

That’s what Miami is likely hoping for following the trade, though. It will enter the new season without a clear-cut ace following the death of Jose Fernandez in September. So the team will look to fill the void in the aggregate.

Straily is set to join a rotation that also features Wei-Yin Chen, Tom Koehler and Edinson Volquez. The fifth spot will probably get decided during spring training, with Jeff Locke looming as the early favorite. It has the makings of a solid, albeit far from star-studded, group.

Meanwhile, the Reds receive a pair of potential impact pitchers in the deal. MLB.com ranked Castillo fifth and Brice ninth in the Marlins’ prospect pool before the trade.

Castillo, 24, finished with a 2.26 ERA across stops at two levels of the minors last year. Brice, 24, was also impressive with a 2.74 ERA during stints in Double-A and Triple-A. While his first cup of coffee in the majors resulted in a 7.07 ERA, his WHIP was 1.00, and he struck out 14 batters in 14 innings.

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Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal, a New York Yankees general partner and the daughter of longtime team owner George Steinbrenner, stated Wednesday the family still has no plans to sell the organization.

Dan Martin of the New York Post passed along comments Swindal made during a team charitable event called “Winter Warm-up” for the elderly. She said the family’s long-term outlook hasn’t changed since her father’s death in 2010.

“We’re all in,” she said. “I hope we own the team for eternity. You never know what life will bring, but we’re in it for the long haul.”

Swindal noted her son, Steve Swindal Jr., has taken on a role in baseball operations to help set the stage for a smooth transition to the next generation. She also praised Hal Steinbrenner, her brother and the team’s principal owner, for his job handling the franchise in recent years.

“Initially, we were trying to figure out how we were all going to handle things and when my father got sick, all four of us [siblings] went to work,” she said. “Hal has been a leader and he’s been great.”

Although questions are raised about a potential sale on seemingly an annual basis, the remarks echo those made by Hal Steinbrenner last spring training. He told Wallace Matthews of ESPN.com his father would be happy with how the family has stuck together to make things work.

“This is a family business and we’re all involved,” Steinbrenner said. “We all love being a part of this. We all know our dad wanted us to be a part of us, and we all know he’s watching down on us and happy that we’re all a part of it. Believe it or not, to us, that’s a big deal. The idea is, let’s keep it going.”

A lot is made about the Yankees’ lack of marquee free-agent signings since the death of George Steinbrenner. The inclusion of a luxury tax paired with having to pay off massive contracts has forced the team to avoid those major offseason splashes for the most part, though.

Furthermore, New York ranks second in payroll average over the past three years, according to the Baseball Cube. The Bronx Bombers still rank first in that category over the past 10 and 15 years.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman expressed optimism the front office would have more flexibility in 2018 as contracts start coming off the books, per Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media:

Well, this is my hope: First and foremost, as you see we’re transitioning from contracts that we vested heavily in and it did pay off for us in ’09 (with a World Series championship). So at the end of the day we are going to be in a position to do a number of things, and maybe we can turn the clock back to be big-game hunters that we have been accustomed to being.

The current generation of Steinbrenners have been hamstrung by the team’s financial situation after working hard to chase down the 2009 title. But the fanbase will want them to become high-end buyers once again next winter with superstar outfielder Bryce Harper among the possible free agents.    

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Jeff Bagwell, Ivan Rodriguez and Tim Raines were all inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, but former MLB ace Curt Schilling missed the cut, per BBWAA.com.

He took out some of his frustrations in an argument with a fake Twitter account for former pitcher Sidney Ponson (warning: NSFW):

Mike Oz of Yahoo Sports captured the entire conversation (warning: NSFW):

Players need 75 percent of the votes to be inducted, and Schilling received just 45 percent.

Buster Olney of ESPN The Magazine noted Schilling’s percentage of votes “collapsed from 52.3 [in 2016] to 45.”

From 1988 to 2007, Schilling played for the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox. He was a six-time All-Star, won three World Series championships (including one that broke the fabled “Curse of the Bambino” in 2004 with the Red Sox) and posted a sparkling career playoff ERA of 2.23.

However, Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today argued that Schilling’s failure to win a Cy Young Award “takes some luster off his candidacy.” Ortiz also described Schilling’s win total of 216 as “a remarkably low number for such an accomplished pitcher over a 20-year career,” although the win-loss record of a pitcher is an imperfect way to judge his ability at best.

Still, Schilling’s Hall of Fame candidacy was about more than his on-field achievements.

Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports’ Big League Stew said “Schilling’s case for enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame no longer has to do with his arm, it has to do with his mouth.”

Wednesday’s argument won’t help Schilling’s reputation, but Cwik mentioned a number of more serious incidents that hurt the pitcher’s cause.

He noted Schilling was fired from ESPN for posting an anti-transgender meme, was suspended by the company for comparing Muslim extremists to Nazis and said presidential candidate Hillary Clinton should “be buried under a jail” in an interview with 610 Sports in Kansas City.

Schilling also shared an image of a shirt suggesting journalists should be lynched and said “so much awesome here,” as ESPN’s Bill Barnwell passed along (warning: NSFW):

Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe (h/t MSN) referenced that tweet and said he invoked the character clause in his Hall of Fame vote when he decided not to vote for Schilling. After the former pitcher commented on the shirt, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports said, “I just couldn’t respect myself and vote for him this year.” 

Rather than accepting induction into the Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Schilling found himself arguing with a fake Twitter account. Given the sentiments of some writers, he largely has himself to blame for that.

Perhaps he can take solace in the fact that Ponson isn’t in the Hall of Fame either.

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The 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame class has been announced, and Jose Canseco is not happy about it.

According to Andrew Simon of MLB.com, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez all earned the minimum 75 percent of votes needed to get into Cooperstown, New York.  

Canseco took to Twitter to complain about the results:

There’s going to be more drug users in Cooperstown then The YArd at San Queintin…How the f*** is Jeff Bagwell being inducted into the Hall of Fame and Mark mcgwire’s not that is disgusting. It’s a great day for the hypocrisy of the Hall of Fame voting induct all that used Peds or induct none. How it’s not Mark McGwire Sammy Sosa Roger Clemens Rafael palmeiro not in the Hall of Fame that is a travesty. And definitely bonds should be in the Hall of Fame are you kidding me that is disgusting. [sic]

The Hall of Fame induction debate centers around the use of performance-enhancing drugs, which Canseco knows all about. He is an admitted user and the author of Juiced, a tell-all book about illegal drugs in baseball.

His biggest argument seems to surround his former Oakland Athletics teammate Mark McGwire. In 2010, he confirmed he used steroids during his career. While the slugger did have 583 home runs, 12 All-Star appearances and an American League Rookie of the Year award, he never came close to receiving the required votes for the Hall of Fame.

McGwire was on the ballot for 10 years and never topped 25 percent of the vote, ending with 12.3 percent in his final chance last year.

Suspected PED users Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are still ballot-eligible, with each earning over 50 percent of the vote this time around.

Canseco alleges that Bagwell was also involved in illegal activity, although the Houston Astros star has denied it.

Although we might never know everyone who used PEDs during their careers, it seems the Hall of Fame voters have drawn a line in the sand when it comes to certain players.

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Jeff Bagwell, Ivan Rodriguez and Tim Raines will take their rightful place in Cooperstown, New York, after they were announced as the three inductees for the 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame. 

Per BBWAA.com, Bagwell received 86.2 percent of the votes, Raines got 86 percent and Rodriguez got 76 percent. Players are required to receive 75 percent for induction. 

*Previously announced by Today’s Game Era committee in December

Baseball Reference tweeted out full vote totals for players on the ballot:

Raines was the name commanding a lot of attention this year because it was his final year on the ballot. The seven-time All-Star just missed out making the Hall of Fame in 2016 with 69.8 percent of the vote. 

Jay Jaffe of Sports Illustrated made the case for Raines to be inducted into Cooperstown, notably highlighting his peak years from 1983-87:

Raines broke out the next year, the beginning of a five-year plateau (1983–87) in which he hit a cumulative .318/.406/.467 and averaged 114 runs scored, 11 homers, 71 steals, a 142 OPS+ and 6.4 WAR, never falling below 5.5 in that last category. He led the NL in steals in ’83 (a career-high 90) and ’84 (75) and ranked third or fourth among NL position players in WAR in four of those five years, finishing seventh in the other. For the period as a whole, only Wade Boggs, Henderson and Cal Ripken—all AL players and future Hall of Famers—were more valuable.

ESPN Stats & Info also helped make a case for Raines:

The only significant knock against Raines is that his career was hindered by injuries after 1987. He only appeared in more than 140 games three times from 1988 to 2002, but he still finished his career with a .294/.385/.425 slash line. 

Other than Raines himself, no one was happier to hear he earned induction than noted Montreal Expos fan Jonah Keri. The CBSSports.com writer had this response on Twitter after the voting was announced:

“Just to know now that I’m in the [Hall of Fame], there will be a lot of proud people in Canada,” Raines said, per MLB Network PR. 

Bagwell‘s absence from the Hall of Fame was one of the more curious snubs. He has some offensive numbers that compare favorably to Ken Griffey Jr., per Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal:

In addition to those numbers, Bagwell was a four-time National League All-Star, 1991 NL Rookie of the Year and 1994 NL MVP. He finished his career with a .297/.408/.540 slash line, 449 home runs and 202 stolen bases. 

ESPN Stats & Info noted Bagwell‘s stolen-base total put him in rare territory among first basemen:

Rodriguez was no sure thing on his first ballot. In the past, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America has shown an unwillingness to induct players in their first year of eligibility unless they were a transcendent talent. 

In Rodriguez’s 21-year career, he was named to 14 All-Star teams and won the 1999 American League MVP. 

MLB Stat of the Day put together a strong case for Rodriguez to enter Cooperstown:

Among the players who just missed out on induction this year, Trevor Hoffman (74 percent) and Vladimir Guerrero (71.7 percent) appear likely to make it in 2018. They will be joined on the ballot by notable first-timers Chipper Jones and Jim Thome to make for a potentially interesting class. 

The Baseball Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on July 30, with Bagwell, Raines and Rodriguez being enshrined with the other immortal stars of the sport. 

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The Los Angeles Angels have rewarded outfielder Kole Calhoun after the best season of his career with a new contract extension. 

The Angels officially announced Calhoun’s extension as a three-year deal with a team option for 2020. 

Per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo, Calhoun’s deal guarantees him $26 million over the first three years with the option year valued at $14 million.

Calhoun was an eighth-round draft pick by the Angels in 2010. He made his major league debut in 2012 and appeared in just 79 games over his first two seasons. 

Calhoun’s breakout season came in 2014 when he hit .272/.325/.450 with 17 home runs in 127 games. He has appeared in 316 out of a possible 324 games over the previous two seasons, setting a new career high with a .348 on-base percentage and 4.0 FanGraphs wins above replacement in 2016.

Prior to signing a long-term extension, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, Calhoun agreed to a one-year deal worth $6.35 million last Friday. His new deal with the team buys out his two remaining arbitration years after 2017 and possibly one year of free agency if the Angels exercise their option.

Everything with the Angels on the field runs through Mike Trout, who won his second American League MVP award in 2016 and has been the best player in MLB for the past five seasons, but Calhoun has turned into a key piece in their lineup. 

Calhoun trailed only Trout and Albert Pujols on the Angels in home runs and was third in on-base percentage last season. He’s a solid all-around contributor and a smart long-term investment for a franchise that needs to start taking advantage of having the best player in the sport. 

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The Colorado Rockies have signed veteran utility man Alexi Amarista to a contract. 

The team officially announced a one-year deal with Amarista for 2017. 

An agreement between Amarista and the Rockies has been in the works for weeks, with Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reporting on Dec. 26 it would be a one-year deal with an option for 2018.  

The official announcement does not mention an option year in the contract, but the Rockies do upgrade their depth all over the field with Amarista next season. 

The 27-year-old Amarista has played six positions during his MLB career, including two brief appearances as a pitcher in 2015 and 2016. He was primarily an infielder with the San Diego Padres last season, shifting between second base, third base and shortstop. 

The Rockies have spent their offseason trying to add more versatility. Gerardo Parra has the ability to play all three outfield positions and Ian Desmond will be the team’s starting first baseman and has experience at shortstop and center field. 

Amarista doesn’t offer much with the bat, owning a .230/.276/.320 slash line in six seasons with the Padres and Los Angeles Angels. Moving to hitter-friendly Coors Field could provide a boost to his offensive numbers, but the Rockies are signing him for depth more than anything else. 

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