Spring training is less than five weeks away and there are a lot of hot stove activities that need to happen between now and then. Only 13 of our 60 top free agents have signed, including only one of the top 14. Here is Andrew Benintendi’s breakdown of the commercial market, and here are the latest hot stove rumors.
Fathers still looking to throw
Even after adding Yu Darvish and Blake Snell last month, the Padres are still looking for pitches, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rosenthal speculates that the free agent, the mighty Masahiro Tanaka, may be suitable, given his connection with the Padres pitching coach, Larry Rothschild, who served as the Yankees’ pitching coach in 2011-19. The San Diego rotation is scheduled to include Darvish, Snell, Dinelson Lamet, Chris Paddack and Adrian Morejon or Joey Lucchesi.
On the one hand, there are many pitches, so it is clear that the Fathers remain on the market. On the other hand, his continued interest in shooting may suggest that there are lingering concerns about Lamet, who suffered a bicep injury last year and did not shoot in the postseason. Lamet has a long history of injuries and Mike Clevinger was operated on by Tommy John shortly after suffering a bicep injury. The Fathers may want to protect themselves against Lamet’s health.
Kluber makes showcase
Free agent Corey Kluber gave a presentation at a training center in Florida on Wednesday. Among the many teams expected were the Cubs (for example, Atlético Sadahev Sharma), Diamondbacks (for Atlético’s Zach Buchanan), Mets (for Anthony DiComo from MLB.com), National (for Atlético’s Britt Ghiroli), Pirates (for Atlético’s Rob Biertempfel), Tigers (for Detroit News Chris McCosky), and twins (for LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune)
Kluber, 35 in April, suffered a serious shoulder injury the first time he debuted last year. He played only 36 2/3 innings in the past two years because of several injuries, including a fractured forearm in 2019. In 2018, Kluber’s last full and healthy season, he played 215 innings with an ERA of 2.89 and finished third in the poll for Cy Young. Injuries and his age limit him to a one-year “prove yourself” contract, and there are worse players to roll the dice than a Cy Young winner twice.
Angels intend to add releases
GM Angels Perry Minasian intends to add initial releases, he told Jeff Fletcher of Orange County Register. Minasian also said he is looking for depth of harvest and external field. “It was a different off-season. It seems that there was less activity. We have been one of the most active teams and it looks like we haven’t done anything in a year … I have been as active as I can,” said Minasian.
Anaheim’s rotation currently includes Dylan Bundy, Griffin Canning, Andrew Heaney and a happily healthy Shohei Ohtani. Jaime Barria and Patrick Sandoval are also in the mix. Southern California native Trevor Bauer would look adorable at the top of the rotation. If not Bauer, Angels need at least one veteran innkeeper. Halos also need a depth catcher due to Max Stassi’s off-season hip surgery, and outside help due to Jo Adell’s poor debut last year.
Giants looking for left-handed start
The Giants are looking to add a left-handed pitcher, GM Scott Harris told Jon Morosi of MLB.com. At the moment, his rotation is set to include five right-handers: Johnny Cueto, Kevin Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani, Logan Webb and Shaun Anderson. Anderson spent most of 2019 and 2020 in the bullpen and had some success, being able to remain there permanently.
Our list of the 60 best free agents includes only two unsigned left players: James Paxton (No. 18) and Jose Quintana (No. 52). Left-handers not classified as Brett Anderson, JA Happ, Cole Hamels, Rich Hill, Martin Perez and Alex Wood could interest San Francisco. Baseball operations president Farhan Zaidi has had ties to Hill and Wood since his days with the Dodgers, and Anderson with his athletics days.
The Blue Jays signed a five-year contract extension with President Mark Shapiro. Rogers Communications, the company that owns the team, made the announcement on Wednesday. “We are extremely pleased that Mark will continue to lead the Toronto Blue Jays and build on the team’s progress as we work towards our goal of bringing the World Series championship back to Canada,” said President Edward Rogers in a statement. Shapiro spent 25 years with Cleveland before joining Blue Jays in 2015.