The San Diego Padres have been one of the more active teams in the offseason so far.
They have already traded relievers Joaquin Benoit and Craig Kimbrel to the Mariners and Red Sox, respectively. This has led many to believe that San Diego is expecting to rebuild in 2016. However, the team has also shown interest in shortstop Ian Desmond, according to reports, and could make a play for him with money freed up from dealing Kimbrel. It appears that the team could be at a crossroads between rebuilding and contending for the future. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Padres are shopping right-handed starter Tyson Ross and are also looking to move outfielder Matt Kemp in a trade. Rosenthal wonders aloud whether the Padres would consider dealing both at once, but notes that it would lessen their return at a time when they need to replenish their farm system badly. This would be similar to how they acquired both Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton Jr. before this season, taking Upton's salary. Ross, 28, would draw plenty of appeal from teams in need of starting pitching. He went 10-12 with a 3.26 ERA in 33 starts and 196 innings pitched this season, but posted a strong 212 to 84 strikeout-to-walk ratio, good for a 2.98 FIP. He was named a National League All-Star for the first time in his career in 2014. Also adding to Ross' appeal is his contract status. Ross isn't a free agent until after the 2017 season, and will be arbitration eligible over the next two years. MLBTradeRumors.com projects him to earn $10 million this season. As for Kemp, teams won't be as interested in him due to his poor performance and large contract. In 2015, Kemp hit .265/.312/.443 with 23 home runs and 100 RBIs over 648 plate appearances. His 111 OPS+ was his worst since 2013. Kemp is signed through 2019 and will earn $87 million over the next four years, with $14 million being paid by the Dodgers. --Devan Fink
0 Comments
The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired right-handed starter Jeremy Hellickson from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Robert Murray of Baseball Essential first reported Saturday.
In return for Hellickson, the Diamondbacks received Rookie-level right-hander Sam McWilliams, as John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reported. The Phillies are taking a calculated risk by acquiring Hellickson. A former Rookie of the Year, Hellickson at the least will be able to fill innings in Philadelphia, where their rotation is void of back-end starting pitching. However, Hellickson serves a double-purpose. If he can re-find some of his old magic, Philadelphia may be able to trade him at either the 2016 or 2017 trade deadline and get more prospects in return than they gave up to get him. For Arizona, Hellickson was likely to get a raise in arbitration this offseason and the team was thought not to want to tender him a contract. It appears that they attempted to get whatever they could for him, as by dealing him they are at least able to get some prospect return, as opposed to non-tendering, or releasing, him. The 28-year-old Hellickson had an average season in 2015. He went 9-12 with a 4.62 ERA (4.44 FIP; 4.16 xFIP) in 27 starts and 146 innings this season, missing some time due to hamstring issues. He posted a 2.81 strikeout-to-walk ratio, striking out 121 and walking 43, the best mark of his career (min. 50 IP). Hellickson's best season was his rookie year when he was with the Rays. He went 13-10 with a 2.95 ERA in 29 starts, en route to the Rookie of the Year award. The Diamondbacks received a low-level prospect in return. McWilliams, 20, has not advanced past Rookie-level ball since being drafted in 2014. He was rated as the Phillies No. 27 prospect in their Top 30, according to MLB Pipeline. --Devan Fink
The Boston Red Sox acquired right-hander Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The deal has since been announced.
In return, the Padres acquired four Red Sox' prospects: outfielder Manuel Margot, shortstop Javier Guerra, infielder Carlos Asuaje, and left-hander Logan Allen. Kimbrel is quite an add for the Red Sox bullpen. The group struggled last season, posting the fifth-highest ERA in the big leagues, as well as a -1.4 Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs, coming in at the bottom of baseball. Kimbrel is the elite closer and bullpen arm that the Red Sox lacked in 2015. With Koji Uehara going down to injury late in the year, Boston could never really find any back-end relief pitching to close out games. Kimbrel will probably fill in at closer, with Uehara probably becoming a set-up guy. Red Sox' president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is notorious for not being able to build good bullpens. When Dombrowski was the GM of the Detroit Tigers, their relief pitching would almost always be their downfall. It appears, through this trade, that Dombrowski is prioritizing bullpen with Boston. Kimbrel is a good asset not only because of his performance on the field, but also because of his payroll obligations. He is under contract for the next two seasons for just $24 million, with a club option for the 2018 season valued at $13 million with a $1 million buyout. A player of his caliber would definitely be worth more than $12 million per season, which makes him such a valuable addition to the Red Sox. Last season, Kimbrel was not as good as he had been in the past, but was still plenty good. The 27-year-old Kimbrel went 4-2 with a 2.58 ERA in 61 appearances out of the Padres bullpen, saving 39 games in 43 opportunities. He posted an 87 to 22 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Even with a solid season, 2015 was the first time Kimbrel had not been voted an All-Star since his rookie season in 2010. From 2010 to 2014, Kimbrel was by far the best closer in baseball. He led the National League in saves every single season, being named to the All-Star Game in each. Kimbrel was so good that he averaged 46 saves per year during that stretch. The Braves, Kimbrel's former team, dealt him to the Padres along with Melvin Upton Jr. just before the start of last season, getting four players and a competitive balance draft. With this trade, Kimbrel will be on his third team in as many seasons. The Padres received what is considered to be a great return for Kimbrel to replenish their prospect system. All four of the prospects San Diego received for the relief pitcher are amongst the Red Sox' Top 30, according to MLB Pipeline, with Margot checking in at No. 3, Guerra at No. 6, Asuaje at No. 23, and Allen at No. 25. Margot and Guerra are also included in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 overall prospects, at Nos. 25 and 76, respectively. Margot ended the 2015 season in Double-A; Guerra ended the year in Class-A. --Devan Fink The Los Angeles Angels have acquired shortstop Andrelton Simmons from the Atlanta Braves, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reported on Thursday. The Angels also received catcher Jose Briceno as part of the deal, as the teams announced. The Braves received quite a prospect haul in return for Simmons. They received left-hander Sean Newcomb and right-hander Christopher Ellis, the Angels' No. 1 and No. 2 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline's rankings. Atlanta also received big league shortstop Erick Aybar as part of the deal, as well as $2.5 million in cash. The past 24 hours have been quite a whirlwind in Simmons rumors. It started last night, with Jonah Keri reporting that the Braves were discussing a Simmons trade with an NL West club. Those rumors continued to develop throughout today, with the Mets, Angels, Dodgers, and Padres all being connected to the Braves and Simmons at some point. However, the main consensus amongst many around the league was that the Braves were just listening on Simmons up until this point. The Angels have made upgrading the middle infield a priority this offseason. While Simmons' bat is not nearly as good as his elite defense, he provides an all-around upgrade over Aybar at shortstop. They also get to have Simmons for a long time. Simmons is signed to an extremely team-friendly deal. The Angels will get five years of him for just $53 million, which would be an extreme discount if Simmons went on the free agent market today. His defense has made him one of the best shortstop in baseball. The 26-year-old Simmons hit .265/.321/.338 with four home runs and 44 RBIs over 583 plate appearances this past season. According to defensive metrics, he was worth 25 defensive runs saved and posted a 17.5 UZR/150 in 2015. Over his career, he has 113 defensive runs saved, which is most amongst baseball since he started playing. He was worth 3.2 fWAR this season. The Angels do not get this young and good player at this price for nothing. They traded their top two prospects to Atlanta, Sean Newcomb and Christopher Ellis, as well as a short-term shortstop replacement in Erick Aybar. Newcomb, a former first round pick, and Ellis, a former third round pick, both finished last season in Double-A. --Devan Fink Houston Astros outfielder Colby Rasmus will accept the team's one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer and return to the club in 2016, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Rasmus will become the first player in Major League Baseball history to accept a qualifying offer and forego free agency. Over the past three years, 34 players have been offered qualifying offers and none have been accepted. This season, a record 20 qualifying offers were dished out to players, leading many to think that this could be the year where the first player accepts the $15.8 million deal. The 29-year-old Rasmus had a lot of things to consider when accepting his qualifying offer. He knew that by accepting, he would forego his free agency until next season. If Rasmus has another good year in 2016, then he could make even more money than he would have this season. Besides, $15.8 million, which is what he will make next year, is not chump change. In fact, it is the average of the top 125 salaries in the league. Also, Rasmus had to consider his market. This offseason, Jason Heyward, Alex Gordon, Dexter Fowler, Denard Span, and Nori Aoki are all also free agents, which could have depleted Rasmus' market from a overall value standpoint. Next offseason, the outfield free agency market includes fewer top names, which could lead to a larger contract for Rasmus. This season, Rasmus hit .238/.314/.475 with 25 home runs and 61 RBIs over 485 plate appearances. He was worth 2.8 Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs. With Rasmus coming back to Houston, this will likely take them out of the outfield free agent market this offseason. --Devan Fink |
Categories
All
Archives
February 2017
|