Update, 10:30 P.M. ET: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Nationals and Reds have an agreement in place on a deal that would send Phillips to Washington, however, he still has to approve any trade. This is likely why he is headed to D.C.
Over the past week, the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds have reportedly been discussing a potential trade that would would send Brandon Phillips east to D.C. Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reported Thursday evening that these talks have "indeed advanced," responding to a tweet sent out by Brandon Phillips' verified Twitter account. Phillips tweeted out a cryptic message just minutes prior to the report, saying, "513 to 202," with an airplane emoticon. 513 and 202 could be referring to area codes, as Cincinnati's main code is in fact the former and Washington's is the latter. Phillips would make sense for the Nationals, as they recently traded 2015 second baseman Yunel Escobar to the Angels. The 34-year-old Phillips is a three-time All-Star at the position, but has begun to decline. Last season, Phillips hit for a .294/.328/.395 slash line with 12 home runs and 70 RBIs over 623 plate appearances. He was worth 2.6 Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs. --Devan FInk
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If you heard a shock around baseball today, it was the White Sox front office's doing.
In a gigantic move, the White Sox acquired two-time All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier from the Cincinnati Reds in a three-team trade that included the Los Angeles Dodgers as well. Overall, seven players exchanged hands, with Cincinnati receiving three prospects by way of Los Angeles. Jose Peraza, Brandon Dixon, and Scott Schebler all head to the Reds. The Dodgers acquired three more prospects, Frankie Montas, Micah Johnson, and Trayce Thompson, from Chicago.
The San Francisco Giants have agreed to sign right-hander Johnny Cueto to a six-year deal, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
Cueto will make $130 million over the six years, according to media reports, which means that he will earn an annual average value of $21.67 million. That is substantially less than what comparable starting pitchers have earned just this offseason. Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area reported that Cueto will have an opt-out after two seasons. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported that Cueto will earn $46 million ($23MM per year) in the two years prior to his opt-out after the 2017 season. Cueto was the last elite-level starting pitcher out on the free agent market. David Price (Red Sox), Zack Greinke (Diamondbacks), and Jordan Zimmermann (Tigers) have already agreed to their respective deals, and have made anywhere from $22 to $34 million per season. The Giants were one of many teams to show interest in Cueto throughout the offseason. It was not really known where he would end up, but many thought that after the Dodgers lost out on both Price and Greinke, they would go after him. This afternoon, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Giants were making a strong push for Cueto. The Giants had already put together an interesting offseason, signing Jeff Samardzija to a five-year, $90 million deal. Now, they went out and got Cueto. As it stands, their rotation includes Madison Bumgarner, Cueto, Samardzija, Jake Peavy, and Matt Cain. Cueto, who turns 30 in February, has put together plenty of ace-like performances over the course of his career. Last year, he pitched for both the Reds and Royals. Cueto went 11-13 with a 3.44 ERA and a 176 to 46 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 212 innings. In 2014, Cueto was named an NL All-Star and finished second in the Cy Young voting after posting a 20-9 record with a 2.25 ERA and 242 to 65 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 243 2/3 innings. The one thing that has hindered Cueto, however, is injury. While he has pitched plenty of innings consistently, Cueto has had issues staying healthy in the past. Even last season, he dealt with elbow issues, which may have cost him millions in free agency. In 2013, he missed most of the year due to a lat (shoulder) strain. This signing will pay off for San Francisco if Cueto stays healthy and pitches like an ace into the future. But, if he does prove he can stay healthy over the next two years, he could choose to opt-out. That is what makes this deal an interesting one and definitely benefits the player. --Devan Fink
The Chicago Cubs have agreed to sign outfielder Jason Heyward to an eight-year deal, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday afternoon.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Heyward will make $185 million over the course of his contract, good for an average annual value of $23 million, easily making him the highest paid position player of the offseason. Heyward's deal includes two opt-outs, according to Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com. Rosenthal reported that Heyman can opt-out after year three or year four of his deal if he exceeds certain plate appearance thresholds. Heyward was pursued by plenty of teams throughout the offseason. The Cardinals, Cubs, and Nationals were named as the three finalists in his sweepstakes. According to media reports, Heyward turned down two $200+ million deals, presumably from St. Louis and Washington. The addition of Heyward is huge for the Cubs. He will likely play center field in Chicago, alongside the likes of Kyle Schwarber in left and Jorge Soler in right. The Cubs' lineup is more balanced with the addition, as Heyward replaces Dexter Fowler, who was barely above-average in offensive value last year. Heyward is just 26, having made his MLB debut at age-20. He had a solid offensive season last year, hitting .293/.359/.439 with 13 home runs and 60 RBIs in 610 plate appearances. He is also one of the best defenders in the league and thus was worth an astounding 6.0 fWAR last season. Heyward was going to make a lot of money in his contract this offseason, but the most interesting aspect of the deal are his two opt-out clauses. While his contract breakdown is still unknown, the deal should be front-loaded, in case Heyward has a good enough first few seasons and opts-out. Another interesting aspect of this deal is that Heyward reportedly took less money to sign with the Cubs over two other teams. This could be for plenty of reasons, including the two opt-out clauses, but in recent years players (such as Jon Lester) have taken less money to sign with Chicago in order to help them break their World Series drought. The Cubs' front office is doing everything in its power to try and bring the team to success. Heyward is the third major free agent that Chicago signed this offseason. They agreed to terms with both Ben Zobrist and John Lackey already this offseason, to play second base and help in the rotation, respectively. They want to win; they want to win soon. By having such a big offseason, they showed this urgency. Over the course of his career, Heyward has hit .268/.353/.431 with 97 home runs and 352 RBIs over 3,429 plate appearances. Between the Braves and Cardinals, Heyward has accumulated 27.8 career fWAR. Now, he heads to Chicago to try and go deep into the postseason and win the World Series. --Devan Fink
The St. Louis Cardinals announced the re-signing of right-hander Jonathan Broxton to a two-year deal Thursday afternoon. The deal was first reported by Tom Ackerman of KMOX in St. Louis.
A league source told Cover Those Bases that Broxton will make $7.5 million over his two-year pact, which includes a full no-trade clause. Broxton would have final approval over any deal if St. Louis considered trading him. The 31-year-old Broxton has been in the Major Leagues since 2005 and has pitched in a back-end relief role throughout his career, briefly serving as closer with the Dodgers in 2009 and 2010. He was named a National League All-Star both years. Broxton pitched with the Brewers and Cardinals in 2015, as he was dealt to St. Louis at the trade deadline. Overall, he went 4-5 with a 4.62 ERA (3.65 FIP) in 60 1/3 innings pitched between the clubs. He was much better with the Cardinals, when he posted a 2.66 ERA (3.56 FIP), a 9.9 K/9 ratio, and a 4.6 BB/9 ratio in 23 2/3 innings. Relief pitching has been quite expensive this offseason, with Darren O'Day leading the pack after signing a $31 million deal. While Broxton is not of O'Day's caliber anymore, he still did well, considering his age and performance in 2015. --Devan Fink |
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