AL East

The Toronto Blue Jays have hired former baseball operations research and development intern Jaime Vieira to serve as a minor league hitting coach in 2022, per The Athletic.

That makes her the first female coach the organization has ever hired at any level.

Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported that "where she ends up coaching this season wasn't immediately clear as the club is still finalizing roles for its minor league staff."

Viera previously played and coached softball for Ontario's University of Guelph-Humber.

She's one of a growing number of female hires in Major League Baseball.

Rachel Balkovec was reportedly hired this week to manage the New York Yankees' Low-A Tampa Tarpons, per Lindsey Adler of The Athletic, making her the first female manager in affiliated professional baseball.

Kim Ng became the first female MLB general manager in 2020 when the Miami Marlins hired her, while Alyssa Nakken became the first woman on an MLB coaching staff that same year when Gabe Kapler hired her as a coaching assistant for the San Francisco Giants.

And Bianca Smith became the first Black woman to coach professional baseball when the Boston Red Sox hired her to work at their Fort Myers development facility in Florida.

Major League Baseball's lockout will obviously have to end first, but the New York Yankees may yet plug their hole at shortstop with a big-name free agent.

The Yankees' one-year, $2 million deal with reliever Joely Rodriguez represents their one and only major league signing before the lockout, yet ESPN's Buster Olney reported that some agents believe the team will be "aggressive" when the market reopens.

Specifically, on their radar could be two All-Star shortstops: Carlos Correa and Trevor Story.

Notably, this runs contrary to a November report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post. That one claimed the Yankees won't be paying for a top-tier shortstop, in part because they don't want to block top prospects Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza.

And yet, the anticipation that the Yankees will be aggressive makes some sense.

Any team on a win-now mission—which they most definitely are—can't afford to be deficient at a position as important as shortstop. And unless Volpe or Peraza is going to blossom right out of the gate in 2022, deficient is what the Yankees are at shortstop as long as Gio Urshela is the default starter. He is, after all, a 30-year-old best known for playing third base.

As for whether Correa or Story suits the Yankees better, let's break it down by price and talent and then come to a conclusion.

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One of These Guys Is Much More Expensive Than the Other

Back in November, Mark Berman of Fox 26 reported the Houston Astros sought to retain Correa by offering him a five-year deal worth $160 million.

Even then, however, that was about half what Correa was hypothetically worth on the open market. And in the form of Corey Seager's 10-year, $325 million pact with the Texas Rangers, Correa now has an actual target to match or exceed.

Though Correa and Seager are both 27, the former is a seasonal age younger. Correa has also been significantly more productive, outproducing Seager by 12.8 rWAR since their respective debuts in 2015 and by 3.5 rWAR just in 2021. That's not counting Correa's work in the postseason, where he's already top-10 all-time with 18 career home runs.

So, never mind just 10 years and $325 million. In Correa's mind, a fair deal might be more like the $340 million contracts that fellow shortstops Fernando Tatis Jr. and Francisco Lindor signed earlier this year.

Story, meanwhile, is in a different spot.

Even if he's a two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger in his own right, it matters that Story isn't coming off a particularly good season. Though he was worth a respectable 4.2 rWAR for the Colorado Rockies, that came paired with the second-lowest OPS+ of his career (103).

It didn't help that, in a sort of recurrence of what happened to him in 2018, Story dealt with an elbow injury. And at 29, he's more middle-aged than young by baseball's modern standards.

By way of Javier Baez's six-year, $140 million deal with the Detroit Tigers, this winter's market does offer some precedent for what a risky 29-year-old shortstop like Story might expect in his next deal. If a similar offer doesn't materialize, it's perhaps not outside the realm of possibility that Story will choose to bet on himself in a one-year deal.

But while this means that Correa and Story present two entirely different investment outlooks for the Yankees, they do have at least one thing in common.

According to Roster Resource, the Yankees are already looking at a $226.4 million luxury-tax payroll in 2022. That's already over the $210 million threshold from 2021, and less than $15 million in average annual value from the MLB Players Association's preferred threshold of $240 million for 2022.

Put another way, there's no deal the Yankees can make with either Correa or Story that would keep them from running afoul of the luxury tax next season.

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These Are Two Really Talented Shortstops

To the extent that Correa leads not only Seager, but also Story and indeed all shortstops in rWAR over the last seven years, pretending like he has any peers at his position is a fool's errand.

It used to be possible to quibble about Correa's glovework, but not so much now. His defensive runs saved have consistently been in the black, and this year's Gold Glove and Platinum Glove triumphs are backed by a league-high 20 DRS and 12 outs above average.

This alone is something that the Yankees should cherish about Correa. Even going off his OAA readings, he'd still be a massive upgrade for a position that's tied for 26th with minus-12 OAA over the last two seasons.

Correa has been more up and down offensively, with red flags including subpar production in 2018 and 2020 and a career year in 2017 that comes with a nefarious explanation. That was the season of the Astros' banging scheme, from which Correa benefited more than most.

Even still, there's only so much you can do to explain away numbers like a career 127 OPS+ and 133 home runs.

In particular, the notion that Correa's excellence in 2017 was a product of the banging scheme doesn't hold up. He's topped a 130 OPS+ twice since then, including in 2021 as he operated with above-average walk, strikeout and hard-hit rates.

Correa even took a step toward becoming an ideal fit for Yankee Stadium. The right-handed swinger hit a career-high 48 fly balls to the opposite field. Had he actually been a Yankee, he'd have collected more home runs on those:

Correa does have some injuries in his past, but not in the last two years, as he played in all but 14 of Houston's regular-season contests. That might not be a coincidence, as he reportedly improved his conditioning and nutrition ahead of the 2020 season.

As for Story, the elbow injury that he sustained earlier in 2021 could explain why he landed in the red defensively with minus-four outs above average. It might not have helped that his arm was further taxed by a deeper starting position (145 feet from home) than usual.

Or, this might just be noise. Story did salvage nine defensive runs saved, after all, which is also a category where he has even Correa beat since debuting in 2016.

On the other side of the ball, Story's primary claim to offensive fame is a home run stroke that's produced a shortstop-high 158 long balls over the last six seasons. And even when accounting for Coors Field, he's the only other shortstop besides Correa who has four seasons with at least a 120 OPS+ out of the last six.

Though Story missed hitting that mark once again in 2021, he might not have if he hadn't been so unlucky. By Statcast's estimates, he missed out on more home runs than any other player this season. Further, he had nearly the same expected slugging percentage on balls in play as Correa:

• Correa: .610 xSLG
• Story: .602 xSLG

What's more, Story's swing might be even more tailored for Yankee Stadium than Correa's. The fellow righty swinger hit even more opposite-field fly balls in 2021, a handful of which would have cleared the short right-field porch in the Bronx:

In addition to power, Story also offers speed and a better bat-to-ball skill than you might think. He's third among shortstops in stolen bases over the last four years, and his lowest strikeout rates have come in the last two seasons.

So even though he figures to cost half as much as Correa, Story has upside as a shortstop who's at least as good.

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What We'd Do

With free agents, it's not all about dollars and ability. There's also the matter of fit, which is where Correa has question marks that Story doesn't. 

The big one, of course, is whether there are any lingering hard feelings in a Yankees clubhouse that's still populated by guys who remember how the Astros beat them and then won the World Series in 2017. One of them is super-slugger Aaron Judge, who said of the Astros: "You cheated and you didn't earn it."

That could make things awkward for Correa if he were to come to New York. Plus, some Yankee fans might understandably be miffed about Correa's recent disparaging remarks about Derek Jeter's defense. They kinda like that guy in New York.

Given that Jeter was his favorite player when he was growing up, you're not likely to hear anything like that from Story. And even if Story doesn't have anything resembling Correa's postseason credentials, it might mean something to the Yankees that the ones he does have aren't marred by scandal.

Nonetheless, we'd still sign Correa if we were the Yankees.

The choice here is essentially between a riskier contract and a riskier player, with Correa as the former and Story as the latter. Story makes sense if the Yankees' primary goal is to spend money wisely, but Correa is the better bet if their goals are entirely on the field.

That's where they should always be, but especially now. As much as the Yankees like to fancy themselves as an exceptional team, they simply haven't been in recent years. They've won a single American League East title in the last nine years, with a World Series drought that's been going since 2009. By traditional Yankees standards, this is intolerable stuff.

Besides, the Yankees are due plenty of payroll relief after 2022. All the more reason to get the best player money can buy now and worry about the rest later.

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Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

Count former New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia among those who are tired of hearing about Clint Frazier. 

Frazier, who recently signed with the Chicago Cubs after being released by the Yankees, has drawn plenty of headlines lately, and Sabathia is sick of seeing his name pop up so frequently.

“If I see another Clint Frazier story, bro, I’m gonna punch somebody in the f--king face,” he said on his R2C2 podcast with Ryan Ruocco, per Audacy's John Healy. “S--t is ridiculous. That kid played 15 games in the f--king big leagues. Get the f--k out of here with all these stupid ass f--king stories.”

Frazier made headlines earlier this week after opening up about his experience with the Yankees on Twitter. The 27-year-old wrote that he was very excited to join the Cubs, and also took a jab at the Yankees' facial hair policy in the process. 

Frazier also noted he would continue to wear No. 77, seemingly rebutting Yankees radio broadcaster Suzyn Waldman's 2017 suggestion that the outfielder asked to wear Mickey Mantle's retired No. 7 after being traded to New York from Cleveland. 

i'll be continuing to wear #77 as well — i requested #7 but unfortunately it was taken, marking that as the first time i ever asked for that number 🤣

— Clint Frazier (@clintfrazier) December 7, 2021

In addition, someone responded to Frazier saying, "I'm so glad this dude isn't a Yankee anymore." Frazier responded, "so am I." 

so am i 🤣🤣🤣🤣

— Clint Frazier (@clintfrazier) December 7, 2021

Frazier, who was drafted fifth overall by Cleveland in 2013, largely underperformed in his five seasons with the Yankees. In 228 career games with the club, he slashed .239/.327/.434 with 29 home runs and 97 RBI. 

The Georgia native had his worst season in the majors in 2021, slashing .186/.317/.317 with just five home runs and 15 RBI in 66 games. However, Frazier has struggled with various health issues, including lingering concussion effects and unspecified ailments that the Yankees originally diagnosed as vertigo. 

Sabathia and Frazier spent three seasons together in the Bronx from 2017 to 2019. In that span, Sabathia compiled a 28-20 record with a 4.00 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 367 strikeouts in 409 innings across 79 games. 

Despite Sabathia's comments, the former Cy Young winner noted he hopes Frazier does well in Chicago, saying, "I hope so," in response to Ruocco mentioning the veteran could prove everyone wrong during his tenure with the Cubs.  

The Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers made a trade before Major League Baseball's impending work stoppage.

On Wednesday, the Red Sox announced they traded outfielder Hunter Renfroe to Milwaukee in exchange for outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and minor-league infielders Alex Binelas and David Hamilton.

According to MLB.com's list of prospect rankings, Hamilton was the No. 16 overall player in Milwaukee's farm system, while Binelas was the No. 17 player.

Boston also landed Bradley in the deal and is surely familiar with what he can do. After all, he played for the Red Sox during the first eight years of his career before they traded him to the Brewers prior to the 2021 campaign.

Bradley was an All-Star in 2016, won a Gold Glove in 2018, helped Boston win the 2018 World Series and was the ALCS MVP that year as well. The 31-year-old also hit double-digit home runs five years in a row from 2015 through 2019 and surpassed 20 long balls twice during that span.

However, he struggled in 2021 for the Brewers and slashed .163/.236/.261 with six home runs and 29 RBI in 134 games. It was a far cry from when he finished with a career-best .283 batting average during the shortened 2020 campaign in his final year before Boston traded him.

Renfroe was much better this past year.

He slashed .259/.315/.501 with 31 home runs and 96 RBI for the Red Sox in 2021, which marked his fourth straight full season (not counting the shortened 2020 one) with 26 or more long balls.

The right-handed hitter will bring immediate power to Milwaukee's lineup and figures to provide much more offensively than Bradley did during his one season with the Brewers.         

The Boston Red Sox and pitcher Rich Hill reportedly agreed to a one-year contract Wednesday ahead of the expiration of the MLB collective bargaining agreement.

Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported the deal, which will mark Hill's third stint in Boston.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the deal was worth $5 million, and included incentives. 

“[The Red Sox] do things right. I’ve been around 14 organizations. … If I tell you that they’re in the upper echelon [of franchises], they’re doing pretty good,” Hill said last month. “There is an interest [in the Red Sox], without a doubt. … There’s a need on the other end. [But] the need for starting pitching is very apparent throughout the league — not just in Boston. It’s also many other clubs that that need it.”

Hill, 41, split the 2021 season with the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Mets. He went 7-8 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.21 WHIP while making 31 starts, his highest total since 2007 and second-highest of his career. The oft-injured lefty has topped 25 starts only three times in his career.

The Red Sox already signed Michael Wacha and James Paxton earlier this offseason as they look for high-upside, short-term options in the rotation. Wacha, a former highly regarded prospect who went on to make the 2015 MLB All-Star team with the St. Louis Cardinals, has a 5.11 ERA over the last three seasons. Paxton is recovering from Tommy John surgery and is not expected to join the rotation until midway through the 2022 season. 

All contracts must be completed before 11:59 p.m. ET Wednesday when the collective bargaining agreement expires. A lockout is expected to begin when the CBA expires. 

The New York Yankees tendered a contract to Gary Sanchez, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The deadline for the team to do so was Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

Spotrac estimated Sanchez would earn $7.5 million in 2022, the final year he's eligible for arbitration before hitting free agency.

While his performance represented an improvement over the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the veteran catcher struggled at the plate in 2021. He had 23 home runs but slugged .423 and had a 99 OPS+, per Baseball Reference. 

Sanchez's value on defense was limited as well. He sat 55th on Baseball Savant's catcher framing leaderboard.

At least for now, committing to the 28-year-old was the sensible move for the Yankees.

Kyle Higashioka is under team control through 2024, but starting a catcher with a .619 career OPS, per Baseball Reference, is less than ideal.

The Bronx Bombers don't have a younger backstop waiting in the wings, either. Austin Wells (No. 6) is the highest-ranked catcher in their system on MLB.com, and he isn't expected to hit the majors until 2023. Wells didn't get above High-A this past season.

Speaking with reporters at a charity event for the team on Nov. 19, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman acknowledged the team was exploring all avenues behind the plate but that it wasn't exactly a buyer's market:

As of right now, Gary Sanchez and Kyle Higashioka are our (catchers) unless we run into something that we feel can upgrade that and make it better. We are obviously having conversations to see if there's options. Catching is a very thin market. It was last year, and I can say it looks like it’s that way this year again. But it doesn't preclude us from exploring potential options that exists out there. And if not, we'll go back with what we have.

Sanchez probably won't replicate his first two years again. Across 2016 and 2017, he had 53 home runs and 132 RBI in 175 games and boasted a .384/.354/.568 slash line. But the two-time All-Star offers a solid baseline in terms of power.

Since 2018, Gary Sanchez has a .201 BA.

Despite that, he still has the 3rd-most total bases (558) and 3rd-most RBI (208) among AL catchers behind only Salvador Perez and Yasmani Grandal.

He also has the 2nd-most HR among all MLB catchers during that span behind only Perez. pic.twitter.com/awDNJVN8fl

— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) December 1, 2021

Maybe the right trade materializes for the Yankees to land an upgrade over Sanchez, but one isn't forthcoming in free agency.

Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez were two of the best catchers available, and they're already off the board. The Miami Herald's Craig Mish reported Gomes agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, and Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Perez struck a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates for $5 million over one year.

Retaining Sanchez buys New York more time to identify a long-term solution at catcher.

The Miami Marlins have reportedly acquired infielder Joey Wendle in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, according to Craig Mish of MLB Network.

The Rays reportedly will receive outfield prospect Kameron Misner in return, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

Wendle earned his first All-Star selection last season, finishing the year with a .265 average and .319 on-base percentage with 11 home runs, 73 runs and 54 RBI. He primarily played third base in 2021 but also spent time at second base and shortstop.

The versatility could be especially valuable for a Marlins team with a lot of holes after going 67-95 last season.

Consistency is the biggest question mark for Wendle, who produced a .786 on-base plus slugging in the first half of 2021 but a .687 mark in the second half. The 31-year-old was a Rookie of the Year candidate in 2018 when he hit .300 in 139 games, but he has averaged just .260 at the plate over the past three seasons.

It was enough for the Rays to move on from a key contributor to last year's 100-62 record.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic also previously reported Tampa Bay needed a trade to clear a roster spot for Corey Kluber. 

The Rays also receive the Marlins' No. 21 prospect in the deal, according to MLB.com.

Misner was a first-round draft pick in 2019 and has displayed a wide skill set in the professional ranks. The 23-year-old hit .253 with a .355 on-base percentage in 102 games across Single-A and Double-A last season, adding 12 home runs and 26 stolen bases.    

Longtime Atlanta Braves star Freddie Freeman is a free agent, and it's hard to imagine him in another uniform. But one team is reportedly hoping to pry the first baseman away from Atlanta.

MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Tuesday that the New York Yankees are "definitely interested" in Freeman, though they acknowledge it's likely the Braves won't let him get away. Heyman added that Freeman is seeking a deal in the range of $180 million over six years.

Heyman also speculated that if Freeman were to leave Atlanta, it would be to play for his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers.

Freeman has spent his entire 12-year career with the Braves. He helped lead the team to its first World Series title since 1995 this past season, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he wanted to finish his career where he started.

The 32-year-old veteran has shown no signs of slowing down. He followed up his 2020 NL MVP season with 31 home runs and 83 RBI while batting .300 this past year.

Freeman's lefty power bat would be a good fit in a Yankees lineup full of right-handers. New York tried to add balance by acquiring first baseman Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs and outfielder Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers at July's trade deadline. 

Rizzo batted .249 and hit eight homers in 49 games for the Yankees. But the team chose not to lock him up with a contract extension before the offseason, and he's currently a free agent. Gallo, on the other hand, was a disappointment with a .160 average and 13 home runs in 58 games.

The Yankees have multiple holes to fill in free agency, and a lot of big names are already off the board, including shortstop options Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Adding a star like Freeman would surely make a splash for a fanbase hoping to see New York's first World Series appearance since 2009.

The Tampa Bay Rays have reportedly discussed trades involving both infielder Joey Wendle and outfielder Kevin Kiermaier, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported the Philadelphia Phillies have shown interest in Kiermaier.

As Rosenthal noted, the Rays need to clear spots on the 40-man roster in order to make room for free-agent addition Corey Kluber. The two sides reportedly agreed to a one-year deal on Sunday worth up to $13 million.

Kiermaier could be worth moving, as he's owed $12.2 million in 2022, especially considering the team's alternatives in center field, which include Manuel Margot.

The lack of consistency at the plate also makes Kiermaier dispensable, as he hit just .232 with a .298 on-base percentage over the last four seasons. The 31-year-old is coming off a solid 2021 with a .259 average, which is serviceable, considering his elite defense.

He posted 13 defensive runs saved in center field last season, per FanGraphs, and he has totaled 145 runs saved during his nine-year career.

Wendle, meanwhile, could draw interest with his defensive versatility after playing third base, second base and shortstop last season. The 31-year-old earned his first All-Star selection last year and finished with a .265 average, 11 home runs and 54 RBI. 

The Rays likely won't deal starting position players without getting a significant return, but the team has a lot of depth and is looking for ways to stay elite after going 100-62 last season.    

In the aftermath of their agreements with Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, the Texas Rangers could turn to the trade market to free up space in their infield.

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the New York Yankees are pursuing a trade with the Rangers for 2020 Gold Glove winner Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Sunday the Rangers agreed to a seven-year, $175 million deal with Semien.

On Monday, Passan reported Seager agreed to join the Rangers on a 10-year, $325 million contract.

Kiner-Falefa has played shortstop, third base and catcher in his career. He won the AL Gold Glove at third base last year after leading the league with seven defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs.

After Elvis Andrus was traded to the Oakland Athletics before the start of the 2021 campaign, the Rangers moved Kiner-Falefa over to shortstop. His defense didn't suffer, as he ranked third among all qualified players at the position with 10 defensive runs saved.

Kiner-Falefa doesn't boast a lot of power in his swing, but he makes enough contact to hit for a solid average. The 26-year-old has a .265/.316/.354 slash line in 392 games with the Rangers.

Since the start of 2020, Kiner-Falefa has a .273 batting average with 11 homers and 63 RBI in 216 games.

The Yankees ranked 22nd in FanGraphs' defensive value in 2021. Their shortstops, primarily Gleyber Torres, finished tied for 26th in MLB with minus-15 defensive runs saved.

Kiner-Falefa wouldn't be the big splash acquisition that Yankees fans would get excited about, but his defensive skill set would be an upgrade for the team in 2022 and beyond.