MLB

Bryan Reynolds' name continues to pop up in trade rumors, though it's not a given the Pittsburgh Pirates will trade the All-Star centerfielder.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Pirates are willing to listen to offers for Reynolds, but it "remains unlikely" he will be moved this offseason.

It's not a surprise to see Reynolds' name pop up in trade rumors. There were rumblings he could be moved during the season before the trade deadline, but the Pirates elected to hang on to him.

The Athletic's Jim Bowden reported in July that the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins did "not stop calling" the Pirates about Reynolds.

Reynolds could bring back a huge return to Pittsburgh if the team decided to make a deal. The 27-year-old has a .281/.361/.481 slash line with 74 homers and 239 RBI in 493 career games.

With the exception of the 2020 season that was shortened to 60 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Reynolds has had a 126 OPS+ in each of his three full years in the big leagues. He ranks fifth among all centerfielders in FanGraphs wins above replacement since 2019 (12.5).

Mike Trout (19.1), George Springer (14.8), Ronald Acuña Jr. (14.3) and Starling Marte (13.2) are the only players ahead of Reynolds on the fWAR list over the past four seasons.

Rather than trying to trade him, Reynolds should be a player the Pirates look to build around. He has three years of team control remaining before hitting free agency after the 2025 season.

Pittsburgh has a promising farm system that MLB.com ranked No. 7 overall in August. Oneil Cruz and Roansy Contreras graduated from prospect status last season and both have tremendous potential. Nick Gonzales, Henry Davis and Mike Burrows are among the top players in the system who could get called up in 2023.

The Pirates have lost 100 games in back-to-back seasons and fans have been outraged for years with how cheap owner Robert Nutting has been with spending on the roster. Trading the best player they have wouldn't do anything to help repair the already fractured relationship.

Reigning American League Cy Young winner Justin Verlander's price tag may be more expensive than the Houston Astros are willing to spend.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Verlander and the Astros are "far apart" in contract talks with the 39-year-old seeking a deal worth $130 million over three years.

Heyman listed the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets as potential landing spots for Verlander if things go south with the Astros.

A three-year, $130 million deal would match what Max Scherzer got from the Mets last offseason. The contract made him the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball by average annual salary ($43.3 million).

The Mets' interest in Verlander may be a contingency plan in the event they don't re-sign Jacob deGrom. Heyman reported on Thursday that people in the Mets' organization believe deGrom "prefers to return" to New York.

The Yankees are still waiting on Aaron Judge to make a decision. They have a need for another frontline starter with Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes. It would also make them better and potentially weaken an Astros team that has knocked them out of the playoffs three times since 2017.

The Dodgers saw last season the downside of not having a true No. 1 starter in the playoffs. They have so much depth on the roster that they won 111 games in the regular season, but they didn't get more than five innings from any of their starters in the NLDS loss to the San Diego Padres.

There are some differences between the two star pitchers that make Houston's apparent apprehension understandable. Scherzer signed his deal heading into his age-37 season and has never had a major shoulder or elbow injury in his career.

Verlander will turn 40 on Feb. 20 and missed the entire 2021 season due to Tommy John surgery. The nine-time All-Star returned in near-peak form in 2022 with an MLB-best 1.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over 175 innings in 28 starts. He earned his third career AL Cy Young award.

The Astros are operating from a position of strength. Even if Verlander signs elsewhere, they will still have Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia and José Urquidy in the rotation. They could potentially use the money they would have spent on Verlander to sign another free-agent starter if they decide to move on.

At least one Major League Baseball executive can't imagine Aaron Judge leaving the opportunity to hit home runs in New York for the chance to play in San Francisco.

"He's going to leave the greatest market to go across the country to a team where it's hard to hit homers? Come on," the executive said, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Statcast shows Yankee Stadium was the eighth-most favorable ballpark in the league for park effects leading to more home runs in 2022. By comparison, the Giants' Oracle Park was a mere 27th and is better known for knocking down potential homers.

Considering Judge just set the American League record with 62 long balls while winning the MVP and also led the league with 52 home runs as the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year, it is a valid point.

Power is the defining feature of his game, and joining the Giants could hamper that as he plays into his 30s.

Yet that is far from the only factor.

As Heyman noted, San Francisco is about two hours from Judge's parents hometown of Linden, California. The free agent also grew up cheering for the Giants and could even still be upset about Yankees fans booing him during the playoffs.

Heyman reported it is essentially coming down to the Giants and Yankees since the Los Angeles Dodgers are more focused on pitching and shortstop, but that likely won't stop Judge from making $300 million or more on his next deal.

The question now is whether he will continue his Yankee legacy and the chase for his first championship or join the National League for the first time and play closer to home for his childhood favorite team.

If he is worried about how the respective ballparks will impact his power, the choice may be clear.

Two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom is available to sign with any team on the open market, but the New York Mets are confident that the prized free agent doesn't want to go anywhere.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that while the Mets know there's a chance deGrom walks in free agency, the team is prioritizing him this offseason and believes he is interested in staying put as well.

"Mets people seem to think he prefers to return (well, he could have fooled me!), and there's some concern about losing their homegrown uber-talent and watching him win Cy Young awards elsewhere, so he may still be their top remaining target," Heyman wrote.

Heyman also predicted that the Texas Rangers would be the team with the second-best chances to sign deGrom this offseason, but he listed the Tampa Bay Rays as a long shot despite the franchise's proximity to his hometown of DeLand, Florida. He noted that the Rays are not known for big spending in free agency, while deGrom will undoubtedly command a hefty price tag.

The 2022 season didn't go as deGrom had planned, as he was forced to miss the first few months because of a stress reaction in his shoulder. After making his season debut in August, he finished with a 5-4 record in 11 starts. He posted a 0.75 WHIP and 102 strikeouts in 64.1 innings pitched, but his 3.08 ERA was his first time with a plus-3.00 ERA since 2017.

DeGrom had a particularly tough finish to the regular season when he allowed three or more earned runs in four consecutive starts. However, he had a strong showing in Game 2 of the Mets' wild-card series against the San Diego Padres, allowing two runs with eight strikeouts in a 7-3 win. New York went on to lose the series in an upset after being pegged as a World Series contender earlier in the year.

While deGrom likely has multiple teams courting him in free agency, the Mets have a strong core that can once again contend for a title in 2023 if he decides to stay. Max Scherzer will surely be motivated after his postseason disappointment, and New York was able to retain star closer Edwin Diaz at the start of the offseason. Keeping deGrom in the mix would give the Mets a strong chance at bouncing back next season.

Another one of baseball's biggest stars could be headed to Los Angeles.

An MLB executive believes that if Justin Verlander doesn't re-sign with the Houston Astros that he'll "probably" sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Heyman lists the Dodgers as the favorite, with the New York Mets and New York Yankees as the second-favorites.

The Dodgers reportedly met with Verlander on Monday, and MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported on Tuesday that he believes the Dodgers "have the best chance at this moment" to sign the veteran hurler.

Verlander put together arguably the best season of his career in 2022, posting an 18-4 record with a 1.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 185 strikeouts in 175 innings across 28 starts en route to a Cy Young award and the Comeback Player of the Year award.

It was an especially impressive season for Verlander after he missed all but one game in 2020 and all of the 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

The 39-year-old had been with the Astros since midway through the 2017 season, when he was traded to Houston by the Detroit Tigers. He played for the Tigers from 2005 through a large portion of the 2017 campaign, winning one Cy Young award and an MVP award.

The Dodgers have always been in the market for top-tier talent. They acquired Mookie Betts in a trade with the Boston Red Sox before signing him to a 12-year, $365 million extension in June 2020.

Additionally, L.A. signed superstar first baseman Freddie Freeman to a six-year, $162 million deal in June 2022. The Dodgers also boast a roster that includes two talented players in Gavin Lux and Max Muncy.

If Verlander joins the Dodgers, he'll only add to an impressive rotation that includes Julio Urías, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Walker Buehler.

The Aaron Judge sweepstakes appears to be a two-horse race between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Giants are a "very realistic possibility" for Judge, and the odds for both teams are "very close to 50-50" (starts at 4:55 mark):

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Wednesday that the Yankees have offered around eight years and $300 million for the 2022 American League MVP, but they could increase it.

The Giants' offer to Judge isn't known, though Morosi noted if they make an offer in the range of $40 million per season, they have a "legitimate chance" to sign him.

Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout is the highest-paid player in MLB based on the total value of his contract ($426.5 million) and the highest-paid position player by average annual salary ($35.5 million).

While it doesn't sound like Judge will approach the total value of Trout's deal, he could pass his average annual salary. An eight-year, $300 million contract would pay $37.5 million per season.

Pitchers Max Scherzer ($43.3 million) and Gerrit Cole ($36.0 million) are the two highest-paid players in MLB by AAV.

The Giants have long been seen as the biggest threat to sign Judge away from the Yankees. One person who met with members of the team's ownership group told Randy Miller of NJ.com in October they "won't be underbid" for the four-time All-Star.

Judge met with Giants officials for two days in San Francisco last week. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reported the Giants connected Judge with representatives for Stephen Curry, hoping the Golden State Warriors superstar could help their free-agent pursuit.

The Yankees have remained confident since free agency began that they will re-sign their superstar slugger. It seems unlikely they will make any other significant moves before he makes a decision.

According to Passan, Judge could make his pick during the winter meetings that begin Sunday in San Diego.

Judge hit the market at the right time after a historic 2022 season. He set an AL record with 62 homers and led MLB in on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.686) and total bases (391).

Two-time Cy Young award winner Gaylord Perry died Thursday at the age of 84, according to the Associated Press.

He died of natural causes.

Perry went 314-265 with a 3.11 in his 22 MLB seasons, which was split across eight different teams. His longest spell came with the San Francisco Giants, where he spent his first 10 years in the majors.

His 37.0 WAR is the seventh-highest mark for a Giants pitcher, per Baseball Reference.

Perry's first Cy Young came with the Cleveland Guardians in 1972. He led the American League in wins (24) and complete games (29) while posting a 2.50 FIP.

In 1978, the right-hander became the oldest Cy Young winner ever when he collected the award after turning 40. Roger Clemens eventually passed him in 2004 at 42 years old.

"Before I won my second Cy Young I thought I was too old—I didn’t think the writers would vote for me," he told Alex Coffey for the Baseball Hall of Fame's official site. "But they voted on my performance, so I won it."

Perry also became the first player to win the Cy Young in both the American and National Leagues.

The five-time All-Star is perhaps most remembered for doctoring baseballs, admitting in his 1974 autobiography Me and the Spitter he used various substances to alter the ball.

Perry also used his reputation to get into the heads of opposing batters when he wasn't on the mound.

"The day before I'd pitch, I'd put grease on my hands and go shake their hands just to get them thinking," he said, per ESPN.com's Derek Zumsteg. "Sometimes I'd roll a ball covered with grease into their dugout."

Zumsteg explained how Perry "concealed Brylcreem in his hair, Vaseline on a locket he'd wear around his neck, his hat, anywhere he could manage."

Bobby Murcer, a five-time All-Star who played for three teams, told the Washington Post's Thomas Boswell in 1982 that Perry's "hard spitter" was "the only absolutely unhittable pitch I've seen in my whole career."

"I'd rather face a 500 mile-per-hour fast ball than that 85-mph spitter Perry used to have," Murcer said. "At least then I'd have a chance."

Perry was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 77.2 percent of the vote in 1991, his third year on the ballot.

The New York Yankees reportedly have made a big offer to 2022 American League MVP Aaron Judge with the hope of getting him to re-sign.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Yankees "have an offer on the table" in the range of eight years and $300 million.

Passan did note the team "could increase" the offer if another suitor makes a serious play.

The San Francisco Giants have been viewed as Judge's most likely destination if he leaves New York. It's unclear at this point if the Giants have made a formal offer, but they did host the four-time All-Star on a visit last week.

According to Passan, Judge will likely make his decision during the winter meetings that begin on Sunday in San Diego.

If the deal Judge signs is for $300 million over eight years, it will be the richest average annual deal for a position player in Major League Baseball history. Mike Trout currently holds the title with a $35.5 million average salary from the Los Angeles Angels.

Max Scherzer ($43.3 million) and Gerrit Cole ($36 million) are the top two players in MLB by average annual salary.

The newly reported offer from the Yankees is a significant increase over what they proposed to Judge before the start of the 2022 season.

General manager Brian Cashman told reporters on April 8 that Judge turned down an offer of $17 million for 2022 plus $213.5 million over seven years. The average value of the deal over eight years would have been $28.8 million.

Judge significantly increased his value with a historic performance last season. He set a new American League record with 62 homers and became the first player since Barry Bonds in 2004 with at least 11 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs.

The Yankees went 99-63 during the regular season and won the American League East for the first time since 2019. They defeated the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS, but were swept out of the playoffs by the Houston Astros in the ALCS.