MLB

Even though the San Francisco Giants have been linked to several high-profile free agents this offseason, they continue to make smaller additions for 2023.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Giants have agreed to a two-year, $25 million deal with right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling that includes an opt-out after next season.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday, after the Giants agreed to a deal with Sean Manaea, they were still pursuing Carlos Rodón. Per Slusser, the team remains in pursuit of Rodón after signing Stripling.

It's unclear if the addition of Stripling impacts San Francisco's interest in Rodón.

The contracts for Stripling and Manaea are identical. Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network reported Manaea's deal is for two years and $25 million with an opt-out after 2023.

Neither player is receiving a salary that would seem to preclude the Giants from making a big splash in free agency. They were heavily linked to Aaron Judge and extended an offer to him of around $360 million, according to Heyman.

Judge ultimately agreed to return to the New York Yankees on a nine-year deal worth $360 million.

Per MLB Network's Steve Phillips, the Giants and Minnesota Twins are considered the favorites to sign Carlos Correa.

Adding Manaea and Stripling to their rotation on team-friendly deals could suggest the Giants prefer to add a high-level position player in free agency. Correa would fill that void with a .279/.357/.479 career slash line as a shortstop.

Stripling is coming off arguably the best season of his career. The 33-year-old posted a 3.01 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 32 appearances (24 starts) for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Giants know Stripling very well from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Dodgers before being traded to Toronto midway through the 2020 season.

Stripling was named to the NL All-Star team in 2018 and finished the year with a 3.02 ERA in 33 appearances.

A half-dozen teams are reportedly making a push to sign free-agent shortstop Dansby Swanson.

Russell Dorsey of Bally Sports and Stadium reported the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves are involved in talks with Swanson as his market takes shape.

According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Swanson and the Giants have been in contact about a potential contract this week:

Sources: #SFGiants and Dansby Swanson’s camp have been in contact this week about a potential contract. Swanson’s free agent decision is not believed to be imminent. @MLBNetwork @MLB

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 13, 2022

Swanson has spent his entire MLB career with the Braves. The Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him No. 1 overall in 2015 but traded him to Atlanta later that year in a deal for pitcher Shelby Miller. The move is arguably the worst trade in Diamondbacks history, as Swanson turned into an All-Star while Miller struggled over three seasons in Arizona.

Swanson's free-agent market has waited out the Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts bidding wars; Turner headed to Philadelphia, and Bogaerts landed in San Diego. With Carlos Correa still available as well, Swanson is considered the secondary prize of a loaded shortstop class.

Given the number of teams in the market for an improvement at the position, Swanson shouldn't have to worry that Turner or Bogaerts will depress his value. He should breeze into nine figures and could wind up in the $150 million range thanks to a strong buyer's market.

It's possible Casey Close (Swanson's agent) is waiting on Scott Boras (Correa's agent) to make the first move. Correa is more accomplished and has elite value independent of Swanson's status. If Correa signs soon, that could inflate Swanson's market even more with a handful of teams left to vie for the remaining star shortstop.

After adding to their starting rotation in free agency, the New York Mets are listening to trade offers on Carlos Carrasco, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

"The ideal return would be a projectable young starter with options and a chance to contribute as soon as this coming season," Sherman added.

The Mets have already spent big on starters this offseason, adding Justin Verlander, José Quintana and Koudai Senga to slot in behind ace Max Scherzer.

If Carrasco is traded, the final spot in the rotation would likely come down to David Peterson and Tylor Megill. Elieser Hernandez could also provide depth after starting 10 games last season with the Miami Marlins.

Carrasco should draw significant interest on the open market after going 15-7 with a 3.97 ERA in 29 starts last season. The 35-year-old struggled during an injury-marred 2021 season, but he bounced back in a big way in 2022 with 152 strikeouts in 152 innings.

The veteran posted a 3.77 ERA across 11 seasons with Cleveland before coming to New York, finishing fourth in American League Cy Young Award voting in 2017. Carrasco is under contract for one more season at $14 million.

Trading a proven starter could still be a risky move for the Mets after they lost Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker via free agency. Scherzer, 38, was limited to just 23 starts in 2022 due to injuries, while Verlander, 39, made just one start across 2020 and 2021 before returning last season.

With Senga unproven at the major league level after coming from Japan, there are still question marks about the Mets rotation.

Despite signing seemingly every one of their young stars to a long-term extension, the Atlanta Braves' rising payroll could cause them to trade Max Fried.

On MLB Network's Hot Stove (h/t MLB.com), Jim Callis of MLB.com noted there are "rumors" Fried could be moved this offseason, as it's unclear if the club will be able to sign him to an extension.

However, ESPN's Buster Olney reported Atlanta isn't entertaining a potential Fried trade, as the team is in win-now mode.

Those reports come after the Braves acquired All-Star catcher Sean Murphy from the Oakland Athletics in a three-team trade with the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.

The Braves have the fifth-highest payroll in MLB at $162.2 million. It's unclear if Murphy even wants to sign an extension, but he's under team control through 2025 regardless.

ESPN's David Schoenfield did point out that the Braves immediately signed Matt Olson to an eight-year, $168 million extension after acquiring him from the A's in March.

Olson was entering his second year of arbitration prior to signing the extension. Murphy is entering his first year of arbitration and is projected to earn $3.3 million in 2023, per Spotrac.

Fried has two years of team control remaining and is projected to make $12.1 million next season. His value in a trade will likely never be higher because of his performance and being unable to hit free agency until after 2024.

The Braves have nothing to lose by at least putting out feelers to see what the market looks like for Fried. The very top tier of free-agent starters are off the board, with Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom having signed.

Carlos Rodón has pitched like an ace, with a 2.67 ERA and 422 strikeouts in 310.2 innings over the past two seasons, but he had a 4.28 ERA in five seasons from 2016 to 2020. The 2022 campaign marked the first time in his career he made at least 30 starts in a single year.

Fried is 13 months younger than Rodón with a much stronger track record of durability. The southpaw has made at least 28 starts in each of the last three 162-game seasons dating back to 2019.

He has finished in the top five in National League Cy Young voting twice in the previous three seasons, including a second-place showing in 2022 after posting a 2.48 ERA in 30 starts.

One might say that the New York Mets have left nothing to chance with their offseason dealings, but that would imply that Steve Cohen is finished pulling from his $17.5 billion fortune to finance a payroll that's already in record territory.

What if he's not?

Even as is, the receipt for the Mets' free-agent shopping comes to a capital-G, capital-T Grand Total of $461.7 million. That's for six players with varying degrees of star power, headlined by three-time American League Cy Young Award winner and future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander on a record-tying $43.3 million-per-year deal:

• Re-signed CF Brandon Nimmo for eight years, $162 million
• Re-signed RHP Edwin Díaz for five years, $102 million
• Signed RHP Justin Verlander for two years, $86.7 million
• Signed RHP Koudai Senga for five years, $75 million
• Signed LHP José Quintana for two years, $26 million
• Signed RHP David Robertson for one year, $10 million

According to FanGraphs, it all adds up to a projected Opening Day payroll of $335 million that towers over the Los Angeles Dodgers' record-setting $280.8 million Opening Day payroll from last season. And if anything, it undersells what the Mets are set to spend.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently floated $400 million as a possibility for the Mets' expenses for 2023, and they're already kinda-sorta there. For luxury-tax purposes, they're slated to open next season with a $349.6 million payroll. That's far beyond even the $293 million barrier that they call "the Cohen tax."

The bottom line, as summarized by David Lennon of Newsday:

Steve Cohen has invested roughly $430 million (including luxury tax) in #Mets for '23 season.

NFL salary cap: $208M
NBA salary cap: $123M
NHL salary cap: $82.5M

Cohen is changing the game when it comes to an owners' financial commitment to winning.

— David Lennon (@DPLennon) December 11, 2022

Say what you will about Cohen, so long as you don't say he's unserious about delivering the Mets' first World Series championship since 1986. He's not spending all this money just for kicks.

And yet the Mets still have more to do before they can declare themselves the winners of the 2022-23 offseason, much less the team to beat in 2023.

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The Mets Haven't Yet Crossed Off All Their Needs

That the Mets have already done so much on the offseason market isn't exactly surprising, and for two reasons.

It just wouldn't have made sense for Cohen—whose net worth dwarfs every other MLB owner's—to take his foot off the gas after what befell his team in 2022. His $282 million investment in payroll did yield 101 wins in the regular season—but only one in the playoffs. Suboptimal, as they say.

Otherwise, suffice it to say that you can't not go to work when you stand to lose Nimmo, Díaz, Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker and Adam Ottavino via free agency.

Cut to now, and the Mets have not only avoided disaster but also deflected it. Their rotation, in particular, is arguably upgraded even sans deGrom, Bassitt and Walker.

Here is a look at the Mets potential starting rotation for 2023 👀🍎 pic.twitter.com/hhfdorfDIX

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 11, 2022

In putting up a 1.75 ERA as a 39-year-old coming off Tommy John surgery, Verlander effectively etched another line in his Hall of Fame plaque. Quintana had a 2.93 ERA in his own right, while Senga and his "ghost fork" were responsible for a 1.89 ERA in Japan.

With Díaz—who struck out 118 of the 235 batters he faced in 2022—back in the closer's role and Robertson there to set up, the bullpen also looks solid. The offense, meanwhile, consists of the same Nimmo-, Francisco Lindor- and Pete Alonso-led group that tied for fifth in scoring last season.

Nonetheless, FanGraphs' WAR projections for 2023 still put the Mets (51.3) a hair behind the San Diego Padres (52.2). Break it down position by position relative to the average projection, and the Mets' shortcomings are easy to spot:

The Mets are fine on the pitching front, but those red bars at catcher, third base and designated hitter underscore a general need for at least one more bat. Maybe two, given that Mike Puma of the Post isn't wrong to have doubts about the outfield.

For that matter, SNY's John Harper likewise isn't wrong in thinking that even the bullpen "still needs work." Because why settle for solid when lights-out is better?

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If the Mets Want to Play It Safe

Though the Mets still have the option of plucking, say, Carlos Correa, Dansby Swanson or Carlos Rodón from the top of the free-agent market, let's assume for now that Cohen has already gone far enough to not go full "drunken sailor."

Fortunately, the next tier of the market still features two capable left fielders who would fit well on the Mets: Andrew Benintendi and Michael Brantley. Both are contact-oriented hitters the likes of which the Mets quite like, while Benintendi has the added benefit of being a Gold Glove Award defender.

What a catch by Andrew Benintendi 👏 pic.twitter.com/JOl0h1fsiY

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 14, 2022

If the Mets are comfortable shifting Jeff McNeil, the reigning National League batting champ, into a super-utility role, they could otherwise tab somebody else to play second base. To this end, Jean Segura and Adam Frazier are two more high-contact hitters with effective gloves.

Eduardo Escobar seems less well-suited for a super-utility role, but former Met Justin Turner would be a sensible target if they would rather have someone else at third base. He doesn't have much in the way of power anymore, but he can still do patience and contact.

Then there are various platoon options, including Brandon Drury, Evan Longoria and J.D. Martinez from the right side and Matt Carpenter and David Peralta from the left. Each was quite good against opposite-side pitching in 2022:

• DH Matt Carpenter: 204 wRC+ vs. RHP
• UTIL Brandon Drury: 160 wRC+ vs. LHP
• 3B Evan Longoria: 124 wRC+ vs. LHP
• DH J.D. Martinez: 175 wRC+ vs. LHP
• LF David Peralta: 116 wRC+ vs. RHP

As for relievers, Ottavino is still out there. But if the Mets would rather save money, Michael Fulmer might do just as well in the right-handed specialist role that Ottavino filled in 2022. Righty batters hit just .188 against the former Mets prospect last season.

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If the Mets Want to Go for Broke

Yet even as unlikely as another seismic move may seem, at this point we should all know better than to put such a move past the Mets.

To wit, there are still persistent whispers that they are in on Correa:

Steve Phillips on MLB Network: #Giants and #Twins the favorites for Carlos Correa but the #Yankees and #Mets could "dabble" as well.

— Joe Pantorno (@JoePantorno) December 12, 2022

This would require convincing Correa to move from shortstop to third base in deference to Lindor, yet the word last offseason was that he would be willing to make that move for the "perfect situation." With the right offer, the Mets could perhaps be that team.

Just think of a Correa-Lindor partnership on the left side of the infield. In addition to two of Puerto Rico's finest, they have six All-Star nods, three Gold Gloves and 339 home runs between them. They're also just 28 and 29 years old.

The Mets could otherwise kick the tires on All-Star center fielder Bryan Reynolds, who wants out of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Especially if they were to put No. 1-ranked catching prospect Francisco Álvarez on the table, the Mets could meet Pittsburgh's reported "[Juan] Soto-type" asking price.

Heck with it. Let's throw another superstar-caliber hitter out there: Rafael Devers.

The Boston Red Sox want to extend the slugging third baseman, but the frankly insulting offer they made Xander Bogaerts before he left for San Diego bodes ill for extension talks that haven't been going well to begin with.

Should the writing on the wall that Devers isn't going to stay with Boston beyond his walk year in 2023 get even easier to read, the Mets would be an ideal trading partner if the Red Sox decide it's time to go the Mookie Betts route. If not Álvarez, the Mets could dangle well-regarded (and, notably, MLB-ready) third base prospect Brett Baty.

If Correa and Reynolds are far-fetched ideas, then Devers is surely a farther-fetched one. Yet it doesn't seem like a reach to label the odds of one of these things happening as "non-zero." And, well, can anyone really blame us for thinking so big?

Cohen and the Mets clearly have the resources to make big things happen. And with him and team so firmly in the mood to make such things happen, it would be a disappointment if they stopped before absolutely nothing was left to chance.

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Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

The New York Yankees already made the offseason's biggest move when they re-signed Aaron Judge, but they reportedly could bolster their pitching rotation with a major addition as well.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported the American League East team is expected to make "a formal offer" for pitcher Carlos Rodón on Monday or Tuesday.

"The initial indication is that Rodón seeks seven-plus years at $200 million plus, and while the Yankees seem reluctant to go to that length, they also seem very serious and hopeful about this pursuit," Heyman wrote.

With Jacob deGrom joining the Texas Rangers and Justin Verlander taking his place on the New York Mets, Rodón is likely the top remaining starting pitcher on the market.

He timed his breakthrough perfectly ahead of free agency and was an All-Star in each of the last two seasons for the Chicago White Sox and then the San Francisco Giants. The southpaw posted a 2.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 237 strikeouts in 178 innings last year.

That it came after he finished the 2021 season with a 2.37 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 185 strikeouts in 132.2 innings in Chicago suggested that effort was not a fluke and should provide confidence for the Yankees if and when they do sign him.

After all, Rodón looked nothing like an All-Star pitcher before the 2021 campaign, recording five straight seasons of an ERA above 4.00 and dealing with several injuries.

Now theoretically still in his prime at 30 years old and coming off back-to-back strong efforts, he seems primed to land a major contract with a New York team that will be in World-Series-or-bust mode after keeping Judge this offseason.

The Yankees could have a strong rotation next season with Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino, Frankie Montas and Domingo German all candidates to pitch plenty of innings. However, adding a front-line starter like Rodón would take some of the pressure off the other options and provide much-needed depth.

A 13-year World Series drought may not be long for most teams, but it is an eternity by the Yankees' standards.

They are surely looking to take the next step with an aggressive offseason, and Rodón may be the next addition.

Veteran catcher Christian Vázquez agreed to a three-year deal with the Minnesota Twins, according to the Boston Globe's Pete Abraham.

Betsy Helfand of the Pioneer Press reported the deal is worth $30 million.

A number of teams had shown interest in the 32-year-old.

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said the team was open to a reunion. Abraham included the Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Guardians and San Diego Padres in the mix.

Vázquez split the 2022 season with the Red Sox and Houston Astros. In 119 games between both stops, he hit .274 with nine home runs, 52 RBI and a .399 slugging percentage. He then posted a .551 OPS during the postseason as the Astros went on to win their second World Series title.

Offense hasn't historically been Vázquez's strength. For his career, he has an 85 OPS+, per Baseball Reference, and a .301 wOBA, per FanGraphs. Both peg him as a below-average hitter.

Vázquez's defense is a slightly different story. He ranked 24th in catcher framing runs at Baseball Savant and saw improvements in his pop time to second (1.94 seconds) and third base (1.5 seconds).

The Twins were in need of a veteran catcher with Gary Sánchez, who played in 128 games, hitting free agency.

The biggest domino, Willson Contreras, fell off the board when he signed a five-year, $87.5 million pact with the St. Louis Cardinals. Vázquez was one of the better alternatives still available, and he gives Minnesota a clear upgrade over Ryan Jeffers, who spelled Sánchez in 2022.

Source: Twins are signing free-agent catcher Christian Vázquez to a three-year deal.

Twins wanted to find a veteran to pair with Ryan Jeffers and made the 32-year-old Vázquez their top free-agent catcher target.

Average-ish hitter for the position, good defender, and durable.

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) December 13, 2022

Vázquez probably won't provide the Twins with a ton of surplus value, but he offers a high floor for a franchise that wants to rebound after losing 84 games and finishing third in the American League Central.

The Boston Red Sox lost their face of the franchise when shortstop Xander Bogaerts signed with the San Diego Padres last week. Rather than look to replace him with a free agent, the team might explore another avenue to improve its roster.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told The Athletic's Chad Jennings that the team is "very, very actively exploring" the trade market in the wake of Bogaerts' departure.

The Red Sox addressed some areas of need by signing closer Kenley Jansen and Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida. However, the team still has multiple holes to fill on its roster and Boston's front office has not spent big in free agency in recent years. Bloom acknowledged that the logical route for the franchise is to pursue trades.

"I actually think the trade market could be a really good route to adding impact to our club," Bloom said. "We are looking [into] a lot of significant moves there as long as we can do it in a way that isn't just robbing Peter to pay Paul, that's actually moving us forward in 2023 and giving us a chance to make a significant step forward from where we sit today."

Per Jennings, the Red Sox "still have a glaring need for a right-handed hitter and an ongoing desire to add a starting pitcher." The team has a deep farm system that Bloom said he hopes to keep intact for the future, but he added he's willing to give up some players for the right price.

"As I've said all along since getting here, we value being a consistent contender, and so guys that are in the pipeline are going to be a part of that in the years ahead, but what happens now matters," Bloom said. "And for the right impact, absolutely we would be willing to, and really look to, use that stockpile of prospects."

Jennings named Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Bryan Reynolds, St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong and Cleveland Guardians shortstop Amed Rosario as potential trade targets for Boston.

If the team looks internally to replace Bogaerts, it could move Trevor Story from second base back to shortstop, which was his original position during his six seasons with the Colorado Rockies.

"We're fortunate that we have multiple guys on this team that are really capable shortstops," Bloom said. "And that gives us a really good place to start from as we continue to work through the offseason and put the best club together that we can."