MLB Rumors

The Cincinnati Reds are "willing to engage in talks" about a trade involving Luis Castillo, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network added that Cincinnati might be open to moving "anyone making significant dollars," with Castillo referenced as a possible candidate. The right-hander is projected to receive $7.5 million for the 2022 season, per Spotrac.

Because he's headed for arbitration for the next two offseasons, Castillo will probably make less than he would earn if he were on the open market right now. Nevertheless, that cost might be too high for the Reds, who aren't being very subtle about their priorities.

Cincinnati traded Tucker Barnhart and his $7.75 million salary in 2022 to the Detroit Tigers. Explaining the move, general manager Nick Krall said the franchise "must align our payroll to our resources."

The front office followed up by waiving Wade Miley rather than picking up his $10 million option. The southpaw landed with an NL Central rival, the Chicago Cubs.

At this point, a Castillo trade might be inevitable.

The 28-year-old started a bit slowly in 2021 but finished with a 3.98 ERA and a 3.75 FIP in 33 appearances, per FanGraphs. He watched his strikeout rate climb from 8.4 per nine innings in the first half to 10.2 per nine in the second.

If the Reds are committed to tanking, then now is the time to trade Castillo. His two years of team control should allow Cincinnati to get a healthy return, and the free-agent market might help Krall's position at the bargaining table.

Max Scherzer is the unquestioned top pitcher available, but his age (37) may limit his pool of suitors. Then there is a good group of starters (Robbie Ray, Kevin Gausman, Marcus Stroman, Noah Syndergaard, Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw among others) who either is not a proven ace or doesn't have question marks about his health.

For teams aiming to strengthen their starting rotation, pursuing Castillo in a trade might be better than dipping into free agency. 

The Houston Astros have reportedly tendered a qualifying contract offer to shortstop Carlos Correa, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Heyman reported Correa will reject the offer based on interest on the open market. If accepted, the qualifying offer for 2022 is worth $18.4 million for a one-year deal.

Fox 26's Mark Berman previously reported that Houston tabled a five-year, $160 million contract offer for the shortstop.

Correa hit .279 (.850 OPS) with 26 home runs and 92 RBI in 148 games this season for the American League West champion Astros, who lost the World Series to the Atlanta Braves.

The two sides had previously agreed to a one-year, $11.7 million contract to avoid arbitration for the 2021 season. Astros general manager James Click revealed on Feb. 7 that the team has discussed a long-term extension with Correa, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.

Correa reportedly turned down a six-year, $120 million contract in March, per Heyman, after the 27-year-old hit .264 with five home runs and 25 RBI in 58 games in 2020.

It now appears he will test the market to see his true value.

The 6'4" shortstop has dealt with numerous injuries, including a rib fracture suffered in May 2019 during an in-home massage. 

Injuries prevented Correa from playing more than 110 games in 2017-2019. A torn ligament in his left thumb was the primary culprit in 2017, and a back ailment kept him sidelined for a month-and-a-half in 2018.

When healthy, he is one of the game's greatest hitters at his position. That's evidenced by his work in 2021, which has featured Correa playing at his All-Star peak in a relatively injury-free year.

He was also the recipient of the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year Award and earned an appearance in the 2017 All-Star Game before helping the Astros win the 2017 World Series.

The question is where Correa will spend next season after thus far failing to agree to a long-term deal with Houston.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon has exercised the $21.3 million player option in his contract for the 2022 MLB season, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. 

Blackmon had quietly emerged as one of the National League's best hitters from 2016 through 2019. The Rockies rewarded his success with a six-year, $108 million contract extension in April 2018.

The 35-year-old Georgia Tech product posted a .314/.364/.576 triple-slash line with 32 home runs across 140 appearances in 2019. His .940 OPS ranked 11th in MLB among qualified hitters, per ESPN.

His numbers have since started to fade a bit. He compiled a .804 OPS with six homers in 59 games during the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign, and a .761 OPS in 2021.

"I just try to win every pitch," Blackmon told reporters in 2020. "I don't think real big picture. I don't think too far ahead. I just try to do the right thing for that pitch."

Blackmon's track record features four All-Star Game selections, two Silver Slugger Awards and a batting title from 2017 when he finished with a .331 average.

Blackmon's decision to exercise the option doesn't come as a major surprise since he may have struggled to receive an offer over $20 million on the open market after the downward trend in his numbers over the past two years.

He holds another player option for 2023, so he can attempt to put together a bounce-back campaign next year and then decide whether to test the free-agent waters.

He'll likely slot into the middle of the Rockies' lineup to open the 2022 season.

Even though the eyes of Major League Baseball fans are trained squarely on the World Series, the end of the Fall Classic will bring about many questions for all 30 teams. 

This is certainly going to be a busy offseason, especially given the uncertainty around the labor negotiations and the likelihood of a work stoppage when the current CBA expires on Dec. 2.   

That is going to have a significant impact on when business will get done. Free agency officially starts five days after the World Series ends, but history has shown that teams don't usually make deals for marquee players until the winter meetings at the earliest. 

All of that is worth keeping in mind for the future. For now, though, there is plenty of buzz going on about some of the biggest players who could be on the move this offseason. 

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Xander Bogaerts Preparing to Hit Free Agency After 2022

After trading Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the start of the 2020 season, the long-term future of the Boston Red Sox was tied directly to Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers turning into All-Stars. 

That mission was accomplished in 2021, as both players were named to the Midsummer Classic and played key roles in the Red Sox reaching the American League Championship Series. 

Devers and Bogaerts remain under contract to the Red Sox next season, but things get murky beyond that. 

Per ESPN's Joon Lee, Bogaerts is planning on using the opt out in his contract after next season to become a free agent. 

The Red Sox signed Bogaerts to a six-year, $120 million contract before the 2019 season. The deal includes a $20 million player option for 2023, per Spotrac. 

Timing is a crucial part of free agency. Bogaerts would almost certainly attract a lot of attention if he could opt out this offseason, but he would also be competing with the likes of Corey Seager and Carlos Correa as the top shortstop. 

The top potential free-agent shortstops after next season include Tim Anderson and Trea Turner, but there's a steep drop to in talent after those two players. Dansby Swanson, who only has one full season with an OPS over .800 in his career (2020), would likely be No. 3. 

Bogaerts will be 30 years old after next season, but he's remained a quality defensive shortstop even as he's gotten older. The three-time All-Star ranked eighth among all qualified shortstops in FanGraphs defensive value (8.3) and ninth in out of zone plays (106) in 2021. 

Hitting is one thing that Bogaerts has never struggled to do. He has a .290/.353/.459 career slash line and has slugged at least .493 in each of the last four seasons. 

As long as Bogaerts has another strong season in 2022, there's no reason for him not to see what the market has to offer him. 

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Anthony Rizzo Hopeful for Yankees Reunion

A disappointing 2021 season has left the New York Yankees with a lot of things to evaluate as they look to improve next year. 

First base is one area that could have an opening, depending on what the Yankees want to do with Anthony Rizzo. 

If Rizzo has his way, he will be wearing pinstripes next season. Bob Klapisch of the Newark Star-Ledger cited a family member as saying that Rizzo is "quite eager" to return to New York in 2022. 

According to a family member, Anthony Rizzo is quite eager to return to #Yankees in 2022. That’s an important first step, assuming NYY want him back. Have to assume they do.

— Bob Klapisch (@BobKlap) October 25, 2021

The Yankees will have nine free agents this offseason. Rizzo, Corey Kluber and Brett Gardner are the most prominent in that group. It seems unlikely that Gardner, whose .689 OPS in 2021 was his worst since he was a rookie (.582 in 2008), will be back. 

Kluber could go either way. The two-time American League Cy Young winner was effective when he pitched (3.83 ERA), but injuries limited him to 80 innings over 16 starts. He's only pitched 116.2 innings over the past three seasons combined and will turn 36 on April 10. 

Rizzo was a solid hitter in 2021 between his time with the Yankees and Chicago Cubs. The three-time All-Star had a .248/.344/.440 slash line in 141 games. 

The first-base market looks strong at the top, with Freddie Freeman and Brandon Belt leading the way.

Belt is a volatile player because of his injury history. He has missed at least 25 games in six of the past eight seasons, including 65 in 2021. Given that he will turn 34 on April 20, betting on him staying healthy going forward seems like a high risk. 

Freeman is one of the most durable players in MLB. The reigning NL MVP has only missed four games in the past four seasons combined. 

The Yankees could also bet on Luke Voit staying healthy. He's been a productive offensive player when he's been able to play. The 30-year-old has a .267/.357/.510 slash line in five MLB seasons, but that only covers 351 games because of injuries. 

Rizzo can't be counted to produce at the same level he did at his peak with the Cubs, but he just might end up being the safest option for the Yankees at first base because he rarely gets hurt. 

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Cubs Reportedly Shopping Willson Contreras

The Cubs are mired in the early stages of a rebuild that started last season by trading most of the remaining core from their 2016 World Series roster, including Rizzo, Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber and Kris Bryant. 

One of the few holdovers from that squad is Willson Contreras, though his future with the club is very much uncertain. 

Per The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer "will almost certainly shop" Contreras this offseason if the two sides can't agree to a long-term extension. 

Contreras is a difficult player to evaluate for a new contract because his career has been mired by inconsistency. He ranked 39th among all catchers last season in framing, per Baseball Savant.

It looked like Contreras made significant strides in that area during the 2020 season, when he ranked 10th overall.

The Venezuela native threw out a career-low 21 percent of basestealers in 2021, per Baseball Reference. It was his first time finishing worse than the league average in that category. 

Contreras' bat does put him among the better backstops in MLB. The two-time All-Star ranked fourth out of 15 catchers with at least 400 plate appearances in homers (21), fifth in slugging percentage (.438), sixth in on-base percentage (.340) and fifth in weighted on-base average (.337), per FanGraphs.

The 29-year-old made $6.65 million in 2021 and has one more year of arbitration remaining before becoming a free agent. 

Given the state of the Cubs roster coming off a 71-91 season, there's little incentive for the front office to keep Contreras. He plays a demanding position where few players can age gracefully. 

Buster Posey resurrected his career with the San Francisco Giants in part because of how he was managed. The 2012 NL MVP routinely only played two of three games in most series during the regular season. 

Contreras' up-and-down MLB career to this point does make him a risky gamble for any team. His upside is high enough to make him worth betting on, especially for a potential contender looking to upgrade its lineup. 

The New York Mets have lost out on another prospective front office target. 

According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Oakland Athletics' executive vice president Billy Bean reportedly has withdrawn his name from consideration for New York's president of baseball operations position. 

That followed Joel Sherman of the New York Post reporting Monday that the Milwaukee Brewers officially denied the Mets permission to interview president of baseball operations David Stearns.  

Neither Beane's decision nor Milwaukee blocking any Stearns interviews was met with much surprise:

Billy Beane seemed more realistic than David Stearns, but both won’t be in New York and the Mets are now where you probably expected them to end up. That’s not completely a bad thing — none of the top candidates ever seemed super realistic, for different reasons. https://t.co/Uexv4yEziS

— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) October 18, 2021

https://twitter.com/melissalockard/status/1450164050390704133

Former Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs executive Theo Epstein, currently working as an MLB consultant, also reportedly declined the job earlier in October, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. 

Per that report, "Epstein's contentment working to improve baseball's on-field product for the league, plus a desire for his next team job to involve an ownership stake, building an organization from the ground up, may have made his candidacy with the Mets a long shot."

The Mets, meanwhile, have seen quite a bit of change since Steve Cohen took over as team owner. 

In Nov. 2020, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and his front office staff were fired. His replacement, Jared Porter, was fired in January after it was reported that he had sent unsolicited explicit texts and photos to a female reporter in 2016. 

Zack Scott, who was working as the acting general manager under team president Sandy Alderson, was placed on paid administrative leave by the organization this month after being arrested for DUI on Aug. 31. He pleaded not guilty. 

Alderson has been serving as both president and general manager in the interim. 

"I originally signed on here as president of the team, not as president of baseball operations or general manager," Alderson told reporters in late September. "And so what I'm hopeful of [is] that we can find someone who is going to invest in the team long term and will get in the weeds and provide us with the leadership and the expertise that we need on the baseball side. From my standpoint, I'm happy to turn that over to someone that we find who's more than capable."

The Mets also fired manager Luis Rojas after two seasons on Oct. 4. 

It's been a rocky year for the Mets. And now with several of the team's top reported targets for president of baseball operations turning down the gig or not being made available to interview, it's back to the drawing board yet again. 

The New York Mets and Theo Epstein could meet as soon as this week to discuss his interest in running their baseball operations department, according to the New York Post's Mike Puma.

MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Sunday that Epstein was on a shortlist for the team's vacant president of baseball operations position with Oakland Athletics executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane and Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Heyman followed up Tuesday to report Beane might be the likeliest contender:

General consensus is that, among their top 3 known choices for Baseball President, the Mets have the best chance to get Billy Beane. Theo Epstein snd David Stearns, for a variety of reasons, are seen as less likely.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 5, 2021

Addressing the rumors Monday, the 59-year-old was somewhat evasive:

Beane said “Again, for me to be worried about this is really to lend credibility to it. It’s all just press reports.” Also said “I wouldn’t even know, honestly,” when pressed on whether the Mets have reached out to A’s ownership. Beane is a minority owner of the A’s, btw. (2/2)

— Steve Berman (@BASportsGuy) October 4, 2021

The Mets already confirmed they declined Luis Rojas' option for the 2022 season, meaning they're in need of a new manager. They'll presumably want to have a new president of baseball operations in place before starting their managerial search.

Epstein's reputation precedes him. The 47-year-old built World Series winners with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. At both stops, he combined player development with big spending to deliver championships.

That resume makes him appealing for any organization and especially one in the Mets' position.

On the field, New York missed the playoffs despite having the third-highest payroll on Opening Day, per Cot's Baseball Contracts. Off the field, team officials had to answer for multiple missteps.

The Mets fired general manager Jared Porter shortly after ESPN's Mina Kimes and Jeff Passan reported he had sent "explicit, unsolicited texts and images" to a female reporter in 2016.

Then came a report from The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli and Katie Strang about allegations of lewd behavior by former Mets manager Mickey Callaway. Ghiroli and Strang detailed wider issues throughout the organization. One former team employee descirbed themselves and their past colleagues as "pawns in this toxic workplace."

Although Newsday's Tim Healey reported Sandy Alderson is expected back as team president, it became clear for a number of reasons that another voice to guide the franchise was required.

By the end of this offseason, the Mets will have hired four managers in five years. Over that same span, they will have run through five different people as their top baseball operations executive.

It is a franchise in desperate need of continuity.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) October 4, 2021

Whether they land one of the three or not, pursuing Epstein, Beane and Stearns is a sign of ambition from owner Steven Cohen.

The Colorado Rockies and starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela reportedly reached an agreement Tuesday on a five-year, $50.5 million contract extension through the 2026 MLB season.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported details of the deal, which includes a $14 million club option for 2027.

Senzatela posted a 4.42 ERA and 1.34 WHIP across 28 starts for the Rockies in 2021.

The 26-year-old Venezuela native relies predominantly on a fastball, which he throws 56.1 percent of the time with an average velocity of 94.7 mph, per FanGraphs. While it doesn't register as a sinker, it's a pitch he usually tries to keep down in the zone to mitigate the impact of hitter-friendly Coors Field.

He also throws a slider, which is his out pitch, along with a changeup and cutter.

Senzatela is an old-school pitcher from the perspective he pitches to contact rather than trying to post high strikeout numbers. His 6.03 K/9 ratio would have been the second-lowest total in MLB in 2021 if he had enough innings to qualify, according to FanGraphs.

The right-hander has spent his entire career with the Rockies since getting called up in 2017. He's posted a lower ERA at home (4.65) than on the road (5.06) despite pitching at Coors.

In August, Senzatela agreed with Colorado manager Bud Black that further developing his changeup would help keep hitters more off balance.

"I think it's the next part of my game," he told reporters, adding he wasn't yet comfortable to rely heavily on the pitch in game situations.

The Rockies are clearly betting on his continued development with the lucrative extension.

Colorado, which missed the playoffs with a 74-87 record, also re-signed first baseman C.J. Cron on Tuesday as they start their 2022 roster-building process, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network.

Trying to find a true ace to lead a rotation that features solid depth with Senzatela, German Marquez, Kyle Freeland and Austin Gomber would be a major step in the right direction.

The Detroit Tigers reportedly have interest in Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, who's scheduled to become a free agent after the 2021 season.

Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported Friday the Tigers could face competition from the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers, who'll all be in the market for a shortstop upgrade during the offseason.

Correa has been one of the league's most productive shortstops since making his debut with the Astros in 2015. His .835 OPS over the past seven years ranks sixth at the pivotal position, per FanGraphs.

The 27-year-old Puerto Rico native posted a career-low .709 OPS during the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign, but he's bounced back with an .843 OPS and 25 home runs across 146 games in 2021. He ranks third among all hitters in WAR (7.0), according to ESPN.

He played a key role in Houston (93-66) winning the AL West division title to secure a franchise-record fifth straight postseason berth.

"That sounds pretty special," Correa told reporters Thursday night.

In early September, the two-time All-Star confirmed he didn't want any contract talks during the season and expressed interest in re-signing with the Astros once the playoffs end.

"If they want to keep me here, I'll be happy to stay here. If they don't see me here long term, I'll go play for somebody else," Correa said. "That decision is out of my hands. The only thing that's in my hands is the way I perform on the field and the way I help my team win ballgames."

He'll have plenty of potential suitors if an extension isn't signed with Houston.

The Tigers make a lot of sense on paper. Heyman mentioned the connection to Detroit manager A.J. Hinch, who served the same role with the Astros from 2015 through 2019, and the club received mediocre production from the shortstop trio of Harold Castro, Niko Goodrum and Zack Short in 2021.

Meanwhile, the Yankees thought they had their shortstop of the future in Gleyber Torres, who crushed 38 homers in 2019. His numbers have plummeted over the past two years, however, including a .701 OPS and just nine long balls in 124 games this season. New York has shifted Gio Urshela to short for the time being as it attempts to secure a wild-card berth.

The Twins will have an opening at shortstop with the defensive-minded Andrelton Simmons also set to hit the open market, while the Rangers could move the versatile Isiah Kiner-Falefa to another position if they can land Correa to provide a much-needed boost to their offense.

Other clubs would likely get involved if Correa becomes available, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the Astros make one final push to re-sign him before he can hit the free-agent market.

As Major League Baseball and the players' association prepare to enter the offseason on an expiring collective bargaining agreement, the league and union reportedly have already begun discussing ways to adjust service-time rules related to free agency.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the two sides met in Denver on Aug. 16 with the league proposing a formula to disperse $1 billion to all arbitration-eligible players and create universal free agency for those over the age of 29.5.

Per Sherman:

Not all elements of the plan have become public and it is difficult to gauge the full impact of a proposal without understanding how all the details play off one another. Both sides refused to comment on what The Post had learned.

In its proposal addressing service time, MLB was, at minimum, looking to address the union’s concern about service-time manipulation. Players reach arbitration and free agency based on their service, and teams have held back players deserving of promotion to the majors to slow the clock from moving toward those money-making levels.

Currently players must reach six years of service time in MLB before reaching free agency. 

Service time has long been an issue irking fans and players alike. In recent years, clubs have manipulated when they call up prospects during the season in order to ensure they don't reach free agency too early.

The Chicago Cubs provided the most extreme example with Kris Bryant in 2015, leading the former MVP to file a grievance he went on to lose. 

The age 29.5 requirement proposed by MLB may not satisfy the players, either. A number of star players have been promoted to the Majors at younger ages like Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco (20), Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto (19) and Chicago White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez (22). The proposal would handicap their ability to sign multiple contracts before reaching age 30.

Sherman noted the union is also likely to push back on the idea of the $1 billion pool over concerns of it becoming a de facto salary cap.

As far as the big picture is concerned, it can be seen as a positive that both sides are willing to talk through these issues well in advance of the CBA expiring in December. Just how long these talks remain amicable remain to be seen. 

  

  

The New York Mets will reportedly add relief pitcher Brad Hand, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.

This will be the third team of the season for Hand, who was previously with the Toronto Blue Jays before they designated him for assignment on Tuesday.

Toronto acquired the pitcher in a July trade with the Washington Nationals in exchange for catcher Riley Adams. 

Hand had been effective with the Nationals, producing a 3.59 ERA with 21 saves in 41 appearances. He struggled once he arrived in Toronto, totaling a 7.27 ERA in 11 games. 

The left-hander allowed multiple earned runs in three different appearances, including two runs allowed in his final showing against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 26. He had just five strikeouts during his 8.2 innings with the Blue Jays.

New York will look for a return to form from 31-year-old, who had been one of the top relievers in baseball in recent years. 

Hand had a 2.61 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings across 2017-20 with San Diego and Cleveland. It led to three All-Star selections while tallying 103 saves in this stretch.

The veteran was at his best in 2020, finishing with a league-high 16 saves during the shortened season while finishing with a 2.05 ERA.

That kind of production could help the Mets solidify the bullpen ahead of Edwin Diaz, especially with Jeurys Familia struggling over the past month. New York remains in contention at 65-67, five games behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East, but the squad will need more consistency from its pitching staff down the stretch.