MLB Rumors

Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier is on the trading block, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Kiermaier, a three-time Gold Glove winner who has spent his entire career with the Rays organization, hit .217 with three home runs and 22 RBI last season. He has two years and $23.3 million remaining on a six-year, $53 million contract that includes a team option for 2023, per Baseball Reference.

The Kiermaier report comes one day after the Rays reportedly reached an agreement with the San Diego Padres to trade staff ace Blake Snell to the San Diego Padres for pitching prospects Luis Patino and Cole Wilcox and catchers Francisco Mejia and Blake Hunt, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. That trade is pending medical reviews.

Kiermaier has been featured in the Rays outfield since 2014. The lifetime .248 hitter has hit 71 home runs and driven in 257 runs for his career. The 30-year-old has also stolen 97 bases, with a career-high 21 in 2016.

Tampa Bay selected Kiermaier in the 31st round of the 2010 MLB draft out of Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois. He took four years to advance through the Rays' farm system before reaching the bigs for good in 2014.

Per Baseball Reference, Kiermaier has finished top 10 in defensive WAR in the American League each of the last six years, holding down the No. 1 spot in 2015 and 2016. He also led the AL in center-field assists last season with six and in 2015 with 15. In addition, Kiermaier did not make an error during his 2020 campaign over 49 games.

Kiermaier played an integral role in Tampa Bay's run to the 2020 World Series and dominated at the dish in the Fall Classic with a .368 batting average and a pair of home runs.

The Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly have signed free-agent relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle, who spent the past three-plus seasons with the New York Yankees, to a two-year contract. 

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the news Wednesday.

Kahnle underwent Tommy John surgery in August to repair damage to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his throwing arm. His potential availability for the start of the 2021 season is unknown.

The 31-year-old right-hander pitched a scoreless inning in his only appearance of 2020. He posted a 3.67 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 88 strikeouts in 61.1 innings across 72 appearances in 2019, which represented an important bounce-back campaign after his 6.56 ERA in 2018.

He was a fifth-round pick of the Yankees in the 2010 MLB draft. He didn't make it to the major leagues during his first stint with the organization, though.

The Colorado Rockies selected Kahnle in the 2013 Rule 5 draft and he proceeded to make the club's big league roster in 2014. After two middling years in Colorado, he started to transform into a key bullpen assets across two seasons with the Chicago White Sox.

He compiled a 2.63 ERA for the South Siders in 2016 and held a 2.50 ERA when the White Sox traded him to the Yankees in July 2017.

In all, Kahnle owns a 3.82 ERA with 344 strikeouts in 277.2 innings across 285 MLB games.

Once healthy, he should slot in as a middle-innings reliever as part of a strong Dodgers' bullpen headlined by Kenley Jansen, Victor Gonzalez and Brusdar Graterol.

A pair of utility players are headlining the free-agent market, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. 

Former San Diego Padres star Jurickson Profar and Kike Hernandez, who is coming off of a World Series championship with the Los Angeles Dodgers, are among the "more popular" free agents, Passan wrote Monday. 

Teams are reportedly interested in them for their "versatility." 

The Padres reportedly are interested in Profar returning to the organization, while the Kansas City Royals are also pursuing the 27-year-old, who turns 28 in February.

With a .278/.343/.428 slash line last season (seven home runs, six doubles), Profar's offensive abilities are what's drawing teams to the Curacao native, who can play second base, shortstop and third base. Before joining the Padres last season, Profar spent 2019 with the Oakland Athletics. He began his career with the Texas Rangers back in 2012, where he also appeared in left field, a trend that saw a resurgence with the Padres this season. 

Hernandez hit .230/.270/.410 last season, and some of his off-field qualities—playoff experience and clubhouse presence—are making him an attractive candidate for teams this offseason. Hernandez has played with the Dodgers since 2015, after splitting the 2014 campaign between the Houston Astros and Miami Marlins. 

There hasn't been much buzz about potential landing spots for Hernandez, but Darren Wolfson of SKOR North previously reported that the Minnesota Twins expressed interest in the 29-year-old. 

The Cincinnati Reds could look to cut payroll in a big way this offseason, and two players who could be on the way out in the process are third baseman Eugenio Suarez and infielder Mike Moustakas. 

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that both players could end up on the trade block:

"Here's one team that isn't spending: the Cincinnati Reds. The first sign was Sonny Gray—who is locked in at a very club-friendly $20 million over the next two years with a $12 million option for 2023—hitting the trade market. Non-tendering Archie Bradley and offloading Raisel Iglesias—their eighth- and ninth-inning guys—was another. Now, Cincinnati has considered trading third baseman Eugenio Suarez, sources said, and gauged interest in Mike Moustakas, who's entering the second season of a four-year deal."

That the Reds could go from a playoff berth to losing Trevor Bauer (free agent), Bradley, Iglesias, Suarez and Moustakas this offseason would be nothing short of a slap in the face to the team's fans. 

Suarez, 29, hit .202 with 15 homers and 38 RBI in 58 games, continuing to emerge as one of baseball's premier power hitters after blasting 49 dingers and 103 RBI in 2019 and 34 homers and 104 RBI in 2018. 

The drop in batting average (.271 in 2019) and on-base percentage (from .358 in 2019 to .312) was a concern, though that may have normalized over the course of a full season. But if he's indeed on the market, it's a safe bet that teams will have interest given his power numbers.

Moustakas, 32, was a bit of a disappointment in his first season with the Reds, hitting .230 with eight homers and 27 RBI in 45 games. He was not quite on pace to replicate his excellent 2019 campaign (35 homers, 87 RBI), though his numbers weren't poor, either. 

If the Reds cut bait with Moustakas one year after signing him to a four-year, $64 million deal it would raise some eyebrows. And if the team moves on from a number of key players, last season's exciting playoff push is unlikely to be replicated.

As second baseman DJ LeMahieu continues to negotiate with teams for a new contract, the three-time All-Star's reported asking price has been revealed. 

Per Bob Klapisch of NJ.com, LeMahieu is seeking a contract worth $125 million over five years from the New York Yankees. 

Klapisch noted the Yankees aren't budging off their stance right now because "a) no one in the organization wants to commit to a fifth year and b) the Yankees would be bidding against themselves."

There has been speculation that the Yankees and LeMahieu were far apart in their contract talks.

Brendan Kuty of NJ.com reported last week that the two sides were more than $25 million apart, with the Yankees offering $75 million over four years. 

Kuty added there "seems no rush" for either side to give in to the other because of the possibility that spring training could be delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Yankees have made it clear they want LeMahieu back. 

"It's no secret that (LeMahieu) is our No. 1 priority," manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Tuesday. "Hopefully, at the end of all this, DJ is a Yankee for a long time."

LeMahieu has finished in the top four of American League MVP voting in each of the past two seasons. The 32-year-old led Major League Baseball with a .364 batting average in 2020 and led the AL with a .421 on-base percentage and 1.011 OPS. 

Yadier Molina is reportedly keeping his options open, as the nine-time All-Star continues to seek a contract for the 2021 season.

Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, Molina has the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres among his list of potential "fallback options." Heyman also noted that "it makes sense" for Molina and the St. Louis Cardinals to agree on a new deal, "but in free agency you never know."

Molina has spent his entire career with the Cardinals since being selected by the organization in the fourth round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft. 

While both sides have expressed a desire to remain together next season, there does appear to be a difference in how much Molina wants and what the Cardinals will offer. 

Per Mark Saxon of The Athletic, Molina's camp recently rejected an offer from St. Louis that they deemed to be "ridiculous."

Saxon noted that Molina is "believed to be seeking at least a one-year, $10 million deal with a 2022 option."

Other potential suitors that Heyman mentioned include the Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees. 

Molina, 38, has won nine Gold Glove awards in 17 seasons. He remains a solid hitter at this stage of his career, posting a .262/.303/.359 slash line in 42 games last year. 

The Nationals and Padres both have playoff aspirations in 2021. Yan Gomes is a free agent this offseason, leaving an opening for a starter in Washington. The Padres have Austin Nola capable of playing catcher, but he can also handle multiple infield positions.