MLB Rumors

The New York Yankees thought they had it all lined up.

Fresh off another crushing ALCS defeat at the hands of the Houston Astros, the Bronx Bombers pried star right-hander Gerrit Cole away from the Astros in free agency.

With Luis Severino getting a full offseason to strengthen his elbow and James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka in the middle of the rotation, the Yankees likely felt Cole would be the final piece of the puzzle.

But things started to fall apart in February when Paxton underwent surgery on his back. Just over three weeks later, the Yankees received another crushing blow: Severino needed Tommy John surgery, and would be forced to miss the entirety of the 2020 season.

Whereas Paxton's injury merely seemed like a blip on the radar, Severino's injury issues have plagued him dating back to spring training in 2019. 

Severino was scratched from his very first spring training start due to "rotator cuff inflammation." Just over a month later, he was shut down for six weeks due to a Grade 2 lat strain. But the weeks would turn into months, with Severino making just three starts during the regular season before a pair of shaky postseason outings against the Minnesota Twins and Astros, respectively.

The Yankees initially designated Severino with forearm soreness earlier this spring prior to receiving a second opinion, which revealed he had a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament.

Players typically recover from Tommy John within 12 to 18 months. For those thinking more optimistically, that would mean Severino would be cleared just ahead of spring training in 2021.

However, George A. King III of the New York Post reported on Saturday Severino likely would not be ready until next June, even adding "that might be too early."

Despite King's timeline, Severino said he has been "progressing well" and feels "way better" after having the surgery and beginning his rehab in Tampa, Florida. He also said he was looking ahead:

"Of course, it's disappointing, but I want to look long term. I want to be healthy for a long time. So I want to use this year—and last year—to get better, listen to my body. Of course, I was mad at that time [of the injuries], but right now I just want to worry about getting healthy again and having a long career."

The Yankees might be wise to exhibit caution with respect to Severino's health and availability. He previously complained about feeling pain particularly when throwing his changeup, and it is imperative the Yanks give him time to feel more comfortable throwing that pitch.

Severino can be dominant at his best. The 26-year-old went 14-2 a 2.31 ERA in his first 20 starts of the 2018 campaign. But his ERA ballooned after the All-Star break, in part because opposing hitters raked against his fastball.

Although Severino had success once he could get to his slider, opponent hitters slugged .449 against the heater in 2018, per Baseball Savant. This is not a one-off, either, as opponents have slugged closer to .500 against Severino's fastball since he came to the bigs in 2015.

Given Severino only has a three-pitch arsenal, establishing a greater feeling and comfort level with the off-speed figures to make him much more effective on the hill. It also figures to be a decent gauge for his health.

        

All stats obtained via Baseball Reference, unless otherwise noted.

At least one player thinks there won't be a 2020 MLB season as players and owners dispute over money.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network discussed a recent call between the league and the players association Thursday on Ordway, Merloni & Fauria (via Ryan Hannable of WEEI), relaying a message from someone involved.  

"The call was last night. I was getting texts. I got a text from a player—and I think they are going to get a deal, I think they are going to work it out. I can't believe they are going to blow it up over economics. But, from a very smart player, he said to me ... 'On call now. I think the chances for a season are pretty close to zero.' That was the entire text," Heyman said.

"It's not going well, I will say that," Heyman added. "I am taking a step back. He is in the middle of it. Taking a step back, I believe both sides understand they need to play the games if they can in terms of their health. They cannot blow it up over money. They just cannot do it."

The 2020 season was initially delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, but owners have approved a proposal for a July start with each team playing 82 games.

The holdup has been due to the financial concerns of playing games without fans in attendance.

After the players had already agreed to prorated salaries for a shortened season, they are now being asked to take even more substantial cuts, via Jeff Passan of ESPN:

Potential salary cuts in MLB plan, sources tell @JesseRogersESPN and me:

Full-year Proposal

$563.5K $262K
$1M $434K
$2M $736K
$5M $1.64M
$10M $2.95M
$15M $4.05M
$20M $5.15M
$25M $6.05M
$30M $6.95M
$35M $7.84M

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 26, 2020

Notable players like Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer have spoken out against the salary reductions:

pic.twitter.com/nWKtqGSQo4

— Max Scherzer (@Max_Scherzer) May 28, 2020

Commissioner Rob Manfred had previously said owners could lose $4 billion if there is no season. MLB also claimed paying the prorated salaries to players for games without fans would cause a loss of $640,000 each game, per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press.

Teams are reportedly already anticipating a cancelation of the minor league season, according to Passan. 

A canceled major league season could be next if the two sides are unable to agree on a deal.

The World Baseball Classic reportedly will be moved to 2023 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Enrique Rojas of ESPN first reported the cancellation of the 2021 installment.

The 2021 World Baseball Classic is scheduled for March 9-23 with Taichung, Taiwan; Tokyo, Japan; Phoenix and Miami serving as host sites. 

The potential cancellation of the 2021 event doesn't come as much of a surprise after the 2020 qualifier games were postponed indefinitely in March at the same time the MLB regular season was put on hiatus because of the coronavirus. 

"It is not the priority right now," a source told Rojas.

That leaves the future of the event in doubt. As Rojas noted, the event was negotiated in the collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the players' union. That CBA expires in Dec. 2021, meaning any rescheduling of the tournament will be a part of negotiations in the next CBA.

Sherman noted the rescheduling of the tournament is pending approval of the tournament's board.

The 2020 Major League Baseball draft reportedly will be shortened to five rounds because of the COVID-19 pandemic, per ESPN's Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel. 

"All players who go undrafted would be eligible to sign for a maximum of $20,000. While there was a proposal to the union for a 10-round draft, the sides didn't come to an agreement," Passan wrote.

Passan also highlighted the discord among front offices about the draft length.

"There remains a significant divide within the team side on the draft," Passan wrote. "A majority of front offices were pushing for a longer draft, recognizing the value reaped even in later rounds can be immense. Pushback to keep the draft as short as possible from some owners was strong."

The draft is typically 40 rounds, and last year's selection process contained 1,217 players.

Reducing the number of rounds from 40 to five is a cost-cutting maneuver in light of the season's delay. Per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, over $61 million was spent on players acquired after the fifth round last year.

But the move will clearly hurt players who would have otherwise been drafted after Round 5. Cooper had more:

"That agreement came at a significant cost to MLB draftees, who in many cases will find the door to playing pro baseball closed in 2020 unless they are willing to accept signing bonuses that are well below market value. The deal also potentially pushes back the date of the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 international signing periods by six months apiece. MLB has the flexibility to move back the start dates of those signing periods for each of those years to as late as Jan. 15."

Cooper also wrote that teams will be limited to spending no more than $20,000 on undrafted players' signing bonuses. The maximum was $125,000 last season.

A return to play wouldn't recoup all of the potential money that could have been earned in 2020, either, as it's expected that the typical 162-game season will be shortened to around 80 to 100 if it happens, per David Lennon of Newsday.

Furthermore, games will likely be played without fans, so teams could lose out on gate and concession revenue entirely.

Citing Forbes, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com estimated that the Boston Red Sox could lose $199 million alone, with all 30 MLB teams in the red by $2.86 billion.

Ultimately, MLB and the MLB Players Association's decision to truncate the draft makes sense given the game's financial state amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but amateur players looking to start their careers will take the biggest hit as their inroads into the Show are stifled indefinitely.

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez are reportedly out of the running to purchase the New York Mets.

According to Thornton McEnery of the New York Post, "negotiations with potential partners failed to materialize and it became clear that the Wilpons' reluctance to part with SNY makes it almost impossible for anyone without many billions of dollars to afford [to own] the team." 

The question for Mets majority owner Fred Wilpon is whether he can feasibly sell the team without also giving up SNY given the potential financial losses the team is facing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Major League Baseball is currently on hiatus and it remains to be seen when the league will return to play and if they'll be able to play a full season.

There will almost assuredly be no fans in attendance when the games do resume, at least initially, removing a huge revenue stream from ticket sales, concessions and merchandise. 

"The league has drawn down all of its credit lines," a person close to MLB told McEnery. "But that means it can pay each team $40 million at most. The Mets are going to lose like $90 million this year, if not more."

Given those losses, any attempt to sell the Mets without also including the television revenue that SNY provides is unlikely to succeed. 

"There is no way this team trades now without SNY," a banker told McEnery. "The Wilpons can play hardball as much as they want but no one can afford to own this team without the TV revenue. It literally doesn't add up."

Regardless, Rodriguez and Lopez were unable to find a money partner to make any potential deal work.

McEnery reported that their Mets' pursuit "hit a major snag in recent weeks when their chosen money partner, Long Island biotech billionaire Wayne Rothbaum, made it clear he was only interested in scooping up the MLB franchise at an amazing discount. Rothbaum also wanted to exert more control over the team than J-Rod was comfortable surrendering." 

Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor reportedly isn't interested in even discussing contract extension talks with the organization.  

Baseball writer Keith Law said Tuesday on the 92.3 The Fan's The Bull and The Fox show that Cleveland has reached out regarding extension talks but Lindor intends on hitting free agency:

.@keithlaw on @BullandFox on #Indians - Lindor: "What I've actually heard...they would like to pay him, but he won't even entertain contract extension offers. Absolutely his right to do that. They've tried to have those conversations...there just hasn't been a negotiation at all"

— Keith Britton (@KeithBritton86) May 5, 2020

.@keithlaw on @BullandFox more on #Indians - Lindor: "I personally think, knowing him and knowing who his representative is, they just want to go to free agency. My understanding is, the team was willing to talk extension with him and he just said 'I'm going to free agency.'"

— Keith Britton (@KeithBritton86) May 5, 2020

Lindor is under contract for $17.5 million in 2020 and is eligible for arbitration No. 3 in 2021 before he can become an unrestricted free agent ahead of the 2022 season. 

He'll likely see a major payday. The 26-year-old is a four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner who hit .284 with 32 homers, 74 RBI, 101 runs and 22 stolen bases in 2019. It was his third straight season with at least 30 homers and 15 stolen bases and his second straight year with 100 or more runs. 

So Cleveland has two choices: Trade Lindor at some point over the next two years to get back exciting young prospects, or ride it out the next two years and take a stab at re-signing him. The former option seems far more likely, even if Lindor has publicly expressed a desire to remain in Cleveland. 

"I want to win here. I want to stay in Cleveland. This is home," he told Zack Meisel of The Athletic in February. "I'm not playing to get traded or to put myself in a good spot to get traded for a numerous amount of players. I'm playing to win. I want to win here."

Cleveland, meanwhile, has reportedly engaged with a number of teams regarding Lindor in the past year. And in March, any discussions of an extension came to a halt. 

So for now, it appears as though Lindor's days in Cleveland are numbered. Tuesday's report doesn't make that any less likely. 

Billionaire Wayne Rothbaum is reportedly interested in purchasing the New York Mets, but only at a "fire sale" price of $1 billion, according to Thornton McEnery of the New York Post. 

"I think he likes the idea of $1 billion," one source said. "It's a round number and the Wilpons are not holding any cards without SNY."

Fred and Jeff Wilpon had initially planned to sell the team to Steve Cohen for $2.6 billion but the deal fell through in February. That deal also would not have included SNY, the organization's cable channel owned by the Wilpons.

As McEnery noted, the franchise is now valued at about $1.6 billion after the coronavirus has caused the MLB season to be delayed. The current owners could lose $150 million if half the season is lost because of the pandemic.

This is a dramatic change after the Mets nearly sold to Cohen, a hedge-fund manager worth about $11 billion.

McEnery previously reported the original deal included Fred Wilpon remaining CEO for five years after the sale. The Wilpons then wanted to remain in control after the five-year window, while there was disagreement about the long-term status of SNY.

The Mets remain available for sale, with Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez reportedly raising capital for a potential bid.

Rothbaum is another option as someone who was previously interested in buying the Miami Marlins before dropping out. 

The Mets would come at a higher price, but it seems the biotech investor will consider a bid if the price stays low.

Zack Wheeler was reportedly close to swapping his New York Mets jersey for New York Yankees pinstripes last season prior to the July 31 trade deadline. 

Per SNY's Andy Martino, the Mets and Yankees had a tentative agreement in place for Wheeler that wound up falling through because of medical concerns about another player in the deal. 

Martino was unable to provide additional details about what the entire deal would have included but did note general managers Brodie Van Wagenen and Brian Cashman had "intensive discussions" about other players besides Wheeler. 

Wheeler was one of the most-discussed players on the trade block last summer. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported on July 30 that the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves had "varying" levels of interest in the right-hander. 

The Mets ultimately held onto Wheeler for the remainder of the season. They played well over the final two months with a 33-21 record but ultimately finished three games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the second wild-card spot in the National League.

The Yankees ultimately didn't add a starting pitcher before the trade deadline, though they still won the AL East with 103 wins and advanced to the ALCS before falling to the Houston Astros in six games. 

Wheeler wound up leaving the Mets in free agency this offseason when he signed a five-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Cashman ultimately landed an ace this offseason by signing Gerrit Cole to a nine-year, $324 million deal, the largest deal ever given to a pitcher in MLB history. 

While the baseball and sports world is largely on pause because of the coronavirus pandemic, there are still some rumors circulating prior to whenever the 2020 season begins.

With that in mind, here is some of the latest buzz surrounding Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto and free-agent outfielder Yasiel Puig.

           

Puig Reportedly Still Drawing Interest Despite Remaining Unsigned

While most of the marquee free agents available this offseason were signed before Major League Baseball postponed the start of the season, Puig is still looking for a team despite the fact he is just 29 years old with a solid resume.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network revealed on the latest Big Time Baseball podcast (h/t Connor Byrne of MLB Trade Rumors) that the Miami Marlins made Puig an offer at some point this offseason.

Heyman also said there were teams that were considering signing him before the hiatus, including the San Francisco Giants.

This comes after Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported on March 2 the former Los Angeles Dodger, Cincinnati Red and Cleveland Indian turned down a one-year, $10 million offer from a potential National League suitor.

It is not surprising some teams are interested in Puig, who was an All-Star in 2014 as a member of the Dodgers. He is still relatively young and slashed .267/.327/.458 with 24 home runs, 84 RBI and 19 stolen bases during the 2019 campaign while splitting time with the Reds and Indians.

He also has a strong arm and is responsible for 28 total defensive runs saved above average in the outfield in his career, per FanGraphs.

Even if he doesn't land a starting job, Puig is someone who could slide into an outfield rotation and provide capable defense and a power bat. Don't be surprised when he is in someone's lineup on opening day even though he has not inked a new deal to this point.

             

Realmuto's Agents Reportedly Targeting Major Contract Extension

Realmuto lost his arbitration hearing with the Phillies, but his agents have their eyes on a significant contract extension.

Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted the Phillies and the catcher have paused contract extension discussions while the league is on hiatus because of the pandemic, but Realmuto's "representatives are believed to be using Joe Mauer's catcher-record $23 million average annual salary as a baseline in extension talks."

Lauber added: "One source suggested Realmuto's camp is targeting St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt's five-year, $130 million extension last year."

What's more, Heyman said on the Big Time Baseball podcast (h/t Rotoworld) his agents want a bigger deal than the eight-year, $159 million one Buster Posey signed with the Giants in March 2013.

Realmuto is scheduled to become a free agent following the 2020 campaign if the two sides can't reach an agreement, and he figures to be in line for a head-turning deal.

He is just 29 years old, was an All-Star and Silver Slugger in each of the last two years and took home a Gold Glove in 2019. He spent the first five years of his career with the Marlins but impressed last season in his first with the Phillies.

The catcher slashed .275/.328/.493 with 25 home runs and 83 RBI while showing the ability to hit for power and average while playing impressive defense behind the plate.

The Posey deal stands out considering he was a generational catcher who was younger than Realmuto (26) when he signed it. He was also coming off a 2012 National League MVP season when he slashed .336/.408/.549 with 24 home runs and 103 RBI.

Posey was also a key part of the 2010 and 2012 World Series champion teams in San Francisco, something Realmuto cannot match.

Realmuto is one of the best catchers in today's game who is still in his prime, and his potential free agency figures to be a major talking point during the next offseason if the Phillies don't match some of these numbers.

The New York Yankees find themselves lacking depth in the starting rotation heading into this season, with Luis Severino out for the season, James Paxton out until May and Domingo German suspended for the first 63 games of the season. 

But according to Mike Puma and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, the Yankees have shown interest in New York Mets starting pitcher Steven Matz. 

Per that report, "the Yankees have contacted the Mets about Matz's potential availability, according to industry sources. The Mets are willing to listen, but there is skepticism that momentum for a deal will build this early in the calendar."

Andy Martino of SNY also threw cold water on the prospect of Matz ending up on the Yankees:

https://twitter.com/martinonyc/status/1234560116877398017

https://twitter.com/martinonyc/status/1234568623160791041

It would appear the asking price from the Mets will be too high for the Yankees' taste, per Puma and Davidoff:

"Among the reasons for skepticism that a deal can be struck is the Mets would seek a major-league-ready position player in return, as opposed to prospects. Miguel Andujar, given his ability to play multiple positions, would likely be a player of interest for the Mets. The belief is the Yankees aren't desperate enough for a pitcher to part with Andujar."

With Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha added this offseason, the Mets find themselves with viable starting depth, even after losing Zach Wheeler in free agency. Matz may be considered surplus to requirements, though he also could start the season as an option out of the bullpen. 

The Mets utilized him in such a role briefly last season. Matz had an up-and-down year in 2019, going 11-10 with a 4.21 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 153 strikeouts in 160.1 innings (30 starts, 32 appearances). He would be an upgrade for the Yankees given their rotational issues, offering the team a solid option behind Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ. 

Rather than pay a premium, however, the Yankees could turn to their farm system to weather the early-season storm. They certainly are accustomed to doing so after battling a onslaught of injuries a year ago and still reaching the postseason.