Real Muto

Tommy Pham

As we wait for literally anything to happen on the free agent market, arbitration cases are working themselves out between clubs and players. And while no teams seem willing to voluntarily lay out money for players' services, arbiters have no problem making sure the players are being paid what they're worth.

Two of the biggest wins in recent days have been in Tampa and Houston. Tommy Pham celebrated his win over the Rays

A former No. 1 overall draft pick also had his worth recognized, as Carlos Correa won his arbitration hearing against the Astros. Correa had filed for $5 million, and the Astros had filed for $4.25 million.

There remain eight arbitration hearings, but to this point three of the four rulings have come in favor of the players -- top-tier closer Blake Treinen got an even larger payday than Correa and Pham, winning his case to make $6.4 million in 2019. Treinen's $4.25 million raise from 2018 to 2019 is the highest one-year raise for a player in his second year of arbitration eligibility. That's not to mention the players who didn't go to arbitration, including Nolan Arenado, who settled with the Rockies for a record-high $26 million late last month.

Among the high-profile cases still to be settled are those of frontline starters Luis Severino, Aaron Nola and Gerrit Cole. Severino requested $5.25 million and was offered $4.4 million by the Yankees, Nola asked for $6.75 million and was offered $4.5 million by the Phillies and Cole requested $13.5 million and was offered $11.425 million by the Astros.

Getting  'Real'

It wouldn't be an offseason lowdown if there wasn't a J.T. Realmuto update.

Realmuto's exit is all but guaranteed, and the Marlins would prefer to have it done before pitchers and catchers report next week. Where he'll be reporting remains a mystery.

Tuesday brought two new interesting pieces of news on possible destinations. First, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the Phillies had recently checked in on Realmuto, and later in the day Yahoo Sports' Tim Brown warned to "keep an eye on" the Philly club in the pursuit of the catcher. The Phils are poised to enter the season with Jorge Alfaro post-dish but have long been searching for another impact bat to add to their lineup.


In recent days and weeks, the Reds, Rays, Dodgers and Braves have all been tied to the 27-year-old as well. So, much like the courtship of free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, Realmuto's club on Opening Day seems to be anybody's guess as we approach spring training.



One of the ways in which teams have skirted laying out guaranteed contracts to relatively pricey free agents is the minor league contract.

Minor league deals guarantee almost nothing, both in dollars and role on the team, but can return non-negligible value if a team hits on a player primed for a bounce-back year or a late-career resurgence. Recent successes of note include Mark Reynolds, who swatted 30 homers with 97 RBI in 2017 after earning a job in camp, and one of the few bright spots on the Giants last season, Derek Holland, who was given a rotation spot out of spring and proceeded to post a 3.57 ERA across 171 1/3 innings of work.

Though there will surely be come to come in the approaching weeks, recent days have brought two such signings of note -- the Marlins reeled in Curtis Granderson on a minors deal, and the Bucs did the same with Francisco Liriano.

The Granderson deal is interesting because of the numbers game; the Marlins just don't have that many major league outfielders on their 40-man roster. As such, the veteran Granderson, though turning 38 before the season, could easily earn an Opening Day roster spot after hitting 13 homers with a .782 OPS in 123 games last year.

The Liriano signing is more interesting for two reasons, not unrelated: not long ago he was a Pirate, making this a reunion; and as a Pirate he was terrific. This go-round the Bucs plan to try him as a reliever, so the ultimate ceiling isn't super high, but Liriano did hold southpaws to a .170/.255/.261 line last year and could emerge as a dangerous situational reliever for the Pittsburgh outfit.

Quick Hits: Cuban shortstop Yolbert Sanchez became eligible to sign with MLB teams Tuesday. It's unclear whether he'll sign with a team soon or wait until the new international signing period begins on July 2. The Orioles still have close to $6 million in international spending money and have shown heavy interest in Sanchez, who turns 22 in March. Per Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, the Cuban shortstop is believed to be major-league ready with the glove right now and profiles to be an average to above-average runner ... Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that Sergio Romo is close to a one-year deal with an unspecified team. We also don't know the dollar amount. The market for the 35-year-old Romo has been rather quiet this winter after he posted a 4.14 ERA with 25 saves and a 75/20 K/BB ratio over 67 1/3 innings with the Rays in 2018. He's still capable of being a useful late-inning arm ... Didi Gregorius (elbow) has been cleared to begin a throwing program. Gregorius is on the right track in his recovery from Tommy John surgery and should join the Yankees around the All-Star break, if not a little before. He'll mostly be limited to rehab work in camp this spring ... Indians acquired RHP Nick Wittgren from the Marlins for RHP Jordan Milbrath. It was no surprise that Wittgren drew interest after being designated for assignment last week. The 27-year-old posted a solid 2.94 ERA over 33 2/3 innings last season. He should slot right into Cleveland's bullpen for 2019 ... Niko Goodrum is the favorite to serve as the Tigers' primary second baseman in 2019. Goodrum made starts at six different positions last season, but he saw the majority of his playing time at second base and that's where he projects to be in 2019. However, he's still preparing to play multiple spots if needed. Goodrum, a non-roster invitee last spring, batted .245/.315/.432 with 16 homers and 12 steals over 131 games last season. The counting stats make him worth watching, but he's mostly a deeper league option in mixed fantasy formats.