Gio pushing buttons

Free agency officially opened for business earlier this week, but one of the biggest story lines to watch in this year’s Hot Stove is the future of Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton. With the new ownership in Miami looking to drastically cut payroll, a trade is basically a foregone conclusion at this point, especially coming off a year where Stanton managed to avoid injury while slugging 59 homers. He could very well win the National League MVP award later this month. However, finding the perfect match isn’t so easy.



Consider the different factors of Stanton’s situation. The contract complicates things to an extent, as he’s owed $295 million over the next 10 years as part of his record-breaking extension. The Marlins will likely have to pick up some of the tab in order to make a trade more palatable for interested teams. Stanton has a full no-trade clause, so he can control his own destiny. He also has an opt-out clause in his contract after the 2020 season.

The Giants have been mentioned as a potential landing spot for a while given the team’s need for a slugger and Stanton’s California roots, but Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports wrote Thursday that the Cardinals “are believed to be the team that the Marlins would most like to make a deal with” because of their young pitching depth. Luke Weaver, Jack Flaherty, Alex Reyes, and Sandy Alcantara are all possible targets for Miami. The question is whether Stanton would accept a deal to a Midwest team when it’s believed that he’d prefer to play on one of the coasts. The Giants can’t compete with the Cardinals when it comes to prospects, but the money looms as an important factor here.

While we’re on the topic of money, we can’t rule out deep-pocketed teams like the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees from checking in, even if they aren’t being mentioned prominently right now. Assuming the Marlins aren’t against trading in the division, the rebuilding Phillies have plenty in the way of young players and few payroll commitments. It should be a fun rumor mill in the coming days.

In the newest edition of the Rotoworld Baseball Podcast, myself and Drew Silva went over Stanton’s situation and other Hot Stove storylines to watch. Check it out here and make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.










Twins Seeking Arms

Fresh off a historic turnaround which led to the AL Wild Card game, the Twins are going into the offseason with a purpose. Per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the club is considering making a run at one of the big free agent starting pitchers on the market.



The Twins typically don’t spend big on free agents — Ervin Santana’s $54 million deal is the richest free agent deal in team history — but they’ll have to up the ante in order to land the likes of Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb, or Lance Lynn. Many have Darvish and Arrieta pegged for contracts exceeding $100 million. This means that Cobb and Lynn are the more realistic possibilities, but there will be plenty of competition for them as well. There’s a clear drop in quality among free agent starters after this quartet.





As I wrote in the Twins’ Team Roundup piece last month, the roster is already in good shape as far as impact position players, but upgrades on the pitcher side are essential. Starters not named Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios combined for a 5.57 ERA this past season. The club is also expected to make an effort to improve the back-end of their bullpen. With that in mind, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Thursday that the Twins have expressed early interest in a reunion with former closer Brandon Kintzler.

Quick Hits: ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that Aaron Boone is among the candidates for the vacant manager position with the Yankees … Free agent reliever Brandon Morrow told MLB Network Radio on Thursday that he’d prefer to return to the Dodgers … The Nationals announced Dave Martinez’s staff on Thursday, including Chip Hale as bench coach, Derek Lilliquist as pitching coach, and Tim Bogar as their new first base coach … Yankees bench coach Rob Thomson interviewed for the team’s managerial vacancy on Thursday … Logan Morrison told MLB Network Radio on Thursday that it “would be a dream come true” to play for the Royals … Jae-gyun Hwang’s agent, Han Lee, told NBC Sports Bay Area that his client plans to return to Korea following a disappointing season in the Giants organization …

Lowdown: Trade Rumors Rumbling

The GM Meetings are underway in Orlando, providing an opportunity for many of the league's front office execs to start laying groundwork for trades and free agent signings. So it's no surprise that we've begun to hear rumors trickling out from the Sunshine State.

Let's run through some of the most noteworthy trade rumblings that are catching our attention, along with the rest of the biggest offseason news updates from the past couple of days.

White Sox Unloading Again?

As we all know, Chicago's all-out firesale was one of the commanding story-lines in baseball last offseason. Although they've already shipped out most the pieces that comprised their previous core, it sounds like they might not be done.

White Sox GM Rick Hahn said recently, "We're still in the same spot that we were a year ago, in that we're focused on the long term." He added that the club has received interest in names like Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia.

Garcia's a nice player coming off a career year, so the sell-high opportunity there is evident. Abreu, meanwhile, is coming off his best season since 2014, when he won AL Rookie of the Year and finished fourth in the MVP voting. He has driven in 100 or more runs in each of his four seasons as a big-leaguer and is two years away from free agency. The Cuban slugger would be a huge addition to the middle of any lineup, so we'll be tracking his market closely.

Giants Eyeing Hamilton?

It's been awhile since Bruce Bochy and the Giants have had a true speedster at their disposal. No San Francisco player has topped 25 steals since 2010, and none have reached 30 in the past decade. Perhaps this is driving their reported interest in Billy Hamilton, who might be the game's fastest player and is certainly its most prolific base-stealer.

Hamilton has swiped 230 bags in four full seasons with the Reds, and that's 28 more than the next-highest finisher (Dee Gordon). He's also extremely rangy in center field, which is undoubtedly a factor in San Fran's interest with an aging Denard Span currently holding down the position.

Adding Hamilton would certainly provide an electrifying jolt to an offense that ranked as one of the league's worst in 2017, though his overall production has never come close to matching his world-class wheels.

Top NL Contenders Closing In On Britton?

His value certainly isn't where it was a year ago, when he was coming off one of the best seasons for a closer in history, but Zach Britton is still a highly enticing piece, and he's drawing interest from some of the National League's biggest heavy-hitters. Among them? The Dodgers and Cubs, who recently faced off in the NL Championship Series.

It would certainly make sense for the Orioles to make their star reliever available, as they're coming off a last-place finish and he's entering his final year of team control. From a fantasy perspective it'd obviously be preferable to see him land in Chicago as Wade Davis's replacement in the ninth, but if the Dodgers were able to acquire Britton they'd be able to pair him with Kenley Jansen for an absurd two-headed monster in the late innings.

The upside is huge but concerns around Britton's knee, which hampered him for much of the summer and required a PRP injection in September, will carry weight.

Quick Hits: The Blue Jays and Mets have reportedly shown early interest in free agent outfielder Lorenzo Cain ... Minnesota's Paul Molitor and Arizona's Torey Lovullo were named Managers of the Year for the AL and NL, respectively ... Some rival execs view the asking price for Giancarlo Stanton in trade discussions to be "shockingly high," per Buster Olney ... The Mets are weighing a pursuit of Japanese star Shohei Otani, and have reportedly reached out to free agent Carlos Santana's reps ... Cards GM John Mozeliak stated that he expects electric young righty Alex Reyes to return to the mound as a reliever for St. Louis around mid-May of next year following his Tommy John surgery rehab.

The Brain moves east

Both the Celtics and the Patriots are 6-2, while the Red Sox have made multiple changes to their coaching personnel.
Tony La Russa says he’ll ‘just be a resource’ to the Red Sox: On Thursday, Boston announced it had hired La Russa as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. According to the team’s announcement, he’ll work under Dombrowski “in all areas of baseball operations, including player development and consultation with the major and minor league staffs.”
La Russa, who previously managed 33 seasons of baseball, described his role as “a resource” in a conference call with reporters. The 73-year-old says he plans to assist new manager Alex Cora in whatever ways he can, without stepping on his toes.

 “I’m going to be very sensitive to his position is the best way to put it,” La Russa said. “He’s the one who has to establish his leadership position with the major league team and his staff. I’ll be available. When he asks, I’ll give him the best answer. But I’m not getting in his way or try to influence him because I know he knows the direction he wants to go. I’ll just be a resource.”
He has the utmost faith in Cora, however, calling him “a very bright young man that’s going to be an outstanding manager.” The three-time World Series champion said that he’s going to call upon his most recent experience as Arizona Diamondbacks chief baseball analyst to help guide his time in Boston.

 “I think it’s the way to do it here, too,” he said. “To be sure that Alex and his major league coaches are clearly in charge of the major league situation. They’re the people who are going to be there every day creating relationships with their players, so any of us that are on the periphery, you’re there to help without getting in the way.”

 Red Sox hire three new coaches: “Former major league manager Ron Roenicke will be the bench coach for new manager Alex Cora. Tom Goodwin returns to the Sox as first base coach and outfield instructor. Double A Portland manager Carlos Febles was promoted to third base coach and infield instructor.”

The Carmine Hose

What Went Right

Boston boasted the AL’s second-best pitching staff even though David Price was limited to 11 starts and 2016 All-Star Steven Wright and eighth-inning guy Tyler Thornburg both missed the season. Chris Sale was the AL’s second-best starter, and Drew Pomeranz ranked somewhere in the top 10. Craig Kimbrel was the league’s best reliever. On the offensive side, no one excelled, but there were also no huge holes; the worst OPS belonging to a regular was Jackie Bradley Jr.’s .726. Rafael Devers came up at age 20 and looked like a star in the making. Christian Vazquez showed some offense to go with his excellent defense, batting .290/.330/.404 as he overtook Sandy Leon to become the Red Sox’s starting catcher. Andrew Benintendi didn’t quite match the hype, but he was a solid regular as a 22-year-old rookie, hitting .271/.352/.424.


What Went Wrong

The David Ortiz-less lineup suffered from a power outage all year long. 74 different players hit 25 homers last season and not one played for the Red Sox. Mookie Betts, though still one of the 10-best players in the league, lost 50 points off his average from his near-MVP season in 2016. Xander Bogaerts and Bradley likewise took steps back. Hanley Ramirez had just a .750 OPS as the primary DH. Pablo Sandoval got himself released, even though he was signed through 2019. 2016 AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello plummeted to 11-17 with a 4.65 ERA.


Fantasy Slants

**Benintendi surprised with 20 steals to go along with his 20 homers, and if he wants to keep running, he should be at least a top-20 and maybe even a top-10 fantasy outfielder next year. The Red Sox might not have hit much as a whole last season, but things will almost have to be better next year and Fenway remains one of the game’s top parks for hitters. As a likely No. 2 or No. 3 hitter next year, Benintendi could fill it up in all five categories.


**Betts was the second overall pick in many mixed leagues this year. That won’t be the case next year, but he shouldn’t fall too far. Even in a disappointing year, he still managed 24 homers, 101 runs, 102 RBI and 26 steals to go along with his .264 average. The low average was probably a fluke, too; he fanned just 79 times in 712 plate appearances. His average on balls in play was .310 in 2015 and .322 in 2016 before tumbling to .268.

**Devers managed to slug .482 in 222 major league at-bats as a 20-year-old, putting him in Stanton-Harper-Correa territory (Mike Trout was a couple of notches above that, coming in at .564 when he was 20). He’s shaky at third and probably won’t stay there for the long haul, but he should be a 30-homer threat next year and a potential monster down the line.

** Porcello’s bad year came with no drop in velocity and actually the best strikeout rate of his career. Of course, he’s had similar seasons in the past. In fact, he’s finished with ERAs over 4.50 in five of his nine seasons. One would think he’d bounce back to being average, but with everything hit in the air these days a threat to leave the yard, he needs to get his groundball rate back up some.


**The Red Sox have already lost Dustin Pedroia and Eduardo Rodriguez for the start of 2018, both due to offseason knee surgeries. It doesn’t sound like either will be back before June, and the Red Sox will have to factor both injuries into their offseason plans.


Key Free Agents: Addison Reed, Eduardo Nunez, Mitch Moreland, Doug Fister, Chris Young, Rajai Davis, Fernando Abad

Team Needs: The Red Sox will be looking to inject some power, probably in an upgrade over Moreland at first base. Bringing in a top free agent (or Giancarlo Stanton) would have big consequences when it comes to the luxury tax, but ownership might take the hit anyway. Rotation depth would also be nice, and a second baseman to fill in for Pedroia is a necessity. Re-signing Nunez will be considered, but he’s in line for a healthy multiyear deal after his strong season.

Around the league

The Astros were just crowned World Series champions late Wednesday night, but the Hot Stove waits for nobody. The first major offseason domino fell on Thursday afternoon, as outfielder Justin Upton decided against testing free agency by agreeing to a five-year, $106 million contract with the Angels. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the terms involved.



In recent weeks, Upton was mulling over whether to opt out of the remaining four years and $88.5 million on his contract, which was originally signed with the Tigers in January of 2016. Many expected that he would indeed test the open market, but the Angels tacked on another year at $17.5 million to hammer out an agreement. The new deal includes a full no-trade clause and will take Upton through his age-34 season in 2022. It’s a crucial move for the Angels, as left field has been a major trouble spot in recent years. His bat is desperately needed in this lineup.

Upton amassed career-highs in homers (35) and RBI (109) this season while posting a .273/.361/.540 batting line. This includes seven homers and 15 RBI over 27 games after the Angels acquired him from the Tigers for right-handers Grayson Long and Elvin Rodriguez (originally announced as a player to be named later) on August 31.


While it’s true that Upton will play half of his games in one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in the majors, fantasy owners can live with that now that he’ll be slotted behind Mike Trout (.441 OBP over the last two seasons) in the Angels’ lineup for the foreseeable future. Remember, Albert Pujols managed 101 RBI this season despite some otherwise horrible numbers. It’s a great gig.

With Upton officially off the market, J.D. Martinez is now the clear No. 1 outfielder on the free agent market. Martinez’s new agent, Scott Boras, has to be thrilled with that. Other outfielders of note in this year’s free agent class include Lorenzo Cain, Jay Bruce, and Carlos Gonzalez. For a full breakdown, be sure to check out Matthew Pouliot’s Top 111 free agents.

Surgery for Sano

After being hampered down the stretch with a stress reaction in his left shin, Twins slugger Miguel Sano is scheduled to undergo surgery on November 13 address the injury. The procedure will involve having a titanium rod permanently inserted into his leg.

It sounds scary, but Twins general manager Thad Levine recently told reporters that if surgery was required, Sano would likely be facing 6-8 weeks of recovery time before resuming baseball activities. Assuming all goes well here, that should give Sano enough time to participate in spring training in preparation for the season.

Sano took a step back in his sophomore campaign, but he bounced back when healthy this year, batting .264/.352/.507 with 28 homers and 77 RBI over 114 games. He earned his first All-Star Game selection in the process. The 24-year-old was limited to three games after August 19 due to his shin injury and was forced to sit out the AL Wild Card game against the Yankees.

Quick Hits: The Red Sox had the easy calls of picking up their club options on ace Chris Sale ($12.5 million) and closer Craig Kimbrel ($13 million) for 2018 … Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports that Japanese hitting and pitching sensation Shohei Otani has yet to hire an agent stateside, which could potentially be linked to uncertainty of the expired posting system … Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Thursday that he’s “optimistic” that Daniel Murphy (knee) will be ready for the start of the 2018 season … According to Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star, The Royals are expected to make qualifying offers to impending free agents Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Lorenzo Cain … Adam Lind became a free agent after his $5 million mutual option with the Nationals was declined … As expected, the Tigers declined their $16 million club option on right-hander Anibal Sanchez … The Athletics exercised their $6 million club option on second baseman Jed Lowrie … The Mariners declined their club options on Hisashi Iwakuma ($10 million) and Yovani Gallardo ($13 million for 2018 … The Angels declined club options on Huston Street ($10 million) and Ricky Nolasco ($13 million) … According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Rays infielder Brad Miller underwent core muscle surgery last month … The Diamondbacks picked up their $2 million club option on infielder Daniel Descalso … The Rays exercised Nathan Eovaldi’s $2 million club option for 2018 … The Red Sox have hired Tony La Russa as vice president and special assistant to their baseball operations staff … The Nationals have hired Kevin Long as their new hitting coach … The Mets and Red Sox essentially swapped first base/baserunning/outfield coaches, as Ruben Amaro has joined Mickey Callaway’s staff in New York while Tom Goodwin was hired for Alex Cora’s staff in Boston … Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Rangers are set to hire Don Wakamatsu as their bench coach …

Astro - Nomical

This may have been one of the best and most evenly matched World Series ever, but in Game 7, it didn’t look like it.

The Houston Astros scored five runs in the first two innings, the Los Angeles Dodgers were unable to take advantage of being able to put runners on base in seemingly every inning, and the Astros came up with a 5-1 victory on Wednesday in Game 7 of the World Series to give Houston their first ever world championship.

The game took an immediate ugly turn for the Dodgers. The white-hot George Springer led the game off with a double down the third base line, and Alex Bregman hit a chopper that should have just advanced him to third. Cody Bellinger inexplicably cut the ball off, and made a disastrous throw to starter Yu Darvish that wasn’t close, allowing Bregman to get to second and Springer to score. After Bregman stole third, a ground out to Bellinger -- who appeared shy to throw the baseball -- scored him to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.

One inning later, things got worse for L.A. After walking Brian McCann and giving up a double to Marwin Gonzalez, Darvish was able to get Josh Reddick out. With runners on second-and-third and pitcher Lance McCullers at the plate, the Dodgers inexplicably didn’t have the infield in, and McCullers weak ground ball was hit just far enough to allow McCann to score from third to make it 3-0. On the next pitch, Springer clobbered a 438 foot dinger to left-center to make it 5-0, and chase Darvish from the game.

After Darvish left, the Dodgers bullpen -- particularly Clayton Kershaw -- was able to keep Houston from adding on, but it didn’t matter. Even though McCullers gave up more baserunners (eight) than outs (7), and the Dodgers routinely put runners on against the rest of the Houston staff, they were unable to take advantage of their opportunities.

Even if this game was borderline anticlimactic, what a tremendous series this ended up being. These two teams were clearly evenly matched, and they became even more when the pitching staff of both clubs faltered; be it due to ineffectiveness, fatigue or a combination of both. Simply put, you’d be hard-pressed to find better back-to-back Fall Classics in this sport when you combine this with last year’s Cubs vs. Indians seven-game thriller.

This sport is gonna be okay, folks. Here’s hoping we have another classic on our hands at this point in 2018.

Quick hits: Tony La Russa is expected to join the Red Sox organization on Thursday. The former Athletics, Cardinals and White Sox manager has served the last three years in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization … Diamondbacks OF J.D. Martinez hired Scott Boras to be his new agent. Martinez is a free agent after hitting 45 homers for Arizona and the Tigers, respectively … The Brewers outrighted OF Quintin Barry and RHP Carlos Torres to Triple-A Colorado Springs on Thursday … The Blue Jays outrighted three players on Thursday; RHP Bo Schultz, RHP Cesar Valdez, and OF Darrell Ceciliani … Astros assistant hitting coach Alonzo Powell will be named the hitting coach of the Giants this week.

Seventh Heaven

This edge-of-your-seat 2017 World Series deserves a Game 7. And it will get one.

Astros starter Justin Verlander was dominating Tuesday night’s World Series Game 6 until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Austin Barnes slapped a lead off single to left field, Chase Utley drew a hit-by-pitch on a wayward slider, and Chris Taylor banged a game-tying double to right field. The next batter, Corey Seager, put the Dodgers ahead 2-1 with a sacrifice fly that dropped just shy of the wall in center field. Joc Pederson would tack on an insurance run with an opposite-field homer to left field in the bottom of the seventh as Los Angeles earned a 3-1 victory over Houston and forced a winner-takes-all tilt on Wednesday.

George Springer provided the only run of the night for Houston with his solo homer off Dodgers starter Rich Hill in the top of the third inning. Hill was pulled with two outs in the top of the fifth and the quick hook worked out this time for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, with Brandon Morrow, Tony Watson, Kenta Maeda, and Kenley Jansen combining for 4 1/3 scoreless frames to close out the all-important win.

Roberts told reporters before the game that Jansen, who had shown real signs of fatigue in his last few appearances, would be limited to three outs on Tuesday night. But you can ignore all pregame designs at this time of the year, however well-conceived. Jansen earned a six-out save to finish out Game 6 on Tuesday, retiring all six batters he faced -- three via strikeout.

It’ll be all-hands-on deck for both teams in Game 7 on Wednesday, though Lance McCullers and Yu Darvish are the listed starting pitchers. Clayton Kershaw figures to work at least one inning.

This series deserves this. You deserve this. We all deserve this. See you tomorrow night.

Quick Hits: Angels general manager Billy Eppler said Monday that J.C. Ramirez has shown continued healing in his right elbow … Starling Marte has been added to the roster of Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter League … Matt Shoemaker (forearm) threw three simulated innings in Arizona on Monday … Ramon Santiago officially announced his retirement Tuesday and has joined the Tigers as their new first base and infield coach … Mariners sent right-hander Casey Lawrence outright to Triple-A Tacoma … Diamondbacks sent utility man Kristopher Negron outright to Triple-A Reno.