Odubel Herrera is Just What the Rangers Are Looking For

I’m not usually one for creating random trade speculation out of thin air, but the Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers are making it difficult on me.

The Rangers reportedly are in the market for a center fielder. Yet those same reports are that the club does not want to spend big in free agency.

What the Rangers would like to obtain is a talented, controllable center fielder. Enter the Phillies into this conversation – they have one.

Nationals Deal Top Prospects to White Sox for Adam Eaton

Numerous reliable sources were reporting late this afternoon that the Washington Nationals had finally struck at baseball’s Winter Meetings. The deal has since been confirmed by the two teams.

All the previous rumors here had the Nats going after a starting pitcher. It turns out that they instead have apparently dealt away the future of their rotation for a hitter.

The Nationals have obtained outfielder Adam Eaton from the Chicago White Sox. In exchange, Washington is sending three of their top prospects to the Chisox.

Heading to the South Side of Chicago are Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Dane Dunning. Giolito is listed by most prospect evaluation resources as the Nationals top prospect.

“An important part of the process we are pursuing is acquiring quality pitching talent. We feel like we’ve done that today—and yesterday—en masse,” White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said in a statement per Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser. “Giolito and Lopez rank among the top prospects in baseball, while Dunning is another young prospect who possesses front-of-the-rotation potential.”

Phillies Sign Joaquin Benoit to Bolster Bullpen

Baseball’s 2016 Winter Meetings are underway, and the Philadelphia Phillies have signed a veteran reliever on the first full day to help bolster their bullpen.

According to ESPN, 39-year-old Joaquin Benoit has reportedly agreed to terms with the club on a one-year, $7.5 million deal.

Benoit split last season between the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays. His 26-game stint in the Pacific Northwest was mediocre, but he turned it on after being shipped north of the border.

His final overall numbers were solid last season. Benoit pitched in 51 games, allowing 37 hits over 48 innings with a 52/24 K:BB ratio.

White Sox Deal Chris Sale to Red Sox

It wasn’t the Boston Red Sox, but instead the Washington Nationals who were supposedly ready to strike at National Harbor, Maryland.

Over the first couple of days of baseball’s 2016 Winter Meetings, the Nats were heavily rumored to be nearing a deal for the top available pitcher on the trade market.

However, rumors began to leak out late this morning that the BoSox had entered the Chris Sale sweepstakes. As the afternoon moved along, the Red Sox apparently had pushed ahead of the Nationals in the race for the big lefty.

Now comes word that Boston has won that race. The Red Sox have acquired Sale from the Chicago White Sox. 

In exchange, Boston is sending a substantive package of prospects to the South Side of the Windy City.

Headed to the White Sox are Boston’s top overall prospect, Yoan Moncada, as well as their top right-handed pitching prospect, Michael Kopech.

According to CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes, the other minor leaguers going to the White Sox are outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe and right-hander Victor Diaz.

2016 Winter Meetings: Houston Astros

When the Winter Meetings open in National Harbor, Maryland next week, look for the Houston Astros to be one of the big players in free agent deals, big trades, or both.

A new Collective Bargaining Agreement could soon be announced between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. If that happens, the Astros could strike even more quickly.

The two biggest free agent names tied to Houston at the moment are a pair of veteran bats, Edwin Encarnacion and Carlos Beltran.

Rockies May Be Ready to Move CarGo

In November of 2008, the Colorado Rockies sent their all-star left fielder Matt Holliday to the Oakland A’s.

In exchange, the Rox received emerging closer Huston Street, young starting pitcher Greg Smith, and a 22-year old outfielder named Carlos Gonzalez.

Smith was a non-factor, making only eight appearances with the Rockies in 2010. Street lasted three strong seasons as the closer in Denver, helping the Rockies reach the postseason in 2009–the last time they have appeared in the playoffs.

But the real prize in that trade turned out to be Gonzalez. Over the last eight seasons, ‘CarGo’ has been a 3x NL All-Star, a 3x Gold Glove Award winner, and has won three Silver Sluggers as well. He finished third in the 2010 NL Most Valuable Player award voting.

One of those All-Star seasons came just this past summer. Gonzalez hit for a .298/.350/.505 slash with 25 home runs, 42 doubles, 100 RBI, and 87 runs scored.

2016 Winter Meetings: Philadelphia Phillies

As he prepares to attend his second MLB Winter Meetings as the Philadelphia Phillies general manager next week, Matt Klentak may have a few dark horse moves up his sleeve.

While the rumor mills surrounding the still rebuilding Fightin’ Phils have been relatively quiet, there have been some whispers of possibility. In the usual game of whisper down the lane, a couple of the Phillies’ starting position players keep popping up. Those two players are catcher Cameron Rupp and second baseman Cesar Hernandez.

Rupp is now 28 years old and coming off a solid season. It was his first as the clear-cut #1 catcher in Philadelphia. Rupp hit .252 over 419 plate appearances in 105 games. He ripped 16 homers and 26 doubles, while knocking in 54 runs. He also drew praise for his defense and handling of the staff.

Hernandez is 26 years old and coming off his first full season as the unquestioned starter at second base. He did see plenty of action in 2015, especially following the trade of Chase Utley. 

Hernandez led the Phillies with a .294 average and .371 on-base percentage, and his 17 steals were tied for second on the club. The switch-hitter also led all of baseball with 11 triples.

2016 Winter Meetings: Detroit Tigers

There are few teams in as interesting a position as the Detroit Tigers find themselves in during this off-season. 

Al Avila, the EVP of Baseball Operations and the team’s GM has to decide whether to rebuild, or retool for another big 2017 run.

The Tigers were just short this past season, finishing at 86-75. That record left the club eight games in back of the division-winning Cleveland Indians. But Detroit was only 2.5 games off the AL Wildcard pace.

This is a club with most of its key performers already past age 30, a few well into those 30’s. The decision to be made is whether to cash in on those players while they still have real value, or add to that core and make another playoff push.

There are heavy rumors that Detroit is looking to slash payroll. The club has been big spenders and steady contenders for years. While they would like to keep contending while also getting rid of some big salaries, that usually proves a difficult tightrope to walk.

Would Pirates Actually Deal Andrew McCutchen?

It was a rough season for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016. After three straight playoff seasons, the Bucs fell to 79-83 and third place in the NL Central Division.

A six-game winning streak at the end of April lifted Pittsburgh to 15-9, just three games out of first place. 

They would never be that far over the .500 mark, or that close to the division lead again.

In examining what went wrong this season in the Steel City, you find a number of factors came in to play. The starting pitching rotation suffered through injuries and ineffectiveness. The club got little production out of either the catcher or first base positions.

But another key element in the Pirates’ struggles this past season was a noticeable decline from center fielder Andrew McCutchen.

2016 Winter Meetings: Tampa Bay Rays

When newly named Tampa Bay Rays GM and senior VP of baseball operations Erik Neander arrives at the Winter Meetings, he is likely to be a popular fellow.

The Rays have what is generally considered to be a top ten farm system. They finished the 2016 season at 68-94 in fifth place in the always tough AL East Division.

Now might be the perfect time for Neander and Matthew Silverman, the club’s President for Baseball Operations, to begin looking at building a contender for a few years down the road.

To that end, the Rays would have two of the most attractive assets as the Winter Meetings open. 

Those would be starting pitcher Chris Archer and veteran third baseman Evan Longoria.

2016 Winter Meetings: Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers finished at 73-89 and in fourth place in the NL Central Division this season. That left the club 30.5 games behind the first place Chicago Cubs, a team they finished nine games in front of just two years ago.

As we prepare for the opening of baseball’s Winter Meetings in just one week, the Brewers could well be one of the big players in any horse trading.

One of the main reasons: left fielder Ryan Braun is actively on the trade block. The 33-year old Braun may be the most proven and prolific bat available in a deal.

Reports are that Milwaukee general manager David Stearns was very close to a deal to send Braun to the Los Angeles Dodgers on a couple of occasions last season.

“I get asked about it regularly,” Stearns said recently per ESPN through the AP. “…that’s a big story this offseason, but I’m very happy that Ryan is a member of the Milwaukee Brewers…expect him to be a member of the Milwaukee Brewers going forward.”

The Dodgers are one of six teams to whom the 33-year old slugger cannot block a trade. The Miami Marlins, near where Braun played his college ball, are another. Also on the list are a number of teams near his home: the Angels, Padres, Dbacks, and Giants.

White Sox Potential Winter Meetings Deals

The Chicago White Sox are almost certain to be among the most popular and influential players as the 2016 MLB Winter Meetings unfold in National Harbor, Maryland.

The White Sox went an extremely disappointing 78-84 this past season. That resulted in a fourth place finish in the AL Central Division.

It was a fourth consecutive losing season on the South Side of Chicago. This followed a long run of contention that had spanned the better part of two decades.

Now the White Sox also have to contend for the hearts and attention of fans in a two-team city. The other franchise is, or course, the young and exciting new World Series champion Chicago Cubs.

The White Sox were legitimate division crown contenders in the majority of seasons between 1990 and 2012. They won the AL Central five times in that span, and were the 2005 World Series champions.

In the eyes of most industry talent evaluators, the Chisox minor league talent is among the bottom five in the game. So there is not much help coming from within the organization.

Four of the last five AL pennant winners have come from the division. This includes the defending champion Cleveland Indians. But the AL Central could become very competitive in the next few years.

It is the job of general manager Rich Hahn and VP Ken Williams to make sure that Chicago gets back to that regular contending status. To that end, they are going to have to start replenishing the young talent in the organization.

2016 Baseball Winter Meetings Preview

Major League Baseball will conduct the annual MLB Winter Meetings just outside of Washington, D.C. this year. 

The formal location is National Harbor, Maryland, a waterfront development along the Potomac River.

The headquarters for this year’s meetings, which run from December 4-8, will be the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

There the folks from MLB Network will set up a broadcasting hub to bring all of the action to fans everywhere. 

Interviews with baseball executives, managers, general managers, player agents and others will highlight much of the activity.

The Winter Meetings have historically been a time and place for many of baseball’s biggest offseason deals to get done. 

In the years before the development of instantaneous communication such as the internet, these face-to-face meetings were the place that GMs would negotiate and consummate numerous trades.