Christmas may have slowed down baseball's rumor mill, but not even jolly old St. Nick is capable of completely shutting down America's pastime.
A pair of notable signings took place over the past week, with the St. Louis Cardinals inking starter Mike Leake to a five-year deal while the Washington Nationals found their second baseman of the present, adding Daniel Murphy on a three-year pact.
But it was the rest of the chatter on the rumor mill that brings us the key takeaways from the Hot Stove League's seventh week of action.
Frugal Ways Have Mets Looking Like Offseason Losers
Everything was lined up for the New York Mets to hit one out of the park this offseason. Instead, the team has struck a lazy fly ball to straightaway center field.
Rather than take advantage of a weakened division, extra revenue generated by a run to the World Series and having the most dominant, inexpensive starting rotation in baseball history, the Mets chose to flex their muscles by once again tightening their purse strings.
It's not that shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, outfielder Alejandro De Aza and second baseman Neil Walker are bad ballplayers. But none of them strike fear into the hearts of the opposition like outfielder Yoenis Cespedes could or are as consistent as Murphy was, the two players who were the main catalysts for the team's late-season heroics.
In fact, the team has made little-to-no effort to re-sign Cespedes, while it completely ignored Murphy, who signed a three-year, $37.5 million deal with division-rival Washington. As you'd expect, that's not sitting well with the team's ravenous fanbase, as NJ.com's Brendan Kuty wrote on Christmas:
As of midnight Friday, there were 3,827 votes in a poll posted early Wednesday morning asking whether the Mets could already be considered among the losers of the hot stove season.
About 70 percent (2,666 votes) said the Mets had, in fact, disappointed since losing in the 2015 World Series. Only about 30 percent (1,161 votes) said they hadn't.
The team would likely tell its fans that full seasons from outfielder Michael Conforto, catcher Travis d'Arnaud and third baseman David Wright will help replace some of the lost production, and that by saving now, the Mets will have room to add salary at the trade deadline if needed.
While all of that might be true, none of it makes it any easier to ignore the fact that, as presently constituted, the Mets appear to be more likely to disappoint during the regular season than mount a successful defense of the National League pennant.
Brandon Phillips Guarantees Reds' Rebuild Will Take Longer Than It Should
B/R's Anthony Witrado touched on Cincinnati's rebuilding process in this space last week, but it's worth re-visiting in the wake of Brandon Phillips' inexplicable decision to block a deal to a contender in Washington, ensuring he remains part of a mediocre Reds team.
Granted, as a 10-and-5 player, Phillips has earned the right to dictate the terms of any potential trade he's involved in. But even he had to know his extension request wasn't going to be granted—no team is eagerly looking to lock up a 34-year-old player for his age-36 season and beyond.
So now, instead of finding out whether Eugenio Suarez or the newly acquired Jose Peraza is the team's long-term answer at the keystone, the Reds are stuck playing an aging, inconsistent veteran in Phillips who, while still a stellar defender, isn't the perennial All-Star he once was.
It's not entirely fair to only point the finger at Phillips, of course. Closer Aroldis Chapman saw his trade value disappear when domestic violence charges emerged, while Jay Bruce's lackluster 2015 campaign has led to the slugging right fielder drawing hardly any interest on the trade market.
But in light of that, moving Phillips became all the more important, even if the return would have been mediocre at best. That the Reds were unable to do so only ensures that the team's mediocrity will continue.
Alex Gordon Is Starting to Feel the Squeeze on Free-Agent Outfielders
We recently looked at the current situation between Alex Gordon and the only team he's known, the Kansas City Royals. I called it a fact that Gordon would not return to the Royals, based on reports from ESPN's Jim Bowden and CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, noting the two sides were playing chicken.
Now, it appears Team Gordon has blinked.
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that Gordon still prefers to stay in Kansas City, despite drawing interest from other teams. Having spent his entire career as a Royal, Gordon understands better than most the financial constraints the club operates within.
Paying one player $20 million per year, which Heyman notes is Gordon's target salary, simply isn't something the Royals are going to do. If there was another team willing to meet his asking price, it'd stand to reason that Gordon would have already signed a new deal elsewhere.
With the likes of Cespedes, Dexter Fowler, Gerardo Parra, Denard Span and Justin Upton still available as free agents—not to mention a slew of potential trade chips such as Colorado's Charlie Blackmon, Corey Dickerson and Carlos Gonzalez—Gordon may be feeling the squeeze.
Teams have choices, and those with the need for an outfielder don't necessarily have to pay top dollar to obtain an upgrade over their current in-house options.
It wouldn't at all be surprising at this point if Gordon were to return to the Royals on a far more team-friendly deal than he considered accepting a week ago—and the other impact free-agent outfielders may have little choice but to follow his lead.
For with each passing day, teams are spending their disposable income elsewhere, taking away potential landing spots for this crop of free-agent outfielders.
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs. All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts (via Baseball Prospectus).
Hit me up on Twitter to talk the Hot Stove League and all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments