It is appropriate that the 2015 MLB winter meetings are in the Music City of Nashville, Tennessee, because the flurry of activity has been music to the ears of those looking for baseball stories during the long winter.
Baseball fans have seen plenty of moves already this offseason, including the Boston Red Sox’s decision to sign David Price, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ aggressive strategy of signing Zack Greinke and trading for Shelby Miller and the Chicago Cubs' infield revamp with the addition of Ben Zobrist and the departure of Starlin Castro.
Naturally, there are plenty of moves still to be made before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. With that in mind, here is a look at some of the latest trade buzz from the MLB winter meetings as teams look toward 2016 and beyond.
2015 Home Run Derby Champion Could Be on the Move
Todd Frazier was one of the few bright spots for the Cincinnati Reds last season, but he may be in a different uniform in 2016.
C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer said, “Word I’m hearing is Reds are shopping Frazier heavily.”
Frazier’s total salary for 2016 is $8.25 million, per Spotrac, which isn’t particularly cost-prohibitive or a huge number in today’s game. For context, that is the seventh most among third basemen in the league and a far cry from the $20 million David Wright is set to make in 2016.
Perhaps Cincinnati could get more in return for Frazier based on the fact he is not making overwhelming money.
What’s more, Frazier will be 30 years old at the start of next season. Cincinnati finished a dismal 64-98 in 2015 and is in arguably the most difficult division in baseball after the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates all made the playoffs in 2015. The Reds are likely in full-on rebuild mode, and moving Frazier would be a step in that direction.
Cincinnati won’t be ready to compete until Frazier is past his prime and could add multiple young building blocks in any trade. He won the Home Run Derby last season and set career highs with 35 long balls and 89 RBI. He also played 157 games for the second straight season and is a durable infielder still in the middle of his prime, which should appeal to teams in win-now mode.
Marcus Hartman of Fox Sports reflected on Cincinnati’s mindset:
The baseball trade market is fueled by rebuilding squads swapping proven veterans in exchange for young pieces. A potential trade of Frazier would fit the bill.
San Diego Padres Busy on the Rumor Mill
The San Diego Padres are busy for the second straight offseason. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune shared some of the latest rumors:
The club has been shopping outfield prospects Travis Jankowski and Hunter Renfroe, sources told the Union-Tribune on Wednesday. San Diego also is listening on its top three starting pitchers -- Tyson Ross, James Shields and Andrew Cashner -- and one source said the Padres have been particularly aggressive about pushing Cashner's name in conversations.
Lin also added that “the Padres are known to have shopped right fielder Matt Kemp.”
There is plenty to digest there, especially since San Diego just made waves last offseason when it added Kemp, Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Craig Kimbrel, James Shields and Derek Norris in an effort to win immediately in the National League West. That plan backfired, and San Diego finished 74-88.
The Padres already traded Kimbrel to the Boston Red Sox and second baseman Jedd Gyorko to the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason and are apparently far from done.
Cashner will be a free agent after the 2016 campaign, Shields can opt out of his contract after next season and Ross would likely net a couple of impressive young players in return as a 28-year-old pitcher under club control for multiple years.
San Diego could also be looking for more financial freedom given general manager A.J. Preller’s comments in a separate Lin piece after trading Gyorko: “Jedd obviously brings good things to the table, but I think we looked at the flexibility financially (the trade) provides us, whether it’s this year or down the road.”
The Padres are clearly trying to shake things up after their experiment failed in 2015, but Jankowski and Renfroe are both prospects who came over in the package for Kimbrel. However, Lin acknowledged that Preller did not draft either one, and Jankowski is a left-handed-hitting center fielder, just like Jon Jay (who San Diego landed for Gyorko).
There are plenty of moving pieces on San Diego’s radar. Expect the Padres to be involved in the trade market throughout the rest of the MLB winter meetings given the abundance of chatter.
Orioles Looking for Offense
Baltimore finished a respectable ninth in the major leagues in total runs scored last season, but that was only good enough for fourth in the American League East. The Toronto Blue Jays (first), New York Yankees (second) and Boston Red Sox (third) were all among the best offenses in the league and present a challenge for Baltimore as it looks to make the playoffs after missing out in 2015.
As a result, the Orioles are in the business of acquiring offense this offseason, and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports said they checked in with the Colorado Rockies regarding outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.
Heyman also noted the Orioles were in contact with Upton’s agent, while Buster Olney of ESPN.com said they “offered slugger Chris Davis a seven-year deal worth about $150 million.” Davis led the league with 47 homers last year.
Gonzalez is particularly interesting because Baltimore would have to give pieces up in order to land him in a trade instead of just the heavy financial investment that a free agent like Davis would require.
Gonzalez was the 2010 National League batting title winner, a two-time All-Star and a two-time Silver Slugger winner. He hit 40 home runs and finished with 97 RBI last season. He is a legitimate superstar in this league, although he battled injuries in 2014 and only played 70 games with a .238 batting average.
Still, Colorado was 68-94 in 2015 and demonstrated a willingness to part with marquee pieces when it traded Troy Tulowitzki to the Toronto Blue Jays as part of its rebuilding process. Like the Reds with Frazier, the Rockies probably won’t be ready to compete until the 30-year-old Gonzalez is past his prime.
Baltimore may be willing to take the power-hitting outfielder off their hands.
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