Pitchers and catchers report in less than a month. All of the big-name free agents have signed — thankfully, the Carlos Correa saga has concluded! — and it doesn’t appear the trade market is too hot. That means the rest of the offseason is left sorting through depth-type signings. Or maybe we’ll see a needle-moving trade (spoiler alert).
The Red Sox grabbed Adam Duvall, possibly as their everyday center fielder but also possibly to platoon (full story here). As for the rest, let’s round up the news and rumors of the day.
Twins looking to make trade
The Twins continue to push for a better roster here in the short term, “including further exploration of trading” Luis Arraez in order to land starting pitching help, The Athletic reports. Pablo López of the Marlins is mentioned as a possible target, though nothing is reported as being close to a deal.
López, 26, was 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA (108 ERA+), 1.17 WHIP and 174 strikeouts against 52 unintentional walks in 180 innings — 32 starts — last season.
At present, the Twins’ rotation is Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Tyler Mahle, Kenta Maeda and Bailey Ober.
Arraez was an All-Star and won the AL batting title last season when hitting .316. He walked 50 times compared to only 43 strikeouts in 603 plate appearances.
Three teams interested in Chapman
In Tuesday’s rumors, we passed along word that the Marlins were interested in signing free agent reliever Aroldis Chapman. Wednesday, MLB.com reports that the Marlins are joined by the Royals and Padres in teams having interest in the lefty.
Chapman, 34, had a 4.46 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 43 strikeouts against 28 walks in 36 1/3 innings last season. He had nine saves without blowing any, but he had to be removed from several meltdowns. He then just disappeared from the team after learning there was a chance he wouldn’t make the playoff roster.
At this point, he’s a lottery ticket.
Profar still has a market
Free agent outfielder Jurickson Profar remains unsigned. Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported Wednesday that the Rangers and Marlins have shown interest in his services.
After being a bit of a utility man for a while, Profar has settled in as a left fielder. Last season for the Padres in 152 games, he hit .243/.331/.391 (111 OPS+) with 36 doubles, 15 homers, 58 RBI, 82 runs and 3.1 WAR.
A reunion with Texas would be fun. Profar was signed by them out of Curaçao at age 16 and eventually came up through their system as the top prospect in all of baseball.
Mets sign Pham
The Mets have agreed to a one-year, $6 million deal with free agent outfielder Tommy Pham, reports Jon Heyman. Pham is heading toward his age-35 season. In 144 games last year for the Reds and Red Sox, he hit .236/.312/.374 (87 OPS+) with 23 doubles, 17 homers, 63 RBI, 89 runs, eight steals and 0.4 WAR.
The expectation here is Pham will be a fourth outfielder for the Mets behind Brandon Nimmo (CF), Starling Marte (RF) and Mark Canha (LF), though there’s always a chance everyday playing time opens up. There are also DH at-bats and Pham could figure there (or play left field with Canha at DH against lefties, as left-handed swinging Daniel Vogelbach figures to be the primary DH).
Brewers add utility player
The Brewers have signed free agent Brian Anderson, reports Ken Rosenthal. Anderson, 29, posted 0.3 WAR in 98 games for the Marlins last season, while slashing .222/.311/.346 (87 OPS+). His numbers took a dip these last two seasons, but from 2018-20, he hit .266/.350/.439 (112 OPS+). In 459 at-bats in 2019, he had 33 doubles and 20 homers.
He has mostly played third base and right field in the majors, but he’s also seen time in left field (oh and seven innings at first base, six innings at shortstop and 3 1/3 innings at second). With the way the Brewers operate, mixing and matching, Anderson is a nice fit and will likely see lots of playing time at different spots on the field and in the batting order.
Red Sox likely still in on Harrison
As mentioned in the rumors roundup Tuesday, the Red Sox were interested in both Duvall and Josh Harrison. We’ll bring it up again to note that the Red Sox are still scrambling in the aftermath of Trevor Story‘s elbow surgery. He was expected to move over to shortstop after Xander Bogaerts was allowed to walk in free agency.
Harrison would give them depth at second base to free up Enrique Hernández and/or Christian Arroyo to see time at shortstop, if this it the route the front office decides to take.
Mets, Nido agree to contract
The Mets and backup catcher Tomás Nido have agreed to a two-year deal worth $3.7 million, reports Robert Murray. Nido was already under Mets control for these next two years; this just buys the Mets cost certainty and Nido guaranteed money.
In 313 plate appearances last season, Nido hit .239/.276/.324, though his defense behind the plate helped push him up to a 0.3 WAR. Fun sidenote: He led the majors with 12 sac bunts last year.