Baseball Daily Dose: Offseason Dose: Price Check
David Price is going to get paid this winter. The only question remains by whom, but the answer is slowly getting clearer.
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Price, a free agent without a qualifying offer attached, has five serious suitors, and that means he’ll likely end up with a contract worth more than $200 million when it’s all said and done, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote Wednesday. Per Rosenthal, the Cubs, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants and Red Sox — not necessarily in that order — are vying for Price’s services.
And while all each team has something to offer the 30-year-old, Rosenthal said Price “values comfort even more than most players,” a quality that could eventually serve as a tiebreaker. Rosenthal singles out the Cubs and Giants as two clubs in particular that could fit well with the southpaw.
But Rosenthal also notes that there may not be a tie, with the Red Sox representing the organization most likely to blow the others out of the water with a sky-high offer. Rosenthal said the Sox are “widely expected to be the high bidder” and that while Price may prefer the Cubs’ vibe, “if the Sox outbid the Cubs by say, $30 million, hello Boston.”
The Cardinals sans Lance Lynn — and likely John Lackey as well — make sense as a destination. And the Dodgers, who lost Zack Greinke but retained Brett Anderson behind all-everything ace Clayton Kershaw, would likely have the firepower to offer something competitive to the Red Sox’s best shot.
Lowrie Joins Lawrie In Oakland
Jed Lowrie‘s stay with the Astros was short-lived.
Lowrie, who signed a three-year deal with the Astros last offseason, was dealt to the Athletics, another of his former clubs, on Wednesday. The Astros received minor league reliever Brendan McCurry in exchange for Lowrie.
The move clears one logjam — the Astros have phenom Carlos Correa and star Jose Altuve entrenched at shortstop and second base, respectively — and creates another, as Lowrie joins an Athletics infield that already includes Marcus Semien, Brett Lawrie and the underappreciated Danny Valencia, among others. Semien is the team’s everyday shortstop, A’s general manager David Forst reiterated Wednesday, and Lawrie is a third baseman by trade who played a lot at second base this past season. Valencia is a third baseman first and foremost.
Lowrie, 31, has by far played the most games at shortstop in his career, and he’s made just 49 starts at second base in his major league career. Even so, Forst said Lowrie is expected to be in the A’s lineup on most days.
“We acquired Jed to play,” Forst said.
That may mean one of Lawrie or Valencia is on his way out of town. Whatever the case, it likely won’t be the last move the A’s make regarding their infield this winter.
Brothers, Where Art Thou?
The Cubs took a low-risk flyer that could pay big dividends for the left side of their bullpen.
The team struck a deal with the Rockies for left-handed reliever Rex Brothers on Wednesday, sending minor league lefty Wander Cabrera the other way. Brothers had been designated for assignment by the Rox last week.
The DFA was the culmination of what has been an abrupt, curious fall from grace for the 27-year-old. Brothers was one of the most dominant relievers in baseball, lefty or righty, as recently as 2013, posting a 1.74 ERA with 76 strikeouts over 67 1/3 innings. Brothers saved 19 games for the Rockies that season.
But he struggled to a 5.59 ERA in 2014 and was limited to just 17 appearances this past season as he failed to break camp with the Rockies and spent half the year in the minors. Control issues have plagued him, as he walked eight to go with just five strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings last year.
It’s a high-upside play for the Cubs, though, taking a shot on a once-dominant southpaw. If Brothers can return to form under pitching coach Chris Bosio, he’ll join a strong bullpen that already boasts Hector Rondon, Jason Motte, Justin Grimm and Pedro Strop. And if he can’t, it will likely be a long time before they come to regret dealing the 18-year-old Cabrera, who pitched well in rookie ball as a 17-year-old this past season.
Quick Hits: The Marlins appear set on dealing Marcell Ozuna, and the Mariners have emerged as a frontrunner for his services. The Marlins are said to be looking for young pitching in return, something the M’s may be willing to give up after recently acquiring Nate Karns. Nothing was said to be imminent late Wednesday … Speaking of low-risk flyers, the Pirates grabbed one of their own Wednesday, trading for Allen Webster from the Diamondbacks. The 25-year-old struggled mightily this past season but was a top prospect in the Red Sox system not long ago. Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage is the best in the business, so if anybody can get Webster straightened out it may be him … Danny Hultzen, the former No. 2 overall pick in 2011, was sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma after passing through waivers unclaimed. That no team thought he was worth a shot says a lot about the shoulder issues that have limited him to 43 2/3 innings over the past three years … The White Sox hope Alex Avila can fix what has been a revolving door at catcher in recent years, signing him to a one-year, $2.5 million contract. Avila batted just .191 with a .626 OPS in 67 games in 2015, but he’s been an offensive contributor before and should pair with Tyler Flowers behind the dish in 2016 … The Dodgers are serious about improving their bullpen in 2016. After being linked to Darren O’Day and Aroldis Chapman in recent days, the team Wednesday was reported to have contacted Ryan Madson. Madson posted a 2.13 ERA and 58/14 K/BB ratio over 63 1/3 innings with the World Champion Royals this past season … The Braves signed Bud Norris to a one-year, $2.5 million contract, hoping for a bounceback from the 30-year-old. Norris owned an ugly 6.72 ERA and 1.57 WHIP this past season between the Orioles and Padres … Wei-Yin Chen is looking for a deal that will pay him $85 million over five years, a price that may seem reasonable to some clubs after Chen put up a 3.72 ERA in his first four seasons in MLB. The fact that Chen calls Scott Boras his agent doesn’t hurt his chances, either … The Marlins, perpetually unsure of whether they’re buyers or sellers, have reportedly had talks with Dee Gordon‘s agent about an extension. Gordon is under team control through 2018 and enjoyed another fine season in 2015, batting .333 with an MLB-best 58 steals … A couple managerial and front office moves were announced Wednesday as well, with the Diamondbacks hiring Dave Magadan as hitting coach and Bud Black — who missed out on the Nationals’ managerial gig — taking a front office role to serve as special assistant to Angels GM Billy Eppler … Happy Thanksgiving, you guys.
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