Baseball Daily Dose: Offseason Dose: Miami Price
The notoriously frugal Marlins have laid out some serious cash in recent days.
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The Miami club and second baseman Dee Gordon on Wednesday agreed to a five-year, $50 million extension with a $14 million vesting option for a sixth year, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. The extension covers Gordon’s final three years of arbitration eligibility and two years of free agency as well.
The reported extension came a day after the Marlins lured Wei-Yin Chen to South Beach. The 30-year-old free agent agreed to a five-year, $80 million contract that has a vesting option for $16 million in a sixth year. Chen has the option to opt out of the contract after two years, per the Miami Herald.
The deals are noteworthy not only because such an outlay is unusual for the organization, but also because they strengthen — or, in Gordon’s case, further fortify — a strong young nucleus that could contend as early as this season in a down NL East. The Phillies and Braves are once again expected to be among the worst teams in the league, and both the Mets and Nationals have suffered losses via free agency this winter.
The Marlins, on the other hand, now boast a rotation headlined by Jose Fernandez and Chen with A.J. Ramos, Carter Capps and Mike Dunn coming in at the end of games. On offense, the team features a lineup including superstar Giancarlo Stanton flanked by the likes of Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, Gordon and more.
Neither deal has been announced by the team. Both are expected to be made official in the coming days.
Rox, Parra Come To Terms
The Rockies signed an outfielder Tuesday, paving the way for them to…trade an outfielder.
The club agreed to terms with free agent Gerardo Parra on a three-year, $27.5 million contract, his agent confirmed. An option for a fourth year at $12 million is also part of the deal.
Parra, 28, earned the deal after batting .291/.328/.452 with 14 homers and 14 steals last season. The two-time Gold Glove award winner was traded from the Brewers to the Orioles at the trade deadline.
The signing is likely a precursor to another move, as the Rockies have long been rumored to be willing to move one of its current starters in the outfield in exchange for pitching help. Shortly after the agreement was reported, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports said the club was engaged in “ongoing trade talks” with the Orioles — Parra’s most recent team — for its outfielders.
Which outfielder gets dealt, if any, is still uncertain. Carlos Gonzalez, the highest-profile outfielder of the three, is owed $37 million over the next two years. Leadoff hitter and center fielder Charlie Blackmon is under team control through 2018, and Corey Dickerson is cost-controlled through 2019.
The O’s, Cardinals, White Sox and Angels are among the teams that have talked with the Rockies about CarGo, according to a report by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. In any deal, the Rox are expected to acquire a starting pitcher, with names such as Kevin Gausman, Hector Santiago and Jose Quintana among the pitchers possibly being discussed.
Cespedes’ Market On The Move?
Another high-profile outfielder’s largely cold market could be heating up soon.
Yoenis Cespedes, whose name hasn’t grabbed many headlines in recent months, has reportedly drawn interest from the Mets and Braves in recent days. The Mets, per Heyman, have “stayed in contact” with the free agent who helped them make a run to the World Series last October, while the Braves may be an opportunistic dark horse in the proceedings.
In December, Heyman reported six to seven teams were in on Cespedes, who batted .291/.328/.542 with 35 home runs and 105 RBI in 2015. At that time, the White Sox, Orioles, Cardinals, Angels, Tigers, Giants and Nationals — many of the same teams said to be in on CarGo, with the Giants and Nats having since acquired other outfielders — were believed to be interested.
Cespedes’ market may continue to be slow-developing as teams wait on more dominos to fall. Besides Cespedes, free agents Chris Davis and Justin Upton remain on the open market, while guys like Gonzalez and Ender Inciarte represent options via trade.
Quick Hits: With 156 players filing for arbitration Tuesday, a number of one-year contracts were agreed upon Wednesday to avoid the process. The Nationals and Wilson Ramos agreed to a one-year, $5.35 million contract; the A’s and Yonder Alonso came to an agreement on a one-year, $2.65 million deal; the Ranger and recently acquired reliever Tom Wilhelmsen avoided arbitration with a $3.1 million pact for one year; and the Phillies and Freddy Galvis agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract, among other deals … Inciarte, acquired by the Braves from the Diamondbacks in the Shelby Miller deal earlier this offseason, has been the center of trade talks between the Braves and Astros, according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. The Astros have no shortage of quality outfielders as things stand, but an Inciarte deal could precede a trade of another outfielder … Former top catching prospect Tony Sanchez was released by the Pirates. Sanchez was the No. 4 overall pick in 2009 but has struggled to gain any traction at the major league level to date … The latest Cuban defector is Alexei Bell, a 33-year-old outfielder who played 13 seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional before pursuing a career in MLB. Bell is working out in hopes of having an open showcase for scouts in two or three weeks … After a successful turn as a long reliever for the Cardinals, Carlos Villanueva landed a one-year, $1.5 million contract from the Padres. Villanueva posted a 2.95 ERA and 55/21 K/BB ratio over 51 innings for the Cards this past season.
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