<
        >

          Tuesday's MLB winter meetings trade and free-agency buzz

          • ESPN.com
          Dec 10, 2015, 01:48 AM

          The MLB winter meetings are on, and rumors are swirling across baseball. Here is what our writers are hearing today:

          Complete winter meetings coverage

          Complete hot stove coverage

          MLB Free Agent Tracker | Rumors

          Mark Saxon's take: Jayson Stark's report is entirely believable and, in fact, predictable. Kenley Jansen is a proud, competitive guy who has done nothing to deserve a demotion. On the other hand, his best move here is to wait to see how things play out in a few days.

          Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is usually working a few moves ahead of everyone else, and even if the Aroldis Chapman deal goes through (and it might not), it's not clear both pitchers would wind up in the same bullpen when the dust settles. If Jansen pitches well in whatever inning he gets the ball this season, he'll be rich beyond his wildest dreams next November. There are plenty of lovely beaches this time of year in both his native Curacao and Los Angeles to ignore what's happening at the winter meetings.

          Eddie Matz's take: I second Saxon's take on Stark's take being entirely believable. To understand why, just look at what happened to Drew Storen. Last season, he was cruising along as the Washington Nationals' closer. Then the team went out and acquired Jonathan Papelbon at the trade deadline, thinking they could just quietly slide Storen into a setup role without any repercussions. Boy were they wrong. Storen imploded, both on and off the mound, ultimately ending his season when he broke his thumb after slamming his locker in frustration.

          The moral of the story is that baseball players, and especially closers, aren't inanimate chess pieces that can be moved around willy-nilly without consequence but rather human beings with fragile psyches, real feelings and everything. Whether the Dodgers planned on keeping both Chapman and Jansen is unclear, but if the Chapman trade ends up going through and Jansen stays in L.A., the Dodgers might have a Storen sequel on their hands.

          Strang's take: Clearly, the league recognizes the gravity of the pending domestic violence investigation involving Chapman. MLB is already looking into another pair of incidents involving Colorado Rockies infielder Jose Reyes and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig and the pressure is mounting as commissioner Rob Manfred prepares to make his first significant decision under the MLB/MLBPA Joint Domestic Abuse, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.

          All three incidents are different, and the league is still gathering information with regards to the Chapman situation, as Joe Torre, MLB's chief baseball officer, revealed that the league only learned of the allegations late Monday. The league wants to be prudent in how it handles such a case, so don't expect any hasty judgments, but you'd think Manfred will want to show that he, and the league in general, take these cases very seriously.

          And while that puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the league as it wades through the relevant investigation, there is also a significant onus on the players' association. The MLBPA is expected to cooperate with any investigation, but it will also try to ensure that the recently-forged policy is implemented and adhered to in a way that does not infringe on any player's right to due process.

          Another thing to keep in mind: Following any disciplinary action and/or suspension, a player has the right to appeal the decision before the arbitration panel, which is comprised of a representative from each side as well as an independent, mutually-agreed upon arbitrator. Don't be surprised to see this action invoked, especially in the wake of a stiff penalty.

          Saxon's take: In the spirit of a more open relationship between Cuba and the United States, Major League Baseball has organized a goodwill tour of the island with some of its most prominent players next week. Among those players are three Cubans, including slugger Jose Abreu, and MLB would like Puig to be the fourth. But he first must be cleared by this investigation.

          The trip also could be a good time for Puig and Clayton Kershaw to get to know each other better. Kershaw also will learn more about where Puig comes from, which can't hurt. It could have a positive impact in the Dodgers' clubhouse, which at times is divided by Puig's personality. Once MLB speaks to Puig's sister, the investigation should be wrapped up. The clock is ticking because the plane departs Miami next on Dec. 15, and the league has yet to announce its roster.

          Stark's take: An unidentified fourth team is making a "very strong" bid to trade for Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, sources told ESPN. Other clubs say they believe that mystery team is the Houston Astros, but neither team would confirm that Tuesday morning.

          The Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees are all known to have spoken about Fernandez with the Marlins, who have said publicly that their ace is unavailable even while they continue to entertain trade talks about the 23-year-old right-hander.

          Read more here.

          Crasnick's take: Amid the daily Jose Fernandez speculation, the Marlins are receiving a lot of play on A.J. Ramos, who posted some eye-popping numbers this season while getting his first crack at the team's closer job. Ramos, 29, struck out 87 batters and allowed a mere 45 hits in 70 1/3 innings on his way to 32 saves.

          He joins Jake McGee, Brad Boxberger and Ken Giles as less heralded late-inning pitchers who might appeal to teams like the Dodgers and Astros, who have deep pipelines of young talent and are seeking power arms. The Marlins are looking for young, controllable starting pitching in their trade discussions, so that's the type of commodity they would likely be seeking in any deal involving Ramos.

          Stark's take: The bidding on Kenta Maeda works differently than the bidding on a typical free agent because he is being posted Tuesday by his team in Japan, the Hiroshima Carp. The posting rules have changed in recent years. So unlike in the past, when posted players could negotiate with only the team that submitted the highest posting bid, Maeda will be able to talk with any team willing to pay the $20 million posting fee.

          Maeda, 27, has a 2.39 career ERA in eight seasons with the Carp, so he is expected to attract interest from a number of teams. However, friends say his preference is to play on the West Coast. The San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners are all among the teams expected to join the bidding. But there has been buzz for some time that the Giants could make signing him a top priority. Under the posting rules, Maeda will have 30 days to choose a team, meaning he would make a decision in the first week of January.

          Rubin's take: The New York Mets expect to have a resolution on free-agent Ben Zobrist before departing the winter meetings Thursday.

          "Every indication is he's getting close," assistant general manager John Ricco said Tuesday afternoon.

          The rumblings are Zobrist will get a four-year deal, and the decision may come on Tuesday night.

          Read more here.

          Marchand's take: On the surface, the New York Yankees' interest in backup catcher Tyler Flowers is no big deal, but it might mean a lot more.

          The 29-year-old right-handed hitter was non-tendered by the Chicago White Sox this winter after making $2.675 million last season. Overall in 2015, Flowers batted .239 with a .652 OPS, but he hit .270 with .751 OPS against lefties. The Yankees struggled mightily against lefties and have to find offense somewhere. If Flowers were to sign with the Yankees, manager Joe Girardi would spot Brian McCann's rest so Flowers would face lefties. It makes a lot of sense. The bigger element of this possible move is that it could open the Yankees to make a bigger trade in which they use resurgent catching prospect Gary Sanchez in a deal.

          Matz's take: The starting pitching market has skyrocketed this offseason. While that hurts the Baltimore Orioles' chances of landing a much-needed starter via free agency, it might actually help their odds of re-signing Chris Davis.

          "The price of pitching is pretty steep," general manager Dan Duquette said yesterday. Over the past couple of weeks, Duquette has watched as several free-agent starters have cashed in on the open market. The Red Sox gave David Price a seven-year, $217 million deal, the largest contract ever awarded to a major league hurler. Zack Greinke's new six-year, $206 million deal with the Diamondbacks has the highest annual value of any contract in MLB history. Jordan Zimmermann's five-year, $110 million pact with the Tigers made him the third hurler this offseason to nab nine digits. It hasn't taken long for the trickle-down effect to start trickling down.

          Read more here.

          Padilla's take: Showing their willingness to explore any and all angles to improve the roster, the Chicago White Sox are reported to be interested in Japanese third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda.

          General manager Rick Hahn said in a Tuesday morning interview on the MLB Network that some of the many options to upgrade at third base include a player making "a position change, or somebody who has perhaps not played domestically in the U.S. just yet."

          Later Tuesday, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported, via Twitter, the White Sox and Padres were among the teams interested in Matsuda.

          The 32-year-old Matsuda, who throws and bats right-handed, is a 10-year veteran of the Japan Pacific League. He has played his entire career with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, the two-time defending champion in Japan.

          Read more here.

          Stark's take: The list of pitchers who came back from a second Tommy John surgery to pitch again at age 41 isn't a long one. In fact, it's believed to be nonexistent. But even after 377 saves in a distinguished 15-year career, Joe Nathan is determined to return to the big leagues sometime in 2016.

          "I've done everything in my power to give myself the best opportunity to come back and pitch," Nathan said. "My body feels great. I'll start throwing again next week. So I'll be throwing in spring training. I should be ready to compete in May or June. And we'll see what happens from here."

          Nathan is seven months removed from surgery. And since the recovery timeline for relievers isn't as lengthy as the timeline for starters, a 12-to-14-month rehab would put him back on a major league mound between May and July. Because he wouldn't be ready to pitch in spring training, he's not looking to sign a minor league contract with an invite to someone's camp. He's simply telling teams, "Let's just stay in touch.'"