With the start of Spring Training just three weeks away, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Relief Market Fallout:
The biggest domino of the relief market finally fell over the weekend when southpaw Tanner Scott agreed with the Dodgers on a four-year, $72MM deal. Scott is the latest bullpen arm of note to reach an agreement in recent days, joining Jose Leclerc, A.J. Minter, Andrew Kittredge, and Jeff Hoffman. That movement on the relief market has allowed a lot of teams, including the big-spending Dodgers and Mets, to address their late-inning needs already.
But there’s still several clubs that appear to be in the market for late-inning relief help. The Orioles, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Cubs were all involved Scott’s market to some degree, with Chicago even putting forward a final offer of four years and $66MM that nearly matched that of Los Angeles. All four of those clubs could stay involved in the relief market going forward, with Chicago and Toronto already having been connected to the top remaining free agent reliever in righty Carlos Estevez in the wake of the Scott deal. Other top relievers available include Kirby Yates, David Robertson, and Kenley Jansen. Who will be the next to sign?
2. Twins trades on the horizon?
Over the weekend, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey indicated that the club’s trade conversations have begun to escalate in recent weeks. Minnesota has been one of the least active teams in the entire sport this winter, as their only addition to the 40-man roster with even a single plate appearance in the majors so far is Mickey Gasper, who the club swung a minor trade for last month. It’s long been clear that the club was facing severe budget restrictions this winter as ownership puts the team up for sale, and as such the front office is in a position where they’d need to trade away salary commitments in order to bring in additional talent.
Plenty of attention has been paid to the possibility of a Pablo Lopez trade this winter, but it seems more likely that the Twins would pursue trades involving pricey but less impactful veterans like Christian Vazquez, Willi Castro, and Chris Paddack as they try to remain competitive in the AL Central this year. If Minnesota manages to get a deal done, it could allow them to address the club’s hole at first base or add a much-needed right-handed complement to their heavily left-handed corner outfield mix with the money saved.
3. Cardinals Winter Warmup Wrap-up:
The Cardinals’ Winter Warmup fan event began over the weekend, with a number of headlines emerging from the comments made by players and personnel at the event. The festivities aren’t over yet, however, as more remains on the club’s schedule for the final day of the event today. Willson Contreras and Lars Nootbaar are both scheduled to be available for autographs, as is manager Oliver Marmol. The most notable event on today’s schedule, however, is certain to be a Q&A session with ownership. Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and team president Bill DeWitt III will both be present for the Q&A. Marmol is also scheduled to hold a Q&A later in the day.
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