MLB Articles - Page 1087

Minnesota Twins right-hander Jake Odorizzi has accepted the $17.8 million qualifying offer for the 2020 season, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic: Odorizzi accepting qualifying offer, source tells The Athletic. Back with #MNTwins. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 14, 2019 Signing the qualifying offer means that Odorizzi will enter the market again as an unrestricted […]

Los Angeles Angels centerfielder Mike Trout won his third American League MVP Award on Thursday night in an extremely close race. Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman finished in second place after earning 13 first-place votes (Trout had 17), and Oakland Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien rounded out the finalists in third. 2019 AL MVP: Mike […]

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger was named the 2019 National League Most Valuable Player on Thursday afternoon, becoming the first Dodgers position player since Bob Gibson (1988) to win the award. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich finished in second, while Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon placed third in the voting. 2019 NL MVP: […]

The Atlanta Braves have made the first big splash of the 2019 offseason. Atlanta agreed to terms on a three-year deal with former San Francisco Giants closer Will Smith, with a club option on a fourth year. In total, the deal is worth $40 million guaranteed: Will Smith contract with #Braves, per source: Three years, […]

The Philadelphia Phillies are in dire need of starting pitching this winter after nearly all of their starters regressed in 2019. Phillies starters ranked 23rd in baseball in fWAR last season, and supposed breakout candidates such as Nick Pivetta and Jerad Eickhoff endured subpar seasons in which they were moved to the bullpen. As such, […]

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant has had his name frequently circulated in the rumor mill in the last few weeks, but he may be open to signing an extension with the Cubs. Scott Boras–who has an immense clientele base that includes Anthony Rendon, Stephen Strasburg and Bryant–held court at the GM meetings on Wednesday, […]

Including the St. Louis Cardinals, outfielder Marcell Ozuna looks to have around seven teams that are looking to secure his services for 2020 and beyond, according to Jon Heyman. With the offseason just about ready to ramp up, it remains to be seen which players will be able to finally cash in and secure big-money […]

Milwaukee Brewers catcher Yasmani Grandal is sure to be one of the most coveted free agents on the market. The switch-hitting backstop slashed .246/.380/.468 with 28 homers, and he is regarded as possibly the best framer in the game. According to Baseball Prospectus, Grandal was the second-best framer in 2019 while leading the MLB in […]

Brandon Morrow’s tenure with the Chicago Cubs was anything but enjoyable. The right-hander was one of the best closers in baseball during the first half of the 2019 season, but then… he hit the shelf indefinitely. Morrow did not pitch in the second half of 2018 due to a bicep issue, then had elbow surgery […]

The Kansas City Royals declined their $23 million mutual option on outfielder Alex Gordon, but the signs point to the two sides working out a new deal, according to James Woolridge of the Kansas City Star. Woolridge writes that although Gordon has contemplated retiring, Kansas City’s decision to hire Mike Matheny to be their new manager […]

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander was named the American League Cy Young Award winner on Wednesday by the slimmest of margins, capturing the award for the second time (2011–with the Detroit Tigers) in his career: 2019 AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander. Full voting details: https://t.co/0WA6GQzf4T — BBWAA (@officialBBWAA) November 13, 2019 Verlander earned 17 first-place […]

New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom captured his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday night after earning 29 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America: 2019 NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom. Full voting details: https://t.co/x2Hbeatvt6 — BBWAA (@officialBBWAA) November 13, 2019 Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu was […]

The Miami Marlins find themselves in an interesting position heading into this winter. They are undeniably one of the worst teams in baseball, and most of their most effective players are entering the latter half of their 20s, making these players potentially expendable in the trade market. However, the Marlins are said to have serious […]

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina may only have one year left on his contract, but that doesn’t mean he plans on retiring. According to Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Molina’s representatives have informed the Cardinals that the veteran plans on playing beyond 2020, and St. Louis seems to have interest in bringing […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been a rumored destination for superstar third baseman Anthony Rendon, but it appears that they also have interest in another star at the hot corner. Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Dodgers are among the teams expected to pursue former Atlanta Braves third baseman Josh Donaldson: One option […]

The Toronto Blue Jays are showing interest in free-agent right-handed pitcher Jake Odorizzi, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The Blue Jays met with Odorizzi’s representatives at the GM meetings on Tuesday. Odorizzi has a $17.8 million qualifying offer on the table from the Minnesota Twins, one that he is expected to turn down. This […]

Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg may be the two biggest fish available on the starting pitching market this offseason, but let’s not forget Madison Bumgarner, a wily left-handed veteran who has more playoff chops than both Cole and Strasburg combined. While the New York Yankees are expected to be in on both Cole and Strasburg […]

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has played a combined nine games in each of the last two years due to a plethora of knee issues, but it looks like the former MVP could be returning to the field in 2020. According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, Red Sox executives Chaim Bloom and Brian […]

Ten teams have already shown interest in free-agent right-handed starting pitcher Kyle Gibson, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Gibson is coming off of a 2019 campaign with the Minnesota Twins in which he went 13-7 with a 4.84 ERA, allowing 175 hits while striking out 160 batters over 160 innings of work. Those […]

Many have operated under the assumption that Zack Wheeler leaving the New York Mets is a foregone conclusion, but that may not be the case. According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Mets are interested in bringing Wheeler back on a multi-year deal. Heyman notes that if New York can’t re-sign the righty, it […]

The Cincinnati Reds have expressed interest in signing free-agent outfielder Marcell Ozuna, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Ozuna is coming off of a 2019 campaign with the St. Louis Cardinals in which he slashed .241/.328/.472 with 29 home runs and 89 RBI over 549 plate appearances. The 29-year-old originally signed with the Florida […]

Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts plans on testing the free-agent market next offseason, and with the Red Sox deep into the luxury tax with no relief in sight, there has been some speculation that they could trade Betts this winter. However, if you were expecting your favorite team to make a push for the […]

The Philadelphia Phillies finished just 17th in the majors with a 4.53 ERA this past season, so it would certainly behoove them to add some pitching this winter. According to Jayson Stark of The Athletic, that is exactly what the Phillies are going to attempt to do, as Stark notes that Philadelphia is looking to […]

The Texas Rangers have posted losing seasons each of the last three years, and they are apparently looking to address that problem this offseason. According to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, the Rangers are interested in signing right-handed ace Gerrit Cole and third baseman Anthony Rendon this winter, two of the top players […]

The Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies have both expressed interest in signing free-agent third baseman Josh Donaldson, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Donaldson is coming off of a 2019 campaign with the Atlanta Braves in which he slashed .259/.379/.521 with 37 home runs and 94 RBI over 659 plate appearances. The 33-year-old signed a […]

The New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has confirmed that the club will be pursue both Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg in free agency this offseason, according to Andy Martino of SNY. Given that the Yankees are in dire need of a frontline starter and that Cole and Strasburg are generally viewed as the […]

When the Chicago Cubs captured their first World Series title in 108 years in 2016, it seemed as though they were on the precipice of a potential dynasty. With young players like Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras in place, as well as one of the best starting rotations in baseball, the […]

If you’re hoping for a quick resolution to Gerrit Cole’s free agency, you should probably just sit back and relax. According to Andy Martino of SNY, Cole’s agent, Scott Boras, has indicated to teams that his client will not be signing until January at the earliest, unlike fellow right-handed ace Stephen Strasburg who is expected […]

In what looked to be one of the most lopsided years for the Rookie of the Year races, Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez took home the honors in the American League for 2019 after putting together one of the best offensive seasons for a rookie in a long time. Having won this award unanimously, […]

The St. Louis Cardinals have re-signed right-handed starting pitcher Adam Wainwright to a one-year deal, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. This hardly comes as a surprise, as Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said earlier this month that the club was working on bringing Wainwright back. Wainwright is coming off of a bounceback 2019 campaign […]

As was predicted and expected, first baseman Pete Alonso took home the honors for the 2019 National League Rookie of the Year award, which was announced Monday night. The Polar Bear, who led the league with 53 home runs in his rookie campaign, fell one vote short of a unanimous showing, which is astounding but […]

When it comes to free-agent hurler Gerrit Cole, the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees are generally considered the two most likely destinations, but it might not be so cut and dry. Michael Shapiro of Sports Illustrated has written a piece detailing the potential landing spots for Cole this offseason, and among his dark […]

The New York Mets are strapped for cash and don’t exactly have a lot of money to spend this winter as a result, but one name the Mets have their eye on is right-handed relief pitcher Daniel Hudson, according to Andy Martino of SNY. Hudson split the 2019 campaign between the Toronto Blue Jays and […]

Many expected the Detroit Tigers to move left-handed starting pitcher Matthew Boyd at the trade deadline, but due to the Tigers’ high asking price, Boyd stayed put. Now, it looks like Detroit will revisit Boyd trade discussions, as Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports the club is making him available in trade talks this offseason. Morosi […]

The Cincinnati Reds are interested in free-agent infielder Howie Kendrick, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays have also expressed interest in the veteran. Kendrick is coming off arguably the strongest season of his big-league career, as he slashed .344/.395/.572 with 17 home runs and 62 RBI over […]

The New York Yankees decided not to offer the qualifying offer to shortstop Didi Gregorius, making him a free agent this winter. According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Cincinnati Reds are showing interest in bringing Gregorius into the fold (via Mike Axisa and R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports): The Reds are looking for […]

Veteran third baseman Josh Donaldson took a risk in signing a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves last offseason, but the move could pay major dividends this offseason. Donaldson had been coming off a pair of injury-riddled seasons ahead of the 2019 campaign, but he played in 155 games with the Braves while slashing .259/.379/.521 […]

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Marcell Ozuna is unlikely to accept the qualifying offer from the Redbirds and will instead elect to test his market in free agency, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network: Word is, Marcell Ozuna very unlikely to take the $17.8M qualifying offer. Middle of order hitter believed to have nice market. […]

The Cincinnati Reds were a popular dark horse to make a playoff run in the National League in 2019. While David Bell’s club came up short, the starting rotation completely defied all expectations, as both Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray became bona fide aces and Anthony DeSclafani had one of his best years yet. Now, […]