Tag: mlb free agency

Brewers did serious damage in Corbin Burnes’ arbitration

The relationship between All-Star pitcher Corbin Burnes and the Milwaukee Brewers appears permanently damaged.

Burnes lost his salary arbitration case against the Brewers — he’ll make $10.01 million this season instead of the $10.75 million he was aiming for — and in the process, the righty felt disrespected by the Brewers.

“Obviously, it’s tough to hear,” Burnes said of the franchise’s argument on Thursday. “It’s tough to take. They’re trying to do what they can to win a hearing. There’s no denying that the relationship is definitely hurt … There’s really no way of getting around that.”

He had a 12-8 record last season and led the National League in strikeouts with 243, though the team missed the postseason, finishing one game back of Philadelphia for the final wild card spot.

“You kind of find out your true value,” he said. “You think you work hard for seven years in the organization, and five years with the big league team, and you get in there and basically they value you much different than what you thought you’d contributed to the organization.


Brewers’ Corbin Burnes throws during a spring training baseball workout.
AP

“They won it. But when it came down to winning or losing the hearing, it was more than that for me.”

Burnes, the 2021 NL Cy Young winner felt the organization laid blame on him for the team not making the postseason, which he didn’t appreciate.

“That’s something that probably doesn’t need to be said,” he said. “We can go about a hearing without having to do that.”


Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) throws during a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds
Burnes led the NL with 243 strikeouts last season, but felt the Brewers blamed him for missing the postseason.
AP

Brewers president of operations Matt Arnold tried to patch things up a little in hopes of making sure Burnes still felt appreciated in a statement released by the team.

“The arbitration process always presents uncomfortable situations for both the club and player involved,” Arnold explained. “I’d like to reiterate that we view Corbin as one of the leaders of our franchise and value him as an elite talent in the game. Corbin is a major contributor to the organization both on and off the field, and we look forward to another outstanding season from him in 2023.”

It might be too late to heal the wound as Burnes will be a free agent in 2024.

“There was no attacking of character or the person who I was,” he said. “But just some of the stuff that was said, that definitely didn’t need to be said, is something that I think kind of disappointed everyone.”



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Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani spring plans set despite unknown future

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Though Shohei Ohtani’s long-term future with the Los Angeles Angels is decidedly uncertain as he heads into the final season under contract, the two-way superstar’s plans for the spring are all set.

Ohtani will make one start on the Cactus League mound this month for the Angels before he heads to Japan on March 1 for the World Baseball Classic, Halos general manager Perry Minasian said Saturday.

Whatever Ohtani wants to do in the tournament is entirely up him and the Japanese team, since the Angels will stick to their long-standing policy of allowing him to do whatever he feels is best for his growth on his unique career path.

“I am not worried about Shohei Ohtani,” Minasian said. “He’s been in Arizona for a while now. He’s preparing for the season. He’s doing everything he needs to do to be ready to go when the bell rings. He’ll get the proper work in when he needs it. He’s the least of my concerns.”

Ohtani’s future beyond 2023 might be the most of Minasian’s concerns, although the GM isn’t giving much insight into the Angels’ hopes of retaining the player who won the 2021 AL MVP award and finished second in last season’s vote after going 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA while also batting .273 with 34 homers and 95 RBIs.


Ohtani may take his skills to another city as he looks to play for a contender.
AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez, File

Ohtani will make $30 million this season under his final year of team control. Angels fans are clamoring for their team to sign Ohtani to a long-term deal at any price, while fans from Boston to San Diego are salivating at the prospect of adding the majors’ greatest two-way player.

Minasian deftly avoided any definitive statements about the Angels’ chances of keeping Ohtani beyond this summer.

“Obviously, we love Shohei Ohtani,” Minasian said. “This whole organization would like nothing more than to see him here for a long, long time. … We love the player. We love what he’s about. He’s somebody that we can envision here for a long, long time.”

Speculation about the Angels’ chances of signing Ohtani has fluctuated wildly since they completed their seventh consecutive losing season and eighth consecutive non-playoff season — both the worst droughts in the majors.


Ohtani’s spring plans include him playing for Japan in the World Baseball Classic.
Iori Sagisawa/Kyodo News via AP

At 28 as he heads into his sixth big league season, Ohtani has made it clear wants to play for a winner, and the Angels have not been winners since the middle of the previous decade. But aside from the usual optimism of a fresh season with new signings and the possibility of improved roster health, Orange County fans still have hope because of Ohtani’s loyalty and the Angels’ willingness to allow him to train and to play in any way he chooses.

“There’s a respect level here, obviously,” Minasian said. “He chose to play here, and I think that was one of the reasons he chose to play here. We’ve been able to agree on two deals over the last two years, which is not easy to do. There’s a respect and trust level there that I don’t think will change. I think the relationship is outstanding.”

Angels owner Arte Moreno explored a sale of the season throughout the winter before deciding last month that he will keep the team. Moreno’s departure likely would have brought in a wealthy new owner capable of making a splash by paying top dollar to Ohtani amid a new commitment to winning, but Moreno is also capable of handing out lavish contracts — even if most of his biggest deals have gone wrong.

Minasian obviously couldn’t speculate on whether Moreno’s retention of the team improved or hurt its chances of keeping Ohtani.

“He’s already invested in this club throughout his whole ownership,” Minasian said. “We’ve been top-10 in payroll for a long time. I don’t see that changing. Knowing (Moreno) and knowing how much he wants to win, I wouldn’t put anything out of the realm of possibility.”

Minasian said first baseman Jared Walsh and pitchers Griffin Canning and Chris Rodriguez will be ready to go for an essentially normal spring training after missing much of 2022 due to injuries. The GM also confirmed the Angels are still looking for bullpen additions, and they haven’t decided on the identity of their sixth starter in the rotation around Ohtani.

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Mets, Red Sox among MLB teams eyeing January deals

Teams historically run low on spending money at this stage of the offseason. But it’s interesting that a couple of the richest teams (Mets and Red Sox) and a few of the smaller-revenue teams (Marlins, Pirates and Brewers) saved money for January deals. 

After signing Tommy Pham to be their fourth outfielder for $6 million, the Mets are looking for a lefty reliever and there’s interest in Zack Britton. So far the Mets aren’t sure if they can work out a deal for Britton, who threw for teams last week. 

Andrew Chafin, whose market is heating up, is another Mets possibility. 

The Red Sox are working late. After agreeing to terms with Adam Duvall for $7M and with Jorge Alfaro and Raimel Tapia on minor league deals, they are considering Elvis Andrus, Josh Harrison and perhaps Jurickson Profar. 

The Red Sox seem to believe Kiké Hernandez can handle shortstop and like Harrison as someone who can play all over (including occasionally at short). 

Andrew Chafin could be a thrifty option for the Mets bullpen.
Getty Images

Yuli Gurriel, a South Florida resident, is a possible fit for the Marlins, who just added Johnny Cueto for $8.5M. 

Aroldis Chapman, another South Florida resident, seemed to want to be a Marlin, but agreed to a $3.75M deal with the Royals. 

One person said he thought Marlins GM Kim Ng would be reluctant to sign a player with a domestic violence ban in his past. Miami surely considered that issue with Chapman, but it isn’t known whether that was the deciding factor. 

The Marlins seem to sign a lot of Miami area residents (Avi Garcia and Jorge Soler are too). The Braves had interest in bringing 2022 World Series MVP Soler back at the deadline last year after Duvall went down, but wanted Miami to pay the deal down. They wound up dealing for Robbie Grossman. 

The Pirates did well to sign Andrew McCutchen and Rich Hill, and the Brewers to ink Wade Miley and Brian Anderson (the former Marlins third baseman; Milwaukee’s TV announcer is also named Brian Anderson). 

The Cardinals, Twins and Rockies are among the teams linked to Miami’s Pablo Lopez, who seems to be the most likely to go in a trade. 

The Marlins would like Luis Arraez back for Lopez, but the Twins would want two pitchers for the AL batting champ.

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Yankees eye Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds amid ‘unrealistic asks’

The Yankees, still needing an outfielder, are among teams consistently interested in Pirates star Bryan Reynolds, who seeks a trade.

One interested team exec summed up the Pirates requests in two words: “unrealistic asks.” Another team’s exec says there’s nothing happening now but they hold hope for spring.

It’s not surprising the ask is high since the Pirates don’t seem especially interested in trading him as they hope to contend within the three years he has left. Plus, it would be difficult publicly. Perhaps, too, the Pirates don’t want to accede to trade demands, which they may fear will trigger a trend.

While sources say the Pirates offered over $75 million for six years with no team options, Reynolds’ camp originally mentioned the $168 million, eight-year deal Matt Olson received as a comp (though their request was lower than that). The Braves did sign Sean Murphy for $73 million over six years (plus a team option), and Murphy is in the same class as Olson. (The Reynolds camp would counter that that deal is low.)

The Pirates love Reynolds and presumably would like to resume talks, but the trade request remains.

Bryan Reynolds
USA TODAY Sports

The Red Sox were indeed intent on keeping Rafael Devers, as Chaim Bloom told us here a couple weeks ago. But there’s no doubt the $280 million Xander Bogaerts deal forced them to go much higher than they originally intended. The $168M Olson deal actually was seen a while back as an original team comp before the $212M Austin Riley deal likely moved Boston into the mid-$200M range, and the Bogaerts (and others) contract raised the ante further. At this point “it had to be $300 million minimum,” says a rival exec. …

Elvis Andrus could fit for the Angels who still seek a shortstop. The Red Sox, Dodgers and Twins may also make sense for a SS.

There are still decent first basemen left: Yuli Gurriel, Brandon Belt, Trey Mancini, Jesus Aguilar and Miguel Sano. The Marlins may be in the 1B market.

Yasiel Puig is hoping he can resurface in MLB after his Korean team, the Kiwoom Heroes, moved on.

Ex-Cubs star Addison Russell is replacing Puig on that Korean team. …

Matt Harvey is hoping to pitch again this year.

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Brian Cashman in contact with Aaron Judge

Yankees GM Brian Cashman said he’s in contact with superstar outfielder Aaron Judge’s agent, Page Odle, and reiterated Judge remains their top priority. Responding to a comment by one person who’d spoken recently to the Yankees camp and suggested they didn’t seem overly confident or interested in re-signing Judge, Cashman said, “Whoever said that, I’d drug test him.”

Cashman added, however, that he has no feeling regarding their chances, and no knowledge about who else is targeting Judge. He also said he hasn’t sought or been given the advantage of having the final shot at Judge.

The one team known to be in the Judge market is San Francisco, and to that end Giants baseball president Farhan Zaidi suggested they have the wherewithal to make big moves.

“From a financial standpoint, there’s nobody that would be out of our capability,” he said.

The Giants were disappointed to go from an MLB-high 107 victories in 2021 to a .500 team last season, and they are in contact with multiple free agents. Though they have Brandon Crawford, whom Zaidi called “the best shortstop in franchise history,” he has been talking to the top shortstops on the market and has the idea one or more of them might be willing to move to second base.

The Yankees remain committed to signing Aaron Judge, but will have some West Coast competition.
Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

Jacob deGrom has let the Rangers know he is interested in them (as well as presumably the Mets and perhaps others), but Carlos Rodon may be a better fit for Texas ultimately.

The Rangers likely are still a year or two away from contending, and Rodon at 30 may work better than deGrom at 34. Rodon will have a bigger market — since deGrom is expected to seek $40 million plus, which will limit his field. Texas is expected to pursue all the best starters, and will likely sign multiple starters even after acquiring Jake Odorizzi in trade. Rangers baseball president Chris Young suggested they are considering all viable starters, including the top guys.

The Rangers showed they are a serious player by spending $500 million on a double-play combination last winter.

The Angels are not trading two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, but they also will not attempt to lock him up. That will be left to the new owner. The Angels are believed to have very little player flexibility. They are seeking a shortstop, but not one of the top four (or four tops if you prefer). … Folks expect the Cubs to be serious players for a shortstop this winter. They are four great ones on the market. They could move Nico Hoerner to 2B. The Phillies will also look at the top of the shortstop market. They could move Bryson Stott to second.

The White Sox are planning to move Andrew Vaughn to his natural position of first base. Though they are leaving the door open to longtime star Jose Abreu, the likelihood seems to be that he will go to a new team.

Teams are calling on Lucas Giolito, but the White Sox feel no pressure to move him after his off 2022 season.

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