February 4, 2015

Rumor Roundup

Andruw Jones is a Candidate to Fill a Void

by Daniel Rathman

the archives are now free. All Baseball Prospectus Premium and Fantasy articles more than a year old are now free as a thank you to the entire Internet for making our work possible. Not a subscriber? Get exclusive content like this delivered hot to your inbox every weekday. Click here for more information on Baseball Prospectus subscriptions or use the buttons to the right to subscribe and get instant access to the best baseball content on the web.

Subscribe for $4.95 per month Recurring subscription - cancel anytime. Subscribe for $39.95 for one year a 33% savings over the monthly price! Purchase a $39.95 gift subscription a 33% savings over the monthly price! Already a subscriber? Click here and use the blue login bar to log in.

Tribe seeking a right-handed hitter
There isn’t much left in the way of position-player talent on the free agent market, with role players and spare parts populating the remaining list. That’s okay by the Indians: CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweeted early Tuesday morning that all they’re looking for is someone who can hit from the right side and do so on the cheap.

Heyman specifically mentioned Reed Johnson, Ryan Ludwick, and Andruw Jones as candidates to fill the void, reiterating that Jones—who’s 37 and last saw major-league time in 2012—truly wants to give it another go. Johnson is the most versatile of the bunch, offering the ability to play center field in a pinch, but he’d also bring the least thump. Ludwick, who last eclipsed .700 in the OPS category when Jones was still a big leaguer, became a free agent when the Reds declined a $9 million club option and swallowed a $4.5 million buyout in late October.

Perhaps the most notable exclusion from that list is Rickie Weeks, a far superior offensive performer last year who’d surely be employed if his defense were just a tad more tolerable. It’s unclear if Heyman left the 32-year-old former Brewer off because he’s too expensive or simply not a fit, the latter possible because the keystone—the only defensive position Weeks has ever played in the majors—is occupied by Jason Kipnis. Cleveland’s utility man, Mike Aviles, is a right-handed hitter, so there’s a greater need in the outfield than on the dirt.

Michael Bourn, Michael Brantley, and Brandon Moss—Francona’s projected starting outfielders—all hit left-handed, as does fourth outfielder David Murphy. Ryan Raburn and Tyler Holt are the only righty-swinging outfielders on the 40-man roster, with the exception of the switch-hitting Nick Swisher, who’s likely to be relegated to DH duties in 2015. The 33-year-old Raburn failed miserably in his bid to deliver an encore to his breakout 2013 campaign, watching his TAv plunge from .327 to .198, and he can’t be counted on even though there are a pair of 2.4 WARP outbursts (the other with the Tigers in 2009) on his player card.

That’s where Johnson, Jones, or Ludwick would come in. Each of them should be within Chris Antonetti’s price range, and since February beggars can’t be choosers, the choice might come down to the general manager’s preference among the trio.

Cole Hamels still a popular trade target
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. wants to move Jonathan Papelbon. He is predictably less gung-ho about exporting Cole Hamels. But that’s not stopping his counterparts from trying to cobble together a sufficiently attractive package.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted yesterday that about a half-dozen clubs are actively pursuing Hamels. They aren’t making much headway, but it’s hard to fault them for being stubborn considering the target in question.

Hamels, who’ll play the entire 2015 season at age 31, has amassed a FIP between 3.00-3.35 in each of the past four seasons despite frequently toeing the rubber in the bandbox that is Citizens Bank Park. He’s owed $22.5 million annually from 2015 through 2018, and could be retained on a $20 million club option for 2019—terms that are below market rate, but not necessarily enough so that a team could easily justify handing Philadelphia its farm.

Rumors throughout the winter have suggested that Amaro is valuing Hamels like a cost-controlled frontline pitcher, asking for the sort of prospect bounty that a younger starter just entering his arbitration years might command. Hamels isn’t that—either in age or salary—but the forces of supply and demand are in Amaro’s favor right now, with the free-agent cupboard bare outside of James Shields. They may not be come next winter, when a David Price-led bonanza of available arms seems in store.

So Amaro is shooting high, asking for top-end prospects, like the Red Sox’ catcher of the future:

The #Phillies want prized catching prospect Blake Swihart from #Redsox in deal for Hamels. The Red Sox continue to refuse. #stalemate

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 3, 2015

Swihart was no. 1 on Chris Mellen’s top 10 list published in December, projecting as a potential role-65 regular at a critical position with a late-2015 ETA. The Red Sox, loaded with mid-rotation starters but lacking an upper-echelon arm, aren’t eager to part with one of their best under-25 assets to address that concern.

That opens the door for the other five-or-so suitors, some of whom may not have a Swihart-caliber prospect to include, but it also makes it less likely that Amaro’s current asking price will be met. Still, given the dearth of alternatives for pitching-starved clubs and the Phillies’ need to rebuild, at least from the outside, the time for a blockbuster appears to be ripe. Based on Nightengale’s report, that’s enough to keep teams calling, even if Amaro and his counterparts aren’t seeing eye to eye.

Yoan Moncada is now a free agent
Finally, that long-awaited news comes from Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan, who was the first to find out that MLB has altered its policy on Cuban players after OFAC put the ball in the league’s court last week. Expect rumors aplenty about the bidding for the 19-year-old infielder in the coming days.

Daniel Rathman is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @danielrathman
Click here to see Daniel's other articles. You can contact Daniel by clicking here