Good morning, Mets fans, and welcome to today’s edition of the hot stove rumor roundup! Despite a relatively quiet weekend on the free agent market, the waters surrounding a few frontline free agents are starting to boil, with potential contenders for such young studs as Bryce Harper and Manny Machado beginning to emerge as teams continue to chisel out offseason plans.

Interest in Harper Surfacing

The San Francisco Giants (Buster Olney of ESPN) and St. Louis Cardinals (Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) have both emerged as potential landing spots for coveted free agent outfielder Bryce Harper. The 2015 National League MVP appeared in 159 games with the Nationals this year, hitting .249/.393/.496 with 34 homers and 100 runs batted in. The line features a .300/.434/.538 tear during the second half, but also leaves out a career-high 169 strikeouts and a -28 defensive runs saved that ranked second-worst among big league outfielders.

The Giants, who were more recently invested in a trade for Giancarlo Stanton last offseason, have the capital as well as a west coast advantage that, per Olney, could play out similarly to San Francisco’s heralded pact with Barry Bonds. At just 26, Harper has already appeared in five All-Star Games, and could respond to the spotlight in a similar fashion as attendance ratings would likely boom. Even as they look for a general manager, the Giants are still keen on spending their way back into relevancy.

The Cardinals, like the Giants, have done their share of losing the past few years – having missed out on the sweepstakes for Stanton and David Price while falling short of the playoffs every year since 2016. Team sources have indicated to Goold that the Cards are “sending signals they are out to be a player.” Also like the Giants, the Cardinals are intent on using what they do have – traditional, winning charm – to attract Harper, and furthermore fans:

“When you’re trying to convince someone what it’s like to come to the Cardinals, that’s different than experiencing it firsthand. We will get players if they’re with us to stay and sign extensions. No doubt about that,” said team owner and chairman Bill DeWitt. “Free agents — a number of them become free agents because they’re looking to maximize their value. I don’t see any issue in that regard attracting talent to the St. Louis Cardinals.”

Braves Hesitant to Go Long-Term on Harper, Machado

Team general manager Alex Anthopoulos stated in a SiriusXM interview with Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio that he does not expect the Atlanta Braves to enter a large-scale bidding war on either of the big-ticket free agents, both Harper and Manny Machado:

“We can be in on any player, we certainly have the dollars to do that,” Anthopoulos admitted before adding the following: “I don’t know that it makes a lot of sense….to do deals that are ten years in length and longer at significant dollars with the payroll that we have… That doesn’t mean we won’t at least explore some things and see if we could line up on the right deal and the right term, but I am reluctant to go extremely long in terms of length.”

While Atlanta had at one point expressed interest in Machado at the trade deadline (and as a result see him as an obvious benefit to the lineup, be it at shortstop or third base), this certainly comes as a bit of a surprise given their lone financial commitment being linked to first baseman and franchise cornerstone Freddie Freeman (three years, $65M left within an eight-year extension he signed in 2014). No other player within the organization is owed over $12M next season, but it’s clear the Braves will steer clear of a major albatross, especially given the results (or lack thereof) from a plethora of hefty long-term deals (Chris Davis, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Heyward, and Albert Pujols are just a handful of examples).

Orioles Unlikely to Deal Trumbo Before Season 

Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports writes that it is unlikely the Baltimore Orioles find a trade suitor for outfielder and designated hitter Mark Trumbo this offseason. The 2016 Silver Slugger recipient put up a respectable .261/.317/.452 line with 17 homers and 44 RBI in just 90 games, but missed a chunk of the year after undergoing surgery on his right knee in August.

Trumbo, 33, stroked .306/.333/.514 over his last 20 games, but will nonetheless be handled tentatively by potential buyers as he enters the home stretch of a three-year, $37.5M deal. He’s combined for just 40 homers through the first two seasons – seven less than he put up in the 2016 season alone, but could still benefit American League teams in need of a power bat at the deadline should he stay on the field and find a suitor off his no-trade list (which includes up to seven teams).

Cubs Still Hesitant to Cut Russell

Patrick Mooney of The Athletic recently published a report that the Chicago Cubs are still undecided on what to do with shortstop Addison Russell. Russell was suspended 40 games by Major League Baseball in October for violating the league’s domestic violence policy after his ex-wife Melisa Reidy published an op-ed alleging that he had abused her emotionally, verbally, and physically.  The Cubs have the option to non-tender the 24-year old by the end of the month, and while it had once been speculated that he would indeed be released, things may not be as clear at this point.

When asked for a statement, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said “domestic violence is everyone’s problem. Because of that, we all have an obligation to be part of the solution as well… I think it’s our obligation as a club – and my obligation – to see what we can do better going forward. To see what we can do to prevent this from ever happening again, to reach out to the victim in this case and try to learn from it and try to give her support. To talk to Addy and give Addy the necessary support, so that he can get the help that he needs and make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”

Russell hit just .250/.317/.340 with five homers and 38 RBI in 130 games last season before being placed on administrative leave on September 21. He would only be owed $4.3M next season – a welcome price tag for an organization walking a financial tightrope along its expensive pitching staff. That said, the Cubs would have to sacrifice a measure of good publicity by claiming to be in support of Russell’s victim while still employing him.