Good morning, Mets fans! Welcome to another hot stove rumor roundup. Today’s news includes further developments around both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, along with some more extension discussions around the league.
Phillies Appear Current Favorites to Sign Harper
Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported the league-wide expectation that All-Star outfielder Bryce Harper will receive a deal surpassing the 10-year, $300MM offer he received from the Washington Nationals last September. Nightengale adds that the Phillies are seemingly willing to meet such a price, and as Jon Heyman of MLB Network has confirmed, things are “heating up,” with Philadelphia rumored to be the favorite at the moment.
Heyman’s report echoes a sentiment that has remained among big-league executives since early last month, when Nightengale first revealed the Phillies as favorites while adding that the Washington Nationals were viewed by most to be “a long shot” t0 re-sign their six-time All-Star.
No other team has come to rival the Phillies in recent weeks, though Harper remaining unsigned to this point certainly indicates such a window is still open for fringe teams, so long as they’re willing to fork over long-term cash. Signing Harper, however, would likely take them out of the running for shortstop and third baseman Manny Machado, who also remains unsigned, though the team remains optimistic in signing either bat.
Padres also Intent in Harper Talks, Have Made Offer to Machado
The San Diego Padres, meanwhile, have now engaged in discussions with both marquee hitters, according to multiple reports from both Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (regarding Harper) and Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (more recently, regarding Machado). Though – according to Heyman – details around a Harper offer remain unclear, the same cannot be said of Machado – to whom the Padres have officially offered a contract worth eight years and $250MM. Nightengale adds that the deal could be worth closer to $280MM, as some executives have been told.
The Friars’ recent entrance into negotiations with both Harper and Machado have complicated the respective pursuits of the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox, among less prominent suitors. Signing Machado could pose a conflict given the focused development of prized prospect and shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr.
Though, San Diego’s The Athletic‘s Dennis Lin offers that Machado would most likely come over as a third baseman, with an increased focus on establishing the Dominican-American Machado as a leader of a clubhouse that will likely become even more diverse as such prospects as Francisco Mejía, Luis Urias, Adrian Morejon, and Luis Patino eventually make their way out of the widely-praised farm system and into the team’s everyday mold.
Davis Committed to Extension Conversations with Athletics
In another intriguing development on the extension side of the big-league hot stove, Oakland Athletics’ slugger Khris Davis has reiterated his desire to remain with the team long-term, telling MLB.com‘s Jane Lee that he would be willing to accept a pay cut in order to stay with Oakland for “at least three more years.”
Per Lee, the designated hitter Davis is willing to accept as little as $10MM annually in order to keep off the free agent market following the 2019 season. Such an agreement would be a drastic step down from the $16.5MM he is set to make following arbitration, and an even further cut relative to the $18MM qualifying offer Oakland could make at the end of the year.
Lee writes that Davis’ agents have been keen on netting him more money while the A’s’ front office has preferred a two-year pact worth less in annual value, with “little contact ensu[ing].”
Coming off a season in which he set career-highs in home runs (47), RBI (123), OPS+ (136), and WPA (3.78), Davis told Lee “it’s not a good thing being a free agent right now… I’m already 31. I don’t know if I’m too old. There’s a lot of things that run through my head.” Such a sentiment has become more common around the league’s upcoming free agents following a second straight offseason of questionable market activity (if one could even call it that).
Stroman, Blue Jays, Not on the Same Page
Meanwhile, in Canada, the controversy surrounding Blue Jays’ ace Marcus Stroman has yet to die down, with stalling extension talks perhaps driving a further wedge between the righty and his ballclub. Though the two sides agreed to a $7.4MM deal to dodge arbitration earlier in the offseason, Stroman entered camp with a chip on his shoulder, telling John Lott of The Athletic (subscription required) “I would love to be here… but it seems like I’m not wanted sometimes.”
Stroman claimed the organization has yet to offer him a contract extension, making a point of the front office’s repeated inability to maintain the services of its veterans in recent years in a 20-minute interview. He adds, “they haven’t come to me with anything the entire time I’ve been here.”
When his agent has attempted to reignite talks, Stroman is quoted as saying “it just gets pushed off, either saying, ‘Oh, yeah, we’ll talk then,’ and then that gets pushed back. There’s been no definite talks about an extension.”
Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun reports that the Jays’ front office has denied the comments raised by Stroman, with general manager Ross Atkins declining to comment publicly on the details of the organization’s discussions with him.
A briefly-cited trade chip during the offseason, the 27-year old Stroman hopes to rebound from a brutal 2018 in which he posted a 5.54 ERA and 1.476 WHIP in 19 starts – a step that will depend heartily on his ability to avoid shoulder and blister troubles that plagued him through much of last year.
Castellanos Willing to Pursue Extension with Tigers
Marking a slight detour from an offseason that has been defined almost exclusively by trade talks, Detroit Tigers outfielder and third baseman Nicholas Castellanos told the Detroit News‘ Chris McCosky that he’d be willing to discuss an extension with the organization.
Though Detroit had dangled his name around the league through much of the offseason, the market for the 26-year old Castellanos ultimately failed to develop, if at all. Like many players before him this past week, Castellanos cited the dubious climate of the free agent market – a natural concern for anyone with an expiring contract ahead of 2020.
Despite his .298/.354/.500 line in a second straight 150-plus game season, much of the skepticism among potential buyers has been Castellanos’ ineptitude on the other side of the ball – where his -26 and -14 DRS in right field and third base since 2017 (respectively) make for two of the worst figures in the major leagues. His 1.004 OPS against lefties in 69 games last year could attract teams in need of a platoon piece, however.
