Good morning, Mets fans, and Merry Christmas Eve! Today’s hot stove rumor roundup features a couple of interesting trade block developments, as well as a few acquisitions surrounding free agent starters.

Andújar on the Block

In a recent roundup for Fancred Sports, Jon Heyman has stated that the Yankees might be “quietly shopping” third baseman and rookie sensation Miguel Andújar this winter.

Per Heyman, the Yankees’ recent pursuit of Manny Machado has led them to consider moving Andujar to first base, though an alternative could very well be finding an interested trade partner and improving in another position while Machado, if he were to sign, would man third until Didi Gregorius‘ departure after 2019. Andujar, 23, finished second in this year’s American League Rookie of the Year vote behind Shohei Ohtani, as he hit .297/.328/.527 with 27 homers and 92 runs batted in – primarily out of the six and seven spots, no less – while posting a .919 OPS in the second half and finishing with the team’s second-highest oWAR behind Aaron Hicks.

Of course, the concerns about his defense, as well as the replicability of such a season given the low walk-rate, have led to Andujar’s name coming up in a flurry of trade rumors, most recently those surrounding such players as J.T. Realmuto, Corey Kluber, and Noah Syndergaard. It comes as little surprise, therefore, that one of the more interested teams has been the San Diego Padres, who boast the best farm system in the National League, and could use an offensive reinforcement, particularly one who can fill a hole at third base. Heyman has pegged Andujar as one of the options on the Padres’ “target list.”

Nationals Interested in Dozier, Miley

The Washington Post‘s Jesse Dougherty has reported that alongside Josh Harrison and DJ LeMahieu, second baseman Brian Dozier has received interest from the Washington Nationals.

Perhaps the likeliest of the three to have cashed in for 2019 at the beginning of the 2018 season, the one-time All-Star has seen his value drop significantly after a brutal showing between the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers. Hitting just .215/.305/.391 with 21 homers and 72 RBIs to go with a career-worst -8 DRS at second base. He suddenly fits in nicely, however, as a low-risk, high-reward filler to split infield duties with Howie Kendrick and Wilmer Difo, especially with Dougherty reporting a decreasing likelihood that LeMahieu and the Nationals remain in touch.

Washington has also maintained an eye on lefty Wade Miley, as first revealed by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, though pushed further by Dougherty – even with the team’s recent signing of Aníbal Sánchez. After struggling to keep a job between multiple teams in the American League, Miley finally settled down last year with the Milwaukee Brewers, going 5-2 in 16 starts with a 1.215 WHIP and just three homers allowed in 80.2 innings.

It’s tough to run with such a sample with the same alacrity as it was for Sanchez, who accomplished his comeback season with three times as many strikeouts over nearly twice as many innings with the division rival Atlanta Braves. That said, the 32-year old Miley could be had for much cheaper, and could make for a decent alternative should depth in the latter half of the rotation become an issue in 2019.

Cubs Sign Graveman

The Chicago Cubs have signed former Oakland Athletics right-hander Kendall Graveman to a $575K big-league deal with a $3MM club option for 2020. A trusted starter in Oakland from 2015 to 2017, the 28-year old Graveman will almost certainly serve as depth in a swingman/long relief role in 2020, with Jon Lester, Yu Darvish, José Quintana, Kyle Hendricks, and Mike Montgomery all potentially occupying spots in the rotation.

Graveman made just seven starts this past year, struggling to a 7.60 ERA, 6.05 FIP and 1.660 WHIP while allowing 2.4 homers per nine innings before undergoing Tommy John surgery in September. The prior three years, the Mississippi State product put together a 4.11 ERA, 4.40 FIP, and 4.34 xFIP with a 6.8% walk rate and 51.3% groundball rate to balance out a pedestrian 14.7% strikeout clip over 71 starts.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago was the first to break an agreement between the two sides in the early afternoon yesterday.

Mariners Shopping Encarnación

In a development similar to that of Andujar, albeit for completely different reasons, Heyman writes that the Seattle Mariners are intent on finding a suitor for recent acquisition Edwin Encarnación. Coming up on his age-36 campaign, the designated hitter is owed $24MM this coming season, with an additional $5MM should he bought out ahead of 2020.

Encarnacion was acquired earlier in the month in a contract swap with the Cleveland Indians that relieved Seattle of Carlos Santana‘s $35MM albatross, and is coming off an adequate 2018, though cracks are nonetheless beginning to show. His walk rate dropped by nearly a third of his previous 15.5% – making for his lowest since 2011 while his 22.8% strikeout rate made for a career-high. All in all, his 115 wRC+ in 2018, though a net positive, marked a significant fall from the 142 he had averaged between 2013 and 2017.

It seems unlikely that such a decline will play well on the open market, at least not unless the Mariners are willing to eat some of the salary they’ve inherited and/or accept a more modest prospect return. Heyman says that the Colorado Rockies have been linked to Encarnacion, though the -4.8 dWAR at first base dating back to 2015 may be a concern.