Good morning, baseball fans. Here’s what’s been going on around the league the last 24 hours.
After acquiring Giancarlo Stanton over the weekend, the New York Yankees freed up some salary by sending infielder Chase Headley and pitcher Bryan Mitchell to the San Diego Padres in exchange for outfielder Jabari Blash. The Padres will take on all of the $13 million owed to Headley.
The Yankees also remain active on the trade market, also being linked to pitcher Michael Fulmer in trade talks as well as Orioles superstar Manny Machado.
The Colorado Rockies have signed reliever Bryan Shaw according to multiple sources. Buster Olney of ESPNreports that the deal is for three years and worth about $9 million annually.
In 2017, Shaw led the MLB in appearances. For the past five seasons, he’s been one of the most durable relievers, leading the majors in pitches thrown and tying the MLB lead in innings pitched. As one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball, Shaw finished 2017 with a 4-6 record, having a 3.52 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and 28 holds, which was sixth in MLB.
According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the Phillies have signed reliever Tommy Hunter. He also reportsthat the deal is for two years. Ken Rosenthal later reported the deal is worth about $18 million.
After signing a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays in February, Hunter proved to be a consistently reliable arm in the back end of the bullpen, posting a 2.61 ERA with 64 strikeouts and 14 walks in 58.2 innings. He was particularly effective against left-handed batters, who managed to hit only .170 with five extra-base hits against the 31-year-old.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that Scott Boras is trying to pitch yet another one of his clients to the Washington Nationals, this time in the form of Jake Arrieta.
The 2015 Cy Young Award winner would certainly be a big addition. However, he has seen a decline since that year, but still posted a solid 14-10 record with a 3.53 ERA in 168 2/3 innings pitched last season.
Other News and Notes
The Texas Rangers are looking for starting pitching and have talked to the Arizona Diamondbacks about their starters according to TR Sullivan of MLB.com.
One of the pitchers who could be in play is Zack Greinke. As of now no deal is close, but if the Rangers take on his large contract they would like to trade Shin-Soo Choo who has a big contract of his own.
The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians have reportedly discussed a trade involving pitcher Danny Salazar. The Indians are reportedly looking for a left-handed bat in return.
The newest member of the Los Angeles Angeles, Shohei Ohtani, has a sprained UCL in his pitching elbow, according to medical reports from late November reviewed by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
According to Passan: “While a first-degree sprain is the least severe of UCL injuries, further damage could lead to Tommy John surgery, a reconstructive procedure that sidelines pitchers for a year.
“The shot of PRP, a biologic of centrifuge-spun blood that is used to promote healing, was administered Oct. 20, according to the report, which was distributed to teams after Ohtani entered Major League Baseball’s posting system.”
The Chicago Cubs inked starting pitcher Drew Smyly to a two-year contract, the team announced. Smyly will miss the 2018 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
