Nothing was made official regarding the big names on the market, but there was a flurry of movement yesterday.
Marte Party Coming to Queens?
Jon Heyman of Fancred tweeted out that the Mets are interested in Pirates CF Starling Marte.
With the Mets looking for a right-handed-hitting center-fielder and the Pirates looking to retool, this could be a perfect match for the Amazin’s. Marte, 31, just finished up a strong campaign, posting a .295/.342/.503 with a 119 wrC+, .353 wOBA, and a 3.0 WAR.
A benefit to a Marte acquisition is his affordable contract. He’s under control for the 2020 season for 11.5 million dollars and has a 2021 club option worth 12.5 million dollars.
With the Mets currently poised to employ either Brandon Nimmo or Michael Conforto up the middle, it’s clear that they could use an upgrade and shift Nimmo and Conforto to corner positions, where they’re best suited.
Defensive metrics remain mixed on Marte; Fangraphs’ Defensive Runs Saved metric has him at -9 while Baseball Savant’s Outs Above Average metric rates him as +2.
It’s clear that Marte is one of the leading trade chips on a bleak Pirates roster. Van Wagenen has shown that he’s willing to acquire big names in the offseason so it wouldn’t be a shocker for Marte to play in the orange-and-blue in 2020.
White Sox Frontrunners For Wheeler
MetsMerizedOnline’s own Tim Ryder broke the news that the White Sox are currently the highest bidder for SP Zack Wheeler.
A few days after landing the top backstop on the market, Yasmani Grandal, it’s clear the White Sox are just getting started on their offseason to-do list. Their 2019 rotation consisted of breakout star Lucas Giolito with Reynoldo Lopez and Dylan Cease providing quality innings behind him. With Michael Kopech and Carlos Rodon expected to rejoin the Sox’ rotation at various points in the 2020 season, the White Sox’s staff could emerge as one of the best in the Majors in 2020 if they can add Wheeler.
Wheeler just capped off a two-year run where he cemented himself as one of the top pitchers in the Majors. In 2019, he posted a career-high 4.7 fWAR along with a 3.96 ERA, a 3.48 FIP, and 4.06 xFIP. His 96.8 mph fastball velocity ranked in the 94th percentile of all pitchers in 2019.
Wheeler’s the third-best arm available via the free-agent market this winter and the bidding for his services is expected to exceed 80 million dollars. He was tagged with a qualifying offer so the White Sox will need to give up their second-highest pick in 2020 draft along with 500 thousand dollars in international bonus pool money.
Cole Hamels Market is Picking Up
Jason Stark of ESPN tweeted out that SP Cole Hamels is drawing widespread interest on the free-agent market with as many as 14 teams inquiring on the veteran starter.
With many teams in need of quality starting pitching options, it comes to no surprise that Hamels is a hot commodity. His heydey is clearly behind him, but he’s still a quality starter as evident by his 2019 campaign. He threw effective 141.2 innings, resulting in an above-average 3.81 ERA and 4.09 FIP. His 2.5 fWAR was his highest since 2016.
He represents a more affordable option for those teams that miss out on Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg and Wheeler.
Cotton Comes To Chicago
The Athletics announced that they have sent SP Jharel Cotton to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for cash considerations.
Cotton was formerly highly-touted prospect, popping up on the back end of Baseball America‘s top-100 list after the 2016 season.
He was moved to Oakland in exchange for Rich Hill and Josh Reddick midway through the 2016 season. After struggling through the 2017 season, he suffered a torn UCL in 2018, missing the rest of the season as well as most of the 2019 campaign. He struggled during his 18 rehab appearances, electing the Athletics to DFA him four days ago.
Kwang-hyun Kim Could Be Posted
Yoo Jee-ho of Yonhap News Agency reported that KBO pitcher Kwang-hyun Kim is expected to be posted by the SK Wyverns this winter. Kim has pitched the last 12 season with the Waverns, pitching to a 3.27 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.
A source told Jee-ho that Kim wants to start at the MLB level. His fastball has been described as above-average and scouts rave about his secondary offerings.
