Welcome to another new week in the Major League Baseball offseason. The expectation is that things will continue to be slow here for a bit, but that doesn't mean we're without hot stove rumors. The offseason rumor mill is always worth a look, so let's take a walk, shall we?
Lindor, Mets not a match? What about Ozuna in Queens?
Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor is going to be the hot name this entire offseason until he's traded. He's one year away from free agency and it's been made pretty clear that Cleveland isn't going to give a strong push to retain him. The Mets, meanwhile, now have a new owner with deep pockets in Steve Cohen who is looking to make a big splash this offseason. As such, it seems logical to put the two together, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post throws some cold water on the situation, using recent comments from club president Sandy Alderson:
"We've got no depth at Double-A and Triple-A, so we are doing all we can to sign six-year minor-league free agents to fill out depth with our top two minor-league teams and provide up-and-down depth for the season," Alderson said.
Presumably, it would take high-end minor-league talent (among other assets) in a trade to land Lindor and if the Mets don't have any at the higher ends of the minors, that would take them off the table for the superstar. Instead, they are much more likely to be major players in free agency. On that note, Ken Davidoff (also of the New York Post) reported on Monday the Mets have interest in Marcell Ozuna. Here's what we wrote when we ranked him No. 6 on our free-agent 60:
Ozuna bet on himself last winter by foregoing a multi-year pact in favor of a one-year deal. His reasoning was sound -- a big season would equal a bigger payday -- and at the time he had no way of knowing the league's economics would go to hell because of a global pandemic. Whatever the monetary value of the contract he signs is, Ozuna should take heart in knowing that he held up his end of the equation. He hit .338/.431/.636 with 18 home runs in 60 games. No free agent had a higher maximum exit velocity than Ozuna, and only one (Joc Pederson) tied or had a better average exit velocity. It's fair to wonder if this version of him is here to stay, just as it's fair to have concerns about his defense and his swing-and-miss tendencies. At the same time, he's consistently been an above-average hitter throughout his career, and most long-term contracts signed this winter will probably look like relative bargains two or three years down the road.
As Davidoff notes, the Mets could use some right-handed help in their lineup. Even so, they figure to prioritize other positions, including catcher and center field, ahead of a left field or DH type.
Cubs ready for some turnover?
The Cubs have likely hit the end of the road with the nucleus that won the 2016 World Series and it appears they are set to deal a big name. From Buster Olney's recent column on ESPN.com:
In conversations with other teams, the Cubs are signaling there will be significant turnover on the roster, with a willingness to move almost any veteran – as well as just about anyone from the core group of position players who won the 2016 World Series, including shortstop Javier Baez.
Baez is mentioned there, but he isn't alone when the "core group of position players" is mentioned. Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber are also set to hit free agency after the 2021 season and are presumably available. Star catcher Willson Contreras is under team control for two more years and might have the most trade value among the position players. The smart money here would be to bet on multiple players from this group not being on the Cubs next season.
