Thursday is Nov. 11 and the General Manager meetings are wrapping up. As is standard with this type of gathering, we've seen several days of boilerplate-type quotes from front office executives, super-agent Scott Boras captivated dozens with quotes about his free agent clients and this time around there's that pesky little CBA expiration date hanging over everyone's heads.
Along the way, the rumor mill churns. Let's get to it.
Yankees, Phillies among the teams looking at Marte
The Yankees are interested in pursuing free agent outfielder Starling Marte as their everyday center fielder, reports Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. The Phillies are after Marte as well, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network, and those are far from the only teams interested. These are just the two specifically named within the last 24 hours.
Marte, 33, hit .310/.383/.458 (132 OPS+) with 27 doubles, 12 homers, 55 RBI, 89 runs and an MLB-best 47 steals last season in just 120 games. After spending the first eight years of his career with the Pirates, he was traded for the second straight trade deadline. He's better suited on a corner but he can handle center field and still has a rocket for an arm.
Mariners, Yankees looking at Reynolds
The Mariners and Yankees are among the teams that have shown interest in Pirates All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
It doesn't hurt to check and you especially never know how soon the Pirates are looking to contend, but this might be wishful thinking. Reynolds, 26, is coming off a season in which he hit .302/.390/.522 (146 OPS+) with 35 doubles, eight triples, 24 homers, 90 RBI, 93 runs, five steals and 6.0 WAR. And he's not even to arbitration yet. He won't hit free agency until after the 2025 season.
If he could be had in a trade, it would take a giant return in prospect currency.
Angels after pitching
We've seen the Angels make big splashes in free agency with position players in recent years, notably signing Anthony Rendon during the 2019 Winter Meetings. Might that happen on the pitching side now? In a column on The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal mentions the intention of the front office to aggressively pursue starting pitching. The names mentioned? They're big: Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Robbie Ray, Marcus Stroman, Noah Syndergaard and Alex Wood.
It makes sense. If the Angels have a healthy offense, it's led by the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Rendon and Jared Walsh. They need the pitching (yes, beyond Ohtani) to match.
Mets, Phillies discussing Loup
Lefty reliever Aaron Loup had a 0.95 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 57 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings last season. He held opposing hitters to a .192/.263/.238 line and left 31 of the 47 runners he inherited on base. It was an exceptional season, his first with the Mets. They'd like him back, but they'll have NL East company in pursuit. Heyman reports the Mets and Phillies are "among many teams talking" to Loup and his reps.
Tigers show interest in rotation help
The Tigers have taken a look at free agent starter Anthony DeSclafani, according to Heyman. Likewise, they've also looked at Jon Gray, per Morosi.
DeSclafani, 31, had arguably the best year of his career in 2021 with the Giants. He was 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA (129 ERA+), 1.09 WHIP and 152 strikeouts against 41 unintentional walks in 167 2/3 innings. He even threw two shutouts, the second and third of his career.
Gray, 30, has long flashed frontline upside but many believe he's been hampered by Coors Field. His splits are generally even, but adjusting to pitching there half the time could lead to bad habits spilling over into the road. It's a theory that's been bandied about but never really proven with any certainty. Regardless, many teams really like Gray's upside.
More teams than the Tigers will be interested, of course, but it's nice to see the Tigers' name out there after the rebuild. In 2021, they overachieved to a 77-85 record and it might be time to fully go for the turnaround. Youngsters like Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning would probably stand to see a proven veteran or two in the rotation above them.
Yankees re-sign lefty reliever
The Yankees have brought back left-handed reliever Joely Rodríguez on a one-year deal, the team announced. Rodríguez, 29, came over in a deadline deal last July from the Rangers with Joey Gallo. In his 21 outings for the Yankees, Rodríguez had a 2.84 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 17 strikeouts in 19 innings.
