Lukewarm Stove: Price, Craig, Chacin, Cuban Prospects, More

old stove featureWith the end of Spring Training coming in 10 days, we’re likely to see an uptick in trade chatter soon, including on Welington Castillo, where we already saw a rumor earlier today. In the meantime, some of the latest bits …

  • There are “rumblings” that the Tigers are trying to extend David Price (Detroit News), but David Price wouldn’t quite call it groundwork being laid (Jason Beck). Instead, it’s more like the two sides are talking about extension concepts – not exchanging numbers – to see if there’s anything worth going deeper on. I still can’t believe we haven’t yet seen a major extension this Spring for one of these post-2015 free agents, and I think some are coming … but I’d be surprised if Price is the guy. The Cubs are likely to be in the market for another big starting pitcher next offseason, so Price’s status with the Tigers remains something to follow.
  • It’s still unclear what the Red Sox are going to do with their surplus outfielders, but Nick Cafardo once again says the Giants are looking at Allen Craig. No mention of the Cubs this time.
  • The Rockies surprised many by released Jhoulys Chacin so that they could save $4.1 million. Although the righty dealt with shoulder issues last year, he’s just 27, and I’m sure there will be many teams willing to take a chance on him. It likely gums up the last minute depth trade market a bit, but, then again, the Cubs were no longer looking to be as obvious of players in that market (on the selling side, I mean) as they were a few weeks ago.
  • In addition to the big Hector Olivera signing, the Dodgers went under the radar for a 25-year-old righty out of Cuba named Pablo Millan Fernandez, signing him for $8 million. The signing – at least the amount and lack of buzz – was something of a surprise. Because of his age, the signing doesn’t count against the Dodgers’ IFA pool (which they have not blown during this signing period yet), and leaves open the possibility that they could be huge spenders in the next period.
  • Speaking of which, Jesse Sanchez reminds us that Cuban infield prospect Andy Ibanez (you may remember him as the guy who became available at the same time as Yoan Moncada, but no one really talked about him because MONCADA) is still available, and might wind up waiting until the next IFA period (July 2) to sign. The Cubs are restricted in the IFA market until July 2.
  • Tim Dierkes looks back at the Cubs’ offseason over at MLBTR.
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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