NEWSLETTER
Michael Conforto signing with the Giants is the big news this morning, but his is not the only signing of note in the last 24 hours …
- The Giants are also signing lefty reliever Taylor Rogers, pairing him up with his brother in the bullpen:
- Rogers, who was fantastic with the Twins for several years, had a rough go of it in 2022, split between the Padres and Brewers. I’m actually pretty surprised he got a deal of this magnitude, but the Giants are clearly in a hurry to add whatever talent they can.
- I wonder if there’s any impact there on the rest of the relief market, where we know the Cubs are still shopping. The latest rumor had them attached to Michael Fulmer, whose results were quite a bit better than Rogers’ in 2022, but who doesn’t have the same track record or lefty arm. I guess my point is, I wonder if Rogers getting this size of deal means the relief market is still really hot, or whether he was just a unique circumstance that won’t tell us much of anything about what guys like Fulmer, or Andrew Chafin, or whoever might get.
- Not sure I ever got to mention the Seth Lugo deal with the Padres, but it seems like a pretty solid get for the team:
- Lugo, 33, has been solidly better than average (10% or so) for most of his career. So I guess if Taylor Rogers at 3/$33M represents the surprising high end of what’s left on the relief market, maybe Lugo’s 2/$15M (with an opt out) is the reasonable end?
- With the Cubs landing Tucker Barnhart, the Reds almost immediately came to terms (or did they go first?) with Curt Casali:
- Casali reportedly gets one year and $3.25 million (which is the same reported AAV as the Cubs gave Tucker Barnhart, but over two years, with an opt out). Moustakas, who has been almost unplayable the last couple years, could be washed. If he wants to keep his career going, he’ll have to take a minor league deal and a Spring Training invite somewhere.
- The Reds also announced a Wil Myers signing:
- Myers, 32, is a lot less interesting when he’s not attached to a hypothetical prospect in a trade, but he can still put up above-average offensive numbers when used well. It’s reportedly a one-year, $7.5 million deal for Myers, and you could argue that Trey Mancini’s deal should be in the same range.
- On the Reds, that might be it for them this offseason, despite having done basically nothing:
- The Reds’ projected payroll is way under $100 million at this point, in case you were wondering just how little they are willing to spend.
- The Mets just won’t stop (I kid):
- As expected, the Red Sox have released Eric Hosmer, and no, I don’t really see the obvious fit with the Cubs (like Myers, Hosmer was compelling when he could be attached to a prospect … ).
