Teams in need of advice
What certain baseball clubs should do
The slow pace of the winter meetings left plenty a fan hankering for more trade and signing action. After all, most teams are flush with cash, and even in a relatively shallow free agent market, there are difference-makers out there. Some intriguing recent trades, such as Matt Kemp’s return to the Los Angeles Dodgers, have been prompted by an eagerness to dump salary to stay under the $197 million luxury tax. Others have more baseball-centric motives. As always, clubs are trying to balance a desire to compete in the coming season with the need to plan a few years ahead. With that in mind, here’s a look at decisions some teams should contemplate.
Twins, Brewers: Write a check
Both clubs made major strides, with the Twins unexpectedly snatching a wild-card spot after logging the worst record in the majors the previous season. The Brewers improved by 13 wins and finished second in the National League Central. Now comes the hard part. The Twins need to bolster a starting corps that ranked 10th in the American League in ERA at 4.73. They’ve expressed interest in Yu Darvish, whom general manager Thad Levine knows well from his days with the Texas Rangers. Alongside Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios, Darvish would help provide Minnesota a strong front end of the rotation and boost a club featuring talented youngsters such as Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. Landing a high-priced ace such as Darvish would indicate the Twins are serious about challenging the Cleveland Indians for division supremacy, and it would signal a change in direction for a club that began last season ranked 22nd in the majors in payroll. The Brewers are taking a different tack. After losing reliever Anthony Swarzak to the New York Mets, Milwaukee brought back longtime Brewer Yovani Gallardo, who had a miserable season (5-10, 5.72 ERA) in his one year with the Seattle Mariners. That clearly won’t be enough, especially with staff ace Jimmy Nelson expected to miss at least half the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery. Milwaukee needs help in the rotation and bullpen, and after starting 2017 with the second-lowest payroll in the majors at $61 million, the club has lots of financial flexibility. The Brewers are also looking to open up room in the outfield for youngsters such as Lewis Brinson and Brett Phillips, so they’re dangling Domingo San- tana and Keon Broxton. The club has been linked to Tampa Bay Rays starter Chris Archer, who would be a nice fit.
Giants: Time to reboot
Last season’s 64-98 record, the second worst in the team’s San Francisco history, was not an aberration. The previous season, the Giants went 30-42 in the second half. Most of the core position players — Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt — are 30 or thereabouts, leading the Giants to believe they can still add to their three World Series championships this decade. They might be deceiving themselves. Although Madison Bumgarner appeared to make a full recovery from his dirt-bike accident and will pitch most of the season at age 28, the rest of the rotation has slipped. Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija posted ERAs above 4.40 and will be 32 and 33, respectively, when the season starts. Matt Moore has been shipped out. More should follow. The Giants made valiant attempts at acquiring Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani and failed at both, at least in part because they’re not ready to win now. Not only are their key players getting older, but there are no young studs waiting to replace them. Moreover, the Dodgers look primed to rule the NL West for a while, and the rest of the division rivals have surpassed San Francisco. It’s time for the Giants to shed their bevy of hefty contracts and revamp behind the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft and their top selection from last season. Their fans won’t like it, but after enjoying three championship parades, they ought to have enough patience to endure an overhaul.
Yankees, Dodgers: Farm aid
It might seem foolish to tell the teams with the unanimous rookies of the year to start moving prospects, especially when a Dodgers player has won the last two such awards in the NL. But both clubs are seeking to win now — the Dodgers will be reminded all season how close they came to claiming their first World Series title since 1988 — and both have bloated payrolls. One way to solve that issue is to package a young player with an undesirable contract. The Yankees already did that to a certain extent when they sent Chase Headley’s $13 million salary for 2018 to the San Diego Padres along with Bryan Mitchell, a 26-year-old right-hander with potential. The bigger challenge will be to move the $68.4 million still left in Jacoby Ellsbury’s deal. The Stanton acquisition leaves no room in New York’s outfield for underperforming Ellsbury, 34, but it might take a top 10 prospect to unload that contract. The Dodgers will be saving $27 million in 2018 thanks to the deal that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir, Charlie Culberson and $4.5 million to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Kemp. The move slid the Dodgers under the tax threshold, but they will have to pay most of Kemp’s $21.75 million salary for 2019. That’s unless they can find a taker enticed by a prospect. Resetting the tax penalty is key for clubs such as the Yankees and Dodgers, who are expected to partake in the mega free agent market of 2018. Using a prospect to give them a bit more 2018 flexibility would be a wise move.
Padres: Pony up for Eric Hosmer
Hosmer was one of the foundation pieces upon which the Kansas City Royals’ back-to-back World Series runs were built. He was beloved by his teammates and put up consecutive 25-homer seasons in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. He turned 28 less than two months ago. You could hardly find a better player to spearhead the Padres’ revival. After the failed attempt at becoming relevant in A.J. Preller’s first year as general manager, which resulted in the ill-fated acquisitions of Kemp, Derek Norris, Justin Upton and James Shields before the 2015 season, the Padres have rightfully focused on building from within. Their farm system was ranked No. 4 at midseason by and youngsters such as Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe are already making Baseball America, their mark in the majors. The Padres need a veteran leader who can command the clubhouse while delivering on the field. Hosmer fits that description, and whatever price they have to pay to lure him to their beautiful downtown ballpark with the perfect weather, it will be worth it.
Mariners: Take the fork in the road
Shunned by Ohtani, just like the Giants, the Mariners are stuck again in baseball’s no-man’s land — not good enough to contend, not bad enough to start anew. It’s not a good place to be. Hyperactive GM Jerry Dipoto has made some 65 deals involving more than 125 players since taking the job at the end of September 2015, and in the following two seasons the Mariners went a combined 164-160. Feh. The club has at least $114 million in salary commitments through the next two seasons, limiting its flexibility, and a farm system ranked 23rd in the majors, so now big immediate boosts are expected from there. Dipoto has shown an aversion to big free agent signings. The pursuit of Ohtani was enticing in part because he would cost little more than the $20 million posting fee. So if the Mariners are not going to escape mediocrity that way, perhaps they could get creative and package a productive but expensive asset — Nelson Cruz? Kyle Seager? — for some help in the starting rotation. Otherwise, with the World Series champion Houston Astros and revamped Los Angeles Angels looking considerably superior, Mariners fans might be looking at another season full of feh.