Likes of Ben Zobrist, Jason Heyward put on hold as clubs spend big on arms
NASHVILLE -- Come on, even with all of baseball’s crazy behavior these days, you’ve still got to have more than pitchers on your team to actually win ballgames, right?
Yet, since free agency commenced a month ago and even now with all 30 major league teams and the hundreds of agents under one roof at baseball’s winter meetings at the Opryland Hotel, virtually every move has involved a pitcher.
The entire baseball universe, it seems, is spinning on a pitching axis.
The Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox swapped four pitchers in the first trade of the meetings Monday, with Wade Miley replacing Hisashi Iwakuma, who went to the Los Angeles Dodgers, when they wouldn’t pay ace Zack Greinke, who went to the Arizona Diamondbacks, after they were rejected by Johnny Cuteto.
Got all of that?
Even the hottest rumor of the day involved a pitcher, as the Dodgers were close to acquiring Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman to give them co-closers with Kenley Jansen, only for the Reds to deny all day that they had a deal in place.
There has been $730 million spent on pitching free agents already this offseason, but in the meantime the finest position players in the land are sitting by, waiting for their payday.
Free agent outfielders Jason Heyward, Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton, each of whom eventually will receive in excess of $100 million, remain unsigned. It’s no different for Ben Zobrist and Alex Gordon, who helped the Kansas City Royals win their first World Series in 30 years.
“When we won the World Series and came back to Kansas City, “I should have brought everyone in the clubhouse, locked the door and told them, ‘Nobody’s leaving,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.
The Royals would love to have them back but think they have no shot at Zobrist and fear they will lose Gordon, too, with his soaring price tag.
Still, as long as they remain unsigned, the Royals can skip along the hallways uttering, “So, you’re saying we got a chance?”
Well, kind of.
The trouble in this market is that pitching has gotten so ridiculously expensive, teams are starting to panic and focusing solely on making sure they’ve filled their pitching needs before entertaining any thoughts of position players.
Why else would the Diamondbacks sign Greinke for $206 million and, instead of trying to find a second baseman like the Reds’ Brandon Phillips or free agent Howie Kendrick, focus solely on acquiring another starting pitcher? They’ve engaged in extensive trade talks with the Atlanta Braves for starter Shelby Miller, with the Braves asking for All-Star outfielder A.J. Pollock in return.
The asking price is exorbitant for Miller as well as young available starters such as Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner of the San Diego Padres and Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar of the Cleveland Indians.
And it’s out of this universe for Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins.
Yet with the price of free agent pitching these days, never has young, controllable pitching been more valuable.
Come on, Ryan Madson of the Royals just got a three-year, $22 million contract from the Oakland Athletics, and he has been healthy in only one of the last four seasons. Jeff Samardzija got $90 million from the San Francisco Giants with a career 47-61 record, 4.09 ERA and not a single winning season.
And by the time Greinke’s contract expires in 2021, he will have earned $316.5 million in his career, the most of any pitcher in history.
“That market’s moving pretty quick,” Baltimore Orioles GM Dan Duquette told reporters. “The top end of the market, the prices are staggering. I don’t know if it sustains itself. We’ll see.”
But while everyone is searching for pitching and the St. Louis Cardinals have $180 million in their wallet after Price rejected their offer, the position player market has turned ice cold.
“I think everybody stays really focused right now on starting pitchers,” Yost said. “Everybody is trying to grab that top-tier guy, and once those pitchers get off the board, they start looking at the position players. It will be interesting to see what happens once that heats up more.”
Yes, and particularly for his guys.
“For me, Alex Gordon is the perfect baseball player,” Yost said. “He has the perfect mind-set, day in and day out. He’s got a team-first mentality, but he’s extremely talented. He’s a Gold Glove-caliber left fielder. He’s an All-Star. He’s just a great player both mentally and physically.
“Selfishly, do I want Alex back? Yeah, I love Alex. But time will tell.
“And you just see what the market is doing right now for Ben because of his versatility. He’s probably the most sought-after free agent on the market.”
Zobrist, 34, who hit .276 with 13 homers and a .809 on-base-plus-slugging percentage during the season, and .313 with two homers and six RBI in the postseason, has met with at least five teams — the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Giants, Braves and Dodgers. He is expected to finalize his decision by Thursday at the conclusion of the winter meetings.
Several rival executives believe that the San Francisco Giants will ultimately win the sweepstakes, and play Zobrist primarily in left field, while also playing several spots in the infield. Then again, considering this frenzied pitching market, the Giants may have signed Mike Leake or Johnny Cueto by the time Zobrist makes his decision.
So where does this leave Heyward, Cespedes, Upton and Gordon?
Well, several executivesbelieve that the Cardinals ultimately sign Gordon, while not ruling out a return of Heyward. The Baltimore Orioles would be a natural fit for Upton, if they lose out on power-hitter Chris Davis. The Los Angeles Angels, who are shopping starter C.J. Wilson for salary relief, will sign either Cespedes or Heyward. Who knows, maybe the Houston Astros swoop in and grab the odd man out?
Those are decisions that, well, will have to wait.
For the time being, we’re going to be with the usual refrain heard all ‘round Nashville: “Hey buddy, you got any spare pitching?’’
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