MLB Trade Rumors

Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com has floated Alex Verdugo’s name as a potential trade candidate this offseason. Verdugo, age-26, is coming off a season in which he regressed on all fronts of his game. From 2021 to 2022, Verdugo’s wRC+ dipped from 107 to 103, all of the figures in his slash decreased (.289/.351/.426 to .280/.328/.405), he lost .2 ft/s in sprint speed, and went from … [Read more...] about AL Notes: Verdugo, Mike Maddux, Rays’ Coaching Shuffle

The World Series concludes this weekend, and the offseason gets underway almost immediately thereafter. Teams and players have to decide whether to exercise contractual options within five days of the Series ending, while clubs also must determine whether to issue their impending free agents a qualifying offer before free agency officially opens. MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk took a … [Read more...] about Previewing Upcoming Qualifying Offer Decisions

The Red Sox have agreed to a three-year contract extension with catching instructor/game-planning coordinator Jason Varitek, his wife Catherine announced this morning (Twitter link). Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports that Varitek will return in the same capacity for 2023; more broadly, Speier notes the entire coaching staff is expected back next season. That’s not … [Read more...] about Red Sox Sign Catching Instructor Jason Varitek To Extension, Expected To Retain Coaching Staff

As part of the new collective bargaining agreement, MLB and the MLBPA allowed for the creation of an international amateur draft.  As this was something MLB was pushing for, the proposed tradeoff was the elimination of free agent compensation.  The two sides reached their overall CBA in March, but included a July 25th deadline for the possible international draft/free agent … [Read more...] about Which Draft Picks Each Team Would Forfeit By Signing A Qualified Free Agent

Earlier today, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes outlined what each team would have to surrender as compensation if it signed a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer.  Now, let’s take a look at what each team would receive in return if one of their free agents turned down a QO and signed with another club.  (As a reminder, players can’t be issued a qualifying offer more than once during … [Read more...] about Which Draft Picks Each Team Would Receive For Losing A Qualified Free Agent

In one of the least-surprising opt-out decisions in recent memory, left-hander Chris Sale has informed the Red Sox that he will not exercise the opt-out clause in his five-year, $145MM contract, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom tells Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. There’s never been any real thought that Sale was a candidate to opt out of the remaining two years and $55MM … [Read more...] about Chris Sale Will Not Exercise Opt-Out Clause

The Red Sox announced that Tyler Danish has gone unclaimed on waivers and elected minor league free agency. Boston had evidently placed the right-hander on waivers in recent days, freeing up a spot on the 40-man roster. Boston’s 40-man tally drops to 39, although they’ll need to clear an additional four roster spots shortly after the season ends to reinstate players from the … [Read more...] about Tyler Danish Elects Free Agency

Red Sox bench coach/outfield instructor Will Venable is one of the candidates to be the Royals’ new manager, according to The New York Post’s Jon Heyman.  Venable is a new addition to a field known to include several internal candidates (K.C. bench coach Pedro Grifol, third base coach Vance Wilson and Triple-A manager Scott Thorman) as well as Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro and … [Read more...] about Royals Considering Will Venable For Managerial Job

The Red Sox are not planning to extend a qualifying offer to veteran slugger J.D. Martinez, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman’s report comes at what may be the beginning of an offseason of transition in Boston. With Xander Bogaerts’ opt-out clause looming and extension talks with Rafael Devers having yet to yield any results, Martinez could be one of multiple … [Read more...] about Red Sox Not Planning To Extend A Qualifying Offer To J.D. Martinez