The Rundown – 12/12/16: Free Mike Trout, Expensive Rays, and More
Here are the headlines that mattered from the past weekend around MLB and for the Cubs:
- Yorman Landa, a Minnesota Twins prospect passed away Friday night after a car crash in his home-country of Venezuela.
- His father was driving the car that struck a fallen tree, such a devastating loss for the Landa family.
- Landa had reached High-A Fort Myers for the Twins in 2016.
- The Nationals traded Danny Espinosa to the Angels for two minor league righties.
- Espinosa was unhappy after the Nationals acquired Adam Eaton this past week because it was going to mean a reduction in playing time for him. Trea Turner would be moving from CF back to SS and Daniel Murphy is not going anywhere at 2nd base.
- Espinosa is coming off a career-high 24 HR’s in 2016, but still hit only .209 on the year as the Angels desperately look for ways to improve their team.
- The Angels may have the best player (arguably) in this generation on a decent team-friendly contract and they can’t surround him with enough talent to be perennial playoff contenders.
- FREE MIKE TROUT, FREE MIKE TROUT
- Justin Turner and the Dodgers are talking again and it looks like there is some momentum toward a deal.
- They are discussing a four-year deal with no financial details available at this moment.
- It is believed that the Dodgers payroll would go up north of $210M again this season (and next), and that is before they address the closer spot.
- Say what you will about the Dodgers, but at least they will be competitive year in and year out while they have possibly this generation’s best pitcher on their roster.
- The Rays are still listening on their pitching, but the price is sky high on pretty much everyone including Chris Archer.
- Marc Topkin speculates that Drew Smyly and Alex Cobb are the most likely to be moved this winter.
- Apparently the Rays want more than the White Sox got for Chris Sale for Archer (who comes with two extra years of control, but not nearly the beast mode that Sale has).
- As Evan wrote, it may be time to stop dreaming for Archer to come back to the Cubs, though that is the one young pitcher I would really want on my team
- Sonny Gray is too injury prone; I would settle for Jake Odorizzi of the Rays, but that price is apparently high as well.
- In, “well huh, that is interesting” news; former Braves and Red Sox reliever Anthony Varvaro has become a police officer for the Port Authority in New York and New Jersey.
- Varvaro had some success between 2011-2014 and was traded to the Red Sox, then was waived and picked up by the Cubs, who returned him to the Red Sox because he ended up having a torn flexor tendon in his pitching elbow.
- He battled through injury for a couple years and finally hung ’em up this past June and has landed on his feet as an enforcer of the law. Good luck to him.
