Hot Stove Update: Bautista and Trumbo Off the Market; An Interesting Trade

Jose Bautista and Mark Trumbo resigned with the the Blue Jays and Orioles respectively.  Bautista got a little more than if he had accepted his QO with a 1 year/$18 M contract with an option for 2018 with a buyout of $1M.  This deal make sense for the Blue Jays but has to be a big disappointment for Bautista who made some rather exorbitant demands last year for a contract extension.  Trumbo's deal is for 3 years/$37 M and is a good fit for both the Orioles and Trumbo who is a 1 dimensional player who should continue to thrive playing in dinger friendly Camden Yards.

*********************************************************************************

The Reds traded SP Dan Straily to the Marlins for 3 prospects including Luis Castillo, a former Giants farmhand who reportedly was hitting triple digits last year in the Marlins minor league system.  The Reds also got RHP Austin Brice and OF Isaiah White in the deal.  This trade is a nice flip for the rebuilding Reds who picked him up off waivers last year and got a solid season out of him which rebuilt his value.  Straily has had an up and down career and would seem likely to regress again in 2017, but Marlins Park may be a boon to his flyball style.

Castillo is 24 yo and has not pitched above AA.  He is most likely a future MLB bullpen arm.  Brice is your average RP prospect with middling numbers in the minors.  White is a sleeper who hit just .214 last year, but has plus-plus speed and a plus defender in CF.  He is just 20 yo, so has time to develop.

*********************************************************************************

The Phillies signed OF Michael Saunders to a 1 year/$9 M contract with a team option for 2018 with a $1 M buyout.  Saunders had a great first half last year but was terrible in the second half.  His 140 Games last year was his most since 2013 as he has had recurrent injuries and has a bum knee.  This is a bridge signing for the Phils who are rebuilding.  It's a bit of a head scratcher what the Phils are thinking here as they might be better off in the long run to play Aaron Alther and/or Roman Quinn and give them MLB experience.

*********************************************************************************

Oft-injured RHP Josh Johnson announced his retirement from baseball after signing a minor league contract with the Giants earlier in the offseason.  You have to think his rehab from his 3'rd Tommy John surgery was not going well.

*********************************************************************************

The Gregor Blanco era is apparently over in San Francisco as the White Shark signed a minor league deal with the D'Backs.  From 2012-2015, Blanco accumulated a total fWAR of 9.3 as the Best 4'th OF in Baseball.  He played the game with enthusiasm and never complained about starting jobs being handed to others who were not as good all-around players.  His two signature moments were a stunning catch to save Matt Cain's perfect game and as the first leg of a relay throw that nailed Prince Fielder at the plate in the 2012 World Series.  Blanco's defense started to slip the last two seasons which robbed him of a big part of his value.  He also struggled at the plate in 2016 putting his fWAR into negative territory.  While Blanco was one of the best values in baseball for the Giants, he also did quite well for himself financially earning a total of $12.8 M in his 5 seasons in San Francisco.  He should get a lot of very loud cheers at future Giants championship team reunions for the rest of his life.