MLB rumors: News on free-agent contracts, trades and more
The off-season hot stove is warming up with trade rumors and free agency decisions coming down the pipeline.
The rumor mill has picked back up after a brief lull when the passage of a new collective bargaining agreement was in question, but now that the new CBA is in place, free-agent dealings have commenced.
The biggest free agent taken off the market so far has been outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who re-signed with the New York Mets last week for four years and $100 million. Top-tier relievers Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman are still available, but might not be for long.
Keep up to date on the latest MLB news and rumors below:
• The Miami Marlins have made a monster offer to Kenley Jansen in the neighborhood of five-years, $80 million. (Jeff Passan, Yahoo Sports)
• The New York Yankees have reportedly signed closer Aroldis Chapman to a five-year deal worth $86 million.
• Despite David Ortiz's excitement in an Instagram post for the Chris Sale trade, the Boston Red Sox are not trying to lure the long-time DH out of retirement. "I wouldn't want to reach out to him. I wouldn't want to keep bothering him," team president Dave Dombroski told reporters. (Providence Journal)
• Before acquiring Adam Eaton, the Nationals checked in with the Cincinatti Reds on any possible deal for Billy Hamilton. (Jerry Crasnick, ESPN)
• The Colorado Rockies are discussing a deal with Mark Trumbo. (Jeff Passan, Yahoo Sports)
• Matt Holliday's deal with the Yankees includes a no-trade clause to just one team – the Oakland Athletics. (Chris Cotillo, SB Nation)
• The Seattle Mariners have acquired pitcher Chris Heston from the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later. (Jon Morosi, MLB Network)
• Jose Bautista's agent has been "knocking on the Orioles doot for a while.” and general manager Dan Duquette told him that fans do not particularly like him. (Roch Kubatko, MASNSports.com)
• The Nationals may now look to add a starting pitcher after losing a few of their prospects. (Jon Morosi, MLB Network)
• The Chicago White Sox have reportedly agreed to trade outfielder Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals in exchange for pitchers Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning and Reynaldo Lopez. (FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman and CSN Chicago's Dan Hayes)
• The Yankees have expressed interest in Sergio Romo for their bullpen. In just 30 2/3 innings of work last year, he managed a 2.64 ERA. (John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle)
• The Marlins have signed catcher A.J. Ellis to a one-year deal with $2.5 million. (Buster Olney, ESPN)
• Ian Desmond has agreed on a five-year, $70 million deal with the Colorado Rockies to play first base and outfield. The Rockies will forfeit their No. 11 draft pick. (Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports)
• The Marlins and lefthanded pitcher Jeff Locke have agreed on a deal, pending a physical. The deal is for one year and $3 million. (Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports) (Jon Heyman, FanRag Sports)
• The Dodgers are continued to be interested in acquiring an infielder. They are talking to the White Sox about Todd Frazier and to the Twins about Brian Dozier. (Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports)
• Orioles GM Dan Duquette said he was not interested in signing Jose Bautista because Orioles fans don't like him. (Mike Winter, Sportsnet)
• The Rangers and Indians are both still in talks with Edwin Encarnacion. (Marly Rivera, ESPN)
• Teams believe that Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman are close to making their free agency decisions. (Jeff Passan, ESPN)
• Jansen told Marlins manager Don Mattingly that he is open to joining his former manager in Miami. (Bob Nightengale, USA Today)
• The Giants are saying they have reached their spending limit for this off-season after signing reliever Mark Melancon, which means they will not be contenders to sign Dexter Fowler or Jose Bautista or trade for Jay Bruce. (Bob Nightengale, USA Today)
• The Tigers are struggling to put a trade together for J.D. Martinez and Ian Kinsler. They are looking for a young infielder or outfielder in return, but the market is still full of free-agent options, making a trade tough to negotiate. (Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports)
• The Orioles could be interested in outfielder Brett Gardner if some of his $11 million salary was paid down. (Jon Heyman, FanRag Sports)
• The White Sox are engaged in serious talks with several teams, including the Nationals and Astros, about trading starting pitcher Jose Quintana. The Nationals lost out on the Chris Sale sweepstakes. (Bob Nightengale, USA Today)
• The Braves are also interested in Quintana. (Jon Heyman, FanRag Sports)
• The Oakland Athletics are 'very interested' in Kansas City Royals outfielder Jarrod Dyson. (Joel Sherman, New York Post)
• The Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs have agreed to a trade that will send reliever Wade Davis to Chicago in exchange for outfielder Jorge Soler. (Bob Nightengale, USA Today)
• The Nationals made a late push to land Davis. (Jayson Stark, ESPN)
• The Rangers and outfielder Carlos Gomez have agreed to a new one-year, $11.5 million contract, pending a physical. (Jon Heyman, FanRag Sports)
• Fernando Rodney has agreed to a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Diamondbacks. (Jon Heyman, FanRag Sports)
• Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has agreed to spend on high-priced closers Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman, should the front office be able to secure a trade. (Jayson Stark, ESPN)
• Chapman has an offer worth $92 million on the table from an unnamed team. (Bob Nightengale, USA Today)
• The Marlins are not believed to be the interested team, but are intent on landing a high-profile closer. The Yankees are also pursuing Chapman hard. (Jon Heyman, FanRag Sports)
