News of the final ratification of the Collective Agreement dominates the headlines, and with good reason, but some free agent leads have quietly surfaced in the closing hours of the Central Bank negotiations. Specifically, John Heyman of MLB Network reports that the Yankees requested and received medical supplies for free-agent pitchers Carlos Rodon as well as Yusei Kikuchi before blocking. Heyman notes that the Yankees received the medical services of a free agent shortstop. Carlos Correa also, though he dismisses that the team already has “two good shortstops”, referring to the touted youngsters. Anthony Wolpe as well as Oswald Peraza.
It has been speculated for some time that the Yankees’ minor league depth might hinder their quest to become baseball’s top free agent, but their interest in Rawdon and Kikuchi seems more clear. Despite the fact that he has a high stockpile of weapons behind him Gerrit Cole as well as Jordan Montgomery, there is no shortage of risk in the Bronx rotation. However, signing either Rawdon or Kikuchi would have added a similar high-risk, high-reward pitcher to the mix, as those free agent targets dealt with injuries and inefficiencies later on, respectively. However, with a much higher luxury tax cap to deal with clubs like the Yankees, it’s an additional incentive to sign as many playoff-level hands as possible to see who stays.
Another free agent leads to the opening of the world after the lockout…
- In addition to Heyman’s tweet, Darren Wolfson of SKOR North reports that Gemini had also been treated by Rawdon and Kikuchi. According to Wolfson, the Twins are still looking for “a variety of hands, starts, and pitchers,” which should come as no surprise to fans who’ve been following the Minnesota offseason so far. The signing of Rawdon is likely to be an uncharacteristically large blip for the Twins, although it should be noted that they have shown interest in high-risk pitchers in the past, not to mention their interest in Rawdon in the recent offseason.
- Another free agent making a fuss Jorge Solerwho is Mark Feinsand from MLB.com reports received interest from more than six clubs. Now that the universal DH has been implemented, Feinsand suggests that Soler will see his fan list grow. This theory certainly holds up on paper, as Soler has posted a useful 117 OPS+ since 2019, though his gloved performance has been clearly below average over the same span.