Football's great and all, but there's always something missing when baseball season ends. Luckily for us, talking about baseball is a 24/7/365 thing, especially with the litany of free agent and trade rumors around the Majors right now. We're here to highlights some of the most intriguing rumblings around with our MLB Offseason Rumors Roundup: Weekend Edition.
Mike Napoli Landing Spots?
The Texas Rangers like what they saw of 1B/OF Mike Napoli in his second stint with the team in 2015 following his trade from Boston, so much so that they'd like to find a way to bring him back despite the conundrum of having to figure out how to slot him into the lineup regularly with Josh Hamilton projected as an everyday option.
If the Rangers can't put together a feasible plan to make such an arrangement work, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe indicates that the Baltimore Orioles, Oakland A's, New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants (among others) will be in the mix for the veteran bat.
What's The Price On Brett Gardner?
After the New York Yankees sacrificed coveted catcher John Ryan Murphy to land Minnesota Twins outfielder Aaron Hicks, veteran OF Brett Gardner's days in the Bronx officially became numbered. Already the subject of overarching trade speculation, it'd be an upset if Gardner isn't sent elsewhere within the next few weeks.
The problem here appears to be the cost, however. The Globe's Nick Cafardo reports that the Yankees are looking for a "front-line starting pitcher" in return. That's a heck of a return for a 32-year-old outfielder who's lost a couple steps defensively and swooned in a major way after the All-Star break in 2015, although his All-Star Game appearance does keep his value relatively high.
If Gardner is indeed dealt, keep an eye on the Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants.
Boston Red Sox Going All-In On Top Pitchers?
Boston's acquisition of closer Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres cost them a bevy of high-upside prospects, but it didn't end up costing them one of the studs out of their cache of young MLB players such as Jackie Bradley Jr., Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts.
Now the task is to find an ace for the starting rotation. After using up some of their key farm system bullets on Kimbrel, expect Red Sox GM Dave Dombrowski to double down in free agency and put his resources into landing one of these three top-line starters: David Price, Johnny Cueto and/or Jordan Zimmermann. The Globe's Nick Cafardo adds that Jeff Samardzija could be on that target list too, but he'd likely serve as a Plan B if they can't land one of the three aforementioned #1s.
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