The MLB Hot Stove is starting to warm up as we enter December. So far the two teams that have been most active in actually signing players has been the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals. The Royals inked their former starter Mike Minor to a 2-year deal worth at least 18 million dollars including a club option for a 3rd year. He is coming off of a tough 2020 where he showed signs of brilliance with the Rangers and A’s but ended up with an ERA over 5. Some of his advanced stats indicate that perhaps he wasn’t as bad as the simple stats say.
Meanwhile, the Royals also picked up former Nationals speedster Michael A. Taylor who had some key home runs during the Royals 2019 playoff push that ultimately ended up in a World Series Championship. Taylor will receive a $1.75MM base salary and another $1MM worth of available incentives, reports Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. Taylor brings speed, strong defense and some pop to Kansas City where he will try to find the stroke from 2017 that helped him hit .271 with 19 home runs. More stable playing time and a revamped swing could help him do so.
Michael A. Taylor
The New York Mets have also been active early in the Free Agent Market by signing former Twins reliever Trevor May to a one year 15.5 million dollar deal. May has strike out stuff and is one of the better relievers in all of baseball despite an ERA that is usually around the 3.5 range. The 31 year old had a 3.86 earned run average in 24 games for the Twins last season, with 38 strikeouts in 23 ⅓ innings. This is a key signing for a Mets bullpen that, despite some nice names, has struggled to find consistency.
The Mets also signed 11 players to Minor League Deals earlier this week including former Mariner outfielder Mallex Smith, right-handed major-league veteran closer Arodys Vizcaino, and infielder Jose Peraza, who spent the 2020 season with the Red Sox. The rest of the names include Oscar De La Cruz, Johneshwy Fargas, Jake Hager, Harol Gonzalez, Bruce Maxwell, David Rodríguez, Luis Carpio, and Mitchell Tolman.
As far as the rumors go, the Yankees are showing interest in former Astros and Indians slugger Michael Brantley. However, this move may be contingent on whether or not the Yanks can resign DJ Lemahieu. Another 2020 Astro, George Springer, has been connected mainly to the Toronto Blue Jays, who have been in touch with Springer’s agency at least once per week according to their General Manager.
Top Free Agent Pitcher Trevor Bauer was early connected to the San Francisco Giants, but recently the Los Angeles Angels have also shown interest. This makes sense as the Angels have struggled with their rotation for several years. Despite having two superstar offensive players in Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, the Angels will never compete for a World Championship until they can sign some better starters for that rotation.
Trevor Bauer
James McCann has been heavily connected to the New York Mets, who are more interested in McCann than J.T. Realmuto according to most reports. According to some reports, it is increasingly likely that McCann gets a four year deal with the New York Mets. Also, the Twins non-tendered Eddie Rosario and the Red Sox are showing interest according to Jon Morosi.
2020 Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna is drawing interest from the San Francisco Giants but without knowing if there will be a Designated Hitter in the National League in 2021, they are hesitant to make a signing. Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays, who know they will have the DH, are also interested and have an advantage over the Giants as long as Rob Manfred drags his feet on the DH decision.
One of the best closers in the game, Liam Hendricks, is also a free agent and both the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants are showing interest. Finally, one of the best pitchers in Japanese baseball has been posted and the Padres, Yankees and Giants are all very interested in Tokyo Giants legend Tomoyuki Sugano. The Yankees may be the favorites but if Sugano is interested in staying in the orange and black in the USA, he will have an opportunity as the Giants are heavily interested. This is a pitcher who has a 101-50 career record in Japan with an ERA of 2.34 over an 8-year career. He also has over 1200 career strikeouts.
