While baseball fans are most interested in Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, more than 130 other players remain unsigned, too.
Trade talks have also been progressing slowly, so even highly coveted players like Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto might need to wait a little longer to figure out their fates.
Here are the latest MLB rumours with less than a month remaining before spring training…
Reds testing the waters for Realmuto
The Cincinnati Reds might not be done dealing yet.
After acquiring Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and Alex Wood from the Los Angeles Dodgers in December and trading for Sonny Gray in early January, the Reds are reportedly making progress in a deal that would bring in Realmuto.
There are limits to their interest, however. According to The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans, Cincinnati doesn’t see Realmuto as a necessity.
As the rebuilding Marlins would most likely go after young prospects, the Reds should be an enticing trade partner. Cincinnati’s farm system ranks seventh on MLB Pipeline’s list and the team has been able to hold onto notable prospects like Nick Senzel and Taylor Trammell despite this recent flurry of trades geared toward becoming a win-now team.
If the Reds don’t want to over-spend, Senzel and Trammell might not be up for discussion, especially since they could make the majors at some point next season. However, the Reds could get creative with other well-regarded prospects and move ahead with an offer.
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Work stoppage on the horizon?
With another slow off-season developing and more than 130 free agents still unsigned, MLB could be marching towards its first labour stoppage since 1994-95, Ken Rosenthal writes at the Athletic.
According to Rosenthal, tension between players and owners is significant and the threat of a stoppage is ‘palpable.’
Players’ concerns aren’t limited to the slow free-agent market. Union leader Tony Clark met with around 100 prospects earlier in the month to discuss service time manipulation, a subject for which the Toronto Blue Jays made headlines last year when the team chose to keep Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the minors despite his success.
Rosenthal reports that players are already making pre-emptive moves such as authorizing the MLBPA to withhold resources for a possible strike fund.
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‘No interest’ in Tigers’ Castellanos
Around this time last year, Nick Castellanos was talking about staying in Detroit for as long as he played and winning a World Series with the team.
But the Tigers are nowhere near reaching a World Series, and the 26-year-old outfielder could be on his way out, as he’s been involved in multiple trade rumours since the start of the off-season. If a deal does occur, it won’t catch Castellanos by surprise.
“He wants to win and understands the direction of the franchise right now is to procure prospects,” agent David Meter told Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. “That being said, he would rather start with his new club going into spring training.”
Castellanos’ preferences aside, Detroit’s trade endeavours have been hindered by the slow free-agent market. Tigers general manager Al Avila admits that there’s little interest in the outfielder.
“Nothing has happened,” Avila told Fenech. “Quite frankly, there has been no interest, at this point.”
The San Francisco Giants could be an interesting fit for Castellanos, as the team is looking to add outfielders via free agency before the season starts, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney.
Castellanos and the Tigers agreed on a $9.95-million deal in 2019, a somewhat team-friendly figure for a .298/.354/.500 slash line with 23 home runs. The outfielder’s subpar defence should be a point of concern, but the Giants might be willing to overlook that, as Castellanos becomes a free agent a year from now and San Francisco doesn’t appear to be a real contender this year.