Offseason Needs: American League East

The virtual Winter Meetings are entering a second week. With activity and rumors picking up around Major League Baseball, I am going to go division by division over the next week to suggest what moves each team should make this offseason.

The attention every offseason surrounds the American League East with normally big spenders of the Yankees and Red Sox, but this offseason the Blue Jays and defending AL champion Rays attract even more attention.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays have already made a major move today by re-signing Mike Zunino on a one-year $2 million deal. He starts to fill a major hole because the Rays had no catchers on their roster. Zunino certainly provides a clear starter at the position in 2021, but the Rays still don’t have depth behind him. There have also been rumors all offseason about the Rays looking to trim salary and potentially shopping Blake Snell to do so. I don’t think they will move Snell this offseason unless a team overwhelms the Rays, but I do think he would definitely be a trade deadline target if the Rays take a step back.

Circling back to catching, I think there is a way the Rays could trim salary and add to the catching depth by trading Yoshi Tsutsugo to the San Diego Padres for Francisco Mejía. Mejía is still pre-arbitration eligible and has never really blossomed into the hitter he was said to be while in the Cleveland farm system, but the Rays have a history of helping guys develop and Mejía could be next in line. Tsutsugo is set to make $7 million in 2021 and as seen during the playoffs, Kevin Cash never really found a consistent way to get him in the lineup, so I think he makes a good player to ship out in order to clear some salary.

Another way to help the Rays lineup would be to sign Danny Santana, who had a rough 2020 but had a strong 2019 batting .283 with 28 home runs and 81 RBI. Defensively Santana is solid to average at second, third, first and left, which fits into the versatility that the Rays like to have.

Finally, the Rays lost Charlie Morton this offseason and could use another arm to provide innings. A reunion with Chris Archer would fit that mold. He had a rough two seasons in Pittsburgh, so it will be a low-price signing to rebuild value and you bring back a player that is comfortable in your system and that you know.

New York Yankees

Re-signing DJ LeMahieu is the top priority of the Yankees according to every New York writer and Brian Cashman, so I’m going to say LeMahieu will be back in pinstripes next season.

I mentioned yesterday that the Marlins should trade Jorge Alfaro and a PTBNL for Gary Sánchez. The Yankees obviously want something for Sánchez and are not entirely sold on keeping him, which is why they have been linked to catchers this offseason, so Alfaro would be the perfect return because he is a solid catcher, who in the past had two solid seasons (.262 with 10 homers in 2018 and .262 with 18 homers in 2019). I think that helps stabilize the catching position and the lineup for Aaron Boone.

Finally, the Yankees have rotation holes to fill with three members of last year’s staff on the market. I do not think they will be big players for Trevor Bauer because of monetary issues thanks to no fans last year and also, I don’t think he will be a fit in New York. With the lack of depth in free agency that leaves them more in the trade market. There have been rumors of them engaging the Pirates on pitchers and Josh Bell. I would trade for Jameson Taillon. He is coming off Tommy John surgery so that is of some concern, but Taillon was a first-round draft pick and has a career 3.67 ERA and a 14-win 3.20 ERA in his last fully healthy season in 2018, so the talent is there. Because he is coming off Tommy John, the package will not be as high, so I think a package of Alexander Vizcaino, Canaan Smith and Ezequiel Duran would be a strong offer for Taillon and Sam Howard (LHP that pitched to a 3.86 ERA out of the pen in 2020).

I think Luke Voit came into his own the last two seasons and with Giancarlo Stanton’s injuries forcing him into what is looking more and more like a full-time DH role, adding Josh Bell to any trade really does not make a ton of sense.

Boston Red Sox

Since I just discussed the Yankees, it feels only right to follow by discussing the Red Sox. Boston struggled last season, but looking back it feels like the plan was to punt on 2020 and then rebound in 2021 with Alex Cora back in the dugout.

The Red Sox are going to have to pitch a lot better to get back to the winning ways of 2018. In the rotation, Jake Odorizzi and Corey Kluber would be two cost efficient options to go after. Odorizzi was in All-Star in 2019 going 15-7 with a 3.51 ERA but started just four games in 2020 and had a rough 6.59 ERA, so the 2020 struggles should drive his price down while the 2019 numbers should give the Red Sox hopes of adding a good arm to the rotation. Kluber would be another low-cost option because he really has not pitched much since 2018 because of injuries. But in 2018, he finished third in Cy Young voting after going 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA. Kluber spends half of his offseason in the Boston area because that is where his wife is from, so a possible family connection should help edge out any potential competition for Kluber’s services.

The Red Sox also need bullpen help especially in the late innings. Jeremy Jeffress is coming off a great season with the Cubs (1.54 ERA in 22 appearances) and has closing experience from his time in Milwaukee, so he would be an excellent add to pitch either the 8th or 9th. Justin Wilson is another guy with experience closing from his time in Detroit, and he is coming off three strong seasons (3.46 ERA in 2018, 2.54 ERA in 2019 and 3.66 ERA in 2020). Both arms should help the Red Sox lock down the late innings.

Finally, the Red Sox need a player that hit anywhere in the lineup and play anywhere on the field, which is pretty much the description of Marwin González. He had a shaky 2020, but three straight seasons of more than 20 home runs from 2016-2018 followed by a 19 homer 2019 means he has a powerful bat that can fill in around the diamond to give the Red Sox lineup insurance.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have been the most talked about teams outside of the Mets this offseason, so you have to follow the where there is smoke there is fire motto to say they will be the team to trade for Francisco Lindor. The rumors are they have questions about Bo Bichette long term defensively at short, which is fair after he regressed from four defensive runs saved in his rookie year to negative one last season. He did deal with injury issues in 2020, but with the ability of Cavan Biggio to play different positions including first, moving Bichette to second and playing Lindor at short can only help make your team stronger.

Despite what Joel Sherman likes to endlessly say anytime he is on MLB Network, the package for Lindor will still be substantial especially when you factor in the relationship the Blue Jays front office have not only with the Cleveland front office, but with Lindor. I think the Blue Jays are one of the few teams that can feel comfortable trading pieces for Lindor and then locking him up long term because Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins were a part of the front office that drafted him. I think Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Otto Lopez and Joey Murray would be a strong package coming back for Lindor.

Teoscar Hernandez’s power each of the last three years combined with a much-improved average in 2020 makes moving Gurriel Jr. easier, but they would still need a replacement, which brings me to Eddie Rosario. He is a strong defender in left (nine defensive runs saved in his career) and was a surprising non-tender for the Twins after blasting 119 home runs combined with .277/.310/.478 slash line over his six years in Minnesota. The switch-hitting ability of Lindor combined with the left-handed bat of Rosario helps even out the Blue Jays lineup.

Finally, bringing James Paxton home to Canada and adding Alex Colomé would be big additions to the pitching staff. Paxton can add another veteran arm to a rotation (3.58 ERA over eight seasons) while Colomé (138 career saves) adds a very consistent arm to pitch the 9th.

Baltimore Orioles

Sign Yasiel Puig, Derek Dietrich, Carlos Rodón and Trevor Williams. All four are veterans with big league experience and previous success but have fell on tough seasons and need to rebuild value. This makes them cheaper targets for the Orioles.

Baltimore is rebuilding and could use some veterans to help mentor the young players and provide some excitement to the fans, especially Puig and Dietrich. Puig can help in the outfield and provide a consistent DH while Dietrich can play multiple positions to provide depth to sure up any weak spots.

Rodón and Williams both can provide innings behind Cobb and Means to help solidify the rotation while Baltimore continues to develop younger players as part of their rebuild.