He'll make $5 million, per Heyman. Per Zack Meisel of The Athletic, it's a one-year deal with a club option for 2022.

Look I know it's small potatoes but that sure makes the infield look much more professional.

I am assuming Naylor plays 1B and he actually can't be much worse than Santana was in 2020.

And it's not like Lindor did anything in 2020 either so Gimenez has a low bar to reach to match 2020 version of Lindor.

TFIR, I play Bradley at first, sink or swim time for him.

They're actually spending some money, I'm surprised,

I'm not.

Look at it this way - the pandemic was a re-set for all teams. Contracts signed before the pandemic are (at least temporarily) now considered inflated.

Therefore the Tribe, like most other teams, are dumping the inflated contracts and using the money to shop in the new market - the FLOODED market.

There is an absolute ton of free agents still out there and they want a place to play. So teams like the Tribe now shop at discounted prices.

They are not done - you watch.

And all over the league, starting this week, the pace is picking up quite a bit.

I put Naylor in left; Bradley and Bauer can fight for 1st base. I wish either Naylor or Bauers had an arm for RF since I'm totally uncertain if Johnson will pan out to share right with Luplow

And a reminder we are not done:

According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Indians are getting trade calls on Amed Rosario.

Rosario was just dealt to Cleveland earlier this month as part of the big Francisco Lindor swap, but the Indians also acquired another potential starting shortstop in that deal in Andres Gimenez.

Rosario, 25, is set to earn a $2.4 million salary in 2021, his first year of arbitration eligibility. He slashed .252/.272/.371 with four home runs and zero stolen bases over 46 games for the Mets in 2020.

One more point about the market re-set and how things are so different at this point.

The Yankees trade Adam Ottavino to the Red Sox AND a minor leaguer for.... player to be named later.

Total, total salary dump. They gave the Red Sox a prospect to take Ottavino (who will be the closer in Boston) and his $8 million salary off their hands!

They also let Tanaka walk back to Japan.

This is the New York Yankees no less. Says it all.

Reds have considered pursuit of shortstop Amed Rosario

Steve Adams, MLB Trade Rumors 1 hr ago


The Reds have considered a run at shortstop Amed Rosario as an alternative to spending on the free-agent market, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link). MLB Network’s Jon Heyman hears the same, tweeting that while Cincinnati has maintained interest in Didi Gregorius, he might prove too expensive an option.

a baseball player throwing a ball: The Reds are believed to be interested in Amed Rosario.© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports The Reds are believed to be interested in Amed Rosario.
Cincinnati has rampantly slashed payroll this winter, non-tendering Archie Bradley and Curt Casali despite modest arbitration projections and dumping Raisel Iglesias’ $9.125M salary in a deal with the Angels. General manager Nick Krall has spoken of reallocating those resources, but to this point the club has yet to put that money back into the roster. Acquiring Rosario, who is owed just $2.4M after avoiding arbitration earlier in the winter, would represent the team’s only addition to the payroll this offseason.

Puma reported Wednesday night that the Indians were receiving trade interest in Rosario, which likely caught some fans off guard given that Rosario was one of the pieces Cleveland received from the Mets in their Francisco Lindor/Carlos Carrasco blockbuster. However, Cleveland has also been slashing payroll this winter — and doing so on an even more extreme level. The Indians also acquired another MLB-ready option at shortstop in Andres Gimenez, who at this point is more highly regarded than Rosario.

It stands to reason that Cleveland could simply have acquired Rosario with an open mind — exploring the trade market for him but also content to carry him into the season. If he were to be flipped to another club, whatever players come back to Cleveland in return could in many ways be considered an extension of the franchise’s return for Lindor and Carrasco.



Still just 25 years old, Rosario was once regarded as one of MLB’s best overall prospects, but he’s yet to display much of that potential in the big leagues. He had a roughly league-average year at the plate in 2019 when he hit .287/.323/.432 with 15 homers and 19 steals, but his offense cratered in 2020. Overall, he’s a .268/.302/.403 hitter (89 wRC+) in more than 1500 big league plate appearances. Rosario was at one point considered an eventual plus defender, but to this point in his career he’s been 21 outs below average, per Statcast’s OAA mark, and has turned in a Defensive Runs Saved mark of -35 in 3306 innings.

Rosario is still young and controlled all the way through the 2023 season, so perhaps the Reds or another interested party believe they can help him tap into the ability that at one point led to Rosario ranking as a consensus top-10 prospect in all of baseball.

Tribe will dump Rosario now that Hernandez is back. They got Hernandez for $5M and Rosario costs $2.4M with nowhere to play.

Bag of balls.

rusty2 wrote:

Still just 25 years old, Rosario was once regarded as one of MLB’s best overall prospects, but he’s yet to display much of that potential in the big leagues. He had a roughly league-average year at the plate in 2019 when he hit .287/.323/.432 with 15 homers and 19 steals, but his offense cratered in 2020. Overall, he’s a .268/.302/.403 hitter (89 wRC+) in more than 1500 big league plate appearances. Rosario was at one point considered an eventual plus defender, but to this point in his career he’s been 21 outs below average, per Statcast’s OAA mark, and has turned in a Defensive Runs Saved mark of -35 in 3306 innings.

Rosario is still young and controlled all the way through the 2023 season, so perhaps the Reds or another interested party believe they can help him tap into the ability that at one point led to Rosario ranking as a consensus top-10 prospect in all of baseball.

I agree with the above - this is an all too common theme of NYC players. There is so much pressure to "win now" there that developing prospects can feel that and it does not help them.

The Mets just traded Steven Matz and I think that he will also benefit from the change of scenery.

I say CF for Rosario.

I see a suggested trade for us to get some leftover Reds outfielders .

"Cleveland, which also has slashed payroll, needs young and controllable outfielders. The Reds have plenty of depth in the outfield, with Aristides Aquino and Mark Payton among those without a regular spot."

Not a very impressive pair of options:
Aquino 26 year RH went 8 for 47 last year. The year before he hit 19 homers.
Peyton is a 29 year old LH whose entire major league was going 3-18 in 2020. He had a 1053 OPS in AAA in 2019. Always been in the 700s before that since his rookie ball year.

I certainly remember Aquino. Made a big splash. HB would hate him since he’s a big strikeout guy.

Our front office does seriously good work on other teams minors guys so trading Rosario for an actual outfielder is definitely an idea.

Why did Aquino disappear last year?

Gasp....a real outfielder???

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Indians are closing in on a deal with free agent outfielder Eddie Rosario.

There were plenty of teams interested in Rosario -- including the Brewers who seemingly wanted him to play first base -- but it looks like Rosario will decide to remain in the American League Central.

Given the current construction of the Indians' lineup, Rosario should find himself hitting right in the middle of the order on a nightly basis. The 29-year-old hit .277/.310/.478 with 119 homers in 697 games with the Twins over his six seasons there.