MLB Rumors: Aaron Judge meeting Giants; Yankees check in on jacob degroom

While there will likely be a slight flurry of action here in Major League Baseball, Thanksgiving is looming in a few days and that means it will likely be a slow week. However, very few free agents have signed and most of the big names rumored to be on the trade block have yet to be dealt with. That means we’re bound to see a bunch of rumors this week.

Let’s round up the rumors for Monday, November 21st.

Judge to meet giants

Outfielder Aaron Judge has arrived in San Francisco and is expected to meet the Giants this week, According to John Morosi of MLB Network. Judge, of course, was rated by CBS Sports as the best free agent available this season. This is what we wrote at the time:

Here’s the most threatening judge this side of Cormac McCarthy’s business. There may be no difference what men think of war, but Judge has amassed more of it during the pandemic era than any player except Shuhei Ohtani, according to Baseball-Reference calculations. How did he not have it? hits average. he walks; hits for power (obscure fact: broke the American League single-season home run record); And he has one of the strongest outside arms in the majors. The Yankees even used him at center for most of the season, referring to his athleticism. The strikes against the judge remained the same as they were in the spring, when he turned down the offer of a seven-year, $213.5 million extension: 1) he was on the wrong side of 30 (he’ll turn 31 in April) and 2) he’s had his share of injuries. So the most important number on a judge’s stat sheet might not be 62 but 152, or the average number of matches he’s played in the past two years.

The meeting didn’t necessarily mean anything, but industry insiders widely speculated that the Giants would be among the judge’s top potential suitors. We’ll see if there is anything else consolidating between the two sides.

Yankees check in degroom?

Yankees asked for medical information on Jacob DeGrum, According to SNY, though the report comes with a caveat that this does not necessarily mean the Yankees will pursue DeGrom in free agency. It seems as if this is just some kind of due diligence request.

The Yankees’ top priority in this offseason remains bringing back Aaron Judge. Until then, they’ll probably still make backup, contingency plans that they hope won’t be needed.

DeGrom, 34, has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since his debut in 2014 and has been very good since the start of 2018 (2.05 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 876 K, 645 1/3 IP), but arm injuries have persisted him in 26 starts. In the past two seasons combined.

In addition to metsThe Brave And the notice They are also mentioned as deGrom applicants. I will add speculation Dodgersvery.

Bellinger wants a one-year deal

Being a former MVP and only 27 years old, it might surprise some to learn that Cody Bellinger is looking for a one-year deal in free agency. This is exactly the case, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reportsQuoted from Bellinger’s agent Scott Boras.

“It was actually offered to me several years ago,” Porras said. “Most likely, because of his age, we don’t want several years.”

The rationale here is that Bellinger and Porras believe the 2020 shoulder injury lasted into 2021 and affected his performance through 2022. , and beyond.

It’s been a good ride for Bellinger. He won the MVP Award in 2019 with the Dodgers and then played through a separated shoulder during part of 2020. He had surgery to repair it in November of that year. Then he hit .165/.240/.302 in 95 games in 2021 and .210/.265/.389 in 144 last season. The Dodgers no-bid him on Friday, sending him to free agency.

There has already been a lot of reported interest in Bellinger. Even though the Dodgers didn’t want to keep him — which seems like it should be a red flag, on the surface — he’s an overweight defender in center field who can also handle first base. He also runs the bases well, so even if he doesn’t hit, he can be useful to a lot of teams. He’s also not too far behind hitting .305/.406/.629 with 47 homers and 115 RBI in his MVP campaign.

The blue jays One of the teams that has expressed interest in Bellinger, John Morosi reports from MLB.com. The Cubs Another team connected to Bellinger, via The Athletic.

Three teams are interested in Hanegger

Freestyle quarterback Mitch Hanegger spent the vast majority of his big league career with the sailors And return there is a possibility. There are other suitors too. Dodgers, Angels The Rangers are in talks with Hanegger, According to Morosi.

Haniger will be at 32 next season and has shown great offensive progression when he’s been able to stay on the field. He had 39 homers and 100 RBIs in 2021 and has 126 OPS+ in 530 games for Seattle City. Of course, he only played 63 games in 2019, missed 2020 and managed only 57 games last season. Interested teams will need to balance his offensive capabilities with durability questions.

D-Backs can handle a lot of strength

As noted in Rosenthal’s column in The Athletic, the diamondbacks He has four left-handed swinging position players in Corbin Carroll, Dolton Farshaw, Alec Thomas, and Jake McCarthy. As such, they are open for business to trade one of them.

First, don’t worry, D-Backs fans: Carol is off limits. The 22-year-old former first driver is someone they are looking to build around.

Farshaw is also unlikely to be affected, especially given his ability to play catcher as well.

This leaves Thomas and McCarthy as the business foil.

Thomas, 22, hit .231/.275/.344 as a starter last season, but there’s more upside there and he’s a terrific linebacker. 427 (1,118 OPS+) with 23 stolen bases and a 2.4 WAR in 99 games last season, finishing fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

If the D-Backs deal with Thomas and/or McCarthy, they’re said to be looking for right-hand strength and big-league ready advice.