The Thanksgiving weekend continues and soon the baseball world will get back to business (once everyone’s turkey coma wears off). The Winter Meetings, typically the four busiest days of the offseason, are less than two weeks away. Here are our top 50 free agents and our top 25 trade candidates. Here now are Saturday’s hot stove rumors.
Rangers interested in Montgomery reunion
The World Series champion Rangers have interest in re-signing left-hander Jordan Montgomery, reports the New York Post. Montgomery was excellent after joining Texas in a trade deadline deal with the Cardinals, throwing 67 2/3 innings with a 2.79 ERA in the regular season and 31 innings with a 2.90 ERA in the postseason. We ranked him the No. 10 free agent available this offseason.
Even with Jacob deGrom expected to miss most of next season while completing his Tommy John surgery rehab, the Rangers have five starters: Dane Dunning, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Nathan Eovaldi, and Max Scherzer. That said, Eovaldi and Scherzer have injury concerns, and there’s no such thing as too much pitching. Texas wanting to reunite with Montgomery makes perfect sense.
Tigers pursuing Maeda
The Tigers are pursuing free agent right-hander Kenta Maeda and their talks have intensified in recent days, according to MLB.com. Detroit was also connected to Seth Lugo recently, so the Tigers are looking to reinforce their rotation without shopping at the top of the free agent market. We ranked Maeda as the No. 28 free agent available this offseason.
With Eduardo Rodriguez opting out, the only locks for Detroit’s rotation next year are Matt Manning, Reese Olson, and Tarik Skubal. Casey Mize, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, is expected to return from Tommy John surgery (and back surgery) early next season, possibly in time for Opening Day. Clearly though, the Tigers could use a veteran starter this offseason. Possibly even two.
