Rumor Roundup: De Leon a fit in Dozier deal?

The Hot Stove season is underway, and we’re keeping you up to date with the latest free-agent news, trade buzz, rumors and more.

De Leon a trade candidate if LA lands Dozier The Dodgers have indicated that they might be willing to include their top pitching prospect, Jose De Leon, in a deal for Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan on Friday.

• Hot Stove Tracker

According to Passan, De Leon makes sense as a target for the Twins, who already have a young core, and the Dodgers could afford to move the 24-year-old right-hander because of their wealth of near-Major League-ready starting pitching.

In addition to being the Dodgers’ No. 1 pitching prospect, De Leon is ranked as Los Angeles’ No. 2 overall prospect and the No. 33 prospect in baseball, per MLBPipeline.com. De Leon made his MLB debut in 2016, going 2-0 with a 6.35 ERA and 15 strikeouts over four starts.

Dozier, meanwhile, would slot in nicely at second base for a Dodgers team that currently has Enrique Hernandez at the top of the depth chart, while veteran Chase Utley is a free agent. The 29-year-old Dozier set the American League single-season record for home runs by a second baseman with 42 in 2016.

According to MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman, multiple teams have been inquiring about Dozier, but the Dodgers are the most logical landing spot. The Twins like Los Angeles’ No. 1 prospect, first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger, per Heyman’s report, but the Dodgers seem more likely to be willing to part with De Leon as the headliner of a potential trade package.

Along with pursuing Dozier, some teams have reached out to the Twins to gauge the club’s interest in trading right-hander Ervin Santana, Jon Heyman reported on Friday.

The Twins, coming off a season in which they went 59-103, have said no one’s untouchable.

The 34-year-old Santana is an alternative to those on the current free-agent market. The 12-year veteran is signed through 2018 at $13.5 million per season, with a $14 million vesting option for 2019 or a $1 million buyout.

Santana was 7-11 with a 3.38 ERA in 30 starts last season, his second with Minnesota after signing a four-year, $55 million contract before the 2015 season.

Rangers checking in on Rockies outfielders

The Rangers have reportedly been in contact with the Rockies about their surplus of outfielders, according to MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi.

Texas has taken a blow in free agency this winter, losing key offensive contributors such as Carlos Beltran (Astros), Mitch Moreland (Red Sox) and Ian Desmond (Rockies). The Rangers retained Carlos Gomez on a one-year, $11.5 million deal, and would be open to shifting Shin-Soo Choo to designated hitter if they were able to bring in another outfielder, per Morosi.

The Rockies have plenty of outfield depth to offer, though they value that commodity greatly and would likely ask for a major haul in return.

MLB.com reported last week that Charlie Blackmon was mentioned in discussions with the Blue Jays, and Carlos Gonzalez has been speculated as a trade chip with just one year left on his contract, worth $20 million. However, Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich has aggressively shot down trade speculation for either, and he said he told Blackmon earlier this week “to take all the rumors and anything he might be reading with a huge grain of salt.”

“As the situation was with CarGo over the last few years, there are teams that are doing their jobs and their due-diligence and calling on our guys,” Bridich said on Tuesday. “But we have no plans that we want to or we need to trade Charlie Blackmon. That’s never been part of our M.O.”

The Rockies signed Desmond, for five years and $70 million, to play first base, a position he’s never played. But Desmond brings defensive versatility to be shifted back to the outfield, where first played in Texas last spring.

Such a transition would open the door for the Rockies to sign one of the sluggers who also play first base remaining on the market, such as Mark Trumbo or Edwin Encarnacion, though Bridich shot down many of those speculations on Thursday. And signing either would be highly unlikely unless they traded some of their current outfield depth, which also includes David Dahl and Raimel Tapia, who the Rockies value tremendously.

The Rangers have also been in contact with Encarnacion’s agent about his asking price, per Morosi, however it remains unclear if there’s an offer currently on the table. Encarnacion would cost Texas a first-round Draft pick as part of the qualifying offer he turned down from the Blue Jays. But the Rangers have the flexibility to part ways with theirs, as they will receive a compensation pick in the first round since Desmond rejected their qualifying offer.

Jeff Bridich has been arguably more aggressive …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com