Baseball

Rumor corner: Teoscar Hernandez is in the Royals’ sights
Félix Forget
Rumor corner: Teoscar Hernandez is in the Royals’ sights
Credit: MLB

The Royals have a clear goal this winter: to add offense. The club has a good pitching staff, but needs good bats to back up Bobby Witt Jr. in the lineup.

That's one of the reasons the club wanted to sign Mike Yastrzemski, who eventually joined the Atlanta Braves.

But that's obviously not going to stop the Royals: the club now has a new target in its sights.

And we're not exactly talking about a celery stalk, as they're interested in a certain Teoscar Hernandez.

Remember, he's not a free agent, so it'll have to be a trade if they want him.

We know Hernandez is a special fit with the Dodgers in that he's not a great defensive player. With Shohei Ohtani blocking the designated hitter spot, it makes sense that the defending champions might consider trading Hernandez.

They won't trade him for a pittance, of course. But there's probably enough to convince the Dodgers to let him go.

So we'll see if the Royals can find a way to convince the Dodgers to let him go. But obviously, they'd like to get their hands on the former Blue Jays.

To be continued.

Tarik Skubal: the Tigers don't rule out anything

Tarik Skubal's name continues to be the talk of the town this winter. The Tigers' superstar, who is one year away from complete autonomy, is at the heart of transaction rumors, given that the club is unlikely to pay him.

And if we're going to let the pitcher go for nothing, we might as well capitalize on his value.

We also know that the Tigers intend to be competitive in 2026. And that's why, as Jon Morosi notes, the club isn't ruling out any option, including keeping him next year (even without a contract).

Obviously, it's in the Tigers' best interest to keep the doubt alive so they don't paint themselves into a corner. If the club absolutely wants to trade him, it's not to their advantage to say so publicly: they'd lose leverage that way.

We know the Mets are having a tough offseason: don't be surprised to see them pull out all the stops to make up for the departures of Edwin Diaz and Pete Alonso by picking up Skubal.

There will be other teams in the race if Skubal is available. At the moment, however, the Tigers are keeping their cards close to their chest.

This will be a case to watch this winter.

Mets talk to Cardinals about Willson Contreras

With Pete Alonso gone, the Mets have a gaping hole to fill at first base. It will be very difficult to replace Alonso, but the club must find solutions.

Especially since the free-agent market isn't brimming with talent at first base.

That means the club has to consider the trade market, and the word on the street is that the Mets have been talking to the Cardinals about Willson Contreras.

We know that Contreras, a former catcher, is now a full-time first baseman. At 33, he's still a good hitter (he hits about 20 home runs every year), and he's a better option than the guys on the free-agent market.

He's obviously not of Alonso's caliber. But defensively, Contreras is much better… while still being solid offensively.

And the Cardinals, who want to cut their payroll, would probably like nothing better than to trade a player earning $18 million a year for the next two seasons.

To be continued.

PMLB
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