The Rundown–12/6/16: Miggy Makes a Change, Ticket Price Hikes, Sale Rumors
Evan hit you with some Cubs related rumors last night; here are some updates and other news from around the league.
- Miguel Montero switched agents from Octagon to Paul Kinzer’s group as he heads into the final year of his contract.
- Jed Hoyer said recently that he is hopeful a talk with Joe Maddon will calm the complaints Miggy had after the World Series about not knowing his role.
- I’m sure cooler heads will prevail here, mostly because Montero still has value to the Cubs as a left-handed backup catcher.
- The Cubs are seriously jacking up the price for season tickets for the 2017 season.
- The rates averaged 19.5% but were as low as 6% in some sections and as high as 31% in others.
- The Cubs said the demand is what dictated the increase in price and I understand it is a business, but yeesh, that is pretty steep. Tom Ricketts has always said that money made goes right back to the team, so maybe they can go get Kenley Jansen with the increase in revenue!
- Chris Sale to the Nationals is getting so much traction that it might actually happen. At last look the Nats were willing to include their best catching prospect (Pedro Serverino), an OF stud (Victor Robles), a stud pitcher (Lucas Giolito), and more.
- This would give the Nationals a very formidable trio for their rotation. I tweeted this last night, but I still think the Mets rotation is better when healthy, but it would be tough to face Scherzer, Strasburg and Sale in a series.
- Mark Melancon signed a 4-year, $62M deal to be the new closer for the San Francisco Giants. The deal has an opt out after two years and a full no-trade clause.
- Melancon has been a very steady closer and this is a good deal for him and the Giants. It also sets the standard for the other two big names on the market, not so much in terms of total dollars but the opt-outs and no-trade clauses will be something they will also get.
- Billy Hamilton is getting some trade interest, though the Reds are saying they aren’t super inclined to move that speed and defense (read as posturing for a better deal from teams).
- I would love to see that guy out of the NL Central; he is a terror to the Cubs when he gets on base and it isn’t like Jon Lester is all of a sudden going to come up with a sick pick-off move. Get this deal done and I will help pack his bags!
- The Blue Jays signed Steve Pearce to a 2 year, $12.5M deal, which seemingly ended the Blue Jays as a possible location for my next bullet point.
- The Indians and Edwin Encarnacion are being paired up in the media and it appears there is some smoke there.
- The market for EE has been very slow in developing and this is the first team that has been “serious” about him. It would be a good fit for both the Indians and Encarnacion, as he would replace Napoli as the DH/sometimes 1st baseman.
That is it for now, some things to watch for today though: the Cubs’ pursuit of Wade Davis, the Sale deal, and where Jorge Soler may end up (I’m thinking he won’t be in Chicago next season).