Tuesday's MLB hot stove trade and free-agency buzz
— -- The MLB hot stove season is going strong, and speculation is heating up across baseball. Here is what our writers are hearing today:
MLB Free Agent Tracker | Rumors
Crasnick's take: The St. Louis Cardinals have been mentioned as a possible fit for free agent Chris Davis. But one source familiar with the Cardinals' thinking says Davis is not on general manager John Mozeliak's radar at the moment, and characterized St. Louis' reported interest as overblown.
The Cardinals' main offseason objectives are: (1) Re-signing right fielder Jason Heyward; (2) adding a starter; and (3) acquiring a right-handed-hitting infielder-utility player. David Price is a possibility, but if the Cardinals can't get that one done, there are plenty of second-tier options available. They include Mike Leake, Scott Kazmir, Jeff Samardzija, Ian Kennedy and old friend John Lackey, to name only a handful. Ryan Raburn has been mentioned in speculation as a potential fit as the right-handed bench bat, and Gordon Beckham and Mike Aviles are other players who might fit the description.
As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has written, length of contract is a significant concern for the Cardinals with Davis. If the Cards are going to commit to a deal of six or seven years (or longer), they would rather do it with Heyward, who is only 26 years old and earned a lot of currency with the coaching staff and teammates with his productive 2015 season in St. Louis.
Strang's take: Detroit Tigers team owner Mike Ilitch made headlines Monday during right-hander Jordan Zimmermann's introductory newss conference, claiming he had no problem spending money in pursuit of a World Series title. Clearly, he proved that in giving first-year general manager Al Avila the green light on inking the 29-year-old Zimmermann to a five-year, $110 million deal. However, a big part of that willingness to spend, Ilitch said, is dictated by his trust in Avila's judgment, and Avila made it clear that any additional free-agency pickups will likely require less of a financial commitment.
"Obviously, it's not going to be in the same aisle," Avila said Monday of the remainder of his offseason shopping.
Avila told reporters that the Tigers are "still in pursuit of pitching," but they are not expected to swing for the fences considering the addition of Zimmermann, plus the pair of trades to acquire closer Francisco Rodriguez and outfielder Cameron Maybin earlier this offseason. The Tigers have previously expressed interest in relievers Ryan Madson, Shawn Kelley and Tommy Hunter, though a source told ESPN.com he did not expect much action to pick up until next week's GM meetings in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Tigers also previously expressed interest in starter Yovani Gallardo, though one source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com that the Tigers "are probably out" of the mix since signing Zimmermann.
