Morning Rundown: Pirates showing interest in Tony Kemp, Shohei Ohtani update, Brewers shopping Willy Adames?
Pirates show interest in veteran hitter, Ohtani update, and the Mariners make a trade.
After being rumored to be interested in free agent catcher Gary Sanchez, the Pirates reportedly have their eyes on another player.
According to Fansided insider Robert Murray, the Pirates are among a few teams interested in signing free agent second baseman Tony Kemp.
Kemp, 32, has spent the last four-plus seasons with the Oakland Athletics, going from utility player to everyday starter at second.
His first year getting over 300 plate appearances was 2021, and he put up his best season regarding wRC+ (128). Last year, he posted a .209/.303/.304 line with a 77 wRC+ with five home runs and 15 stolen bases.
While they don’t have a clear-cut answer at second, it is interesting to see the Pirates potentially looking at adding to a position for which they already have quite a few options.
Liover Peguero, Ji-Hwan Bae, Nick Gonzales, and Jared Triolo are among the players looking to secure playing time at the position when Spring Training starts.
After trading Corbin Burnes, could the Brewers continue to clean house in an attempt to retool for the future?
According to Bob Nightengale, the Brewers are ‘letting teams know that shortstop Willy Adames is available.’
This doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, as the Brewers acquired Joey Ortiz from the Orioles in the Burnes deal, and the top 100 prospect is considered to be major-league ready and able to stick at shortstop.
The Brewers are obviously shifting more toward a youthful roster, not only trading Burnes but also signing their top prospect Jackson Churio to a long-term contract before he has made his major league debut.
Now Adames, who is a free agent at the end of the season, may be the next to move.
Despite undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, Shohei Ohtani seems confident he will be ready for Opening Day this season, as a hitter, of course.
He obviously won’t be available to pitch, but at DodgerFeast on Saturday said he is ‘very confident’ he will be ready to go as the team DH when the season begins.
Ohtani signed a historic $700 million contract, with $680 million of it differed to the future.
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Who wakes up in the morning, looks at the Pirates roster, and says, "We need moooaaar AAAA riffraff?"
Tony Kemp WHY? no reason to sign him, they have at least equal to if not better than what he can provide the team and the internal options would be a whole lot cheaper,,,