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In an effort to cut salary, the New York Yankees are gauging interest around the league in third baseman Chase Headley.

Continue for updates.

Yankees Seeking Headley Trade

Tuesday, Dec. 13

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the Yankees are looking to potentially deal either Headley or outfielder Brett Gardner.

Owner Hal Steinbrenner reportedly wants to lower the payroll before the 2017 season.

Headley is owed $26 million over the next two years after signing a four-year deal with the team before the start of the 2015 season.

The 32-year-old has put up modest numbers since joining the Yankees, hitting just .257 with 31 home runs in two-and-a-half seasons. His on-base plus slugging percentage of .716 in 2016 was only slightly better than it was the year before at .693, which was his career low for a full season.

Headley began his career with the San Diego Padres, where he spent parts of eight seasons. His best year by far came in 2012 when he won a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger and finished fifth in MVP voting. He led the National League with 115 RBI and tallied 31 home runs.

He has never had more than 14 home runs in any other season of his career.

If the Yankees find a buyer for Headley, 24-year-old Ronald Torreyes could potentially take over at third base after playing 34 games at the position last year.

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A free-agent storm is on the way, some big names can’t find homes and some unintended victims of MLB‘s new CBA…

1. Forecast Two Years From Now: Nuts

Talk about attention deficit disorder. As free agents Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista go door-to-door asking, “Brother, can you spare a free-agent contract?” this winter, one reason things are moving so slowly is because even the industry’s executives are looking ahead to the free-agent class two years from now.

It may be the best ever: Bryce Harper, who won the 2015 NL MVP award, will be on the market. So will Josh Donaldson, who won the 2015 AL MVP award. Manny Machado, who finished fourth in AL MVP voting in 2015 and fifth in 2016, is free. So, too, are starters Matt Harvey and Dallas Keuchel, and closer Zach Britton.

If that isn’t enough, Clayton Kershaw has an opt-out clause in his Los Angeles Dodgers contract that winter, as does David Price from the Boston Red Sox.

Harper and Machado will be entering the free-agent market at the age of just 26. Britton and Keuchel will be nearly 31, Donaldson 32, Harvey 29 and, if they use the opt-out, Kershaw will be 30 and Price the old man of the lot at 33.

Executives are making roster moves right now with an eye to 2018. It’s one reason why the Washington Nationals acquired Adam Eaton from the White Sox: They are leveraging themselves for the real possibility that they will lose Harper to free agency given that he is expected to demand a deal worth $400 million or more.

It’s why, other than the Aroldis Chapman signing last week, the New York Yankees mostly are concentrating on young talent and short-term veterans (like signing Matt Holliday to a one-year deal this winter for $13 million).

The executives know what’s up ahead, a winter unlike any of us has ever seen.

“As we bring more youthful executives into the game, there seems to be a tide to young players,” superagent Scott Boras, who represents Harper, Britton and Harvey in that group, said at the winter meetings last Wednesday at National Harbor, Maryland. “I think the information that is going to ownership is that those players who are 26-, 27-, 28-year-old free agents are very, very highly coveted.

“A lot of clubs have now marshaled their positioning to that age group.”

Every club is going to have money to spend for the foreseeable future, too, with the game expected to surpass $10 billion in revenues in 2016 once the final figures are in. Of course, without a salary cap and with different teams taking in more money than others, some clubs still will be far more equal than others. But the way Boras sees it, each club likely soon will have $200 million or more of revenue at its disposal before even selling tickets.

“Consequently, clubs who have the ability to attract a major superstar are going to be far more in than in prior times because of the success of the game,” Boras said.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman happened to be talking about his own free agent this winter, closer Kenley Jansen, but he could have been speaking about anybody in any year when he told reporters last week, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register: “The free-agent market plays out to the point of doing more than what you rationally want to do.

“If you do what you rationally want to do, you will finish third on every free agent.”

Who knows, perhaps there will be more fallout, too. The expiration of Machado’s contract coincides with the last year of Baltimore manager Buck Showalter’s deal.

“We’ve got control of him for two, two years?” Showalter said last week. “This year and one more. That’s when my contract runs out. Timing’s everything.”

Everyone laughed at the notion that Showalter could cruise on out the door with his best overall player before the Orioles are weakened immensely in the post-Machado term.

Of course, laughs come easy now, two years ahead of what for some clubs surely will be Armageddon. The laughing will be more difficult for a lot of people when the winter meetings come to Las Vegas (of course they would be there, right?) in December 2018.

2. World’s Greatest Athletes, MLB and…Coffee?

We already have Boras down as a staunch advocate of the free-market system. He long has been vehemently opposed to the slotting system for determining bonuses that can be offered to amateurs drafted each June. And in discussing his reaction to the new collective bargaining agreement, he not surprisingly expressed displeasure with the part of the deal that places a hard cap on international amateur signing bonuses that ranges between $4.75 million in the first year of the agreement to $5.25 million or $5.75 million.

Boras’ gripe: Baseball is waging a battle with other sports for the best athletes in the world, and with the new CBA capping the money available, he thinks those athletes will gravitate hard to other sports. Of course, limitations on signing bonuses take a bite out of the paydays of agents everywhere, as well.

“Most upsetting thing to me is that baseball only has so much earth where the game is played,” he said last week. “We only have a few cultures that really, there’s an opportunity to play baseball in the world. If you go back to the 1930s, the most popular sports in the United States were track and field, boxing, horse racing and baseball. Now, baseball’s included, but we have three other sports in hockey, football and basketball that have eroded the others.

“I think we have to be very cautious. If baseball’s not out pursuing the best athletes in the world, you’ve gotta really look at this and say, ‘What are we doing?’ I was raised on a farm and water’s valuable. If you want to save water and you don’t use it on your crops, you don’t have crops.”

In making his pitch, Boras mentioned not only NBA and NFL signing bonuses, but the college baseball landscape, too.

“We have a grand disadvantage in something out of baseball’s control, and that is the number of college scholarships [available],” Boras said. “We have 11,000 scholarships in football, we have 3,000 in baseball. And you have a young man who’s 6’6” and they need an immediate value. He’s 14, 15 years old and his family is looking for immediate value. He’s looking for a college scholarship or he’s looking for a bonus. And with baseball being last in offering those scholarships, our industry has to look ahead in getting the greatest athletes in the world.

“We have to consider that in how we compete with other sports. So when we get into CBA and even looking beyond that, we have to say as an industry, we’re making $10 billion, should we really build the Berlin Wall to youth? We just cut off the American players and limited them well below the NBA and NFL. And now we’re doing it with the Latin players as well.”

Boras doesn’t think much of the current luxury-tax system, either, in which high-spending teams are taxed a percentage of their payroll over a certain threshold (It’s been $189 million, it will rise during this CBA).

“Under the old CBA, I think the old luxury tax was the Center for Disease Control,” he quipped. “And now the luxury tax should be Starbucks. Because if you want championship coffee, you’d better be visiting there often.”

3. You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch Bautista

Whenever Joey Bats signs his free-agent deal, the anticipation is that he will quote actress Sally Field’s Oscar acceptance speech from years ago and exclaim to the signing team and city, “You like me, you really like me!”

By far, the most entertaining moment at last week’s winter meetings came when general manager Dan Duquette told the Baltimore Sun‘s Eduardo A. Encina that though Bautista’s agent reached out to the club, the Orioles wouldn’t even consider signing Bautista because, essentially, Baltimore fans hate him.

“That’s true,” Duquette said. “That’s true. The agent called and I said, ‘Really? Jose is a villain in Baltimore and I’m not going to go tell our fans that we’re courting Jose Bautista for the Orioles because they’re not going to be happy.'”

4. Ruffled Feathers of the Week

Angry that the Washington Nationals acquired outfielder Adam Eaton because the move likely meant the club would shift Trea Turner from center field to shortstop and himself to the bench, Danny Espinosa skipped the club’s annual Winterfest on Saturday.

By Saturday night, the Nationals had shipped Espinosa to the Los Angeles Angels, who were in the market for a second baseman.

Meanwhile, at Pittsburgh’s PirateFest over the weekend, All-Star Andrew McCutchen admitted that the very public rumors that the club nearly had him dealt to the Washington Nationals this month can’t help but bother him.

“I’d be lying to you if I told you none of this bothered me,” McCutchen said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Stephen J. Nesbitt. “Of course it did. I’m human. If someone cuts you off while you’re driving, you get bothered. To have my name talked about possibly getting traded, yeah, of course that got to me.

“We all have these dreams of being something. My dream is to be a Pirate my whole career. My dream is still to win multiple World Series. We all have those dreams. Sometimes, with my name being popped up there, it did kind of make me think, whoa, those dreams could be altered a little.”

At age 29, McCutchen had one of the worst seasons of his career, hitting .256/.336/.430 with 24 homers and 79 RBI. The days of his 2013 NL MVP award seem further and further away. Among other things, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle has talked to him about the possibility of moving to a corner outfield spot, likely right field, as his defensive metrics have declined as well.

“Andrew is a professional guy that I think keeps things in a pretty good place,” Hurdle said at the winter meetings last week. “I think it’s another part of his career that he’s getting to work through, walk through, and he’s got a great support system. That’s one of the things I shared with him, is there anything I can do to help lessen the distraction, to be there, talk, whatever.”

McCutchen is still young enough to resurrect his career. The 2017 season, wherever he is, will be enormous.

5. Unintended Labor Consequences

As part of the new CBA, the players’ per diem meal money will shrink to $30 per day from $105 per day because, among other reasons, each club now will be required to provide a clubhouse chef for players who increasingly eat in the first-rate clubhouses in the new ballparks.

While few folks are likely to feel sorry for the players, there is fallout that will hit the blue-collar ranks, and it is unfortunate: Clubhouse attendants stand to lose thousands of dollars annually in tips each summer. And ancillary members of a team’s traveling party, who don’t make nearly as much as the players and depend on the per diem as a way to supplement their modest salaries, are taking a hit, too.

Traveling media relations folks, for example, who sometimes work 18 hours a day during the season and average only between $40,000 and $50,000 in salary, qualify for per diem and because of this will lose some $5,000 or so in income.

Media relations directors can make up to $80,000 or $100,000 per year, but the vast majority of assistants who work 80-100 hours a week and are away from home half the summer earn only half of that.

Meanwhile, visiting clubhouse attendants who are in the $40,000 salary range and depend on generous tips to get beyond just scraping by will be hit extremely hard now, too.

Here’s hoping (but not expecting) that the individual clubs will move in to help ease the financial loss for the behind-the-scenes personnel who help make the game go but don’t share in the wealth. It’s probably too much to ask, but it’s the right thing to do.

6. Weekly Power Rankings

1. Christmas shopping: The hustle, the bustle, can put you in a foul mood more quickly than Orioles fans thinking about Bautista.

2. Edwin Encarnacion: So, can we show you some real estate in Cleveland, Edwin?

3. La La Land: Darling of the Golden Globe nominations announced this week, the musical tells the story of Corey Seager and Kershaw singing and dancing and wooing free agents Jansen and Justin Turner back to the Dodgers for another championship run in 2017. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are in there somewhere, too, I think.

4. Snow days: The absolute best, the Mike Trout of ways to get out of school. Even well beyond my school years, when I hear snow has caused school closings, wherever I am, I can’t help but smile and feel 16 again.

5. Bob Dylan and the Nobel Prize: A no-show at Saturday’s ceremony in Sweden, he’s like the Manny Ramirez of the Nobel Prize ceremony.

7. Plus, 2017, too?

Lord over the peeps at your favorite watering hole or neighborhood basement with this one:

The answers: Koji Uehara closed out the 2013 World Series for the Red Sox, Wade Davis (just acquired from Kansas City last week), who closed out the 2015 World Series for the Royals and, of course, this year’s last-pitch thrower, Mike Montgomery.

Question now is: Can the Cubs win again in 2017 and employ relievers who tossed the clinching pitch in four of the past five World Series?

8. Chatter

• Yankees GM Brian Cashman may have awarded Chapman a record-setting contract for a closer at five years and $86 million, but he isn’t jumping for joy. The part he’s not thrilled about is Chapman’s ability to opt out after the third year, which is just when the Yankees envision having a chance to begin their next dynasty. “Oh, I don’t like it,” Cashman said during a conversation after the Rule 5 draft just before departing the winter meetings last Thursday. “It’s just, at the end of the day, I know that the competition we were up against were giving opt-outs in Years 1 and 2. So at least we were able to put it in Year 3.”

• The Tigers’ retooling effort is on hold. They did not trade J.D. Martinez, despite strong talk that San Francisco is interested. They did not deal Ian Kinsler, despite the fact that the Los Angeles Dodgers have a clear need there. Justin Verlander stayed in Detroit while the White Sox traded ace Chris Sale. And USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale reported that Detroit GM Al Avila did not receive one phone call on slugger Miguel Cabrera, signifying that maybe Detroit will wind up keeping him and paying the $220 million owed him over the next seven years.

• With Ian Desmond in the fold and Mark Trumbo maybe on the horizon, the Colorado Rockies, who have endured six consecutive losing seasons and have not played in the playoffs since 2009, are spending money on free agents for the first time since Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle. Must be the Denver school system.

• The Dodgers are still in the market for a second baseman, and one intriguing question is whether new Twins executives Derek Falvey (president of baseball operations) and Thad Levine (general manager) will deal Brian Dozier following his 42-homer season. “As Derek and Thad have said, we have to be open-minded about just about anything that people would bring to us just to try to increase our chances of doing what we need to do both in the short term as well as going forward,” said Twins manager Paul Molitor at the winter meetings.

• Harper doesn’t have much time this month for all of the speculation on his price tag when he becomes a free agent in 2018 because he’s speculating on his own future this week: He’s getting married in San Diego.

9. The Devil(s) Made Him Do It

The Nationals’ Winterfest was highly entertaining over the weekend simply in calculating who wasn’t there. Angry Espinosa wasn’t the only no-show:

Duke basketball was bragging about its celebrity fan, too:

9a. Rock ‘n’ Roll Lyric of the Week

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Thanks for reading this year, thanks for making Bleacher Report such a go-to place and if you haven’t seen this Christmas video, you must (it’s Nobel Prize committee endorsed!).

“Who’s got a beard that’s long and white? 
“Santa’s got a beard that’s long and white.
“Who comes around on a special night? 
“Santa comes around on a special night.
“Special night, beard that’s white
“Must be Santa, must be Santa,
“Must be Santa, Santa Claus.”

— Written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredericks

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball.

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An old baseball adage suggests “you can never have enough pitching,” and most of the high-profile movement this offseason, both in terms of free agency and trades, is backing up that notion. Front offices around the league are paying sizable prices to improve their rotations and bullpens.

Expect more of the same leading up to spring training since there’s still a talented group of starters available via trade. And there’s plenty of demand among contenders as they look to keep pace with the likes of the reigning champion Chicago Cubs and likely offseason winner Boston Red Sox.

With that in mind, let’s check out some of the latest trade buzz from around MLB and analyze what it could mean for the players and teams involved.

Rays Seeking King’s Ransom for Chris Archer

Chris Archer didn’t live up to expectations leading the Tampa Bay Rays staff this past season. The 28-year-old right-hander went 9-19 with a 4.01 ERA and 1.24 WHIP across 33 starts. Those numbers represented his worst performance since a brief six-game cameo in 2012.

Things weren’t as bad as they may seem on the surface, though. He posted a more typical 3.25 ERA after the All-Star break and still struck out an eye-popping 233 batters in 201.1 innings. His 3.41 xFIP for the season was also below his career average, according to FanGraphs.

That’s why the Rays still want a boatload in return if they decide to trade him. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported the front office is seeking a package bigger than the one the Chicago White Sox received for Chris Sale, which included prized prospects Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech.

Mark Bowman of MLB.com previously noted Archer was the most likely trade target for the Atlanta Braves, but they felt the asking price was too high. The latest update from Topkin explains why.

Of course, there’s no rush for Tampa to make a deal. The starter remains under team control for five more years at club-friendly prices of no more than $8.25 million, per Spotrac. It adds to his value and takes away some of the risk associated with a potential trade.

The Braves make sense as a landing spot. They are looking to turn the corner after a rebuild and have bolstered their rotation with veterans Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey and Jaime Garcia. An ace is still needed, however, but it sounds like they’ll wait to see if the price drops before going all-in on Archer.

Clay Buchholz Being Pushed into Market

Clay Buchholz is an enigma. There are certain years, like 2010 (2.33 ERA) and 2013 (1.74 ERA), when he performs like one of the top pitchers in baseball. Alas, there are also certain seasons, like 2016 (4.78 ERA), when he pitches on a level barely worthy of a major league roster spot.

The 32-year-old Texas native did pitch better down the stretch last season. He accumulated a 3.22 ERA in 19 appearances split between the rotation and bullpen after the All-Star break. It was a much-needed turnaround after finishing the first half with a 5.91 mark.

Now it seems like the Red Sox may try to capitalize on his resurgence by moving him while the pitching market is hot. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported the front office is trying to sell teams on Buchholz rather than Drew Pomeranz as it looks to clear a pitching logjam.

The Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners are among the teams that have called Boston about possibly acquiring a starter, according to Cafardo. He pointed out the veteran’s $13.5 million contract for 2017 is a hurdle in talks, though.

Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is having a strong offseason, but getting value for Buchholz will be a challenge. Not only is the contract a problem, but the peripheral statistics don’t lend a ton of hope to a major rebound next season.

A team like the Twins is probably Boston’s best bet to unload him. Minnesota continues to lean far too heavily on pitchers with low strikeout potential, and it could still use another starter after Jose Berrios struggled mightily in his first taste of action in the majors in 2016.

Houston Astros Casting Wide Pitching Net

The Houston Astros are prepared to make some serious noise next season. They added Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, Josh Reddick and Nori Aoki to help create one of the league’s most well-rounded lineups, and they’re already strong in the bullpen, where so many other teams are looking to upgrade.

While the starting rotation lacks star power outside of Dallas Keuchel, it’s still a rock-solid group that’s probably good enough to guide the team to the playoffs as it sits. Adding another starter with No. 1 or No. 2 ability could move Houston toward title contention, though.

Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported the Astros are making an effort in that area, adding, “The team has the prospects to get a deal done and is likely to make a move at some point.” He listed Jose Quintana, Jake Odorizzi, Danny Duffy, Yordano Ventura and Archer as notable targets.

Aside from Archer, Quintana is the name that stands out most from the group. The 27-year-old lefty has been one of the most reliable starters in baseball since making his debut in 2012. He holds a career 3.41 ERA and has never finished a season with a mark above 3.76.

If the Astros could acquire him for a package of prospects to take the spot where Charlie Morton is penciled in, it’d become hard to find a weak spot on the roster. Such a move would push the team all-in for next season, but it feels like a leap worth taking after years of building.

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While some MLB teams are taking a wait-and-see approach as they ponder making a run at some of the more high-profile free agents who remain unsigned—a list that includes Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Mark Trumbo—others are busy working the phones in an attempt to bolster their rosters via trades.

There’s been plenty of chatter on the rumor mill since baseball’s annual winter meetings came to an end. Unsurprisingly, much of that talk has revolved around pitching, both starters and relievers.

What follows is a look at potential trades involving some of those arms, including an All-Star closer. Keep in mind these proposed deals are only ideas and speculation. Unless otherwise noted, there’s no indication any of them have been discussed.

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It’s hyperbole to call Jose Quintana the offseason’s invisible ace.

At the very least, however, rumormongers and prospective suitors are treating Quintana as if he’s blurry around the edges.

Recall the fanfare that surrounded Quintana’s former Chicago White Sox teammate and fellow left-hander Chris Sale. More to the point, recall the glistening package of prospects the Boston Red Sox sent to Chicago to secure Sale’s services.

Sale was worth it. He’s 27 years old, has elite numbers and is locked into an eminently affordable contract.

All of those things can be said—accurately—about Quintana, yet he isn’t generating as much buzz.

Oh, there have been rumblings, as we’ll get to shortly. Quintana, though, is the type of player who should consistently reside in the hot-stove headlines, especially with such a weak free-agent pitching class and other options falling off the board.

Here’s a stat to chew on: Between 2013 and 2016, Quintana’s 18.1 WAR ranked seventh among pitchers by FanGraphs’ measure. He’s sandwiched between Jon Lester (18.4) and Madison Bumgarner (18.0), a couple of southpaws you may have heard of.

Quintana has eclipsed 200 innings in each of the past four seasons. Last season, he posted a career-low 3.20 ERA and finished 10th in American League Cy Young Award balloting.

As for his contract, it’s a budget-conscious general manager’s fantasy: He’ll make $7 million in 2017 and $8.85 million in 2018, followed by $10.5 million team options in 2019 and 2020.

A club that acquired Quintana this winter could have him for four years and $36.85 million. Next season alone, the Arizona Diamondbacks will pay Zack Greinke $34 million. Pause a moment and let that sink in.

Quintana comes with huge upside and little financial risk. The only cost will be in talent, and it will be steep.

The Houston Astros are interested, but they balked at the White Sox’s asking price of Francis Martes, Kyle Tucker and Joe Musgrove, per baseball reporter Peter Gammons. 

Martes and Tucker are the Astros’ top two prospects, per MLB.com, and Musgrove is a 24-year-old right-hander who showed solid flashes in 62 big league innings last season.

Two blue-chip minor leaguers and an MLB-ready arm is a lot to ask. Quintana, however, is a lot to get.

To land Sale, the Red Sox surrendered Yoan Moncada, the game’s No. 1 prospect, per MLB.com. They tossed in right-hander Michael Kopech (MLB.com’s No. 30 prospect), outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe (now the White Sox’s No. 9 prospect) and 22-year-old right-hander Victor Diaz, who averaged 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings last season at Single-A.

In that light, the cost for Quintana doesn’t seem so unreasonable.

In addition to the Astros, ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield lists the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs as prospective suitors. 

That’s a third of the league. Some, like the Cubs, almost certainly aren’t happening. The point, though, is there are many squads with a need in the rotation and a handful with the ability to at least theoretically meet the White Sox’s sky-high demands. 

“It comes down to needs and wants,” Braves general manager John Coppolella said of a possible Quintana pursuit, per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We don’t have needs in starting pitching. Do we want a No. 1 starter, is Chris Sale a No. 1 starter? Yes. Do we want Jose Quintana? I don’t think Jose Quintana is Chris Sale.”

So we get back to the blurry around the edges. The underrating and underappreciating. 

Quintana isn’t Sale by definition. He doesn’t boast his ex-rotation mate’s gaudy strikeout totals and has played the Robin to Sale’s Batman. That doesn’t diminish Quintana’s worth, as FanGraphs’ Craig Edwards spelled out:

Quintana might have been playing second fiddle to Sale the past few years, but the team trading for Quintana isn’t getting just a run-of-the-mill good starter. Jose Quintana is excellent, and there are plenty of reasons to think he’s going to keep pitching well for a while.

The price for Sale was always going to be higher than the price for Quintana. That said, there’s a credible argument that Quintana and his bargain contract should be nearly as attractive to teams looking for high-end pitching as Sale was.

Here’s the bottom line: Quintana is a durable ace entering his prime who is signed for way under market rate for the next four seasons.

Hyperbole aside, those don’t come around every day.

All statistics and contract information courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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Colorado Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis released a statement through his agent Monday that said he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and had a testicle removed during surgery in November, per Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.

The pitcher is expected to make a full recovery and will be ready to report to spring training in February, per Crasnick.

Bettis said he was caught off guard by the diagnosis and thanked the Rockies and the Major League Baseball Players Association for their support as he recovers.   

Bettis started 32 games for the Rockies in 2016 and finished with a 4.79 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. While those numbers don’t jump off the page, he pitched a career-high 186 innings and struck out 138 batters. His previous high mark for strikeouts was 98, and he won 14 games after entering the 2016 campaign with just nine wins in his career.

The right-handed pitcher is just 27 years old and is listed as the Rockies’ No. 1 starter on the team’s depth chart. Bettis could start Opening Day if he fully recovers from this diagnosis.

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Major League Baseball will ban “offensive” hazing in clubhouses, including having teammates dress as women, according to the Associated Press.

It has long been a tradition for teams to force rookies to dress in such outfits—often toward the end of the regular season after September call-ups. In October, the New York Mets rookies dressed as characters from A League of Their Own:

“Although it hasn’t happened, you could sort of see how like someone might even dress up in black face and say, ‘Oh, no, we were just dressing up,'” MLB vice president Paul Misfud said Monday, per Blum. “We’ve also understood that a number of players have complained about it.”

The new policy will prohibit “requiring, coercing or encouraging [players from] dressing up as women or wearing costumes that may be offensive to individuals based on their race, sex, nationality, age, sexual orientation, gender identify or other characteristic,” per Ronald Blum of the AP.

The rule change is part of the Anti-Hazing and Anti-Bullying Policy set forth by the league. Per Blum, the MLB Players Association agreed not to contest the ban. It will take effect Tuesday, when baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement is expected to be ratified.

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The Atlanta Braves added depth to their starting rotation Monday, agreeing to a minor league deal with left-hander John Danks, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan.

Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball reported Danks will receive $1.5 million if he makes Atlanta’s major league roster.

The 31-year-old is coming off a dreadful 2016 season. He allowed 20 runs (18 earned) in four starts for the Chicago White Sox before they released him in May.

“The way my April went and the way the team is playing, I can’t fault anybody with the decision they made,” Danks said at the time, per the Chicago Tribune‘s Colleen Kane. “It’s a win-now league, and I wasn’t helping the team win.”

It was the end of a disappointing tenure for Danks in the Windy City. The White Sox signed him to a five-year, $65 million contract extension in December 2011, and he never finished the five subsequent seasons with an ERA lower than 4.71. According to FanGraphs, his 4.83 FIP is seventh-highest among qualified starting pitchers during that stretch.

Danks hasn’t been the same pitcher since undergoing shoulder surgery in August 2012. Whereas his average fastball velocity sat comfortably in the 91-92 mph range from 2007 to 2011, it hasn’t eclipsed 90 mph since his injury-shortened 2012 campaign, per Brooks Baseball:

Despite his issues, signing Danks is a worthwhile risk for Atlanta.

If the Braves determine his days as an MLB-caliber starting pitcher are over, then they didn’t make a significant financial commitment and they can offload him with little difficulty in the spring.

Should Danks emerge as a back-end rotation option, he’ll be a massive bargain. Andrew Cashner will likely be the Texas Rangers’ No. 4 or 5 starter, and he’ll be making $10 million in 2017.

After Rich Hill went from pitching in an independent league in 2015 to becoming the best free-agent pitcher this offseason, a comeback for Danks isn’t completely out of the question.

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Nearly $200 million and exactly three familiar faces later, the Los Angeles Dodgers have retained a roster worthy of the top of the National League power structure.

The first $48 million went into a three-year contract for lefty starter Rich Hill, who continued his late-career revival with a 1.83 ERA in six starts for the Dodgers in the home stretch of 2016. On Monday, Los Angeles committed another $144 million to relief ace Kenley Jansen and third baseman Justin Turner.

As Jim Bowden of ESPN and SiriusXM confirmed, Jansen’s deal is for five years and $80 million:

According to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, the reliever’s pact also includes an opt-out after 2019.

Confirmation on Turner’s contract is stuck in the pipeline for the moment. But Joel Sherman of the New York Post teased it will be for four years and $64 million. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com is hearing the same:

The Dodgers aren’t finished with their offseason checklist. They still need an everyday second baseman. After Josh Reddick’s departure, they could also use corner outfield depth.

For now, though, the Dodgers deserve a tip of the ol’ cap for focusing their offseason maneuvers on the right places and the right players.

Given that he’s a 36-year-old who only twice has gone over 100 innings, Hill comes with durability questions. But talent that’s produced a 2.00 ERA in 24 starts since 2015 made him the most desirable starter on the open market and a good fit for a Dodgers rotation that had depth but needed a proper partner in crime for Clayton Kershaw.

For a player like that, $16 million per year isn’t too much. It certainly sounds better than $16 million per year for a relief pitcher, anyway.

Of course, it’s not the Dodgers’ fault they had to back up a truck filled with that much money for Jansen. Mark Melancon set the market for elite relief pitching when the San Francisco Giants signed him for $62 million over four years. Aroldis Chapman further drove the point home when he accepted five years and $86 million from the New York Yankees.

Simply going with the flow of supply and demand is out of character for a Dodgers front office that favors being analytical and, above all, rational. But, you know what they say about that.

“If you’re always rational about every free agent, you will finish third on every free agent,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times.

It’s also not like the Dodgers are spending big on a bad reliever. Jansen has dominated since the start of his major league career back in 2010. He’s taken it to a whole ‘nother level since sharpening his control in 2013, compiling a 2.19 ERA and 7.1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his last 268 appearances.

Through the lens of FanGraphs WAR, here are the top two relievers in baseball since 2013:

1. Aroldis Chapman: 9.7
2. Kenley Jansen: 9.4

See that difference? That doesn’t look like a $6 million difference to me.

The concern is that Jansen, now 29, will lose zip as he ages. But that’s a smaller concern with him than it is with other relievers. He averaged 93.6 mph on his cutter in 2016 but has been successful even with an average as low as 91.9 mph in 2012.

For Jansen, it’s not about velocity. It’s about movement. Like so:

That movement should ensure Jansen ages just fine. You know, sort of like another reliever who had a world-class cutter even after he was past his peak velocity.

It doesn’t take as many words to justify Turner’s contract. Although his $64 million is nearly $50 million less than the $110 million Yoenis Cespedes got from the New York Mets, it’s going toward arguably the best free agent the market had to offer.

That was Corinne Landrey‘s argument at MLB.com. And mine right here, for that matter. Over the last three seasons, Turner has posted an .856 OPS with 50 home runs while also rating as a strong defender at the hot corner.

Cue Dave Cameron‘s summary at FanGraphs:

Turner is not that much worse of a hitter than Edwin Encarnacion, only he can also play the field. The power isn’t the same, and teams continue to pay less for singles and doubles than home runs, but Turner gets to a similar overall value, and when you toss in the ability to play third base, 4/$64M in this market seems like a steal.

Although he’s already 32 years old, what sets Turner apart from other veteran free agents is how well-preserved he is. He didn’t become an everyday player until the Dodgers picked him up in 2014, which can only help him age gracefully.

With Hill, Jansen and Turner returning to the fold, the 2017 Dodgers will look a lot like the 2016 Dodgers. At worst, that could mean a repeat of a campaign that brought L.A. 91 wins and a fourth straight NL West title.

It’s likelier that even better things are in store.

The Dodgers can expect a lot more from not only Hill but Kershaw as well after a back injury limited him to 21 starts in 2016. They’ll also have healthy versions of Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir and Alex Wood. The young arms of Julio Urias and Jose De Leon contain all sorts of upside.

The Dodgers thus figure to have more than enough pitching to back up an offense anchored by capable veterans (Turner, Adrian Gonzalez and Yasmani Grandal) and explosive young guns (Corey Seager and Joc Pederson).

And since they’ve only used money to flesh out their roster to this point, the Dodgers can now use their farm system to solve their second base conundrum. Brian Dozier and Ian Kinsler are among the available trade options, per Rosenthal. The former fits the Dodgers like a glove.

Even as is, the signings of Hill, Jansen and Turner ensure the Dodgers have enough firepower to remain among the NL’s elite clubs in 2017. The reigning champion Chicago Cubs loom as the team to beat, but the Dodgers are right there with the Giants and Washington Nationals among the clubs that could bring them down.

Which is to say, the $192 million they’ve spent to bring back their guys is going toward a good cause.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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In October, Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila said the team would be active this offseason, and as the franchise shifts its focus, left-handed reliever Justin Wilson could be on the move.

Continue for updates.

Astros, Tigers Reportedly Discuss Wilson

Tuesday, Dec. 13

Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported the Houston Astros have talked with the Tigers regarding a deal for Wilson.

Cubs Show Interest in Wilson

Monday, Dec. 12

Morosi reported the Chicago Cubs have inquired about Wilson’s availability.

Wilson Is Valuable Target Despite Down 2016

Wilson is coming off a somewhat disappointing 2016 season. He finished with a 4.14 ERA and a 3.18 FIP, both of which were down from his 3.10 ERA and 2.69 FIP in 2015, per Baseball-Reference.com.

Despite that dip, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reported Dec. 6 the Tigers were receiving a lot of interest in Wilson during the winter meetings.

The 29-year-old is under team control for the next two years, which will make him an attractive option for teams hoping to strengthen their bullpens. Beck noted the St. Louis Cardinals recently signed Brett Cecil for four years and $30.5 million, so Wilson would be a nice bargain given the market for relievers.

A few signs indicate Wilson’s luck will turn around in 2017 as well.

According to FanGraphs, opposing hitters batted .340 on balls in play against Wilson, which was ninth-highest among qualified relievers. Should his BABIP fall closer to his career average of .293, per FanGraphs, his ERA will rebound.

In addition, Wilson posted career bests in strikeouts (9.97) and walks (2.61) per nine innings (not including his eight-game 2012 season), so neither his control nor his command was a problem last year.

If the Tigers want to stay competitive, trading Wilson may not be in their best interest since middle relievers can be a valuable asset for a contending team. Should Detroit’s fortunes take a tumble, though, he’d be a luxury rather than a necessity, thus making him a natural trade chip in the middle of the season.

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