John Lackey Cardinals - MLB Lines: Rumors And News From The Dugout

MLB Lines: Rumors And News From The Dugout

Written by on October 14, 2015

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher John Lackey beat the Cubs in Game 1 of the NLDS and then lost to them in Game 4 to the joy of Cubs MLB lines fans. Is it possible that he will be pitching for the opposition next year? Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that the Cubs could well sign Lackey to a free agent deal this off-season. Cubs GM Theo Epstein brought Lackey in as a free agent when he was in Boston, and Lackey’s close friend is lefty Jon Lester, already part of a strong Cub rotation.

MLB Lines: Rumors And News From The Dugout

    The Cubs expect Dan Haren to retire, and so they will need a veteran arm to start behind Lester, Jason Hammel and Jake Arrieta. Lackey made the league minimum of $500,000 this year, although incentives boosted his salary near $2 million. He could be a nice fit and wouldn’t need a long deal. Lackey has also been connected to the Rangers and Astros because of his Texas roots. 2015 was a nice recovery for him, as he had a 2.77 ERA in 33 starts – the most starts by anyone in the National League. Now, let’s look at some of the other rumors floating around baseball as postseason time is here. Even though the Colorado Rockies could definitely use some upgrades in their starting rotation, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports that they are unlikely to go after some of the huge names on the market this offseason, which will include Jordan Zimmermann, Johnny Cueto and David Price. Instead, GM Jeff Bridich is more likely to go after someone in the middle of the market, such as Ian Kennedy. Doug Fister was just one of the myriad disappointments that plagued the Washington Nationals this season. He struggled in the starting rotation and was sent to the rotation in August, finishing the season with an ERA of 4.19. He will enter free agency after the World Series and reportedly wants to start again, which means he won’t be a National again. Of course, in 2014 he had a 16-4 record and a 2.41 ERA, so it’s likely that some team will take a flyer on him at a bargain rate. J.A. Happ had a revival this season after Seattle traded him to Pittsburgh at the deadline, and the Pirates are interested in re-signing him, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Rob Biertempfel. He started 11 games for the Pirates down the stretch, going 7-2 with an impressive 1.85 ERA. It looks like A.J. Burnett is ready to retire, so the Bucs will have at least one vacancy in the rotation going into 2016. The Chicago White Sox have approached the Cleveland Indians about having Sandy Alomar Jr. as their next bench coach. Alomar has been on the Indians’ coaching staff for six seasons, including the last two as their first base coach. A gig as bench coach would move him up the ladder toward interviewing for a managerial post in the future.