Hot Stove Digest: Cubs add Jon Jay on one-year, $8M contract
Welcome to The Stew’s Hot Stove Digest, our daily rundown of MLB news, rumors and gossip for Hot Stove season. Here you’ll find a quick recap of all the day’s action and other fun stuff from around the internet that we think is worth your time.
DONE DEAL: The Cubs, who could lose Dexter Fowler in free agency, announced Tuesday that they’ve signed outfielder Jon Jay to a one-year contract worth $8 million. Jay, 31, hit .291 last season in 90 games with the San Diego Padres. He has a good glove in centerfield and, at his best, gets on base more than 35 percent of the time. Jay’s best season came in 2012 with the St. Louis Cardinals (the bitter rivals of the Cubs) when he hit .305 with a .373 on-base percentage. [Yahoo Sports]
MEANWHILE: Most in the industry agree this signals the end of Fowler’s time in Chicago, as he’ll be pursuing more lucrative deals elsewhere while the Cubs appear set to go with a Jon Jay/Albert Almora platoon in center. [@GDubCub]
GET MONEY: In case you missed the big free-agent news of the day — and maybe even the biggest of the offseason — Yoenis Cespedes re-upped with the New York Mets for $110 million over four years. It was a move that was mostly expected, as Cespedes and the Mets seemed to be a great fit. This was mostly about how much he’d get paid. The answer? A $27.5 annual average contract. [Yahoo Sports]
UP NEXT: With Cespedes locked in, next on the Mets’ to-do list seems to be finding a new home for Jay Bruce, whom they acquired from the Reds at the trade deadline. There’s not much room for Bruce in the Mets outfield — he was viewed as insurance if Cespedes left — and the weak free-agent market could mean the Mets see a decent return for Bruce. The Blue Jays seem like a good fit, again. [@JCrasnick]
EDWIN IN HOUSTON? The Astros were reportedly heavy after Cespedes before he opted to stay with the Mets. Now, the Astros could turn their attention to free-agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion. [@JCrasnick]
AND THE WINNERS ARE: Boston Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello got another piece of hardware Tuesday, as he named the AL Comeback Player of the Year. He already won the AL Cy Young. On the NL side, the award went to Anthony Rendon of the Washington Nationals. [Yahoo Sports]
KINGS OF THE HILL: The team most heavily pursuing free-agent pitcher Rich Hill are reportedly the Yankees, Astros, Dodgers and Rangers. [ESPN]
ALL RED EVERYTHING: The Cardinals are reportedly interested in signing Justin Turner. One thing, though: They’d need to trade Jhonny Peralta to make room for him. [MLB.com]
ON THE MARKET: The Reds are said to be shopping speedster Billy Hamilton this winter, as well as almost everyone else not named Joey Votto. [ESPN]
GOODBYE, PITTSBURGH: The Pirates have DFA’d veteran starter Jeff Locke, meaning he’s either going to be traded or granted free agency soon. [@Sawchik_Trib]
ICYMI: The Brewers cut loose slugger Chris Carter, who hit 41 homers last season, and signed Eric Thames, who has been mashing in Korea the last three seasons. [The Stew]
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
