While most of the focus right now is on the ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations and hopes that we’ll avoid a labor stoppage, it’s still the hot stove season.
It’s unclear whether the two sides seriously discussed a trade, or whether the Dodgers were just doing due diligence.
Los Angeles signed Andrew Heaney to one-year contract last week and right now he joins Walker Buehler, Luis Urías, David Price, and Tony Gonsolin in the team’s projected rotation.
The 27-year-old spent much of this season in the minors, hitting .187/.266/.347 in 57 MLB games and .218/.342/.382 in 51 Triple-A games.
Throw in his plus baserunning and the fact that he’s a notable defensive plus at shortstop or second base, and Báez should have plenty of suitors this winter.
The Mets of course still need a GM, but bringing back Báez, who’s a known quantity to them, feels like the kind of step they’d take even if a new front-office lead decision-maker isn’t in place.
Chacín, who turns 34 in January, worked almost exclusively out of the bullpen last season and was solid in that role.