The 2014 MLB Spring Training is fast approaching and teams are expected to step up their chase for the remaining big-name free agents on the market in the coming weeks.
Teams who are looking to complete their starting rotation are expected to intensify talks with former Kansas City Royals pitcher Ervin Santana and former Cleveland Indians starter Ubaldo Jimenez.
MLB analysts Chris Cotillo revealed that at least eight teams have signified their interest in Santana, which includes the Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the New York Yankees.
The Yankees are surprisingly among the interested teams, considering the fact that they have already made several expensive moves this season, including the acquisition of Masahiro Tanaka, who inked a seven-year, $155-million deal with the Pinstripes.
Sources said that the Yankees are still looking to add another big-name free agent to complete their starting rotation currently composed of Tanaka, CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, and Ivan Nova.
The Yankees are known to be huge spenders, but FanSided noted that the Dodgers along with the Blue Jays are willing to spend more in order to avoid getting outbid by New York again similar to the bidding war for the Japanese pitching sensation.
"The three teams to really watch out for are the Dodgers, Yankees, and Blue Jays. All have the money to push Santana's bidding way out from where the Royals are willing to go, and all have shown interest in adding another starting pitcher in one way or another," Ben Nielsen of FanSided noted.
Meanwhile, aside from Santana, the Blue Jays are also setting their sights to Jimenez, who is also drawing interests from teams looking for pitching help.
Fox Sports reported that the Blue Jays have made thorough background check on the medical records of Jimenez as well as Santana and the other marquee players, who are still unsigned few weeks before Spring Training.
The Blue Jays will have to surrender a draft pick compensation in the event they sign either Jimenez or Santana since both players turned down qualifying offers from their respective teams. But the draft pick compensation is not expected to discourage the Blue Jays from signing one of the two free-agent pitchers.
"Both Jimenez, 30, and Santana, 31, received qualifying offers from their previous clubs, forcing any other team that signs them to forfeit a high draft pick. The Jays, however, are in better position than most teams to sign one of the two - they hold "protected" picks at Nos. 9 and 11, and the first selection they could lose is No. 49 overall," MLB analyst Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports noted.
