MLB Rumors: Rangers Montgomery replacement, Blake Snell delay, Reds surprisingly good news

MLB Rumors: Reds pull off solid under-the-radar trade

Few teams have had more frustrating springs than the Cincinnati Reds. Not only is their team under .500 this spring, but the team has had some brutal luck.

Noelvi Marte's PED suspension was a huge blow, as the top Reds prospect was gearing up for his first full MLB season. To make matters worse, several Reds players including Matt McLain, TJ Friedl, Nick Lodolo, and Sam Moll are dealing with injuries. There's a chance that none of them will be ready for Opening Day.

The Reds entered the season as possible favorites to win the NL Central, and that was in large part because of their loaded infield. After signing Jeimer Candelario, it was assumed Cincinnati would trade at least one of their infielders because they had more starting-caliber infielders than they had open spots. Fortunately, they didn't trade any of them, as the McLain injury and Marte suspension are two huge losses.

With those two out of the mix, the Reds needed to add another infielder and they did just that on Wednesday, acquiring Santiago Espinal in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. Espinal is coming off a down year, but is a strong utility infielder with the ability to play three of the four infield positions while also proving to be a solid bat against left-handed pitching (.757 OPS in his career).

Espinal won't play much in a perfect world, especially when McLain and Marte return, but the fact that he has can be optioned to the minors makes him a somewhat valuable organizational depth piece.

The Blue Jays had no need for Espinal with their glut of infielders, so the Reds were able to land him at a very reasonable price.

MLB Rumors: Blake Snell won't be ready for Opening Day

The San Francisco Giants put an end to all of our misery by signing Blake Snell to a two-year deal. Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, was sitting on the free agency market all offseason before finally being signed just days ago.

The fact that Snell had thrown a four-inning simulated game before the Giants signed him made it seem like he'd be ready for Opening Day but Snell put an end to those hopes, telling NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic that he won't be.

Snell said that he can throw roughly 60 pitches which isn't horrible, but he hasn't thrown with any adrenaline or against big league hitters. Throwing him out there now would presumably put him and his team at a disadvantage, which is not what anyone wants. He's set to throw a bullpen session today, so perhaps we'll find out more about when he might debut after that.

With Snell not being ready for Opening Day, the question now is who will take his spot? That's a tough question to answer as of now, with Alex Cobb, Robbie Ray, and Tristan Beck expected to begin the season on the IL.

The Giants will presumably be choosing between one of Daulton Jeffries, Spencer Howard, and Mason Black for that fifth spot. Neither option is appealing whatsoever, but with Cobb potentially getting closer, the hope is that whoever they choose won't have to throw much. Snell making his debut sooner than later would obviously help too.

MLB Rumors: Rangers sign Jordan Montgomery replacement

For much of the offseason, it felt like a Jordan Montgomery return to the Texas Rangers was inevitable. He thrived in Texas and enjoyed his time there. The team would have no reason to not want to bring him back after he played such a big role in their World Series win.

The Rangers put an end to those hopes by saying they simply didn't have the money at their disposal to give Montgomery the long-term deal he seeks. Texas figured out their TV deal for this season, but the future is up in the air, and that undoubtedly has contributed to what's amounted to be a lackluster offseason for the defending champions.

While losing Montgomery hurts, thankfully Texas didn't just sit on their hands. They wound up signing the best pitcher available in the next tier, Michael Lorenzen, to a cheap one-year deal. Like Snell, there's a good chance that Lorenzen won't be ready for Opening Day, but hopefully, he'll be ready soon after.

The right-hander had mixed results this past season, but set career highs in both starts and innings pitched while posting a respectable 4.18 ERA and making the AL All-Star team. Lorenzen is not Montgomery or close to him, but he's a solid option for them to plug into the back of their rotation. If Texas gets Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Tyler Mahle back at some point, they're going to have a good chance of repeating as World Series champions even without Montgomery.