MLB Hot Stove: Only Lukewarm Leads So Far

Isn’t the hot stove season in baseball supposed to be, well, hot? I realize the winter meetings haven’t begun yet, but this year seems to me to have no buzz about the machinations behind the scenes that build teams.

Yes, teams could be signing players right this very second. They aren’t, though, with the closest thing to a signing being a report of talks breaking off between the Marlins and pitcher Josh Johnson. And the closest thing to a blockbuster trade that could transpire in the near future involves Curtis Granderson, not quite a potential Hall of Famer.

There are some possible moves worth watching, of course. Matt Holliday, John Lackey, and Jason Bay loom as break-the-bank purchases, and Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman is an intriguing prospect, especially with new agents on his team. Of these, Lackey is probably the most valuable player, but, somehow, despite him starting the last Game 7 in the World Series, I find it hard to imagine him swinging any balances of power by changing uniforms.

The one guy who would fit that category of complexion-changer is also the biggest name being bandied about. Yet his isn’t a particularly sexy one: Is Roy Halladay to the Cubs a rumor worth repeating to a buddy? I say no, mostly because Halladay is one of the great unappreciated athletes of this era, and his value is consistently depreciated by the Canadian-to-American attention exchange rate.

Maybe it’s just fatigue from baseball’s interminable awards season, or the realization that some of those awards going to great players on non-playoff teams means those teams could be getting better next year. But for whatever reason, this static hot stove session is leaving me cold. Call me when pitchers and catchers report.

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