Up until the start of this weekend, this MLB offseason had been a total snoozefest. It was kind of to be expected, only because we had just come off a wild World Series and we are only allowed so many good things over a short period of time. So, we went through a few weeks of nothingness where Mike Minor signing a three-year deal with the Rangers was arguably the biggest move of the winter. Then, all of a sudden, Dee Gordon was sent to the Mariners. Then Shohei Ohtani came out of nowhere and picked the Angels. Then, to top it all off, the Yankees snuck in at the last second and dealt for Giancarlo Stanton. Things are happening! To make matters even better, teams are now flying down to Orlando today for the start of the Winter Meetings. What I’m saying is the fireworks are about start flying around baseball.
Now the MLB offseason can really get rolling
Sunday morning’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at the upcoming player movement as well as all of the fallout from Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani finding new teams.
As frustrating as it’s been, it makes plenty of sense that we’ve had to wait so long for actual offseason activity to take place. This was a strange winter in which the two biggest pieces were very unique. Ohtani was the best pitcher on the market (and also among the top hitters), but he was available to everyone given his artificially suppressed market. Stanton was the best hitter on the market, and only a few teams could both afford his contract and were attractive to the player. These deals took time to happen, and the other top players on the market smartly waited it out. That includes guys like J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta. Now that the top targets have new homes, the other free agents can go to the teams who missed out.
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Fortunately for them (and us) there are going to be plenty of teams who were in on one or both of those stars and are now scrambling for a Plan B. The Red Sox weren’t necessarily major players for either Stanton or Ohtani, but they are in desperate need of a big bat and have been waiting for the market to pick up. With Dave Dombrowski at the helm, you can bet they have some plans for the week ahead. The Angels got their Ohtani, but now they could use another pitcher and/or a second baseman. The Giants missed on both Ohtani and Stanton. The Cardinals had Stanton but then lost him. Even the damn Padres are looking for an upgrade and have been connected to Hosmer. We’ve waited forever for the offseason to get going, and now that the two biggest pieces have chosen their new teams the rest of the market is about to get wild.
- After weeks of not being involved in the Stanton rumors, the Yankees jumped all over it because duh. They’re the damn Yankees.
- Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are going to scare the crap out of teams around the American League and the former just wants to be the latter’s new best friend.
- Stanton was the highest-profile Marlin on the trade block, but don’t think this trade will end their payroll slashing.
- Now, the Yankees have yet another slugger and they have an absurdly talented roster. Good luck, rest of the AL.
- While the Yankees were willing to take the plunge on Stanton, the Dodgers decided to pass on the slugger. Again.
- After missing out on the 2017 NL MVP, how should Cardinals fans feel about their team’s efforts?
- In the aftermath of this big trade, the Braves are reportedly interested in Clint Frazier.
- Don’t let the Stanton news make you forget about Ohtani, though. Here’s all the relevant information on that front.
- The Mariners were the presumed favorites for the Japanese superstar, and their fans are understandably disappointed. Just remember, though, Ohtani didn’t owe anyone anything.
- There is other news, too! The Mets are looking for a second baseman and have contacted both the Indians and the Tigers about that need.
- The Athletics are always an interesting team to watch this time of year, and perhaps they could be interested in 2017 breakout Avisail Garcia.
