MLB: After another snoozefest, is it time to scrap the winter meetings?

Another year of baseball’s winter meetings has come and gone, and most of the top free agents are still unsigned.

In addition to the two competing for the biggest contract — Bryce Harper and Manny Machado — there’s Craig Kimbrel, who reportedly hopes to become the first nine-figure reliever, and potential closers Zach Britton and Andrew Miller.

Among the available hitters are Nelson Cruz, Michael Brantley, A.J. Pollock, DJ LeMahieu and Marwin Gonzalez.

A smorgasbord of talent is there for the taking, almost two months into the off-season.

All of them will sign sooner or later, just like in last year’s slow market. But the lack of movement during the annual meetings, which MLB Network televises almost non-stop, makes the affair seem anachronistic. How many times can you listen to reporters discuss the possi- bility of a J.T. Realmuto deal?

Only 16 official moves were announced during the three days in Las Vegas: six waiver claims, six signings, three trades and one player (Troy Tulowitzki) released.

It was a snoozefest from start to finish.

“There’s a buzz today,” one TV host said Wednesday, clearly trying to create interest with an absence of real news.

It makes you wonder whether the meetings are even neces- sary in this day and age, when team executives can text or teleconference with each other. Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski came up with a good idea, suggesting baseball should consider an off-season deadline for making moves, which would force teams and agents to work quicker to get things done.

“I don’t really know what’s happened where it has changed,” Dombrowski told masslive.com. “It just doesn’t seem to be very important for people. I have suggested that the game needs to look at that.

“The reality is that if you’re a general manager or an assistant general manager, there is no downtime for people. Everybody needs a break at some point. They need to change the rules or something where there’s some downtime.”

The July 31 trade deadline is one of the best days in baseball. The winter meetings have become three of the dullest.