Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Baseball meetings wrap up
LAS VEGAS — Carlos Santana and Jeurys Familia found friendly landing spots, and Edwin Encarnacion took off for a more uncertain future. Joe Kelly joined the team he helped beat in the World Series, and the Milwaukee Brewers boosted their imposing bullpen.
The winter meetings wrapped up Thursday with a three-team trade involving Cleveland, Seattle and Tampa Bay, plus a couple more relievers reached freeagent deals.
Even so, baseball fans might’ve felt a bit cheated this week. Because even after all the clubs gathered along the Strip, no one went all in.
Hometown slugger Bryce Harper stayed put and Manny Machado didn’t move. There was a lot of trade talk about Corey Kluber, Noah Syndergaard and J.T. Realmuto, but there were no deals for any of them.
Blame that, maybe, on a new way of doing business.
In older days, a general manager or agent would’ve met around the blackjack table or roulette wheel in the wee hours and hammered out a swap on a handshake. Now, with so many financial, medical and analytical components, that’s virtually impossible.
“There’s a lot of great agents who have done big high-profile deals that are involved with these guys, so contracts have gotten more complicated in recent years with the opt-outs and various deferrals and other mechanisms that it’s very possible that in the end we see something that we haven’t seen before in terms of deal structure,” Chicago White Sox General Manager Rick Hahn said.
In the biggest trade of the week, the Indians brought back Santana and sent the slugging Encarnacion to Seattle. The Rays got highly prized infielder Yandy Diaz in a swap that also included a couple more players, cash and a draft pick. The Rays
also have a pending deal with All-Star pitcher Charlie Morton.
“Looking at history, I think to expect to come out of the winter meetings with as many things either completed or possible as we have is not something that you can expect,” Rays senior vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said.
“Here we were able to get something over the finish line before getting on the plane,” he said.
Encarnacion drove in 107 runs and hit 32 home runs, increasing his major leaguebest totals in both departments since 2012. He could provide the power lost when DH Nelson Cruz became a free agent — or not.
“We’ll see how it goes with Edwin, whether he stays with us or he moves on to another destination,” Seattle assistant general manager Justin Hollander said.
A month before he turns 36, Encarnacion is guaranteed $25 million: $20 million next season and a $5 million buyout of a $25 million club option for 2020.
Santana, 32, spent the first eight seasons of his career in Cleveland and was a fan favorite. The first baseman/DH signed a $60 million, threeyear deal with Philadelphia last offseason, was traded to Seattle earlier this month and moved again this week.
“We know what makes him tick. We know all of the things that he brings to a team into a clubhouse, so that does help,” Indians GM Chris Antonetti said.
Kelly cashed in, reaching agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a $25 million, three-year deal, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced.
The 30-year-old righty was 4-2 with a 4.39 ERA and 2 saves in 73 games this year for Boston, then excelled in October. He pitched in all 5 World Series games against the Dodgers and didn’t allow a run, striking out 10 in 6 innings.
The revamped New York Mets bullpen will include a very familiar face in Familia. He needs a physical to complete a $30 million, three-year deal.
Familia had spent his entire career with New York before being traded to Oakland last July. He’ll return to the Mets as a setup man after they recently acquired big league saves leader Edwin Diaz from Seattle.
New Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen said the Mets liked Familia because of his “age, performance, repertoire and comfort being able to handle our market.”
The NL Central Brewers added another reliever, getting left-hander Alex Claudio from the Texas Rangers for a draft pick. Claudio was 4-2 with a 4.48 ERA and 1 save in 65 relief appearances and 1 start this year.