Trade, free agent flurry nears
Five furious days await for wheeling and dealing at MLB’s winter meetings
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Children, innocently letting their emotions overwhelm them, ran around the lobby of the Swan and Dolphin Resort on Sunday morning, eyeing the holiday decorations, gifts scattered around the enormous Christmas trees, hoping to catch an early glimpse of Santa Claus before the big day.
By the evening, the sugar high will wear off and they’ll be exhausted, headed to the airport with TSA officials returning them to reality.
Replacing the children on this massive Walt Disney property are thousands of cantankerous adults, mostly grumpy men whose only objective these next five days is to return home with a baseball team that’s a lot better than when they arrived.
They have no interest in the Sugar Plum Candy Stand, tree lighting ceremony or even the Dancing Light Special.
They just want some damn ballplayers and will gladly hibernate the rest of the holiday season with a World Series championship parade dancing in their heads.
It’s baseball’s annual winter meetings, where 30 teams and their entire front offices and field managers storm the hotel, followed in close pursuit by hundreds of agents and reporters.
This is where the Yankees can formally announce the acquisition of 2017 National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton, say how they still want to somehow squeeze under the $197 million luxury tax despite assuming $265 million of Stanton’s contract, while still somehow adding free agent pitching.
This is where the Marlins, a franchise $400 million in debt, can look in the cameras with a straight face and tell us they really liked the prospects they received in return for Stanton and Dee Gordon (traded to the Mariners), while skipping down the hallways, knowing they just saved $303 million without those two contracts.
This is where agent Scott Boras will be peddling the likes of offensive stars Eric Hosmer, J.D. Martinez and Mike Moustakas, starter Jake Arrieta and closer Greg Holland, too, telling teams they can’t possibly win without them.
This is where the Red Sox, who won two consecutive division titles but fired their manager anyway, get cozy with Boras, desperately needing one of his sluggers, Hosmer or Martinez, with Boras trying to convince them they actually need two.
This is where the Cardinals and Giants, still seething at all the wasted hours pursuing Stanton only to be rebuffed by the player exercising his no-trade rights, return with a vengeance, letting everyone know they have pockets full of cash and are ready to spend it.
The Cardinals, who offered pitching prospects Sandy Alcantara and Jack Flaherty and were willing to pay nearly $250 million of Stanton’s $295 million guarantee, will return to the bargaining table with the Marlins. This time they’ll focus their talks strictly on outfielder Marcell Ozuna, whom they wanted in the first place, after he hit .312 with 37 home runs this year.
Oh, and while the Cardinals are at it, they’ll be sitting down with the other Florida team, the Rays. The Rays, who have seen the disparity grow even greater in the American League East with Stanton coming aboard, are listening to anyone and everyone.
The Cardinals are making no secret they’d love to land Rays closer Alex Colome, who led the AL with 47 saves, and will take Gold Glove third baseman Evan Longoria and the remaining $92 million of his contract along with him.
Their nemesis, the Cubs, want in, as well. They already signed starter Tyler Chatwood but would love to get an audience with Tampa Bay to bring ace Chris Ar- cher back home, too, even if it means parting with beloved slugger Kyle Schwarber or Ian Happ. If not, they likely will dip back into the free agent market for starter Alex Cobb, whose only pitching coach has been Jim Hickey, now reunited with manager Joe Maddon in Chicago.
The Giants, who offered pitching prospect Tyler Beede and catching prospect Aramis Garcia while taking on about $230 million of Stanton’s contract, now will be trying to buy their way back to respectability.
After hitting a major league-low 128 home runs — a mere 113 shy of the Yankees — the Giants are frantically seeking a reincarnation of Barry Bonds, and if they can’t sign Martinez, who hit 45 home runs in just 119 games last season with the Tigers and Diamondbacks, they likely will turn to slugger Jay Bruce at a discount price.
The White Sox stole the show a year ago at these meetings by trading ace Chris Sale to the Red Sox and, while they’re about to begin Year 2 of their rebuilding project, are shopping Jose Abreu, who has driven in at least 100 runs in each of his first four seasons with 30 or more homers in three of the years. The Red Sox are listening, but the White Sox would have to be overwhelmed to move him.
We might not see any executives take advantage of the free swan paddle boat rides or swimming at the Mermaid Academy or even tucked in with the elves, but with a few adult beverages inside them, there is Karaoke at Kimonos, adults-only after 11 p.m.
This week is threatening to get absolutely goofy.