Not many big hits during Winter Meetings

The Winter Meetings were held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, a huge domed complex in Nashville that includes a water park, a skating rink, and artificial rivers wide enough for boats.

Guests are literally handed a foldout map to get their room and it’s a slow walk as you dodge tourists gawking at the Christmas decorations and taking selfies.

It’s a strange place to talk baseball and there wasn’t much big news beyond the Yankees trading for Juan Soto as everything was breaking up.

A few thoughts on some of what went down:

■ Alex Verdugo is a good gamble for the Yankees. He’s definitely a player motivated by money and will be determined to perform well heading into free agency. There also won’t be much pressure. For the moment, Verdugo is likely to hit seventh in New York’s lineup.It’s also not a huge loss for the Red Sox. Verdugo has been roughly a league-average hitter the last three seasons and hopeless (.238/.301/.314) against lefthanders. He’s also a player with, shall we say, wavering professionalism at times. There was very little chance the Sox were going to sign him to an extension.

But the Yankees feel he’ll fall into line in their clubhouse. If not, it’s a oneyear deal, and the three pitchers they sent to the Sox aren’t considered good prospects.

There is a danger for the Yankees, though. The plan is to play Aaron Judge in center field with Verdugo in right and Soto in left. Judge is a good center fielder but has never played more than 78 games there.

For a 282-pound player with injury issues in the past, more running is asking for trouble.

■ Scott Boras reached peak Scott Boras on Wednesday when he suggested the Phillies should sign Bryce Harper to a contract extension. Harper is already signed through the 2031 season, at which point he will be 39.

Harper has said he wants to play into his 40s. Boras believes an extension would benefit the Phillies because it would help attract free agents who want to play with his client.

Maybe so, but giving an extension to a player with eight years remaining on his contract would be unprecedented. Even Dave Dombrowski wouldn’t see that as a need.

■ At 25, Soto will be playing for his third team in three years when he suits up for the Yankees. Unless New York blows him away with an extension offer during the season, Boras is sure to take him to free agency and it could be four teams in four years.

That’s stunning for a player who has hit .284 with a .949 OPS and 160 home runs over six seasons.

Soto has played only three games in Fenway Park, going 4 for 15 with a home run from Aug. 28-30, 2020, in front of empty seats during the pandemic. He homered off Martín Pérez ,a blast to right field, in the first game.

■ The Diamondbacks are set to have a team-record payroll of more than $131 million after signing Eduardo Rodriguez to a four-year, $80 million contract with a vesting option for 2028 worth at least $17 million.

Arizona general manager Mike Hazen, manager Torey Lovullo, and assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye know Rodriguez well from their time with the Red Sox. They see the lefty being a major addition to a team that needed bullpen games during the World Series.

For the ultra-competitive Hazen, the World Series loss still stings. He appreciates the accomplishment of getting there. But falling short has added more urgency.

“A lot,” he said. “The two times we went to the Series with the Sox [during his tenure] we won. So I didn’t really experience that feeling. It was difficult.”

Hazen said the playoff run sparked renewed interest in baseball in Phoenix.

“You can see it,” he said. “The connection to our players is that much more significant.”

Justin Turner could be next for Arizona. Hazen was after him last season before the Red Sox made a deal.

■ Former Boston College pitcher Michael King was one of the five players sent to the Padres for Soto. The 28-yearold righthander has always envisioned himself as a starter and he’ll get that opportunity in San Diego.

King had a 1.88 ERA over eight starts to finish last season and struck out 48 over 38‚ innings. This trade presents a big opportunity for him.

■ Had a chance to ask New Hampshire native Sam Fuld why he turned down the opportunity to interview with the Red Sox for the job that Craig Breslow eventually landed.

“It speaks to the situation that I’m in,” said Fuld, who is the GM of the Phillies under Dave Dombrowski. “With the Phillies organization and the roots that I’ve laid down in the Philadelphia community, it’s a personal decision, and a lot that goes into the calculus.

“It’s almost always a combination of a personal and professional decision. Between the enjoyment that I get out of being part of the Phillies organization and the great opportunities that I’ve had and the roots we’ve laid down with my wife and four children, I’m really, really happy with where we are.”