Here comes the fun
Get set for crazy as meetings open in Fla.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The offseason officially began at 11:58 p.m. Nov. 1, when Jose Altuve flipped to Yuli Gurriel to retire Corey Seager and unleash a celebration of the Astros’ first World Series title.
But forget official. The offseason really could not begin until the issues surrounding Shohei Ohtani and Giancarlo Stanton were resolved. They were a dam on this offseason, blocking the free flow of most business until the questions: Were they available, to whom were they available and where would they go played out.
The dam f inally broke over the weekend. And, perhaps, a theme for the offseason was established: Surprises. The Angels were not perceived among the favorites when 30 teams were pursuing Ohtani, and the same was true even when Japan’s biggest star slimmed the field to seven. Yet Ohtani is now Mike Trout’s teammate.
The Yankees were the perceived favorites for Ohtani when the process started and nothing more than interested bystanders for Stanton. The Cardinals and Giants wanted Stanton most, Stanton wanted the Dodgers most. The Yankees, who historically work with all the subtlety of a tapdancing hippopotamus, quietly waited on the periphery as all the other contenders fell away, and suddenly Stanton was Aaron Judge’s teammate.
So as the Winter Meetings begin, let’s not take anything for granted. Perhaps the strongest expectation entering the process is that free-agent starter Alex Cobb will reunite with his former Rays manager, Joe Maddon, and pitching coach, Jim Hickey, as a Cub. Multiple executives and agents stated it as all but fact, with one official saying, “I would be shocked if he didn’t go there.”
But not long ago I had off icials and agents telling me they would be shocked if Ohtani were not a Yankee. So the signs, so far, are to brace for the unexpected. In that vein, here are a few teams that can surprise us:
1. ANGELS
Well, they already have won the Surprise Championship of the Offseason by landing Ohtani. But the thing is, once you do that and have the framework for a contender, it is hard not to keep going, especially when the Angels have such obvious needs at second, third and in the bullpen.
That Ohtani costs so little compared to his actual talent — about $23 million in all for posting fee, signing bonus and 2018 salary — the Angels can be financially aggressive. What would we think of this club if, for example, it used its offseason to trade for Ian Kinsler and sign Mike Moustakas and Bryan Shaw?
2. BREWERS
“You know who I’d watch out for,” one NL executive said to me recently? “Mark Attanasio. When he has a chance to win, he has shown he will go for it.” Attanasio is the Brewers owner, whose instincts might have been tempered in recent years by cerebral GM David Stearns.
But Milwaukee surprisingly contended last year and is perhaps a top starter and a few touch-ups away from doing it again, and Attanasio is known to have a strong relationship with Scott Boras, who just happens to represent Jake Arrieta. Do the math.
3. PADRES
San Diego pushed far into the Ohtani sweepstakes. Here goes that theme again — that was a surprise. In his first offseason as GM in 201415, A.J. Preller did the star collection thing and it did not go well.
But he was able to reverse out of many of those decisions to help the Padres build one of the game’s finer farm systems. San Diego likely remains a season or two away from making a serious playoff bid. However, its interest in Eric Hosmer is real.
Remember that the Nationals finished last in 2010 and yet that offseason stunned the industry by signing Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126 million pa ct. Washington officials wanted a winning veteran to mix with its burgeoning youngsters and also the symbolism that it was time to start winning, not just rebuilding. San Diego might be in the same realm. We rt h’ s agent was Boras. Who’s Hosmer ’s agent? Ye p , same guy.
4. TWINS
Minnesota officials have few illusions about how they got into the playoffs last year. Yes, the Twins outplayed expectations, but it also was about teams such as the Blue Jays, Mariners and Rangers underperforming and opening a door to the second wild card.
Twins executives still see the AL has having a Big Four — Astros, Indians, Red Sox and Yankees; the Yanks even bigger now with Stanton — but they still see that second wild card and a chance for an extended run of success if they can surround their blossoming core of position players with stronger starting pitchers. GM Thad Levine has said the Twins are pursuing rotation help at every pay level, not just the middle or bottom scales long associated with Minnesota. And while in Texas as assistant GM, Levine helped recruit Yu Darvish, who is either the best or second-best free-agent starter available, depending on how you view Arrieta.
5. A’S
Their two-year, $10 million signing on Thursday of Yusmeiro Petit gave the A’s something they previously did not have — guaranteed money on the books for 2019. Still, their future payrolls are pretty much evergreen, and while the perception about Oakland is that it does not play in the deep end, that is not always true.
No one saw the A’s coming for Yoenis Cespedes on the international market or Jon Lester on the trade market. And Oakland, when it sensed the lack of suitors for Edwin Encarnacion last year, made a two-year, $50 million bid.
With the Yankees, Dodgers and Cu b s focused on the pitching market, the A’s do not have many f inancial heavyweights vying for position players. Their more moneyed Bay Area rival Giants are, however, and in this offseason of surprise, I will not f ind myself shocked i f, for example, those two battled it out for Lorenzo Cain.