The Winter Meetings are still technically going on tomorrow, but with the Rule 5 Draft in the morning and then flights to catch thereafter, you often see a lull in actual activity. Maybe there’ll be some excitement and action tonight. *stifled chuckle*
Does this count?
Lynn, 31, was kinda mediocre in 2017 (his return from Tommy John), and then was a bad results, good peripherals guy last year with the Twins and Yankees. This actually could be a good roll of the dice by the Rangers.
Elsewhere …
The Tampa Bay Rays have signed Charlie Morton to a two-year deal worth $30M, which is a solid move for them, but they’re not done yet. According to Jeff Passan, they’ll now turn their attention to Nelson Cruz, who’s searching for a two year deal, as well. But wait! There’s more. The Rays are also apparently one of the teams checking in on J.T. Realmuto, which brings the total up to … just about everyone.
Of course, the big update on Realmuto today was the Reds entrance (and prominence) in the sweepstakes. And even that has an update already. According to Jon Heyman, the Reds have made some progress regarding Realmuto, but have drawn a line at Nick Senzel. The earlier rumor suggested a package of Tucker Barnhart and top prospect Taylor Trammell, but it’s not clear where Senzel fits into all of that. What is clear is Realmuto is on the move (Jon Morosi believes it’ll happen in the next few days) and the Reds are itching to make some deals.
For example:
Ken Rosenthal added a few important bits, including Matt Kemp’s presence in these talks, Homer Bailey’s no-trade rights, and the fact that nothing is particularly close at the moment.
On top of a trade for Realmuto, a trade *of* Bailey, and a trade for a Dodgers outfielder, the Reds are also apparently in active trade discussions with the Yankees (Sonny Gray) and Blue Jays (Marcus Stroman). That sort of feels out of nowhere, but you might recall the Reds interest in Corey Kluber, so clearly they’re interested in adding a starter. The Reds have so much work to do to be competitive in the NL Central next year, but adding a big starter (Gray/Stroman/Kluber), an outfielder (Puig), and star catcher (Realmuto) to Joey Votto, Scooter Gennett, Eugenio Suarez, Jared Hughes, and Raisel Iglesias is a pretty great start. [INSTANT UPDATE: The Reds just acquired Tanner Roark.]
Earlier today, we learned that the Cubs were showing interest in the second-tier relievers market, featuring guys like Brad Brach and Jake Diekman. According to Bruce Levine, they’ve also begun meeting with the agents for catchers, though he didn’t mention which. As I’ve said previously, it’s a bit difficult for us to guess whom the Cubs may be targeting, because they’re probably looking less for a guy that can contribute on the field as they are for someone who can help out in the dugout (i.e. that veteran edge they keep discussing). We’ll keep tabs on this because they almost certainly will add somebody.
Hmm. So Scott Boras declined the opportunity to needle the Cubs about money, but said this about the Cardinals:
It sure feels like Boras knows something we don’t, but keep in mind that it could just as easily be something bad as something good. For example, maybe knows the Cubs really, truly do not have the money to bid seriously on Harper, so he wants to do what he can to preserve that mystery with respect to other bidders.
Brett Taylor contributed to this post.
NEWSLETTER
