Baseball talk in this kind of weather? Yep.
MLB spring training will soon be among us, as many clubs are having their pitchers and catchers report on various days throughout this week. There have been many deals given to free agents this off-season, and some even bigger trades.
One of the biggest blockbuster trades of the off-season was the Rockies trading away all-star Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals. Arenado, who has spent the last eight seasons in the Colorado organization, has become one of the best players in baseball.
Arenado had a .293 average during his tenure at third base with the Rockies and has won the Gold Glove Award in all of the seasons he has played, and been to five straight all-star games. The Rockies will receive southpaw pitcher Austin Gomber and four Minor league prospects.
The Mets acquired some all-star talent from the Cleveland Indians. Cleveland decided to part ways with star shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco and send them to the Big Apple. The Indians in return will receive infielders Andrés Giménez, Amed Rosario and two minor prospects.
Another big trade that happened this off-season was former Pirates’ first baseman Josh Bell being traded to the Washington Nationals on a roughly $6 million a year deal. The Pirates in return will pick up a few pitching prospects including 19-year-old Eddy Yean.
The Tampa Bay Rays traded away one of their star pitchers Blake Snell. Snell won the 2018 Cy Young award and was taken out in Game 6 of last year’s World Series in a controversial move by manager Kevin Cash. The Rays will get relievers Luis Patiño and Cole Wilcox and catchers Blake Hunt and Francisco Mejía.
The Dodgers signed pitcher Trevor Bauer to a three-year $102 million deal, with the potential for opt-outs after 2021 and 2022. Bauer was last season’s Cy Young winner in the NL notching a 1.73 ERA.
The Chicago Cubs traded starter Yu Darvish and catcher Victor Caratini to the Padres. Darvish will complement Snell in the San Diego rotation. The Cubs received pitcher Zach Davies and four minor league prospects in the deal.
The Padres also signed infielder Ha-Seong Kim a 25-year-old prospect coming out of the KBO League in South Korea, to a four-year $28 million deal. Last season, Kim hit for a .306 average with 30 home runs in 138 games for the Kiwoom Heroes.
The Yankees resigned all-star infielder DJ LeMahieu to a six-year $90 million deal. Last season, LeMahieu hit .346 and had 10 home runs. LeMahieu has won back-to-back Silver Slugger Awards since coming to the Yankees in 2019. The Yankees also signed former Cleveland Indian Corey Kluber to a one-year $11 million deal. Kluber was with Texas last season and pitched just one inning before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. Kluber won the Cy Young award in 2014 and 2017.
The Blue Jays made a couple of off-season additions including outfielder George Springer and pitchers Kirby Yates and Tyler Chatwood. Springer was signed to a hefty six-year $150 million deal; Yates got a one-year $5.5 million deal and Chatwood got a one-year $3 million.
The Minnesota Twins signed shortstop Andrelton Simmons to a one-year $10.5 million deal. Simmons, who had been with the Angels since 2016, and is widely regarded as one of the game’s top defensive shortstops.
The Chicago Cubs signed former Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson to a one-year $7 million deal. Pederson brings a decent bat and championship pedigree to Chicago.