Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings (held in Nashville, Tenn. from December 3-6) produced few trades and free agent signings. However, there were a handful of noteworthy transactions. Here’s a look back at some of the winners and losers from MLB’s annual conference of general managers.
San Francisco Giants (Winners) — The Giants are sticking with what worked last year. The defending World Series champions re-signed outfielder Angel Pagan and infielder Marco Scutaro, the Most Valuable Player of the National League Championship Series. The deals were worth a combined $60 million. Furthermore, San Francisco exercised 2014 contract options on manager Bruce Bochy and general manager Brian Sabean. Hey, if it’s ain’t broken, don’t fix it.
New York Mets (Losers) — Mets general manager Sandy Alderson arrived at the Winter Meetings with several items on his to-do list, such as bolstering the bullpen and strengthening the outfield. He didn’t cross off any of them. Plus, the Mets didn’t trade or sign R.A. Dickey. On the brights side, the Mets officially announce the signing of homegrown star David Wright to an eight-year, $138 million extension. But that alone won’t cut it — New York hasn’t finished with a winning record in five years.
Washington Nationals (Winners) — The Nationals signed former Los Angeles Angel Dan Haren to a low-risk, one-year deal worth $13-million. Pending a physical, he will join a staff which features Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez next season. Haren, who has won at least 12 games in eight straight seasons, will provide leadership and depth on the Nationals’ young pitching staff. The Nats are only a couple of pieces away from winning a World Series. This may be one of them.
Tampa Bay Rays (Losers) — We all knew B.J. Upton wasn’t going back to Tampa Bay (he signed a five-year, $75.25 million deal with the Atlanta Braves). But the Rays did little to replace him at the Winter Meetings. They signing light-hitting first baseman James Loney and traded for shortstop Yunel Escobar. Granted, Tampa Bay doesn’t have much money to spend, but why would they want Escobar, who has a horrible clubhouse reputation? At least the Rays didn’t trade starter James Shields — yet.
Boston Red Sox (Big Winners) — The Toronto Blue Jays rocked the baseball world earlier this winter by making a blockbuster trade which centered around Jose Reyes and Josh Johnson. The Red Sox answered at the Winter Meetings by signing power-hitting catcher Mike Napoli and center fielder Shane Victorino to deals each worth $39 million over three years. Furthermore, they inked reliever Koji Uehara to a one-year, $4.25 million deal. Boston may have overpaid for its haul, but the team improved.
Adam Martini is a freelance sports writer who roots for the New York Mets (and any team that is playing the New York Yankees). A dedicated fantasy baseball player since 1998, his games of choice growing up were Strat-O-Matic and MicroLeague Baseball.
Sources
Baseball-Reference.com.
The Official Site of Major League Baseball.
