MLB News and Notes: Superstar Signings At Winter Meetings

For the last couple of years, there has been growing pessimism about the state of free agency in Major League Baseball, more notably, the pace at which free agency got going. For those that were pessimistic, this year has brought a wave of optimism as it seems like superstar free agents are flying off the board left and right.
There has been increased activity both in free agency and on the trade front. In fact, at the winter meetings, the top three free agents in all of baseball signed.
Let’s take a look at those three signings as well as other news from around the league in just the last week.
Trio Of Superstars Sign At Winter Meetings
There were a lot of winners at the Winter Meetings over the course of last week, but possibly the biggest winner might have been renowned agent Scott Boras. Boras was able to get all three of his biggest clients new deals (on consecutive days I might add), and they were absolute monster deals.
Gerrit Cole got the biggest of the three deals, signing a record-breaking nine-year, $324 million contract with the New York Yankees. Last season, the former Houston hurler went 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and had 326 strikeouts in 212 1/3 innings pitched.
Cole’s contract runs until he’s 38 unless he were to opt out after the fifth year. He also gets a full no-trade clause in the deal. Ironically, he shattered the record for money for a pitcher that was given to another Boras client just the day before.
Stephen Strasburg also signed over the Winter Meetings to return to the Washington Nationals. Boras was able to get his client a seven-year, $245 million deal with the team that Strasburg just helped win a World Series.
On the year, Strasburg went 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and struck out 251 in 209 innings. Strasburg will try to help the Nationals get back to a World Series.
Anthony Rendon signed a seven-year, $245 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels to become their new third baseman. Rendon also gets a no-trade clause in the deal. Last season, with the Nationals, Rendon hit .319/.412/.598 with 34 home runs, 126 runs batted in and 117 runs scored.
He now makes for a phenomenal middle-of-the-order trio with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. For those doing the math, that now makes over $800 million that Boras was able to get for just three clients, and that doesn’t even include the $64 million deal he was able to get Mike Moustakas. While there are a lot of winners, Boras is likely leading the pack.
Kluber Traded To Rangers
In a bit of a shocker on Sunday, the Texas Rangers traded for former All-Star pitcher Corey Kluber from the Cleveland Indians. Kluber was hampered by injuries last season as he dealt with both a fractured forearm and oblique strain.
In all, Kluber threw just 35 2/3 innings, going 2-3 with a 5.80 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and striking out 38. Still, it was just two years ago that he went 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA over 215 innings, so despite his age (he will be 34 this upcoming season), it is not unreasonable to think he could still have something left in the tank.
What is shocking is the light return that Cleveland got back for its former ace. In return for Kluber, the Indians received Delino DeShields Jr. and reliever Emmanuel Clase.
DeShields has seemingly been a fourth outfielder for many years as he is fast and plays good defense, but his bat has struggled to play at this level. Last season, DeShields hit just .249/.325/.347 with four home runs, 32 runs batted in, 42 runs scored and 24 stolen bases in 357 at-bats.
The real prize in this trade is likely Clase. Last season, the hard-throwing righty went 2-3 with a 2.31 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and struck out 21 in 23 1/3 innings pitched for the Rangers. Most notably, he can hit 100-plus miles per hour with his cutter and, at just 21, seems like he has a bright future.
Clase is still a reliever, though, and for a pitcher with as storied of a career as Kluber, this seemed like nothing more than just a salary dump for the Indians.
Bumgarner Stays In NL West
In another shocking news story from Sunday, Madison Bumgarner has decided to stay in the NL West, just not with the San Francisco Giants. Instead, the southpaw agreed to a five-year, $85 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It appears that some of that money will be deferred, but it still makes for a decent payday for the lefty. It does appear that there may have been some preference by Bumgarner to sign with Arizona as reports indicate that he might have had other offers, possibly bigger ones, on the table.
Still, the 30-year-old will try to keep his solid career going with Arizona. Last season, Bumgarner went 9-9 with a 3.90 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and struck out 203 in 207 2/3 innings pitched.
Mets Sign Pair Of Starters
The New York Mets have added a pair of veteran starters into the mix for the 2020 season. Both Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha have agreed to deals with the Mets this season.
For Porcello, it is a one-year, $10 million deal. Last season, Porcello went 14-12 with a 5.52 ERA and 1.39 WHIP with the Boston Red Sox. In 174 1/3 innings, he had 143 strikeouts.
While the stats were mediocre at best last season, the year before, he went 17-7 with a 4.28 ERA so the ability may be there. Porcello is hoping for a rebound as he switches over to the National League for the first time in his career.
The other signing for the Mets was that of former Cardinal Wacha. The deal for Wacha is for just $3 million guaranteed but could escalate to over $11 million with incentives. Last season for St. Louis, Wacha was 6-7 with a 4.76 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and struck out 104 in 126 2/3 innings pitched.
There has been some speculation that with these two additions, it might allow the Mets to trade someone like Noah Syndergaard to free up some money, but currently, the Mets say they are just looking for veteran depth to go along with Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Marcus Stroman. With the way this offseason has gone, everything might be on the table.