With the Winter Meetings kicking off Monday, general managers, agents and players are convening at one of the most exciting times of the offseason. While recent years have found the Winter Meetings to be a little less busy than normal, this year seems like it could be shaping up to be an active week.
Just look at this last week, where there was a flurry of transactions from across the league. Let’s take a look at some of the moves made throughout the week:
Phillies Sign Wheeler
While the top tier of the pitching hierarchy wasn’t quick to make moves, the next step down lost one of its main pitchers as Zack Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a five-year, $118 million contract. It has been reported that the Chicago White Sox might have offered a bit more, but Wheeler eventually chose to stay on the East Coast to be close to family.
Last year, Wheeler was 11-8 with a 3.96 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. In 31 games and 195 1/3 innings, Wheeler struck out 195 versus 50 walks. With a fastball that sits in the upper 90s, Wheeler has the tools to be a top-of-the-rotation-type starter, and if anyone can truly tap into his potential, he could truly be an ace.
The Phillies, who made a big splash last year with the signing of Bryce Harper, have struck early and appear to still be in on many of the biggest free agents as they push to make the playoffs next season.
Reds Sign Moustakas
In one of the more surprising moves of the offseason, the Cincinnati Reds announced that they signed Mike Moustakas to a four-year, $64 million deal. This is the largest signing in team history, and it is even more surprising when you take into account that they plan on having Moustakas be their full-time second baseman.
While he has experience at the position, he has spent the majority of his career at third. Regardless, it may be an example of the silly money being thrown around as no one expected that Moustakas would get upwards of $16 million a year. Last year for the Brewers, Moustakas hit .254/.329/.516 with 35 home runs, 87 runs batted in and 80 runs scored.
Brewers Trade For Catcher
One market that has truly been flying thus far has been the catching market. Yasmani Grandal, Alex Avila, Travis d’Arnaud and others have already signed. Last week another catcher, this time via trade, is now off the board.
The Milwaukee Brewers officially traded for catcher Omar Narvaez from the Seattle Mariners. In return, the Mariners are getting minor leaguer Adam Hill (a right-handed pitcher) and a Competitive Balance draft pick in return.
Narvaez has been seen as a bit of an offense-first catcher, as his defensive metrics are not the strongest. Still, last season, Narvaez hit .278/.353/.460 with 22 home runs, 55 runs batted in and 63 runs scored over just 428 at-bats.
Rays, Padres Pull Off Major Trade
The Brewers and Mariners weren’t the only ones who pulled off a trade last week. The Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padres pulled off a significant swap as the Rays sent outfielder Tommy Pham and minor leaguer Jake Cronenworth to the Padres in exchange for outfielder Hunter Renfroe and minor leaguer Xavier Edwards.
Pham has now been traded twice in just a couple of years but is the immediate prize of this deal. Pham hit .273/.369/.450 last season for the Rays, including 21 home runs, 68 runs batted in, 77 runs scored and 25 stolen bases. He will help add to the top of a Padres lineup that has the potential to put up some runs.
In return, the Rays received Renfroe from the Padres’ major league roster. Renfroe last season hit .216/.289/.489 with 33 home runs, 64 runs batted in and 64 runs scored. For the Rays, this deal helps in the sense of bringing back a younger and cheaper Renfroe for the cash-strapped team.
They also get a much more interesting prospect in Edwards, who was the fifth-ranked prospect in a loaded Padres farm system.
Nationals Re-Sign Kendrick
Howie Kendrick, who was one of the unsung heroes of the playoffs for the Washington Nationals, is coming back to the nation’s capital for one more season. The Nationals and Kendrick agreed to a one-year, $6.25 million deal.
Last season, the versatile veteran hit .344/.395/.572 with 17 home runs, 62 runs batted in and 61 runs scored in just 334 at-bats.
Lyles Signs With Rangers
The Texas Rangers, who are set to open a new stadium in 2020, have been one of the more active teams in the free-agent market thus far. After signing Kyle Gibson last week, they made another addition to their starting rotation this week by signing Jordan Lyles to a two-year, $16 million deal.
With Mike Minor and Lance Lynn already sitting atop the rotation, the Rangers have a respectable group through their top four. It might not be the most dominant rotation of aces, but it is certainly beyond serviceable.
Last year, across two different teams, Lyles was 12-8 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. In 141 innings, he had 146 strikeouts in 28 games started.
Now that the rotation has been addressed a little more, the Rangers may now be turning to a bigger fish, as there are indications they could try to make a run at the likes of third baseman Anthony Rendon, who grew up in Texas.
