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MLB News Roundup – Jan. 6

Compared to most sports, Major League Baseball’s offseason generally goes pretty slowly. With the financial uncertainty due to COVID restrictions, this year has gone at an absolute snail’s pace.

While last week saw a flurry of trades by the Padres to bring in Yu Darvish and Blake Snell, and the White Sox before that trading for Lance Lynn, there has been minimal movement otherwise.

While there have been some rumors around top players like George Springer and J.T. Realmuto, there doesn’t seem to be anything imminent. Still, with spring training a little over a month away, the dam is bound to break sometime soon.

Despite the slow pace of free agency, let’s take a look at some of the news stories that have circulated over the last week in MLB.

Season To Start On Time

With COVID-19 concerns throughout the country, there was some concern that MLB may decide to postpone their season until into May. According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, though, it appears that thoughts of a delay are being put aside.

Both Major League Baseball and the Player’s Association intend to start as usual, honoring the current collective bargaining agreement. There was a belief that the owners were not opposed to delaying the season, given that fan attendance is unlike early on, but it appears the owners will not drag their feet in returning to play.

After having their salary prorated last season, the players want a full season’s worth of play and paychecks. As we head into the final season before what could be ugly collective bargaining over a new contract, it is nice that the two sides didn’t have to butt heads on this topic.

In the end, it will be interesting to see if COVID-19 plays havoc with the season or scheduling. After the NFL made it through a full regular season and the NBA has kicked off relatively smoothly, there is certainly optimism.

Grossman Off The Board

While most of free agency has moved slowly, there have been some players who were picked up early. One example is Robbie Grossman, who signed a two-year deal with the Detroit Tigers for $10 million, plus incentives on Tuesday.

Last season, with the Oakland Athletics, Grossman hit .241/.344/.482 with eight home runs, 23 runs batted in, 23 runs scored, and eight stolen bases over 51 at-bats.

At 23-35, the Tigers finished in last place in the A.L. Central last year. While they are certainly not close to contention, they hope that they are on the upswing, and a signing like Grossman could help new manager A.J. Hinch in the clubhouse with such a young team.

In a corresponding move, the Tigers designated outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. for assignment.

Mets Have Interest In Hand

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, it appears that the New York Mets are pursuing in left-handed reliever Brad Hand. Heyman discussed how the Mets might have been interested in Hand when he was on release waivers from the Cleveland Indians had new owner Steve Cohen been in place at that point.

Hand would be an excellent addition to the Mets’ bullpen to go along with Trevor May, who New York signed earlier in the offseason. Last year, with Cleveland, Hand went 16 for 16 in saves with a 2.05 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and had 29 strikeouts in 22 innings.

While no deal appears imminent, the Mets have dipped their toes in just about every free agent pool thus far. In addition to Hand, they have been linked to Trevor Bauer, George Springer, Corey Kluber, Tomoyuki Sugano, D.J. LeMahieu, and others.

In addition to May, the Mets have also signed James McCann to take over duties behind the plate. New owner Steve Cohen appears to be one of just a few owners in MLB willing to open up the wallet. Don’t be surprised if the Mets add some more players to their roster in the coming weeks.

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