Major League Baseball’s slower than usual offseason
It’s been a slower than usual Major League Baseball offseason. There is top talent available, but they remain unsigned just weeks before spring training begins.
Almost three weeks into the new year and some things haven’t changed since 2020. I’m not just referring to the pandemic or the ongoing fight for social justice. But also, the ever so sloth paced Major League Baseball offseason. It seems like for the last five years; the MLB offseason has been going slower and slower.
The NFL and NBA off-season’s are rarely slow. Sure, all three leagues seem to run silent for a few weeks after the season ends. But the NBA and NFL continue to stay in the news when very little is happening.
Major League Baseball, on the other hand, not so much. They go quiet and then don’t wake up. MLB is like me, during the workweek. I go to sleep at night and then don’t want to wake up when my alarm goes off. Eventually, both the MLB and I get up and get going.
Elephant in the room
Obviously, COVID-19 has changed has the economics of the game. It’s not even a matter of the usual league/union garbage. No fans and limited games put a big dent into revenues. Spring Training is a little over a month away. Top players like Trevor Bauer and George Springer should be on new teams by now.
Trade Market busier than the Free Agent Market
Conventional wisdom suggests the free agent market should be busier than the trade market because only one team and a player is involved. The teams aren’t negotiating (arguing) over players involved in a trade. Is player A the same value as player B? Can one side take on all of player A’s contract, so you’ll need to pay some of that along with player B’s contract.
Yet, the San Diego Padres and NY Mets have been the buzz of the offseason. The Padres dealt from their excellent farm system to land former Cy Young Blake Snell and 2020’s CYA runner up, Yu Darvish. These two are joining Dinelson Lament and Chris Paddack for 2021. In 2022, Mike Cleveninger will be back from his Tommy John surgery and rehab to help. Talk about a starting rotation. The Friars also still have uber pitching prospect Mackenzie Gore in their system as well.
#Rays have an agreement in place to trade Blake Snell to the #Padres for a 4-prospect return headed by pitcher Luis Patino. @Ken_Rosenthal @JCTSports @dennistlin were 1st with this.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 28, 2020
The Mets traded some young talent and a couple of minor leaguers for arguably the best shortstop in the game, Francisco Lindor, and Leukemia survivor, Carlos Carrasco. The Mets now add a top of the order bat to go with Pete Alonso‘s power.
Carrasco will either be the Amazins second or third starter behind two-time National League Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom and Marcus Stroman. While New York’s rotation isn’t up there with the Dodgers or Padres, the Mets are up there with Division rivals Atlanta and Washington.
Big talents still available
Yes, the New York Yankees signed DJ LeMahieu and Corey Kluber. But the Bronx Bombers are always an outlier when it comes to free agents. Still, there are at least 10 former All-Stars on the free agent market. Plenty of teams out there that can use a few of those guys. Here’s a list of some of the top guys available.
Hitters
Pitchers
A couple of people to keep an eye on are Kris Bryant and Nolan Arenado. Both are unhappy with their current team situations. As we’ve seen so far this offseason, the “problem children” are getting dealt.
Related Story: Realistic Free Agents for the Seattle Mariners to consider
With all these quality players are still on the market, maybe the Seattle Mariners can give some of them a good home. M’s General Manager Jerry Dipoto likes to find bargains. Now is the time.