MLB free agency is cruising right along, with the league’s\u00a0winter meetings\u00a0held last week in Dallas. The name on everyone’s lips is Juan Soto, but he’s\u00a0not the only free agent who has a big decision to make\u00a0this winter.<\/p>\n
Here’s a quick look at where things stand so far this offseason:<\/p>\n
The market for free agent first basemen was noticeably slow, until this week.<\/p>\n
The Houston Astros struck first with a\u00a0reported three-year, $60 million deal\u00a0to acquire free-agent first baseman Christian Walker, previously a standout bat for the Arizona Diamondbacks. That triggered a chain of moves, as the D-Backs opted to replace Walker by trading for Cleveland Guardians All-Star Josh Naylor on Saturday per\u00a0ESPN’s Jeff Passan.<\/p>\n
Minutes later, the Guardians\u00a0reportedly\u00a0signed old friend Carlos Santana for his third stint with the team. Santana spent last season with the Minnesota Twins, so we’ll see if the Twins do anything to respond. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees picked up former MVP Paul Goldschmidt on\u00a0a one-year, $12.5 million deal.<\/p>\n
The first base market isn’t close to done, as Pete Alonso and others remain available.<\/p>\n
Before the Walker deal, the Astros were interested in trading for Nolan Arenado of the St. Louis Cardinals. The feeling apparently wasn’t mutual, as the All-Star informed his club that he would not waive his no-trade clause for a move to Houston,\u00a0according to MLB.com.<\/p>\n
The Cardinals were reportedly willing to send $15-20 million to the Astros to help cover the $64 million in salary that Houston would have to take on (the Colorado Rockies are on the hook for $10 million of the $74 million remaining on Arenado’s deal), but they also needed Arenado’s approval.<\/p>\n
With Walker aboard and no Arenado incoming, the Astros are now set to feature Walker at first and Isaac Paredes, the crown jewel of their return in the Kyle Tucker trade, at third, with Alex Bregman all but gone in free agency.<\/p>\n
Losing a 26-year-old future Hall of Famer is a blow for any team, but the New York Yankees have been active since their former right fielder Juan Soto put pen to paper with the New York Mets.<\/p>\n
Through a series of moves, they haven’t replaced Soto, but they have certainly offset some losses. Here are four positions with a notable departure and their replacement:<\/p>\n
Starting pitcher: Nestor Cortes out, Max Fried in<\/p>\n
Reliever: Clay Holmes out, Devin Williams in<\/p>\n
Outfield: Juan Soto out, Cody Bellinger in<\/p>\n
First base: Anthony Rizzo out, Paul Goldschmidt in<\/p>\n
The collective 2024 bWAR of the quartet going out: 11.4 The total of the quartet coming in: 8.4. It’s not a perfect replacement, but replacing a player like Soto is hard to do.<\/p>\n
Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki\u00a0was posted Dec. 9\u00a0as the winter meetings got underway,\u00a0according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. Sasaki’s posting opened a 45-day window, which began Dec. 10 and runs through 5 p.m. ET Jan. 23. Every MLB team is now allowed to attempt to sway the 23-year-old talent to sign with them when the international amateur signing period opens Jan. 15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MLB free agency is cruising right along, with the league’s\u00a0winter meetings\u00a0held last week in Dallas. The name on everyone’s lips is Juan Soto, but he’s\u00a0not the only… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19713,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n