Will the Winter Meetings close out with a bang, or with a whimper? After the White Sox made two imposing moves to restock their farm system by dealing Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, it remains to be seen whether any other Front Office can top their exploits. The Yankees also signed Aroldis Chapman to a mega-deal worth nearly $100 million over five years yesterday.
Possible hot spots today include:
- Kenley Jansen (Marlins, Nationals, Dodgers said to be in the running);
- Edwin Encarnacion, who’s having a bit of a wobbly relationship in terms of re-signing with Toronto; and
- The all-important intrigue surrounding recently-acquired-and-then-DFAed Rays-then-Mariners-guy Richie Shaffer, who has either an inside or an outside chance of being the Player to be Named Later in the Alex Jackson trade.
And, of course, the big event that concludes the Winter Meetings is the Rule V draft. The Braves appear to have a full 40-man roster at the moment and as such won’t make a pick (which probably won’t hurt them, but is still a little disappointing), but there’s still time for that to change.
As of 9 am today, the Braves released erstwhile innings eater Williams Perez, granting them a 40-man roster spot for use in the Rule V draft.
Can you believe that Ender Inciarte was a Rule V pick who was returned to his original team? It blows my mind.