Winter Meetings Update: Day Three

Phew. Yeah. Uh, a lot happened today. Might as well detail the big stuff.

In terms of this Adam Eaton move, today was a slightly more superior sequel to yesterday, as, from Washington's standpoint, everything bad from yesterday was righted. The Nats couldn't get their hands on Chris Sale, so they landed one of the most impressive outfielders in baseball. This is...surprisingly a good deal.

The Nats' outfield was slightly weaker than usual last season, on account of Ben Revere aging 10 years over the course of 1. Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Jayson Werth were gonna be the supposed starters, but with Adam Eaton coming in, one of two things will happen- either Werth, on the last year of his 7-year contract, will be phased out and be played as an alternate, or Trea Turner will be phased into an infield role, preferably at shortstop, as he's a bit better of an option than Danny Espinosa at this point. There's at least some flexibility, but it's overall a nice move for the Nats.

Additionally, this sort of rights things in Chicago as well, making sure that Lucas Giolito, who had a slow start but definitely has potential, has a place where can grow without being overshadowed. Yes, this may be wishful thinking, sorta like Carlos Rodon, but...you never know. Giolito wasn't getting 'best prospect in the system' claims for nothing. Also...who'd have thought that Giolito and Yoan Moncada, two prospects from 2016, would wind up on the same season, hurtling towards some full-rookie-seasons in 2017?

Additionally, the Cubs made a move that proves they're willing to move on from their 2016 season, while at the same time proving they're trying to win again. Yeah, not every miracle lasts forever, and Aroldis Chapman's gonna have to find somewhere else to close games next year (preferably New York).

This move, in gaining closer Wade Davis from the Royals, in exchange for consistently-suffocated outfielder Jorge Soler, is a great one. The Cubs have a definite closer/reliever that can get them through 2017, while the Royals have another outfielder, along with Billy Burns, to repopulate the now in-flux lineup, especially considering that they're suddenly shopping Lorenzo Cain.

Pretty sound move overall. Not a ton of outcry from me.

If you want outcry, watch me talk about the Rockies' move to add Ian Desmond.

I understand that the Rox needed to fill their first base position after the supposed departure of Mark Reynolds, but...Ian Desmond's an odd choice. He's a middle-infielder, and an outfielder...and converting him now to play first is a bit...concerning. No, he'll probably be great, and he's proven extreme range in his season in Arlington, but giving him a TON of money and 5 years in order to play a position he's never consistently played professionally before...is a risky bet.

I mean, offense-wise, he'll probably be fine, as it's Coors Field and it usually rewards nice-average people like Desmond, but...overall it's an odd, concerning kind of move, which...kind of sums up the Rockies of late.

Meanwhile, the Marlins are...very quietly making some decent moves. They added Jeff Locke as a late-rotation helper today, as well as adding AJ Ellis as a potential backup catcher. They're preparing for an above .500 season, and they're chasing people. They're also reportedly in the running for Aroldis Chapman...which is kind of pointless because they already have a good enough closer in A.J. Ramos, but...I'm not gonna tell the Marlins' GM how to live his life...as it'd probably kill me.

That's basically it for today, but I guarantee more crazy shit is waiting around the corner.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2015: Pirates

This was a pretty gigantic year for the Pirates as, while they didn't dethrone the Cardinals, they had a strong hold on the Wild Card for most of the year, and seemed to get stronger and stronger as the year went on. Mark Melancon had an even bigger season, notching near 50 saves, and proving how dominant the Pirates can be given the right hand.

Francisco Liriano is still the team's ace, even if he hasn't been consistent year-to-year. He's still pretty tough, and still had a pretty nice fastball, and that's really all they need.

Pedro Alvarez had a down season comparatively, switched between 1st and 3rd, and not hitting as well as usual. The Pirates didn't pick him up for 2016, so they'll be looking for a new option for 1st, as Josh Harrison is likely taking over 3rd.

I absolutely adore this card. Seriously, everything came together. The light with the ball, man. That's pretty damn perfect. Jeff Locke is a pretty nice middle-of-the-rotation option for the Pirates.

Coming Tomorrow- I only have a few Texas Rangers because I used most of them up during the playoffs, but they're pretty nice ones.

Custom Card of the Day: Locke Edition

I know people have moved onto talking about the Braves, Royals, Rangers, and Orioles, but I wanna get back to the Pirates. I don't care if they're no longer the IT team, I don't care if their closer's injured, I don't care that it's August. I don't care. I'm still talking about them. Deal with it.

Jeff Locke has gone the entire year with a low ERA, a strong consistent record, and absolutely no coverage. Nobody talked about Jeff Locke. Nobody said anything about how well he was doing. He made an All Star team, and pretty much everybody's reaction was 'huh, wouldja look at that', and promptly resumed being blown away by Yasiel Puig.

Right now Jeff Locke is slowly, quietly, secretly becoming one of this year's best pitchers. He's young, he's consistent, he has a great ERA, and he's doing very well for Pittsburgh. Any other year he'd be doing well in the headlines. But NO, this is a year where Strasburg has to be lazy, where A-Rod has to hog every other headline about the MLB that isn't a Puig lovefest.

Blah. Just a musing on a baseball season. Tomorrow's Cooperstown anyway, so there.

Coming Tomorrow- Besides a report from the Hall of Fame, a closer for one of the best teams in baseball.