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Warm Stove: Who did well at quiet MLB Winter Meetings?
Baseball’s Winter Meetings came and went in Orlando this week. The consensus from reporters on the ground was that it was a quiet few days, as these things go.
Kyle Tucker didn’t sign, leaving a $300 million (give or take) corner outfielder still on the board. Cody Bellinger, Bo Bichette, Framber Valdez, Ranger and Eugenio Suárez (no relation) are out there, too. In fact, only three of The Athletic’s top 10 free agents have signed.
That means it’s too early to judge the entire offseason. But it’s not too early at all to judge the action that did go down in Orlando. So, here are your Winter Meetings Superlatives.
Biggest Bet: The Blue Jays signing Dylan Cease for seven years and $210 million. For now, this is the biggest bet in literal dollar terms. But it’s also a bet that the Jays can help a soon-to-be 30-year-old righty get his ERA (4.55 last year in San Diego) more in line with his always-strong peripheral numbers (a FIP that was a full run better).
Best Signing to Signal a Team is Serious: Pete Alonso to the Orioles for five years and $155 million. You know Baltimore’s deal the past few years: lots of great prospects graduating to the majors, extreme caution in either trading them for immediate help or paying for that help in free agency. After a last-place finish in the AL East, the Orioles grabbed the kind of right-handed power they needed and also signaled a level of intention that had been missing. This lineup should be box-office. The pitching? We’ll see.
Team Masquerading as Serious: The Pirates. I trust this reportingby our Evan Drellich that explores why Pittsburgh is sending signals that it’s ready to spend money this winter. I trust Stephen Nesbitt’s dispatchon the club being in the mix. So this skepticism isn’t disbelief in our reporters, but in the team: Having lived through about 32 seasons of miserable Pirates baseball, I’m confident they won’t do anything. I pray that I get to retract this superlative and that the Pirates don’t hang a banner for making a bid on Kyle Schwarber. But I’ll believe it when I see it, and maybe not even at that point.
Most Critical Retention of Your Own Guy: The Phillies keeping Schwarber at a cost of $150 million over five years. Schwarber is an excellent clubhouse presence. He hits mammoth dingers. He could be a Philly sports legend. So, I don’t care that much that he can’t play the field and may not feel like a bargain when he’s 37.
Team That Should Do Something: The Mets. Alonso walked to the Orioles one day after Edwin Díaz walked to the Dodgers. This on the heels of New York trading Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers for Marcus Semien, who still fields second base well but doesn’t hit much anymore. The Mets did sign Jorge Polanco on Saturday (two years, $40 million), but ideally there are bigger plans in the works. Here’s Will Sammon on where the team can go from here — it predates the Polanco signing, but the ideas still apply. Is Steve Cohen rich or not?
Most Needlessly Luxurious Signing: Díaz to the Dodgers for three years and $69 million. No one really expected this one, and high-priced reliever deals are the one thing the Dodgers have done recently that hasn’t worked. Why make this deal, then? I’ll turn it over to Katie Woo, who just moved to the Dodgers beat for The Athletic:
💬 Simply put, because they can. The Dodgers certainly did not need Díaz, but they are one of few teams in the league that could afford him without jeopardizing the rest of their offseason spending. They are also one of few teams willing to take hundreds of millions of dollars in luxury-tax penalties, again because they can.
As the back-to-back World Series champs have demonstrated time and time again, there is no ceiling when it comes to spending. Signing Díaz was just another example.
Thanks to Katie. Much more to come, no doubt, including from the Dodgers. A quiet Winter Meetings means a loud some-other-time.
News to Know
Mendoza wins the Heisman
Fernando Mendoza, the quarterback who led Indiana to its first undefeated regular season in program history, is now the first Hoosier to win the Heisman Trophy. Mendoza beat out Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin in a race that wasn’t quite as close as expected. A well-deserved honor for the potential future No. 1 overall pick.
Spurs snap Thunder’s 16-game win streak
Victor Wembanyama hadn’t played in a month and was coming off the bench for the first time in his career. And yet, the Spurs superstar still managed to be the driving force behind San Antonio upsetting Oklahoma City in the NBA Cup semifinals Saturday night, handing the Thunder just their second loss of the season. On the other side of the NBA Cup bracket, Jalen Brunson dropped 40 in a win over the Magic to set up a Knicks-Spurs final on Tuesday.
More news:
Watch Guide
📺 NFL: Bills at Patriots | 1 p.m. ET on CBS
The Bills would make the AFC East interesting if they could win in Foxborough. There are kindergarteners who will watch this game without any idea that the Patriots standing in the Bills’ way was once a standard NFL thing.
📺 NFL: Colts at Seahawks | 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS
Yes, I will watch 44-year-old Philip Rivers step back onto an NFL field after sitting out for four full seasons and most of a fifth. “Fun story, but I think it’s going to be a disaster” (a team executive’s description of how this will go) is the easiest sell in the world.
Pulse Picks
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel pushes his players beyond their limits, but a simple act of appreciation makes his leadership style work.
🎥 What would happen if the NHL pulls out of the Olympics due to arena safety concerns? Sean Gentille and Chris Johnston discuss.
Quiche is up there for Food That Sounds Difficult or Elevated And ReallyIsn’t. Here: Mix 4-5 eggs and dump a pile of omelet faves in a store-bought pie crust. Bake an hour. Done. Super leftover, too. (OK, here’s one recipe. 5 ⭐s.) — Chris Sprow
A $22 million college basketball team that isn’t very good? C.J. Moore has the inside story on Kentucky’s expensive, but poorly constructed roster.
Behold: a collection of the 100 gifts Wirecutter readers have loved the most, from the classics (chocolate and slippers) to the kooky (a glowing potato light and a 3D doodle pen). These standouts should delight even the hardest-to-please person on your list. — Hannah Morrill
If you’re rewatching “Home Alone” this holiday season, you might notice the various sports collectibles featured in the film. But what exactly are they and how much are they now worth? This is a fun one.
Been watching two gripping HBO sports shows — “Heated Rivalry” and “Hard Knocks” — and am reminded that the F-word can be used in many different ways. But both shows are worth watching (with earmuffs). — Dan Steinberg
In a new episode of “The Athletic Show,” our hosts tackle the biggest existential question in sports right now: What exactly is “football” and who gets to play it? Stream it on Fire TV, The Athletic app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Even in a time defined by shorter and shorter attention spans, a memorable photograph carries immense power. From The Associated Press, here are the 100 photos that defined the year. — Richard Deitsch
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Mendoza’s game-winning touchdown at Penn State.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Russini’s NFL buzz. Joe Burrow also name-dropped. 👀
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(Top photo: Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)