2019 MLB Winter Meetings Day 1 Live: Latest News, Rumors From Baseball World

by

Dec 9, 2019

8:15 p.m.: The Milwaukee Brewers are in on Didi Gregorius, according to Jon Heyman.

8:05 p.m.: The Yankees are continuing their pursuit of Gerrit Cole, per Jon Heyman.

3:55 p.m.: Chaim Bloom, according to reports, might be eyeing Sergio Romo as part of the bullpen rebuild for the Red Sox. Bloom knows of Romo after their time together in Tampa Bay.

3:45 p.m.: The Cubs might be headed toward a shakeup; could it benefit the Phillies, who are trying to keep pace in the NL East.

3:04 p.m.: Now the attention turns to Gerrit Cole, and it sounds like we might have an answer on him sooner than later, too.

2:52 p.m.: Steven Strasburg is cashing in, folks.

2:48 p.m.: And we have our first real bombshell of the winter meetings: Stephen Strasburg is reportedly staying put.

2:35 p.m.: The defending world champs might be keeping (at least part of) the band together, as they’re reportedly making progress on Stephen Strasburg, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

2:10 p.m.: Here’s a different one: Adam Jones might be headed to Japan.

1:30 p.m.: Gerrit Cole has dominated the headlines thus far, but don’t forget about free-agent third baseman Anthony Rendon, who is coming off a simply sensational postseason performance that helped the Nationals win the World Series. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman spoke with an executive who said the Rangers are a major player for Rendon.

From Sherman: “One executive involved in this market thought if bids were similar, Rendon, raised in Houston, would gravitate to his home state, where the Rangers are motivated to add a star for Year 1 in a new stadium in 2020. Plus, the lack of a state income tax means a contract is worth considerably more in Texas.”

The Dodgers have been tied to Rendon, too, and a return to D.C. could still be possible although perhaps unlikely.

11:20 a.m.: Whether Madison Bumgarner gets that deal, is an entirely different story, but it can’t hurt to ask:

11 a.m.: The Gerrit Cole sweepstakes are starting to come into a focus, and it’s pretty clear we’re looking at a three-team race … for now, at least. The Athletic’s Jayson Stark shared his findings on the matter in a column Monday morning.

“But how many teams can be realistically expected to make an offer in the range of a quarter-billion dollars? Executives involved in this starting-pitching market expect it to come down to a duel between the Yankees and Angels, with the Dodgers lurking as a wild card in the sweepstakes,” Stark wrote.

Stark also spoke to an executive who believes Cole could an eight-year contract in the $250 million neighborhood and go perhaps as high as $280 million.

10:20 a.m.: Here’s where things currently stand on power-hitting infielder Nick Castellanos.

9:50 a.m.: It’s sure starting to feel like the Yankees are the front-runners to sign Gerrit Cole.

9:45 a.m.: There are some interesting tidbits from the desk of the New York Post’s Joel Sherman (a must-read, as always), who discussed Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon in his Monday morning column.

On Cole: “This sets up a heavyweight match like the sport has never previously seen (between the Yankees and Dodgers), albeit with the Angels and perhaps Giants, Phillies, Rangers and others also in the ring.”

On Rendon: “The Nationals also would like to try to retain Rendon, and an executive for a team that would like to land Rendon said the belief is the Phillies, and quietly the Braves, might be in play as well. The field is believed similar for the second best free-agent third baseman, Josh Donaldson.”

8:10 a.m.: Could be a busy few days for the Dodgers, who are reportedly open for business.

8 a.m. ET: Could we be in store for old-school MLB winter meetings this year?

In recent years, the annual baseball convention has been reflective of the sport’s offseason in general: slow-moving, not a ton of action and a whole lot of waiting around. After an early flurry of action and a hot stove that seems a little warmer than usual, perhaps there could be some fireworks this week in San Diego.

The most important person at the winter meetings this year figures to be free-agent pitcher Gerrit Cole. The hard-throwing right-hander is the offseason’s top pitching prize, and he has some of baseball’s biggest spenders circling him. The New York Yankees are reportedly ready to break records in order to get Cole, while the Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels — who have fairly big pockets themselves — are also in the mix with the allure of a homecoming for the Newport Beach, Calif., native.

Meanwhile, a potential watershed moment awaits for Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox. Boston’s new baseball boss is still trying to put his mark on his new club, and he’s got a handful of tough decisions to make. The organization has been upfront about wanting to shed payroll, but the Sox also have to make a call on Mookie Betts, who won’t be cheap and is entering the final season of his contract. The Red Sox might end up being one of the busiest teams at the meetings.

Once again, we’ll be following it all closely with our winter meetings live blog, so keep it here for all the latest news and rumors.

Thumbnail photo via Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports Images
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady
Previous Article

Rex Ryan Criticizes Patriots (Again), Predicts Team’s Postseason Fate
New England Patriots safety Nate Ebner
Next Article

Bill Belichick Breaks Down Patriots’ ‘Unusual’ Blocked Punt Vs. Chiefs

Picked For You

Related