The 2024 Winter Meetings are officially over. As expected, multiple major moves went down over the three days. On the other hand, there are still likely many more to be made. As a matter of fact, the rumor mill saw a couple of new names added to the potential trading block, including a big-time slugger from Houston.
The Contenders Activate their Soto Back-Up Plans
The Juan Soto chase officially ended on December 8, just before the start of the Winter Meetings. The Mets, long considered the front-runner, came away on top and signed Soto to the largest deal in MLB history. It also meant the other suitors — the Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays, and Dodgers — had to move to Plan B.
Los Angeles (NL) did that an hour before the news of Soto’s signing, as the Dodgers inked ex-Met and Giant Michael Conforto to a one-year deal. As I noted on the 8th, it’s a very underrated signing, simply because Conforto has a knack for making hard contact and working counts. Which, fits right in line with Dodgers baseball.
As for the Yankees, the reigning AL champions signed lefty Max Fried to an eight-year extension that solidifies their rotation for 2025. However, the Yankees still have holes, primarily getting at least one infield for the right side and an outfielder.
The AL East arms race also saw the Blue Jays beef up their bullpen with Yimi Garcia and Nick Sandlin, plus All-Star second baseman Andres Gimenez. For Toronto, the moves take care of two problems the Jays had in 2024: the bullpen and adding a bat who can get on base and support Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.
Lastly, the Red Sox traded four prospects for Garrett Crochet, hoping that the 25-year-old lefty can hold opposing teams at bay for a contending team. And, the Red Sox might not be done.
The Cards Want to Trade Arenado — But Will He Be Moved?
The Cardinals’ front office confirmed in Dallas that they are “trying” to trade Nolan Arenado. But, there are complications with a potential move.
For one, Arenado is reportedly willing to move to one of six teams. Per MLB.com, those teams are the Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Phillies, Red Sox, and Mets. Arenado is also willing to move to first base to make a move easier.
There are, however, multiple issues with any Arenado trade.
One, the money and term. Arenado is owed $52MM over the final three seasons of his deal, which would take him through his age-36 season (per Spotrac). Second, the offensive production. Arenado’s OPS dropped from .891 to .714 from 2022 to 2024. He’s rolled over more over the years, resulting in a Barrel% (-5.0%) drop and GB% (+8.9%) rise over the last two seasons.
Arenado has always done a good job with multiple things at the plate: seeing the ball well, maintaining good bat speed, and keeping the bat in the zone for a long time. However, any significant drop in hard-hit contact comes with questions with whether that pop will return.
Any team that does pick him will be on Arenado to rebound with different protection around him.
The other notable issue is what team makes the most sense for Arenado among the six. San Diego doesn’t, especially with rumors the Padres are listening on Dylan Cease and Luis Arraez, among others. The Dodgers could try to make it work but might not want to with Max Muncy at third. The Angels would make the most sense among the west coast teams.
Philadelphia and Boston wouldn’t be bad fits, either. The latter, in particular, would be fascinating, as it could open the door for the Red Sox to move Triston Casas out for additional assets. Boston could use a right-handed bat to replace Tyler O’Neill.
Will Tucker Move?
The rumor mill has also centered in on Kyle Tucker. Per numerous reports, the Astros are listening on Tucker and some believe a trade is highly possible.
Tucker has one year left before free agency and the 27-year-old will likely get paid well. He’ll enter the pool at 28 and Tucker was one of the most productive outfielders over the last three seasons. From 2022-24, Tucker’s .515 SLG was seventh-best (min. 800 PA) in baseball among outfielders and just slightly lower than Soto (.516). His .443 TB/PA was ninth-best.
The rumor mill has linked Tucker to the Yankees. It’s not surprising, given the Yankees just lost Juan Soto and Tucker, a left-handed bat, could slot in to the #2 slot with ease. But, can the Yankees afford to give up the assets needed to get Tucker?
New York’s farm system has been depleted by the Soto and Jazz Chisholm Jr. trades. The Yankees have Jasson Dominguez, likely untouchable, and Spencer Jones among notable assets, plus pitchers Ben Hess and Chase Hampton.
Jones, a high-upside outfielder, would be a logical headliner. When we profiled Jones last year, we noted the 23-year-old has an impressive power/speed combo. He made minor adjusmtments to his swing, a lengthy one, last winter. However, Jones struck out 200 times over 122 games in Double-A. That hasn’t exactly changed his prospect value, although one can argue it hasn’t changed.
Burnes Moves Front & Center
Two of the big three free agent pitchers — I’m not counting Roki Sasaki, since he’ll be subject to international pool money restrictions — are off the board. Max Fried is headed to The Bronx, while Blake Snell will join the Dodgers. Now, Burnes remains as the last of the premier pitchers.
The rumor mill has been all over the place regarding Burnes. Toronto and San Francisco are still considered strong contenders, while the Yankees and Red Sox haven’t been ruled out despite their moves.
There’s quite a bit of urgency regarding all the teams still reported to be in it on Burnes. For the three AL East teams, Boston, New York, and Toronto are looking to strengthen their cores in what may be a wide-open division next season.
The Rays will have a healthier rotation next season, while Baltimore’s rotation — for the moment — is not as strong given a potential Burnes loss and no Kyle Bradish. The Yankees don’t have Soto anymore and other holes in their lineup. You get the idea.
The Action Isn’t Finished Yet
There’s still much to be done over the days, weeks, and months leading up to Spring Training. Thus, be sure to keep checking out New Baseball Media for news and insight.