Winter Meetings expected to be frenetic
We're just days away from the Winter Meetings starting. Every year, this is where plenty of the offseason's deals start. It's not always where they finish.
This year, the Winter Meetings are expected to be where plenty of action starts and finishes, with FanSided's MLB Insider Robert Murray reporting that there's a significant buzz among the league's decision makers expecting lots of action to complete in Nashville. Free agency and the trade market is expected to feature plenty of movement.
The Winter Meetings start on Sunday and officially wrap up next Wednesday, Dec. 6.
Both trades and signings have gained meaningful discussion the last several days. Expect plenty of key decisions to be made as teams look to put together their team for the 2024 season.
Will Blue Jays make a deal?
Gaining plenty of speculation has been the futures of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette in Toronto with the Blue Jays. Since last year, both have been pointed to as possible trade pieces going to new teams ahead of the 2024 season.
In the same article linked earlier, Robert Murray gave a very low likelihood of a trade possibility for Guerrero, rating it as a 5 percent chance. It's possible the real odds are even lower:
"What the Blue Jays are likely doing is listening on any player of theirs in trade talks. It's what all teams do to evaluate what options are available on the free-agent market. It does not mean either player will be traded. Instead, teams are checking on these players considering the lack of options on the hitting market, and the price to acquire Guerrero Jr. or Bichette will be sky-high."
The same can be said for Bichette, as Murray indicates that the Blue Jays are keyed in on putting their best pitch together for free agent Shohei Ohtani. Guerrero and Bichette are key components of that pitch, in theory. Toronto is viewed as a possible suitor for the megastar free agent in part because they have the pieces necessary to be competitive for the foreseeable future, but also because of the market they're in.
Toronto is a massive city, but more importantly, Canada is an entire country that no other team can stake a real claim to. Sure, there may be some Canadian fan spillover to Canada-adjacent teams like the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners, but only one team is truly Canadian: The Jays.
For Ohtani, that means plenty of potential marketing deals and sponsorships and another tranche of global fans.
But all signs point to how competitive the team is being the most important factor for Ohtani. For that reason, don't expect any major liquidation yet. This may be something to check in on if the Jays miss out on Ohtani, though...
Dylan Cease trade timeline a big unknown
Yesterday, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported that a Dylan Cease trade was heating up, with it possible that a deal would go through before the Winter Meetings even started. He hinted that the Braves were front-runners, a great landing spot for Cease considering he grew up in Georgia.
Today, Ken Rosenthal reports that the White Sox's appetite for trade timing is actually far different: They're expected to wait until several big free agents come off the board (subscription required) to assess whoever still needs starting pitching most. The Sox would move on a trade if the offer is undeniable, but Chicago hopes to get a higher price from teams desperate for pitching that strike out in free agency.
Furthermore, Rosenthal reports the St. Louis Cardinals are in for Cease, which is a tad surprising considering team president John Mozeliak indicated it was unlikely the team's next big move would be another pitching move after the team landed Sonny Gray in the open market.
The differing viewpoints and information on Cease only further solidify the idea that things are moving and moving fast in the rumor environment right now. Keep it locked for updates!