Another flurry of moves happened yesterday as teams tried to fill their rosters before the looming lockout.
Hello everyone and happy December! Here’s what’s happening in baseball as we approach the lockout tonight.
In Mariners news…
- The Mariners did make one move last night, agreeing to a four-year contract extension with fireballer Andrés Muñoz worth $7.5 million that includes three option years at the end of the deal.
- The Mariners tendered contracts to all 33 eligible players on their roster, meaning there were no non-tenders at the deadline yesterday. The M’s 40-man roster now stands at exactly 40 players as we enter the lockout.
- In addition, the M’s agreed to a one-year, $1.025 million deal with right-hander Casey Sadler, avoiding arbitration with the reliever. The team still has nine arbitration-eligible players.
- Ichiro remains amazing: apparently, back in January the former outfielder surprised a group of Japanese high school students by showing up to their team practice and showing off his skills at batting practice.
Around the league…
- Mariners fans were bummed to learn that the Red Sox have signed James Paxton to a one-year, $10 million deal that includes a pair of option years and incentives that could get the deal up to $35 milllion in value. Pax is set to return from Tommy John surgery some time in late 2022.
- The Athletic’s Eno Sarris dove into the numbers for Kevin Gausman, Robbie Ray, and Marcus Stroman to determine which of the three is expected to age the most gracefully. ($)
- Alex Cobb and the Giants finalized a two-year, $20 million deal.
- The Cubs agreed to a two-year contract with catcher Yan Gomes, likely making current backstop Willson Contreras available in trade discussions.
- Discussions on a new CBA yesterday didn’t last long, and the two sides don’t seem closer to making a deal before the pact expires.
- This former Mariner is making a big splash in his home country.
Edwin Encarnacion will open his baseball academy tomorrow in DR.
“Our goal is that the young players who are in our academy become high school graduates. Those who cannot sign with an MLB team, then they will have the opportunity to go to a university in the United States.” pic.twitter.com/vkMWSNEMmL
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) November 30, 2021
- The Angels agreed to a four-year, $58 million deal with closer Raisel Iglesias last night, taking one of the top free agent relievers off the market.
- The Pirates signed catcher Roberto Pérez to a one-year contract, allowing them to quickly fill that spot after trading Jacob Stallings to Miami.
- Bradford William Davis at Business Insider reports that Major League Baseball used two different kinds of balls last year, which many in the game were unaware of. ($)
- The Rockies signed reliever Daniel Bard to a one-year, $4.4 million contract.
- Clint Frazier didn’t last on the free agent market long, as the Cubs have agreed to a one-year deal with the outfielder.
- The Marlins made a pair of trades yesterday, acquiring infielder Joey Wendle from the Rays and also sending catcher Jorge Alfaro to the Padres.
- Looking for a good book on baseball to read or maybe one to gift to a baseball-loving friend? Alex Belth at Esquire ranked the 100 greatest baseball books of all time.
- The Orioles have signed infielder Rougned Odor to a one-year pact.
- MLB Trade Rumors has a complete list of the players who were non-tendered yesterday.