(PhatzRadio Sports / USA Today / AP) — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The conclusion of the winter meetings hardly provided a sense of closure for several teams and big-name players whose fates remain undetermined, and whose decisions in the coming weeks could have a substantial impact on the baseball landscape next season.
Here’s a look at some of those key protagonists:
Andrew McCutchen and the Pirates
If you’re going to make the face of the franchise so blatantly available in trade, you need to move him. The Pirates’ talks with Washington didn’t bear fruit and the Nationals looked elsewhere, landing Adam Eaton to play center field instead. That closed the door on one obvious trading partner, and a second one – the Texas Rangers – filled their outfield need by re-signing Carlos Gomez.
Now the Pirates’ biggest star is left pondering where he’ll be playing next season, and such questions will certainly come up countless times when he appears at the team’s fanfest Saturday. Not a good situation.
Pittsburgh badly needs a frontline starter to share the load with staff ace Gerrit Cole. McCutchen may still bring such a piece in return, but his value is diminishing.
“We feel great about Andrew being a Pirate,’’ general manager Neal Huntington told news reporters. “He’s done remarkable things for this organization. We look forward to him being in our lineup next year and continuing on as a Pirate.”
After the Pirates botched the very public dangling of their franchise player, it’s questionable whether McCutchen feels the same way.
Dodgers
Bringing back Rich Hill was a necessity – and one that cost them a tidy $48 million over three years – because with him and Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers can match top-end 1-2 starters with the San Francisco Giants’ Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto.
But the Dodgers appear on the verge of losing closer Kenley Jansen, who has drawn heavy interest from the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals. That would blow a huge hole through a bullpen that delivered the most innings in the majors last season. Jansen produced every single one of L.A.’s 47 saves, so the club doesn’t exactly have a replacement groomed and ready to step in.
In addition, third baseman Justin Turner, who tied for the team lead in home runs (27) and RBI (90), remains a free agent. And second base has yet to be addressed.
There is lots of work still ahead for the Dodgers.
Edwin Encarnacion
The market for the power-hitting DH appears to be shrinking as clubs like the Toronto Blue Jays – his former employers, who signed Kendrys Morales – and New York Yankees (Matt Holliday) have found other alternatives.
Even though Encarnacion led the American League with 127 RBI and tied for third with 42 home runs, his name never became one of the hot topics at the winter meetings.
Encarnacion’s best fit seems to be with the Boston Red Sox – David Ortiz has implored them to sign him as his replacement – but they seem reluctant to make a large financial commitment. The Rangers are in a similar position.
An unexpected suitor often comes up when a player of this magnitude is available, but for now the three-time All-Star will probably have to go on a holding pattern, his chances of landing a $100 million deal likely dwindling.
Cardinals
: After missing the playoffs for the first time in six years, the Cardinals are certain to make some moves to bolster the club, and specifically to address their void in center field. But none of them came at the winter meetings.
Signing free agent Dexter Fowler remains the most logical step, although St. Louis is also exploring trade options. Some of the most appealing ones include Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies and the Kansas City Royals’ Lorenzo Cain and Jarrod Dyson. The first two figure to come with a high cost in return.
The Cardinals also have to decide whether some combination of Jhonny Peralta and Jedd Gyorko is the answer at third base, or whether they want to pursue the slick-fielding Turner.
Mets
Having taking care of their biggest priority by re-signing Yoenis Cespedes to a $110 million contract before the meetings, the Mets now have to figure out how to redistribute the payroll and playing time.
New York has a glut of outfielders, with high-priced Curtis Granderson ($15 million) and Jay Bruce ($13 million) joining the likes of Michael Conforto and Juan Lagares as options besides Cespedes. The Mets would like to get salary relief while adding bullpen help, not simply unload a contract. It’s very likely they’ll be without closer Jeurys Familia for the first month of the season, if the precedent established by Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy is any indication.
“I wouldn’t expect that we would go into the season with what we have,’’ general manager Sandy Alderson told news reporters about the outfield, “not because the payroll is too high — although that is definitely a consideration — it’s also because we don’t have the right mix at the moment and the ability to allocate playing time.”
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OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — All-Star closers Aroldis Chapman, Mark Melancon and Wade Davis moved to different bullpens. Chris Sale boosted a big rotation in Boston. And the Washington Nationals got their fans talking — a lot.
As teams packed up along the Potomac River and headed home Thursday, a look at what did and didn’t happen this week at the winter meetings:
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WHO’S LEFT?
Major league home run leader Mark Trumbo, fellow sluggers Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, and center fielder Dexter Fowler are available free agents. So is closer Kenley Jansen, who’s attracting serious interest from the Marlins. But Miami has a policy of not giving no-trade clauses, and that’s troubling to some players and agents.
Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said there’s no reason to worry.
“The belief when you enter into these deals is that you’re going to be together for the length of the contract,” he said.
Try telling that to Jose Reyes — he signed a six-year deal with Miami before 2012, then got traded onto the artificial turf in Toronto after just one season.
HOLIDAY SHOPPING
Pittsburgh outfielder Andrew McCutchen was all-but-gone at these meetings. That’s what most everyone thought, anyway.
But the former MVP is going to PirateFest this weekend, still on the team. General manager Neal Huntington says he plans to talk things over with McCutchen before the festivities.
“We took calls, we listened, we engaged,” Huntington said. “We felt the right move was to hold the player.”
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
The White Sox got quite a haul of prospects by trading Sale and Adam Eaton, and they’re far from done. Closer David Robertson, starter Jose Quintana or third baseman Todd Frazier could be next.
“We embrace the challenge that lies ahead of us,” GM Rick Hahn said. “We have for the last several months … but it’s nowhere near completed.”
A year removed from winning the World Series, the Royals are in a different spot. Several of their stars are eligible for free agency after this season — first baseman Eric Hosmer, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitcher Danny Duffy, among them — and KC doesn’t want to lose them with nothing in return. They began revamping the roster by trading Davis to the champion Cubs for young, powerful Jorge Soler.
FIELD DAY
Extra emphasis is being put these days on guys who can handle more than one spot. With David Ortiz retiring, Boston wants someone who could DH and also play first base — Mitch Moreland is set to be that person. The Royals like Soler as a right fielder and DH. The Nationals are looking at Trea Turner in the outfield and at shortstop.
Houston might see whether Carlos Beltran can play first base. And Colorado might turn newly signed Ian Desmond into a first baseman — he was a shortstop in Washington and an outfielder in Texas.
WINNERS AND LOSERS
Who did the best and who did the worst at these meetings? Fact is, the answer might not come for a few years.
The AL East champion Red Sox looked good getting Sale from the White Sox for a hefty package. The White Sox looked smart getting a trio of young, talented pitchers for outfielder Adam Eaton.
But until fans see how the prospects turn out, well, everyone will just have to wait.
