It’s nice to see that the trend that has been occurring of everyone signing the last minute has seemed to end this offseason. There was nothing more annoying than refreshing my twitter feed every day for two months to see if there was any news on Bryce Harper or new comments from Scott Boras about what Harper wants. Isn’t it great that the winter meetings are actually serving their purpose this year?
Agents and executives are actually taking the time during the planned winter meetings to negotiate deals for their players. It would’ve been nice if we could all follow the rules every year but here we are. These are my top five signings of the MLB offseason so far.
5. Reds sign Mike Moustakas- 4-years 64 million
The signing of Mike Moustakas signifies to the rest of the MLB that the irrelevant Reds are indeed making a push to become semi-relevant again. With that being said, this was a nice move by the Reds by adding a very good power hitter for a relatively cheap price. With Suarez at third, the Reds probably have added the best power-hitting second baseman in the league. His 35 homers and .516 slugging percentage will add a nice punch in the middle of that lineup with Suarez. Nobody can expect a team like the Reds to make one of the big offseason splashes. But the ones like this can really help propel a team forward in their quest to becoming a contender. Keeping him in the middle of the diamond will also allow him to be right there when Amir Garret decides he wants to start a brawl again…
4. Phillies sign Zack Wheeler- 5-years 118 million
After finally coming to the realization that he entirely ruined our playoff chances last year. Matt Klentak decided to go get a top of the rotation starter. Aside from Aaron Nola, it is no secret that the rest of the Phillies’ pitching staff was an absolute joke last year. I’ve played against high school pitching staff with more talent top to bottom than the entirety of the Phillies’ staff last season. Phillies’ fans, we can rejoice at last. Look, I understand that this was a little bit of an overpay for Wheeler. But it is totally worth the money because of the amazing upside that Wheeler has along with the Phillies dire need for pitching.
Wheeler will also be that power arm that was completely absent in the entire pitching staff last season. Wheeler has only had one year above a 4 ERA, and many believe that he has a chance to make a big leap if he can stay healthy. I love this signing for the Phillies, but there are more arms that need to be acquired in order to be a true contender this year.
3. Washington Nationals re-sign Stephen Strasburg- 7-years 245 million
When the Nationals fell to 19-31 in late May, they must’ve made a pact with the baseball gods. Their journey was nothing short of a miracle. Although I rank this signing at 3. It is an enormous morale victory for the Nationals that will allow them to still be contenders for next season. They knew going into the offseason that there was no way to keep both Rendon and Strasburg. But they keep their identity as having a light out rotation by re-signing their World Series MVP.
Although they lose Rendon, anyone can see that it sure looks like Juan Soto is about to become an MVP candidate this season. This lineup will miss Rendon for sure. But they will still be a very good hitting team that will be carried by one of the best starting rotations in baseball. How long have they made this pact with the baseball gods? I guess we wait for the 2020 season to find out, but this is a good sign for them.
2. Angels sign Anthony Rendon- 7-years 245 million
As an Eagles fan. I enjoy seeing Mike Trout in the front row of every Eagles game right when the Angels’ season ends in September. Sadly for me, this signing may put an end to that yearly tradition. Putting Rendon alongside Trout and Ohtani will be a very scary sight for American League pitchers. The Angels now have two of the league’s best hitters along with a young guy who could develop into being that type of hitter all in the same lineup. As great as this lineup has the potential to be, there are obvious holes everywhere in that rotation. This signing proves that the Angels are done wasting away the greatness of Mike Trout. The addition of Rendon demonstrates the Angels are going to fix that pitching staff to contend right away. There are still top-end guys out there like Bumgarner and Ryu to go get.
1. Yankees sign Gerrit Cole- 9-years 324 million
As painful as it is for me to say, this is obviously the top signing of the offseason. Ever since the 2009 World Series, there is nothing that annoys me more than Yankee fans. The only way to spot Yankees’ fans during this time of the year will be by the Cowboys jerseys they are wearing. Moving on from this fact, the Yankees are the clear cut favorites to win the World Series. This signing makes them the obvious best team in baseball today. Cole is exactly what they were missing in the series against the Astros. The fact that they stole him from their main contender makes it double jeopardy for them. The nine years 324 million is obviously pocket change for the Yankees. It is worth every penny for them as they now have the best pitcher in the American League.
