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MLB Winter Meetings report, Day 3: News, notes and rumors
Aroldis Chapman has been traded from the World Series winning Chicago Cubs to the New York Yankees in a deal that allows him to block all future trades to California. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

MLB Winter Meetings report, Day 3: News, notes and rumors

Day four of the MLB Winter Meetings is underway, and as advertised, Thursday brought plenty of headline moments to the event. The Chicago White Sox continued to be the belles of the ball, as they author perhaps the best sell-off event the meetings have ever seen. It was also a day where relief pitchers got their shine and a few big market teams had their backs put against the wall in how pull out upgrades in less than ideal circumstances.

With the final day of the meetings ahead, what else could be hanging up the sleeves of baseball’s general managers and agents, as they look to part ways with either a new success met or perhaps the tracks laid for more to follow next week.

News & Notes

Matt Holliday’s new contract with the New York Yankees includes a very limited (and blatant) no-trade clause: he cannot be dealt to the Oakland Athletics. Apparently he has no interest in revisiting the three-quarters of the 2009 season.

Eric Hosmer and Brandon Crawford announced they will join Team USA for the World Baseball Classic. He will join Max Scherzer, Chris Archer, Nolan Arenado, Buster Posey, Andrew Miller, Christian Yelich, Andrew McCutchen, Danny Duffy and Marcus Stroman as the early commits thus far.

Signings & Trades

The Cubs and Royals completed the deal that was on the fence headed into Wednesday, sending closer Wade Davis to the World Champs in exchange for outfielder Jorge Soler. It is a deal that both sides should walk away happy from, as the Royals deal an expiring asset in Davis and get back the type of young projectable talent they will need going forward. Meanwhile, the Cubs achieve their goal of stay out of the big ticket closer market, while still keeping an All-Star talent at the end of games.

The surprising move of the day was the Colorado Rockies pulling the trigger on bringing aboard free agent outfielder Ian Desmond. The two sides agreed to a five year, $70 million contract that is perhaps the most shocking deal of the Meetings thus far, as it was not a match that many people drew a line in-between. For the team being, it appears that Desmond will move to first base in Colorado, due to the already crowded Rockies outfield. And in addition, the Rockies will surrender the 11th overall pick in next June’s amateur draft – the first unprotected pick in the draft.

The move that made the most waves on the day was another huge acquisition made by the Chicago White Sox, as they continued to rewrite the book on how to rebuild a struggling minor league system via fire sale. On Wednesday afternoon, they sent outfielder Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals for a mind-blowing stack of prospects. Going to Chicago will be Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning, all of whom previously sat in the top 10 in the Nationals organization. When combined with the talent they received back from Boston for Chris Sale, the White Sox have added eight legitimate talents in two days to a system that was previously one of the worst in the game – including Giolito and Yoan Moncada, who ranked as the #1 and #3 prospects in the game, respectively, entering 2016.

The Marlins continued to retool their pitching staff, signing former Pirate Jeff Locke to a one-year deal. He will join Edison Volquez as new additions to the Miami rotation headed into next year.

The Seattle Mariners traded for pitcher Chris Heston from the San Francisco Giants, for a player to be named later. Heston threw a no-hitter as a rookie in 2015 for the Giants.

Finally, the biggest deal of the day was saved for last, as the New York Yankees and closer Aroldis Chapman agreed to a five year, $86 million deal. It lived up to its billing as being the becoming the biggest contract ever awarded to a relief pitcher, surpassing Mark Melancon’s two day old record by $24 million. Chapman will return to a team where he converted 20 saves to start the 2016 season, with a 2.01 ERA.

What’s on the stove today?

And then there was one… closer remaining that is. Hot on the heels of Chapman’s deal in New York being completed, news came down that Kenley Jansen was close to completing a similar deal worth in the neighborhood of $80 million as well. The Miami Marlins are said to be the team that put this offer forward, which would match rumors earlier in the week. However, it would not be surprising to see Jansen field a few more offers from the likes of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals before making his final decision, as both have their sights set on adding an impact closer as well.

The slow market developing around Jose Bautista could be one that the All-Star slugger has to wait out for a while. There has been little legitimate buzz around Bautista, who may see himself without a 2017 home into January. And some personality issues from his past may be contributing to his lukewarm interest so far: Orioles GM Dan Duquette said he would stay away from Bautista because ‘the fans don’t like him.’ Likewise, the Rangers have stayed away due to the heat between Bautista and Rangers over the past few year, namely second baseman Roughed Odor. Add this to a high price tag he is said to carry, and Bautista’s status is not as surprising.

Another former Blue Jay, Edwin Encarnacion, is seeing his stay on the open market begin to look like it may be one that lasts beyond the end of the Winter Meetings as well. The 1B/DH entered the winter looking for a deal that would cross over five years and $100 million, but it is being rumored now that it likely will not be beyond three years and is closer to $60 million. That is a wide difference in opinion and the type that causes a stalemate between player and the open market. We will see how it plays out, but it is almost certain that Encarnacion will have to settle at this point.

The Seattle Mariners have taken themselves out of the Mark Trumbo sweepstakes, opting to go with their in-house duo of Dan Vogelbach and Danny Valencia for the time being. The club could still look to add a cheaper veteran closer to spring training.

Meanwhile, despite Desmond signing in Colorado yesterday, the Rockies were said to still have interest in Trumbo, especially having already surrendered their first round pick. The team would have to absolutely work out another deal first to facilitate such a trade however, and it would be one that could involve center fielder Charlie Blackmon or left fielder, turned first baseman, Gerardo Parra most likely.

The St. Louis Cardinals watched a pair of their potential targets in Adam Eaton and Ian Desmond go off of the market yesterday, something that could intensify their pursuit of Dexter Fowler. Per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold on Twitter, when asked about if the market was pushing the club towards having to make an 'uncomfortable’ deal, either financially or at prospect cost, Mozeliak replied in the affirmative.

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