Evan Longoria - 3B - Giants

Giants acquired 3B Evan Longoria from the Rays for 3B Christian Arroyo, OF Denard Span, LHP Matt Krook, and RHP Stephen Woods.

The trade is now official, having been announced by both teams. Longoria owns a poor .264 batting average and .320 on-base percentage over the last four seasons, but he still has decent power and plays strong defense at third base. The 32-year-old will most definitely be an upgrade over what the Giants got from the hot corner in 2017, though his fantasy stock could drop even further with the move to homer-sapping AT&T Park. Tampa Bay is expected to cover some of the $86 million that he's still owed.

Jay Bruce - OF - Indians
According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Giants want Jay Bruce "but may not be willing to go beyond three years in an offer for him."


A three-year deal might be sufficient once Bruce shops around and realizes the market for high-power, low-OBP types isn't what it once was. He did tally 36 home runs and 101 RBI in 146 games this past season between the Mets and Indians

Matt Adams - 1B - Braves
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports confirms that the Nationals have signed Matt Adams to a one-year, $4 million contract.

I say they are following Jay Bruce verrry carefully.

And I think if they sign him it's at less annually then Santana ended up getting

Yay!

Ken Rosenthal‏ @Ken_Rosenthal 48 seconds ago
Free agent 1B Yonder Alonso in agreement with #Indians on two-year, $16M contract, sources tell The Athletic. Deal includes $8M vesting option for a third year. Agreement first reported by @BNightengale.

Wow that’s a savings over what Santana WAS making. Love it.

To me this means they are not done. Oh and Brantley will not be moving to 1b.

We're getting a guy who put up very similar numbers to what Santana put up last year at almost a third of the price.

Alonso is not a switch hitter, and guessing not as good a glove as Santana although haven't seen enough of him to say for sure. But overall I really like the signing and money as compared to Santana deal. Hopefully they will give Yandy some at bats at 1st against lefties. Alonso was terrible in limited at bats against lefties.

But .365 OBP last year. Hit .282 with a .361 OBP a couple years ago. He's one of the guys who bought into launch angle and changed his swing to get more lift. Really payed off last year. 28 homers. Might see even better this year. I like it.

I like it too.

Just beginning to think the Tribe was going to get lumps of coal, (clean, clean coal ), in its stocking this Christmas.

Still need a RH outfield thumper.

LOL @ clean, clean coal

seagull wrote:
Still need a RH outfield thumper.

Agree but keep in mind that they do expect Guyer back at some point. And last season he wasn't right.

When TFIR mention signing Adams a while back at first I wasn't too interested because I thought we needed a right too. But after thinking about it I'm not so sure. Even without Santana we still have Lindor, Ramirez, and EE. Should be plenty enough to balance out the top and middle of lineup. We'll have catcher and Yandy types at bottom.

As far as Guyer, I really think we caught lightning in a bottle with him 2 years ago. Like we did with Jackson last year. I wouldn't expect Guyer to be as bad as he was last year but wouldn't expect him to be as good as he was 2 years ago either. He's a journeyman.

Brantley you leave in all the time anyway, and at what point do you let a guy like Chiz play every day? I think he's gotten to the point where he's earned it. I admit I haven't looked at the splits but I don't seem to remember him looking totally lost against lefties.

I think we should be thinking about a platoon guy with Zimmer, but that's it. Try to catch another Davis or Jackson type. We may have it in Allen but he was rushed up due to injury.

Can't help but think we have a trade looming. Naquin seems to be odd man out now. Yandy and Urshela at 3rd. Merritt deserves a spot in rotation that we don't have. I think we may see a trade for a good reliever and/or right handed CF'er soon...?

HB - great post with some good points.

Guyer - can't deny of course he is a journeyman. But then again he can't hit right handed pitching. That'll do that to a guy.

I do think they like Upton to be that guy with Zimmer.

And IF Brantley is healthy and Chiz as well, it doesn't leave that much room on the team anymore with the Alonso signing.

Jay Bruce

Mike Puma of the New York Post confirms the Mets are still talking to free agent Jay Bruce.

Puma notes, however, that they have not made Bruce an offer. There's obviously interest in a reunion, but multiple reports have indicated that the Mets are running on a tight budget this offseason, so the price tag will probably have to drop from where it is right now.

At that point, the Giants might swoop in. ESPN's Buster Olney wrote Wednesday that San Francisco wants Bruce on a three-year deal. The 30-year-old outfielder batted .254/.324/.508 with 36 home runs and 101 RBI in 146 games this past season between New York and Cleveland.

Wow - what potential here! O's would be fools to pass this up. And Cubs would be a superteam!

Manny Machado - 3B - Orioles

According to MASN's Roch Kubatko, the Cubs' discussions with the Orioles for Manny Machado included Addison Russell, Albert Almora, and Mike Montgomery.

We can't imagine the Orioles will get a better offer talent-wise, but Kubatko says "two starting pitchers are a necessity" in any return package for Machado. Kubatko echoes a report from Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports that the Orioles may be ready to pull their 25-year-old superstar off the market and try to deal him again over the summer.

TFIR, you are absolutely right about Upton. Had a brain fart while posting and forgot about that signing. He is the Davis and Jackson of this year, right.

So maybe a trade for a reliever? But I'm not expecting much more than that. But I will take being pleasantly surprised.

Jordan Bastian‏ @MLBastian 15 minutes ago
Progressive Field has a chance to play well for Yonder Alonso. Here's his 2017 spray chart overlaid on Cleveland's home stadium.