This week’s original content from the MLB Trade Rumors team…
- The Nationals have thus far been unsuccessful in their attempts to land a closer, and Jeff Todd runs down the list of late-inning relievers the Nats could still pursue in free agent or in the trade market. (Not to mention the potential in-house bullpen candidates who could step into a closing role.) In a poll of MLBTR readers, over 55% feel Washington will find its next closer via a trade.
- In another MLBTR poll, Connor Byrne asks readers which team will sign Mark Trumbo. Over 26% of you believe Trumbo will return to the Orioles, which could make sense given that another team would have to surrender a draft pick to sign the free agent slugger.
- With several of the winter’s top free agents already off the board, Charlie Wilmoth looks at the top ten names remaining from MLBTR’s original Top 50 free agents ranking from the beginning of the offseason. Some very notable names remain unsigned, such as Edwin Encarnacion (#2 on the original ranking), Trumbo (#8) and Ivan Nova (#10).
- Speaking of the free agent market, a reminder: those who entered the 2016-17 MLBTR Free Agent Prediction Contest can check your progress on our leaderboard.