With the offseason now fully underway, here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye on today:
1. GM Meetings underway:
Amid all the chaos of yesterday’s deadlines, decision-makers around the baseball world arrived in San Antonio, Texas for the annual GM Meetings. Top executives from all 30 clubs gather at the meetings near the beginning of the offseason each year, serving as something of an unofficial beginning to hot stove season. While the GM Meetings are typically nowhere near as active as the Winter Meetings that occur in December given their early date on the offseason calendar, they serve as a first opportunity for agents and clubs to begin discussion of free agents and for front offices to gauge rival teams’ early interests on the trade market.
This will be newly-minted Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey’s first major event in his new role, while Chaim Bloom will be attending for the first time since being announced as the heir to John Mozeliak at the top of baseball operations in St. Louis. Executives around baseball figure to speak with the media throughout the meetings, and those comments could provide a peek at their organization’s plans for the winter.
2. Free agents open for business:
As of 4pm CT yesterday afternoon, free agency has now properly begun and players are free to sign with any club they choose. While it could still take some time for signings to actually begin in earnest as agents and executives open negotiations, the month of November nonetheless sees a handful of signings every year. For example, 16 free agents signed big league deals in November of last year, including six multi-year deals. Right-handers Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray, and Reynaldo Lopez were perhaps the most significant free agents to sign early last year as the pitching market developed more quickly that the market for hitters, although it’s impossible to say at this point if this year’s free agent class will follow a similar trend. While waiting for news from the hot stove, be sure to check out MLBTR’s Top 50 MLB Free Agents list, our Free Agent Prediction Contest, and our comprehensive list of this winter’s free agents.
3. MLBTR chat:
With the players available in free agency now set in stone and able to sign with any club, it’s time for the first weekday chat of the offseason! Whether you have questions about our recently-published Top 50 Free Agents list and who your favorite team will be targeting this winter or a trade proposal in the back of your mind, MLBTR’s Steve Adams will be here to answer your questions during a live chat scheduled for 1pm CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.
Also note that on Thursday morning this week, the MLBTR staff will be hosting a joint chat focused specifically on our Top 50 Free Agent list and predictions. Check back in Thursday’s Opener for further details. Additionally, this week’s episode of the MLBTR Podcast will feature Tim, Steve, Anthony and Darragh all discussing the work and thought that went into our Top 50 rankings and predictions. That extra-long episode will release tomorrow morning!
King Floch
IT’S OFFICIALLY HOT STOVE SEASON, BOYS
LFG
LordD99
Decent chance that all of Boras’ clients, Soto included, sign by mid-March!
Fever Pitch Guy
Lord – I would hope Boras learned his lesson last offseason!
LordD99
I don’t know. : -)
Fever Pitch Guy
One thing to keep in mind, the deadline for accepting QO’s isn’t until 4 PM EST on November 19th.
So there could be 13 additional players hitting free agency.
TheMan 3
no doubt, Pirates GM will be looking for him worst possible addition to this team during these meetings
I have no faith that he will make this team better next year because his purse strings are tied up in knots
Slider_withcheese
Think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised with their offseason. I think Nutting is feeling fan backlash. While they probably won’t sign Adames, they can sign a Kim. While they won’t sign Alonso, they could snag a Goldschmidt or a Rizzo. Maybe even Walker. Add a Verdugo and or an O’Neil and they’re set. I have them being the most active in free agency (the usual big teams aside) and I’ll go on record saying they win the Central next year.
Fever Pitch Guy
Cheese – I also think Nutting realizes there’s a 3-4 year window before he’s forced to trade Skenes, so I agree the spending will lkely go up the next few years.