The Weekly Rundown: 1/28/23 - 2/3/23
Corbin Burnes to Baltimore, Mariners make two deals, and more.
Good morning and happy Sunday!
It’s officially the first week of spring training. The Los Angeles Dodgers will be the first team to report when pitchers and catchers head to Arizona on Feb. 9. Most of the league will follow on Feb. 14 and 15.
As those dates inch closer, the offseason action is ramping up. This past week featured a blockbuster deal for an ace, a pair of noteworthy trades for one team, and several signings in free agency. Of course, there’s still more to come with guys like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery still available.
Perhaps those moves will finally be made before next week’s rundown. For now, grab your coffee, and let’s jump into what we’ve had since last Sunday.
Burnes to Baltimore
What a week in Baltimore. First, the Angelos family sold the Orioles to a group led by David Rubenstein for $1.725 billion. Then on Thursday night, the O’s acquired ace Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers for shortstop prospect Joey Ortiz (No. 63 MLB prospect; Orioles’ No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline), left-hander DL Hall, and a 2024 Competitive Balance Round A Draft pick.
This is the kind of move O’s fans have been impatiently waiting for. Baltimore needed to get aggressive and land a legitimate No. 1 starter to lead the rotation. It was the one missing piece on a young, talented roster that was swept out of the 2023 postseason in the ALDS.
In Burnes, they get a true ace who has finished top eight in Cy Young voting in each of the last four seasons, including when he won the award in 2021. The 29-year-old is coming off a “down” season for his standards, posting a 3.39 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 200 strikeouts and 66 walks. Even his floor is better than 95 percent of the starting pitchers in the league.
The O’s rotation now features a fearsome 1-2 punch of Burnes and Kyle Bradish, who’s coming off a breakout season in which he placed fourth in Cy Young voting. After that, it’s former top prospect Grayson Rodriguez, John Means, and Dean Kremer. That’s a promising group if Means can stay healthy.
This is a move that will have many considering the Orioles as their World Series pick for 2024. As for the Brewers, a messy breakup with Burnes seemed inevitable ever since their messy arbitration battle a year ago. They’re reportedly open to making additional moves before the season, so other impact players like shortstop Willy Adames and reliever Devin Williams could be on the trade block.
Baltimore will likely look to come to terms with Burnes on an extension. As of now, he’s scheduled to become a free agent after the 2024 season.
Mariners Swing a Pair of Deals
On Monday, the Seattle Mariners acquired second baseman Jorge Polanco from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for outfield prospect Gabriel Gonzalez, reliever Justin Topa, starter Anthony DeSclafani and minor league pitcher Darren Bowen.
Seattle needed to bolster its offense to complement a starting rotation that’s among the best in the league. Polanco fills a need at second base while adding a strong switch-hitting presence to the lineup. The 30-year-old veteran is among the best offensive second basemen in the game with a .780 career OPS. His only real question mark is his durability. In the two seasons he played 150+ games, he belted 22 and 33 homers with an OPS well above .800.
The Twins, meanwhile, continue to shed payroll after losing several key players in free agency. Their biggest prize in this deal is Gonzalez, a 20-year-old right-handed hitting corner outfielder who has impressed at the plate in Single-A.
Minnesota also gets a rock-solid reliever in Topa, who posted a 2.61 ERA over 75 games with the Mariners last year.
This marks the second time DeSclafani has been traded this winter. Earlier in the offseason, the Mariners acquired him and outfielder Mitch Haniger in the deal that sent former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to the San Francisco Giants.
Bowen posted a 3.88 ERA over 55.2 innings last year in his first minor league season.
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Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto stayed busy with another trade on Saturday. Seattle acquired right-handed reliever Gregory Santos from the Chicago White Sox for right-hander Prelander Berroa, outfielder Zach DeLoach, and the 69th pick in the 2024 draft.
Santos, 24, posted a 3.39 ERA in 66.1 innings (60 games) as a rookie for the White Sox last season. He struck out 22.8 percent batters he faced and walked just 5.9 percent. His addition to the Mariners bullpen fills the void left by Topa’s departure in the Polanco deal.
Berroa and DeLoach were the No. 15 and No. 25 ranked prospects in the Mariners organization, respectively.
Jays Get JT
Justin Turner is staying in the American League East.
The 39-year-old slugger signed a one-year, $13 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. It’s a smart move for a club that struggled at the plate for most of 2023 and hasn’t been able to meet expectations as an AL East favorite in recent years. If Turner is anything like he was last year for Boston, when he notched 23 homers and 96 RBIs to go with an .800 OPS, he’ll bring a huge boost to the Blue Jays lineup. He’ll also be a tremendous locker-room presence for a young club that needs some veteran leadership.
This is a real loss for the Red Sox, whose need for a right-handed bat is glaring. Yet for whatever reason, they passed on the chance to re-sign Turner despite his desire to return.
“I think as time went on it was appearing to be less and less likely [to return to Boston],” Turner told reporters. “Right when the season ended, I assumed that it would be a no-brainer that I would try to work something out and come back.”
Instead, Boston will see plenty of Turner as an opponent in 2024.
Rapid Fire
The Los Angeles Angels signed outfielder Aaron Hicks to a one-year deal worth the league minimum of $740,000.
The San Diego Padres signed reliever Wandy Peralta to a four-year, $16.5 million contract.
The Oakland A’s acquired right-hander Ross Stripling from the Giants for minor league outfielder Jonah Cox.
Also headed to the A’s is fellow ex-Giants pitcher Alex Wood, who signed a one-year deal with Oakland.
The New York Mets added two relievers on one-year contracts: Shintaro Fujinama and Jake Diekman.
Veteran first baseman Carlos Santana signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Twins.
Reliever Keynan Middleton signed a one-year deal worth $6 million with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Texas Rangers star shortstop Corey Seager underwent surgery for a sports hernia. He’ll have a chance to return for Opening Day.
Former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein is back in Boston as a part team owner and senior adviser.
Jimy Williams, a former manager for the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Astros, passed away on Jan. 26 at the age of 80.
The Detroit Tigers signed their No. 2 prospect Colt Keith to a six-year, $28.6 million contract extension. The deal for the slugging infielder includes three club options that can total an additional $38 million.
The Rumor Mill
Reigning NL Cy Young award winner Blake Snell is looking for a nine-year, $270 million deal in free agency, according to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale. It appears highly doubtful the 31-year-old will come close to landing that kind of contract.
The Padres have shown interest in free-agent righty Michael Lorenzen, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The Orioles and Twins have also expressed interest.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are interested in veteran catcher Gary Sanchez, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
The Tampa Bay Rays are nearing a deal with reliever Phil Maton, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
Thanks for reading! Catch you next Sunday.