MLB Trade Rumors and News: Red Sox strike one-year deal with Steve Pearce

The MLB Daily Dish is a daily feature we’re running here at MLBDD that rounds up roster-impacting news, rumors, and analysis. Have feedback or have something that should be shared? Hit us up at @mlbdailydish on Twitter or @MLBDailyDish on Instagram.

• The Red Sox have signed Steve Pearce to one-year deal. The veteran, World Series MVP, and comeback kid will make $6.25M in his 13th year in the big leagues. Slashing .279/.394/.507 after being dealt to Boston by the Blue Jays, Pearce proved his worth by doing a significant job filling the Mitch Moreland sized hole in the Red Sox roster.
• The MVP awards were announced last Thursday night, and to no surprise, the Brewers’ Christian Yelich was named the NL MVP and the Red Sox’s Mookie Betts claimed the AL MVP. Yelich won his award with 29 out of a possible 30 first-place votes, while Betts took home his honor with 28 out of 30 first-place votes.
• A few hours after the MVP awards were handed out, the Rangers agreed to a two-year deal with catcher Jeff Mathis.
• The Blue Jays have acquired LHP Trent Thornton from Astros in exchange for utility infielder Aledmys Diaz. It’s one of those nice deals that wraps everything up with a bow: the Blue Jays add to their pitching depth, the Astros find their Marwin Gonzalez replacement, and everyone goes home happy. Well, I guess we’ll see about that when the season starts.
• The hot stove season is finally starting to heat up a bit as the Indians and Pirates completed a five player deal that essentially moved around some formerly highly regarded prospects that no longer really had a place in their parent organizations. Hopefully this is a sign that we will start getting some moves here soon, especially once awards season is over.
• The Orioles made a surprisingly decent personnel decision as they hired Mike Elias away from the Astros to run their baseball operations department. Whether or not Baltimore’s ownership will actually let him run things as they should be run is to be determined, but the bigger story this offseason may be just how much talent the Astros have lost from their front office.
• Are we going to see the Phillies do some “stupid” spending this offseason? Dear lord, I sure hope so. Bring on the Gabe Kapler shenanigans.
• The Padres apparently think they can get Noah Syndergaard. In the immortal words of Cher from Clueless, “As if.”
• Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, director of player development Andy McKay, and manager Scott Servais are in hot water after Dr. Lorena Martin, the organization’s recently-ousted high performance coach, accused the trio of racist and sexist treatment. The team put out a statement unequivocally denying the allegations, but Major League Baseball has announced that it will investigate the situation.
• Speaking of the Mariners, it looks as if they may be getting ready to begin a full-fledged youth movement, and that may result in them dealing left-handed ace James Paxton. Which team provides the best fit for The Big Maple?
• Of the seven players that received qualifying offers, only a couple had a realistic chance of accepting it. Once the dust settled, only Hyun-Jin Ryu accepted the offer and the other six will become free agents. Cue Bryce Harper blockbuster deal music (probably).
• A quick and dirty recap of all the Arizona Fall League action you mean to watch every year and then forget only to say, “Damnit I can’t believe I missed it again.” (PSSSSST, Marlins fans, you may want to look over here.)
• Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer announced his retirement after 15 years of good, wholesome baseball.
• The Marlins have reportedly talked with eight to 10 teams about the possibility of making a trade for All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto. Derek Jeter does not sleep, he simply waits.
• The Giants have finally settled upon a new man to steer the ship, hiring Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi as president of baseball operations. Talk about stepping onto enemy turf. Zaidi became interested in the mechanics of baseball after reading Moneyball and reached out to the A’s front office soon after — so remember that next time you want to go out on a limb and then chicken out.
• The Miami Marlins’ new uniforms, graded. FYI, there’s no middle ground on this one. Either you love or despise the rebrand, sorry I don’t make the rules.
• Our Eric Cole writes that there are plenty of realistic potential destinations for Bryce Harper and Manny Machado — and maybe they’ll even end up on the same team.
• The women of SB Nation’s MLB team brands look back at the 2018 season.
• Bryce Harper’s free-agent suitors should include the Phillies, Giants, and ... Brewers?
• Cleveland will listen to offers for veteran players, and the internet has subsequently spiraled into a rabbit hole of “what ifs.”
• Winter is here...and with it, hot stove season. Here’s a look at the biggest free agents this offseason and what we might see go down when baseball hits the Winter Meetings in Vegas.