MLB trade rumors and news: Astros’ McCullers undergoes Tommy John surgery

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 Astros announced Tuesday that right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2019 season. The news isn’t entirely surprising, as McCullers spent roughly seven weeks on the DL near the end of the season with elbow discomfort, then pitched through the injury in September and October. But with Charlie Morton and Dallas Keuchel becoming free agents this offseason and Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole set to hit free agency next fall, the Astros will have to do some serious work on their rotation this winter. Well, either that or dive headfirst into “The Opener” revolution, which would represent a major shift in approach from a club that was largely carried by its rotation in 2018.
• The Giants have finally settled upon a new man to steer the ship, announcing late Tuesday night that they’ve hired Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi as president of baseball operations. Talk about stepping onto enemy turf.
• CC keeps pitching well for the Yankees, and New York keeps bringing him back on one-year contracts. Sabathia, who completed what ended up being a nine-year pact after the 2017 season, signed a one-year deal with the Yankees for the second straight offseason on Tuesday after posting a 3.65 ERA and 1.31 WHIP over 29 starts this year. The new deal will pay him $8 million in 2019.
• 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.
• Will the Nationals be able to lure Harper back to D.C.? And if they don’t, what direction do they go? Read all about it in our Nats offseason preview.
• We want to know: Who do you think will be this year’s most surprising AL Silver Slugger award recipient?
• Though the McCullers news could conceivably change things, multiple reports emerged on Tuesday indicating that the Mariners hope to trade much of their existing core this winter and start from scratch after determing that they just don’t have what it takes to compete for the World Series right now.
• Digging deeper into those reports, the Mariners have reportedly begun talks on a deal that would send catcher Mike Zunino to the Rays.

On Monday evening, MLB announced the three finalists for Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, and MVP in both leagues. J.D. Martinez did not make the cut in the MVP voting in the AL, nor did Jacob deGrom (whose season was an interesting test case for pitchers getting MVP consideration) make it in the NL.

• The Yankees have floated the idea of trading Sonny Gray for a while now, so Andersen Pickard decided to take a look at what potential trade partners New York could find for the starter.
• The Golden Glove Awards were announced Sunday night, some to much controversy. We examined the cases of the contenders in the National League and the American League. Notable winners included Nick Ahmed and Freddie Freeman, while Lorenzo Cain was blatantly snubbed of his hardware. Check out a complete list of winners right here. What do you think of this year’s winners and lack thereof?
• The Chicago Cubs picked up Cole Hamels’ 2019 option and also created sending Drew Smyly to the Rangers.
• The Dodgers were not about to let their playoff hero David Freese go— he of the .911 career postseason OPS and the .364/.423/.773 slash line during this year’s playoffs — and have brought the October hero back on a on a one-year deal. The transaction essentially required Freese to take a $1 million paycut, as the Dodgers declined his $6 million option for 2019, then promptly gave him a $4.5 million deal while paying him the $500,000 buyout on the declined club option. But small potatoes, right?
• After exercising his postseason demons and winning the World Series in a storybook fashion, David Price has decided to return to the Red Sox by opting into his final four years of his contract.
• Cleveland will listen to offers for veteran players, and the internet has subsequently spiraled into a rabbit hole of “what ifs.”
• The Yankees have brought back beloved veteran outfielder and failed Chia Pet Brett Gardner on a one-year, $7.5 million deal.
• The Nationals have signed former Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal.
• J.T. Realmuto’s name has been batted around for a while now on the trade market as a potential option, even though it was unclear whether or not he would be willing to work things out in Miami. According to his agent, he has no interest in signing a long-term extension and expects to be on a different team in 2019.
• Here is a rundown of the seven MLB players that received qualifying offers.
• The Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw agreed to a last-minute deal, avoiding an opt-out and also the tears of millions of Dodgers fans everywhere.
• The Rangers have hired former utility infielder and Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward as their new manager.
• Our Anderson Pickard is exploring the Yankees’ options at shortstop, and whether or not they’ll need to make a blockbuster signing to address the position this winter.
• The MLB offseason is here, and it should actually be interesting this time around.
• 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.