MLB Trade Rumors and News: Mets continue their busy offseason with signing of Jed Lowrie

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• The Mets’ new front office has made it abundantly clear that they are really trying to go for it this season as they added a two-year deal with the versatile Jed Lowrie to the list of moves they have made this offseason. The National League East is shaping up to be a bloodbath in 2019.
• The Braves, still in the market for a corner outfielder, have been having some talks with one of the top outfielders still on the free agent market in A.J. Pollock. The Braves have been relatively quiet since signing Josh Donaldson to a one year deal, but they could still be big movers this offseason before the dust settles.
• The Nationals, continuing the trend today of National League East teams looking to contend, signed second baseman Brian Dozier to a one-year deal. The Nationals have been big players this offseason and if they were to re-sign Bryce Harper somehow, they would be among the favorites in the NL yet again.
• Jerry DiPoto is not exactly a man that is known for standing pat for any length of time and it showed yet again as the Mariners signed Tim Beckham and Cory Gearrin to one year deals. One can only assume that Seattle is far from done this offseason with DiPoto at the helm.
• The Blue Jays have a new manager now and late last night, they waded into the free agency waters with the signing of reliever David Phelps to a one year deal with an option for a second year. Phelps missed all of 2018 after having Tommy John surgery, but could be a strong bounce-back candidate for Toronto.
• The Brewers lit the hot stove late Wednesday night by signing Yasmani Grandal — the best catcher on the free agent market — to a one-year, $18.25 million deal.
• The Rangers added to their starting rotation by taking a chance on injury-riddled starter Shelby Miller, who they signed to a one-year, $2 million contract.
• The Mariners have brought back a familiar face in Dustin Ackley, as they signed the former No. 2 overall pick to a minor-league deal.
• Late Monday night, the White Sox made their second move of the day when they signed Jon Jay to a one-year deal. Jay was not particularly good in 2018, especially at the plate, but it seems like his signing might have more to do with Chicago trying to lure Machado than any other baseball reasons.
• The White Sox also made a move earlier in the day to bolster their bullpen when then snagged Kelvin Herrera on a two-year deal with a club option for a third year. Herrerawas one of the more desirable targets at the trade deadline in 2018 and should give a big boost to Chicago’s bullpen.
• The Indians have acquired catcher Kevin Plawecki from Mets. It’s expected that the young catcher will take the place of Yan Gomes as one half of Cleveland’s backstop duo. Is Brodie trying to keep pace with Jerry Dipoto? Perhaps.
• The Mets have acquired J.D. Davis from the Astros in a five-player deal that sent three prospects to Houston. That’s two more infielders the Mets have swung a deal for, for those of you keeping score at home.
• The Phillies have been trying desperately to make some noise this offseason and spend “stupid money,” and they have been connected to virtually every free agent and trade target of note. They were able to successfully make a move to upgrade their bullpen last week when they signed David Robertson to a two-year deal that guarantees him at least $23 million.
• The White Sox have been pushing hard to get themselves into the outright cage match for Manny Machado and Bryce Harper this offseason despite the fact that they do have the look of a team that is still at least a couple of years away from contention. Now, it looks like they have made an offer to Machado and are still keeping tabs on Bryce. Don’t count Chicago out yet.
• The Yankees have agreed to a deal with five-time All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who is expected to fill in as their starting shortstop this year as Didi Gregorius recovers from Tommy John surgery. Get ready for Didi to come back just in the nick of time before Tulo gets hurt, probably. Obviously, there’s a possibility that those plans will change if the Bronx Bombers end up signing Manny Machado, but as of now it’s all quiet on the East Coast.
• The Yankees have agreed to a deal with lefty reliever Zach Britton. Peeling back some of the layers of the contract, it looks like the southpaw will garner $13M a season with a 2022 option that the Yankees have to decide if they’re going to exercise or not...after the 2020 season. Talk about a commitment.
• While the Mariners have appeared to be in sell-off mode with Jerry DiPoto seemingly looking to unload any player that isn’t nailed to the floor, Seattle made an extremely intriguing move that brought in Yusei Kikuchi on a four-year deal with the potential for significantly more than that. While the specifics of Kikuchi’s contract are fascinating, what is arguably even more fascinating is the Mariners, a team seemingly undertaking a rebuild and shedding salary, are making this move at all.
• Our Cristiana Caruso went through all of the work that we here at MLB Daily Dish have done over the past year and put together a Best of 2018 that we thought you might enjoy. 2018 was a busy year here at the Dish, and we hope that you continue to enjoy the content here in 2019 and beyond.
• Needing a friend to keep Matt Harvey company on the West Coast, the Angels have signed Jonathan Lucroy to a one-year deal. It’s a beautiful friendship already in the making.