MLB Trade Rumors and News: Royals close to Merrifield extension, Athletics and Mets keep this faint stove alive

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• The Royals and Whit Merrifield are reportedly close to inking a 4-year extension. This will put the slugger under contract through his arbitration years and keeps Kansas City a forced to be reckoned with on the base path.
• The Mets have signed Justin Wilson to two-year, $10 million contract. Wilson was a smart acquisition for the Mets, being the best southpaw reliever left on the market. Dare I say it? Between Wilson, Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, and Seth Lugo it looks like the Mets will have a strong bullpen going into this season, knocks on every piece of wood in both Queens and Brooklyn.
• The Athletics have agreed to one-year, $4 million deal with Marco Estrada. Estrada has had a difficult past two seasons, but could still bounce back to the same dominance he had in 2016. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come in way of pitching depth acquisitions for Oakland before Spring Training gets underway.
• The Dodgers have the money and prospects to basically go and get whoever they really want to and they made there move on Thursday when they snatched up A.J. Pollock on a five year deal. While some thought that the Dodgers moves earlier this offseason signaled that they were going to make a run at Bryce Harper, it looks like this move takes them out of the running for his services.
• For a team that appears to be selling off a lot of assets, the Mariners have still remained active in adding players as they signed Hunter Strickland to a one year deal. Strickland should help Seattle’s bullpen absorb a bit of the hit from the loss of Edwin Diaz....plus it fulfills Jerry DiPoto’s apparent requirement to make at least one move a week.
• The Padres made a big splash last year in free agency. Could they do it again this year? Well, they are at least doing their due diligence on free agents Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, Mike Moustakas and Marwin Gonzalez after they have “checked in” with each player.
• The infamous Bill Ripken card, 30 years later.
• The Giants made a low risk, high reward move by signing veteran pitcher Drew Pomeranz to a one-year deal.
• After losing Adrian Beltre to retirement and trading Jurickson Profar to Oakland, the Rangersfound their third baseman for 2019, signing veteran Asdrubal Cabrera to a one-year, $3.5 million deal. It’s quite the bargain for a player who hit 23 homers last season and could easily see his power play up at Globe Life Park.
• After they seemingly caught lightning in a bottle with 35-year-old Nick Markakis last season, the Braves will see if they can do so one more time — albeit at a very affordable cost — signing the 2018 All-Star to a one-year contract worth $6 million guaranteed with a club option for 2020.
• Here is the best and worst of the 2019 Hall of Fame vote. If you have any strong opinions, now is the time to shout them from the rooftops...we won’t judge.
• The Baseball Hall of Fame welcomed four new members on Tuesday: Mariano Rivera, the first unanimous selection in the Hall’s history and know caramel macchiato lover, Edgar Martinez, Roy Halladay, and Mike Mussina. The long-overdue selections of Martinez (10th and final ballot) and Mussina (sixth ballot) should set up an interesting dynamic next January, as Derek Jeter is the only obvious first-ballot candidate — meaning that some repeat candidates could be in line for big boosts in support. Roy Halladay’s family has announced that he’ll go into the hall with no logo on his hat in an effort to honor his legacy as a player and not as a pitcher with one particular team. Mike Mussina has also decided to forgo a logo on his plaque.
• In a move that’s been rumored, well, since he was released by Seattle last May, Ichiro is returning to the Mariners on a minor-league deal, sources told our Andersen Pickard on Tuesday. The deal will allow him to be on the roster — and likely finish his major-league career — during the Mariners’ season-opening series in Japan this March, though there’s a non-zero possibility that he could stick around afterward.
• The Mariners are getting a new powder blue uniform look for spring training.
• Our Stephen Tolbert took an in-depth look at how the qualifying offer system has affected players’ value in free agency.
• Andersen Pickard broke down how the offseason is shaping up across the AL West thus far.
• Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens continue their tedious climb in Hall of Fame voting.
• The Reds have long been linked to a lot of starting pitchers in an attempt to become relevant in the very competitive NL Central. After landing Alex Wood in a trade earlier this offseason, Cincinnati got another potentially strong rotation arm from the Yankees in Sonny Gray and immediately extended him. What will be interesting to see is how well Gray performs after getting traded to a team with yet another hitter-friendly home park.
• The Yankees made a big splash when they added one of the best relievers on the free agent market, signing Adam Ottavino to a three year, $27 million deal. With Ottavino in the fold, the Yankees have a legitimately scary bullpen.
• Why gambling used to scare baseball and why it doesn’t anymore.
• The Angels were not going to be denied their shot at getting in on the bullpen market, as they snatched up Cody Allen on a short deal. It is a bit surprising that some of these deals for relievers aren’t as lucrative as some thought, but there has been little about these past couple of offseasons that could be considered normal.
• With tons of reports and rumors about Manny Machado flying around as the entire baseball world waits for him and Bryce Harper to sign, Machado’s agent, Dan Lozano, heard enough and decided to issue a statement about his client and the subsequent carelessness that has gone into the reporting of many of those rumors.
• Adalberto Mondesi mania is set to take over Kansas City in 2019.
• Another free-agent pitcher is off the market, as the Giants inked Derek Holland to a one-year deal. Holland is not the same pitcher he was earlier in his career due to shoulder issues and the ever-present tides of time, but he pitched well last season and should provide some stability for a Giants team that could easily struggle a good bit next year.
• Here’s a take, hot and ready for your reading enjoyment: the Padres should sign both Manny Machado and Bryce Harper.
• We continued our look at how the offseason has gone so far with a look at how the AL Central grades out this offseason...at least until this point.
• Arbitration settlements have come and gone now, which only leaves some (possible) more negotiating and the hearings themselves. Andersen Pickard made you all a handy guide as to what to expect next in the arbitration process.
• What do the Mariners see in Hunter Strickland?
• If you’re sick of sick the two-player circus that has been ensuing all offseason, here are 10 storylines to follow throughout the rest of the winter.