MLB Trade Rumors and News: Brewers bring back Moustakas, no one brings on Harper or Machado

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• The Brewers have brought Mike Moustakas back on one-year deal. This comes just a few months after Moustakas declined the $15M mutual option with the club and opted for free agency and a $1M buyout instead.
• Marcus Stroman has some strong feelings about his club, stating that the Blue Jays have ‘offered nothing’ regarding long-term deal. He also went on to say that Toronto has paid no attention to signing proven veteran players.
• Finally, a thing! The Yankees have signed Luis Severino to a long-term extension, keeping the ace on lock for seasons to come. This is particularly important, seeing as beloved starter CC Sabathia has come out and said that this season will be his last in Major League Baseball.
• Well, we know of at least one more team that is thinking about trying to snatch up Manny Machado as he and the Padres apparently met in Miami recently. Its a strange fit given the Padres’ timeline and where their top minor league is, but its hard to argue with a team going after one of the better players in the game.
• The Twins were busy last week locking up some players. First, they were reportedly close to finalizing an extension with Jorge Polanco with terms that were reported to be similar to what Jose Ramirez and Kolten Wong got.
• Here’s why the MLB free agency hellscape has made contract extensions popular, and no the reason isn’t “so that we have something to actually read and report about,” although it is viable.
• The Twins were not done there as they also locked down Max Kepler with a five year, $35 million extension with a option. Kepler was a highly regarded prospect and while his offensive performance has been a bit inconsistent, this deal could still prove to be a steal.
• The Phillies continued to commit money to their core players by signing ace Aaron Nola to a four-year, $45 million extension with an option for a fifth season.
• Spicy hot take alert: Mike Moustakas’s free agency experience is the perfect example of what’s wrong with baseball.
• The Marlins, who were and remain largely devoid of proven bullpen options, took a small step towards solving that problem on Tuesday, signing three-time World Series champion (and the original Opener) Sergio Romo to a one-year deal. Seeing as he doesn’t have a whole lot of proven competition for the role, it appears that Romo will have a good shot to serve as Miami’s closer this season.
• Before Romo signed with the Marlins, our Andersen Pickard caught up with his agent, Barry Meister, to talk about the market for the veteran reliever and the slow-moving free-agent market.
• Which pitchers are ready to conquer the competition in 2019?
• According to reports, Bryce Harper isn’t interested in signing a short-term deal. It remains to be seen whether he considers anything less than 10 years to be “short term.”
• Whether or not the Athletics could convince Kyler Murray to forgo a lucrative football career and honor his agreement from when he was drafted in 2018 to play baseball has been a hot topic this offseason. That saga has now played out as Kyler has officially decided to ditch baseball in favor of football, leaving Oakland without their 1st round pick from the 2018 draft and no compensation for it (other than getting part of his signing bonus back).
• The Cubs organization is an anomaly to most, including projection systems. Almost all of them disagree about the club, and here’s why. * PECOTA INTENSIFIES *
• To provide themselves with a bit of comfort after a tough day, Oakland did bring back Brett Anderson on a one year deal pending a physical to compete for a spot in their rotation. The A’s needed a bit of good news to be sure.
• MLB should consider a lottery in their proposal to change the amateur draft. It’s no secret that the draft needs to be fixed, and maybe this is the way to spice things up a little more.
• Beloved veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson will look to play another season in the big leagues, as he’s inked a minor-league deal with the Marlins and will try to win a job this spring. If he does end up making Miami’s roster, it’ll be interesting to see if he’s flipped to a contender down the stretch for a third straight year; he seems to be somewhat of a good luck charm, as he’s played on nine playoff teams in 15 seasons, including three that have advanced to the World Series.
• Eduardo Rodriguez is primed for a breakout, so let that be a note to all of you gathering your fantasy team predictions.
• Do free agents lose value when they remain on the market deep into the offseason? We took a look at the data, and let’s just say it usually helps them to sign sooner than later.
• Our Stephen Tolbert took an in-depth look at how the qualifying offer system has affected players’ value in free agency.