MLB Trade Rumors and News: A new(ish) suitor for Bryce Harper appears and Hicks signs an extension

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• In the saga that seems like it will never end, the Bryce Harper derby seems to be heating up with Harper rumored to be meeting with multiple teams of late. The most recent, and arguably most interesting, team rumored to be talking to him are the LA Dodgers who appear to be talking to him about a short term deal. The Dodgers may try to use some of that luxury tax relief they freed up earlier this offseason after all.
• The Rockies have one of the best players in baseball on their roster in Nolan Arenado and a really interesting young core of players that all helped them make it to the playoffs last year. It appears as though they know who they want to helm their squad in the coming years as they gave manager Bud Black a three year extension yesterday.
• While not the high profile move that many Yankees fans hoped for, Yankees did ink a long term deal yesterday as they signed Aaron Hicks to a seven year extension worth a reported $70 million.
• Reds sign Jose Iglesias to a minor league deal, source tells our Anderson Pickard. Iglesias will also join the team for Spring Training and give him the opportunity to showcase his bat. The veteran slashed .269/.310/.389 over 125 games last year and also comes with an impressive defensive presence.
• One of the most sought after free agent dominos this season has fallen. Marwin Gonzalez has agreed to a two year deal with the Twins. The versatile slugger is a perfect fit for Minnesota, and will joined them for a $21M contract. If he can recover from a mediocre 2018 and be the Marwin of Yore, the Twins stand to have another year of contention ahead of them.
• One of the biggest free agents to still remain unsigned with spring training underway, Dallas Keuchel faces an uphill battle in 2019. Will someone soon cave and sign the knuckleballer or will he be watching the 2019 season from his couch?
• Nick Cafardo had become a fixture in the baseball sportswriting field as a member of the Red Sox beat for the Boston Globe for nearly three decades. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly while covering spring training last week. Our thoughts are with Nick’s family and friends. As one can see from all of the tributes posted online about him, he touched a lot of people’s lives in some really amazing ways and he will be sorely missed.
• After three-and-a-half long months of discussion about where Manny Machado was going to land (and that’s not even factoring in the years of rumors while he was still under contract), the circus finally came to an end last Tuesday as the four-time All-Star infielder agreed to a 10-year, $300 million deal with the Padres. After several weeks of worries that Machado and Harper would end up signing for way below market value, it now appears likely that both will get the deals that most have expected them to all offseason. Will they both end up on the Padres? Well, that’s still to be determined (but honestly would be hilarious, I won’t even lie.)
• The Giants’ Bruce Bochy has three World Series rings and several other playoff runs on his resume. Now, with the Giants seemingly set to embark on some sort of a rebuild, Bochy has decided that he is going to call it a career once the 2019 season ends.
• Marcus Stroman has some strong feelings about his club, stating that the Blue Jays have “offered nothing” regarding a long-term deal. He also went on to say that Toronto has paid no attention to signing proven veteran players.
• 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.
• 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.
• Spicy hot take alert: Mike Moustakas’s free agency experience is the perfect example of what’s wrong with baseball.
• Tracking all the new MLB uniforms you’ll see this season, just so you don’t go into shock the first time you see someone completely out of place and think you’re dreaming (been there, done that).
• 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 first-round pick from the 2018 draft and no compensation for it (other than getting part of his signing bonus back).
• 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.
• 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.
• Some of you may need to look away from this spicy hot take but here it is: Manny Machado is actually perfect for the Padres.