MLB trade rumors and news: Bryce Harper, suitors have talked about 10-plus year contracts

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• In the latest updates surrounding the Bryce Harper free agency saga, it has been reported that the star outfielder and his suitors — the Phillies, Dodgers and Giants — have discussed deals of 10 years or longer and that these three teams have varying degrees of belief and interest in him.
• Remember all those teams that were reported to be saving up to sign Nolan Arenado next season? Looks like they’ll have to resort to Plan B. Arenado, who was widely believed to be the best player in the 2019-20 free-agent class, signed a new eight-year deal with the Rockies on Tuesday that could keep him in Colorado through 2026. It’s certainly great news for the Rockies and their fans, as Arenado will be able to continue building his legacy as one of the best players in franchise history.
• Another 2018 NL All-Star signed a long-term extension on Tuesday: Starting pitcher Miles Mikolas agreed to a $68 million pact that will keep him in St. Louis through 2023. Pretty good for a guy who was pitching in Japan two years ago.
• 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 interested in him is the 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 Arenado and a really interesting young core of players that helped them make it to the playoffs last year. It appears as though they know who they want at the helm in the coming years, as they gave manager Bud Black a three-year extension on Monday.
• While not the high-profile move that many Yankees fans hoped for, the Bronx Bombers did sign a player to a long-term deal on Monday, signing Aaron Hicks to a seven-year extension worth a reported $70 million.
• The Reds signed Jose Iglesias to a minor-league deal, as our Anderson Pickard reported first. Iglesias will join the team for Spring Training, giving him the opportunity to showcase his skills. The veteran slashed .269/.310/.389 over 125 games last year and also comes with an impressive defensive presence.
• Marwin Gonzalez has agreed to a two-year deal with the Twins. The versatile slugger is a perfect fit for Minnesota and will join them on a $21 million 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 left-hander 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.
• 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.
• 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.