MLB Trade Rumors and News: Arizona, Kansas City keep the stove alive with important deals this weekend

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• The Diamondbacks have signed veteran Adam Jones to a 1-year deal. After 11 years in Baltimore, he’ll head west to give Arizona more centerfield depth, especially because Jarrod Dyson is still questionable to start on Opening Day.
• The Royals are in agreement with Martin Maldonado on a 1-year deal. This means the Royals will actually start the season with a backstop and not a large piece or cardboard after losing Salvador Perez to Tommy John surgery.
• Some truly heartbreaking news came out last week when Hall of Famer Tome Seaver announced that he was going to stop making public appearances after being diagnosed with dementia. Our thoughts are with him and his family as they work together to focus on Tom’s health and well-being.
• Steven Wright will not be a factor for the Red Sox for at least half the season, as the knuckleballer has been suspended 80 games without pay after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
• The Royals already had the odds stacked against them in their bid to contend for the AL Central title this year, but those slim hopes were dealt a massive blow on Tuesday, when it was announced that six-time All-Star Salvador Perez will undergo Tommy John surgery. They’ll turn to the inexperienced catching tandem of Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria to help piece together more of an entire catcher.
• Harper-Trout 2020 is a ticket Philly fans could totally get behind. But is it too much of a pipe dream? Bryce Harper’s deal produced one real winner...Mike Trout, who can now basically ask for as much money as he wants and get it, because he’s Mike Trout. Does Philly have it in their checkbook to cut another amount of stupid money if Trout shows interest?
• The Mets have hired ESPN Sunday Night Baseball analyst Jessica Mendoza as a special advisor to the baseball operations department. While this position may help prepare her for a full-time front office role down the road if she so desires, she’ll also remain in her existing role at ESPN for the foreseeable future.
• After a truly ugly incident over the weekend where Giants president and CEO Larry Baer was videoed wrestling a cell phone out of his wife’s hand, resulting in her falling to the ground and calling out for help, the Giants released a statement that Baer will be taking a leave of absence as the team charts their path forward.
• Don’t think the free-agent market is totally dried up just because the Harper/Machado Tour-De-Force. Here are some of the best MLB free agents still available, so you can mentally persuade your team’s GM into some exciting contracts to close out the offseason.
• After a disappointing 2018 season, can Dexter Fowler turn things around with the Cardinals this season?
• It finally happened. We now know where Bryce Harper is going to play baseball in 2019 and beyond as he signed a record 13-year, $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Harper’s deal includes the most guaranteed money in American sports history and, more surprisingly, includes no deferred money or opt-outs.
• For those National fans still panicking, read this: The Nationals’ outfield will be fine without Bryce Harper.
• 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 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.
• Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez got engaged with the biggest ring imaginable and it’s going to be such a fun baseball wedding. I can’t believe a former shortstop with the Mariners gets to marry the Jennifer Lopez. Follow your dreams kids.
• 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.
• Who is the Orioles’ most “indispensable” player? No, the right answer isn’t “everyone”, please stop saying that, we’re trying to be serious here.
• 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.