Bob Nightengale dropped a comprehensive column to preview the Winter Meetings on Sunday morning. Here’s the important stuff.
Bob Nightengale dropped a great, lengthy column on Sunday morning that previews the MLB Winter Meetings and everything at stake this season, particularly related to free agency.
With so much to digest, it’s tough to know where to start. The entire column is worth reading, but we’ve got the important stuff for you to pull at if you need it here.
Braves have an offer out to Dansby Swanson, and it’s a lowball
The Atlanta Braves have provided an opening offer to Dansby Swanson. It’s lower than expected, and far away from what he wants on the open market.
We wrote about it here and how it’s likely just the first offer Atlanta will make him, though they’re likely hoping he wants to take a Chipper Jones-esque hometown discount.
If he’s not back in Atlanta, maybe it’s the Cardinals? Plus the Cubs have eyes elsewhere.
Speculatively plenty have pegged the Cubs as a possible Dansby Swanson landing spot. But the Cubs have reported interest in Xander Bogaerts (over even Carlos Correa, shockingly).
A different NL Central team is interested in Swanson: The Cardinals. More about that here.
The Padres are the No. 1 competitor for Trea Turner with Philadelphia
While the Dodgers could still re-sign him too, the Phillies’ interest in Trea Turner has been telegraphed to say the least. Surprisingly, the San Diego Padres are expected to pursue him as well, which is shocking because they already have two capable shortstops on the roster.
A litany of adjustments to the defensive makeup would follow, which our own Rylie Smith dove into here.
Home run champ thinks Judge would be making mistake leaving New York
A former home run champ told Nightengale it would be a massive mistake for Judge to leave New York because the short porch in right field is designed just for a swing of his type.
That’s a reasonable argument, but once you dive in a bit further, it falls apart. All of Judge’s homers to right field were mighty convincing last season.