Top News:
Janie McCauley / Associated Press:
AP source: Righty Lance Lynn, Rangers reach three-year deal — LAS VEGAS (AP) — Free agent right-hander Lance Lynn and the Texas Rangers reached agreement on a $30 million, three-year contract during the winter meetings, a person with direct knowledge of the agreement said.
RELATED:
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
After a quiet week at the winter meetings, the Cubs still have some work to do this offseason — Chicago Tribune — The Cubs won't conduct their first spring-training workout for two months, and the season opener is 3½ months away. — Those dates provide temporary relief …
Kristie Ackert / Baltimore Sun:
Yankees now turn their attention to shoring up the bullpen — LAS VEGAS — Having already addressed the holes in their rotation and having set up a meeting with top infielder free agent Manny Machado back in the Bronx, the Yankees' “fully operational Death Star” is turning its focus to fixing the bullpen.
Pete Caldera / Daily Record:
Yankees exit Winter Meetings still seeking bullpen help, as are the Red Sox — LAS VEGAS - Whenever it occurs, the Manny Machado meeting should be the highlight event on the Yankees' winter calendar. — Until then, and possibly for weeks after, the Yankees will be seeking to upgrade their relief corps.
Discussion:
USA Today
Pete Caldera / Daily Record:
Mets depart Winter Meetings with one reliever and a larger sense of the market
Associated Press:
MLB notebook: Lance Lynn agrees to 3-year, $30 million deal with Rangers
Discussion:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
George A. King III / New York Post:
What's holding up a Sonny Gray trade from the Yankees
Discussion:
NESN.com, Sporting News, Pinstripe Alley, Beyond the Box Score and MLB Trade Rumors
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
MLB teams close winter meetings with Christmas lists, but who will get the presents? — LAS VEGAS — Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto pulled off a three-way trade while lying in his hospital bed with a blood clot in his lung, but still managed to fist-bump his assistant, and even the nurses, while hooked up to monitors.
RELATED:
Gabe Lacques / USA Today:
Carlos Santana returns to Cleveland as Indians, Mariners, Rays pull off huge three-team deal — LAS VEGAS - Baseball's winter meetings closed with a moderate bang on Thursday, as the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians and Tampa Bay Rays pulled off a three-team deal that had all the trappings of the modern game.
Discussion:
Beyond the Box Score
David Schoenfield / ESPN:
How to spice up the winter meetings after a dull week in Vegas — LAS VEGAS — Here's one problem with baseball's winter meetings: It's not even winter. — Besides that, every year there is much anticipation heading into the annual gathering, as the media assembles in numbers that dwarf the World Series.
Matthew Florjancic / WKYC-TV:
Three-team trade gives Indians flexibility for future — Thursday's three-team trade with the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays has given the Cleveland Indians flexibility, both financially and athletically, in 2019. — CLEVELAND — CLEVELAND — After many reports about starting pitching …
Ben Axelrod / WKYC-TV:
Cleveland Indians trade Edwin Encarnacion and Yandy Diaz, reacquiring Carlos Santana
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors and Lookout Landing
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
White Sox's bid for Bryce Harper could come down to details — Chicago Tribune — As the Bryce Harper sweepstakes move into the homestretch, the White Sox's chances to sign the prized free agent may come down to details and determination. — “There's only so much we can control in the end …
RELATED:
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
Cubs and White Sox brace for losses in today's Rule 5 draft
Discussion:
South Side Sox, Bluebird Banter and Cubs Insider
Scott Lauber / Philly.com:
Phillies could replace Nationals as the new ‘Team Boras’ | Extra Innings
Discussion:
Philly.com
Bobby Nightengale / Cincinnati.com:
Cincinnati Reds pick utility player Connor Joe in Rule 5 Draft from Los Angeles Dodgers — LAS VEGAS - On the final day of the Winter Meetings at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, the Reds made one more addition to their roster Thursday through the Rule 5 Draft.
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News … and Redleg Nation
RELATED:
Keith Law / ESPN:
Bullpen overpays and the Rule 5 draft — The New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers both just spent dearly to upgrade their bullpens, overpaying two competent but hardly elite relievers with three-year deals that don't seem to reflect those relievers' performances or the current imbalance …
Anthony Fenech / Detroit Free Press:
Why Detroit Tigers took Reed Garrett in Rule 5 draft — LAS VEGAS — After last season's struggle to find Victor Reyes playing time in the outfield, the Detroit Tigers went a different direction in Thursday's Rule 5 draft. — With the No. 5 pick, the team selected Reed Garrett …
RELATED:
Tim Dillard / MLB Trade Rumors:
The Inner Monologue of @DimTillard: The Winter Meetings — It's 10:02am in Nashville, Tennessee. Thursday December 13th, 2018. My name is Tim Dillard, and if you're reading this looking for the latest up-to-the-minute coverage of the 2018 Major League Baseball Winter Meetings... then I apologize, this isn't one of those articles.
RELATED:
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals aim to play it smart as Alex Reyes prepares for return — LAS VEGAS • As the Cardinals sift this winter through their options to protect late-game leads, there is one young, internal candidate for a pivotal role who has the Cardinals thinking about how they'll protect him.
RELATED:
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals lose pitcher Chris Ellis in Rule 5 draft, but nab reliever, shortstop — LAS VEGAS • The type of pitcher Chris Ellis could be for the Kansas City Royals in the coming season is what the Cardinals found in a low-risk pick from the Rangers' system — without all the tricky Rule 5 requirements.
Tim Keown / ESPN:
What went wrong at the 2018 winter meetings? — LAS VEGAS — Late Wednesday morning, as baseball's winter meetings slogged to their grim and quiet conclusion, Scott Boras stood on a raised platform in front of a 25-foot fake Christmas tree steps away from a casino in the middle of the desert.
Susan Slusser / San Francisco Chronicle:
A's in no rush after slow winter meetings, despite all their roster needs — LAS VEGAS - The winter meetings often lead right into some major moves for the A's, who tend to be at their most active at the end of baseball's annual confab or in the following days. — Not this time around.
Discussion:
San Francisco Chronicle
Nick Piecoro / Arizona Republic:
All quiet as Arizona Diamondbacks return home after winter meetings — LAS VEGAS - The Diamondbacks departed here on Thursday morning having accomplished little more than they had when they arrived four days earlier. — For them, the winter meetings were far more active beneath the surface than they appeared from the outside.
