Top News:
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
Manny Machado gets formal offer from White Sox; talks heat up with Bryce Harper — Maybe, just maybe, Bryce Harper won't get a dime more than the contract he turned down three-and-a-half months ago from the Washington Nationals. — Perhaps that $300 million won't be deposited into Manny Machado's bank account, either.
Discussion:
New York Post, The Loop Sports and Phillies Nation
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Bradford Doolittle / ESPN:
MLB stock watch: Midwinter winners and losers — The Christmas holiday marks the midpoint of the baseball offseason. In fact, given an initial spring training reporting date of Feb. 13 for pitchers and catchers, the recent Dec. 25 respite neatly splits the hot stove season perfectly in two.
Rob Bradford / WEEI:
Dissecting the Craig Kimbrel market — A year ago the Red Sox perfectly read the J.D. Martinez market and ended up with a world championship for their efforts. — Are they primed for another success story this time around? For a second straight offseason, the Sox are seemingly mastering the art of the waiting game.
Discussion:
Baseball My Life, MLB Trade Rumors and ESPN
Jeff PassanESPN / ESPN:
Steady reliever David Robertson signs two-year deal with Phillies — Free-agent reliever David Robertson has signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies that includes a third-year club option, the team announced Thursday. — Robertson will make $10 million in 2019 and $11 million in 2020, a source told ESPN.
Discussion:
Phillies Nation
Wallace Matthews / New York Daily News:
Zach Britton is now the Yankees' focus with David Robertson gone and Adam Ottavino all but out of contention — Thursday was a great day for David Robertson. The 33-year-old reliever scored himself a two-year, $23 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Barry Petchesky / Deadspin:
It's Time For Some Bryce Harper Game Theory
Discussion:
New York Post, New Jersey Online, Sporting News, NBCSports.com and Halos Heaven
Ken Rosenthal / The Athletic:
Tulo's determination to stay at short; making sense of the Mariners' plan; the Marlins need to act; more notes — Troy Tulowitzki has bet on himself as a shortstop before — did it in the 2005 draft, in fact. — More than 13 years later, Tulowitzki is taking a different kind of gamble …
Discussion:
Brew Crew Ball, Bleacher Nation, New York Post, Let's Go Tribe and MLB Trade Rumors
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Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Phillies Sign David Robertson — 7:00pm: Robertson's deal does contain a range of incentives, per Jon Heyman of Fancred. The 33-year-old will be awarded $50K each for an All-Star appearance, Gold Glove award, or League Championship Series MVP award, and $100K if he's awarded MVP …
Discussion:
WEEI, NBCSports.com, Over the Monster, Lone Star Ball and CBS Boston
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Jeff Sullivan / FanGraphs Baseball:
David Robertson Is the Phillies' New Right-Handed Lefty Reliever
Discussion:
Bleacher Nation, The Good Phight, Crossing Broad and baseballmusings.com
Jesse Rogers / ESPN:
Do Cubs have enough to keep up in baseball's toughest division? — CHICAGO — Search “Cubs” in any social media platform these days, and you're not going to find the same vibe that existed after the 2016 World Series. A team coming off a disappointing finish — combined with a quiet winter so far …
Discussion:
Viva El Birdos
Sam McDowell / Kansas City Star:
The Royals turned to college pitchers in the draft. Here's the plan for them in 2019 — Dayton Moore sat inside a Las Vegas suite last month and conversed about the topic consuming the bulk of his time these days — the long-term future of the Royals. He expanded upon his reluctance …
Discussion:
Royals Review
Matthew Florjancic / WKYC-TV:
Report: Indians focused on ‘cheap roster fillers’ more than blockbuster deals — One rival executive believes the Cleveland Indians are focused on “cheap roster fillers” more than blockbuster deals involving starting pitchers Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer. — CLEVELAND — The Cleveland …
