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
RELATED:
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 and MLB Trade Rumors
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.
Jeff PassanESPN / ESPN:
Steady reliever David Robertson signs two-year deal with Phillies
Discussion:
Phillies Nation
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
Anthony Rieber / Newsday:
Terry Francona has high praise for Mets manager Mickey Callaway — When the Mets hired Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway to be their manager, his former boss, Terry Francona, said Callaway was a “star” in the making. — Although Callaway's team went 77-85 and finished fourth …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Mets sign Arquimedes Caminero, Rymer Liriano to minor league deals — NEW YORK — The Mets have signed reliever Arquimedes Caminero and outfielder Rymer Liriano to minor league contracts, adding depth in two areas where New York appeared thin. — The team announced the moves Thursday …
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, Lone Star Ball, CBS Boston and Bleacher Nation
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Jeff Sullivan / FanGraphs Baseball:
David Robertson Is the Phillies' New Right-Handed Lefty Reliever
Discussion:
The Good Phight, Crossing Broad, NESN.com and baseballmusings.com
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:
Bleacher Report, Brew Crew Ball, Bleacher Nation, New York Post, Let's Go Tribe and MLB Trade Rumors
RELATED:
Gerry Fraley / Dallas Morning News:
Rockwall-Heath's Jake Thompson, part of deal that brought Cole Hamels to Rangers, heads to Korea — Right-hander Jake Thompson, a vital piece to the deal that brought left-hander Cole Hamels to the Texas Rangers in 2015, has signed a one-year contract with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization.
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:
Bleacher Nation and 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 …
