By: Kelly Byrnes
The Hot Stove season is upon us again and here is my annual attempt at guessing where a handful of these guys will end up. For a lot of baseball fans the Hot Stove season gives us a chance to dream about the upcoming season and to forgot about the past season’s failures. I enjoy doing these predictions as much as I enjoy reading them. The Hot Stove season has become a bit of a snooze fest the last couple years. Most big FA waiting until February or March to sign with teams. Even last year two players didn’t sign with new teams until June. Lets hope this is not the case this year. Let the Hot Stove predictions begin…..
Stephen Strasburg (Nationals)
Strasburg opted out of the final four years and $100 million of his deal with the Nationals. He’s from San Diego went to college at San Diego State so many people believe he could end up there and the Padres would love to have the current World Series MVP on their roster. I just don’t see it happening though. He returns to Washington and only opted out to get a couple more years on his contract.
Zack Wheeler (Phillies)
Wheeler will have a robust market this off-season. Nationals could be in play if they lose Strasburg. Phillies, Twins and Brewers are a few other teams that are in need of starting pitching. I give the edge to the Phillies. They still have a pretty stout offense but need starting pitching bad.
Josh Donaldson (Rangers)
Last year Donaldson signed a 1-year deal to reestablish his worth and it paid off big time for him. He had his first healthy season since 2016 and returned to his MVP like self. The Rangers struggled badly at third base last year, their first year without Adrian Beltre at the hot corner. Donaldson would plug that hole beautifully and would likely only take a three-year contract to get him.
Madison Bumgarner (Braves)
Automatically I’m taking out all the AL teams. Bumgarner likes hitting way too much to sign with an AL team. Braves needs a veteran leader to lead all their young arms and we all know how great Bumgarner is in the postseason.
Nicholas Castellanos (Giants)
Castellanos had an unbelievable finally two months of the season when he got traded at the deadline from the Tigers to the Cubs. The Cubs could try to keep him, he had a .646 SLG in 51 games for them but I don’t see them spending big in the off-season. The Giants have a need for a power hitting OF and Castellanos fits that bill perfectly.
Marcell Ozuna (White Sox)
Ozuna is going to have the same market as Castellanos. After an All-Star season with the Marlins in 2017 he was traded to the Cardinals and has kind of struggled the last two seasons. Could be a slight chance that he returns to Miami, but I don’t see that happening. Imagine him in a White Sox uniform in a lineup with Moncada, Anderson and Jimenez, that could work.
Yasiel Puig (Marlins)
I don’t expect any big market teams to be making a run at Puig. I see Puig signing with a small market team on a short contract. When he was with the Dodgers there were several trade rumors involving him and the Marlins. I say the Marlins finally catch their big fish and land Puig.
Will Smith (Dodgers)
For years the Dodgers have needed to boost their bullpen. Last year they signed RHP Joe Kelly and this year I believe they make a run at LHP Smith. He’ll be insurance if Jansen struggles at all in 2020 and for selfish reasons, I want to see the Dodgers young catcher Will Smith catch the veteran pitcher. Imagine the fun the Dodgers PR team could have with that.