NEWS
Aaron Judge was named Time Magazine’s Athlete of the Year.
Pat Hughes has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in broadcasting by the Baseball Hall of Fame. The 2022 season was his 40th year as an MLB announcer and he’s been with the Cubs since 1996.
Today was the Rule 5 Draft and a few notable players were chosen: Nationals took RHP Thad Ward (Red Sox #15 prospect), Reds took OF Blake Sabol (Pirates prospect), Tigers took RHP Mason Englert (Rangers #29 prospect) and Phillies took RHP Noah Song (Red Sox prospect).
TRANSACTIONS
The Cubs have signed RHP Jameson Taillon to a 5 year/$68 million contract.
The Yankees have signed OF Aaron Judge to a 9 year/$360 million contract with a no-trade clause.
The Mets have signed LHP Jose Quintana to a 2 year/$26 million contract.
The Red Sox have signed RHP Kenley Jansen to a 2 year/$32 million contract.
The Mariners signed RHP Casey Sadler to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.
The A’s have signed INF Aledmys Diaz to a 2 year/$14.5 million contract.
The Mets acquired LHP Brooks Raley from the Rays. The Rays will receive minor league LHP Keyshawn Askew.
The Rockies signed INF/OF Cole Tucker to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.
The Cardinals have signed C Willson Contreras to a 5 year/$87.5 million contract.
The Padres signed OF David Dahl to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.
The Red Sox have signed OF Masataka Yoshida to a 5 year/$90 million contract plus a $15.4 posting fee.
The Braves acquired RHP Joe Jimenez and cash from the Tigers. The Tigers will receive OF Justyn-Henry Malloy (Braves #11 prospect) and minor league LHP Jake Higginbotham.
RUMORS
The Cubs have had discussions with 1B Dominic Smith.
The Red Sox are in heavy discussions with SS Xander Bogaerts.
The Pirates have interest in C Tucker Barnhart.
The Twins have made an offer to C Christian Vasquez.
The White Sox have told interested teams they have no plans to trade SS Tim Anderson.
The Dodgers have shown some interest in RHP Seth Lugo.
The Giants have spoken with SS Carlos Correa agents.
The Mets are looking to add one more starting pitcher and they’re talking to RHP Ross Stripling.