The Major League Baseball winter meetings saw a huge number of moves, with several teams making significant upgrades to their line ups. While a few teams have stayed put, this was considered the most active winter meeting in years.
The New York Mets have looked to stay put for now, feeling their young pitching will continue to develop. The Mets did add veteran outfielder Michael Cuddyer in hopes to bring more consistency to the middle of the lineup. The Mets are in desperate need of a shortstop, and will continue to shop for one before pitchers and catchers report in February. Rumors have circled around the Mets trying to obtain Troy Tulowitzki from Colorado.
On the other hand, the New York Yankees acquired Derek Jeter’s successor in three-team trade.
The San Diego Padres were big movers making trades for Will Myers, Matt Kemp and Justin Upton, thus improving their starting outfield ten-fold. They also added catcher Derek Norris and starting pitcher Brandon Morrow to the mix.
The Kansas City Royals, coming off a dramatic World Series loss to the San Francisco Giants, re-tooled by adding pop to their batting order with Kendrys Morales and Alex Rios. They also brought in starting pitcher Edison Volquez to replace the soon-to-be-departed James Shields.
The Boston Red Sox have vastly improved their team by starting aggressively in the free agent market. The left side of the infield will be solid for years to come with the additions of Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. In addition to those moves, the starting rotation was shored up by adding Rick Porcello, Wade Miley and Justin Masterson. The Red Sox were one of the big winners at the winter meetings this year.
The Chicago Cubs have been struggling for the last several seasons, but they decided to make some moves in hopes to get back into the playoffs. Starting pitchers Jon Lester and Jason Hammel have improved the rotation while catcher Miguel Montero will add needed offense while handling this newly upgraded staff.
The Chicago White Sox decided to upgrade their pitching by adding Jeff Samardzija, Zach Duke and David Robertson. They’ve also added Melky Cabrera and Adam La Roche to the lineup.
The Detroit Tigers added Yoenis Cespedes to their batting order as part of the Red Sox trade for Rick Porcello.
The Miami Marlins made huge strides forward by not only re-signing Giancarlo Stanton, but by adding Dee Gordon in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The young Marlins also added veterans Michael Morse and Martin Prado to add on-field leadership. The starting rotation has also improved with the additions of Matt Latos and David Phelps. Look for the Marlins to move Dan Haren, who they received from the Dodgers and has expressed no interest in pitching for the Marlins.
The Seattle Mariners added MVP candidate and big hitter Nelson Cruz to their line up as Baltmore was unable to re-sign the veteran slugger.
While there were many moves in the winter, teams will still be looking to make moves in this New Year. The Braves want more pitching. The Orioles are in desperate need of an outfielder, while the Mets and Yankees want shortstops. Watch closely as pitchers and catchers report in mid-February and teams will want to be as close to complete by then.