After complaints from agents, players, and fans that Major League Baseball offseasons were slow to develop, the 2019-20 MLB offseason has gone at a much faster pace. The top three free agents in Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg, and Anthony Rendon all came off the board quickly in which they made a combined $814 million. There are marquee free agents available for teams to sign with the likes of Josh Donaldson, Nicholas Castellanos, Marcell Ozuna, and others. Here is what could happen from now until the regular season starts.
Donaldson re-signs with Braves
Donaldson is the best player available on the free-agent market, and because of that, he should be able to net himself a big contract. He had an active bounceback campaign where he slashed .259/.379/.521 with 37 HR, 94 RBIs, and 100 walks while playing exceptional defense, which led him to receive the NL Comeback Player of the Year award. He has been linked to the Nationals, Braves, and Twins, but he will end up re-signing with the Braves on a four-year deal with the money is in the $100 million range which he reportedly has $100 million offers on the table but is holding out for a little more money.
Holt signs with Indians
Brock Holt is the most versatile player in the major leagues, as he has experience playing every position on the diamond except pitcher and catcher.
His versatility is his biggest asset that he can bring to the table for any team, and he can be had at a cheap cost. Holt has spent the past seven years with the Red Sox, but with the Red Sox facing a cap crunch, it doesn't seem like they can afford to bring him back. One team that benefits the most from this is the Indians who aren't big spenders and are always in the hunt for bargains.
Holt signing with the Indians would benefit both sides as Holt can provide the Indians with versatility and solid contact hitting for cheap and the Indians could offer him some protection as they can offer him a multi-year contract, which benefits Holt in case he falters.
Red Sox and Dodgers don't make any big trades
The Red Sox and Dodgers are both big market teams that are seemingly in somewhat different directions.
The Red Sox are looking to shed salary while the Dodgers are looking to add a superstar player after winning seven consecutive division titles but not winning a World Series since 1988. Neither of them will be able to fulfill their wishes for various reasons.
The Red Sox have a bunch of high priced players that have put the team over the luxury tax which has got management and ownership looking to find ways to get under. One option they have explored is trading superstar Mookie Betts who's set to make $27 million in 2020. While any contending team would welcome Betts on their roster, a trade may never come to fruition as teams may not be willing to give up so much prospect capital for Betts as he becomes a free agent at the end of the season and seems set on hitting the open market without even negotiating an extension with the Red Sox or any team he gets traded to.
The Red Sox have also explored trading Jackie Bradley Jr, David Price, and Nathan Eovaldi. However, Bradley Jr is pretty close to an offensive liability and is making $11 million in 2020, Price still has $96 million left on his contract for the next three years, and the Red Sox aren't willing to cover so much of the remaining $96 million, and no one wants Eovaldi and his $51 million for the next three years.
The Dodgers meanwhile have been linked to big players like Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor, Nolan Arenado, and others, but it doesn't seem like they have come close to landing any. They haven't been linked to Betts in a few weeks, and to get Betts, it seems like they also have to take on Price, which they don't seem so keen on doing.
They aren't willing to part with top prospect Gavin Lux for two years of Lindor and talks between the Dodgers and Indians have since gone dead, and the Rockies don't seem willing to deal Arenado within the division. The Dodgers haven't had much luck in the playoffs, and it doesn't seem like they have any luck on the trade market.
Zobrist signs with Angels
If you asked 38-year-old Ben Zobrist a year ago today what his future plans were, he'd probably say that he would be retired today but since he only appeared in 47 games last season, he is apparently strongly considering playing one more season. He dealt with off-field issues that included going through divorce proceedings with his ex-wife.
Zobrist's contract expired with the Cubs after the 2019 season, which made him a free agent.
With the Cubs facing a cap crunch like the Red Sox, re-signing with the Cubs seems highly unlikely, which would force him to seek other teams to play for. The Angels seem like the most logical fit since they hired former Cubs manager Joe Maddon and that the bond between Maddon and Zobrist is very strong. Maddon and Zobrist go way back to when they were together on the Rays, and a big reason why Zobrist signed with the Cubs back in 2016 was because of Maddon, who was the manager of the Cubs at the time. Zobrist would be able to reunite with Maddon in LA and can provide the Angels with a switch-hitting bench option that can back up the oft-injured Justin Upton in left field and can spell Tommy La Stella at the keystone when needed.
Bunch of players sign overseas
When major league free agents are looking for work, and no major league teams are willing to sign them, they go abroad to rejuvenate themselves in hopes that a major league team will sign them in the future. The most popular overseas destination for ex-major leaguers is Japan, but some have signed in South Korea and Mexico. It worked with a few players, most notably Eric Thames and Miles Mikolas, who are both now in the major leagues to stay.
So far this season regarding Major League Baseball and overseas professional baseball, there have been three moves. KBO star Josh Lindblom signed a three-year deal with the Brewers while former all-star Adam Jones signed a two-year deal to play in Japan and former top prospect Matt Moore also signed with a Japanese team.
With teams looking to give playing time to younger players, many former major-league players are going to have to play overseas to continue their careers. Those include Yangervis Solarte, former all-star Carlos Gonzalez, Jon Jay, Lonnie Chisenhall, Wade LeBlanc, and other players that haven't been mentioned.
Granderson signs with Tigers
Last season with the Marlins, Granderson slashed .183/.281/.356 with 40 more strikeouts than hits in 138 games. The 38-year-old's days as a contributor are way way way behind him, and he doesn't provide a team with anything other than veteran leadership. Veteran leadership is what actually could net him a contract as a rebuilding team could use his leadership and mentorship for their younger players.
Enter the Detroit Tigers, which is the team he started his career with.
The Tigers are still in the early stages of their rebuild and won't be contending or winning games anytime soon. The Tigers possess two veterans in pitcher Jordan Zimmerman and first baseman Miguel Cabrera, but their outfield remains young and very inexperienced. They could bring Granderson in to help mentor their young outfielders where he could be a leader for them. He could be brought in at the league minimum, and with his playing caliber going down and age always going up, he could call it a career after this year and be guaranteed a coaching job in the Tigers organization, which he would be fantastic at.