As you carefully prepare to hang your stockings up the chimney, here are three things to watch out for (besides Santa Claus) on Christmas Eve:
1. The corner infield market is hot:
On Sunday morning, the White Sox reached an agreement on a two-year, $34MM contract with NPB at first base/third base. Munetaka Murakami. Later that day, the Red Sox traded with the Cardinals for their own slugging, first baseman. Wilson Contreras. On Tuesday it was the Pirates who got into the fun, and then they agreed Ryan O’Hearn with a two-year, $29MM guarantee.
In addition to that latest move, cornerbacks have been rumored recently. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported over the weekend that Blue Jays officials had “recent communication” with Scott Boras about his client. Alex Bregman. The star third baseman is the top undrafted free agent corner on MLBTR’s top 50 list. GM Justin Hollander also confirmed his team’s interest in meeting a third player Eugenio Suárezwhile Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that, before the Pirates signed O’Hearn, they had “many face-to-face meetings” with him Kazuma Okamotoanother first-time All-Star pitcher from the NBP.
One also has to wonder if more arena-related trade rumors are on the way. One of the Ryan Mountcastle or Coby Mayo he might be on the trade block now Pete Alonso is ranked first in Baltimore, too Places to stay in Triston Casas may go away after Contreras arrives in Boston. Plus, the fact that the Cardinals have now traded Contreras once Sonny Gray it just seems to do a Nolan Arenado interact more. While any notable trades and signings won’t happen on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, keep an eye out for the next big cornerback deal on the way.
2. DFA decisions coming for Noel and Wiemer:
Today marks a week since the Guardians and Giants DFA’d their outfielders Jonkensy Noel (also known as Big Christmas) and Joey Wiemerrespectively. There has been no news about either player since then, but that should change today. If a player is designated for assignment, his team has seven days to trade him or place him on waivers. If no trade comes together and the player is unclaimed, his team can send him directly to the minor leagues. Neither Noel nor Wiemer have the service time required to decline an outright assignment, so if they make clear waivers, the Rangers and Giants will be able to keep them in their organizations.
3. Shopping for a last minute vacation?
Yesterday featured two official major leaguers and one other news, with Jacob Webb joining the Cubs, Sean Newcomb joining the White Sox, while O’Hearn is said to be agreeing with the Pirates. Today, however, may have been a slow news day around Major League Baseball. Trades and free agent signings are almost as rare on Christmas Eve as they are on Christmas Day. Of course, that doesn’t mean a move isn’t in the realm of possibility. Just last year, the Twins sent a lefty reliever Jovani Morán to the Red Sox for a catcher/utility guy Mickey Gasper on December 24.
Some of the biggest pre-Christmas trades in MLB history include Mark McGwire re-signing with the Athletics in 1992 (five years, $28MM) and Reggie Jackson returning to the Athletics on December 24, 1986 for what would be his final season. Interestingly, the A’s are also one of three teams in the past decade to sign a major league contract with a free agent on Christmas Eve. The Cubs officially signed Drew Smyly in 2022, the Mets agreed and announced a deal with them Dellin Betances in 2019, and the A’s finalized the contract Mike Fiers for the 2018 holiday. Fiers would go on to throw a no-hitter in Oakland the following May.
