Carlos Correa signs 13-year deal (!) with San Francisco Giants

Carlos Correa

The San Francisco Giants swung and missed in their attempt to sign Aaron Judge, who was the biggest free agent on the market this offseason.

Give the Giants credit. They dusted themselves off and took a big swing at the second-biggest free agent available. This time, they converted, reeling in All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa with a 13-year, $350 million contract.

Thirteen years!

Correa is 28 years old, a superstar in the prime of his career. I don't doubt for one second that Correa is going to be tremendously productive during the front half of that contract. The back half? We'll see. The deal takes him through his age-40 season. He might not be so good by then, but if the Giants win the World Series while Correa is still an elite player, I'm sure they can live with it.

The thing about Correa is, he was a free agent last offseason, too. He signed with the Minnesota Twins for three years, $105 million -- with an opt out after each season. After one season with Minnesota, he opted out and bet on himself. Now, he's cashed in big.

I've heard that Correa was looking for a 10-year deal last year. The Cubs were among the teams interested, but ultimately, nobody was willing to give him that length of contract. Had a team offered him that, they'd probably have Correa under contract for nine more years at this point.

Instead, he went back on the open market and got himself 13 years, after two other prominent shortstops signed for 11 years -- Trea Turner in Philadelphia and Xander Bogaerts in San Diego.

It just goes to show that the price for these elite players only tends to go up. Some of these teams that are waiting for the price to come down to levels they are "comfortable" with, that's just a failing strategy.

Now, Dansby Swanson is the top remaining shortstop on the market. He's a good player, but he's not a franchise changer like Correa or Turner.

However, I won't be surprised if some team gives Swanson the contract that Correa should have gotten last season.

Winter Meetings Day 3: Some thoughts on the signings

Aaron Judge

Some thoughts on the signings that occurred on the third and final day of the Winter Meetings:

Aaron Judge, N.Y. Yankees, nine years, $360 million. The reigning American League MVP chose to stay in New York, turning down offers from San Diego and San Francisco, according to reports. I saw one report that said the Padres were willing to go 10 years, $400 million, but ultimately, Judge wanted to remain a Yankee. He did carry New York to the ALCS last season. It's worth noting that Judge turns 31 years old in April. I'm sure he's got some high-level baseball left in him, but nine years? The back end of that deal is likely to be ugly, so Judge needs to help deliver at least one World Series to New York in the next four or five years. Otherwise, he could be subject to boos as a struggling, overpaid 38-year-old seven years from now. If he's a World Series champ, he'll get diplomatic immunity from the Yankees fans.

Willson Contreras, St. Louis, five years, $87.5 million. Remember the Cubs' last home game before the trade deadline? There were hugs and tears as it was presumed the veteran catcher would be traded. He was not traded. He finished the year in Chicago, and during the last home game of the season at Wrigley Field, there was yet another round of emotional, over-the-top, syrupy Cubbie goo as the faithful said goodbye to a longtime favorite. I'm guessing Contreras will get a very different reception next time he visits Wrigley, now that he'll be wearing a St. Louis Cardinals uniform. Contreras replaces Yadier Molina, who finally retired at the end of the 2022 season. This was a necessary move to fill a need by the Cardinals.

Kenley Jansen, Boston, two years, $32 million. This move created a ripple for White Sox fans, because there has been a lot of speculation that Liam Hendriks is a candidate to be traded. Now that Jansen -- an experienced, accomplished closer -- is off the free agent market, the thought is that other teams looking for a closer might be calling the Sox to ask about Hendriks. If the Sox move the veteran right-hander, his 2024 option automatically vests, and the acquiring team would owe him $29 million over the next two seasons. That's actually pretty good value in this market, so the Sox should be able to get a good return, should they be willing to part with Hendriks. The question is, if the Sox are serious about winning in 2023, why would they trade their closer? Perhaps they would fill a hole on their roster with such a trade, but they'd also be creating a hole. Can you tell I'm not on the Reynaldo Lopez for closer bandwagon?

Jose Quintana, N.Y. Mets, two years, $26 million. Good for Quintana. I've always been a fan. The veteran lefty had two seasons of injury struggles in 2020 and 2021, but he bounced back to post a 2.93 ERA in 165.2 combined innings with the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals last season. That earns him one more decent payday entering his age-34 season. I'll be interested to see who ends up providing the greater value: Quintana with the Mets or Mike Clevinger with the White Sox? 

Jameson Taillon, Cubs, four years, $68 million. I remember when only pitchers at the top of the market received contracts such as this. Now, it's the going rate for a mid-rotation starter. If you can make 30 starts and post an ERA around 4.00, you can get yourself $16 million or $17 million a season. Taillon went 14-5 with a 3.91 ERA last season with the Yankees. That was a nice year for him, and now he's cashing in. The Cubs needed to add at least one starting pitcher this offseason, so there's the fit.

Pete Alonso, Yordan Alvarez win Rookie of the Year awards

Pete Alonso

There wasn't much drama in this year's Rookie of the Year awards, was there?

Pete Alonso of the New York Mets collected 29 of the 30 first-place votes to win the National League honor, while Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros was a unanimous choice in the American League.

Alonso set a MLB rookie record with 53 home runs and batted .260/.358/.583 with 120 RBIs in 161 games. The previous record for rookie homers was set only two seasons ago, when Aaron Judge hit 52 in 2017.

Atlanta pitcher Mike Soroka got the other NL first-place vote and finished second, as he went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 29 starts for the NL East champion Braves. San Diego shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. placed third in the balloting, despite playing only 84 games.

Tatis Jr. batted .317/.379/.590 with 22 home runs, 53 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in those 84 games, and he plays a premiere defensive position. If he had stayed healthy for a full season, it might have been a tight race between him and Alonso.

However, Alonso is the deserving winner because he produced at a high level and appeared in every Mets game but one.

In the American League, Alvarez also did not play a full season. He was not called up until June 9 and appeared in only 87 games. But, he batted .313/.412/.655 with 27 home runs and 78 RBIs while playing for the AL champion Astros. That's outstanding production in a pennant race, and it's impossible to argue with this selection.

Baltimore pitcher John Means finished second in the voting, going 12-11 with a 3.60 ERA in 31 games (27 starts). Given that the Orioles went 54-108, it is not too shabby for a rookie to finish over .500.

Tampa Bay's Brandon Lowe placed third after batting .270/.336/.514 with 17 home runs in 82 games. Lowe got injured and only played six games after the All-Star break, which essentially killed his candidacy for the award.

Actually, I'm a little surprised the Sox's Eloy Jimenez finished fourth and behind Lowe. Jimenez had an uneven season, but he did finish with 31 home runs and 79 RBIs in 122 games. I would have thought that would be enough for a top-three finish in a weak rookie crop, but the voters decided otherwise.

Regardless, none of these AL rookies played as well as Alvarez, and really, if you don't have a case for first (Jimenez doesn't), it probably isn't worth too much discussion.

Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees win wild-card games -- some thoughts

Tony Wolters

The wild-card round is complete in the Major League Baseball playoffs. One game was interesting, and one was not.

The Colorado Rockies beat the Cubs, 2-1, in 13 innings Tuesday in a captivating National League game, while the New York Yankees on Wednesday coasted to a 7-2 win over the Oakland Athletics in American League action.

The most remarkable part of these results? As recently as Saturday morning, the Cubs were in first place by themselves in the NL Central and had the best record in the league. Of all the NL contenders, they probably had as good a chance as any team of being the league's representative in the World Series.

By Tuesday night, their season was over after a stunning offensive collapse. The Milwaukee Brewers caught the Cubs on the second-to-last day of the season and forced a Game 163 on Monday to determine the NL Central champion. The Brewers came into Wrigley Field and won that game, 3-1, to relegate the Cubs to the wild-card round.

Against the Rockies, the vaunted Cubs offense continued to sputter, and Colorado finally put the North Siders out of their misery when Tony Wolters (of all people) delivered a two-out RBI single in the top of the 13th inning to put Colorado ahead to stay.

The Cubs failed to put a ball in play in the bottom of the 13th inning, as Terrance Gore, Javier Baez and Albert Almora all struck out against Colorado reliever Scott Oberg.

Cubs fans will point out that they made the playoffs for the fourth season in a row, which is true, and any playoff season can't truly be characterized as a failure. But, relative to expectations, this season is a big disappointment for the Cubs. They had made the NLCS three years in a row; there has been plenty of "dynasty" talk in Chicago over the past five years, and I feel pretty comfortable saying at this point that the Cubs are not a dynasty. There really aren't dynasties in baseball anymore -- with the extra layers of playoffs, it's just too hard to win.

In fact, this season reminded me of many Cubs team from before 2015, such as this one, this one, this one, this one and this one -- clubs that made fans believe they were on their way to a championship, only to implode in a spectacular manner.

The New York Yankees, meanwhile, had no such trouble. It took them two batters Wednesday night to score as many runs as the Cubs did Monday and Tuesday combined.

Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer of Liam Hendriks in the bottom of the first inning to put the Yankees up, 2-0, and they were on their way.

Oakland tried an outside-the-box strategy, using Hendriks and other relievers to pitch a do-or-die game. Obviously, it didn't work. It wasn't Lou Trivino's fault. He was the second Oakland reliever to take the mound, and he tossed three shutout innings to keep his club in the game.

However, the Yankees scored four runs in the sixth to increase their lead to 6-0 against Fernando Rodney and Blake Treinen. Rodney only needed four pitches to give up a run, and he did not retire a batter.

For me, that's the problem with bullpen days and using an "opener" as your starting pitcher. If you use enough relievers, to me, you're eventually going to put a guy out there who doesn't have his good stuff that day, and that's when the game is going to go off the rails.

I understand the thought process: The A's wanted to give the loaded New York lineup different looks, and never let any of the Yankees hitters face the same pitcher twice. But, if the plan is to use six or seven pitchers to get through nine innings, my feeling is one of those six or seven guys is not going to be up to the task.

In this case, Hendriks, Rodney and Treinen all struggled, and now a 97-win season in Oakland has gone for naught.

New York Yankees win offseason with acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton

Giancarlo Stanton

The first day of the winter meetings Monday was described as "quiet" -- except, of course, for the reigning National League MVP getting traded.

The New York Yankees acquired outfielder Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins in exchange for second baseman Starlin Castro and two prospects, right-handed pitcher Jorge Guzman and infielder Jose Devers.

Stanton hit 59 home runs for the Marlins in 2017, and he's going from a pitchers' park in Miami to a hitters' paradise at Yankee Stadium. He joins a lineup that already features Aaron Judge, who hit 52 homers last season, and Gary Sanchez, who hit 33 home runs last season.

Yeah, that's some formidable right-handed power there, and you can expect the pundits to tab New York as the favorite to win the American League East in 2018, if not the favorite to win the World Series.

There's no question the Yankees just won the offseason in this trade. There is no possible acquisition that any other team can make that would be bigger than acquiring a league MVP who is coming off a 59-homer season.

But let me tap the brakes on any effort to crown the Yankees now. Remember, the Boston Red Sox won the offseason a year ago at this time with the acquisition of left-handed ace Chris Sale. And although Sale did win 17 games for Boston, and although the Red Sox did win the AL East, they were eliminated from the postseason in the first round by the eventual world champion Houston Astros.

One big, splashy offseason move does not guarantee a championship the following season by any means. There still are questions with the Yankees. Do we think Aaron Boone is going to win a World Series in his first year as a major league manager? I'm not a fan of Joe Girardi, and I don't care that the Yankees let him go, but I'm not convinced Boone is an upgrade.

Will Stanton stay healthy? He was healthy in 2017, all right, but that was only the second time in the past five years that he's appeared in 120 or more games. And will he be as effective if he's asked to DH more frequently? It wouldn't be the first time we've seen an accomplished NL slugger struggle to adjust to a new role.

The other thing I wonder about the Yankees: Can they win a title with Sanchez behind the plate? For all his offensive skill, Sanchez is brutal at one of the most important defensive positions on the field -- if not the most important. I think it's hard to win a world championship with a poor defensive catcher, and Sanchez is that. He had a league-high 16 passed balls last year, to go along with 13 errors. That's terrible.

The Yankees are concerned about Sanchez, too, and I think that's one reason they hired former major league catcher Josh Bard to be Boone's bench coach.

It remains to be seen what this Stanton move will mean, if anything, for the Red Sox. Will they make a big move before these winter meetings are over? 'Tis the season to stay tuned to the MLB Network ...

Former White Sox relievers among Yankees heroes in AL wild card game

David Robertson

Tuesday's American League wild card game was not decided by starting pitchers.

Both Luis Severino of the New York Yankees and Ervin Santana of the Minnesota Twins were terrible.

Severino lasted 29 pitches. He recorded only one out in the top of the first inning and left the mound with his team trailing 3-0 and runners on second and third. Santana wasn't much better for Minnesota, allowing four earned runs over only two innings.

Nope, this one was decided by the bullpens, and New York's relief corps came through with 8.2 innings of one-run ball in an 8-4 Yankees victory.

Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge homered for New York, but two of the players who had the biggest say in the outcome of this game were two relievers the Yankees acquired from the White Sox in July -- David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle.

The two right-handers combined for 5.2 innings of scoreless ball and six strikeouts. Robertson entered in an unfamiliar role -- he came on in the third inning with the Yankees leading 4-3. The Twins had the bases loaded with one out. Robertson allowed only one of the inherited runners to score -- when Byron Buxton narrowly beat out a potential inning-ending double play ball.

The former Sox closer then held the Twins at bay until there were two outs in the sixth inning, during which time the Yankees built a 7-4 lead against the Minnesota bullpen.

Kahnle then came in and retired all seven of the Twins hitters he faced to get New York through eight innings with a lead. Aroldis Chapman struck out the side in the ninth, and the Yankees are in the ALDS to face the Cleveland Indians.

Robertson picked up the win, and the 3.1 innings pitched is a new career high for him. He has been a terrific midseason acquisition for the Yankees. In 30 regular-season games, he pitched 35 innings, struck out 51 batters and went 5-0 with a 1.03 ERA and 0.743 WHIP. He did not allow a run in 15 September innings, and carried over his lights-out pitching into the wild card game.

The July trade with the Sox has paid immediate dividends for the Yankees. If not for Robertson and Kahnle, perhaps their season would be over today.

We can only hope that the prospects the Sox got from New York in that trade -- outfielders Blake Rutherford and Tito Polo and pitcher Ian Clarkin -- can one day come through in the clutch in a future big game on the South Side of Chicago.

White Sox likely to have more representation in Futures Game than All-Star Game

Yoan Moncada

White Sox fans will have a reason to watch this year's Futures Game. The rosters were announced Thursday for the annual midsummer showcase, and three Sox prospects made the list: second baseman Yoan Moncada, pitcher Michael Kopech and catcher Zack Collins.

It appears likely the Sox will have more representation in the Futures Game than they will in the All-Star Game itself, with right fielder Avisail Garcia and first baseman Jose Abreu the only two legitimate All-Star candidates on the big-league roster.

Moncada will play for the World team, and will try to defend the MVP honor he won in the Futures Game last season when he still was a member of the Boston Red Sox organization.

This season, Moncada has hit .281/.381/.454 with 10 home runs, 29 RBIs and 15 stolen bases for Triple-A Charlotte. He spent some time on the disabled list with a thumb injury about a month ago, and struggled when he first returned, but he's had a solid season overall and has lived up to the billing as the Sox's No. 1-ranked prospect.

Kopech, the fireballing right-hander who was acquired along with Moncada in the Chris Sale trade, is 4-5 with a 3.72 ERA in 15 starts at Double-A Birmingham. Kopech has demonstrated that he has the raw ability to be an elite pitcher -- he's fanned 97 hitters and allowed only 51 hits in 75 innings for the Barons. However, his control remains a work in progress. He's walked 49, and that's what has prevented him from earning a promotion to Charlotte, despite being selected to the Double-A All-Star Game, and now, Team USA in the Futures Game.

Collins also is on the Team USA roster, and his selection is a little more of a surprise. He's a had a rough season at Class-A Winston-Salem, although he has 10 home runs and leads the league with 56 walks. But his.206/.362/.399 slash line qualifies as a disappointment, and so do the 82 strikeouts in 233 at-bats. However, they say catching is the fastest path to the big leagues, and perhaps there aren't many good catching prospects out there. This is Collins' first full year in pro ball, so there's plenty of time for him to get his career on right track.

Sox salvage split with Yankees

Thanks to the rainy conditions here in Chicago, Thursday night's game didn't end until after 1 a.m. local time, but it ended happily, with the Sox picking up a 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees.

I've been critical of James Shields (2-1), so let's give credit to him for a respectable outing. He fired 6.1 innings of three-run ball and left the mound with the 4-3 lead intact. The big hit of the game came from Willy Garcia, whose two-out, two-run double in the fourth inning put the Sox ahead for good at 4-2.

The Sox bullpen combined to throw 2.2 innings of shutout ball. Closer David Robertson earned his 12th save, striking out New York slugger Aaron Judge with a man on base for the final out.

It's been a tough homestand so far, even with Thursday's win. The Sox are 2-5 with three games to come this weekend against the Texas Rangers.