While everyone was getting excited over the NBA, NFL and college football seasons, Major League Baseball had another great offseason. Major names were moved around, both in trades and free agent acquisitions.
During the winter months, there were four surprising trades that were the biggest moves of the offseason. First, the Red Sox picked up Craig Kimbrel from the Padres for four minor leaguers, as Kimbrel goes to his third team in under a year. The Yankees traded for the heir apparent to Derek Jeter, acquiring Starlin Castro from the Cubs. That same day, Shelby Miller was shipped to the Diamondbacks for a package that included Dansby Swanson, the first overall pick in last year’s draft. Finally, the Yankees made another huge trade, trading for Aroldis Chapman and strengthening an already scary bullpen.
Trades weren’t the only big news this offseason, as there were several free agent acquisitions as well. The Red Sox paid the biggest individual price of the offseason, signing David Price in a seven-year deal worth $217 million. The Detroit Tigers also shelled out a lot of free agent money, signing Justin Upton and Jordan Zimmermann to deals worth a combined $242 million. Other big arms that left their former teams were Johnny Cueto (to the Giants for $130 million) and Zach Greinke (to the Diamondbacks for $206.5 million).
The biggest position player to leave was Jason Heyward, signing an eight-year, $184 million deal with the Chicago Cubs. Finally, several players resigned from their former teams, including Yoenis Cespedes, Chris Davis and Alex Gordon.
The MLB offseason was as busy as ever, with several huge trades and free agent pickups. These deals are sure to drastically change the outlook of the national pastime, for next year and beyond.
