As you prepare to carefully hang your stockings by the chimney, here are three things to look out for (other than Santa Claus) on Christmas Eve:
1. The corner infield market is heating up:
On Sunday morning, the White Sox agreed to a two-year, $34 million contract with the NPB first baseman/third baseman Munetaka Murakami. Later that day, the Red Sox made a trade with the Cardinals to acquire a slugging corner infielder of their own, a first baseman. Willson Contreras. Then, on Tuesday, it was the Pirates who joined in the fun and came to terms Ryan O’Hearn with a two-year, $29 million warranty.
In addition to these recent moves, corner infielders have been flooding the rumor mill as of late. Ken Rosenthal of athletics reported this weekend that Blue Jays officials have been in “recent contact” with Scott Boras regarding his client Alex Bregman. The third baseman is the top unsigned corner infield free agent on MLBTR’s Top 50 list. Mariners GM Justin Hollander also confirmed his team’s interest in reuniting with the third baseman Eugenio Suarezwhile Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that before the Pirates signed O’Hearn, they had “multiple virtual meetings” with Kazuma Okamotoanother All-Star first baseman/third baseman from NBP.
You also have to wonder if more domestic trading rumors will emerge soon. One of Ryan Mountcastle or Coby Mayo is now likely to be in the trading bloc Pete Alonso is nestled at first base in Baltimore, and Triston Casas could be on its way after Contreras’ arrival in Boston. What’s more, the fact that the Cardinals have now traded Contreras and Son Gray just seems like one Nolan Arenado deal more likely. While there probably won’t be any significant trades and signings on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, keep an eye out for the next big transaction in the field that is sure to happen.
2. DFA resolutions come for Noel and Wiemer:
Today marks a week since the Guardians and Giants had DFA outfielders Jhonkensy Noel (also known as Big Christmas) and Joey Wiemerrespectively. There has been no news on either player since then, but that should change today. When a player is designated for assignment, his team has seven days to trade him or put him on waivers. If a trade doesn’t happen and the player isn’t claimed, his team could send him straight to the minor leagues. Neither Noel nor Wiemer have the necessary service time to turn down an outright assignment, so if they grant clear waivers, the Guardians and Giants will be able to keep them in their organizations.
3. Last minute shopping for the holidays?
Yesterday there were two official Major League signings and news of another Jacob Webb become a member of the Cubs, Sean Newcomb joining the White Sox, and O’Hearn reportedly agreeing to terms with the Pirates. However, today will likely be a slow news day around Major League Baseball. Free agent trades and signings are almost as rare on Christmas Eve as they are on Christmas Day. Of course, that doesn’t mean that a move is out of the question. Last year the Twins sent a left-handed reliever Jovani Moran to the Red Sox in exchange for catcher/utility man Mickey Gasper on December 24.
Some of the biggest Christmas Eve trades in MLB history include Mark McGwire re-signing with the Athletics in 1992 (five years, $28 million) and Reggie Jackson returning to the Athletics on December 24, 1986 for what would be his final season. Funnily enough, the A’s are also one of only three teams in the past decade to sign a major league deal with a free agent on Christmas Eve. The Cubs have officially signed Drew Smyly in 2022, the Mets came to terms and announced a deal Dellin Betances in 2019, and the A’s signed with Mike Fiers during the holidays in 2018. Fiers would throw a no-hitter for Oakland the following May.
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