MLB 2019 Offseason Trades, News, and Very Very Early Rankings
It’s the baseball offseason, and everyone is just waiting for the 2019 regular season to start. As all the teams are training and preparing for their first games, trades are underway that could seriously shake up some lineups going into the new season.
All-stars Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are two very hot topics in the world of baseball. The two of them being free agents in the offseason, teams are scrambling to recruit them. Notable deals are coming from the White Sox for Manny Machado. Machado’s previous team, the Los Angeles Dodgers who Machado was signed to last july, has been silent since contract rumors have been floating around. The White Sox offered a seven year contract for $175 million. Machado has not responded to any of these deals at the time of writing this article.
The other superstar that is up for contract is Bryce Harper. His performance in recent years in the major leagues has been astounding. Winning Rookie of the Year in 2012 and being a well round player. Harper is really a talent bringer to any team he would be apart of. Of the teams that could recruit, the Mets and Phillies seem to have Harper at a split. Having turned down to play with the Nationals again after ending the regular season, and squashing out rumors of going for the Cubs, Harper’s most likely options are with the Mets or the Phillies. The Mets want Harper to one-up the other teams in the National League East. Harper also met with the Phillies in Las Vegas, and says that the meeting went great. At this time, no teams have made a concrete offer to Harper.
Other than the offseason deals that are shifting lineups everywhere, the 2019 regular season is starting in just two months. The preseason feelings leading into the regular season that teams have to perform in their first games and start the season off swinging (pun intended) is exhilarating. With all of the constant games and stress of the regular season many players are taking this offseason to workout and release all of the negative energy built up during the season. Many players work hard in the gym in these last few months before the season to get back into shape and ready to play ball.
Recently in baseball news, the Hall of Fame election results are in and the outcome has made history. For the first time ever, a player received one hundred percent of the votes to be inducted in the Hall of Fame. This player is Mariano Rivera, who played for the New York Yankees for his entire baseball career. He was a star pitcher who got his start in baseball in his 20’s and killed it up until the end. Rivera played in 13 all-star games and was the greatest relief pitcher in the game. His time on the field saw him grow into the great player that landed him a perfect 425 votes on the Hall of Fame ballot. Along with Rivera, recently deceased Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay, Seattle Mariners third baseman Edgar Martinez, and Orioles and Yankees righty pitcher Mike Mussina are being inducted into the 2019 class of the baseball Hall of Fame.
Going into this new season, it’s hard to know who will come out on top in the end or throw a major wrench in the projected rankings. So here are my pre-season rankings. Because of their huge success, coming off of the 2018 World Series win, I’m placing the Red Sox lower on this list just because they crushed it last season. Now, the Red Sox could definitely go again twice and make it a double header two years in a row, but I’m playing it safe and calling them fourth overall. Again a safe bet but you never know how these play out until they play out. Starting things off with some wild predictions here I’m placing the Phillies at first. This may be way out there (like way out there) but the Phillies have apparently been chasing both Harper and Machado, who could be the two all-stars they need to clinch a world series title. The odds of this happening are highly unlikely but who doesn’t like to dream of things like this? Next up is the Houston Astros at the number two spot. The Astros have been a fan favorite for a while and they could beat out the Phillies if this make believe trade doesn’t go through. Third is the Yankees because of their high ranking in the postseason. Fourth is of course the Boston Red Sox. The fifth team go into the final ten are the Chicago Cubs. If the cubs can break a streak of losing for over one hundred years, then I believe they can make their way into the bracket enough to make a statement. Coming in at number six in these outrageous predictions are the Padres. Placing last in the NL West or in any division for that matter is demoralizing. Let’s face it we’ve all been in spots were we’ve been dead last and did we quit and give up? We’ll some of us did, but not these guys. The reason that any of these players are in the major leagues is because they never gave up. They took defeat after defeat until one day they started winning. And boy does that feel good. Long story short, I think the Padres are working hard in this offseason to shake off that bad juju that came from last season and are ready to turn over a new leaf. The seventh team is none other than the Dodgers. Coming off a second place defeat at the series and potential trades that could never land I place them this far down. Eighth are the Marlins, who I happen to be a personal fan of and just wanted to sneak them in here because they happen to be the first major league team I saw when I was younger. The last two spots go to the Royals and Diamondbacks as potential wildcards. I hope this was just enough to leave you saying “This guy is crazy! No way this comes true!” But I’m leaving just enough doubt so you think that maybe, just maybe this could be semi accurate.
Leaving this on a positive note, this has been insider news about the current happenings about Major League Baseball. I hope you take some of this to heart and follow the stories I put in here closely, but I won’t be offended if you don’t.
Information and inspiration from https://www.mlb.com
