SPORTS ILLUSTRATED8
(^12)
BY CONNOR
GROSSMAN
DOLLAR DAYS
It was good to be a top free agent at
the winter meetings this year. It was
even better to be an agent. Scott Boras
agreed to nearly $1 billion worth of
deals for his clients at MLB’s annual
gathering: $324 million over nine
years for Yankees starter Gerrit Cole
and a pair of $245 million contracts
over seven years for Nationals pitcher
Stephen Strasburg and Angels third
baseman Anthony Rendon. Boras
joined the four-comma club after lefties
Dallas Keuchel and Hyun-Jin Ryu, and
infielder Mike Moustakas signed for a
combined $199.5 million in December
- All of this is to say that Boras’s
successful winter was MLB’s success-
ful winter, with clubs up and down
the standings (Yankees, Reds, Blue
Jays) spending hundreds of millions
to improve their rosters.
TRADE BLUSTER
Before the Red Sox dumped out-
fielder Mookie Betts and starter
David Price on the Dodgers, this
winter felt like it would be known
for the trades that didn’t happen.
Betts included, superstars around
the game were heavily rumored to be
on the move. Rockies third baseman
Nolan Arenado was rumored to want
out because of the front office’s inac-
tion just 11 months after he signed an
eight-year, $260 million extension.
The Cubs and Indians each dangled
franchise cornerstones in trade talks,
with third baseman Kris Bryant and
shortstop Francisco Lindor both re-
portedly available before they hit free
agency after the ’21 season. If it wasn’t
already clear, the distinction of being a
one-team player appears increasingly
unimportant for the players and clubs.FIVE THINGS TO
KNOW HEADING INTO
THE SEASON
MINUTE GUI DE
AFTER AN OFFSEASON FEATURING SHOPPING SPREES,
BLOCKBUSTER DEALS THAT DID (AND DIDN’T) HAPPEN AND
ALMOST EVERYONE TALKING SMACK ABOUT THE ASTROS,
HERE’S OUR LOOK AHEAD TO THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE 2 02 0S