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The first day of the MLB winter meetings brought some trades (including the Aroldis Chapman deal that is on hold, possibly due to an alleged domestic violence controversy), a few free-agent signings and plenty of rumors.

Several players changed teams, as Boston dealt starting pitcher Wade Miley to the Mariners while the Red Sox bolstered their bullpen with Carson Smith. Crafty right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma signed a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to try to help fill the void left by stud Zack Greinke, who’s now in Arizona. 

Let’s see what Day 2 of the MLB winter meetings brings us.

Will any star free agents sign deals? Which big names in baseball will be dealt?

Stay right here, as I’ll be constantly updating this page with the latest news, rumors and analysis from the world of baseball.

Day 2 of the MLB Winter Meetings Highlights

Done Deals:

• Diamondbacks officially announce they have signed SP Zack Greinke to a six-year deal.
• Cubs officially announce they have signed SP John Lackey to a two-year deal.
• Tigers officially announce they have signed RP Mark Lowe to a two-year deal. 
• Padres trade Jedd Gyorko and $7.5M to the Cardinals for Jon Jay.
• Rockies sign Jason Motte and Chad Qualls to two-year deals.

Notes and Rumors:

• The Cubs and Yankees are talking about a trade involving infielder Starlin Castro.
• The Giants are interested in defensive-minded outfielders Jason Heyward and Alex Gordon.
• The Dodgers have tried to rope in a third team into their discussions for Marlins ace Jose Fernandez.
• The Indians are considering signing OF Rajai Davis to a one-year deal.
• Japanese starter Kenta Maeda will be posted at a $20M fee.
• The Cubs are out of the running for Braves starter Shelby Miller.
• The Angels are having “ongoing conversations” with OF Justin Upton and have considered signing Jayson Heyward.
• The Tigers are seeking a left-handed reliever (Tony Sipp/Antonio Bastardo?)
• Ben Zobrist has a 4-year, $80 million offer on the table. A decision could come soon.
• Rangers “surveying” others’ interest in Prince Fielder.
• Shelby Miller “could be traded soon.”
• The Orioles are trying to trade for Adam Lind, also look at Mitch Moreland.
• There’s a mystery team making a “very strong” push for Marlins ace Jose Fernandez.
• Johan Santana wants to attempt yet another comeback.
• Cubs talks with Rays have “cooled,” but they’re still working on a SP and Heyward.
• A’s are shopping Brett Lawrie.
• Cliff Lee seeks a one-year deal.
• Reds’ Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier drawing interest.
• Mike Leake market still chirping, with Cardinals and Diamondbacks still in.
• Javier Baez linked in talks with the Rays.
• Adam Lind “as good as gone” from Milwaukee.
• Giants a favorite for Japanese pitcher Kenta Maeda.

Dan Ferrara is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter (@BigRed_BR) for more analysis.

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Mets captain David Wright picked a great time to snap out of his long funk and return to form. Even if it was a brief flash of his former grandeur, Wright’s two-run home run and two-run single helped the Mets creep back into the series with a Game 3 victory and cut the World Series deficit to 2-1.

Though the Mets would eventually win by a 9-3 margin, the final score isn’t indicative of the tense moments in the middle innings and how close the Mets were to letting it all slip away again. Rookie Noah Syndergaard wouldn’t let it happen.

After immediately giving up a run in the top of the first to put the Mets in a hole, David Wright’s two-run homer gave Syndergaard the lead right back. He gave up two runs in a shaky second inning as well, prompting Jon Niese to start warming in the bullpen. From that point on, however, Syndergaard settled in.

With all of the pressure on his broad shoulders, the 23-year-old buckled down and kept the game close enough for the Mets’ bats to erupt. It wasn’t easy, as Syndergaard held on to a 5-3 lead by leaving the bases loaded in the sixth inning—an inning in which the Mets would go on to score four insurance runs.

The Mets will look to keep the good times rolling at Citi Field by sending out rookie stud Steven Matz in Game 4 with the hopes of evening the series. Kansas City will answer with Chris Young, who was terrific in a relief role in the marathon Game 1.

FINAL: Mets 9 – Royals 3

Dan Ferrara is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter (@BigRed_BR) for more analysis.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Game 1 of the World Series between the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets wound up being an instant classic, as it took five hours and 14 innings to find a winner.

The Royals, with their postseason magic on full display, managed to scrape out a 5-4 victory to keep home-field advantage.

You could look at it as the Mets coughing up a game in which they had several leads or the Royals being a gritty team that never dies, but it’s probably a mixture of both. 

The Mets got off to a rough start as Yoenis Cespedes booted a routine fly ball to center field on the first pitch out of Matt Harvey’s hand. His misplay resulted in an inside-the-park home run for Alcides Escobar.

New York recovered, however, taking multiple leads that it later blew.

The Mets led 3-1 in the sixth when a cruising Matt Harvey allowed the Royals to even the score at 3. After Eric Hosmer gift-wrapped the Mets a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning, Jeurys Familia came on to blow his first save since July 30, giving up a game-tying home run to Alex Gordon in the bottom of the ninth. 

It was Hosmer who won the game for the Royals, completing a ridiculous script that couldn’t have even been written by the best authors around the world. Hosmer went from Game 1 scapegoat to World Series hero with a walk-off sacrifice fly.

Although the Mets should be thoroughly disappointed that they hit poorly with men in scoring position, left 17 runners on base and played bad defense with Cespedes’ misplay and a 14th-inning error by David Wright that got Kansas City rolling, they can take solace in the fact that Jacob deGrom, their true ace, will take the hill for Game 2 on Wednesday night.

The Royals will oppose him with the struggling Johnny Cueto as they look to take a 2-0 lead before the series shifts to New York.

Final: Royals 5, Mets 4, 14 innings

Dan Ferrara is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. Find him on Twitter @BigRed_BR for more analysis and insight. 

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After a lifeless opener to start the series, the Toronto Blue Jays will turn to their rented ace, David Price, in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the Kansas City Royals. The Jays badly need a split before returning to the Rogers Centre on Monday night.

The issue, however, is Price has been anything but a lock in the playoffs in his career, as the five-time All-Star and former Cy Young Award winner is 0-6 with a 5.23 ERA as a starter in the postseason. Toronto can’t think of a better time for Price to earn his first postseason victory as a starter, as the Royals have all the momentum playing in front of their home crowd at Kauffman Stadium following their shutout victory in Game 1.

Kansas City is hoping youngster Yordano Ventura can rekindle the magic fellow Dominican Edinson Volquez had on the mound Friday night.

Like Price, however, Ventura carries his own struggles into the afternoon, having given up six earned runs in two subpar postseason starts (seven innings) thus far.

Check back for lineups before first pitch, and make sure to stick with this page once the game gets underway.

Follow Dan Ferrara on Twitter for more analysis throughout the MLB postseason.

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Jake Arrieta was far from perfect Monday night, but the Chicago Cubs managed to slug their way to victory in a pivotal Game 3 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Powered by their young stars, the Cubs blasted six home runs against Michael Wacha and Co. to take a 2-1 lead in the National League Division Series.

Kyle Schwarber, Starlin Castro, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Jorge Soler and Dexter Fowler each hit a homer, and Wacha couldn’t escape the fifth inning. The Cubs became the first team in postseason history to have six different players hit a home run in one game.

The Cardinals got new life with Jason Heyward’s two-run homer in the sixth inning, which trimmed their deficit to 5-4. It was the first time since June 16 that Arrieta gave up four runs in a game, and he entered Monday night having given up only four runs since the start of August. The Cubs, however, re-extended their lead with Soler’s two-run shot in the bottom of the frame and never looked back.

Arrieta picked up his second victory of the postseason, and the Cubs will look to close out the series in Game 4 at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night.

Final: Cubs 8, Cardinals 6

Follow Dan Ferrara on Twitter @BigRed_BR for more postseason coverage. 

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A five-run eighth inning propelled the Kansas City Royals to an improbable 9-6 victory over the Houston Astros.

Everyone in Minute Maid Park was certain that the Astros would be clinching the series and advancing to the ALCS after Carlos Correa and Colby Rasmus blasted back-to-back homers in the bottom of the seventh to give Houston a 6-2 lead. Even Governor Abbott was sure the Astros were going to win. 

The Royals came back to spoil big performances by rookies Lance McCullers and Correa, stringing together five singles to lead off the eighth inning and quieting the crowd in Houston. They destroyed the Astros bullpen, which was charged with seven runs in just 2.2 innings.

The series will now head back to Kansas City and the Astros will have to contend with ace Johnny Cueto on Tuesday night.

The Royals went from having nearly impossible odds of winning Game 4 to being the favorites to win the series. It should come as no surprise, however, since the Royals have been pulling off miracles like this for two seasons now.

FINAL: Royals 9 – 6 

Follow Dan Ferrara on Twitter @BigRed_BR for more postseason analysis.

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