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Left-handed pitcher Jaime Garcia has spent his entire MLB career with the St. Louis Cardinals, but the Atlanta Braves announced on Thursday they acquired the southpaw in exchange for prospects John Gant, Chris Ellis and Luke Dykstra. 

Mark Saxon of ESPN.com first reported the trade. Gant and Ellis are each right-handed pitchers, while Dykstra is an infielder. 

MLB.com ranked Ellis, Gant and Dykstra as Atlanta’s 17th-, 21st- and 29th-best prospects, respectively, in 2016.

Garcia is the headliner in the trade, though he had mixed results in 2016. On one hand, he appeared in 32 games, which tied for his career high and represented significant strides after an injury-marred stretch. He made 20 starts in 2012, nine in 2013, seven in 2014 and 20 in 2015.

He underwent season-ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome and suffered partial labrum and rotator cuff tears during that span. He also dealt with groin issues in 2015.

While Garcia proved he can handle the rigors of an entire season in 2016, he was nowhere near as effective as he was in 2010 and 2011, when he posted 2.70 and 3.56 ERAs, respectively.

He finished the 2016 campaign with a 4.67 ERA and 1.37 WHIP, which were his highest marks since he made 10 appearances as a rookie in 2008. Home runs were one of the biggest problems for the southpaw, who allowed 26 on a Cardinals team that finished 86-76 and missed out on the playoffs.

However, his strikeout totals increased with more innings of work:

Garcia represents the latest veteran addition for the Braves pitching staff, which has also added 43-year-old Bartolo Colon and 42-year-old R.A. Dickey in the offseason.

At 30 years old, Garcia is younger than those two righties, but injuries have to be a concern as he racks up additional mileage on his arm.

Still, Atlanta needed to make changes to its starting rotation after finishing 28th in the big leagues with a 4.87 ERA. Atlanta has plenty of ground to make up in the National League East after finishing in last place at 68-93, but addressing the woeful starting rotation was an ideal place to start.

Garcia comes with risks, but he also has a track record that includes a handful of notable seasons.

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Japanese star Shohei Otani is bound to be one of the most coveted international stars on the free-agent market. The only question is when the 22-year-old will decide to make the leap to MLB.

Continue for updates.

Latest on Otani, Potential Impact of New CBA

Thursday, Dec. 1

On Wednesday, MLB announced (via Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith) it has tentatively reached an agreement with the players’ union on a new collective bargaining agreement.

Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan noted the new CBA could have a direct impact on foreign stars such as Otani:

Following up, Passan spoke to sources who indicated the CBA could be amended to get Otani and others into the league before they turn 25.

“There are ways it could happen,” an anonymous MLB official said, per Passan. “I don’t think there is any reason if an international superstar wants to play here we stop it.”

The New York Post‘s Joel Sherman talked to another person involved in the CBA discussion who echoed a similar sentiment: “When the interests of all five parties [the player, Nippon Professional Baseball, MLB, the MLB club and MLBPA] are aligned, things get worked out.”

In 21 games for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Otani went 10-4 with a 1.86 ERA this season. He averaged 11.2 strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings, according to Baseball-Reference.com. Otani also had 22 home runs and 67 RBI along with a .322/.416/.588 slash line in 382 plate appearances.

Some MLB players got a firsthand look at Otani during the 2014 MLB Japan All-Star Series, which featured MLB and NPB stars.

Altering the CBA rules to incentivize Otani’s stateside arrival before his age-25 season makes sense. By arriving in MLB at an earlier age, he’d have an additional year or two to adjust to playing in a new country before entering the prime of his playing career.

An athlete has a small window of peak earning power, so it also doesn’t make sense to financially handicap top international talent.

Otani’s inevitable free agency will be a good test of the new CBA’s flexibility.

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The MLB regular season is long over and the Arizona Fall League recently wrapped up, but there’s still baseball being played in the Caribbean as a number of prospects and fringe veterans are working hard in the various winter leagues.

The Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Mexico all play host to competitive winter leagues, with the winners from those four leagues and the Cuban national team converging for the annual Caribbean Series at the beginning of February.

These winter leagues have been going strong since late October, so let’s check in on how some of the league’s top prospects are faring in 2016 winter ball.

We’ve broken things down by position, highlighting the top two or three guys based not only on production in winter ball but on their current prospect standings.

Note: All prospect rankings courtesy of MLB.com’s Prospect Watch.

Begin Slideshow

Labor peace has returned to baseball, ending the veiled threats of lockouts and boycotts of the winter meetings, which are set to begin next week. That’s good news.

It’s even better news—and a stone-cold fact—that sanity has returned to MLB‘s All-Star Game, which will no longer have any World Series implications associated with it. That alone makes the new collective bargaining agreement a rousing success.

As Bleacher Report’s Jacob Shafer wrote Wednesday, the offseason should really start to get interesting now. 

Has the return of a team’s adopted prodigal son forced one of his teammates out the door? Will a fringe contender look to unload an All-Star talent? Is the face of one of baseball’s oldest franchises about to change for the first time in nearly a decade?

Begin Slideshow

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, and the free-agent market is less than delightful…

1. Let It Snow Trade Rumors

Yes, free agent Yoenis Cespedes re-signed with the Mets this week, which means Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista may not be far behind, and doesn’t that get your blood pressure pumping.

No?

As the industry descends upon Washington, D.C., for the winter meetings beginning Monday (well, really, they begin in the hotel bar and lobby Sunday night), this year’s featherweight free-agent class is putting a drag on things. But maybe not everything.

The Detroit Tigers have hinted at rebuilding, and rivals see a potential trade opening with Justin Verlander. The Chicago White Sox talked seriously last summer with the Boston Red Sox about lefty ace Chris Sale and are expected to continue investigating what kind of package he could bring. Tampa Bay is stocked with pitching but has little offense, and even Chris Archer does not appear to be an untouchable as the Rays look to balance their team.

So here’s where the winter meetings could get interesting. Which starting pitchers could get traded? Which ones will get traded?

Even as runs and hits have dwindled in recent years and everybody is looking for a middle-of-the-order bat, pitching remains the heartbeat of the game. Unlike last year, there is no David Price or Zack Greinke on the free-agent market. Two years ago, Jon Lester was out there. The Chicago Cubs narrowly beat the Red Sox and San Francisco Giants to the finish line, and look where that helped lead Wrigleyville.

Look at the top, say, 10 free agents this winter, and only three pitchers are in the bunch. And all of them are closers: Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon. The best of the starters’ lot in the free-agent market? Left-hander Rich Hill, 36; right-hander Ivan Nova, 29; and right-hander Jason Hammel, 34.

All of this is why, if you’re the Tigers or White Sox and you’re looking to acquire young talent, you have to consider trading Verlander and Sale. In a market devoid of game-changers, they qualify. And we’re getting deep enough into the winter now that clubs are getting serious about dealing.

As one American League executive who has spoken with the Tigers told colleague Danny Knobler this week, he believes Detroit would like to make a significant move, dealing either Verlander or slugger Miguel Cabrera. As general manager Al Avila completes his first year in charge of the club, there is a different feel around Detroit post-Dave Dombrowski, as if owner Mike Ilitch is shifting out of win-at-all-costs mode and looking for more fiscal responsibility.

Verlander has three years remaining on his seven-year, $180 million deal (at $28 million per year), with a $22 million vesting option for 2020 (the option is guaranteed with a top-five finish in the 2019 Cy Young voting). He also has full no-trade protection.

Sale has one more guaranteed season left at $12 million, with a $12.5 million club option for 2018 and a $13.5 million club option for 2019. There is a $1 million buyout in each of those option years.

Sale’s contract is easier to digest for an acquiring club, but some rival executives think the Tigers appear more motivated than the White Sox to deal. Of course, clubs can get awfully motivated once the talks (and adrenaline) start flowing at the winter meetings, but that presents another issue with the White Sox: mercurial owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who sometimes changes his mind midstream regarding whether he wants to move one of his own guys or make a strong play for another club’s guy.

A Verlander or Sale blockbuster would almost certainly be the biggest move of the winter. Heck, for that matter, even a good rumor with real legs about one of these guys next week would send the meetings into a frenzy.

What there is of a pitching market this winter already has started to move. Texas signed chronic underachiever Andrew Cashner, and Arizona is taking a chance with the trade for chronic underachiever Taijuan Walker (from Seattle). Atlanta signed Bartolo Colon and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Jeremy Hellickson surprised folks by accepting Philadelphia’s one-year, $17.2 million qualifying offer.

That, and the overall lack of stars on the free-agent market, very well could cause clubs to consider things this winter that maybe they wouldn’t in other offseasons when there is a more attractive supply of available players.

Is there somebody out there, however, with a reservoir of young talent (like the Cubs, Nationals or Red Sox, for example) who will blow away the White Sox for Sale or the Tigers for Verlander?

When you get right down to it, that is a far more intriguing question than where, say, Encarnacion, Dexter Fowler or Mark Trumbo will land.

While it’s impossible to predict with certainty that either of these two AL Central aces will be dealt, let’s just say the question of whether Sale and Verlander will be on the mound on Opening Day next spring for the White Sox and Tigers, respectively, is more fuzzy right now than ever before.

2. Going Once, Going Twice…Former MVP

Ryan Braun is nowhere close to the player he once was. That’s not a juicy rumor; that’s just fact. And the Milwaukee Brewers are nowhere close to the National League Central Division-winning team they once were when Braun was in his (performance-enhancing drug) prime.

So as Milwaukee navigates through its rebuild, it’s no secret that Braun is not a part of its future. Even Braun said as much last week at the club’s annual Thanksgiving food drive. “Not knowing 100 percent where we’ll be playing is hard,” he said, per Andrew Wagner of the Associated Press (via the Wisconsin State Journal). “It definitely complicates things.”

Braun has limited no-trade powers and a Samsonite factory’s worth of baggage. The Brewers have been professional in the aftermath of Braun’s 2013 PED suspension even as he became a pariah in the clubhouse, according to B/R sources. After Braun betrayed teammates who had stuck up for him when he initially proclaimed his innocence, many of those teammates felt burned when he reversed course, and things were never the same internally again.

What makes the most sense to everybody remains a Brewers-Los Angeles Dodgers deal in which Braun goes to L.A., where he lives in the offseason, and Yasiel Puig goes back to Milwaukee. Colleague Zachary Rymer laid out the scenario here this week, noting that USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale reported last summer that a Braun-to-L.A. deal was “about 20 minutes” from being completed when the waivers deadline passed on Aug. 31.

Though tarnished, as the 2011 MVP, Braun still has the remnants of marquee value that Hollywood would appreciate. And Puig, whose star has been descending for two years, is at the proverbial crossroads in his career where a fresh start may do him some good.

This sure seems like a when, not if, type of proposition.

3. Easing Off the Greenbacks in L.A.

The Dodgers have won four consecutive NL West titles and still haven’t played in a World Series since 1988, and now two of their best players are free agents at what suddenly appears to be a financially precarious time.

Not that the Dodgers are in danger of becoming paupers, but the days of their spending dough as if printing it somewhere in the bowels of Dodger Stadium may be finished. As Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday, the club is under an MLB mandate to shave spending in order to comply with the industry’s debt rules.

As Shaikin noted, the Dodgers are expected to reduce payroll this winter for a second consecutive season as part of a plan designed to move from a $300 million payroll in 2015 to “closer to $200 million in 2018.”

That won’t draw pity from the Marlins, Twins, Brewers or Reds. But at a time when Clayton Kershaw is in his prime and the Dodgers continue to swing and miss in their efforts to return to the World Series, you’d better believe that, for starters, the Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks and the rest of the NL West are watching with glee.

Third baseman Justin Turner and closer Jansen are free agents, and while the Dodgers would like to bring both back, if they leave, that creates two enormous holes.

The long-term plan to transition to young talent is coming to fruition with players like shortstop Corey Seager, center fielder Joc Pederson and pitching phenom Julio Urias. But the Dodgers still are in no position to go totally with youth.

As for Braun, in the event of a deal for Puig, he’s guaranteed $72 million over the next four seasons ($19 million each in 2017 and 2018, $18 million in 2019 and $16 million in 2020, plus a $15 million mutual player/club option in 2021 that includes a $4 million buyout).

4. Shopping for Outfielders

Another potential star of the winter meetings next week is Pittsburgh outfielder Andrew McCutchen.

In these final days leading up to the meetings, indications are growing that the Pirates will be proactive in looking to deal him. The Washington Nationals are among those interested, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Three more possibilities, noted John Perrotto of FanRag Sports, are San Francisco, Philadelphia and Toronto. Meanwhile, if they do not re-sign free agent Ian Desmond, the Texas Rangers have a clear need for a center fielder as well.

McCutchen won the NL MVP award in 2013 but is coming off the worst offensive season of his career and was subpar defensively in 2016 as well. He is a potential free agent after next season, with $14 million guaranteed in 2017 but a $14.5 million club option for 2018.

The Pirates, who lost significant ground to the Cubs in the NL Central this year, want prized young talent in return as they work to retool a still-talented club.

Meanwhile, after re-signing Cespedes, the Mets are investigating a potential trade of Jay Bruce or Curtis Granderson. And as the Cubs look for a young starting pitcher, they could dangle outfielder Jorge Soler. As things stand now for the Cubs, their outfield looks like Kyle Schwarber in left field next summer, rookie Albert Almora Jr. in center field and Jason Heyward in right, with Ben Zobrist plugging in as a super utilityman and Soler also in the mix.

5. The Winter Meetings, the Hall of Fame and Bud Selig

Get used to this idea: Bud Selig, Hall of Famer.

One of the first orders of business at the winter meetings will happen Sunday night, before the meetings officially open, when the “Today’s Game Committee” voting results are announced.

That committee is one of four different electorates under the “Historical Overview” umbrella and considers candidates twice every five years. This year, the committee is considering Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Mark McGwire, Lou Piniella, John Schuerholz, Bud Selig and George Steinbrenner.

Prediction: Selig gets in, Schuerholz should get in and Steinbrenner might.

Stay tuned.

6. Weekly Power Rankings

1. Labor negotiations: Yes, we know Thanksgiving was last week, but we can still give thanks that the villainous Don Fehr and Gene Orza are long gone from the bargaining table.

2. Yoenis Cespedes: Re-ups with the Mets, causing manager Terry Collins to spread Christmas cheer and one former club GM to say, per MLB Network Radio, that this might be the most important signing in club history.

3. Hall of Fame ballots: Mailed a week ago and due by the end of this month for January announcement of 2017 class. Many eyes on first-year candidate Vladimir Guerrero.

4. Aroldis Chapman: Just a matter of time before the free-agent closer reunites with the Yankees. Right?

5. Kate Upton tweets: Still smoking hot from her Cy Young reaction.

7. On the Move with Houston

The Astros didn’t bother waiting for the winter meetings to kick-start their campaign for 2017. Already, they have signed free-agent outfielder Josh Reddick (four years, $52 million), traded two prospects to the Yankees for catcher Brian McCann, tried to sign Cespedes (before the Mets got him) and, according to B/R sources, are romancing free-agent slugger Encarnacion.

After falling behind Seattle in the AL West in 2016, the Astros are aggressively working to recapture their 2015 magic (at least, until September of that year). Off to a good start this winter, there are strong indications of more to come.

8. Chatter

• While Houston moves, Seattle isn’t standing still. The Mariners already have addressed the need for a veteran catcher to work behind Mike Zunino (Carlos Ruiz) and for a right-handed-hitting first baseman (Danny Valencia). Though Valencia will help Seattle against left-handed pitching, he’s developed a reputation as a selfish player in the clubhouse in stints with Minnesota and Oakland.

• Jon Jay gives the Cubs the perfect veteran presence who will help Almora develop in center field. Another quality Chicago move.

• Of course, the presence of Jay guarantees that Fowler signs elsewhere (Toronto?) this winter.

• The Giants jumped early to sign one free agent, adding Bob Tewksbury as their major league mental skills coach. Tewksbury, who pitched in the majors for 13 years, has been working in that capacity for the Red Sox for the past several seasons.

• Though the Twins are undergoing a major organizational shift with Derek Falvey, the new president of baseball operations, and Thad Levine, the new general manager, they are retaining a significant part of their soul with the additions of three special assistants—former Twins Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer and LaTroy Hawkins. You will not find three finer gentlemen.

• The AL pennant winner has come from the AL Central for three consecutive seasons (Cleveland and Kansas City) and in four of the past five (Detroit).

• From the files of baseball writer/researcherBill Chuck: Only five active players remain who played in the 20th century—Carlos Beltran, Adrian Beltre, Joe Nathan, A.J. Pierzynski and Colon.

• The snow may be flying, but Michigan tropical rock maestro Don Middlebrook has written a new baseball song that is included on hislatest release, Guitar Island. Entitled “Pitchers and Catchers (Not What You’re Thinking),” it follows another of his classic baseball tunes, “Frozen in Arizona,” about Ted Williams’ frozen head.

• With Cespedes back, the Mets will line up next summer with him in left field, Granderson and Juan Lagares in center field and Lagares/Michael Conforto/Bruce in right field. Pending trades, which are expected. Some random notes on Cespedes:

9. Stealth Move of the Week

Quietly, the Phillies hired former Twins GM Terry Ryan to be a special assignment scout. Reunited with Philadelphia president Andy MacPhail from their Minnesota days in the 1980s and early 1990s, this move makes the Phillies better today and in the future:

9a. Rock ‘n’ Roll Lyric of the Week

From baseball gloves to bats to the rest, kids, take care of your stuff!

“There out to be a law with no bail

“Smash a guitar and you go to jail

“With no chance for early parole

“You don’t get out till you get some soul

“Oh it breaks my heart to see those stars

“Smashing a perfectly good guitar

“I don’t know who they think they are

“Smashing a perfectly good guitar”

— John Hiatt, “Perfectly Good Guitar”

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball.

Contract information courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t get in on what was possibly the best season ever for second basemen in 2016. Chase Utley and others didn’t provide much hitting, baserunning or defense.

Sounds like a good excuse to target a guy who can give them all three, and the first one especially: Brian Dozier.

In this context, his name may stand out most because he’s not Ian Kinsler. The Detroit Tigers‘ veteran second baseman is the one the Dodgers have been most often linked to on the hot-stove rumor mill. 

But as Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported, the Dodgers also have Dozier on their radar. And, shoot, why wouldn’t they?

The Minnesota Twins‘ 29-year-old All-Star is coming off a career year that featured an .886 OPS, 42 home runs and 18 stolen bases. With his contract running out and the Twins in need of more young building blocks, even Dozier wasn’t blindsided when he was asked about a possible trade in September.

“Oh, really?” he told Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press, apparently with his tongue firmly in his cheek. “I don’t read too much into that. All I can know is I’m here for two more years.”

From the sound of things, a deal between the Twins and Dodgers is nowhere close to being done. Here’s Berardino with a recent report:

There’s no indication the Dodgers are close to a deal for Kinsler, either. We’ve already discussed how his talent and the $21 million remaining on his contract make for a high price tag. And since the Dodgers are on his no-trade list, he’ll only accept a deal if additional money is involved.

Dozier doesn’t have no-trade protection, but that doesn’t necessarily make him easier to acquire.

With plenty of talent of his own and only $15 million remaining on his contract, the Dodgers would likely have to surrender at least one of their blue-chip prospects for Dozier—say, Cody Bellinger, Jose De Leon, Alex Verdugo or Grant Holmes.

However, it’s not like the Dodgers can find a stand-in for Kinsler or Dozier on the open market. The second base aisle is barren. And if they’re going to trade for one of them, Dozier’s the one they should be leaning toward.

Nothing against Kinsler. He’s been a great player his whole career and hasn’t slowed down as he’s advanced into his 30s. The 34-year-old has produced 17.8 wins above replacement since 2013, second only to Jose Altuve among second basemen. He finally won an overdue Gold Glove in 2016.

But on that last point, defense is the one thing Kinsler has done better than Dozier over the last three seasons:

Nothing against defense, either, but it’s not one of the Dodgers’ major needs. They finished tied for fourth in defensive efficiency in 2016, according to Baseball Prospectus. This despite the fact the advanced metrics rated Utley as a mediocre defender at second base.

Where second base really failed the Dodgers is at the plate, producing just a .723 OPS and 18 homers. Kinsler and Dozier both have the bats to fix that, but the extra appeal in Dozier’s bat is hard to miss.

The 42 homers he slugged in 2016 are 10 more than Kinsler’s ever hit in a season. They also kept alive a trend of Dozier’s home run total increasing in each of his five major league seasons. He started with a humble six in 2012 and has gone to 18 to 23 to 28 to 42.

It’s all in Dozier’s approach. His consistently above-average walk rates reflect his strong plate discipline, and his swing is made to get the ball in the air to his pull side. His ground-ball-to-fly-ball ratio has settled well below 1.0, and nobody has pulled the ball as frequently as he has since 2014.

As Dozier’s career .246 average can vouch, his approach isn’t good for hitting for average. But with a solid .320 career on-base percentage to go with all his power, he rightfully doesn’t care about that.

“I can look at my average and see I’m hitting .250-something,” he told David Laurila of FanGraphs in August, “but if I can get on base at a .350 clip, versus a guy who’s hitting .300 and getting on base .330….300 doesn’t matter. If you can find ways to get on base and create runs, you’re being productive. In my opinion, that’s how you evaluate a player.”

The one thing Dozier doesn’t have is booming raw power, which does loom as a red flag regarding a potential move from Target Field to Dodger Stadium.

But courtesy of Baseball Savant, we see that most of the home runs he’s hit in his career would have cleared Dodger Stadium’s dimensions just fine:

Dozier’s other appeal is that he’s a right-handed batter who crushes left-handed pitching. He owns an .854 career OPS against southpaws and just peaked with a .965 OPS against them in 2016.

A hitter like that is something the Dodgers sorely need after posting an MLB-worst .622 OPS against lefties in 2016. And given that their second basemen posted just a .586 OPS against lefties, second base is an ideal place to slot an upgrade.

After all this, Dozier’s other qualities come off as welcome bonuses.

He’s an excellent baserunner, stealing his 74 career bases in 99 tries with plenty of extra value on the side. Since 2014, only seven players have accumulated more total baserunning value than Dozier.

And while Dozier’s not on Kinsler’s level defensively, he’s no slouch. The metrics have been largely positive on his defense. If nothing else, the Inside Edge data shows he’s money at making routine plays.

The Dodgers have the right idea in having Kinsler and Dozier on their radar as fixes for what ails them at second base. They’re two of the game’s best second basemen.

But since their prices are probably equal and the Dodgers need offense more than defense, Dozier’s the one for them. Lucky for them, they still have plenty of time to strike a deal.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked. Payroll and contract information courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

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All together now, baseball fans: Whew.

With the hours ticking down until MLB‘s collective bargaining agreement expired Dec. 1, the league and players union agreed to a new pact Wednesday night, per Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

With that, baseball avoided its first labor stoppage since the devastating strike of 1994-95, which wiped out the World Series and gave a generation of young fans—including yours truly—their first bitter taste of sports cynicism. 

Forget the details of the new deal for a moment, though we’ll delve into that shortly. Take a second and let the relief wash over you.

We can spend the winter arguing about trades and free-agent deals rather than watching a bunch of millionaires haggle with a bunch of billionaires. Feels good, right?

Oh, sure, a lockout wouldn’t have brought on the apocalypse, per se. It might have only meant a few weeks of tension and cuticle-gnawing, with no lasting harm done.

By avoiding a strike altogether, though, MLB ensured the good mojo from 2016’s historic, thrilling World Series will keep flowing.

Really, we should tip our collective cap. The NFL’s and NBA’s most recent lockouts were in 2011; the NHL’s was in 2012 (though it ended in January 2013). Baseball, meanwhile, is closing in on three decades of labor stability.

If that were a stat, it’d be in the record books, as FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman noted:

Tip your cap also to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, who expressed optimism Saturday. 

“I still believe we’re going to reach an agreement,” he said, per Heyman. Turns out, he was right.

OK, now to the particulars. 

More details will continue to trickle out, but for now Heyman laid out some key provisions of the new CBA (via Dan Werly of the White Bronco). 

Teams that extend qualifying offers to free agents will still receive draft-pick compensation but not in the first round. That’s a significant concession to players, whose value was frequently diminished by the old QO system.

There will not be an international draft, another concession by the owners, though international signings will be capped at $5 million to $6 million per year.

Rosters will remain at 25 rather than 26, a minor walk-back on the part of the players union, which would obviously prefer to see more bodies on MLB rosters.

Finally, and probably most significantly, the luxury-tax threshold will move sensibly northward, as USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale explained:

The tax will start with payrolls exceeding $195 million in 2017, up from $189 million this year, increase to $197 million in 2018; $206 million in 2019; $208 million in 2020 and $210 million in 2021. It still leaves the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers over the limit in 2017.

Many clubs were surely waiting to see where that number landed before committing big dollars in free agency or taking on expensive contracts via trade.

Now, at the risk of mixing metaphors, the hot-stove floodgates will open.

There has been some action this winter. Yoenis Cespedes inked a four-year, $110 million deal with the New York Mets before news of the new CBA broke.

Most of the marquee names remained on the board, however, and it seemed destined to stay that way until the other cleat dropped.

A lockout could have also killed the winter meetings, per ESPN the Magazine‘s Buster Olney:

Instead, the meetings will kick off as scheduled Dec. 4 in Maryland. Elite names such as ace closers Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen and sluggers Edwin Encarnacion and Mark Trumbo will find homes or at least have their tires kicked in earnest.

Sellers like the Detroit Tigers could begin to offload assets, especially now that they know where they stand on the luxury-tax front. Prospect-rich buyers, including the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, should become more active.

It’s worth noting, as a caveat, that the details of the CBA were being ironed out as of this writing and nothing was officially ratified.

Let’s assume there are no 11th-hour snags, however. Rumors will fly. The balance of power will shift. The offseason will continue apace.

Most essentially, as winter cedes to spring, there will be baseball.

All together now: Whew.

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After some concern about labor strife between Major League Baseball’s owners and the MLB Players Association, the two sides have agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement.

MLB announced the news, adding the two parties are continuing to draft the entirety of the agreement, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet on Wednesday.

The MLBPA and MLB released a joint statement on Friday with words from Commissioner Rob Manfred:

“I am pleased that we completed an agreement prior to the deadline that will keep the focus on the field during this exciting time for the game. There are great opportunities ahead to continue our growth and build upon the popularity that resonated throughout the Postseason and one of the most memorable World Series ever. This agreement aims to further improve the game’s healthy foundation and to promote competitive balance for all fans.”

“I thank Tony Clark, his colleagues and many Major League Players for their work throughout the collective bargaining process. We appreciate their shared goals for the betterment of the sport. I am grateful for the efforts of our Labor Policy Committee, led by Ron Fowler, as well as Dan Halem and our entire Labor Relations Department.”

Clark also shared his thoughts on the new deal in the statement:

Every negotiation has its own challenges. The complexities of this agreement differ greatly from those in the past if for no other reason than how the industry has grown. With that said, a fair and equitable deal is always the result you are working toward, and, once again, I believe we achieved that goal. I would like to thank our Players for their involvement, input and leadership throughout. Their desire to protect our history and defend and advance the rights and interests of their peers is something I am truly grateful for.

On Friday, USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale reported that “owners are scheduled to vote on Dec 13 to ratify the new CBA, which should be a formality.”

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports first reported the two sides finalized the deal on Wednesday. 

Joel Sherman of the New York Post noted on Wednesday that under parameters of the new CBA, the luxury-tax threshold will start at $195 million next season and gradually increase to between $210 million to $215 million before the deal ends in five years.

Rosenthal reported the potential threshold increments over the course of the new CBA:

Sherman also reported there will be a greater penalty of about 60 to 70 percent for teams in excess of $250 million in payroll, compared to the previous CBA penalty of 50 percent.

MLB and the players have gone 21 years without any serious labor strife. There were eight different work stoppages from 1972 to 1995, including the 1994-95 labor dispute that led to the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and limited the 1995 season to 144 regular-season games.

Rosenthal reported on Nov. 22, nine days before the previous CBA expired, that there was growing concern about a lockout due to owners’ frustration with the “slow pace of the discussions” and two key negotiations the sides didn’t agree on:

The owners offered to resolve two of the biggest issues by offering a straight exchange, telling the players they would eliminate direct draft-pick compensation in free agency in exchange for the right to implement an international draft, sources said. The players, however, rejected the proposal, wanting no part of an international draft.

Per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, teams will no longer have to give up a first-round pick to sign free agents who receive a qualifying offer. However, draft compensation won’t completely go away, as teams over the luxury-tax threshold would lose a second- and fifth-round pick, while teams under would lose a third-round pick, per ESPN’s Jayson Stark.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported an international draft is not part of the new CBA, and teams will be limited to between $5 million to $6 million for international signings.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports added the new CBA includes the “death penalty” for teams caught cheating internationally, allowing the league to penalize up to 50 percent of international money through 2021.

Passan noted the international signing age will be raised to 25, meaning Japanese star Shohei Otani will not be coming to MLB until 2019.

The new CBA reportedly also eliminates the All-Star Game as the deciding factor for home-field advantage in the World Series, with Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reporting the change.

Blum also reported the minimum stay on the disabled list will go from 15 days to 10 days.

Another wrinkle will be that new MLB players will be banned from using smokeless tobacco, with current players being grandfathered in, per Sherman.

Sherman also reported rosters will remain the same with 25 active players and September call-ups.

Morosi added that all of the changes in free-agent compensation structure will go into effect next season, with prior rules still applying to this year’s class.

While Rosenthal’s report did raise questions about a potential work stoppage with the winter meetings scheduled to begin Dec. 4, Mark Armour of the Society for American Baseball Research tried to ease those fears.

“Most CBAs have been signed [weeks] or months after expiration, with no intervening labor strife,” Armour wrote. “Seriously, people, the deadline means nothing.”

Up to the point Rosenthal’s report came out, there was nothing about potentially difficult or disastrous labor negotiation to suggest a stoppage was going to happen.

Maury Brown of Forbes reported MLB revenue in 2015 reached $9.5 billion, the 13th straight year the league saw a revenue increase. The league’s new television contracts with ESPN, Fox and TBS, which began in 2014, pay a total of $12.4 billion through 2021.

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Terry Ryan needed only five months to find a new job, with the Philadelphia Phillies hiring the former general manager as a special assignment scout. 

The Phillies announced Ryan’s hiring in a press release on their official website. 

“I have known Terry for more than a decade and have enormous respect for all that he accomplished during his tenure with the Twins,” Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said in the release. “Terry’s work ethic, loyalty and track record as a talent evaluator are simply unparalleled in our game.”

Ryan previously worked with the Minnesota Twins, serving 19 years as general manager in two different stints from 1994 to 2007 and 2012 to 2016. He helped lead the franchise to four American League Central titles between 2002 and 2006, including an appearance in the American League Championship Series in 2002. 

The Twins became one of the American League’s worst teams since 2011, losing at least 92 games five times in the previous six seasons. The team fired Ryan in July due to a reported disagreement with owner Jim Pohlad over how to go about improving the club, per Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.

The role of a special assignment scout can vary depending on the team. Typically, he will be used as one of the last channels of communication to a general manager before the GM decides to make a talent acquisition. 

Even though things fell apart with the Twins, Ryan did oversee a front office that led to the franchise having the best farm system in MLB before the 2014 season, with talent like Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano among the top prospects. 

The Phillies are still in rebuilding mode with a promising farm system that will likely start to pay dividends as soon as 2017. Adding another sharp scouting mind to the mix like Ryan will ensure the talent pipeline in Philadelphia continues to stay strong. 

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With the Pittsburgh Pirates facing an uncertain future after a disappointing 2016 season, the likelihood that Andrew McCutchen will be traded seems to be increasing.

Continue for updates.

Pirates Exploring McCutchen Deal

Saturday, Dec. 3

A member of the Pirates organization said the team “doesn’t feel compelled to move McCutchen if the price isn’t right,” per Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball.

On Nov. 30, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports noted that McCutchen’s likelihood of playing in Pittsburgh next season is “dwindling.” Passan also reported the Pirates have been the aggressors in the McCutchen trade talks.

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported on Nov. 30 that the Texas Rangers are a potential option for McCutchen and that the Pirates are talking to other clubs as well.

Nationals Pushing Hard to Land McCutchen

Saturday, Dec. 3

The Washington Nationals remain in talks with the Pirates regarding McCutchen, per Rosenthal.

Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reported Thursday the Pirates and Nationals “have ramped up” talks about McCutchen, noting the Nationals “would like to make this deal today” given the “ripple effect of trading for McCutchen would likely be a move to nontender shortstop Danny Espinosa before tomorrow’s tender date.”

Rosenthal also reported Thursday the Pirates are “targeting” minor league outfielder Victor Robles in talks. Rosenthal added the Nationals have several starting pitching prospects who are almost ready for the majors and that the Pirates would presumably want one of those pitchers in addition to Robles. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Stephen J. Nesbitt reported Friday morning the Pirates were “breaking down video of Nats prospects.”

On Wednesday, Rosenthal reported the Pirates were still exploring potential deals involving McCutchen and that the Nationals were among the clubs showing interest.

The Nationals could be an easy fit as a trade partner with the Pirates. Rosenthal reported earlier this month the two teams discussed a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline in July that would have sent McCutchen to Washington, but it fell apart because of the vast number of moving parts. 

Those previous discussions at least gave the Pirates a reason to study Washington’s farm system.

McCutchen Coming Off Down Year in 2016

McCutchen is a strong buy-low trade candidate this offseason. He is coming off the worst year of his career, with a .256/.336/.430 slash line and the lowest FanGraphs WAR (0.7) among all center fielders who qualified for the batting title.

Now that he’s 30 years old and likely not a viable option in center anymore after putting up an MLB-worst minus-28 defensive runs saved in 2016, his $14 million salary is an albatross for the small-market Pirates.

McCutchen has been a fantastic ambassador for the Pirates and Major League Baseball since he debuted in 2009, but the team has to focus on its long-term outlook.

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