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Major League Baseball has officially begun its descent into winter in the early portions of the offseason. But the hot stove is growing warmer with some big names popping up in the trade market. 

Teams will be keen on addressing their respective needs as early as possible when the pickings are more abundant, so expect the transactions to continue rolling in before the new year. 

Here is the latest on some of the most notable names on the trade market. 

Chris Sale

Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale’s falling out with the team after the release of Adam LaRoche and the jersey-cutting incident has put him on the trade market even though club options could keep him signed until 2019, according to Spotrac.  

For a White Sox team that looks to be in full rebuild mode, Sale’s name has continued to come up, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney:

The White Sox have started the process of a massive sell-off, with other teams increasingly convinced they will deal Chris Sale. ‘And once you trade him,” said [an] evaluator, ‘why would you stop there?’ They’ve told teams they’re willing to deal any player who has fewer than four years of team control.’

Sale has been one of the elite pitchers in the American League over the past five seasons, making the All-Star Game every year. In that span, he’s led the majors in complete games (four in 2013 and six in 2016) and strikeouts per nine innings twice (10.8 in 2014 and 11.8 in 2015), total strikeouts once (274 in 2015) and ERA+ (173 in 2014) once. 

It’s made him one of the most coveted arms on the market, but the White Sox seem to be asking for a pretty penny in return for him, according to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News: “It’s unclear whether any team will meet the Pale Hose’s current asking price for Sale, which is steep, [a] major league source said.”

Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan speculated that the Los Angeles Dodgers would be “a perfect trade partner” for Chicago, citing their deep prospect pool that includes second baseman Willie Calhoun, pitcher Jose De Leon and outfielders Cody Bellinger and Alex Verdugo. 

Chris Archer

Tampa Bay Rays starter Chris Archer is coming off his worst season in the majors, leading the league with 19 losses. However, he didn’t get much help from his offense, as his 3.48 runs of support was ranked 70th among all qualifying pitchers. 

Regardless, the Rays could be looking to ship him out of town, according to Olney: “Rival executives expect the Rays to trade Drew Smyly or Chris Archer, as well as closer Alex Colome, who had 37 saves last season.”

While he’s considered the ace of the Rays staff, Archer has put together just one winning season, going 9-7 in 2013. 

From 2013 to 2015, he garnered an All-Star appearance while posting three seasons with an ERA of 3.33 or lower. But a bad Rays team hasn’t done much to help his stat sheet. 

Olney revealed that the Atlanta Braves are speaking with the Rays about available pitching, but that offense might not provide much more support for Archer. 

Last season, Atlanta scored just 4.03 runs per game, ranking third-worst in the majors. The Rays could score some young talent in return for Archer, but he wouldn’t end up in a much better setting.

Michael Wacha

After going 17-7 with an All-Star appearance in 2015, St. Louis Cardinals starter Michael Wacha came crashing down to earth in 2016. He finished with a 7-7 record alongside a 5.09 ERA while dealing with shoulder issues. 

According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Cardinals have “floated” his name in trade conversations but are not likely to get any bites. 

Due to the shoulder problems, Wacha has been unable to become a consistent contributor within the Cardinals rotation. 

He’s never hit the 200-inning mark in his four years in the league, which presents a red flag for any interested suitor. 

But the Cardinals might be trying to sell him while they can get something in return instead of going through three years of arbitration and running the risk of another bad year or injuries.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. 

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Free-agent relief pitcher Brett Cecil will have a new home for the first time in his eight-year MLB career, as he signed a four-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported the deal was worth $30.5 million.

“The Cecil market escalated quickly. Teams realized three years wasn’t gonna get it done, and St. Louis coveted him enough to go four,” Passan added.

Cecil is coming off his worst season since 2012 with the Toronto Blue Jays, as he posted a 1-7 record with a 3.93 ERA while allowing 39 hits in 36.2 innings.

He was hampered by a triceps injury that kept him sidelined from mid-May to mid-June and allowed 13 runs in his first 24 appearances, with his ERA swelling to 6.75.

He finished strong, however, surrendering just one run in his final 17 appearances. Cecil’s curveball was the pitch he relied heavily upon:

Cecil used the pitch 45.4 percent of the time last season, which was the highest mark of his career, per FanGraphs.

The left-hander posted a sub-3.00 ERA each year from 2013 to 2015, and he made an All-Star appearance in 2013, when he finished 5-1 with a 2.82 ERA and 11 holds in 60.2 innings.

The Cardinals will hope he can regain that form in 2017 and become an asset to their bullpen.

St. Louis boasts a strong and deep relief corps, but it was in dire need of another quality southpaw to support Kevin Siegrist.

Zach Duke did well in that regard last season, but he is expected to miss all of 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in early October.

That created a major void, but if Cecil can bounce back from a subpar 2016, he is an ideal option to fill it.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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Major League Baseball’s 2016 season officially came to an end on Friday night with Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout taking home top honors as the best major leaguer at the Esurance MLB Awards show. 

That was one of 19 awards given out as voted on by former MLB players, front-office executives, media and fans to determine the best of the best in the sport last season.  

Here is a full list of winners in each category, per MLB.com:

While the Chicago Cubs’ thrilling World Series victory was the dominant topic of the 2016 season, no discussion of this year would be complete without a tribute to Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully. 

It was only fitting that after 67 years of calling Dodgers games, Scully would be given the opportunity to showcase his brilliance in dramatic fashion as the team won the National League West on Charlie Culberson’s walk-off home run in the 10th inning against the Colorado Rockies.

There are many great announcers in MLB, but there was no other call in 2016 that deserved to be honored more than Scully‘s final call at Dodger Stadium.

Sticking with the Dodgers, star shortstop Corey Seager capped off a huge week by winning the award for best rookie in 2016. He took home NL Rookie of the Year honors from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Monday and was an NL MVP finalist on Thursday. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Seager‘s Rookie of the Year win increased the number of Dodgers’ already-massive lead in that category over the rest of the NL:

Just as Seager was a repeat winner in the rookie category, Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer comes away from this week with multiple trophies after being named the best pitcher in MLB and earning best performance for his 20-strikeout game against the Detroit Tigers in May. 

The celebration for Scherzer‘s Esurance win wasn’t televised, though it would be hard to top what happened after he was named NL Cy Young winner on Wednesday, per MLB GIFs:

The Cubs and Cleveland Indians were well-represented in the awards, as was expected for the two best teams in the sport in 2016. 

The American League champion Indians had two of their most memorable moments rewarded. Tyler Naquin’s walk-off inside-the-park homer against the Toronto Blue Jays was arguably their biggest moment of the regular season, capping off a thrilling come-from-behind win against one of the AL’s top teams. 

In what would have been the defining moment of the MLB season if things played out differently in Game 7 of the World Series, Rajai Davis’ game-tying home run against Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman was awarded best postseason moment. 

Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor took home the honor for best defensive player after receiving his first career Gold Glove award earlier this month. 

Fortunately for Lindor, he wasn’t punished by the voters when his brother caused a stir during the young shortstop’s 23rd birthday with a cake mishap, which he posted to Twitter:

Other Indians rewarded for their efforts included Terry Francona as best manager for navigating the team through pitching injuries to their first division title since 2007 and ace reliever Andrew Miller for best postseason player. 

Per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, Miller set three postseason records for relief pitchers:

The Cubs, who beat the Indians in the World Series to end their 108-year title drought, took home four trophies. 

Theo Epstein was the easiest choice of the night in any category as best executive. The babyface president of the Cubs took over the team in 2011, rebuilt the entire foundation by hitting big on draft picks like Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber, stealing Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell, Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks in trades and investing wisely in free agency for Jon Lester. 

With Francona and Epstein being honored on this night, it’s only fitting their last link to the 2004 Boston Red Sox also took home a trophy, as David Ortiz was honored as the best hitter. 

Ortiz, who will enjoy retirement before Cooperstown calls him in five years, had an incredible final season with a .315/.401/.620 slash line and 38 home runs. 

Per Christopher Kamka of Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Ortiz shattered the MLB record for most extra-base hits in a season by a player in aged 40 or older:

The Red Sox were unable to send Ortiz into the sunset with his fourth World Series title, but it’s hard to argue with how his career came to a close. 

In the final award given out, Trout just continues to rack up trophies for being awesome. That’s not a scientific term, but there’s no better way to describe what the Angels star has done through each of his first five full MLB seasons. 

Trout took home his second AL MVP award on Thursday, beating out Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts and Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve. The 25-year-old has never finished lower than second in MVP voting and led the league in runs (123), walks (116) and on-base percentage (.441) in 2016. 

The comparisons between Trout and Mickey Mantle have been made dating back to 2012, with the YES Network providing the latest evidence these two might actually be the same player:

It’s difficult to say Trout will get better next season, because how do you improve upon two MVP awards at the age of 25? Yet there truly seems to be no limit on what the Angels star is capable of doing on a baseball field. 

The Angels need to do a better job of building a team around Trout to maximize his skills while they still can. For now, though, admiring what the young star is doing will carry you through the long winter until baseball returns in 2017. 

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Andrew Cashner turned in arguably the worst season of his career in 2016, but the Texas Rangers took a chance on him Friday to the tune of a one-year, $10 million contract.

Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported the terms of the agreement. TR Sullivan of MLB.com also passed along word of the free-agent signing.

Cashner started his career with the Chicago Cubs and pitched down the stretch of the 2016 season for the Miami Marlins after they acquired him from the San Diego Padres via trade. He posted a 5.98 ERA and 1.75 WHIP in 12 appearances for Miami, which both would have represented career-worst numbers throughout an entire season.

However, Cashner flashed his potential as a No. 2 or 3 starter in 2013 and 2014 with the Padres. He posted a 1.13 WHIP in each season and appeared to be coming into his own as an impact pitcher at the major league level. Still, there was a drastic decline in performance the next two years:

Injuries are part of the concern, as he went on disabled list in 2016 with a strained neck and dealt with a shoulder injury and elbow injury in 2014 that limited him to just 19 starts. Considering he hasn’t been the same since that 2014 campaign, it is not hard to speculate his health impacted his overall performance.

At his best, Cashner’s fastball often exceeds 95 mph, per FanGraphs. If he can remain healthy in 2017 and tap into the effective power pitcher he was from 2013-14, the Rangers will end up with one of the better under-the-radar signings of the offseason. 

He’ll likely join a rotation headlined by Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish. Finding more mid-rotation options to bolster the group behind those co-aces was one of the biggest things on the team’s offseason to-do list. A bounce-back year from the newest addition would be a key step in the right direction.

He is still just 30 years old and should be relatively fresh considering he has never pitched more than 184.2 innings in a season throughout his career. Cashner’s new team hopes that translates into an effective 2017 effort.  

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Kate Upton, the fiancee of Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander, expressed her frustration with this year’s American League Cy Young voting Wednesday when it was announced Boston Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello won the award despite receiving fewer first-place votes.  

In a series of NSFW tweets, Upton had some pointed words for baseball writers who failed to include Verlander on their ballots:

Hey @MLB I thought I was the only person allowed to f–k @JustinVerlander ?! What 2 writers didn’t have him on their ballot? He had the majority of 1st place votes and 2 writers didn’t have him on their ballots?!! can you pick more out of touch people to vote?@MLB. Sorry Rick but you didn’t get any 1st place votes? you didn’t win. #ByeFelicia@MLB keep up with the times and fire those writers

On Thursday, Verlander explained the reasons behind Upton’s outrage in a Twitter conversation with the New York Daily News‘ Mark Feinsand: 

Verlander finished the 2016 season 16-9 with a 3.04 ERA, league-best 1.001 WHIP and 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings. Porcello, meanwhile, went 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA, 1.009 WHIP, 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a league-best ratio of 5.91 strikeouts to one walk.

According to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, the two voters who failed to include Verlander on their ballots were Fred Goodall of the Associated Press and Bill Chastain of MLB.com. 

Chastain admitted in a conversation with Feinsand that he sent his ballot in a week before the regular season ended, and he disclosed that his choice for first place was between Porcello and Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton.

Over the final week of the season, Verlander pitched 14.2 innings and allowed one earned run. In his lone start during that same stretch, Porcello allowed eight hits and three earned runs in a 5-3 Red Sox win over the Toronto Blue Jays. 

“I feel bad that people are upset about this; I did the best I could,” Chastain said. “I went around the clubhouse, I asked guys. I agonized over this. The biggest thing for me was between (Baltimore closer Zach) Britton and Porcello.”

Tampa Bay Times writer and chairman of the BBWAA’s Tampa Bay chapter Marc Topkin noted neither Chastain nor Goodall voted with malicious intent.

“Both Bill and Fred are longtime veteran, experienced baseball writers and certainly have the ability to make what they felt were the proper decisions,” he said, per Feinsand. 

While the 33-year-old Verlander may have come up short in the voting, his production throughout the second half of the season indicated he should remain effective well into his mid-30s. 

After he went 8-6 before the All-Star break, Verlander posted an 8-3 record, 1.96 ERA, 134 strikeouts and 24 walks in 110.1 innings after the break. 

Based on those stellar stats, Verlander should be in the Cy Young conversation for a couple of more seasons as he seeks to maintain his status as one of the AL’s premier pitchers. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise. 

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Capping a memorable awards season Thursday, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs took home American League and National League MVP honors, respectively.

Even though Trout has been the best player in baseball since 2012, his MVP candidacy this year was far from a lock, since writers have ignored players whose teams missed the playoffs in the past.

Bryant was the heavy favorite in the NL after leading the Cubs to the NL Central title and solidifying his standing as one of the best young stars in Major League Baseball.

Here’s how the final voting for this year’s MVP awards played out, per the Baseball Writers’ Association of America:

The BBWAA chose Bryant over Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Daniel Murphy of the Washington Nationals, making Bryant the first Cubs player to be named the MVP since Sammy Sosa in 1998.

Bryant followed up his stellar NL Rookie of the Year campaign by getting better in virtually every category this season.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, the Cubs superstar satisfied all of the statistical measurements for voters old and new:

The 24-year-old’s MVP win also puts him in exclusive territory as the fourth player in MLB history to take home the honor one year after being named the Rookie of the Year. Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (2007-08) was the last to accomplish the feat.

Coming into spring training, Cubs manager Joe Maddon told Carrie Muskat of MLB.com about conversations he had with Bryant last year, when the third baseman was briefly sent down to Triple-A to start the season:

I was confident he would respond well. We had some good conversations, me and him, in the office — very candid, frank, open, all of the above. I got a good feel from him. He was very self-confident. He was disappointed he was not starting with us but had the team goals in mind.

He was straight up with me and looked me right in the eye balls [saying he belonged in big leagues] and I don’t blame him. When he got up here, he showed it was true.

It was immediately true, yet Bryant found new ways to improve his game in 2016. The biggest adjustment was changing his swing slightly so he wasn’t hitting at a steep upward angle, which can help generate power but also lead to high strikeout totals.

Bryant’s strikeout percentage went from 30.6 in 2015 to 22.0 in 2016, per FanGraphs. By making more contact, the 24-year-old increased his home run total from 26 to 39 and went from a .488 slugging percentage to .554.

On Thursday’s MLB Network broadcast (via Muskat), Bryant said, “You can’t put into words what this means.”

Christopher Kamka of CSN Chicago noted the list of accolades Bryant has racked up over the last three years, dating back to his final college season:

If that’s not enough, Bryant will start 2017 by getting married in January. That’s not a bad run for the 24-year-old sensation.

Switching to the AL, Trout remains the best player in baseball. Per ESPN Stats & Info, the Angels all-world star has had a five-year run fans haven’t seen since Babe Ruth:

WAR isn’t the be-all, end-all stat by which to determine an MVP, but it does provide a good jumping-off point. Trout finished one full win ahead of Bryant in the category and 1.6 wins ahead of Red Sox star Mookie Betts, per FanGraphs.

That’s not criticism of Betts or Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, the other AL MVP finalists, because both players were fantastic in their own right. It’s just a bad time to be an AL player if you want to be in the mix for the top spot.

Per SportsCenter, Trout’s name now sits alongside Barry Bonds in MLB history:

After being announced as the AL MVP, the 25-year-old didn’t know what to say, per MLB Network PR: “I was surprised. … I’m speechless, man.”

Of course, the anti-playoff backlash for Trout was inevitable, per Tony Massarotti of 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston:

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports had some fun with Trout’s win by invoking a notable Twitter incident after Wednesday’s AL Cy Young voting:

ESPN’s Buster Olney provided this incredible stat:

There’s no way to argue against Trout. The only knock anyone could try to present against him is that the Angels went 74-88, but you can’t punish an individual player for the lack of talent around him.

The BBWAA gets a bad rap for some of its antiquated thinking, though there has been a clear shift in recent years.

Trout and Bryant were the two best players in MLB, and they deserved to be rewarded for their efforts.

The pressure is on for 2017, though Trout and Bryant have shown in their young careers there is no ceiling to what they are capable of doing on the baseball field.

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Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs captured the 2016 National League Most Valuable Player Award on Thursday and edged fellow finalists Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Daniel Murphy of the Washington Nationals to win the NL’s top individual honor.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America shared the news and final voting results:

Winning the MVP caps a remarkable season for Bryant. While it’s hard to imagine any feeling matching that of helping the organization end its 108-year championship drought, this is probably as close as it gets from a personal perspective.

The 24-year-old third baseman was outstanding during the regular season. He hit .292 with a .385 on-base percentage to go along with 39 home runs, 102 runs batted in, 121 runs scored and eight stolen bases. His 8.4 WAR easily led the league, according to FanGraphs.

In September, Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago noted Bryant credited his teammates for creating an atmosphere of intense competition that made everybody better:

Look at our pitchers—they’re just outdueling each other every day. Kyle [Hendricks] goes out there and has an awesome game, and then Jake [Arrieta]’s like: ‘OK, it’s my turn.’

There’s a certain feel. You never want to be the type that’s all about your individual self. But I think you can just kind of see that people want to do well for the team. And in order to do that, they just outshine each other.

I love that. I love seeing the competition. It just makes this whole environment so much fun to be in.

While there’s no doubt the Cubs featured plenty of star power—which made completing the World Series journey far from a surprise—Bryant is the cornerstone. He’ll lead the way if the club transforms a title into a new dynasty.

Randall J. Sanders of NumbersMLB previously highlighted the star’s recent accolades:

Ultimately, his outstanding campaign paired with the Cubs’ regular-season success made him a slam dunk choice for the MVP despite great years from Seager and Murphy. The Dodgers shortstop hit .308 with 26 homers to win the NL Rookie of the Year, while the Nationals second baseman finished second in the batting-title race to DJ LeMahieu (.348) at .347 to go with 25 home runs.

What makes the situation more worrisome for the rest of the National League is that Bryant is so young. He should still have around a decade of top-tier production left, which is the biggest reason the Cubs’ outlook is so promising.

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The New York Yankees announced on Thursday that they traded veteran catcher Brian McCann and cash considerations to the Houston Astros for right-handed pitching prospects Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman.

While McCann is the big name in the deal, given his seven All-Star appearances, the Astros gave up two young arms who could one day contribute to the Yankees’ pitching staff.

Prior to the trade, Abreu was the Astros’ No. 7-ranked prospect and slots in at No. 10 in the Yankees’ system, according to MLB.com, after spending the 2016 season in Single-A ball.

His 3-8 record and 3.72 ERA might not suggest much success, but the 21-year-old has shown flashes of developing into a reliable starter down the road, although he has a long way to go.

Abreu’s fastball has topped out at 99 mph, which is a noticeable jump from the 87 to 91 mph he was throwing when he first signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2013:

However, he needs to work on secondary pitches, as his slider and changeup require plenty of polishing. Once he is able to consistently get those pitches over the plate, Yankees fans will likely see Abreu climb up the ranks within the minors.

Guzman, on the other hand, can unleash a quicker fastball, per JJ Cooper of Baseball America:

He hasn’t found much success as a starter, though, with a 4.63 ERA in the minor leagues.

However, the 20-year-old has developed into a high-strikeout arm, averaging over 11.5 punchouts per nine innings in 2016, per FanGraphs.

His ability to cut down on walks has been more promising. After walking 30 batters in 55.1 innings in 2015, Guzman gave up 10 free passes in 17.1 innings with the Gulf Coast League Astros to start the 2016 season. Upon his arrival with the Greeneville Astros of the Appalachian League, he walked just seven in 22.2 innings.

If he can improve on that and hone his control, Guzman could develop into a nice bullpen option in a few years.

Stats courtesy of MiLB.com.

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Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout was named the American League MVP on Thursday, for the second time in three years.

Baseball Writers’ Association of America shared the news and final voting tallies:

Trout discussed his victory, per MLB Network PR: “I was surprised. … I’m speechless, man.”

This marks Trout’s fifth consecutive year as an AL MVP finalist, which is a huge accomplishment that Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times attempted to put into perspective:

Aside from 2014, Trout had three second-place finishes, including last season. While Trout’s power took a dip in 2016, he made strides in essentially all other areas.

The 25-year-old superstar hit .315 with 29 home runs, 100 RBI, 30 stolen bases and an American League-leading 123 runs scored.

Per MLB Stat of the Day, Trout did something that hadn’t been accomplished in the AL in more than two decades:

While Trout received stiff competition from Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve and Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts, the stats suggest Trout was far and away the best player in the American League in 2016.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, Trout led the AL with 10.6 wins above replacement, which beat out Betts’ 9.6 and Altuve’s 7.7.

In addition to his power and speed on the basepaths, Trout played high-quality defense, as evidenced by his defensive runs saved above average of six, per Baseball-Reference.com.

There are few five-tool players in Major League Baseball, but Trout is chief among them and has been since his rookie season in 2012.

Trout has been an All-Star and MVP finalist in all five of his full MLB seasons to this point, and while the Angels had a disappointing 74-88 campaign in 2016, his performance was transcendent enough to overcome that and net the second MVP award of his career.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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Veteran outfielder Josh Reddick has reached an agreement with the Houston Astros, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported Thursday.

Passan noted the deal is for $52 million over four seasons.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports confirmed Reddick will sign with the Astros, pending a physical.

Reddick is a streaky player, but his net impact on a team has almost always been positive. He’s accumulated 15.9 WAR across eight seasons, and he’s rated above replacement level every year except 2009, when he played just 27 games for the Boston Red Sox in his debut campaign, per FanGraphs.

The 29-year-old Georgia native split the 2016 season between the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers. He posted a career-high .345 on-base percentage in 115 games but racked up just 10 home runs, his lowest total since 2011.

His up-and-down play was on full display after he joined the Dodgers in a midseason trade. He hit just .161 with a miserable .395 OPS in August before rebounding with a strong September to help the club clinch a playoff berth by winning the National League West.

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times highlighted the type of production the outfielder can provide when he’s in a zone at the plate:

Interestingly, Reddick told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register the resurgence wasn’t about making changes but rather sticking to his normal routine until he broke out of the slump.

“I learned that probably last year,” he said. “For the most part, when I’m going well, my cage work is limited to almost none at all. Pregame, right before the game, I go in there and do my routine.”

Another thing he didn’t spend much time thinking about was his impending foray into the free-agent market. He explained his mindset early in the season, per Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com.

“I’m one of the guys that doesn’t think about that,” Reddick said. “I’m not going into the box thinking, ‘If I don’t get this run in, or I don’t get this amount of home runs, I’m not going to be the free-agent player I need to be.’ That’s just something I’ve put very far back in my mind.”

The plan worked. Even with the drop-off in the power department, Reddick’s overall performance allowed him to maintain his value.

In the end, Reddick is heading to his third team in the past year. The upside is that going through the transition of joining the Dodgers should make the latest change of scenery easier to deal with during spring training.

Now the question is whether Reddick can put everything together. He’s shown the ability to hit for power, with 32 homers in 2012, and he recorded a strong on-base percentage this past season. If he combines those, he could be a bargain.

It’s a risk worth taking for the Astros. Even if he doesn’t have a huge year at the plate, he’ll likely be a solid hitter who plays plus defense, and that combination carries plenty of value.

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