MLB Bullets And The Reds Scare

Rockin' around the Festivus pole.

• The exodus out of Porkopolis is underway as the Reds made a three-way trade that sent Todd Frazier to the White Sox and brought prospects from the Dodgers to Cincinnati.
• And before we get to an analysis of that deal, there was a report last night that the Reds have agreed to send Brandon Phillips to the Nationals. Phillips, however, has 10 and 5 no-trade rights and has yet to agree to the deal. Early indications are that Phillips will agree to the deal and reunite with his former manager Dusty Baker.
• Reds beat writer C. Trent Rosecrans calls the Frazier deal "sad but necessary."
• Jeff Sullivan thinks the Reds sold low on Frazier.
• Grant Brisbee tries to look at the trade from the perspective of all three teams.
• Cliff Corcoran, on the other hand, thinks the Dodgers got the short end of the stick in this deal.
• Ben Berkon can't figure out why the Dodgers didn't just keep Frazier for themselves.
• Ken Rosenthal thinks that the players the Dodgers got from the White Sox could be part of a package offer for Jose Fernandez.
• Dave Cameron proposes a deal for the Dodgers to land Chris Archer.
• The Dodgers need a starting pitcher in part because they backed out of a deal for free agent pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma after he failed a physical.
• So Iwakuma re-signed with the Mariners on a one-year deal.
• Richard Justice argues that the Dodgers can fill the holes in their starting rotation with their own farm system.
• Rob Neyer thinks that it's a good sign for baseball that the Dodgers and Angels are no longer throwing money around like Richard Pryor in "Brewster's Millions."
• Paul Casella looks back at all the three-way trades over the past ten years. The Cubs three-way deal with the Athletics and the Rangers was a blockbuster that no one will ever forget. (Seriously. See if any of you can honestly remember it before clicking on the link.)
• David Schoenfield has a list of ten players that need to be traded. Two of the ten, Frazier and Phillips, are already gone.
• The Orioles have signed Korean outfielder Hyun-Soo Kim to a two-year deal.
• Eddie Matz examines what the Kim signing indicates that Chris Davis isn't likely to return to Baltimore.
• Bartolo Colon re-signed with the Mets on a one-year deal. And the world rejoiced. Especially those of you for whom Colon is the last ballplayer older than you.
• Grant Brisbee tries to predict where Yoenis Cespedes will sign.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred is not a fan of contracts with "opt-out" clauses. But what's news to me here is that Ken Rosenthal reports that both the Cardinals and the Nationals did offer an "opt-out" clause to Jason Heyward. Earlier reports had said otherwise.
• Dan O'Neill is tired of the Cardinals finishing second for every free agent and say the team and its fans need to get over the idea that everyone wants to play baseball in St. Louis so much that they're willing to do it for less.
• The news gets worse for the Cards as it was announced that Yadier Molina will have a second surgery on his thumb. Molina is expected to miss most of spring training.
• Matt Trueblood thinks the Rays need to consider trading Evan Longoria.
• This is an ESPN Insider article, but it's very good. Eno Sarris talks to Billy Beane who explains why the Athletics can't undergo a complete rebuild like the Cubs and Astros did. Essentially, it comes down to money and a fear that A's fans would abandon the team for good.
• Clayton Kershaw brought Cuban baseball fans to tears by simply playing catch where they could see him. Kershaw is the only non-Spanish speaking player on the Goodwill Tour of Cuba and he's having a good time. It must have also been humbling for Kershaw when he was the only player at a ceremony whom the emcee didn't know.
• Alvaro Martin remembers the game the Orioles played in Havana in 1999.
• Antonio Castro, Fidel's youngest son, sees baseball as uniting the two countries. He also wants to see a unified Cuban team in the World Baseball Classic and a legal, orderly way for Cuban players to play in the major leagues. MLB wants all this too. Of course, there are a lot of obstacles to clear before any of this can happen.
• Former Iowa Cub Edgar Gonzalez will manage Mexico in the WBC.
• And finally, A's closer Sean Doolittle is super excited about the new Star Wars movie. His girlfriend Eireanne Dolan? Not so much.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.