MLB Bullets and the not-so-ancient Mariners

Just three more shopping days before the Winter Meetings.

• In what is the longest possible trade in MLB by geography (but awfully close in the alphabet), the Miami Marlins sent second baseman Dee Gordon to the Mariners for three minor league prospects. The Mariners also get $1 million of international bonus pool money.
• The Mariners already have a second baseman, so they plan on moving Gordon to center field. Gordon said that if there is anyone he would move off second base to accommodate, it would be Robinson Cano. He also points out that Cano and his father were teammates on the Yankees, so he grew up watching Cano.
• R.J. Anderson talks to Chris Crawford about the players that the Marlins got back for Gordon. The Mariners gave up some OK prospects, but the big move for the Marlins here was the money they saved.
• Jeff Sullivan breaks down the deal and examines the wisdom of making a center fielder out of Gordon.
• Bob Nightengale says that this move is the start of the Marlins firesale (would that be Firesale 3.0?) and that the Mariners could be playoff contenders if . . .
• Tim Brown tells us what this deal means for the Mariners pursuit of Shohei Ohtani. Also for the Marlins attempts to trade Giancarlo Stanton.
• Earlier, the Twins acquired a minor leaguer from both the Mariners and the Angels in exchange for one million dollars of international pool space each. Both teams want the money for Ohtani.
• In a report late last night, Stanton reportedly said that he would not accept a deal to either the Giants or the Cardinals, the two teams that have pursued him the most. However, he said he would accept a trade to the Dodgers, Yankees, Astros or Cubs. I’m not sure Tom Ricketts can afford to pay Giancarlo’s salary AND afford to replace all the broken windows on Waveland.
• Jon Heyman examines how the Yankees would have to structure a deal to get Stanton and stay under the luxury tax threshold.
• Dave Cameron looks at what the Dodgers would have to do to get a Stanton trade to work for them under the tax.
• Grant Brisbee thinks that Stanton has every right to exercise his no-trade clause as he sees fit. Brisbee also thinks that if Stanton really has his heart set on LA, he should wait until next winter.
• Jon Tayler just doesn’t see Stanton going to the Dodgers, at least not this year.
• Will Leitch looks at what the options for a big bat are for the Cardinals, assuming that they don’t get Stanton to change his mind.
• On the other big piece of news, here’s the latest gossip on Shohei Ohtani. He’s definitely going to the Padres, unless he goes to the Mariners. Of course, he can’t go to the Mariners if he signs with the Dodgers, Giants or Angels, which he definitely will if he doesn’t agree to join the Cubs or Rangers.
• The latest prediction is that Ohtani will pick a team early next week.
• Some teams are complaining about how Ohtani is stringing out this process, but Craig Calcaterra says that MLB owners don’t get to limit his bargaining power (and salary) to almost nothing and then complain that he’s not making up his mind fast enough.
• Neil Paine tries to figure out what Ohtani is worth to a major league team and runs into the issue that there has never been a player like Ohtani in MLB before.
• When he was in high school, Shohei Ohtani wrote out his life goals. The man dreams big.
• The Athletics plans for a new stadium were derailed when the community college that would need to move voted against holding any negotiations with the team. So the A’s are back to square one.
• Aaron Boone made his first appearance as the Yankees new manager and he was able to spit out all the right clichés. Crash Davis would be proud.
• Grant Brisbee looks at what teams might be interested in signing free agent first baseman Eric Hosmer.
• Padres first baseman Wil Myers said that he would be willing to move back to the outfield if the team signed Hosmer. If I’m one of the other the six teams still in the hunt for Ohtani, I’m sending him a “highlight” reel of Myers playing outfield to see if he really wants to play for the Padres.
• David Adler looks at what StatCast data says about free agent outfielder J.D. Martinez’s ability to hit for power to the opposite field.
• Jon Heyman reports that the Orioles are getting calls about third baseman Manny Machado. Machado is a free agent after this upcoming season.
• Scott Lauber has the Red Sox winter wish list. Were they naughty or nice in 2017? I can see the argument both ways.
• Will Leitch thinks that fans are more trusting of front offices than they used to be. In Theo we trust.
• Former major league catcher Wilin Rosario is leaving Korea’s KBO and joining Japan’s NPB. There had been some talk of him returning to MLB, but he will move to Japan instead.
• Rogers Communication is considering selling the Blue Jays. (h/t Hardball Talk)
• Rafael Palmeiro wants to make a comeback in MLB at age 53. Good luck with that.
• Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman will change his number to 34 to honor Roy Halladay.
• The Indians and Twins have both announced plans to extend the netting behind home plate.
• Do you remember former Cardinals pitcher Anthony Reyes? He’s joined the Los Angeles County fire department last year and is now heroically fighting the huge wildfires down there. It is now safe to cheer for Reyes, so despite him being a Cardinal and mostly a starter, he’s got my vote for Fireman of the Year.
• And finally, Mets teammates Brandon Nimmo and and Travis d’Arnaud went on a honeymoon together in Hawaii. You’d think this would be bigger news . . . Oh. They just accidentally ran into each other with their respective brides. That’s not such a big story, but it is cute.

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