MLB Bullets is your friend

A Merry Christmas or a Happy Holiday for whatever you celebrate.

• This is a bit of old news by now, but last Friday the Dodgers and Reds completed a big trade that sent Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood and money to the Reds for Homer Bailey and prospects.
• Here are some important numbers about that trade.
• Craig Edwards evaluates the deal and notes that the Dodgers were able to clear payroll while the Reds got a little better.
• Keith Law notes that the Dodgers shed a lot of payroll while the Reds got better, but not nearly better enough to contend for a playoff spot. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Alden Gonzalez notes that this deal was all about payroll flexibility for the Dodgers.
• Jonah Keri notes that the Dodgers are behaving like an NBA team operating under a salary cap and that could end up paying big dividends in 2019.
• The immediate assumption is that this trade allows the Dodgers to pursue free agent Bryce Harper. Jon Tayler assess the chances that Harper ends up in Dodger blue.
• Gabe Lacques warns that it is not a foregone conclusion that the Dodgers will use these savings to sign Harper.
• Tim Brown agrees that the Dodgers may not use their savings to sign Harper and offers several other possibilities that LA might use that payroll savings towards.
• Eric Stephen looks at where the Dodgers go from here and notes that catcher and not outfielder is the Dodgers’ top priority at the moment. While not denying that the Dodgers could make a move for Harper, Stephen notes that this deal could be about opening up a spot for Alex Verdugo.
• I should point out here that Gordon Wittenmyer is reporting that the Cubs told Harper’s agent Scott Boras to not let Harper sign with any team without checking back with them first.
• Grant Brisbee ranks all 30 teams by how much they need to sign Harper.
• Eric Stephen recaps Puig’s amazing journey with the Dodgers.
• Gabriel Baumgaertner has a collection of highlights from Puig’s career.
• At this point, Puig’s new team, the Reds, would like to remind you that they are still a major league baseball team and that maybe we should look at how the deal affects them. Michael Baumann thinks the Reds getting Puig, Kemp and Wood makes Cincinnati a potential playoff team. And yes, he also looks at what the Dodgers will do with all that money.
• Mike Axisa outlines what the Reds still need to accomplish this winter to be a playoff contender.
• There was a three-way trade on Friday that was completely overshadowed by the Dodgers-Reds deal. But the Rangers, Athletics and Rays made a deal and the biggest name that switched uniforms was infielder Jurickson Profar, who went from the Rangers to the Athletics. Rollie Lacy, whom the Cubs traded to the Rangers in the Cole Hamels deal, also ended up in Oakland.
• Eric Longenhagen evaluates the three-team trade.
• Adam J. Morris has some thoughts about Profar’s departure from Texas.
• The A’s also re-signed right-handed starter Mike Fiers to a two-year deal.
• And the Mariners got outfielder Domingo Santana from the Brewers for outfielder Ben Gamel and reliever Noah Zavolas. Santana lost most of his playing time in Milwaukee after the team acquired Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain last winter.
• The Mariners are also facing a wrongful-termination lawsuit that accuses the team of discrimination and intentionally trying to undermine pitcher Felix Hernandez. The Mariners deny all the allegations.
• Jay Jaffe calls the Cardinals signing of free agent reliever Andrew Miller as a risky move that the Cardinals had to take.
• Mike Axisa ranks every potential landing spot for Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto.
• Owen Poindexter points out that if any team decided to sign every player who was non-tendered this winter, that team would likely outhit the Orioles and Marlins. Also potentially two other teams. That team’s pitching, however, would be pretty awful.
• Michael McCann explains the many ways that politics could yet derail the new agreement between MLB and the Cuban Baseball Federation.
• Jon Thorne, MLB’s official historian, provides a terrific short history of 19th-Century baseball in Cuba.
• Jesse Sanchez tells of how the Bahamas are becoming the next hotbed of baseball talent.
• It’s become common for players who are having trouble establishing themselves in MLB to go to Japan’s NPB or Korea’s KBO to try to jumpstart their career. Evan Drellich looks at Aaron Tassano, a scout who has left the Astros organization to scout for the Samsung Lions of KBO. He’s still scouting the US, he’s just looking for talent that would consider making the jump to KBO. Tassano used to scout Korea for major league teams. In fact, he signed Hak-Ju Lee for the Cubs back in 2008.
• Ken Rosenthal reports that Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia underwent an angioplasty this past week. He’s expected to make a full recovery by Spring Training, but that is the reason that Jackie Bradley Jr. was in England by himself this past weekend to promote this summer’s London series.
• Andrew Simon looks at some players who were on their way to Cooperstown before injuries got in the way.
• Here’s the best win of 2018 for all 30 MLB teams. One guess on the Cubs’ top win.
• Old-time Cubs fans may not have warm feelings about former Mets outfielder Cleon Jones. But Jones has dedicated his post-playing career to rebuilding the Africatown area of Mobile Alabama where he grew up. So I guess he isn’t evil after all.
• And finally, this has become a tradition these days, but new Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt took out a heartfelt full-page ad that thanked the Diamondbacks organization, their fans and the people of Arizona for his time in the 48th state.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.