MLB Bullets has a blockbuster

Good morning.

• The trade has finally happened as the Mariners dealt second baseman Robinson Cano, reliever Edwin Diaz and $20 million to the Mets for outfielder Jay Bruce, reliever Anthony Swarzak and three prospects: pitchers Justin Dunn and Gerson Bautista along with outfielder Jarred Kelenic.
• Eric Longenhagen gives the scoop on the three prospects the Mariners are getting.
• Jon Tayler looks at what both sides are getting as well as what kind of impact this trade might have on the rest of the winter dealings.
• Emma Baccellieri writes that Diaz, not Cano, is the key to this deal for the Mets as they get baseball’s best closer in Diaz.
• Dayn Perry likes the deal for the Mets as long as they don’t stop adding talent this winter.
• Zach Kram is less thrilled about the deal and says that it has a chance to be a rare lose-lose trade for both teams.
• Keith Law examines the players involved in the deal and writes that while he understands their desire to “win now,” the Mets simply gave up too much that they couldn’t afford to lose. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Jeff Passan defends New York and writes that the Mets should be applauded for trying to win now and not hoard prospects. Passan writes that the Mets have no excuses for not spending all the money they can to put a winner on the field every season.
• Bob Nightengale agrees that the Mets did well and stresses the riskiness of prospects. I agree with both Passan and Nightengale that prospects are risky and sometimes they need to be dealt for immediate major league talent. But what both seem to be missing is the inherent riskiness in 36-year-old middle infielders and relievers of any age. Still, if the Mets add another two big major league free agents or players through more trades, the deal might work out for them.
• For example, the Mets have talked to the Indians about a possible deal for Corey Kluber.
• The Mariners also aren’t done as another deal was reported late last night that you might not have heard about yet. The Mariners have agreed to send infielder Jean Segura to the Phillies for infielder J.P. Crawford. First baseman Carlos Santana might be heading to Seattle as well as part of this trade. We’ll probably get the full details later today, assuming Segura will waive his no-trade clause.
• And the Mariners made another deal, sending pitcher Alex Colome to the White Sox for catcher Omar Narvaez. Mariners GM Jerry DiPoto makes more deals than someone behind the blackjack table at Caesars Palace.
• R.J. Anderson has a list of other Mariners players who could be heading out of Seattle.
• The Indians traded catcher Yan Gomes to the Nationals for reliever Jefry Rodriguez and minor league outfielder Daniel Johnson. Eric Longenhagen explains what each team is getting in this trade.
• Turning from the players who have been traded to the ones who won’t be, the Royals are not going to trade catcher Salvador Perez.
• The Yankees say they won’t trade catcher Gary Sanchez.
• Mike Petriello explains why the Yanks are smart not to deal Sanchez.
• Jon Heyman looks at the teams in the hunt for top free agents Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. Heyman says he’ll be surprised if the Phillies don’t land at least one of the two big free agents.
• R.J. Anderson explains why the Phillies are right to spend big right now.
• Speaking of Harper and Machado, one big reason that they’re in so much demand is that they’re both free agents at the young age of 26. However, that is no guarantee of future success as the Cubs found out with Jason Heyward and Michael Baumann tries to figure out what happened to Heyward. I suppose this could be a Cub Tracks item, but Baumann does use Heyward as a general example of the perils of free agency. If Duane wants to include it tomorrow, he can.
• Outfielder A.J. Pollock wants a deal in the range of five years and $80 million, or what Lorenzo Cain got.
• David Schoenfield has a list of the best players (or at least the most-recognizable names) that were not offered a contract at the deadline. One of them was the Royals’ Bubba Starling, who was the sixth pick in the draft in 2011. The next six picks were Anthony Rendon, Archie Bradley, Francisco Lindor, Javier Baez, Cory Spangenberg and George Springer. Ouch.
• Brewers infielder Jonathan Scoop was also not tendered a contract and Brewers general manager David Stearns said the decision to trade for Scoop was “a bad deal and that’s on me.” Every GM makes bad deals. The key is to make more good ones than bad ones. So far, Starnes is on the positive side of the leger.
• Richard Justice has seven players who just belong on one particular team to much to go anywhere else. Except some of them no doubt will go elsewhere.
• There’s a report that one major league player has tested positive for a banned stimulant. Since a first offense for stimulants don’t carry a suspension, it’s unlikely we’ll ever find out who it is. Overall, ten players were suspended for failing a drug test in 2018.
• Adrian Beltre said he’s “completely happy” with his decision to retire.
• George H.W. Bush, the 41st president, died on Friday as you no doubt heard. But Bush had a long connection to baseball, as Mark Townsend writes. Bush played in the first two College World Series, met Babe Ruth in one of the last public appearances of Ruth’s life, played baseball in college against Vin Scully and was a lifelong Houston Astros fan. (That’s the life of the Astros, not Bush.) The last baseball game Bush attended in person was Game 5 of the 2017 World Series, that 13-12 ten-inning thriller won by the Astros.
• Here’s some rare footage of Hall-of-Famer Satchel Paige corkscrewing a batter into the ground on an eephus pitch.
• And finally, former Giants reliever and current Giants broadcaster Jeremy Affeldt had an interesting week. His dog choked on a piece of food and Affeldt had to perform mouth-to-mouth on his dog four times before he revived him. Both Affeldt and his dog are now doing fine.

And tomorrow is a better day than today, Buster.