MLB Bullets makes a move

Who are the only two Hall of Famers selected in the Rule 5 draft? You can probably get one, but the answer to the second one is one of the links today.

By the way, I prefer Contreras too.

• With Yu Darvish off the board, the attention turns to free agent outfielder J.D. Martinez. Alex Speier looks at the Red Sox current situation in the free agent market, but he made news by reporting that Boston’s offer to Martinez was less than has previously been reported.
• The Diamondbacks are exploring “creative ways” to get a deal with Martinez done. They are hesitant to do anything that would hinder their efforts to sign Paul Goldschmidt to a long-term extension. (As well they should.)
• Whitney McIntosh wonders if the Red Sox are blowing their chance to add Martinez.
• Stacey Gotsulias asks who needs Martinez more: The Diamondbacks or the Red Sox?
• Travis Sawchik argues that the Red Sox and Martinez need each other.
• Mike Axisa gives four reasons why the Diamondbacks should sign Martinez.
• Here’s the answer to the trivia question. You never would have gotten that one, would you?
• Richard Justice thinks that now that the Cubs have signed Yu Darvish, the Cardinals need to answer with a big signing of their own. He suggests either Greg Holland or Mike Moustakas.
• You mean Bud Norris doesn’t count? Because the Cardinals signed reliever Bud Norris.
• Jeff Sullivan argues that signing Norris kind of does count and compares Norris to Holland.
• This was mentioned in the comments on Monday, but former All-Star pitcher Esteban Loaiza was arrested on drug charges after allegedly transporting 44 pounds of heroin and cocaine.
• Also, Padres reliever Jose Torres has been placed on the restricted list after he was arrested on domestic violence charges.
• With Spring Training about to start, David Schoenfield explains why he’s thrilled to see baseball again.
• But even with the camps opening, Jerry Crasnick reports that the Cold Stove continues. The money quote comes from an unnamed GM who says “For multiple CBAs . . . we created a system that rewards [tanking]. . .You’ve created a system that incentivizes losing.”
• Jared Diamond lists five teams whose fans should be upset that they haven’t made a move this slow winter. (Click here first if you don’t subscribe to the Wall Street Journal.)
• Bill Baer looks at the way that all the minor league deals show that the economic landscape has changed.
• In case you were wondering, William Boor has a list of all the non-roster invitees to Spring Training and which ones have a chance to make the team.
• At least three teams, including the Giants, are interested in reliever Tony Watson.
• Jon Heyman reports that there are a lot of teams interested in Tim Lincecum.
• The Blue Jays will retire Roy Halladay’s number 32 on Opening Day.
• Also, longtime radio voice of Blue Jays Jerry Howarth has retired. He’s been calling Blue Jays games since 1981.
• The Angels announced that they plan on using a six-man rotation in 2018 to help Shohei Ohtani. Also, they said that Ohtani’s pitching comes first and he’ll only hit as his pitching schedule allows.
• Jeff Sullivan examines just how bad the decimated Marlins outfield will be in 2018.
• Yahoo Sports has an all-underrated team and an all-overrated team.
• Former National League Rookie of the Year Wally Moon has died. He was 87.
• Pitcher Jarrod Parker has retired after a career of injuries. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2013.
• A lawsuit has been filed against the ACES baseball agency alleging that the agency directed him to provide PEDs to their clients.
• Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell said he will stand for the National Anthem this season.
• Harris County has approved plans to renovate the Astrodome.
• Matt Snyder provides a bit of baseball history to remind us that bunting a two-strike pitch foul was an out was a rule adopted to speed up the pace of the game. For that matter, so was making foul balls count as strikes.
• Chelsea Janes gets the lowdown of the story when new Nationals manager Dave Martinez, Harold Reynolds and Darnell Coles were all stuck in a Caribbean casino while it was being robbed.
• You may have heard before that Babe Ruth was the first person to ever receive chemotherapy. Eleanor Cummings has the backstory behind that, how the Babe was probably never told he had cancer and the trailblazing role he played in cancer treatments, even if Ruth (unethically) never knew it. (h/t Hardball Talk)
• Some fool on the MLB Network said that “there’s no way you can’t think the Yankees are the team to beat in the American League.” Justin Verlander of the World Champion Houston Astros took exception to that.
• And finally, Giants players at their Fan Fest took turns imitating each other and it turns out that new Giant Andrew McCutchen can already do a killer Hunter Pence impersonation.

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