MLB Bullets wishes you a Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. Let’s see what Santa has under the tree for MLB teams.

• Former Yankee free agent reliever Dellin Betances stays in New York as he’s agreed to a one-year deal with the Mets. There are two vesting options that could turn it into a three-year deal.
• Outfielder Kole Calhoun signed a two-year, $16 million deal with the Diamondbacks.
• Former Cubs right-hander Pierce Johnson returns from a successful year in Japan to sign a two-year deal with the Padres.
• Catcher Francisco Cervelli signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Marlins.
• Travis Sawchik examines why teams are spending more freely in free agency again this winter. Well, not all teams are spending.
• Stephanie Apstein thinks the lively ball is having an impact on the market of the top free agents this winter.
• David Schoenfield tries to predict where the remaining free agents will land.
• Will Leitch suggests a holiday gift for every team. Maybe some of them will get one of the remaining free agents.
• And Paul Casella has the number one game of the decade for each MLB team. You only get one guess on the Cubs’ entry.
• In one of the weirder stories of the offseason, free-agent pitcher Rich Hill and his wife were arrested after an altercation with security outside of Foxborough Stadium before Saturday’s NFL game.
• Moving on to the ugly stuff on what’s supposed to be a happy day, Tyler Kepner argues that MLB’s plan to contract the minor leagues threatens what makes the minor leagues special.
• Doug Glanville remembers his time getting underpaid in the minor leagues and why it helps to explain why current players aren’t fighting for the rights of minor leaguers. (The Athletic sub. req.) He thinks it’s time for MLB players to put aside their apathy on the subject and start fighting for the minor leaguers, however.
• Tom Verducci looks back at the last decade and notes how much different the game is now than it was in 2020.
• Craig Edwards notes that the Blue Jays got the final good pitcher on the market with Hyun-Jin Ryu, but he thinks Ryu is an odd fit with Toronto.
• Molly Knight writes about what a terrific person Ryu is and how much he’ll be missed in the Dodger Stadium clubhouse. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Buster Olney thinks the Blue Jays may regret signing Ryu to a four-year deal, but he’s very glad that teams are finally spending money. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Tony Wolfe explains what kind of an impact the White Sox can expect new pitcher Dallas Keuchel to have.
• Fifty years ago yesterday, outfielder Curt Flood wrote his famous letter to commissioner Bowie Kuhn, giving his reasons for challenging the reserve clause. Marc Carig breaks down the letter and its impact. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• For those of you who don’t have a subscription to The Athletic, Gabe Lacques looks at the letter and speaks with his family about the reasons that Flood took a stand.
• William C. Rhoden looks at the campaign to get Flood into the Hall of Fame.
• David Adler has the 13 luckiest players of 2019.
• And finally, Scott Merkin has the story of how White Sox infielder Tim Anderson made Christmas a very happy one for one young Chicago ballplayer.

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