Outside The Confines: The big day is getting close . . .

I know this has been the worst MLB offseason since 1994-95, but I can promise you that we’re going to have one terrific week of baseball coming up. This is the last OTC that I’ll do before the season starts.

• On Sunday, the Athletics traded left-hander Sean Manaea to the Padres for two minor league prospects, infielder Euribiel Angeles and right-hander Adrian Martinez. The Padres also got minor league right-handed pitcher Aaron Holiday.
• On the same day he was traded to the Padres, Manaea faced his old team in a Spring Training game. Manaea said it was “crazy” and that he got a little emotional.
• David Schoenfield grades the trade for the A’s and Padres. (ESPN+ sub. req.) Schoenfield suspects that Manaea may not be in San Diego long, so he shouldn’t get attached.
• Schoenfield thinks that because of this rumored trade that would have sent Eric Hosmer to the Mets fell through. Schoenfield, in the previous link, wondered if Manaea might be the sweetener that the Mets needed to pull the trigger on that deal.
• A breakdown of what that trade that Mets/Padres trade would have looked like and what both teams are trying to achieve. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• And the Mets are looking for pitching because ace Jacob deGrom is going to miss “significant” time with a stress reaction in his scapula.
• In an article written before his injury was announced, Ben Clemens was intrigued about the way deGrom was pitching to both sides of the plate in a Spring Training start.
• Ken Rosenthal notes that even with missing the start of the 2022 season. deGrom is likely to opt-out of his contract after this year. (The Athletic sub. req.) Rosenthal also has updates on contract extension talks for Aaron Judge and José Ramírez.
• Also, top free agent signing Max Scherzer is day-to-day with hamstring tightness and may miss Opening Day.
• R.J. Anderson lists 15 stars who will miss Opening Day.
• This trade seems like weeks ago, but it was only on Friday. The White Sox sent former Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel to the Dodgers for outfielder A.J. Pollock.
• Bradford Doolittle grades the Dodgers/White Sox deal. (ESPN+ sub. req.) Both teams got a “B.”
• The White Sox made another deal as they swapped backup catchers with the Blue Jays. The White Sox got Reese McGuire and the Blue Jays got Zach Collins.
• The two New York teams swapped relievers as the Mets got lefty Joely Rodriguez and the Yankees got right-hander Miguel Castro.
• Mark Feinsand has a list of players who are trade candidates in 2022.
• Carlos Beltrán addressed the 2017 Astros sign-stealing scandal before his first games working as an analyst for the YES Network. Beltrán admitted that the Astros “did cross a line” and that “Looking back today, we were wrong. I wish I would’ve asked more questions about what we were doing.”
• Evan Drellich has more details on the sign-stealing scandal and what Beltrán said over the weekend. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, however, said that Beltrán didn’t need to address the Astros scandal.
• The Angels designated outfielder Justin Upton for assignment. They still owe him $19.5 million this year.
• Top Royals prospect Bobby Witt Jr. has made the Opening Day roster. The best news here is that he’s not going to be tormenting the Iowa Cubs anymore. As Alex Cohen said, “Put him in a car, drive him to Kansas City, Bobby Witt Jr. is ready.”
• David Schoenfield has a list of everything that is new in MLB this year. (ESPN+ sub. req.) Expanded playoffs, a new name in Cleveland and universal DH are just a few of many examples.
• One change: Umpires will now announce replay review decisions.
• Tim Kurkjian thinks that there will be less “magic” in baseball now that pitchers will no longer hit. I like that man.
• Most Spring Training stats mean nothing, but Mike Axisa has four performances from 2022 Spring Training that could be quite significant.
• Five “dark horse” Cy Young Award candidates for 2022.
• Zach Crizer lists the Cubs among three teams that are a threat to “surprise” everyone this year. In a good way.
• Bob Nightengale speaks with new Rockies player Kris Bryant. Bryant answers the question of “Why did you sign with the Rockies?” by answering “Why not?”
• Do-Hyoung Park reports on how the Twins almost signed Juan Soto.
• Joe Posnanski rants about something that all of us have ranted about—MLB blackouts. They’re bad for baseball. But as he points out, the matter is really out of MLB’s control.
• As Zack Greinke returns to Kansas City, he tells Alec Lewis how much GIl Meche impacted his career. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• And finally, Steve Buckley has the story of how Shaun Clancy went from being the owner of Foley’s, the preeminent baseball bar in New York, before the pandemic to working at a supermarket deli in Florida now. But he doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him. (The Athletic sub. req.)

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. It will be Triple-A Opening Night.