Prediction Time! Where Are These Guys Going?

It’s two weeks until Spring Training starts! Two weeks….and the biggest names are STILL sitting on the market. This off season has been ridiculously boring. So instead of searching for new rumor that don’t exist or rehashing the same David Robertson trade story and trying to put a new twist on it let’s play a game. Where are the big names going?

1) Jake Arrieta – ???
I could see two possibilities here. If you ask my fiance who definitely has a good following on the baseball world in general he will tell you Arrieta is going to be a Brewer. It’s a possibility, the Brewers are rumored to have made an offer but I also wouldn’t count out the Phillies at this point. It’s crazy to think that the Phillies are one of the top spending teams this off season. It’s true! The Phillies are making that transition from rebuilding to contending. They aren’t there yet but will be soon and you can’t ignore the connection between the two. Phillies outfielder Nick Williams has been a workout buddy with Arrieta over the winter and it sounds like he’s been trying to sway him to Philly according to reports like THIS ONE. Is it true? Who knows, but since the Phillies are spending money I wouldn’t count them out.

So much for Boras and his huge BINDER he sent to every team with a sales pitch for a $200 million dollar deal. LOL!

2) J.D. Martinez – Red Sox
The Red Sox have been far too quiet this season. Let’s face it after the Yankees got Giancarlo Stanton there has been no response. They always have to make their own splashy move and it hasn’t happened yet. I can’t see them waiting until the trade deadline. The Red Sox need some more pop in their lineup. Of course, if they don’t get him I am perfectly fine with that….really.

3) Mike Moustakas – Kansas City?
This is a hard one. He’s the best left-side infielder available in this years free agent market but his market has been pretty dry. Just thinking from a business standpoint it might be in Kansas City’s best interest to sign him after they let one of their other big names Lorenzo Cain leave in free agency. The Royals are only a few years removed from a World Series Championship and may need that familiar face to keep fans more motivated as they continue to rebuild.

4) Yu Darvish – Cubs?
So the Phillies, Brewers, Twins, Yankees and Cubs are all considered to be serious suitors for Darvish. I would love to sign him, especially if we could get him at a discount now that the market is dropping faster as Spring Training gets closer….but I am not going to hold my breath. According to Jerry Crasnick HERE, the Cubs are considered to be favorites. I tend not to put so much weight on that because look at what happened with Shohei Ohtani. We were the favorites and yet we didn’t make it out of the first round. Who knows. All of these teams make sense but the Cubs do have the need to sign a starter, the money to do it and the desire to get back to the World Series again. I wouldn’t count them out.

And just for fun…

5) J.T. Realmuto – Nationals?
Yes, he’s not a free agent BUT he is the last big name standing in Derek Jeter‘s gut job in Miami. Everyone else is gone! The Nationals are interested and should be. With one last push to win a World Series before Bryce Harper likely leaves in free agency they want more reinforcements to help their cause. Matt Wieters is still a starting catcher but he had a down year last season and adding a young 26 year old catcher under team control through 2021 who had a good season last year seems like a no-brainer. Jeter is going to ship him off somewhere soon. Washington seems to make a lot of sense.

No news means game time. Hopefully some of these guys sign soon because I am beyond restless!

–Jeana Bellezza
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj