March 14, 2022 at 10:31 PM EDT
Rosecrans: The Reds aren’t rebuilding, they’re just slashing payroll
Monday felt personal. It felt personal because Jesse Winker had grown up in front of our eyes. Like his mentor Jay Bruce before him. Winker was watched as he rose up every level in the Reds system. A baby-faced kid turned into an All-Star. And for all the promise Winker showed over the years, 2021 was when he really developed into an impact big-leaguer, not only making his first All-Star Game appearance, but being elected a starter. While he was drafted before the team’s rebuild, he was one of the young players who was supposed to be part of the next great Reds team, the one that could break through a playoff drought that started when Winker was in diapers.
And then there was Eugenio Suárez and his ever-present smile. Even as he spoke about the trade that ended his run in Cincinnati, Suárez said “Cincinnati has my heart.” Suárez, acquired in a steal of a trade with the Tigers in 2014, hit 189 home runs in 916 career appearances for the Reds over seven seasons, including 49 homers in 2019, when he set a record for most home runs in a season by a Venezuelan player.
C. Trent Rosecrans·
Senior Writer, Reds
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Reds aren’t rebuilding, or even tanking. They’re just slashing payroll, and this teardown feels personal
March 14, 2022 at 10:10 PM EDT
End of the Freddie Freeman era in Atlanta: ‘It’s a tough deal’
Freddie Freeman played more than 1,600 games for the Braves, and it seemed he could wind up on the franchise’s figurative Mount Rushmore for hitters had he fulfilled an expressed desire to finish his career in Atlanta — like his friend Chipper Jones, a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
But that idea was decimated Monday when the Braves, at an impasse in free-agent negotiations to re-sign Freeman, instead traded four prospects to Oakland in a megadeal for first baseman Matt Olson.
David O’Brien·
Senior Writer, Braves
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Matt Olson trade to Braves signals end of Freddie Freeman era in Atlanta: ‘It’s a tough deal’
March 14, 2022 at 9:34 PM EDT
Mariners hope trade additions Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suárez can make offense ‘ominous’
On a sun-splashed Monday in Arizona, after the team’s first full-squad workout, the Mariners struck a big deal with the Reds, landing All-Star left fielder Jesse Winker and third baseman Eugenio Suárez as part of a six-player deal that will eventually include a player to be named later heading to Cincinnati.
Winker and Suárez, along with the November addition of second baseman Adam Frazier, add length to the Mariners’ lineup and, Dipoto hopes, the kind of production that can help propel the team into the postseason for the first time since 2001.
“We feel like these guys make our lineup longer and a lot more ominous,” Dipoto said. “We feel like it gives us the lineup depth that playoff teams have. This was a goal of ours heading into the offseason and we tried a lot of avenues, so to speak, and over the last three or four days, drove down a lot of dead ends.”
Corey Brock·
Senior Writer, Mariners
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Mariners hope trade additions Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suárez can make offense ‘ominous’
March 14, 2022 at 8:07 PM EDT
Andrew McCutchen in agreement with Brewers: Source
Ken Rosenthal·
Senior Writer, MLB
Source confirms: Free-agent outfielder Andrew McCutchen in agreement with Brewers, pending physical. First: @DanielAlvarezEE.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 15, 2022
March 14, 2022 at 7:42 PM EDT
Cubs to meet with Seiya Suzuki: Source
Source confirms the Cubs are expected to meet with Seiya Suzuki and his reps tonight. The Cubs have numerous holes to fill and would love to add Suzuki. The 27-year-old outfielder fits their short-term goal of trying to compete now and long-term for when Cubs hope young prospects arrive in bigs.
Sahadev Sharma·
Staff Writer, Cubs
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Cubs need to pursue a big bat, but it might not be the one everyone expects
March 14,…
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