Offseason Transactions

1.27.20

A few notable transactions took place in the MLB this morning. 

 

One of the more premier hitters on the free agent market, Nick Castellanos has elected to sign with the Cincinnati Reds. This has been reported to be a 4-year, $64 million deal. This is the Reds most recent move to drastically improve their roster in hopes of increasing offensive production. Earlier this offseason, the Reds signed 3B Mike Moustakkas to an identical deal, as well as outfielder Shogo Akiyama. The club has also improved on the other side of the ball, signing veteran pitcher Wade Miley. 

 

Castellanos looks to be a mainstay in the top of the lineup. Last year with the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers, he .289/.337/.525 with 27 homers and led the big leagues with 58 doubles over 151 games. 

 

Later on in the day, one of the outfielders constantly in trade talks was finally dealt. Pittsburgh Pirates CF Starling Marte was sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Brennan Malone and Liover Peguero. The 31 year old Marte alleviates the Diamondbacks pressure to play Ketel Marte in CF, as they prefer to have him at 2B. Marte is a force in the middle of the lineup, and in 2019 he had his second 20 home run 20 stolen base season. 

 

There have been many rumblings about the possibility of a big name outfielder, Mookie Betts, being on the move. It will be interesting to see if any teams are able to meet the Red Sox asking price.