The Rundown–12/19/16: Signings, Rumors, and Arrieta’s New Ink
Here are the headlines from around the league and the Cubs:
- The Marlins bolstered their bullpen by signing Brad Ziegler to a 2 year deal worth $16M with an opportunity to earn $2M more through incentives.
- This comes on the heels of the Fish signing Junichi Tazawa last week and gives them a very strong bullpen on paper.
- Ziegler was a name the Cubs were attached to this offseason, but that much money doesn’t make much sense considering all the other pieces they have added this winter.
- Buster Olney said that there is “rampant speculation” throughout baseball is predicting that Matt Wieters will end up with the Nationals before all is said and done.
- The Nats did add Derek Norris via trade this offseason, but I don’t see that precluding them from also signing Wieters, especially when you consider that the Nats have swung and missed (or overpaid) on almost everything they wanted to do this offseason.
- Nathan Eovaldi is getting some interest from the Rays as they decide what pitching to go after this offseason.
- Eovaldi will miss the entire 2017 season as he rehabs from TJ surgery, but he is just 26 years old and if he was willing to do maybe a 2 year deal with a 3rd year option, he could make sense for a lot teams (cough, Cubs, cough).
- All kidding aside, I haven’t really seen much connecting the Cubs to Eovaldi yet, but he is in no hurry to sign a deal I imagine and the Cubs are not done this offseason.
- Ryan Howard is getting some interest this offseason as a left-handed DH option and is working out very hard to get into “the best shape of his life.”
- The Rays have been rumored to be considering Howard, but I think his market will be very slow to develop as he is 37 years old and coming off some pretty down years in Philly.
- On pretty much the same day he took to Twitter to thank Cubs fans, Aroldis Chapman also took the chance to complain to the NY media about how he was used in the World Series by Joe Maddon.
- Maddon responded in his normal fashion of complementing the player and trying to throw cold water on the situation.
- This seems like sour grapes and you would prefer that Chapman say something during the World Series instead of afterwards. But hey, I don’t know if you heard or not, the Cubs are champions of the world and none of this matters much.
- Jake Arrieta and Tommy La Stella made a friendly bet during the College World Series as their alma maters (TCU for Arrieta and Coastal Carolina for La Stella) faced off. The terms of the bet were simple: whoever lost had to get a tattoo of the other’s school.
- Spoiler alert: CCU beat TCU and Arrieta had to get the ink (pictured in the article). Good on him for paying up his bet and good on me for never even considering making a bet that involved permanently marking my body.