Headed for a bidding war as one of four premier free-agent shortstops, Trea Turner enters the offseason in the driver’s seat. Will he reunite with the Dodgers or will they pivot to another option? (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) (Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP Photo)
SAN DIEGO — It was barely past breakfast Monday when the incessant hum of activity in the lobby of the Manchester Grand Hyatt here was interrupted by the buzzing of notifications: The first domino of these winter meetings had fallen.
By lunchtime, two of the top three starting pitchers and one of the top shortstops were off the free agent market.
The Giants, expected to be active this week, didn’t reel in any of them. But neither did the Dodgers, which can be chalked up as a win for San Francisco and everyone else competing in the NL West arms race.
Trea Turner’s smooth slides found a new home in Philadelphia. The Phillies lured Turner, a Florida native thought to prefer playing for an East Coast team, away from the Dodgers with a reported 11-year, $300 million contract.
Justin Verlander, the reigning AL Cy Young winner and thought to be a target of the Dodgers, who are said to prefer short-term, high-dollar deals, opted to team up with Max Scherzer in New York. Verlander takes the rotation spot vacated by Jacob deGrom, who kicked off the flurry of activity early, inking a $185 million deal with Bruce Bochy’s Rangers on Saturday.
Now having lost Corey Seager and Trea Turner in back-to-back offseasons, the Dodgers could turn to an internal option, Gavin Lux, at shortstop, unless they ink one of the three remaining big-name free agents: Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts or Dansby Swanson.
The Giants and Dodgers could find themselves fighting for the same pitchers as they seek to fill out their rotations. While Los Angeles re-signed Clayton Kershaw to pair with Julio Urías, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May, they lost Tyler Anderson to the Angels.
Without Carlos Rodón, the Giants have Logan Webb, Alex Cobb, Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani penciled into their rotation, with Jakob Junis expected to serve a swingman role in the bullpen.
Aaron Judge remained unsigned, reportedly set to arrive Tuesday seeking a deal of at least nine years.
The reigning AL MVP is the top priority for San Francisco, which is also in the market for a Rodón replacement (or, less likely given the early price for pitching, Rodón himself) and an athletic center fielder (perhaps on-base machine Brandon Nimmo, who is reportedly here to take meetings with clubs).
While the Giants certainly would have loved Turner, they prefer Correa of the four premier shortstops available, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. And, for now, they should be plenty happy that Turner and Verlander won’t be calling the NL West home.
One potential downside: Could missing out on two top-dollar targets free up the money for the Dodgers to woo Judge? While the Giants and Yankees remain his two most likely destinations, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported that multiple teams are on the periphery and a mystery suitor could emerge this week.
Originally published at Evan Webeck