The 2023 MLB Winter Meetings began Monday, Dec. 4, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. (Evan Webeck / Bay Area News Group)
NASHVILLE — The 2,888-room Gaylord Opryland Resort, set on nine acres east of downtown, is the kind of sprawling place in which you can get lost. Multiple forested atriums, winding walking paths that circle the artificial island and the lazy river surrounding it. Christmas trees stand 50 feet high, below oversized decorative guitars suspended from glass ceilings.
The scale of it is massive.
And, for the first time since 2015, it is the site of MLB’s Winter Meetings, with executives from all 30 clubs getting into town Sunday and commissioner Rob Manfred kicking off the three-day gathering Monday morning with the announcement of MLB’s charity auction (featuring Gotham Club passes from Giants and batting practice at the Oakland Coliseum, which you can bid on through 7 p.m. PT Thursday here.)
The week will be defined by Shohei Ohtani, the two-way sensation said to be nearing a decision in his free agency. Giants manager Bob Melvin, president Farhan Zaidi and part-owner Buster Posey were photographed Saturday outside Oracle Park, where it was speculated that they were meeting with Ohtani.
Here’s what to expect.
Will Ohtani sign?
The two-time MVP is the Giants’ top priority, and they aren’t alone.
The largest contracts signed this offseason have been Aaron Nola’s seven-year, $172 million pact to return to the Phillies and Sonny Gray’s three-year, $75 million deal with the Cardinals. There hasn’t been a notable free-agent hitter to come off the board.
Teams are awaiting Ohtani’s decision. The floodgates should open shortly thereafter.
Except, the most important figure of the Winter Meetings may not even make an appearance.
Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, were said to be taking meetings over the weekend with finalists at his agency’s office in Los Angeles.
There is, however, a stage at the ready in a large ballroom here. If MLB officials had their say, the league’s biggest free agent — ever? — would make his decision on the biggest stage, a la Barry Bonds’ signing with the Giants back in 1992.
Yamamoto, Lee less likely
The Giants have had their eyes on the Pacific Rim, and Ohtani isn’t their only chance at adding an impact player from Japan — or Korea.
The 30-day window for outfielder Jung-Hoo Lee to sign will begin Tuesday, after he was posted by his KBO club, the Kiwoom Heroes. Lee joins Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Yokohama Baystars lefty Shōta Imanaga, both from Japan, as the most intriguing international options on the market.
Yamamoto could receive the largest contract of any pitcher on the market, including reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell. He has won the past three Sawamura Awards, NPB’s equivalent to the Cy Young, and posted a 70-29 record with a 1.82 ERA over seven seasons in Japan.
However, Yamamoto is reportedly waiting until after the Winter Meetings to take a tour of interested clubs, which is believed to be numerous. Nearly half the league reached out upon him being posted, his agent, Joel Wolfe, said.
The timeline is likely even longer for Imanaga and Lee, whose postings came after Yamamoto’s.
The Japanese pitchers have a 45-day window to sign, putting Yamamoto’s deadline at Jan. 4 and Imanaga’s a week later, Jan. 11. With a 30-day posting window for Lee, he has the same deadline as Yamamoto, Jan. 4.
What else?
Monday afternoon, Zaidi will welcome reporters into the team’s sixth-floor suite.
It will be Zaidi’s first media availability since mid-November, and the first time he speaks on the record since Ohtani’s free agency has reportedly heated up. In this case, no news is probably good news. Ohtani’s camp has been said to hold it against clubs who discuss details of their meetings.
All 30 managers are also on site for media sessions, and Melvin will host his Tuesday.
The Giants have a 1% chance at the No. 1 overall pick in MLB’s draft lottery, which also takes place Tuesday. The A’s have much better odds, as one of three teams (along with the Rockies and Royals) that have 18.3% chance at the top pick.
One of the Giants’ biggest moves of last year’s meetings came via the Rule 5 draft, when they added Blake Sabol from the Reds. They have the 13th pick in this year’s Rule 5 draft, which will take place Wednesday afternoon as its traditional conclusion to the meetings.
Originally published at Evan Webeck