MLB Roundup 11/13: Braves naming Alex Anthopoulos GM

Alex Anthopoulos to be named Braves’ new GM

Atlanta has been in the market for a new general manager after the big scandal surrounding some of their talent acquisition over the last few years. We’re still waiting to hear about the final punishment for said scandal, but apparently that unknown doesn’t intimidate Alex Anthopoulos, who is set to be named as the team’s new GM on Monday. Anthopoulos should be a very familiar name to Red Sox fans, as he is the former architect of the Blue Jays and a big reason they took a big step forward earlier in the decade. He helped sign Jose Bautista to his team-friendly deal, he made the Roy Halladay trade and he brought on some big names such as Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin and Jose Reyes. It’s true that not all of these moves worked out, but he helped get Toronto to a level they hadn’t been at in about 20 years. Now in Atlanta, it can be assumed that the Braves will be more likely to make big moves, as Anthopoulos never shied away from the big splash in Toronto. In an ideal world, that could mean Freddie Freeman would be available this winter, though I wouldn’t bet on that being the case. Still, the Braves are nearing the end of a rebuild, which means there could be some wild moves in either direction coming in Atlanta.

The Royals are interested in keeping both Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas

According to Jon Heyman of Fanrag sports, the Royals are planning to make a push to bring back both Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. These are two of the biggest names on the market this winter, and it has long been assumed that Kansas City would only be able to bring back one of them, and even that was far from a guarantee. Bringing back two would involve some deep pockets we have never seen from this organization, and frankly I would be shocked to see it. This sort of sounds like a way to keep fans engaged through the offseason and be able to claim that they did attempt to keep the band together, but it would simply require a big increase in their budget. The Red Sox, of course, have been connected to Hosmer, a rumor that most of us agree is not great. Adding another competitor to his market will only cause his contract to increase in value.

• The Rays are planning on keeping Chris Archer, who was potentially going to be the best starting pitcher on the trade market this year. A GM saying he wants to keep a star doesn’t really mean much, though, because saying the opposite would rid the team of all leverage.
• The Twins have reportedly been asking about Raisel Iglesias of the Reds. I’d be really surprised if Cincinnati trades the very talented Iglesias out of their bullpen, but if he is indeed available the Red Sox need to at least ask about the price. He’s a stud who’s under team control for a while, and would make it much easier to (potentially) lose Craig Kimbrel after 2018.