MLB Roundup 12/11: Billy Hamilton signs with the Royals

Billy Hamilton signs with the Royals

The first day of the Winter Meetings didn’t involve all that much player movement, with most of Monday seeing some rumors swirling but not a whole lot of action. That doesn’t mean there was no player movement, though. The biggest name to find a new team was Billy Hamilton, who agreed to a one-year deal with the Royals. Now, Hamilton’s name value may outweigh his overall value at this point, and he was just recently non-tendered by the Reds. That being said, he does two things extremely well and one thing extremely poorly. Hamilton is probably the best baserunner in baseball, combining good instincts with otherworldly speed. He also utilizes those to be one of the best center fielders in the game as well. However, Hamilton also happens to be one of the very worst hitters in all of baseball to boot. He’s always an interesting player to watch and Kansas City now has an incredible outfield defense and will steal a million bases. Unfortunately, their lineup wasn’t helped too much by this.

Tigers sign Tyson Ross

The Tigers also made a move on Monday, signing their second veteran to a one-year deal to fill out their rotation. After grabbing Matt Moore earlier in the offseason, Tyson Ross agreed to a one-year deal with Detroit. This is certainly not the most exciting move, but for a team like the Tigers these are the kind of moves you want to try. As a rebuilding club, you want to fill in your holes but unless you’re getting a young star you don’t want to commit to too many guys. With these two one-year deals, they not only fill out their rotation but they have a chance to upgrade later. All Detroit needs is one of these guys to pitch decently well and they can get some good prospect value at the trade deadline. Both Moore and Ross have some injury history so it could be easier said than done, but the strategy is sound.

Mariners claim Kaleb Cowart

Monday was filled with low-level waiver claims around the league — including the Reds claiming Robby Scott from the Red Sox — but the most interesting with the Mariners claiming Kaleb Cowart from the Angels. Now, Cowart himself has never been a super interesting player, at least in the majors. The former first round pick never really panned out as an infielder, so Seattle is looking for a role change and will utilize him as a two-way player. Shohei Ohtani has paved a path towards acceptance for this role, it seems. Now, I won’t pretend to know how likely this is to work, but back when Cowart was drafted he was seen as a first rounder as a pitcher as well as as an infielder, so maybe that’s still in him.

Yankees, Mets and Marlins discussing potential blockbuster

This could end up being the biggest news of the day, but as of now there isn’t enough information to really get overly worked up. Late Monday night, Ken Rosenthal reported that a three-way deal between the Yankees, Mets and Marlins has been discussed where J.T. Realmuto would head to the Mets. Not a whole lot else is know, but Rosenthal does include Noah Syndergaard’s name and says he wouldn’t be in the deal if the Mets are only getting Realmuto. Which, presumably, is where the Yankees come in. I won’t speculate on what else could be in the deal, but I will just say: Don’t trade Syndergaard to the Yankees, Mets. Be cool.