MLB Roundup 1/20: A few rumors, little action

Maybe the Sonny Gray trade isn’t done

Yesterday in this space, we talked about the Sonny Gray trade and how it appeared to be done at the time. Well, now 24 hours later and things still aren’t officially complete. The good news for people who want this trade to get done, or just want anything to get done, is that the trade does indeed appear to have been agreed to. The Yankees are still expected to get at least Shed Long and a competitive balance pick along with a possible second prospect, but the Reds are first working on an extension with Gray before sending the deal through. The two sides have set a deadline at some point late in the day today, but it’s unclear if or how the framework of the deal will change if they can’t agree to a deal, but as Jon Heyman notes in the tweet linked above they do believe they’ll get it done.

The Dodgers are talking about a Joc Pederson trade

In other trade rumor news, the Dodgers are looking to trade yet another outfielder even after already sending Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp to Cincinnati earlier this winter. They have plenty of depth at that spot, including some minor leaguers who haven’t gotten much of a chance to play just yet, but they are still going to look very different in 2019. Now, there is talk they are in discussions to send Joc Pederson out of town, with the White Sox being one team mentioned in those rumors. Nothing appears to be super close right now, but the possibility is there. On the one hand, I get this because Pederson is a platoon player and they were rumored to be in on A.J. Pollock, which would crowd the outfield a bit. With Cody Bellinger, Alex Verdugo, Chris Taylor, Kiké Hernandez and possibly Pollock, they do still have some depth. On the other hand, Pederson is the long end of a platoon and performs very well in that role. Plus, the Dodgers have always thrived because of incredible depth all over the place, and dealing Pederson would change that even more than it already has. Obviously we can’t really judge this without knowing what they’d get back, but this offseason has seemed very anti-Dodgers.

Cubs considering trading Ben Zobrist

Speaking of large market teams not acting like it, the Cubs have done just about nothing this winter. On the one hand, they already have a ton of talent on their roster and there is little reason to expect them to do anything besides compete for a playoff spot. On the other hand, the Brewers continue to get better and look like they could be the favorites, the Reds are making a push for contention and the Cardinals got Paul Goldschmidt. The NL Central will be very good! Well, the Cubs could free up some cash, of which they supposedly don’t have much, by trading Ben Zobrist. They’ve considered it at least, though it doesn’t appear anything is close. With the Red Sox having question marks at second base, expect people to bring them up because they are always brought up, but it would be shocking if there really was any connection.