/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62699838/1033770718.jpg.0.jpg)
Astros News
After a quiet week in Vegas, the Astros make a splash by reportedly signing Michael Brantley (MLB Trade Rumors)
Who it turns out is good in addition to being on the Astros now (Fangraphs)
Lance is also pretty pumped about having him in the good guy’s dugout (CUT4)
They do remain in the market for Realmuto, though that might mean trading Tucker which I’m less sure about (MLB.com)
Maybe a trade with Seattle for Encarnacion is in the stars, which seems more reasonable (Sodo Mojo)
Richard Justice had a little talk with MLB Network about the Astros’ offseason (MLB Video)
It’s been an offseason full of charity for the Astros players (Climbing Tal’s Hill)
Around the League
Seems like a good time to have a look at the market for starting pitching (ESPN)
Which got slightly thinner with the Pirates signing sometimes-starter and former Astro Jordan Lyles (MLB Trade Rumors)
There’s also these three buy-low candidates dangling out there (MLB.com)
Noah Syndergaard is definitely not in that category, with the Mets rejecting a straight up trade for him and Realmuto (Bleacher Report)
CC Sabathia will receive his $500k bonus in spite of falling short of his innings goal (Yahoo Sports)
Jeurys Familia turned down a closer job elsewhere because he wanted to be a Met (NY Post)
The 2019 season will open with a two game series in Japan between the A’s and Mariners (Sporting News)
One thing the Winter Meetings showed this year is that MLB is betting on diversity (The Undefeated)