2019 – Veteran OF Adam Jones, one of a number of prominent free agents still on the market, signs a one-year deal with the Diamondbacks for $3 million.
2019 – Newspapers in Montreal, QC report that a prospective ownership group led by Stephen Bronfman has proposed an innovative solution to resolve the chronic ballpark problems of the Tampa Bay Rays: have the team play a significant portion of its season in Montreal, without breaking its punitive lease on sub-par Tropicana Field which runs until 2027. The team could then move permanently to Montreal if it still cannot find a new home in the Tampa area.
2019 – Manny Machado signs the biggest free agent contract in history, agreeing to a ten-year deal worth $300 million with the San Diego Padres. This tops the $275 million given by the Yankees to Alex Rodriguez following the 2007 season. There were many teams interested in the infielder’s services, but only the unlikely Padres, in the middle of a rebuild, were willing to to give the kind of long-term commitment that Machado was seeking.
2019 – As spring training gets underway, Bruce Bochy, long-time manager of the Giants and winner of three World Series titles with the team, announces that he will retire at the end of the season.
2019 – The Yankees sign their young ace Luis Severino to a four-year contract extension for $40 million, with an option for a fifth year at $12.25 million.
2019 – Kyler Murray, the 9th overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft by the Oakland A’s, announces that he is giving up baseball to concentrate on becoming an NFL quarterback. Murray, an outfielder, was originally committed to give professional baseball a try and accepted a $4.66 signing bonus from the A’s, but his plans changed after a tremendous season as a junior at the University of Oklahoma that saw him win the Heisman Trophy as the best college football player in the nation. He has declared for the NFL draft and is expected to be a top pick.
The long-rumored trade of All-Star C J.T. Realmuto is finally completed as the Phillies agree to send three young players – C Jorge Alfaro and Ps Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart – in return for the outstanding young backstop.
2019 – The Rockies and Nolan Arenado agree on a one-year deal worth $26 million, thus avoiding an arbitration hearing. The amount sets a record for an arbitration-eligible player, topping the $23 million obtained by Josh Donaldson a year ago.
2019 – The Dodgers sign OF A.J. Pollock for four years at $55 million. Most observers thought they were looking to sign another free agent, Bryce Harper, after trading OFs Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig earlier this off-season, but this signing likely means that they will cease pursuing Harper.
The Mariners offer a minor league contract to 45-year-old outfielder and living legend Ichiro Suzuki. While the Mariners released him last May, Ichiro has not officially retired and has made it clear that he would love to play for the M’s when they open the season in his native Japan on March 20th.
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