MLB Winter Meetings Live: Asdrubal Cabrera Reportedly Joining Mets

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Dec 9, 2015

There weren’t many fireworks Wednesday at the Major League Baseball winter meetings.

The Mets agreed to a deal with Asdrubal Cabrera, and Ken Giles and Brett Lawrie were traded in some of the few deals that happened. You can check them all out and more in the live blog below.

9:32 p.m.: The New York Mets made a splash in free agency by reportedly picking up Asdrubal Cabrera.

9:15 p.m.: The Chicago White Sox have a new third baseman.

9 p.m.: The Houston Astros reportedly got their man in closer Ken Giles from the Phillies.

6:59 p.m.: The Yankees reportedly have agreed to send left-handed reliever Justin Wilson to the Tigers.

Wilson posted a 3.10 ERA in 74 relief appearances spanning 61 innings in 2015. The 28-year-old owns a 3.03 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP in 210 career relief appearances over four seasons.

6:56 p.m.: Brett Lawrie looked destined for the Windy City earlier in the day, but a source told Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area that trade talks between the Athletics and White Sox have hit a snag.

The sticking point, a source told Stiglich, is which prospects the White Sox will include in the deal for the A’s third baseman. Chicago reportedly has balked at some of the players requested.

6:11 p.m.: Mystery team alert!

According to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, the Giants, Cubs, Cardinals and Angels are involved in the bidding for free-agent outfielder Jason Heyward. Heyman also notes the inclusion of a fifth team that is unknown at this point.

6:07 p.m.: Those Jose Fernandez rumors were fun while they lasted.

6:02 p.m.: Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon and Corey Dickerson all are on the table.

5:57 p.m.: ESPN’s Jayson Stark provided an update on the reported talks between the Astros and Phillies regarding closer Ken Giles.

5:50 p.m.: Bartolo Colon is still doing his thing at age 42. The Mets apparently wouldn’t mind if he keeps doing his thing next season in the Big Apple.

A pursuit won’t be without competition, though.

4:25 p.m.: Are the Phillies trying to tell us something?

3:44 p.m.: We learned earlier that the Astros were talking to the Yankees about Andrew Miller. The tall left-hander isn’t the only closer on Houston’s radar, though.

Giles, who owns a 1.56 ERA in 113 career relief appearances, is a very attractive option because he’s just 25 years old and is under team control for five more seasons. The right-hander saved 15 games and struck out 11.2 batters per nine innings with the Phillies last season.

3:36 p.m.: It’s probably safe to close the book on Daniel Murphy’s tenure with the Mets. New York reportedly has agreed to a trade with the Pirates involving second baseman Neil Walker.

Walker, a first-round pick of the Bucs in 2004, hit .269 with 16 homers, 71 RBIs and a .756 OPS last season. The 30-year-old slugged a career-high 23 homers in 137 games in 2014. He is slated to become a free agent next offseason.

The Pirates reportedly will receive left-hander Jon Niese in the trade, which makes sense given New York’s starting pitching depth.

Niese, who turned 29 in October, went 9-10 with a 4.13 ERA in 33 appearances (29 starts) last season. He owns a 3.91 ERA in 182 career appearances (177 starts).

3:31 p.m.: The Indians could use some offense to go with their talented, young pitching staff. Todd Frazier certainly would satisfy that need.

Frazier hit .255 with 35 home runs, 89 RBIs and an .806 OPS in 157 games with the Reds last season.

3:25 p.m.: The Mets seem to be preparing for life after Daniel Murphy. Pirates second baseman Neil Walker reportedly is in New York’s crosshairs.

2:44 p.m.: The Nationals’ interest in Mike Leake seems legit.

1:29 p.m.: The Orioles aren’t going to let Chris Davis walk without a fight.

1:27 p.m.: Just six of Ian Desmond’s 889 career starts have come at a position other than shortstop — five at second base, one in right field — yet some teams are keeping an open mind.

1:24 p.m.: Neil Walker seems like a reasonable target for teams who missed out on Ben Zobrist.

https://twitter.com/BiertempfelTrib/status/674643322661707777

1:22 p.m.: The outfield market still hasn’t taken shape, though one more team appears to be monitoring the situation.

1:17 p.m.: The uncertainty surrounding Aroldis Chapman, who is under investigation for domestic violence allegations, seems to have impacted the closer’s market. The Dodgers reportedly agreed to a trade with the Reds involving Chapman earlier this week, but they’re perhaps exploring a Plan B.

Another closer-related update:

12:21 p.m.: The Astros might not be that “mystery team” everyone was talking about in connection with Marlins ace Jose Fernandez. Houston is, however, remaining active in Nashville.

12:13 p.m.: The Rockies moved Troy Tulowitzki last season. Is Carlos Gonzalez next?

Gonzalez is owed $37 million over the next two seasons. The 30-year-old outfielder has dealt with injuries in the past and there’s always been a question of how he’d produce away from Coors Field, but the two-time All-Star had a big second half in 2015. He finished with 40 home runs and 97 RBIs, winning a National League Silver Slugger.

12:09 p.m.: Some more details of the Adam Lind trade have surfaced. The Mariners reportedly are surrendering three lower-level farmhands for the veteran first baseman.

12:05 p.m.: Brett Lawrie could be on the move for the second straight offseason. The White Sox reportedly are working on a trade for Lawrie, who was traded from the Blue Jays to the A’s last offseason in the deal that sent Josh Donaldson to Toronto.

The A’s also reportedly made a move to improve their bullpen.

12:02 p.m.: The Nationals could look to replace Jordan Zimmermann, who signed with the Tigers before the winter meetings, with Mike Leake.

12:01 p.m.: The Cubs might not be done.

While the Cubs had a busy day Tuesday, signing Ben Zobrist and trading Starlin Castro to the Yankees in exchange for Adam Warren, it appears Chicago still is involved in the outfield market.

The Cubs are among the teams that have shown interest in Jason Heyward, Denard Span and others, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, who points out that Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times first reported Chicago’s interest in both Heyward and Span.

Signing Heyward, of course, would qualify as a huge move, as the 26-year-old is considered the top position player available in free agency and one of the best all-around players in baseball.

11:55 a.m.: Doug Fister’s first full season in the National League was disappointing, but that isn’t stopping the Phillies from kicking the tires on the free-agent right-hander.

11:50 a.m.: The Mariners’ pursuit of Adam Lind reportedly has been a successful one.

10 a.m.: This tidbit from Ken Rosenthal is why there’s reportedly not a whole lot of optimism across baseball that Jose Fernandez will be moved.

9:35 a.m.: The Arizona Diamondbacks obviously have been busy at the winter meetings, culminating with the acquisition of Shelby Miller on Tuesday night, a deal that just became official. Many think the D-Backs gave up way too much for Miller, but compared to the asking price for Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, the Miller haul looks like a bargain.

The Miami Herald reported Wednesday that Arizona discussed a Fernandez deal with the Marlins, but the asking price far too rich for the Diamondbacks’ blood.

“According to a major-league source,” wrote the Herald’s Clark Spencer, “the Marlins discussed a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks in which they would have given up Fernandez for a five-player haul that included pitcher Patrick Corbin and top shortstop prospect Dansby Swanson — last year’s overall No. 1 draft pick.”

Eesh. The Diamondbacks ultimately parted with Swanson but did keep Corbin who figures to be a big part of that retooled rotation between Zack Greinke and Miller.

8:25 a.m.: It looks like the Houston Astros won’t rest until they add an arm or two to the back of their bullpen. Their latest target is Philadelphia Phillies closer Ken Giles, according to Jon Heyman.

8:20 a.m.: The name that’s been all over the place Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning is Adam Lind.

The veteran first baseman has been a solid offensive piece his entire career, and only his 35-home run 2009 season was better than his 2015 season where he produced a career-high in WAR.
It sounds as if the Seattle Mariners are trying to pry him from Milwaukee, and they’re the leading the sweepstakes at the moment, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Heyman.

8 a.m.: How do you follow up that?

Tuesday at the Major League Baseball winter meetings in Nashville started slow, but things got wild fast. In the span of just a few hours, a handful of blockbuster moves went down with Ben Zobrist signing with the Chicago Cubs, the Yankees trading for Starlin Castro and then the Arizona Diamondbacks unloading some top prospects to acquire pitcher Shelby Miller in a trade with the Atlanta Braves.

However, there are still plenty of dominoes to fall, and that could happen as early as Friday. With the prevailing thought from baseball insiders being the Zobrist deal would set the wheels in motion, Wednesday could be a big day for free-agent outfielders like Jason Heyward and Yoenis Cespedes. There are still plenty of free-agent arms left, and teams who’ve missed out on trades and signings so far might soon turn their attention to a pitcher like Johnny Cueto.

There’s also the ongoing sagas surrounding players like Aroldis Chapman and Jose Fernandez.

We’ll have all the updates of what should be another crazy day, so be sure to check back throughout the day for all the latest news and rumors.

Thumbnail photo via Scott Rovak/USA TODAY Sports Images

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