Three More off the Board


In the busiest day of this sluggish off season, three big free agents landed big new deals.

The lead story was a reunion, as the JT Realmuto and the Phillies each got most of what they wanted. The catcher, widely regarded as the best in the game, is also now the highest paid at his position... ever. A five-year $115.5 million contract pushes him $100,000 a season past what Joe Mauer got on an annual basis from the Twins. And the Phils hold onto a two way player who's been their best overall hitter in the two seasons since arriving from Miami.

Then, two of the top shortstops found new homes. Andrelton Simmons heads from Anaheim to Minneapolis where the four-time gold glove winner takes over as the Twins new regular. A fundamentally sound hitter, the Curacao native has hit over .280 three of the last five years -- and runs counter to trends by not striking out a lot. In his worst season, he whiffed just 67 times, or about a third of what we'd expect from Judge or Stanton. He'll do a nice job of balancing a lineup brimming with sluggers such as Josh Donaldson, Miguel Sano and possibly again the ageless DH Nelson Cruz.


Marcus Semien is the other guy booking a moving van. Joining the decades-long parade of rising stars who priced themselves out of Oakland, he's gambling on himself in 2021. After dealing with a rib injury that helped drop his average from .285 to .233 in the 60-game season, he joins fellow free agent import George Springer to go along with Toronto's talented crew of rising stars, such as Vlad Guerrero Junior and Bo Bichette. That beefed up lineup will give the Yankees something to think about as they look ahead to a year when the Rays are rebuilding, the Red Sox are questionable and the Orioles will again look like the Triple A team there were in the first half of the last century.

 

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