-Perennial Silver-Medalists the Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired Homer Bailey and some prospects for Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, and Alex Wood.
-Seattle acquired Former Astros Great Domingo Santana from Milwaukee in exchange for Ben Gamel and another guy.
-The Angels signed Matt Harvey.
-Oakland traded for Jurickson Profar.
-Oakland signed Joakim Soria.
-Daniel Murphy signed with Colorado.
-Tampa officially announced the signing of Charlie F. Morton. Houston will pay Michael Brantley $2m more than Tampa will pay CFM. I do not have an opinion on how this should be taken.
-Meanwhile, the Astros did not trade Kyle Tucker.
*Does Charlie Morton even think about us anymore? Regarding Tampa:
The thought of being able to play close to home and with such a talented group, a young group, an exciting group, seemed something too good to be true. I guess I was looking for a really good situation overall more than a dollar amount, more than a year amount. The quality of character in the clubhouse, those things are really important to me.
But, b-but...
*Shoutout to Buster Olney for finally blowing the whistle:
*In The Athletic, Jake Kaplan took a look at the bullpen in the wake of Joe Smith's injury.The Dodgers are experts at baseball money-laundering. They have cleared the slate for Harper, if they can work it out:— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 21, 2018
*Jon Heyman thinks the Astros made a mistake in not extending a Qualifying Offer to Morton and Marwin.
*ABC13 is trying to start some beef between Reddick and Bregman. They also highlighted Dallas Keuchel's new Houston-inspired shoe.
*Meanwhile, here's Brian McTaggart on Lance McCullers, Jr and his charitable efforts.
*Jay Jaffe broke down Billy Wagner's HOF case.
*Here's a KERRRRAZY story from ESPN: a new lawsuit accuses the Mariners - and GM Jerry Dipoto specifically - of discrimination. A wild paragraph:
The lawsuit also says several Latino players complained to Dr. Lorena Martin about feeling excluded and that general manager Jerry Dipoto took midseason steps to deliberately undermine the progress and mental state of star pitcher Felix Hernandez.
*The complicated free-agent case of Manny Machado.
*Here's Eduardo Perez on what the U.S.-Cuba deal means to him.
*Here's SI on the statistical trends that will dominate baseball in 2019.
*The New Zealand Herald is super-pumped about Nick Tanielu joining the Auckland Tuatara. Tanielu (2014 14th Round pick) has hit .295/.341/.421 in parts of five minor-league seasons.
*Please make sure you listen to the almost-hour-long interview with Lance McCullers, Jr. on Lima Time Time.
*2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg: Not Here To Dance.
*A Musical Selection:
