Hansen101

So far the 2019-2020 MLB offseason is getting off to a hot start, while the Atlanta Braves have been resigning some of their own Free Agents they signed Will Smith to a 3yr/$39M deal, they also signed Travis d’arnaud to a 2yr/$16M deal, they even signed Cole Hamels to a 1yr/$18M deal. The White Sox signed the top catcher on this year’s market by signing Yasmani Grandal to a 4yr/$73M deal. The Phillies signed one of the market’s best pitchers by signing Zack Wheeler to a 5yr/$118M deal. The Winter Meetings start this Sunday in San Diego, California where I believe there will be some big free agent deals…. So in this post I will have 3 Bold Predictions, they will consist of 1 free agent signing, 1 big trade, and my prediction of the Houston Astros cheating scandal. I will also compare my bold predictions to some of the other big free agent signings, and trades over the last 10 years at the Winter Meetings. Bold Prediction #1- Madison Bumgarner will sign the richest Free Agent contract. Bumgarner will sign with the Minnesota Twins for 5yrs/$125M. Bumgarner has a better track record than that of Zack Wheeler, and Bumgarner will be the veteran pitcher the Twins will need to help win some playoff games this year. According to MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal the White Sox gave Zack Wheeler a 5 year deal worth more money, but Wheeler wanted to stay on the East coast so he can stay close to his fiance's family. Back in 2011 the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim signed future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols to a 10yr/$240M contract. Bold Prediction #2- Chicago Cubs trade: 3B Kris Bryant Los Angeles Dodgers trade: RHP Dustin May, SS Jeter Downs, and OF Alex Verdugo I don’t know how likely this trade will happen at the winter meetings, but there are rumors that the Cubs might trade Kris Bryant this offseason and I believe that the most likely destination is the Los Angeles Dodgers. If the Cubs were to trade Kris Bryant they would be asking for some pretty big prospects from the Dodgers, and the Cubs will get a RHP in Dustin May who could help now and an outfielder who can play center field for the next several years. The last big trade to happen at the Winter Meetings was back in 2016 where the Boston Red Sox traded for Chris Sale and gave up Infielder Yoan Moncada (Red Sox #1 prospect according to MLB.com), RHP Michael Kopech (Red Sox # 5 prospect), Outfielder Luis Basabe (Red Sox #8), and RHP Victor Diaz (Red Sox #28). Bold Prediction #3- I have this prediction coming out at the end of the Winter Meeting’s, but I have the punishment for the Houston Astros for the cheating scandal that started in 2017. It will be hard to predict all the punishments Houston will receive. The thing I do predict is that they will receive fines, loss of draft picks, and suspensions. The Winter Meetings will end with a bang with the punishment for the Astros no pun intended.

My 2020 Offseason Blueprint gives out multiple different avenues the Twins can go down to acquire starting pitching, among some signings for depth/bench pieces. Sign Free Agent Starting Pitchers. Develop pitchers from the farm system. Trade for a young controllable starter. Backup Catcher. Nice bullpen piece. Sign Free Agent Starting Pitching The Twins probably won’t sign Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strausburg, because they will be too much money, so the Twins will sign the next tier of starting pitchers, two that come to mind are Madison Bumgarner, and Zack Wheeler. According to sports guy 5 Eyewitness News and contributor to 1500ESPN.com Darren Wolfson says Wheeler is asking for a 5yr/$84M contract. Since Wheeler will be a hot commodity I think Falvey/Levine will sign Wheeler for 5yr/$95M. Trade For a Young Controllable Starter Twins trade: Eddie Rosario (LF), Jhoan Duran (SP), Jorge Alcala (RP), and another low tier prospect. Tigers trade: Matthew Boyd (SP) Last year during the trade deadline the Twins were rumored to be interested in trading for Madison Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler, Robby Ray, etc. but nothing happened because the teams either thought they were still in the playoff race, or the teams were asking for too much. Boyd was one of the hotter commodities at the trade deadline but wasn’t moved because the Tigers were asking way too much from other teams, but after the trade deadline Boyd fell apart. I believe if the Twins make this trade Pitching Coach Wes Johnson can work his magic and fix Boyd. Sign a Dominant Bullpen Arm Twins sign RP Drew Pomeranz to a 2yr/$14M contract Pomeranz was a dominant bullpen arm after San Francisco traded him to Milwaukee. After the trade Pomeranz was a strikeout machine for the Brewers Pomeranz struck out 45 batters in 26.1 IP. If the Twins were to sign Pomeranz that would make the Twins bullpen deadlier pairing Pomeranz at the end of the bullpen with Taylor Rogers, Trevor May, and Tyler Duffey. Sign a Backup Catcher Twins bring back Jason Castro to a 1yr/$5M contract The Twins will need to sign a backup catcher this offseason. I don’t see Castro finding a team that will sign him to be the everyday catcher, so Castro comes back to Minnesota for another year. Twins 2020 Roster C- Mitch Garver- $600,000 1B- CJ Cron- $7,700,000 2B- Luis Arraez- $600,000 3B- Miguel Sano- $5,900,000 SS- Jorge Polanco- $3,833,333 LF- Marwin Gonzalez- $9,000,000 CF- Byron Buxton- $2,900,000 RF- Max Kepler- $6,250,000 DH- Nelson Cruz- $12,000,000 UT- Ehire Adrianza- $1,900,000 UT- Willians Astudillo- $600,000 OF- Jake Cave- $600,000 C- Jason Castro- $5,000,000 SP- Jose Berrios- $5,400,000 SP- Zack Wheeler- $19,000,000 SP- Jake Odorizzi- $17,800,000 SP- Matthew Boyd- $6,400,000 SP- Randy Dobnak- $600,000 RP- Taylor Rogers- $3,900,000 RP- Trevor May-$2,100,000 RP- Tyler Duffey- $1,100,000 RP- Zack Littell- $600,000 RP- Devin Smeltzer- $600,000 RP- Drew Pomeranz- $7,000,000 RP- Trevor hildenberger- $600,000 RP- Fernando Romero- $600,000 2020 Opening Day Payroll- $122,583,333