It’s safe to say MLB teams did not leave their holiday shopping to the last minute this year. With the Cubs’ signing of Dansby Swanson on Saturday, the last major free agent was taken off the board with more than a week to go before Christmas Day. The top 15 players in our free-agent rankings have inked new contracts, as have 27 of the top 30. It’s a stark contrast to the last few offseasons, when marquee players were often left without a team as the winter’s ice thawed across the country.
That doesn’t mean the hot stove is set to cool down quite yet, though. Pretty much every contender has an area of weakness that could stand to be shored up, and teams will probably have to be active in the trade market to adequately address those needs at this point.
Using Baseball Trade Values’ trade simulator, I’ve constructed five deals that would hopefully help both teams involved (or in one case, all three). I tried to include mostly big leaguers, as I don’t claim to be a prospect expert … and it’s just more fun to envision players we’re already familiar with swapping jerseys.
Closing the deal for the Pinstripes
Yankees acquire RHP Liam Hendriks
White Sox acquire 2B Gleyber Torres
The Yankees were short on arms in last year’s playoffs—and it cost them dearly, as their overmatched bullpen blew leads in both Game 1 and Game 4 of their ALCS sweep at the hands of the Astros. They could use another shutdown late-inning option following the bizarre conclusion of the team’s Aroldis Chapman era.
Hendriks would be a prime target to pursue. He’s established himself as one of MLB’s best closers after appearing at the last three All-Star Games and he even has a pair of top-10 Cy Young finishes over the past three years. The 33-year-old Aussie should have little trouble handling the media pressure in New York. The White Sox, on the other hand, could let Kendall Graveman slide into the closer role in Hendriks’s absence.
Torres bounced back last season from a subpar 2021 campaign, but his first two years in the majors (’18, ’19) are still his most productive ones. He would be a massive improvement for the White Sox’ current second base configuration—Chicago ranked 29th in 2B fWAR (0.0) last year—and I think whatever the Yankees lose in going from Torres to DJ LeMahieu at second base will be made up for by the presence of Hendriks jogging in from the bullpen and cursing up a Bronx storm on the mound.
Torres is arbitration eligible for the next two seasons and estimated by Roster Resource to earn $9.8 million in 2023, while Hendriks is set to earn $14 million next year with a $15 million club option for ‘24, so the Yankees’ salary increase in paying Hendriks wouldn’t be too much, despite the luxury tax charge that would come with it.
