The Winter Meetings came to a close on Thursday. Here’s a look at the rumors and news from the final day in Las Vegas.
RUMORS:
- Jon Morosi of MLB Network continues to link the White Sox with relief pitcher Adam Ottavino. Morosi first reported the team’s interest in the reliever yesterday before releasing the tweet below after the Familia signing.
Adam Ottavino is a name to watch, following the Familia signing. #WhiteSox and #RedSox are among the possible landing spots for him.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 13, 2018
- Just because it involves an insider, I’ll throw this under the rumors category as well. Jon Heyman of FanCred was on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk and predicted that Bryce Harper will sign with the White Sox during a segment of the show.
.@JonHeyman predicts Bryce Harper to the South Side on Intentional Talk pic.twitter.com/7fKbwUS27Z
— Sox On 35th (@SoxOn35th) December 13, 2018
- Jim Bowden of The Athletic provided these Harper and Machado related rumors.
#WhiteSox #Phillies appear to be most interested in Bryce Harper in terms of breaking contract records which could mean he could end up circling back to the #Nationals at some point…. unless of course something changes dramatically with teams like the #Yankees #Dodgers #Cubs
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) December 13, 2018
Don’t look for #Angels or #Giants to be a mystery team for Machado or Harper because like the #Dodgers they have no interest in going 10 years for either one of them according to multiple sources.
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) December 13, 2018
NEWS:
- We’ll start off with some news on the less serious side as it pertains to social media. The first deals with Nicky Delmonico’s latest Instagram post where Bryce Harper responded. Here’s a screenshot of the post and Harper’s comment:
— Sox On 35th (@SoxOn35th) December 13, 2018
In case that wasn’t enough, Michael Kopech chimed in with a tweet of his own directed at Bryce Harper.
I’ve been looking for my jersey, DUDE! @Bharper3407 it’s cool. Dinner on you? https://t.co/WiFt3LOLo9
— Kopech (@MichaelKopech5) December 13, 2018
Even, Michael Kopech Sr. joined in on the fun.
Dinner? Son, we need to work on your negotiating skills. Have Scott call me. ? https://t.co/O4FNRmDpdn
— Michael P. Kopech (@KopechDad) December 13, 2018
- The Rule 5 Draft took place on Thursday at the Winter Meetings. With the 3rd overall pick of the draft, the White Sox selected RHP Jordan Romano. The former Blue Jays pitcher was ranked No. 28 on Toronto’s top 30 list. However, he didn’t remain with the Sox for long as they traded him to the Texas Rangers for cash considerations. In the second round of the draft, the White Sox selected 1B Jordan George from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The only player the organization lost came in the draft came during the Triple-A portion when Cristofer Melendez was selected by the San Diego Padres. Melendez played only in the Dominican Summer League after being picked up from the Astros last offseason.
- Following the Rule 5 Draft, GM Rick Hahn met with the media one last time in Vegas. Here are some of his quotes:
Hahn: “It’s good to have a seat at the table on some large, impactful moves. Now it doesn’t necessarily mean that anything’s going to come together …
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) December 13, 2018
More Hahn: “..We still have a fair amount of work to do, and even if we are able to convert on something big, there’s still going to be work behind it over the coming years to get us where we need to be.”
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) December 13, 2018
Hahn on FA pursuit: “There’s only so much we can control in the end. Ultimately, free-agent players have earned the right through hard work and longevity in their career to choose their ultimate destination. And sometimes factors beyond money factor into these things.”
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) December 13, 2018
Hahn: “All we can do is put our best foot forward, our most aggressive foot forward and try to convert on what we feel are necessary targets.”
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) December 13, 2018
Hahn: “We’ve seen extremely high-profile deals happen as late as February and March in recent years. We’ve seen high-impact deals happen here. Obviously that wasn’t the case this week at these meetings, but it doesn’t mean something can’t come together in the coming weeks….
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) December 13, 2018
Hahn: “In the end, when it gets done is less important than getting it done. So we’re going to react accordingly to how the market unfolds.”
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) December 13, 2018
More Hahn: “Sometimes factors beyond money factor into these things, whether it’s location, whether it’s a wife’s family’s location, family preference, Spring Training, all sorts of factors that come into this decision at the end. “
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) December 13, 2018
- The White Sox agreed to terms with 21-year old Cuban player Lazaro Leal, per Francys Romero of Las Mayores. The details of the deal have still not been made official by the White Sox.
Sources: Lázaro Leal (21) INF/OF sign to White Sox. He is the cuban number 10 in @loswhitesox system: https://t.co/odwP5hfU8I @Matt_Enuco @SieraSantos @whitesox @MiLB
— Francys Romero (@FrancysRomero10) December 13, 2018
For more updates, follow us on social media @SoxOn35th.
Featured Photo: Chicago Tribune
