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Winners, losers and what is still pending from the 2016 Winter Meetings
Both the Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox were winners in the Chris Sale trade at the Winter Meetings. Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Winners, losers and what is still pending from baseball's 2016 Winter Meetings

Baseball’s Winter Meetings have come and gone, and with the dust settled it is a fair time to look at the condition that both team and player emerged from them in. Here’s a breakout of the biggest winners and losers at the Winter Meetings, as well as a few teams that could still stand to go either way in the wake of the week’s events.

Winners

1. Chicago White Sox: The White Sox came into the meetings as a team that had a great opportunity to strike gold by trading away the biggest trade chip in baseball in Chris Sale, which is something that they accomplished in their deal with the Boston Red Sox. However, they hit an unexpected second grand slam in landing another prospect haul for Adam Eaton as well.

By the halfway point of the affairs at the Meetings, the White Sox had completely overhauled what had been one of the most barren minor league systems in the game, adding five prospects that appeared in most top 100 lists a year ago in Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech and Reynaldo Lopez. Moncada and Giolito were ranked #1 and #3, respectively.

And if that was not enough, they also brought over a pair of first round picks from this year’s Draft in Zach Collins (#10 overall) and Dane Dunning (#29 overall). Toss in Luis Basabe and Victor Diaz as well, and the future of the White Sox is looking more promising than anyone could have imagined just a week ago. And they still have Todd Frazier, Jose Quintana and David Robertson to potentially move as well.

2. Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox struck big in landing Sale from Chicago, and while they paid a high price in prospects, they made themselves decisively better by adding a second top flight arm in as many years, on the heels of their David Price signing a year ago. Sale will move into a rotation he easily be considered the top talent within, despite the fact he will join a pair of Cy Young winners in Price and Rick Porcello now.

The Sox also used the week to check off their two other biggest concerns: bullpen help and adding an extra bat. Tyler Thornburg, who came over from Milwaukee, will provide the much needed setup help the team needs, while Mitch Moreland is a versatile presence that can contribute at first base, corner outfield and designated hitter.

3. Relief Pitchers: The individual winners both now and in years to come from this year’s free agency group are closers. The record was rewritten twice for the biggest contract ever given to a reliever, first with Mark Melancon’s $62 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, followed by Aroldis Chapman’s huge $86 million deal to return to the New York Yankees. The prospects going ahead for other top flight relievers that are either still deciding on their next deal (Kenley Jansen) or could see free agency soon (Wade Davis, Zach Britton) look much brighter.

4. Chicago Cubs: The Cubs were never players for any of the big name relievers on the market, as the cost of doing business in that market was beyond their comfort zone. However, they still had a gap to fill at the back of their bullpen with Chapman moving on, and they did the next best thing possible to fill it: traded for the best available non-free agent pitcher.

The Cubs landed Wade Davis from the gradually deconstructing Kansas City Royals, in exchange for Jorge Soler; a promising talent, but one that did not have a clearly cut out role in Chicago anymore. They will get Davis, who has a 1.18 ERA and 47 saves since becoming a full-time reliever three years ago, and will have an opportunity to work out an extension with him over the next year while having minimal decline from their closer role.

5. St. Louis Cardinals: It carried into the last few hours of affairs of the meetings, but the Cardinals moved on solving the biggest gap in their lineup by landing Fowler. The 31-year-old Fowler is a perfect fit for a Cardinal team that badly needed an overall upgrade in the heart of their outfield, as well as a permanent leadoff fixture to move Matt Carpenter down their lineup, the ability to get faster on the bases and to avoid trading top prospects from a system that is thin in that area. GM John Mozeliak got the top guy on his list.

Losers

1. Washington Nationals: Mike Rizzo entered the Winter Meetings with the grand hopes of leaving with Chris Sales, Andrew McCutchen or Aroldis Chapman, and perhaps two of the three. Instead, the Nationals were outbid by the Red Sox in prospects, never could get eye to eye with the Pirates on what the cost for McCutchen could be and watched Chapman go back to the Bronx.

True, they did upgrade their outfield talent by bringing Eaton aboard, but the prospect cost was massive and closer to the price that should have been paid for Sale, not a player the caliber of Eaton. However, the team was in position to have to walk away with something after so many other near hits, so they will need to hope that Eaton makes a sizable impact for years to come and perhaps a greater one than he ever did in Chicago.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates: Not trading away McCutchen is far from the worst thing that could happen; he is still the face of their franchise (for now) and has the ability to build his stock back up again next year. But the Pirates will now need to mend fences as best as they can with McCutchen, while still having to look for trade partner for him throughout the next year. With his contract set to expire after 2018 and his upcoming price being out of the range of business for Pittsburgh, they have no choice but to continue to advertise him as available, something that likely will not make affairs any better between player and team.

In addition to this, a team that is usually proactive in adding the type of veteran arms they need to keep their rotation afloat oddly added nothing at the Winter Meetings. Perhaps a move is still to come, but with a number of fits still available, such as Derek Holland, Doug Fister and Ivan Nova, they need to move fast.

3. Colorado Rockies: Yes, they got better by bringing the versatile Ian Desmond into their fold, but the cost of doing so is very curious. He will likely make the move to first base, which will be his fourth position in the last two years, a position he has never played before. So it is an eye opener that they would commit a five year, $70 million deal to the hopes of an easy transfer. And if that wasn’t enough, they gave up the 11th pick in next June’s Draft to do so, sealing the deal on what could be the biggest and most comprehensive overpay of the year.

4. Jose Bautista: Joey Bats saw the Winter Meetings end with him being in position to be the biggest name free agent that has no clear path to a new home. His stock was put in peril by a mixture of questions about his durability, asking price, fit and character. Bautista will certainly get a deal, but there is a clear reality that he could struggle to do much better than he would have by taking the Blue Jays’ qualifying offer, a proposition that seemed crazy at the time of him turning it down.

5. Edwin Encarnacion: Another former Jay that had to come to terms with a tough reality at the Meetings was Encarnacion, who entered the week with a wide open buffet of teams that made sense, but all of which seem to have no interest of meeting his asking price, which is said to be close to range of Yoenis Cespedes. Encarnacion will have to reassess what he is willing to take, and if he is willing to go on a shorter term deal to do so.

Still on the fence

1. Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers left from the Winter Meetings with one major piece of business done, which was retaining pitcher Rich Hill. However, they will need to readdress the end of their bullpen most likely, as they are rumored to be unwilling to pay the new premium pricing that retaining Kenley Jansen could cost. Likewise, they still need to work on retaining Justin Turner, while finding a new home for pitchers Scott Kazmir and Brandon McCarthy.

These are all solvable issues, but things that the Dodger brass needs to get moving on in order to assure a progressive offseason.

2. Mark Trumbo: Things could still go really good for the (currently) former Baltimore Orioles slugger. As the defending American League home run champ, he will certainly find a home at some point, but it remains to be seen how and where that could work out – as well as if Trumbo can land the $70-plus million or so he is looking to land.

The good news is that there are plenty of teams that can use his services, such as the Mariners, Indians, Rockies, Astros, Cardinals and a return to the Orioles. And while no team is currently showing the willingness to spend that high, things like this have a way of working themselves out as rosters are readdressed and owners and GMs get more competitive to add a final piece. Trumbo is in a good place, for now. 

3. Miami Marlins: They have added a pair of veteran arms in Jeff Locke and Edinson Volquez thus far, but they are all-in on bringing Jansen aboard and have seemingly based the success of their offseason around adding him. It would be a very big boost for the Marlins’ borderline chances in the NL East, but with the level of commitment they have put towards landing him, it is the tipping point for success in their offseason now.

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