We're a done with a good chunk of the MLB Off-season. We've seen lots of deals get made already and there's still a lot more to get done. I wanted to talk about the transactions that just seemed a bit... Weird.

The Mets trading for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz:

It was unorthodox for the Mets. They rarely pay for players and yet here they take on a lot of money for one player mainly to get a chance to trade for a great closer, which they still paid a lot for.

The Angels signing Matt Harvey:

I love Matt Harvey, he's my favorite played right now, but the Angels are paying him up to $14 million in 2019. Sure he was better in the second half of the 2018 season with the Reds but he wasn't even really considered good. I was expecting him to get maybe like $5-7 million a year

The Reds non-tendering Billy Hamilton:

I mean, yeah he hit a little North of .230 but he was still one of the fastest players in baseball. His OBP literally was the same as in 2017, he had more than 30 stolen bases, and he had 29 extra bases while scoring 74 times. Those aren't bad numbers and he could have done well staying with the team.


What do you think were some weird deals?

I thought the Mets trading for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz was weird at first, but Brodie Van Wagenen has made it clear that he believes the Mets are contenders and is willing to do what it takes to put a winning team on the field. I thought the Mets got robbed at first, because they had to eat Cano's massive contract and give up Kelenic, but shedding Jay Bruce and Anthony Swarzak's contract in the process might make up for it.

The Reds non-tendering Billy Hamilton surprised me as well, because although he isn't much of a hitter, he's a terrific center fielder and can steal bases like no one's business. Despite only hitting above .250 once in his career and never hitting more than 6 HRs in a season, Hamilton was still considered an above replacement level player, with a career bWAR of 8.2.

Another move that I thought was a little strange was the Braves signing Josh Donaldson to a one-year, $23-million contract. I would think Donaldson would definitely want a longer term contract, due to his injuries in the past and struggles last season. He must really believe in himself if he's willing to sign a 1-year deal. He must think he can perform well enough to get another big contract after.