New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: With the GM meetings coming to a close, Phillips highlights some of the lower-profile tidbits that came out of the meetings that may not have made the biggest headlines, but should still catch your eye. Among them, the fact that Jasson Dominguez will be playing winter ball in the Domininan Republic, with the 23-year-old’s future with the Yankees very uncertain at this point. Also noted is the Yankees’ interest in reuniting with Tim Hill, as well as Brian Cashman’s
assertion that the Yankees still see prospect Carlos Lagrange as a starter going forward.
ESPN | Jeff Passan: In case you missed it, the Red Sox made the first free-agent splash of the offseason, inking Brewers playoff hero Jake Bauers to a four-year, $58 million deal. It’s a sizable commitment to a player who was essentially replacement level for his career prior to last year, but a 140 OPS+ from the 30-year-old convinced Boston to pony up. Bauers joins a roster that’s already pretty crowded at the 1B/DH spots, with Willson Contreras, Masataka Yoshida, and Tristian Casas on hand, though the latter certainly have lengthy injury histories.
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: The Yankees met this week with Shoki Oda, the 18-year-old Japanese phenom who has forgone signing with the Yomiuri Giants to explore coming to the United States out of high school. New York’s pitch promoted their ability to develop pitchers and featured Sam Briend, the club’s senior director of pitching development. New York appears keen on signing the teenager, who can hit 97 mph on the radar gun, though they face competition from, of course, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
