Forty years ago this month, Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck and general manager Roland Hemond set up a table in the lobby of the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida, with an “Open for Business Anytime” sign and made four trades in an hour that involved Mickey Lolich, Rusty Staub and Ralph Garr.
That was baseball’s last winter meetings before free agency. The average salary was just under $45,000 a year and advanced analytics was batting average with runners in scoring position.
This season, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw earned $160,656 a day and teams hold multiple conference calls before trades, mulling over statistical spreadsheets, video, personal background files and medical reports before finalizing deals.
“It wouldn’t work today,” Hemond, now an Arizona Diamondbacks special assistant, said Sunday. “You’re trying to hide the fact that you’re talking about a free agent or a big trade.”
Baseball executives gather this week in Nashville, Tennessee, for the four-day winter meetings beginning Monday. Some big deals already have been struck, with Boston giving left-hander David Price a $217 million, seven-year contract, the largest ever for a pitcher, and the Diamondbacks reaching a $206.5 million, six-year deal with right-hander Zack Greinke, subject to a successful physical. Greinke’s $34.4 million average salary would be a big league record.
Still, there is much to discuss.
Accomplished hitters Chris Davis, Yoenis Cespedes, Pedro Alvarez, Chris Carter, Alex Gordon, Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and Ben Zobrist remain on the market along with pitchers Ian Kennedy, Doug Fister, Scott Kazmir, Johnny Cueto and Yovani Gallardo. The Cincinnati Reds are shopping closer Aroldis Chapman before he can become a free agent next November.
Twelve trades involving 44 players were made over four days in San Diego last December, according to Major League Baseball, the most at a winter meetings since 2006.
Mets: Assistant general manager John Ricco said it’s unlikely Cespedes will return to New York.
“Right now, I still think he’s looking at a deal that would be north of what we would consider,” said Ricco, who is stepping in for his boss, general manager Sandy Alderson, who is receiving treatment for cancer and is not at the winter meetings.
A July 31 trade-deadline acquisition from Detroit, Cespedes sparked one of the worst offenses in the major leagues with a power display in Queens not seen in years, leading New York to its first World Series appearance since 2000. In 57 games, the outfielder hit .287 with 17 homers, 44 RBIs and a .604 slugging percentage.
With second baseman Daniel Murphy a free agent, too, New York is among the teams looking at free-agent second baseman-outfielder Ben Zobrist after he helped the Kansas City Royals beat the Mets in five games in the Fall Classic.
Tigers: Free-agent pitcher Mike Pelfrey finalized a $16 million, two-year contract with Detroit, which also added catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia for the major league minimum of $507,500.