Like so many other big meetings planned for 2020, the MLB Winter Meetings are going to be held virtually for the first time this year.  Owners, front office execs and managers will all be hooked up to Zoom, sitting in their homes and offices, instead of in a crowed hotel where everybody there wants something from you.

Trades will still be made and free agents will still be signed up during the teleconference meetings scheduled to take place from December 7-10 this year; it’s going to be a bit different.

The MLB Winter Meetings To See Several Trades

A lot of attention is going to a possible deal between the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer and the New York Mets.  Mets fans already know that the team needs another big arm in the rotation, and Bauer needs somewhere to call home since he rejected a qualifying offer from the Cincinnati Reds of $18.9 million.  Bauer became a free agent this winter and apparently does not want to stay in Cincinnati.

The Mets, who in years past could not even dream of affording a guy like Bauer, now no longer have to shop in the bargain basement since lifelong Mets fan and brand new Mets owner Steven Cohen has come on the scene.  He is looking to turn the Mets into contenders right away and apparently is willing to put his money where his mouth is in order to do it.

The Mets have already secured another key piece in their rotation when Marcus Stroman accepted their qualifying offer earlier this month. So, now the Mets can count in their starting rotation Bauer and Stroman, along with Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard.

Realmuto On The Block?

Ace catcher J.T. Realmuto is probably going to be on the market as well and the possibility exists that he could end up in a Mets uniform, as well.  Any catcher in the majors would like to work with that starting rotation. In two years with the Philadelphia Phillies, he hit .273-.333-.492, and, in 2019, was named to the MLB All-Star team.  Realmuto has won a golden glove award and a silver slugger award, so, he is not going to come cheap.

Cohen has stated that he does not want the team to “spend like a drunken sailor” but there is a chance that the Mets could pick up Bauer and Realmuto, and still grab outfielder George Springer in free agency.

Speaking of Springer, while the Mets are certainly a possibility for the All-Star, the Boston Red Sox may have the inside track toward landing Springer who has let it be known that he wants to go to a team close to Connecticut where he grew up.  Now that Alex Cora, who has a history with Springer from Houston, will be the new manager for the Red Sox, Boston does then seem possible.

The Cubs Might List Kris Bryant

Rumor has it that the Chicago Cubs are willing to trade Kris Bryant.  What they will get in return is still not clear, but it will have to be a lot. Bryant is a three-time MLB All-Star and the 2016 National League MVP, in addition to having helped the Cubs win their first World Series in living memory.

There is some talk going around that the LA  Dodgers might be willing to trade Justin Turner, but don’t believe it.  Turner is a local Southern California boy who has become the very face of the Dodgers team and a hometown hero with Dodgers fans.  He will be right back there at third base in Chavez Ravine when the next MLB season kicks off, red hair and all.