It was a bore that ended with a bang. And now that Juan Soto is a New York Yankee, baseball’s winter meetings largely served their purpose: To pave the way for what should be a wild week or two of player movement.
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The greatest free agent in baseball history was not seen in Nashville, even as a jumpy media corps and ravenous fans made sure he was plenty heard. For now, let’s break down the winners and losers from three-ish days in Music City:
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He sparked intrigue among the Toronto Blue Jays, leading them to keep GM Ross Atkins' whereabouts undisclosed. They positioned him in front of a simple white wall during a Zoom call, following a probable meeting with Ohtani.
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Winners - Shohei Ohtani
Sure, it might have run a bit afoul of Ohtani’s desire for total privacy in this free agent pursuit, but surely Roberts and Ohtani and agent Nez Balelo long ago realized that that private jet had already left the tarmac.
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Winners - Dave Roberts
His name scarcely came up in Music City, but let’s be real: All but one of the handful teams in hot pursuit of Yamamoto – the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Red Sox and Blue Jays among them – are going to walk away empty-handed.
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Winners - Blake Snell
Soto is anything but a dead pull hitter, so the much-celebrated right field kiddie wall is not necessarily well-suited for him. While constant interleague play has taken away some of the mystery from competing in a new league, it’s still going to be an adjustment for a career-long National League guy.
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Loser - Juan Soto
With a chunk of ownership in their own regional sports network, they looked invulnerable to the RSN carnage changing the game’s landscape. But that equity stake took a beating when Comcast opted to move Root Sports Northwest to a higher tier of its cable packages – costing subscribers an extra $20 a month.
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Loser - Mariner
With a chunk of ownership in their own regional sports network, they looked invulnerable to the RSN carnage changing the game’s landscape. But that equity stake took a beating when Comcast opted to move Root Sports Northwest to a higher tier of its cable packages – costing subscribers an extra $20 a month.
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Loser - Athletic