Yardbarker
x
Four teams to keep an eye on at the 2017 Winter Meetings
Long associated with White Sox trade rumors, Chris Sale could net the South Siders a massive haul. Bob Levey/Getty Images

Four teams to keep an eye on at the 2017 Winter Meetings

On Wednesday night, the baseball world got good news when the league's owners and the players union came to an agreement regarding the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The new CBA will be in place for the next five years and while both sides made concessions that people are moaning about, the most important part is that this unprecedented period of labor peace in baseball will continue on.

In the short term, this means that baseball's Winter Meetings will be able to go on as planned next week, which means that we get to enjoy an exciting offseason week filled with teams looking to make improvements to their squad as the long Hot Stove season continues on.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The juiciest story right now is the fact that – per Jeff Passan  – the Pirates appear to be ready to trade Andrew McCutchen. With the Winter Meetings set to go on without the specter of a potential lockout looming, we could see a trade happen pretty soon if the Pirates get aggressive enough. There's always a chance that we could see the Nationals and Pirates link up again after they initially had discussions concerning McCutchen last summer. Granted, Pittsburgh's probably going to be fielding calls from plenty of teams during the Winter Meetings, but Washington is definitely a team to look out for here.

Chicago White Sox

Another team that could be looking to deal one of their stars is the Chicago White Sox, and the star in question is Chris Sale. There have been trade rumors swirling around Chicago and Sale for the majority of the offseason so far and if the White Sox do indeed decide to pull the trigger on a potential trade at the Winter Meetings, it'd be an indication that the South Siders are serious about rebuilding, because they'll probably end up getting a major haul from any potential trade partner. Guys like Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier, and even James Shields could potentially bring in some young talent, but Sale could bring in some potentially elite farm hands if they decide to deal him. Either way, the White Sox hold all of the power right now, and there's a decent chance that they could be a team that's holding another team over a barrel when it comes to a potential trade.

New York Mets

Yoenis Cespedes recently re-signed with the Mets, and that was the first major free agent domino to fall during this offseason. We're probably going to see a couple more dominoes fall, and the Toronto Blue Jays may be the next team to knock down a domino. There's a decent chance that Toronto's going to lose both Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista in free agency, but the Jays have already been linked with a couple of potential replacements – namely, Dexter Fowler,  per Jon Heyman . Fowler is clearly one of the bigger fish left on the market, as he's coming off of a career year as a member of the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs, and it's going to take a decent financial commitment for any team to land him. However, the Blue Jays are definitely a team that could afford him if they end up losing Encarnacion to free agency.

Houston Astros

Meanwhile, one team that could potentially be buyers next week is the Houston Astros. They've already made a couple of smart additions this offseason in the form of Brian McCann and Josh Reddick, but they're poised to keep on making additions to what could be a dark horse contender in the American League next season. They've been linked to Edwin Encarnacion, and the GM himself is actually on the record saying that Houston should be more aggressive in the offseason in an effort to build a winner. The Winter Meetings are normally a time for a team to make a big splash, and this could be Houston's moment to be this offseason's splashy team. The big question is whether or not the Astros will make a graceful splash like an Olympic-level diver, or if their splash will end up looking like a belly flop in about eight months time.

Can you name every MLB player to hit 15 home runs, 15 doubles and 15 triples in a season?
SCORE:
0/57
TIME:
8:00
59-HR,44-2B, 16-3B 1921-NYY
Babe Ruth
47-HR, 52-2B, 18-3B 1927-NYY
Lou Gehrig
46-HR, 25-2B, 15-3B 1978-BOS
Jim Rice
46-HR, 35-2B, 15-3B 1937-NYY
Joe DiMaggio
46-HR, 31-2B, 15-3B 1931-NYY
Lou Gehrig
41-HR, 42-2B, 17-3B 1930-NYY
Lou Gehrig
39-HR, 46-2B, 18-3B 1948-STL
Stan Musial
39-HR, 29-2B, 15-3B 1977-BOS
Jim Rice
38-HR, 50-2B, 15-3B 1932-PHI
Chuck Klein
36-HR, 46-2B, 16-3B 1935-DET
Hank Greenberg
36-HR, 41-2B, 16-3B 1930-PHA
Al Simmons
35-HR, 26-2B, 20-3B 1957-NYG
Willie Mays
32-HR, 25-2B, 16-3B 1965-PHI
Johnny Callison
31-HR, 42-2B, 20-3B 1928-STL
Jim Bottomley
30-HR, 38-2B, 20-3B 2007-PHI
Jimmy Rollins
29-HR, 44-2B, 15-3B 1936-NYY
Joe DiMaggio
28-HR, 37-2B, 15-3B 1987-PHI
Juan Samuel
28-HR, 39-2B, 15-3B 1936-CLE
Earl Averill
27-HR, 34-2B, 16-3B 1938-STL
Johnny Mize
25-HR, 23-2B, 15-3B 1988-PIT
Andy Van Slyke
25-HR, 43-2B, 15-3B 1929-DET
Dale Alexander
24-HR, 32-2B, 20-3B 1941-CLE
Jeff Heath
24-HR, 40-2B, 16-3B 1921-NYY
Bob Meusel
23-HR, 38-2B, 23-3B 2007-DET
Curtis Granderson
23-HR, 42-2B, 20-3B 1979-KCR
George Brett
23-HR, 39-2B, 15-3B 1930-NYG
Bill Terry
22-HR, 25-2B, 18-3B 1930-CHW
Carl Reynolds
22-HR, 21-2B, 16-3B 1925-BRO
Jack Fournier
21-HR, 30-2B, 21-3B 1911-CHC
Frank Schulte
21-HR, 31-2B, 18-3B 1938-CLE
Jeff Heath
21-HR, 44-2B, 18-3B 1921-STL
Rogers Hornsby
21-HR, 18-2B, 15-3B 1940-NYY
Charlie Keller
19-HR, 36-2B, 19-3B 1984-CHC
Ryne Sandberg
19-HR, 29-2B, 18-3B 1954-CHW
Minnie Minoso
19-HR, 49-2B, 18-3B 1920-SLB
George Sisler
19-HR, 30-2B, 17-3B 2006-NYM
Jose Reyes
19-HR, 31-2B, 15-3B 1927-STL
Jim Bottomley
18-HR, 43-2B, 26-3B 1925-PIT
Kiki Cuyler
18-HR, 34-2B, 20-3B 1925-WSH
Goose Goslin
18-HR, 40-2B, 18-3B 1934-STL
Joe Medwick
18-HR, 20-2B, 16-3B 2006-TBD
Carl Crawford
18-HR, 33-2B, 16-3B 1944-NYY
Johnny Lindell
18-HR, 43-2B, 16-3B 1931-BRO
Babe Herman
18-HR, 28-2B, 15-3B 1984-TOR
Lloyd Moseby
17-HR, 27-2B, 16-3B 2011-PHI
Shane Victorino
17-HR, 26-2B, 15-3B 1926-WSH
Goose Goslin
16-HR, 50-2B, 20-3B 1946-STL
Stan Musial
16-HR, 47-2B, 20-3B 1926-NYY
Lou Gehrig
16-HR, 37-2B, 19-3B 2008-NYM
Jose Reyes
16-HR, 38-2B, 19-3B 1932-CIN
Babe Herman
16-HR, 28-2B, 17-3B 1922-NYG
Irish Meusel
16-HR, 20-2B, 16-3B 1901-CIN
Sam Crawford
16-HR, 47-2B, 15-3B 1930-DET
Charlie Gehringer
15-HR, 36-2B, 19-3B 1984-PHI
Juan Samuel
15-HR, 28-2B, 16-3B 1932-NYY
Tony Lazzeri
15-HR, 33-2B, 15-3B 2005-TBD
Carl Crawford
15-HR, 43-2B, 15-3B 1929-PIT
Paul Waner

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.