Day Two Roundup from the 2024 Winter Meetings in Dallas, TX

DALLAS, Tex. — Day 2 of the MLB Winter Meetings inside the Hilton Anatole provided another batch of memorable quotes from agents and managers, not to mention even more roster-changing moves.

With two columnists from Just Baseball — Patrick Lyons and Kevin Henry  — at the Winter Meetings, here are several things that stood out to both.

Managers Speak (Some More)

After 20 managers spoke on Monday, the remaining 10 took their turns behind the microphones on Tuesday with a mix of the haves (New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies) and have-nots (Chicago White Sox and the Athletics) showing just how wide the chasm of competition is in today’s game.

Still, whether their team went to the World Series or set the record for most losses in an MLB season, there were plenty of grand takeaways from the managers who spoke on Tuesday Here are some of our favorite quotes.

KEVIN HENRY: For me, I appreciated A’s manager Mark Kotsay for being very transparent about the move to Sacramento and what it’s going to be like playing inside a minor league stadium for the next three years.

Here’s what Kotsay said about opening the season in Sacramento and how he is preparing his team for that.

“The challenges are when you’re a Major League player and you’ve played in a Major League stadium that has a third level, an upper deck, and a capacity of 35,000, 40,000, there’s an excitement and energy about that. That’s different in Sacramento. There’s going to be 14,000-plus. It’s going to be loud. It’s going to be exciting. We just haven’t experienced that.

“Until you go through it, you really can’t talk about the differences. For me, the challenges of being in Sacramento are all unknown because it’s something we haven’t walked through.

When they ask about facilities, we’re doing everything in our capability to provide Major League services and amenities. And we’re going to have a brand-new building, one that for us we can call home for three years.”

PATRICK LYONS: Aaron Boone had to deal with losing Game 5 on his home turf after squandering a commanding 5-0 lead in the fifth inning to surrender the 2024 World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. A little more than a month later, he has to deal with the loss of his superstar right fielder, Juan Soto. 

“It kind of hurts in the moment, but when you live in the business and you live in the sport — again, it is sports. It doesn’t always go your way,” Boone said of Soto’s deal with the New York Mets. “It’s now an opportunity for us to — and our expectation is to still go out and build and put together a great team to go compete for a championship again next year. That doesn’t stop.”

Bruce Bochy, the winning manager from the 2023 World Series, provided not only a great reminder why a new roster cannot guarantee success, but why his club could surge back to the Fall Classic in 2025.

“You can’t go out and just start getting everybody or new guys every position. We have a very good core. We won a World Championship with these guys. Some of them had down years. You know, silver lining is that’s hopefully motivating them even more.”

Top Transactions of the Day

More players were on the move on Tuesday, with Max Fried reportedly signing a long-term deal to join the New York Yankees. Nathan Eovaldi returned to the Rangers for three years and $75 million. Alex Cobb’s one-year pact with the Detroit Tigers became official, as did Tyler O’Neill to the Baltimore Orioles and Willy Adames to the San Francisco Giants.

The Cleveland Guardians made a pair of moves by trading one of the game’s best second basemen, Andrés Giménez, to the Toronto Blue Jays for Spencer Horwitz in a four-player swap. Cleveland then flipped Horwitz to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Luis Ortiz and two pitching prospects.

LYONS: News of a big contract is always sexy, but there’s something about a good ol’ fashion baseball trade that blows my hair back. Cleveland seems to make moves like this every few years. Take an established star and flip them for the next big thing. Rinse and repeat.

It’s still a bit puzzling why the Guardians didn’t get an obvious haul for a player like Giménez — still only 26 years old — who has the 10th-most bWAR (16.7) among position players since the start of 2022. Even with his salary spiking next season (and the next two after that), the three-time Gold Glove Award winner is as consistent as they come.

You have to trust the process for clubs like Cleveland, especially after seeing how the Milwaukee Brewers were able to navigate their situation the past year with two impending stars (Corbin Burnes and Adames) bound for free agency.

HENRY: In my opinion, the biggest and most questionable transaction of the day came with the Yankees reportedly inking Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract. It’s the biggest contract ever handed out to a left-handed pitcher, and it’s one that will define New York’s offseason in one of two ways.

If Fried stays healthy and delivers as a part of the front of the Yankees organization, this has the potential to be a very solid move. After all, his 2.81 ERA leads all MLB starters over the last five seasons, meaning there is every indication that he can succeed in the Bronx.

However, that’s a big ‘if’ considering Fried fought through forearm issues over the past two seasons and has a history of battling blisters on his pitching hand. 

New York needed to make a splash after losing out in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. Bringing Fried into the fold was a necessary move to show the Yankees were not going to let Soto define their offseason. However, it’s also a risky move if Fried becomes Carlos Rodón once he dons pinstripes.

Draft Lottery Winners (And Losers)

The Washington Nationals ended up with the top overall pick in 2025, navigating through the odds of having just a 10.8 percent chance of winning that spot. The Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins, the two teams with the best chance of getting the top overall pick with 22.5 percent odds, fell to fourth and seventh, respectively.

Being in the room as the picks were announced, you could feel the gut punch to both the Marlins and Rockies when neither one received the number one pick.

LYONS: The boys at Marine Layer were ecstatic when the Seattle Mariners went from having the 15th-best odds to getting into the lottery picks and coming away with pick no. 3, the club’s highest selection in over a decade.

As excited as fans of the Nats must be, this will be their third time with the first-overall pick in the last 17 years. Meanwhile, the Rockies will have to wait until at least 2027 — year 36 of participating in the MLB Draft — before getting the top spot. (Note: Colorado will be ineligible for a pick before no. 10 in 2026 as they have received a top-6 selection for two consecutive years.)

HENRY: For me, the biggest surprise was the St. Louis Cardinals. In a year when the Cardinals have committed to rehauling their roster and approach, having the 13th-best odds of all MLB teams in the lottery and ending up with the fifth overall pick was a huge moment and one that could, in essence, jettison any kind of rebuild under the watchful eye of Chaim Bloom.

The fifth pick is the highest spot for the Cardinals since the franchise selected J.D. Drew with that same pick slot in 1998. Having that as something for St. Louis fans to look forward to in a season where Paul Goldschmidt and perhaps Nolan Arenado are jettisoned in cost-saving moves is the very definition of a silver lining.

Looking Ahead to Day 3

There may be only one more day left, but two notable events are on the horizon for Wednesday. The Rule 5 Draft is set to begin at 2 p.m. ET.

In the recent past, prospects who went unprotected by their club and were poached by another include players like Mark Canha, Anthony Santander and Ryan Pressly. Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, Johan Santana and Shane Victorino were also products of the Rule 5 Draft.

Earlier in the day, though, will be the annual Scott Boras circus as he offers a few puns while providing more details about his noteworthy free agent clients.