[Griever20]

Two things were pretty clear in the first hours of day one. Brandon Lowe can land us something sweet. And b.) I want a groundball pitcher for Odor, and preferably one that does not earn big money.

Without much fuss, we managed to negotiate a deal with the Cardinals that would land us Carlos Martinez(28, 3.5*) for Lowe and Odor straight up. Problem with that deal, and I totally agree with John here... "Martinez got worse every year, 3.04ERA, 3.64ERA, 4.03ERA, 4.18ERA and the big years of his contract are coming up. He won't become better in our ballpark, and he will be on the level of our prospects by 2021."

I told Michael Girsch, GM of the Cards, that I will consider this deal, but may be looking to make a completely different move soon, and he acknowledged that for him, moving Martinez wasn't their main priority.

So, I went to another NL team starting with an S... the San Francisco Giants and GM Bobby Evans. Evans dragged the aging core of the team to another 92 win season, and therefore was challenged to make some Win Now! deals by his owner... guess he wished he hadn't won so many games right now. And therefore, I will try to rob him of his pants... and RHSP Cory Taylor.

Taylor was an uninspiring 8th round selection in the 2015 draft but developed a HARD sinker combined with a curveball, slider and changeup and loads of groundballs. He made his debut late this year and went 5-1 with a 2.65ERA and 54K in 51 innings. And Evans was willing to talk... in a way.

"Odor for Taylor is a rip off!" - "You need a second baseman, and one with pop is even better." - "And Odor and Justin Williams is even a better deal..." - "No way...." The negotiations could've ended here as Evans had little budget to spare right now, and I was not willing to give up Williams... but then, I had an idea...

"How about I give you a bullpen arm? Claudio is off the table, but, ignoring salary, who would make this deal work..." - "You eat Kela's salary for next year, and we have a deal." Sometimes, you just need to know your opponent's weaknesses. We drew up the paperwork right away... before he could reconsider...

December 12th – The Rangers and Giants agreed to a big trade that will sent 2B Rougned Odor(25, 3*) and RHRP Keone Kela(26, 4*) to the Giants in exchange for RHSP Cory Taylor(25, 2.5/3.5* HS, 2.5/4.5* OSA).

In Other News:
December 12th – A lot of minor deals, but at least, a couple of seasoned veterans have signed. RHSP Justin Verlander(36, 3*) signed for 3y/$23.9M with the Angels, and LHSP Gio Gonzalez(34, 3*) put his signature on a 4y/$46.7M contract with the Yankees.