Finally, it is time for the stove to get a little bit hotter as Major League Baseball has officially commenced its winter meetings. The MLB winter meetings are an annual gathering of almost every MLB executive, reporter, agent, and more. It’s spurned spending sprees, epic trades, and many Scott Boras press conferences. It’s safe to say that rumors of big trades and signings are already flooding social media, and with many big names at play, there are a lot of big moves to be made. How will it all shake out? Well, here are my best predictions at what moves we could see unfold over the next several days. 

OF Aaron Judge signs with the New York Mets 

This sounds crazy especially considering that the Mets sit at +1200 odds to sign the defending American League Most Valuable Player, but the thought process of Judge to the Mets stems from their inability to sign Jacob DeGrom. With Chris Bassit and Taijuan Walker leaving, it seemed fitting that the Mets would try to bring back the two time Cy Young winner, but instead they let him pass to the Rangers on a 5yr/$187 million dollar deal. With a deep pocketed Steve Cohen at the helm, the Mets could have outbid Texas but chose not to. But why? 

Well the answer is to sign Aaron Judge. The Mets offense folded down the stretch, averaging just over two runs a game in a crucial series against Atlanta that lost them the NL East. Then in a wild card series against San Diego, they scored one run in Game One and were shut out in Game Three. They go into 2023 boasting an outfield of Jeff McNeil, Mark Canha, and Starling Marte. Not exactly an offensive powerhouse. I think Cohen is tired of seeing his team come up short and will make a huge splash by signing the former Bronx Bomber to a record breaking deal.

The Oakland A’s trade Sean Murphy to the St. Louis Cardinals

After Yadier Molina marched into the sunset with future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, many wondered how St. Louis would fill the void behind the plate. There aren’t many big name in-house options for the Redbirds. Sure, Ivan Herrara has potential and longtime backup Andrew Knizner has plenty of experience, but there are so many options in the free agent pool that outside improvement makes sense. However, I think the Cardinals will be taking a different route to replacing Molina and his defensive prowess. 

That route is trading for Gold Glove catcher Sean Murphy. The A’s have been looking to move him as they continue a complete roster overhaul, especially after getting Shea Langiers in the Matt Olson trade. According to Mark Feinsand, The Cardinals, Rays, Guardians, and Red Sox are among the teams that have been connected to Murphy in recent weeks. However, I think that considering the Cardinals desperation for a catcher, they will be willing to give up more in a potential trade. I’m thinking of a trade that would center around sending Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson, and Tink Hence to the Athletics. 

Carlos Correa will sign the biggest contract out of the shortstop pool

With four marquee shortstops hitting free agency at once, the market is at an all time high. Teams without an answer in the middle infield are salivating at a shot to get one of Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson, Carlos Correa, and Xander Bogaerts. Big spenders like the Dodgers, Phillies, Giants, and Twins have all been linked to one or multiple of these guys and a bidding war could erupt for some of them. Who will be the belle of the ball?

nson quite simply do not have the resume to compete with the other two and statistically don’t measure up. Trea Turner could command similar numbers to Correa but Correa is a year younger and has the better postseason resume. Correa was also not given a qualifying offer which means that signing him would not result in the loss of a pick in the MLB draft. This means there will be a few more suitors for Correa, driving up his price. I think Correa ends up staying with the Twins for a pretty penny and Trea Turner gets a hefty sum from Philadelphia.