MLB Hot Stove: The malaise before and even with movement

Seven Stars?

The interesting thing about this list is that many might say only two or three of these players are stars as such. Perhaps there are three stars here, and Greinke is expensive and pretty old in baseball terms.

The third star, past Greinke and Kluber, you may pick.

Merrifield? Nice player, three years into a career, but is he at his peak now? He led the AL in hits in 2018, with fewer than 200. Realmuto may be the best catcher in baseball. That will be clearer in about three years. He’s never hit 25 home runs or driven in 75.

Castellanos hit 26 homers in 2017 when he also had 101 RBI and 10 triples. In ’18 those numbers dropped, but his batting average almost touched .300. He may be that third star or a star-in-the-making.

Dickerson has hit .300 or better three times, but why is he traded so readily? If he moves, it will be to his fourth team in seven years. Santana has turned a nice, if infrequent, batting stroke into millions and millions of dollars. He (sigh) walks a lot, but has a lot of respect among players.

All of these players are within four years of their contacts’ expiration dates. All but Greinke and Whitfield have one or two years to go, and all of those five are currently eligible for arbitration or have contracts with options for the coming season.

Maybe a cup of holiday cocoa would pass the time waiting for a move.