Breaking Non-News and Some Real News
The cocoa hadn’t even begun to cool when news broke about the Phillies. Sort of. Apparently, the team had discussions with the Diamondbacks about Paul Goldschmidt, but according to Corey Seidman, who cited another reporter, “talks ended when the Phils tried to include first baseman/occasional third baseman Carlos Santana.”
Well, this may have been either good or bad, depending on what you think about Goldschmidt’s value (very high), his age (31), his remaining contract year (a bargain at $14.5 million), or the Phillies decision to hire first basemen two years in a row instead of using Rhys Hoskins there (sort of dim).
Goldschmidt is a genuine star. Presumably, neither the Arizona nor Philadelphia negotiator hung up with “Don’t call me ever again, you clown!”
The cocoa was almost gone. It was 1 o’clock.
And there was more news when everybody was supposedly too busy ordering stuff on-line. Ken Rosenthal reported by tweet Josh Donaldson had reached agreement on a one-year deal with the Braves. Donaldson was the eighth-ranked free agent by ESPN.
More cocoa was needed for the verification of this deal, but it came quickly. A “reported deal” story appeared on the Braves official website shortly after 3 o’clock. Atlanta would be paying a 33-year-old third baseman $23 million the year after he’d only played 52 games, assuming he passed the physical Rosenthal mentioned.
Eureka! Somewhat real MLB hot stove news before December! Before 9 o’clock that evening, the Braves announced the signing; MLB.com’s story on Atlanta’s website was updated with a minor change in language to begin the piece and the disappearance of Rosenthal’s name. There was no indication the club was touting the deal as a good Cyber Monday deal.