The 11-year veteran, Madison Bumgarner, is finally leaving San Francisco to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a five-year deal worth $85 million.

The Giants and Dodgers also kept contact with Bumgarner before he chose Arizona, according to reports. This will be the biggest splurge the Diamondbacks have made since 2015 when they signed Zack Greinke to a six-year, $205 million deal. Greinke was traded to Houston in July and Arizona finished the year 85-77 in second place, but 21 games behind the first place Dodgers.

In the postseason Bumgarner has an 8-3 record with a 2.11 ERA, and considered one of the best playoff pitchers of all time. MLB fans will remember his dominant performance in the 2014 World Series. Coming out of the bullpen in Game 7, he recorded a save pitching five scoreless innings against the Kansas City Royals. His ERA of 0.25 in the World Series is still the lowest in history and he pitched more than twice as many innings as any other pitcher in the entire 2014 postseason, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney.

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Bumgarner is coming off a productive year, but also his worst. In 2019 the former ace compiled 203 strikeouts with a 3.90 ERA and a 9-9 record. The upside is the former Giant is coming off a year that tied his career high in starts with 34. This is after two injury riddled seasons starting in 2017 when he missed three months after injuring himself in a dirt bike accident on his off day in Colorado. In 2018 he broke his pinkie on his pitching hand in spring training after he was hit with a line drive. The incident required surgery to insert pins into his finger. Upon his return he started 21 games and finished 6-7 with a 3.26 ERA.

Olney also said that the velocity on his fastball has dipped and Bumgarner “has allowed 52 earned runs in 189 innings in home games for a 2.38 ERA. On the road, he was a completely different pitcher, mustering a 5.16 ERA.” This could be something to watch as next season plays out.

For his career the left-handed pitcher is 119-92 with a 3.13 ERA and 1794 strikeouts.

Yasmani Grandal is now officially a member of the Chicago White Sox.

The 31-year-old free-agent catcher signed a four-year, $73 million deal with the White Sox on Thursday, the biggest contract in the franchise’s history. According to ESPN, Grandal is expected to earn $18.25 million per season through 2023.

White Sox vice president Kent Williams explained in comments to reporters that signing Grandal was part of the team’s long-term strategy and had been planned “going back five years ago.” Williams also called the two-time All-Star a “quality guy.”

Last offseason, Grandal reportedly rejected a four-year offer from the New York Mets that would have paid him $60 million. Now, it’s clear his decision was a sound one.

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Grandal is coming off what is undoubtedly the best season of his career with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cuban-American catcher recorded career-highs in total homers (28), runs scored (79), runs batted in (77) and stolen bases (five) this year. Grandal also walked over 100 times to log a .380 OBP, which ranked first among MLB catchers, and posted his highest OPS (.848) since his rookie year with the San Diego Padres in 2012.

The catcher thanked the Brewers and their fans in an Instagram post on Thursday:

Grandal, who also previously played with the Los Angeles Dodgers, will now join a White Sox roster that includes Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada. 

The Atlanta Braves on Friday signed lefty pitcher Will Smith to a three-year, $39 million contract to mark the first major transaction of MLB free agency this offseason.

The 30-year-reliever’s deal includes a $13 million club option for 2023 and a buyout of $1 million, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. 

Smith, who missed the 2017 season with an injury, is one of the league’s most-coveted relievers, who is known for his slider pitch. Over the past two seasons with the San Francisco Giants, he has saved 48 games and logged a 2.66 ERA over 118 innings, as well as a 4.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Smith was named an All-Star this year. He previously had stints with the Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers.

According to ABC7 News, the Giants had offered Smith $17.8 million.

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The Braves, who won the NL East division this season, struggled in 2019 despite trading for pitchers like Mark Melancon, Chris Martin and Shane Greene. However, Atlanta still has a chance at landing a 2020 draft pick should Josh Donaldson leave. The Braves have also recently been speculated to sign other top players in free agency, like Madison Bumgarner and Anthony Rendon. 

Since the offseason started, Atlanta has also re-signed catcher Tyler Flowers, outfielder Nick Markakis and reliever Darren O’Day. 

Manny Machado appears to be in a standoff with Bryce Harper. The two 26-year-old stars have both drawn interest from the Chicago White Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies.

White Sox, Phillies Target Harper & Machado

The former Baltimore Orioles shortstop has also met with the New York Yankees. If Harper resigns with the Washington Nationals, it would leave Machado alone as the premier free agent on the market, setting off a bidding war.

According to The Athletic, Machado’s agent Dan Lozano “is barely engaging clubs at the moment, seemingly taking his time and waiting for a team to jump, according to team executives involved in the negotiations.”

Though the markets for both players appear to have frozen over, Sports Illustrated has run numerous articles about “baseball’s free agent freeze” and the reluctance of clubs, even big-market ones, to give out gigantic contracts to players based on past performances. Just this week, New York signed veteran shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to join an infield that already includes Didi Gregorius and Gleyber Torres.

So far, only 50 players out of the 250 free agents this offseason have signed contracts. Last year, free agents like J.D. Martinez, Jake Arrieta, Yu Darvish and Eric Hosmer all didn’t sign contracts until February. Even then, they didn’t get the money that they would’ve gotten just five or six years ago.

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It’s been reported that the White Sox have made a serious offer to Machado. However, it was described as closer to $200 million than the $300 million he’s shooting for. Both the Yankees and Phillies appear to have turned their attention towards the reliever market. The Phillies went after David Robertson and New York looks to be closing in on Zach Britton.

Sources are reporting that neither Harper nor Machado are particularly intrigued by Philly and that both would prefer to be in New York. One source even went so far as to claim to expect an announcement from Machado in early January in the Bronx.  The Phillies are still planning to meet with Harper even as they wait on Machado’s decision.