Weekend HaloLinks: Baseball takes center stage

Perhaps there was a “suggestion” laid forth by commissioner Manfred to refrain from any news-worthy transactions until after the Hall of Fame announcements were complete, similar to the mandate teams receive around World Series time? The Brewers have been in the middle of the rumor mill all week and managed to transform their outfield in a matter of about five minutes yesterday.

Meanwhile, Angels’ fans continue to float on cloud nine this offseason. Vladimir Guerrero was given the power to choose which hat he would wear in baseball eternity, and he chose ours!

As two of the active major sports take the weekend off for all star nonsense, have some Halolinks to get you through your weekend:

A Little Bit of Angels News

He likes us! He, really, really likes us. The Angels, despite many notable and beloved players throughout their many years in the American League, finally have representation in the Hall of Fame...

I cringe linking to this writer, but it is worth noting that the Dodgers missed out on Vlad not once, but twice...

The Angels will return the favor for Vlad honoring them by wearing their hat on his Cooperstown plaque, sporting a nifty patch on their uniforms honoring their Hall of Fame right fielder...

All Over Baseball

Two days ago we linked to rumors that the Brewers were preparing an offer for Marlins’ star outfielder Christian Yellich. Yesterday, they made it so, sending four players Miami’s way in exchange.

In what seemed like only minutes later, Milwaukee struck again, signing outfielder Lorenzo Cain to a 5 year, $80 million contract, the largest free agent deal this offseason. The contract includes modified no-trade protection. This is fantastic value for the Brewers, when you consider the Angels signed Torii Hunter a decade ago for $10 million more than what Cain got for the same number of years, despite being the same age and having similar value.

The comparison between the two players does not stop there, as there are indicators that show Cain has a pretty good chance of aging just as gracefully as the Hula Dula...

As is tradition in Florida, the vultures now circle around their one remaining major league asset, catcher J.T. Realmuto. The Nationals in particular are making a push, so don’t be surprised to see an announcement as of this writing...

The Mets continue their curious offseason by welcoming back Jose Reyes on a one year, $2 million deal. Some were quick to point out that having Reyes represent your team is not exactly a good look...

In what can be seen as a bit of karma, the Padres had their social media hacked, spreading a false report that they had signed Eric Hosmer....

The remaining free agents are sticking together, vowing to hold out for the best deals possible. With just a few weeks remaining in this offseason, there have been discussions about holding a spring training camp for un-signed players, a major league Friends of the Friendless, if you will...

In that same Jeff Passan article, there is a note that suggests the MLBPA is investigating whether the Marlins and Pirates are re-investing their newfound payroll flexibility into baseball operations or simply pocketing the cash...

Dufflebag

The Tigers messing with a classic... Of course, when it comes to uniforms nothing is sacred... When obnoxious on air personalities meet insufferable social media users... Help Jeff Sullivan craft his next project... For those of you too young to remember Vince McMahon’s ill-fated football league, I guess you’re... in luck?