and outfielder Andrew Benintendi.) This means that for any teams still in search of talent, there are remarkably few options left to sign, and upcoming impact moves will likely have to come via trade instead of free agency. This wouldn’t have been anything unusual for this point of the year once upon a time. But after what the game has seen the last few winters? It’s a dramatic change of pace.D.
Here's how the movement of top signings this offseason stacks up to winters past. Last year, of course, was interrupted by the lockout, which froze all transactions for three and a half months. But teams saw it coming and got busy in November … which translated into nine of the top 15 free agents signing by December, good for a relatively brisk pace, but still not comparable to this year.