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Best, worst and hard to stomach MLB offseason moves
Cleveland Indians newly acquired player Edwin Encarnacion wants to help his new team get back to the World Series. Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports

Best, worst and hard to stomach MLB offseason moves

Major League Baseball has player movement unlike any other sport mainly due to the fact there is no salary cap. That means, each and every season, there are familiar faces in new places.

There was no shortage of big moves for 2017, whether we're talking Chris Sale to the Red Sox, Edwin Encarnacion to the Indians or Aroldis Chapman heading back to the Yankees. Welcome to the Yardbarker roundtable, where we can't wait to see these players and more take the field for their new teams. With all the offseason moves, we asked our panelists:

What new acquisition looks the strangest in his new uniform, which new acquisition will have the biggest impact in his new home and, fear of all fears, which free agent signing will be the biggest bust?

Phillip Barnett:  Strangest in uniform: Dexter Fowler. Biggest impact: Either Chris Sale or Mark Melancon. Biggest Bust: Adam Eaton.

Matt Whitener The strangest: Matt Holliday. Despite the fact that he has already been the face of two franchises over the course of his career, it is always odd to see those established veterans make that appearance in Yankee pinstripes, because honestly, everybody looks like a completely different person once they fit into that Yankee mold.

Biggest impact: Dexter Fowler. It clicks on all levels. The Cardinals desperately needed to find an upgrade in center field, improve their speed and base running, while also moving Matt Carpenter down the lineup and into a run-producers spot in the lineup. Fowler checks all of those boxes and more… before adding in that he is a direct coup from the Cards' chief in-division rival as well. Well done, John Mozeliak.

Biggest bust: It happens every year, and in this year it's the Orioles' turn to fall. The culprit for the disaster is Mark Trumbo, whom the O's seemed to make more of a "why not" signing as a opposed to a substantive addition. A year after leading the majors with 47 homers (and not doing much else at a better rate than he ever has before), he is a massive candidate for a huge regression season. And backslides are harder to digest when attached to $37.5 million contracts.


St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Dexter Fowler won a Wolrd Series with the rival Chicago Cubs in 2016. Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports

Shiloh CarderI think Edwin Encarnacion to Cleveland is the biggest move. I mean, this team was so close to a World Series title last year without an injured Michael Brantley, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar. Now those guys are healthy and you bring in Encarnacion? This truly feels like a championship or bust season for the Indians.

David MatthewsEither Dexter Fowler or Edwin Encarnacion will look odd in a new uni. It's not every season that impact players leave championship-caliber teams and sign with rival contenders, but here we are. Personally, it's going to be Fowler for me, who shined brightly in his two years with the Cubs and was extremely important to helping that team turn things around. I hope he puts up great numbers in St. Louis and never wins a game.

The new acquisition that will have the biggest impact is probably a former White Sox player. Adam Eaton gives the Nationals a stellar defender and leadoff man. He's the type of player that a team adds before making a World Series run. But so is Chris Sale! Giving the Red Sox another No. 1 starter isn't really fair, but here we are. Let's go with Sale since he'll have chances to start multiple playoff games in the same series, and that's what the Red Sox really got him for.

Bust-wise, I think it might be Ian Desmond. He's a fine player, sure, and his numbers will probably look good on paper. But, he's still going to strike out a lot. And at first base, some of his athleticism will be negated. On top of that, his away splits weren't so hot last year, so with the bulk of his away games happening in some spacious NL West parks, the Coors effect might not do much for him.


After moving from shorstop to the outfield last season, Ian Desmond will change positions again in his first season with the Rockies, making first base his home. Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

Demetrius BellOf course it's always strange to see players immediately cross the lines of a rivalry, so seeing Dexter Fowler in Cardinals' red after helping the Cubs win a World Series is going to be weird. Meanwhile, Edwin Encarnacion should only help boost Cleveland in the quest to defend the AL pennant, and I think that the Rockies may have made a mistake by giving not-a-first-baseman Ian Desmond $70 million to play first base.

Jamie NealSergio Romo wearing Dodger blue is going to be the weirdest for me. After watching him win World Series in black and orange, I can't imagine him in that hideous shade of blue. Oh wait, yes I can. Brian Wilson did the same thing just a few years ago.

Cleveland needed some help and got it in the form of Edwin Encarnacion. After playing with a ton of bats in Toronto, Encarnacion is going to have a chance to push Cleveland over the edge and help the Indians win a World Series.

Brandon Phillips in Atlanta? Yikes. While the Braves' second baseman is solid with the glove, he hasn't added much in the form of wins, especially last year. His batting average has gone up while his power has dropped, so maybe he will be a table-setter, but at 35 years old, he has bust written all over him.

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