Mariners Moose Tracks, 12/12/16: Yorman Landa, Espinosa is An Angel, and Plum Makes History

Good morning everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. The weekend itself was pretty light on news, but I’m sure a lot of transactions are on the horizon seeing that the Winter Meetings just ended and a lot of teams have no doubt set the stage for future deals.

The team that garnered the most attention at the meetings was the White Sox. Chicago made a bold decision to rebuild, stockpiling young talent in order to make them better three or four years from now. This is the kind of rebuild — a full teardown — that a lot of Mariners fans were clamoring for the team to undergo during the 2010-2013 stretch.

The team decided not to go that route, holding onto King Felix throughout it all. It’s worth wondering where the M’s would be now had they made the tough decision to tear down when Felix was in his prime and the Mariners’ future wasn’t looking bright. I think many fans are satisfied with where the team stands now, so in retrospect it doesn’t make much of a difference. It’s just an interesting mental experiment. We’ll have to wait and see how it pans out for the White Sox.

Now, onto the rest of the news from this weekend.

In Mariners news...

• The Iowa Cubs already miss their young slugger.

Around the league...

• Baseball mourns the death of Twins prospect Yorman Landa, who died in a car accident this weekend.
• Marc Normandin wonders which Red Sox starter is most likely to be moved soon.
• The Pirates are now reportedly unlikely to trade outfielder Andrew McCutchen. Based on reports of what Pittsburgh was asking for in return, this news is hardly surprising.
• Giants GM Bobby Evans was apparently taking the advice of a kid when he decided to sign Mark Melancon.
• Bobby Valentine is reportedly being considered to serve as the United States ambassador to Japan under Donald Trump’s administration.
• Pinstripe Alley wonders how Aroldis Chapman will age.
• The Angels acquired infielder Danny Espinosa from the Nationals.

Anders’ picks...

• The University of Washington men’s basketball team lost in heartbreaking fashion last night: on an impossible buzzer beater.
• Meanwhile, Kelsey Plum of Washington women’s basketball made history as the all-time leading scorer in the Pac-12.
• My school’s men’s basketball team had the opportunity to play the Kentucky Wildcats yesterday, which was a really cool experience.