The Monday before Thanksgiving isn't usually a hotbed for Major League Baseball news. Generally speaking, this proves to be a very slow week here in the world of MLB. Still, Aaron Nola re-signed with the Phillies on Sunday and every other big name remains on the market -- including Mr. Shohei Ohtani -- so there are plenty of rumors.
Let's round up the news and rumors from Monday, Nov. 20.
Phillies still after Yamamoto
Even after re-signing Nola to a seven-year, $172 million deal, the Phillies apparently aren't done building their rotation for next season. Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto was officially posted on Monday and the Phillies are in.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies are "still in the market" for Yamamoto after the Nola signing. The report indicates that the Phillies plan to be "pretty aggressive" in their pursuit of the 25-year-old phenom.
From our free agent rankings, a brief glimpse of his talent: Yamamoto is a five-time All-Star, a three-time ERA champion, and a two-time Triple Crown champion in NPB. Last year, he won the Pacific League's equivalents of the MVP and Cy Young Awards.
If the Phillies landed Yamamoto, he'd form quite a top-shelf rotation alongside Zack Wheeler, Nola and Ranger Suárez.
Cardinals, Lynn with reunion signing
Everything has come full circle for Lance Lynn. Drafted 39th overall out of Ole Miss in 2008, Lynn debuted with the Cardinals in 2011 and was with the club until the 2018 season. Now he's back, as Lynn has signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Cardinals with a club option for 2025, according to Joel Sherman.
Lynn, 36, was 13-11 with a 5.73 ERA last season. He worked 183 2/3 innings and was effective at times, but the home run totally undid him. He led the majors with 44 allowed and coughed up four solo homers in one inning in his playoff start for the Dodgers.
The Cardinals entered the offseason desperate for rotation help, so this surely won't be their last move on that front. Along with Lynn, Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz and Matthew Liberatore and maybe Zack Thompson figure to get a shot at the rotation as things stand.
Braves sign López
The Braves announced Monday that they've signed right-handed reliever Reynaldo López to a three-year, $26 million deal.
López, 29, appeared in 68 games last season for three different teams. He started with the White Sox and went to the Angels in a deal near the trade deadline. Then he was placed on waivers in late August and claimed by the Guardians. In all, he had a 3.27 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 83 strikeouts in 66 innings. Walks were an issue, as he gave out 34 free passes, but he was generally effective and all 12 of his outings with the Guardians were scoreless.
López figures to be one of the Braves' setup men for Raisel Iglesias along with A.J. Minter. There's also the chance he could become a starter, though, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the Braves plan to stretch him out in spring training.
