MLB Winter Meetings 2017: 5 biggest winners

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 31: Brandon Morrow #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the Houston Astros in game six of the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

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ORLANDO, FL – DECEMBER 11: Giancarlo Stanton is introduced as a member of the New York Yankees during the 2017 Winter Meetings at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort on Monday, December 11, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

4. New York Yankees

The Yankees aren’t necessarily the biggest winners of the Winter Meetings, but only because their trade for Giancarlo Stanton didn’t really take place at the Winter Meetings. Sending Chase Headley packing, however, is a big deal, and that trade did take place at the Winter Meetings. General Manager Brian Cashman has expertly shed bad contracts the past two years, and the Yankees are positioned to continue making aggressive moves this winter.

Obviously the big name still in play for the Yankees is Manny Machado. If the Baltimore Orioles are willing to send him to one of their biggest rivals, then the Yankees do have what it takes to get a deal done. They can also afford to extend him before free agency.

If Machado is not the final objective for the Yankees, there are still a few more moves they can make to continue this blockbuster offseason. They have made some early inquiries with the Detroit Tigers about right-hander Michael Fulmer. He is coming off a down year and minor forearm surgery, but was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2016. With their incredibly deep bullpen, adding another starter to a rotation that already includes Luis Severino, Sonny Gray and Masahiro Tanaka is not the most pressing need for the Yankees, but the addition of Fulmer would push them even further ahead of the rest of the AL East.

New York also wins at the Winter Meetings because the Boston Red Sox were powerless to get any traction on their quest to add a power bat. Ozuna would have been a perfect fit for the Red Sox, but Dave Dombrowski has already bankrupted his farm system and is reluctant to move any of his young position players like Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. It may be J.D. Martinez or bust for the Red Sox.

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