Friday Bird Droppings: Life without Wieters?

Here we are, folks. Rosters need to be set for Rule 5 draft purposes this evening and although the much ballyhooed Winter Meetings aren't for a couple of weeks, the Astros have kicked off their Hot Stove Season with a bang. In case you missed it, they signed rumored Orioles target Josh Reddick, and also traded for Yankees catcher Brian McCann. Reddick might have been a good fit, so that stinks, but maybe the McCann trade is a good thing for prospective buyers on the market for a free agent catcher.

MVP results and hot stove nuggets - School of Roch
Roch weighs in on MVP results and the goings on in Houston.

All Signs Point To Matt Wieters Getting Overpaid In Free Agency
Does the McCann trade mean anything, here? Probably not..

Camden Depot: What Happened To Manny Machado In The Second Half? Manny Machado looked like he was cruising to his first MVP award in 2016...until he wasn't.

Chris Davis' drop-off not as sour as it seems
This was posted in a comment in yesterday's BD. I am reposting here for your edification.

A Roadmap for a Potential MLB Work Stoppage | FanGraphs Baseball
What to do about the soon to expire CBA?

Happy birthday, you November 18th babies! You share a birthday with Jaime Moyer. The cagey lefty was entering phase one of his career as a, uhhh, cagey lefty when he pitched for the O's 20 years ago. Steve Bechler, who died tragically during Spring Training in 2003 would be 37 today.Tony Butler, the forgotten man in the Erik Bedard trade, also celebrates a birthday today.

On this day in 1954, a seventeen player trade between the Orioles and Yankees was completed. The trade ended with Bullett Bob Turley and Don Larsen in New York and Gus Triandos in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson was voted MVP over Mickey Mantle on this day in 1964.