Elephant Rumblings: Blue Jays make free agent splash, sign Ryu

A’s Coverage:

• Haft: Here are the top A’s players of the 2010s...
• CBS SF: Alameda County Supes to Vote Monday on Sale of Coliseum Property to A’s...
• Berman: The time is now for the A’s to take advantage of the vulnerable Astros; they could gain ground on the Giants, too... ($$$)
• Kleinschmidt: A’s infielders Matt Chapman, Marcus Semien aim to be top duo in 2020...
• Randhawa: 2019 statistical feats and oddities for each team...

MLB News:

• Harrigan: Lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu agrees to four-year, $80M deal with Blue Jays...
• Merkin: LHP Dallas Keuchel agrees to deal with White Sox for three years, $55.5M...
• Nightengale: Dodgers “very aggressive” in pursuit of Cleveland stars Francisco Lindor, Mike Clevinger...
• Brown: MLB Sees Record $10.7 Billion In Revenues For 2019...
• Kelly: Blue Jays agree to one-year, $4M deal with IF Travis Shaw...
• Beck: Tigers sign infielders Jonathan Schoop, C.J. Cron to matching one-year, $6.1M deals...
• Justice: Catcher Martin Maldonado returns to Astros on two-year deal worth $7M...
• Rosenthal: “I gave it everything I had” — Ian Kinsler retires, moving to a front-office role with the Padres... ($$$)

Baseball Interest Stories:

• Drellich: A fast winter in free agency is not a quick fix for Major League Baseball’s labor issues... ($$$)
• Posnanski: The Baseball 100 - No. 96, Larry Walker... ($$$)
• Miller: The end of the lefty specialist? Why MLB’s three-batter rule might not mean what you think...
• Jackson: Heartbreak in Overtime...
• McCullough: ‘We’d heard whispers of some of the shady stuff’ - Alex Wood opens up about pitching in Minute Maid Park in 2017... ($$$)
• Randhawa: The top 40 breakout players of 2019...

Today in Baseball History:

• 1913 — The Sporting News reports that 15 men died from baseball injuries during the 1913 season, according to a list compiled by J.R. Vickery of Chicago. The only name given is that of J. Whetstone of New Orleans, who suffered “a broken spine sustained in sliding to a base”; all other fatalities were the result of foul tips or pitched balls. The list “does not include a major league player or even a minor league athlete of sufficient experience to be widely known.”

Best of Twitter:

• Oakland’s corner infield defense is uniquely amazing...

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• Are the Blue Jays really contenders now?