MLB transactions update: Correa, Castellanos, Soler, Jansen, Voit

Spring training games have started, but the delayed MLB offseason is still humming along.

It’s been a few days since our last update, but a few more big names came off the board in the meantime, and two hitters named Luke were traded. If you’ve missed anything since the lockout ended, you can use the following links to catch up: last Saturday afternoon, end of Sunday, end of Monday, end of Tuesday, end of Wednesday. Here’s the latest since then.

• Twins sign SS Carlos Correa (3yr/$105m)
• Phillies sign OF Nick Castellanos (5yr/$100m)
• Marlins sign OF Jorge Soler (3yr/$36m)
• Braves sign RHP Kenley Jansen (1yr/$16m)
• Angels sign RHP Ryan Tepera (2yr/$14m)
• Dodgers sign LHP Tyler Anderson (1yr/$8m)
• Cubs sign IF Jonathan Villar (1yr/$6m)
• Tigers sign RHP Michael Pineda (1yr/$6m)
• Cubs sign LHP Drew Smyly (1yr/$5m)
• Cubs sign RHP Mychal Givens (1yr/$5m)
• Cardinals sign OF Corey Dickerson (1yr/$5m)
• Angels sign RHP Archie Bradley (1yr/$4m)
• Dodgers sign LHP Danny Duffy (1yr/$3m)
• Twins sign RHP Joe Smith (1yr/$3m)
• Reds sign IF Colin Moran (1yr/$1m)
• Braves sign IF Pat Valaika (1yr/$1m)
• Rangers sign RHP Garrett Richards (1yr/$??)
• Rangers sign IF Matt Carpenter (minors)
• Red Sox sign RHP Hansel Robles (minors)
• TRADE: Padres acquire 1B Luke Voit, Yankees acquire a prospect
• TRADE: Rays acquire OF Luke Raley, Dodgers acquire a prospect

The top story of the day is that Correa is out of the AL West! For years he’s helped anchor the Astros juggernaut, and now another piece of Houston’s championship core is gone. Correa has hit his share of homers against the A’s over the years, a dozen in total, but he was especially tough during the 2020 ALDS. That series went to four games, and he finished 7-for-14 with three dingers and four walks and 11 RBI. He’s still in the American League, but he’ll only face Oakland six times this summer instead of 19 as a division rival.

The Phillies added Castellanos on the tails of signing Kyle Schwarber a few days ago, so they’ve pumped up their lineup with a pair of All-Star bats amid this offseason’s NL East arms race. Also joining the fray are the Marlins, who nabbed World Series MVP Soler from the world champion Braves.

However, Atlanta made their own splash on the pitching side. Jansen leaves the Dodgers after a dozen years and 350 saves and nine figures of income to date, and now he’ll join a reinforced Braves bullpen along with Collin McHugh, Tyler Thornburg, and eventually Kirby Yates when the latter returns from TJS. (They still have Smith, Matzek, Jackson, Minter from last year.)

The Dodgers added some new pitching, the Cubs picked up a few quality veterans without spending too much, and the Tigers grabbed another notable pitcher for their quickly improving roster. Duffy’s deal with Los Angeles has a team option for a significantly larger second season.

The Yankees finally traded first baseman Luke Voit. He’s been on the block since last year, and over the past week New York loaded their infield with famous stars, so now Voit heads to San Diego to keep hitting dingers.

As for the Oakland A’s rivals in the AL West, the Angels ... hold on, this can’t be right ... let me check again ... yep, it appears they signed two good pitchers. They didn’t exactly break the bank for Tepera and Bradley, but those are two quality relievers, which is a lot more attention than the Halos usually give to their pitching staff. And it’s not the first time this offseason, as they also inked several hurlers before the lockout.

The Rangers went bargain-hunting for a couple of big names. Richards will work as a reliever, and Carpenter will look for a bounce-back at age 36. Following up on past news, utilityman Brad Miller, who signed a few days ago for unknown terms, will get 2yr/$10m from Texas.

A few former A’s players and prospects also found new homes this week:

• Rays sign DH Ryon Healy (minors)
• Orioles sign C Beau Taylor (minors)
• Padres sign LHP Ian Krol (minors)
• Angels sign RHP Cesar Valdez (minors)

Of course, the big moves that Athletics Nation is waiting for involve Oakland’s remaining star trade chips. The rumors are heating up around Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas, so stay tuned to see if and where they go!