GM Meetings Conclude

The four days of GM meetings have concluded. Usually they are quite uneventful, but this year they were quite exciting. Notable highlights included agreement to study the instant replay (which was voted for in a 25-5 decision), a five-player trade, and an open discussion where each GM laid out his vision in expanding and growing his respective organization.

Of course, there were also talks about Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera. Where are they going? What kind of contract will they sign? Still open questions at this point, of course.

One of the leaders of this year’s GM meetings was GM of the Boston Red Sox,Theo Epstein. He said,  “I can’t speak for the other 29 GMs, but I came away with a better picture [of the personnel landscape] and I think we all did.”

“I have a much better package of information than I came here with,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman said. “Now we can go back and consider the options and proceed from there.”

As far as GMs publicly announcing their goals for their respective organizations, it seems like it was welcomed by everyone.  Houston Astros president of baseball operations, Tal Smith, said: “Obviously, you don’t lay all your cards out there, but at least you get the same kind of indication that people used to scurry around trying to ascertain from other emissaries of that club; I think that’s helpful. My point is I think the process from the standpoint of potential trades is probably further along than what it normally is, because everybody’s got pretty much an idea as to what the other clubs are looking for or what their competition may be.”

The most notable highlight of the meetings was the five player trade between the Phillies and the Astros. On Wednesday, closer Brad Lidge and infielder Eric Bruntlett were sent to Philadelphia, while CF Michael Bourn, RP Geoff Geary and Minor League 3B Michael Costanzo went to Houston.

One major topic of discussion were the free agents; aside from Alex Rodriguez, other notable names include Andruw Jones, Tom Glavine, and Aaron Rowand. Other notable discussions revolved around possible trades.

“I think you’ve got a greater potential for more trades to occur than we’ve seen in the last several years because of the dearth of talent on the free-agent market,” Houston GM Ed Wade said.

Next up are the Winter Meetings, which are set to occur December 3-6 in Nashville, Tennessee.

~ by mlb2007playoffs on November 9, 2007.