CarterHud

             The Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired C Russell Martin from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for RHP Andrew Sopko and SS Ronny Brito.

             For the Dodgers, Yasmani Grandal left as a free agent, leaving them with Austin Barnes behind the plate. Martin started his career as a Dodger, making two all-star teams in 2007 and 2008. While he isn\’t the same player offensively, Martin is still a good defensive catcher.

             Martin, 36, had a .194 batting average, 10 home runs and 25 RBIs in 352 Plate Appearances for the Jays in 2018. The best year of his career came with the Dodgers in 2007, when he had a .293 batting average, with 19 home runs and 87 RBIs, plus 21 stolen bases. In his MLB with the Blue Jays, Dodgers, New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates, Martin has a .249 batting average, with 185 home runs, 751 RBIs and 100 stolen bases in 6399 Plate Appearances.

             For the Blue Jays, they are rebuilding. They released SS Troy Tulowitzki, and now out goes Martin. Martin was a big part of their 2015 team that made the ALCS. But, it was time to move on after a bad 2018. They get two prospects in return.

             Sopko, 24, had a 3.52 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 121 strikeouts in 117.2 innings for High-A Rancho Cucamongo and AA Tulsa.
             
              Brito, 19, had a .295 batting average, with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs in 262 Plate Appearances for rookie level Dodgers Robinson and Ogden.

       The New York Mets have acquired 1B/3D J.D. Davis and INF Cody Bohanek from the Houston Astros in exchange for OF Ross Adolph, C Scott Manea and INF Luis Santana.

       For the Mets, Davis is a player that was blocked by Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel in the Astros system. While he has struggled in the majors, Davis has been dominant in AAA. He had a .342 batting average, 17 home runs and 81 RBIs with AAA Fresno in 2018. They had an extra prospect in Bohanek.

        Davis, 25, had a .175 batting average, one homer and five RBIs in 113 Plate Appearances for Houston in 2018. In his MLB career, all for the Astros, Davis has a .194 batting average, with five home runs and 12 RBIs in 181 Plate Appearances.

         Bohanek, 23, had a .214 batting average, with with six home runs, 38 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 460 Plate Appearances for Single-A Quad Cities, High-A Buies Creek and AAA Fresno.

         For the Astros, like I mentioned before, Davis is blocked by Bregman and Gurriel. But, they couldn\’t just keep him in the minors while hitting .342. So, they traded him. And, they got some decent prospects, including Santana, the Mets 24th best. Not a bad deal for them.

          Santana, 19, had a batting average of .348, with four home runs, 35 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 242 Plate Appearances for rookie league Kingsport.

          Adolph, 22, had a .276 batting average, with seven home runs, 35 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 264 Plate Appearances for Low-A Brooklyn.

          Manea, 23, had a .261 batting average, with 12 home runs and 53 RBIs in 405 Plate Appearances for Single-A Columbia in 2018.

Sports Illustrated

         The New York Mets have acquired OF Keon Broxton from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for RHP Bobby Wahl, RHP Adam Hill and INF Felix Valerio.

          For the Mets, they currently have Juan Lagares at center field, but they are looking to trade him. Broxton is a very good fielder, and has good power, plus speed. He gives them the opportunity to trade Lagares, and helps their outfield defensively. Due to the Brewers stacked outfield, Broxton spent most of 2018 in the minors. But, he had a good 2017.

          Broxton, 28, hit .179, with four home runs, 11 RBIs and five stolen bases in 89 Plate Appearances in 2018. The best year of his career came in 2017, when he had a batting average of .220, with 20 home runs, 49 RBIs and 21 stolen bases in 463 Plate Appearances. In his MLB career for the Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates, Broxton has a batting average of .221, with 33 home runs, 79 RBIs and 50 stolen bases in 798 Plate Appearances.

           For the Brewers, they have a crowded outfield with MVPs Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun, plus Lorenzo Cain. Broxton played a lot in AAA in 2018. In return, they get the hard-throwing Wahl, plus two prospects. A good haul for someone that couldn\’t crack your opening day roster.

           Wahl, 26, allowed six runs in 5.1 innings (10.13 ERA), with seven strikeouts with the Mets in 2018. In his career for the Mets and Oakland Athletics, Wahl has allowed 10 runs in 13 innings (6.92 ERA), with 15 strikeouts.

           Hill, 21, had a 2.35 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 15.1 innings for Low-A Brooklyn in 2018, his first professional season.

           Valerio, 18, had a .319 batting average, with three home runs, 22 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in 303 Plate Appearances in rookie league in 2018.

Getty

         The Ottawa Senators have acquired G Anders Nilsson and F Darren Archibald from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for C Tom Pyatt, G Mike McKenna and a 2019 6th round pick.

        For the Senators, they were without a goalie with starter Craig Anderson sidelined with a concussion. They had McKenna, a career AHL goalie, as their starter. Nilsson can start while Anderson is hurt, and be a better backup than McKenna when he returns. Archibald is an AHL forward who could play some games on their fourth line. He is the Utica Comets (Canucks\’ AHL team) all-time leader in games played (305) and goals (75), and is second in points (144).

       Nilsson, 28, has a 3.09 GAA and a .895 SV% in 12 games for the Canucks this season. In his NHL career for the Canucks, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues, Nilsson has a 3.07 GAA and a SV% of .905.

       Archibald, 28, has scored one goal and one assist for two points in nine games for the Canucks this season. In his NHL career, all in Vancouver, Archibald has scored six goals and eight assists for 14 points in 52 games.

       For the Canucks, they trade a struggling backup for an AHL goalie that has served as a mentor to many goalies before, and will to top goalie prospect Thatcher Demko, who is currently in the AHL. They also get Pyatt, a fourth line center who was recently waived by the Senators, and a late round pick.

        Pyatt, 31, scored two points, both assists, in 37 games this year. In his NHL career for the Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens, Pyatt has scored 43 goals and 58 assists for 101 points in 445 games.

         McKenna, 35, has a 3.96 GAA and a .897 SV% in 10 games for the Senators this year. In his NHL career for the Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Arizona Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets, McKenna has a GAA of 3.58, with a .892 SV%.

           2018 was a big year for hockey. In late September, the Philadelphia Flyers introduced Gritty, their new mascot that would immediately go viral. As an expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. And no hockey franchise had a bigger 2018 than Alex Ovechkin\’s Washington Capitals, who won their first Stanley cup in their 44 year history. Throughout the year, there were many transactions that will be noted for years to come. Here is a look at five of them.

           Honorable mention: 2018 NHL draft
I\’m not including this as one of the five transactions since the draft is an obvious one, and isn\’t really a transaction to me. But, it did introduce future stars Rasmus Dahlin, Andrei Svechnikov, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and a lot others to the NHL, so of course it had to be mentioned on this list.

            5. Blues acquire Ryan O\’Reilly
While all other teams were busy signing players on July 1st, the St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres pulled off a blockbuster. 27 year old top six center Ryan O\’Reilly was traded to the Blues in exchange for forwards Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, Tage Thompson, a 2019 first round pick and a 2021 2nd round pick. For the Blues, they got the top-6 center they desperately needed, and got him under contract for the next five years. While he carries a large $7.5 million cap hit, they shipped out nearly $8.3 million in cap hit in the three players traded. The Sabres freed up the long term money, while acquiring a first round pick, a 21 year old ex first round pick in Thompson, a second round pick, and two bottom six forwards (though Berglund was released in December).
     
              4. Flames, Hurricanes blockbuster
On the second day of the draft, the Calgary Flames and Carolina Hurricanes pulled off a blockbuster that shocked many people. Calgary acquired 21 year old defenseman and 2015 5th overall pick Noah Hanifin, as well as forward Elias Lindholm, in exchange for 25 year old top pairing defenseman Dougie Hamilton, gritty forward Michael Ferland and prospect Adam Fox. Calgary acquired a young defenseman, who they signed later to a six year deal (Hanifin was an RFA at the time of the trade), and a forward that would play on a line with stars Johnny Gaudreu and Sean Monahan. Carolina got a good defenseman with three years left on his contract, a forward that can play second/third line, and a young prospect that had showed promise at the WJC the year prior. It is a trade that will take a lot of time to see who won.

                3. Lightning acquire McDonagh, Miller
The only move on the list that happened during the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning were looking to improve their team for their playoff run in 2018. At the 2017-18 trade deadline, they acquired New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh and promising forward J.T. Miller for forward Vladislav Namestnikov, a 2018 first round pick (Rangers picked Nils Lundkvist), a conditional 2019 2nd round pick (It would become a first if Tampa wins the Stanley Cup in either 2017-18 or 2018-19), and prospects Brett Howden and Libor Hajek. Signed under contract through 2018-19, McDonagh is a top pairing defenseman they were putting on their second pair. Miller is a top six forward that was an RFA after 2017-18, and was later signed to a 5 year deal. Miller then scored 18 points in 19 games down the stretch for Tampa Bay. For the Rangers, they moved on from their captain, and acquired a young forward in Namestnikov, a first round pick (possibly two), and two top prospects, including Howden, who would later make the 2018-19 roster. Another huge trade.

                  2. Leafs sign Tavares
The only signing on this list, Tavares was the only big free agent on the market in the offseason. He had an offer from both the Leafs and his old team, the New York Islanders, for $11 million a season. He took one year less to go home to Toronto, possibly sparking a new rivalry. It made the Leafs a big time contender, and put the in jeopardy, as they had stars William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews soon becoming RFAs.

                  1. Sharks acquire Karlsson
The top defenseman in the NHL, the Ottawa Senators\’ Erik Karlsson is a UFA after the 2018-19 season. After an awful 2017-18 season, it was hard to see Karlsson sign an extension with Ottawa. So, they traded him to the San Jose Sharks for forward Chris Tierney, defenseman Dylan DeMelo, prospects Josh Norris (who is the best friend of recently drafted Senators prospect Brady Tkachuk) and Rudolfs Balcers. Plus, the Sens also received a conditional 2019 2nd round pick (higher pick between the two 2nd round picks the Sharks own), a conditional first round pick in 2020 (Becomes a 2019 first if Sharks don\’t make the playoffs in 2018-19), a conditional 2021 2nd round pick (Sens get the pick if Karlsson is re-signed) and a conditional first round pick no later than 2022 (Sens receive the pick if Karlsson is on an Eastern Conference roster in 2018-19). This trade changed the league, making the Sharks an immediate favorite, as the now had two Norris trophy favorites in Karlsson and Brent Burns. The Sens get a couple of picks, and a bunch of players. While Karlsson may only be on the Sharks for a season, it is a trade that will no doubt impact the league for years to come.