The Daily Chop: 2019’s Breakout players

It was a pretty quiet Sunday for the Atlanta Braves and most of Major League Baseball. While we have been pretty focused on what the Braves will look like in 2020, it is worth looking back at 2019 for just a bit longer. MLB.com’s Manny Randhawa lists the 40 breakout players for the 2019 season with Atlanta’s Mike Soroka making an appearance at No. 13.

It seems like long ago but Soroka actually entered spring training slowed by shoulder soreness and was not a part of the team’s Opening Day roster. He put all of those concerns to rest with an All-Star season and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. He will enter next season as the odds on favorite to be Atlanta’s Opening Day starter.

Hot Stove

The Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent third baseman Travis Shaw that is worth $4 million. The deal also reportedly includes performance incentives that could increase the value to $4.675 million. Shaw is expected to see most of his playing time at first base after the departure of Justin Smoak in free agency.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Blue Jays are discussing a trade with the Red Sox involving veteran left-hander David Price. Per Rosenthal, a deal is not close but Toronto is a team that is looking to upgrade its starting rotation. (Edit - After I wrote this, the Blue Jays did in fact strengthen their rotation agreeing to a four-year, $80 million deal with left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu.)

The Chicago White Sox have been busy this offseason and are also reportedly showing interest in free agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion.