Opinion

Day 3 of the 2016 MLB winter meetings started with a bang and ended with a bang, with assorted other bangs in between.

Missed it and want to catch up? Welcome to the right place.

We're here to take stock of the major moves and rumors that populated the baseball headlines on Wednesday. These range from Aroldis Chapman and Ian Desmond signing free-agent contracts to trades involving Wade Davis and Adam Eaton.

Not even the defending champs can rest on their laurels.

Let's talk closers.

Coming into this offseason, it was always clear that this particular free-agent market was going to be headlined by a strong closing class, and players like Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen have been at the center of much of the buzz thus far.

As part of the winter meetings, representatives from all 30 MLB teams will convene in National Harbor, Maryland, for the 2016 Rule 5 draft.

This year's draft will begin Thursday at 9 a.m. ET, and MLB.com will provide a live stream.

Like a cotton candy maker, baseball's winter meetings tend to spit out anything that sticks.

Sure, deals are made like the one that saw Chris Sale traded to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. But speculation, more than anything, is the product of the meetings.

It's tough to determine which of the hottest thoughts, rumors and conjecture might end up being true, but we'll give it a try and play or fiction with what has emerged thus far from baseball's annual conclave.

Two things steadily became clear about the Chicago White Sox's position on Chris Sale this winter: He was available but only at an incredibly high price.

On Tuesday, that price was paid in full.

If we were going to slap a pun-tastic headline on Day 2 of the 2016 MLB winter meetings, it would be: Chris Sale Changes Sox. 

Ba, dum...cha.

After much anticipation and speculation, the Chicago White Sox dealt the ace left-hander to the Boston Red Sox, shifting the balance of power in the American League and taking one of the biggest trade targets off the board.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Moments like this cold, raw, rainy afternoon here, with the baseball world gathered under one convention center roof, are exactly why the Boston Red Sox hired Dave Dombrowski two summers ago.

It was a quiet first day at the annual MLB winter meetings in terms of deals getting done, but there was no shortage of intriguing rumors.

Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale remains the hottest name on the trade market, while teams also appear ready to make a push to acquire veteran talent from a Kansas City Royals club looking to trim salary.

With such a limited free-agent market that has already seen a number of top-tier names signed, the trade scene figures to be as busy as ever this week.

To begin, a mea culpa: I predicted Chris Sale would remain a member of the Chicago White Sox until at least the 2017 trade deadline.

Sure, Sale is still on the Sox's payroll as I type these words, but the rumblings from the winter meetings Monday indicated he's likely to swap uniforms.