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MLB Rumors: Chris Sale Traded To Boston Red Sox, Bryce Harper Seeking $400 Million Deal — Andrew McCutchen To Nats Back On Or ‘Mystery Team’ Now Involved?

By Joseph Karbousky
Published on: 06:19 PST, Dec 6, 2016

Chris Sale is headed to the Boston Red Sox. The former Chicago White Sox star is now going to be part of what could arguably be the best rotation in the majors. According to MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal, the Boston Red Sox have added Sale to an already strong rotation that includes Rick Porcello and David Price.

This move clearly makes the Boston Red Sox one of the favorites to win the AL East in 2017, who are obviously showing they are serious about making a return trip to the World Series very soon. While the Red Sox or White Sox have not officially confirmed this trade at the moment, it is believed that the Red Sox will send top prospects Yoan Moncada and RHP Michael Kopech, along with two other prospects in return for Sale.

If you are a White Sox fan, this has to be disappointing news. While Sale did have his share of run-ins with Chicago management, you can’t argue that he was far and away the best pitcher on the White Sox staff. This trade could lead to a few more dealings for Chicago before the winter meetings conclude on December 8.

Chris Sale trade
The Chris Sale trade has fans buzzing in Boston. [Image by Jon Durr/Getty Images]

In other MLB trade rumor news, Bryce Harper has officially lost his mind. Well, okay, he hasn’t, but if the rumors are correct, he is asking to be paid an astronomical amount of cash over the next 10 years.

According to a Washington Post report, via USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, an anonymous “high-ranking Nationals executive” is indicating that All-Star slugger Bryce Harper is seeking a 10-year contract worth a minimum of $400 million. So basically, Harper wants to earn what a lot of sports franchises are worth. The same source indicated that the Nationals have no intention of meeting that request.

bryce harper rumors
Bryce Harper is reportedly seeking a $400 million deal. [Image by Patrick Smith/Getty Images}

Harper, 24, is one of the best in the game today. However, the day that one individual player earns $40 million per season is the beginning of the end for that sport. In fact, it is beyond the beginning of the end. Both the NFL and NHL didn’t learn their lessons about high salaries, which resulted in lengthy player strikes.

Harper is still under contract with the Nationals until after the 2018 season, but if these numbers he is looking for are even close to the truth, look for the Nats to start seeing what they can get for him on the open market as early as this season.

Finally, is Andrew McCutchen possibly heading to Washington now that the Nats missed out on Chris Sale?

New York Post MLB writer Joel Sherman tweeted that the asking price for AC was too high, however, since the Nationals have just swung and missed on getting Chris Sale, could they be interested in the Pirates star once again?

If Washington isn’t interested, according to the Post Gazette, a “mystery team” has thrown their hat into the ring to obtain McCutchen.

Evidently, this team is interested in McCutchen but not willing to admit it yet. Usually, tweets or rumors of this nature are always looked at as false. However, since it is coming from MLB insider Jon Heyman, there may be some truth to this. The Detroit Tigers are in need of a center fielder, and owner Mike Ilitch has been known to pull a rabbit out of his hat when it is least expected.

Fans in Motown were puzzled when they traded Cameron Maybin earlier this offseason to the Angels for a minor league pitcher. McCutchen would be a great fit for the Tigers not only in a center field but also at the top of the order.

Stay tuned.

[Featured Image by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images]

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