Monday felt personal. It felt personal because Jesse Winker had grown up in front of our eyes. Like his mentor Jay Bruce before him. Winker was watched as he rose up every level in the Reds system. A baby-faced kid turned into an All-Star. And for all the promise Winker showed over the years, 2021 was when he really developed into an impact big-leaguer, not only making his first All-Star Game appearance, but being elected a starter. While he was drafted before the team’s rebuild, he was one of the young players who was supposed to be part of the next great Reds team, the one that could break through a playoff drought that started when Winker was in diapers.

And then there was Eugenio Suárez and his ever-present smile. Even as he spoke about the trade that ended his run in Cincinnati, Suárez said “Cincinnati has my heart.” Suárez, acquired in a steal of a trade with the Tigers in 2014, hit 189 home runs in 916 career appearances for the Reds over seven seasons, including 49 homers in 2019, when he set a record for most home runs in a season by a Venezuelan player.

Freddie Freeman played more than 1,600 games for the Braves, and it seemed he could wind up on the franchise’s figurative Mount Rushmore for hitters had he fulfilled an expressed desire to finish his career in Atlanta — like his friend Chipper Jones, a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

But that idea was decimated Monday when the Braves, at an impasse in free-agent negotiations to re-sign Freeman, instead of traded four prospects to Oakland in a megadeal for first baseman Matt Olson.

On a sun-splashed Monday in Arizona, after the team’s first full-squad workout, the Mariners struck a big deal with the Reds, landing All-Star left fielder Jesse Winker and third baseman Eugenio Suárez as part of a six-player deal that will eventually include a player to be named later heading to Cincinnati.

Winker and Suárez, along with the November addition of second baseman Adam Frazier, add length to the Mariners’ lineup and, Dipoto hopes, the kind of production that can help propel the team into the postseason for the first time since 2001.

“We feel like these guys make our lineup longer and a lot more ominous,” Dipoto said. “We feel like it gives us the lineup depth that playoff teams have. This was a goal of ours heading into the offseason and we tried a lot of avenues, so to speak, and over the last three or four days, drove down a lot of dead ends.”

Source confirms the Cubs are expected to meet with Seiya Suzuki and his reps tonight. The Cubs have numerous holes to fill and would love to add Suzuki. The 27-year-old outfielder fits their short-term goal of trying to compete now and long-term for when Cubs hope young prospects arrive in bigs.

The deal is about money, of course (why else would it cost so relatively little to get Jesse Winker, a young player with excellent eye, contact and power ability), but Eugenio Suárez did show signs of life late last year when he started laying off balls and hitting fly balls. -Eno Sarris

Winker was an All-Star last season and an important voice in the Reds’ clubhouse. That’s the price the Reds are paying to purge Suarez’s $35 million. -Ken Rosenthal

Matt Olson had his best season in 2021, with career highs in homers, walks, on-base percentage, walk and contact rates, and nearly so in slugging percentage, all of which seems to push his awful 2020 showing into the short-season fluke bucket. He was just better in all the ways, with some of the best underlying pitch and batted-ball data of his career, as well – for example, he’s never made this much contact on fastballs before. He gave up a little bit of contact quality for putting more balls in play overall, but that is a great tradeoff when you just generally hit the ball hard. He’s become an above-average defender at first, although he’ll probably settle in more toward average as he ages. He was more valuable than Freddie Freeman in 2021 and in 2019, and he’s four and a half years younger, so there’s more reason to think he’ll hold his value.

Just when you thought it was safe to hunker down for those good old extra-inning marathons of yesteryear, well, not so fast. The ghost runner may be back.

As part of their discussions on health and safety protocols, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association areing restoring the rule that placed a runner on second to begin extra innings, sources on both sides told The Athletic on Monday. No agreement has been reached. But several players said they expect the rule to be enacted once the protocols are announced in the next 24 to 48 hours.

-Jayson Stark and Matt Gelb

It’s believed the Braves recently raised their initial five-year offer to at least $145 million, but that Freddie Freeman wants a sixth guaranteed year. It could be the last multi-year contract of his career, given his age in a sport skewing younger all the time.

On Tuesday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he spoke with Freeman on Zoom prior to the lockout and Freeman is well aware of what the Dodgers think of him.

A’s getting C Shea Langeliers, OF Cristian Pache, and pitchers Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes from Braves for 1B Matt Olson.

Dave Roberts said he spoke with Freddie Freeman on Zoom prior to the lockout and Freeman is well aware of what the Dodgers think of him.

Roberts said it’s “unlikely” Caleb Ferguson and Tommy Kahnle are ready for Opening Day. Both are coming off Tommy John surgery. Also said the door isn’t closed on bringing back Kenley Jansen.

The Dodgers added Jake Lamb as an NRI, as well as right-handers Mike Wright, Yency Almonte and Reyes Moronta.

Ronald Acuña said if it was up to him he’d play Opening Day, but that it’s not. He didn’t give a timetable but said he’s “95 percent” in terms of speed and strength, that he’s done everything except play, and he expects to be at his customary performance level as soon as he’s back.

Acuña Jr. taking some early swings. In his next round he crushed one off the scoreboard, drawing oohs and ahhs from spectators. Acuña then exclaimed, “I’m back.”

Heard the Cleveland Guardians have hired Neal Huntington as a special assistant, baseball projects. Huntington previously served as GM of the Pirates from Sept. 2007-Oct. 2019, when he was relieved of his duties.