Chicago Tribune

Paul Sullivan: As slow starts to baseball's hot stove league become the norm, are the winter meetings still necessary?

Another year of baseball's winter meetings has come and gone, and most of the top free agents remain available.

In addition to the two competing for the biggest contract - Bryce Harper and Manny Machado - there's Craig Kimbrel, who reportedly hopes to become the first nine-figure reliever, and potential closers Zach Britton and Andrew Miller. Among the available hitters are Nelson Cruz, Michael Brantley, A.J. Pollock, DJ LeMahieu and Marwin Gonzalez. A smorgasbord of talent is there for the taking, almost two months into the offseason.

All of them will sign sooner or later, just like in last year's slow market. But the lack of movement during the annual meetings, which MLB Network televises almost nonstop, makes the affair seem anachronistic. How many times can you listen to reporters discuss

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