Springer, Bauer, Lindor lead list of big names on new MLB teams

George Springer, Trevor Bauer and Francisco Lindor are wearing blue now with the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. The three star players headline a list of big names on new teams.

3-time all-star OF joins young Blue Jays' sluggers Guerrero Jr., Bichette, Hernandez

Rob Maaddi · The Associated Press · Posted: Mar 14, 2021 12:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: March 14, 2021

Three-time all-star outfielder George Springer, who signed a six-year deal with the Blue Jays worth $150 million US, joins a lineup filled with young sluggers like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Teoscar Hernandez. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

George Springer, Trevor Bauer and Francisco Lindor are wearing blue now.

Springer received the biggest contract in the off-season from the Toronto Blue Jays. Bauer got the most money per season from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lindor was traded to the New York Mets in a six-player deal.

The three star players headline a list of big names on new teams.

Springer, a three-time all-star outfielder and 2017 World Series MVP with Houston, signed a team-record six-year, $150-million US contract with the Blue Jays in January. He joined a roster that includes young sluggers Vladimir Guerrero and Bo Bichette, plus Cavan Biggio, Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel, Jr.

"I really like the blue. It's a good colour," Springer said after his first spring training game with Toronto. "It was a little weird but I'm over it. It's fun and I enjoy it."

George Springer begins Blue Jays tenure with high expectations after record contract

Bauer, who won the National League Cy Young Award last season with Cincinnati, signed a three-year, $102-million deal with the Dodgers last month. The reigning World Series champions already had a pair of Cy Young Award winners in Clayton Kershaw and David Price.

"This uniform is special," Bauer said in a two-minute video announcing his decision to sign with Los Angeles. "It's more than clothing. It's a lifestyle."

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Cleveland trades all-star Francisco Lindor, pitcher Carlos Carrasco to Mets

Lindor, a four-time all-star shortstop in Cleveland, was traded along with right-hander Carlos Carrasco to the Mets in January for young infielders Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario, and two minor league prospects: right-hander Josh Wolf and outfielder Isaiah Greene.

He arrived to spring training with his hair dyed blue, something he also did during his time with the Indians.

"You can see that I am all blued out," Lindor said. "Everything is blue in my life right now -- blue and orange."

Here are five more well-known players in different places:

Nolan Arenado

The five-time all-star third baseman was traded from Colorado to the St. Louis Cardinals for five players. Arenado, who won a Gold Glove in each of his eight seasons with the Rockies, joined a team that reached the post-season seven times in the past 10 years. The Cardinals last won a World Series in 2011.

Done deal: Rockies trade all-star 3rd baseman Nolan Arenado to Cardinals

Arenado hit .300 with a .937 OPS and averaged 40 homers and 124 runs batted in between 2015-19. He led the league in homers three times in that span.

Blake Snell

The 2018 American League Cy Young Award winner was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the San Diego Padres for four players in December. The left-hander left the mound with a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning of Game 6 of the World Series, but the bullpen blew it and the Dodgers clinched the title with a 3-1 win.

Snell had a 3.24 earned-run average in 11 starts last season. He was 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA in 2018. The Padres had the second-best record in the NL in 2020, snapping a 13-year post-season drought. But they were swept in the NL division series by the Dodgers.

Snell will anchor a rotation that features newcomers Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove.

Former Rays ace Blake Snell joins the Padres after posting a 3.24 earned-run average in 11 starts last season. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Yu Darvish

The four-time all-star right-hander was traded to the Padres from the Chicago Cubs in a seven-player deal on the same day San Diego acquired Snell. Darvish has twice finished runner-up for a Cy Young Award, including last season when he was 8-3 with a 2.01 ERA in 12 starts.

Padres acquire Yu Darvish from Cubs in 7-player trade

Darvish has three years and $59 million left on the six-year, $126-million pact he signed with the Cubs before the 2018 season.

Jon Lester

The six-time all-star left-hander signed a one-year deal worth $5 million with the Washington Nationals. Lester is a three-time World Series champion, winning twice with Boston and once with the Cubs.

He's part of a rotation led by three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg and lefty Patrick Corbin.

Six-time all-star Jon Lester, pictured, left the Cubs to join Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg with the Nationals on a one-year deal worth $5 million US. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Jackie Bradley Jr.

The former all-star centre-fielder signed a two-year, $24-million contract with Milwaukee last week after spending his first eight seasons in Boston.

Bradley was a Gold Glove winner in 2018 when the Red Sox won the World Series. He was an all-star in 2016 when he set career highs with 26 homers and 87 RBI.

Milwaukee, which has reached the post-season three straight seasons, also has Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain in its outfield.

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