Winter Meetings Day 1 wrap: Local teams busy, but Giants and Dodgers land big names

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - The first day of baseball's Winter Meetings was a day of fact-finding for the local nines. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo was on the telephone all day. His Orioles counterpart, Dan Duquette, prepared for the Rule 5 draft, met with agents and talked trades with others teams. But two National League West teams signed free agent pitchers, hoping to fix glaring needs: San Francisco signed closer Mark Melancon and Los Angeles retained lefty Rich Hill. Melancon, 31, will get a reported $62 million over four years, an average value of $15.5 million per year, a record for closers. But how long will that record last? Melancon was expected to be the least expensive closer on the market that still has Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen as free agents. The Giants' 2016 season will be remembered for making the postseason despite a losing record in the second half. They had 50 wins in the first half, but were 30-42 in the second, when their team average dropped from .263 to .250 and their home run total went from 75 to 44. But the eyesore statistic was their bullpen's 30 blown saves, nine short of tying the big league season record by the 1996 Colorado Rockies. The Giants ended their season on a blown save. It happened when the Giants lost Game 4 of the National League Division Series, 6-5 to the Cubs, after leading by four runs in the ninth inning. The Giants hope that adding Melancon, who saved 17 of 18 for the Nationals after coming to D.C. in a trade with Pittsburgh, will fix their problems. He's not overpowering, but he does have 8.1 strikeouts every nine innings. San Francisco has won three World Series since 2010, each time with a different closer. Brian Wilson closed in 2010, Sergio Romo in 2012 and Santiago Casilla in 2014. Hill, 36, who signed his first major free agent contract, was given three years and $48 million by the Dodgers, who won their fourth consecutive division title in 2016 even though their disabled list was standing-room only with starting pitchers. They scrambled constantly with their rotation. Hill, who came to the Dodgers in a trade from Oakland, was 12-5 with a 2.12 ERA. He had a 1.83 ERA in six starts for the Dodgers. With Hill's signing, the Dodgers have pitching depth. Their injuries are expected to be a non-issue when spring training begins, starting with Clayton Kershaw, who missed 75 days last season with a back injury. Hill joins a rotation that will feature Kenta Maeda and prospect Julio Urias. The Dodgers also expect to have healthy starters Hyun-Jin Ryu (elbow), Brandon McCarthy (hip) and Scott Kazmir (neck) ready. The depth includes prospects Jose De Leon, Ross Stripling and Brock Stewart. Hill's career has been up and down. He made 32 starts for the Cubs in 2007 and 25 starts for Boston in 2012. The Dodgers' boss, Andrew Friedman, says that there is always risk in signing free agent pitchers, but he's confident Hill will pitch well. "So much of our confidence comes from knowing him,'' Friedman says. "No matter how much work you do on a guy, it's different when you experience it firsthand. Having that chance for those three months is what gave us confidence to bet on him in terms of the type of person he is, what kind of competitor and the work ethic - seeing all that up close.''