5 things we learned at the Winter Meetings

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Winter Meetings are over. The Hot Stove still smolders.

Chris Sale, Aroldis Chapman, Adam Eaton, Ian Desmond and Mark Melancon have new teams … but Edwin Encarnacion, Dexter Fowler, Andrew McCutchen, Ryan Braun and Chris Archer do not.

Here’s what we learned over four days at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center:

1. The Bullpen Revolution is real On Monday, Melancon set the Major League record for a relief pitching contract with his four-year, $62 million deal  to close for the Giants.

Less than 72 hours later, Chapman took ownership of the distinction by returning to the Yankees on a five-year, $86 million contract.

Clearly, MLB team executives took note of the past several postseasons, as the Royals, Indians and Cubs won pennants or World Series championships largely on the strength of deep bullpens. Turns out, closing “committees” — a favorite concept of the analytical community — work best when there’s a dominant arm in the ninth inning.

Chapman, Melancon and Kenley Jansen became free agents during an optimal offseason, with demand for their skill sets reaching an all-time high among those whose opinions matter most: MLB owners and general managers.

2. Rivalry, renewed Seven straight seasons have passed without the Red Sox and Yankees finishing 1-2 in the American League East, in some order. Perhaps that’s about to change.

The Yankees can portray the Chapman signing as a long-term play that allows them to compete for championships in the future. And that is true. But this also is a throwback to the Yankees of old, an emphatic sign to the industry that — for all the excitement around Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres — the Pinstripes remain capable of humbling the rest of the industry through the sheer might of their financial resources.

Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski seemed to acknowledge as much …

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