Originally Posted on 12/6/07What was expected to be an exciting non-stop trade frenzy ended up being about half that... the first day was taken over with rumor after rumor. Where would prized left handed starter Johan Santana end up, Boston or New York with the Yankees or would another team jump in. In the end, Johan is still a member of the Minnesota Twins, for now that is.
The real news came in day two when the Detroit Tigers traded away their entire Minor League system for two All-Stars in 3b, Miguel Cabrera and starting lefty, Dontrelle Willis. Okay, so it wasn't their entire farm system but the Tigers did send off their two top prospects including Cameron Maybin, currently ranked 3rd best minor league prospect by Baseball America. The other top name from Detroit is a tall and talented left handed starter, Andrew Miller. Both Miller and Maybin along with the four other young talents give Florida the end results of their third firesale in 10 years. But it seems to work for them and maybe they'll be in contention again soon. For now, Marlin fans will have to wait out the last few years in Dolphin Stadium (those that show up) before they see a new ballpark with new stars cheer for the long haul. As for the Tigers, WOW! That team is looking very strong, from top to bottom. The Tigers look like they're right there with the other top teams in baseball (all of which seem to be in the American League) such as the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and dare I say it, the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim. But the Tigers might have the best offense of the bunch. Last year they led the majors in runs scored and now this off-season, the Tigers have added SS, Edgar Renteria, moved Sean Casey out and transferred Carlos Guillen to 1st base and then traded for OF Jacque Jones and of course 24 year old star, Miguel Cabrera. The starting staff is also composed of five starters that have all pitched over 200 innings in a season. This team will no doubt compete with the best of them.
Now onto other news from the meetings; although Santana remains in Minnesota, the Yankees and Red Sox still seem to be front-runners since the Dodgers have made it clear they won't get into a four for one type situation. The Angels could emerge as a possible destination as could the Mariners but the likelihood remains that the Yanks or Boston are favored to land Johan or no one at all. The other big news from the meetings were other trades that didn't happen... Scott Rolen is still in St. Louis, Erik Bedard, Miguel Tejada, Melvin Mora, Brian Roberts and everyone else on the Orioles not named Nick Markakis haven't moved yet, the Giants still haven't traded any of their young starters, the Dodgers and D-backs haven't moved their young talent, the Angels still have chips to move, many teams still need pitching, Oakland is still offering some with names like Dan Haren and Joe Blanton available and OF, Aaron Rowand is still a free agent.
Ending the meetings were Jose Guillen and Andruw Jones, who both signed new contracts with the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively. It was then announced less than two full days later that Guillen was found to have used HGH and will serve a 15-game suspension to start 2008. So far, not a bad investment with those extra revenue sharing dollars for the Royals (Guillen's new team).
With Andruw Jones, he decided to sign for a short term deal, probably since that was only available. I'm sure his famous agent Scott Boras would beg to differ but this is probably the best option for Jones. He was likely not to get offered the long term deal he wanted after having the worst season of his career and now at age 30, he can rebound and improve his value while earning the annual dollars he felt he deserved. Once again, the GM of the LA Dodgers, Ned Colletti, can sit back and be proud of a high value player agreeing to sign for a short two year deal, albeit an expensive one at $18.1 million annually ($36.2 total).
I do like the deal for the Dodgers, both as a fan and the deal itself. It's much better than the contract Colletti surrendered to OF Juan Pierre last year or the deal he awarded Brett "Bomko" Tomko two years ago! I know what you're thinking, what about the Jason Schmidt deal, that was bad too but let's hope Schmidt rebounds and is healthy before forcing our final judgement. The deal also gives the Dodgers multiple players nearing the end of their contracts, SS Rafael Furcal, 2B Jeff Kent, starting pitchers Brad Penny and Derek Lowe as well as injury prone corner infielder Nomar Garciaparra are all playing in the final year of their deal, which will hopefully mean great numbers in 2008.
For Jones he provides the Dodgers the big proven bat they so desperately needed for the middle of the lineup and a new 10-time Gold Glove winner to patrol CF at Chavez Ravine, allowing Pierre to move to LF or possibly in a trade. Although it is more likely one of the two young OFers are traded such as Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier. Kemp has the higher ceiling and trade value. I for one am hoping they all stay and the team tries to ship off Pierre during the season unless arms like Haren or Bedard become available without shipping off the other great young talent ready for the big leagues or near it like starter Clayton Kershaw. All in all, not bad for the Dodgers who look closer to securing the NL West... on paper that is.
Hopefully, this is a sign of more to come for the Blue Crew.
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