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Around the League - November 14, 2008

Free agency has begun. Keith Law has his Top 50 free agents.

As I expected, someone has brought on Mike Arbuckle to be an advisor, and that someone is the Kansas City Royals. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up being an advance scout for them at some point this year.

The Brewers picked up Salomon Torres' option. As mentioned here before, Torres has retired, but the Brewers want to have the rights to him in case he decides to come back for next year. If they had declined the option, he would have been a free agent, and it's likely he would have seriously considered signing a lucrative deal.

The Braves no longer want Jake Peavy. I thought they'd get something done, but apparently the Braves would rather spend big money on a free agent than money and prospects for Peavy.

Around the League - November 13, 2008

Kevin Gregg was traded to the Cubs for reliever Jose Ceda, a slightly less shiny version of Neftali Feliz. The Marlins not only got the contract off their hands, but also got a pretty good return.

Nick Swisher was traded to the Yankees with AA reliever Kanekoa Texeira for Wilson Betemit and minor leaguers Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with Brian Cashman for this deal. Swisher proves good flexibility and has a good chance of having a good season after a rough one in 2008. I'm not surprised that Ken Williams just wants tools in return.

Check out MLB Trade Rumors for all the rumors around free agents that will be free to sign anywhere tomorrow.

Around the League - November 12, 2008

The Dodgers offered Manny Ramirez a contract. Nice move to at least stay respectable if he leaves.

Damaso Marte re-signed with the Yankees. The contract is for 3 years and $12 million with an option for a fourth worth $4 million. It wasn't even a week ago that most were saying Marte was ripped off by his Type A status. A 3 year deal isn't too bad for a guy like Marte.

The Astros made an offer to Randy Wolf. They also made an offer to Doug Brocail. Both players are likely to explore the free agent before considering the Astros' offers.

Around the League - November 11, 2008

The Marlins hooked up with the Nationals for a trade. Washington gets Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham in return for Emilio Bonifacio, Jake Smolinski, and P.J. Dean. Positive trade for the Nationals to be sure, and the Marlins got to unload prospective salary.

It's not completely official, but the A's and Rockies agreed to a deal. The A's get slugger Matt Holliday in return for Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith, and Huston Street. That's a hefty price to pay for Holliday, but they can recoup some of it with compensation picks next offseason.

Salomon Torres has retired. He bluffed retirement last offseason, but came back to get paid. Torres was a big part of the Brewers' success, so I'm sure they're sad to see him go for good.

Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara is coming stateside. He's a decent mid-rotation starter that won't cost anything in compensation other than the contract itself, so look for him to get a contract about the size of Hiroki Kuroda's last year.

The Phillies re-signed Scott Eyre for 2009. He's only getting $2 million plus bonuses, and he was effective with the Phillies, so it's not much of a risk.

The Royals signed Brandon Duckworth and then outrighted him. A bit strange, since he'll now be available for the Rule V to every other team, so it basically did nothing for them to sign him this early.

The rest of the news is just rumors, which can be seen at MLB Trade Rumors. I highly recommend the site this time of year, because most news will be of the rumor variety and less about what is actually occurring throughout baseball.

Around the League - November 6, 2008

Nothing has actually happened today, so if you want rumors, check out MLB Trade Rumors.

Around the League - November 5, 2008

AJ Burnett opted out of his contract. He's looking at a four year deal, maybe even five. Smart move by Burnett.

The Blue Jays claimed pitcher Les Walrond. That's not too interesting, except it seems that's the 500th player the Jays have claimed off waivers lately.

The Dodgers declined Gary Bennett's option. He's a serviceable backup catcher, and that means the Dodgers need a different one.

The Yankees declined options on Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano. There have been discussions about Pavano returning to New York, but that's not likely. Both will end up signing elsewhere.

So Taguchi was released. There's not much of a surprise. He's a fifth outfielder at best, and it's been mentioned that he might return to Japan for the 2009 season.

The once-great Brad Penny had his 2009 option declined. This wasn't really unexpected, as Penny struggled with his pitching shoulder all year long.

Around the League - November 3, 2008

Mike Cameron will return to Milwaukee. The Brewers exercised his 2009 option worth $10 million. He's a quality center fielder, and the Brewers got a bargain last winter.

The Blue Jays claimed two players, Angel Sanchez of the Royals and Kelvin Jimenez of the Cardinals. I don't see either of them making much of an impact at the big league level.

The first trade of the GM meetings in California involved two minor leaguers. Pitcher Matt Avery of the Cubs went to Washington for fellow pitcher Ryan Buchter. It sounds like opening a door to better dealings in the future to me. Both can't throw strikes to save their lives.

The much-maligned Dan Meyer was claimed by the Marlins today. He was a centerpiece in the Tim Hudson deal a few years ago, and the proceeded to fall apart physically. He used all of his options, and the Marlins will try to use him out of the bullpen. Meyer ranks as one of the biggest disappointments in Billy Beane trade history.

Sergio Mitre signed with the Yankees. Mitre was part of the Juan Pierre deal to Chicago a few years ago, and he has also struggled to stay healthy. He had Tommy John surgery midseason, so he's not expected back until June or July 2009. However, it's a split contract, meaning the Yankees pay Mitre $1.25 million if he's in the Majors (or on the DL), and much less if he's in the minors. There's also a club option for 2010 in the deal.

Trever Miller and Cliff Floyd had their options declined by the Rays. Floyd may retire, and Miller will look somewhere else for work. Miller is a Type B free agent, but the Rays will likely not offer arbitration.

It's official. Brian Fuentes will not return to Colorado. The Rangers have been listed as a serious contender for Fuentes, and this officially eliminates his old club from the bidding.

Miguel Olivo, a fairly controversial catcher, will return to Kansas City. The Royals and Olivo both exercised their side of a mutual option, and he'll make $2.7 million for 2009. In addition, they added a mutual option for 2010. This could signal the end of John Buck in Kansas City, as Brayan Pena could be the backup behind Olivo. If Buck is indeed on the market, many teams might opt to pay a smaller price and trade for him rather than Gerald Laird.

Around the League - November 2, 2008

Ryan Dempster will test the open market. He's going to get some big money for a single good year.

Ruben Amaro Jr. will be named the Phillies' GM. He's pretty young for the job, and it means Mike Arbuckle leaves. Good luck on repeating, Phillies.

Damaso Marte will have his option declined. It's for $6 million, and the Yankees will try to re-sign him. If they're unable, he'll get a two year deal on the open market.

Around the League - November 1, 2008

There's not much at all today other than rumors, which you can check out at MLB Trade Rumors.

The Giants signed reliever Justin Miller to a minor league contract with a Spring Training invite. He was serviceable over the last two years in Florida, so it's a decent move at basically no risk by the Giants.

The Pirates signed a South African prospect. It sounds like the Pirates are trying to get a leg up on a yet untapped market. Good move by the Pirates to take a chance.

The Mariners signed former Brewer prospect Steve Moss. Probably a move made by the new GM for some familiarity. Moss' manager in the Golden League said he was the best center fielder in the league. Take that with a grain of salt.

Archives: October 2008