Roast Some Chestnuts on the Hot Stove
The Yankees made another move, now I believe, it’s the Red Sox turn. Righthanded starting pitcher Javier Vazquez & lefty reliever Boone Logan (both with the White Sox a couple of years ago) were dealt to Atlanta in exchange for centerfielder Melky Cabrera, a 19 year old out of the Dominican Republic by the name of Arodys Vizcaino, and lefthanded relief pitcher Michael Dunn. Vazquez crashed & burned in the Bronx, he did well with the Braves (but that’s the National League), it’ll be interesting to see how he makes out in the Big Apple (with big pressure), one of my happiest days as a White Sox fan was when Javier Vazquez & Boone Logan were put on a train out of town. Melky Cabrera, a fan favorite, will move into the lineup as the Braves everyday centerfielder, Dunn has a shot as a lefty in Atlanta’s pen, and the young righthander, Vizcaino, has a huge upside, only time will tell.
Atlanta also added their firstbaseman in the person of Troy Glaus. Troy was injured last season with the Cardinals. The hot corner has always been this big power hitter’s position, but he shouldn’t have any problems shifting across the diamond, his real position is BAT.
Darren Oliver went back to where he started, returning to Texas. This will be Darren’s third go around with the Rangers. Oliver spent the last three years in the Angels bullpen, the Halos are pursuing Fernando Rodney.
In a move that was kind of under the radar, Jason Marquis was signed by the Washington Nationals. Marquis showed guts in winning 15 games last season with the Rockies. This veteran righthander will provide the Nats with just what the doctor ordered, 200 innings & 30+ starts. Next up Washington needs to secure Mike Capps as their team’s closer.
The Baltimore Orioles answered the question, who’s on 3rd, by signing free agent Garrett Atkins. Garrett became a free agent when he lost his job to Ian Stewart, and the Rockies decided not to offer him a contract. It seems like only yesterday the 30 year old looked to be a bright young star hitting his way onto the scene in Colorado. In 2006 Atkins batted .329, with 29 homers, & 120 RBIs, following that with a .301 average, 25 long balls, and 111 knocked in, and in ‘08 he drove in 99, with 21 big flies, and a .286 batting average. But when he tailed off to .226, 9 HRs, & 48 ribbies, it was time for him to move on, and Baltimore is hoping he’ll regain his stroke in an Orioles uniform.
There is another three way deal on the horizon, this one involving the Phillies, the Blue Jays, & the Mariners. Philadelphia would get righthanded ace Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays & pitching prospect Phillippe Aumont (plus another Seattle youngster, yet to be named) from the Mariners, Seattle gets Cliff Lee from the City of Brotherly Love, and Toronto picks up superstar phenom outfielder Michael Taylor, sky’s the limit starter Kyle Drabek (Son of Doug), and minor league catcher Travis d’Arnaud from the Phils. In a deal involving two former Cy Young Award winners switching uniforms, the third party player might end up being the big winner, that’s how good Michael Taylor might end up, he’s that good! Trader Billy Beane jumped into the frey to make it a four-way deal, sending 1B-3B Brett Wallace, a 2008 1st round pick out of ASU by the Cardinals who was traded to Oakland in the Matt Holliday trade, to Toronto for Michael Taylor. While Wallace has some serious power 20 or more homers in each of the last two seasons, he also swung & missed 106 times in the minors this past year. To me, the A’s look to be the big winner getting the highly skilled outfielder Taylor.
MLB is starved for good arms, especially if they’re lefthanded throwers, and there seems to be something exotic about coming from another country, like Japan as was the case with Daisuke Matsuzaka, or Cuba as is the case with Aroldis Chapman. Now it’s being reported that the Red Sox are really interested in Chapman, Boston is also interested in John Lackey, and they already have Matsuzaka, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and youngsters Clay Buchholz & Michael Bowden.
Some pretty big names joined the free agent list when they were not tendered offers to stay with their clubs. Jonny Gomes slugged the baseball pretty well in his brief time with the Reds, but it wasn’t enough for Cincinnati to want to throw cash his way. Gomes is a high energy outfielder, with as much power as anybody in the game. Then there’s Colorado Rockies thirdbaseman Garrett Atkins, in an effort to save money, the Rocks are turning over the hot corner duties to Ian Stewart. Jack Cust nailed 84 big flies in Oakland for the A’s the last three seasons, but was surprisingly let go. Another surprise was when Pittsburgh decided to cut ties with their closer, Matt Capps, but it’s the Pirates, so what would you expect? The Washington Nationals also decided not to bring back their closer, if they have a better option, I haven’t heard it. Starting pitcher Scott Olsen was also asked not to return to Washington, probably due to his poor attitude, but he throws the ball with his lefthand so somebody will take a flier on him. Chien-Ming Wang won’t be returning to the Bronx, I can kind of see this, what with Wang’s history of injuries, they can go out there and pretty much sign whomever they want.
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