Winter Meetings, Day 2

Yesterday I wrote about why I wanted to start this blog and how much of a fan of baseball I am. Today, I thought to myself, there is just too much information right now to only do this once a day. Therefore, I am going to do it at least twice so it's not so long and people don't get bored with it. Pretty good idea, huh? I know, that's why I'm doing it.

Anyways, to the good stuff. Times are tough these days and baseball for most teams are not excluded. Instead of dropping nine-figures on that big fish in the pond, teams are trading to please their needs. There are a lot of rumors of trades going on and there have already been a few.

But first things first, I wrote of the arbitration deadline being last night and only a few have accepted their employers offer, namely being Rafael Soriano. Soriano closed quite a few games for the Braves last year and is in for a big raise this year. He accepted the offer last night and then as expected asked to be traded. Not a complete shocker here. He will get paid more through arbitration than as a free agent and has plenty of interest from other teams to be a closer. The Orioles have already been listed as the most interested. We'll see how this works out for the Braves as they have a very expensive bullpen now with Wagner and Saito already signed on for the late innings.

Carl Pavano also accepted the Twins offer. I think everyone saw this coming though because of his past injuries and coming off a good season. Rafeal Betancourt is an interesting case. He is a good reliever that won't get much attention on the market because of his status. Any team that signs him would have to give up a first round draft pick to the Rockies. The Rockies had a sizable $5.4m option on him that they declined. Too bad for them, because now they will probably have to pay him more through arbitration. Smart man.

To the rumors, a lot of rumors flying around that I will get to tonight if anything develops more; but right now, one of them seems to be heading somewhere. The Diamondbacks are pushing for a three-way trade with the Tigers and Yankees. the D-backs are trying to acquire both Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy from the Tigers and Yankees respectively. The Yankees would receive Curtis Granderson and the Tigers would get a slew of prospects, Max Scherzer and Phil Coke, but nothing is final. Apparently, they are a lot closer now than they were this morning.

Word just dropped, the deal is final, pending physicals. The Tigers get Austin Jackson and Phil Coke from the Yankees, Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from the D-backs. The D-backs will reel in both Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy and the the Yankees will add Curtis Granderson. Not a fan of this trade, although everyone seemed to get their haul.

Mark Teahen, who was traded to the White Sox for Chris Getz and Josh Fields a month ago from the Royals, just signed a three-year deal for $14m. A good deal for the Sox, Teahen will be playing third base for his new team.

The Nationals have mad another acquisition in that of Ivan Rodriguez. He will hold down catching for the next two years for an apparent over-payment of $6m. I, however, think this is a good sign, getting a veteran presence behind the plate for all of those young arms the Nats have. Plus, his bat seems to still be at least average for the catching position. And good for him to lock down a two-year deal at a baseball-old age of 38.

The Brewers have made a strong offer for Randy Wolf, probably somewhere in the range of a three-year $30m deal. Maybe a little bit more money.

The Braves are discussing a possible trade for Derek Lowe with multiple teams. I hope to update this comment tonight with a done deal. I'm probably dreaming though.

"The Fanatic"