Mets Sign Bay; Giants Sign DeRosa

With the holidays, there was a lack of baseball news throughout the week. When Eric Bruntlett signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals, that was the biggest headline in Philadelphia sports. With the new year approaching, a few more moves were made.

The New York Mets signed free agent Jason Bay to a four year, $66 million contract. The Mets were desperately in need of a left fielder. They got one. However, like so many major league contracts, Bay was given too much money.

Bay is a great player, but has been extremely over rated since his departure from Pittsburgh. The money shows.

In addition, Bay was a better fit for Boston. Bay, not known for his defense, will go from a very small left field in Fenway to a very spacious outfield in Citi Field. In addition to potential defensive struggles, Bay's power numbers will go down. Citi Field has taken a damper on home run numbers; just look at David Wright's decrease in home run totals from 2008 to 2009.

In other baseball news, the San Francisco Giants signed Mark DeRosa to a two year, $12 million deal. DeRosa, an extremely versatile player, will likely spend the majority of his playing time at third base, with Pablo Sandoval moving to first. DeRosa may spend time in the outfield as well.

The Giants need a bat badly. DeRosa probably won't be the answer, although he will help a very weak hitting ball club. The Giants have pitching, but if they can improve their hitting, they could be the favorites in the National League West.

There's not much left of the free agent market. Matt Holliday seems to be the only big name remaining. The Cardinals are rumored to have offered him a $100 million contract.

In minor moves, the Arizona Diamondbacks signed Kelly Johnson and the Oakland Athletics signed Justin Duchscherer.

Cardinals Have Holliday Against Happ

Originally posted on Phillies Nation.

Welcome back to Earth, J.A. After pitching well all season long, J.A Happ lost his first game since his his Major League debut in 2007.

The St. Louis Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Rick Ankiel's RBI single. He drove in Matt Holliday, who got an infield single in his first official at-bat as a Cardinal. Holliday wasn't close to being done.

A 48 minute rain delay paused play, but Happ was back on the mound once the game resumed. Happ was pitching fine, but all his trouble came in the sixth inning. Usually, when Happ gets into jams, he gets out of them. Friday was a different story. Holliday, Ryan Ludwick and Yadier Molina each had RBI singles. Ankiel doubled to give the Cardinals a five-run cushion.

Happ allowed five earned runs on ten hits in six innings. Granted, he wasn't backed with the best defense as there were some sloppy plays (most notable by Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz). On a positive note, he made hitters earn their way on; he did not walk a batter.

The Cardinals did not look back. The score was 7-0 in the seventh, thanks to a RBI single by Mark DeRosa, and yet another run batted in from Ankiel. Julio Lugo homered in the eighth.

Albert Pujols is usually the one who has the big game. Pujols went 1-for-4, but was backed by teammates Ankiel (3-for-4, 3 RBI) and Holliday (4-for-5).

The offense was pathetic and didn't help their own cause. They had plenty of opportunities to score, by managed just one run in the seventh inning on a wild pitch. They left 10 runners on base and were 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

The 8-1 loss destroys Happ's undefeated streak. He is now 7-1 this season, but his earned run average is still under three.

In baseball news, Vicente Padilla has been diagnosed with Swine Flu.

Done Deal: Holliday To Cards

ESPN reports that Matt Holliday has been traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Oakland A's acquire the Cardinals top prospect Brett Wallace (3B), in addition to Shane Peterson (OF) and Clayton Mortensen (P).

Additionally, the A's wil pay $1.5 million of Holliday's remaining salary, leaving $4.5 million for the Cardinals to pay. Holliday becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

Holliday batted .287 with 11 HR, 54 RBI and a .837 OPS. He finished second in the 2007 MVP voting behind Jimmy Rollins (but Holliday deserved it more).

Holliday spent most of his career with the Colorado Rockies, before being traded in the offseason. He is a career .315 hitter with a .926 OPS. The Cardinals had interest in Holliday before he was traded to Oakland.

The Cardinals are in town this weekend to face the Phillies.

A's Acquire Holliday

According to MLB Trade Rumors, the Oakland Athletics acquired Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies.

The A's came out of nowhere for the trade. The Phillies and Cardinals were rumored as trade possibilities for Holliday. Ryan Ludwick was the Cardinals main trade bait. Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, and J.A. Happ were among possibilities of a trade for Holliday for the Phillies.

The package for Holliday includes Carlos Gonzalez, Huston Street, and Greg Smith.

Billy Beane, the A's GM has had a reputation of trading away players at the deadline for prospects. Perhaps this year is not the case as he may feel the A's have a chance to contend in 2009. If that isn't the case, then we could see an old stunt by the A's as they could trade Holliday to a contending team for prospects.

Holliday has one year on his contract left, so he will likely become a free agent after the 2009 season unless he is re-signed. With Scott Boras as his agent, it is likely the 2007 MVP runner up will test the free agent market.

Phillies Note: Phillies resign relief pitcher Scott Eyre. Eyre signed a 1 year, $2 million contract. Also, Jimy Williams will not return as bench coach in 2009.