Texas Headlines Day 3 of Winter Meetings

The Texas Rangers made the most headlines during day three of the Winter Meetings:

Rich Harden is close to a deal with the Rangers, which would be a terrific move. When healthy, Harden can be a great pitcher. The Rangers have a great offense, however their pitching could use a boost, although they have a lot of up and coming talent in Scott Feldman and other starters. Their bullpen was toward the top in ERA (3.95) last season. With their potent offense and improved pitching, the Rangers could finally get over the hump and be in the playoffs.

Speaking of the Rangers and pitching, they traded Kevin Millwood to the Baltimore Orioles for Chris Ray. I'm not sure how much of an upgrade this is. Ray was great in 2005 and 2006. He had Tommy John Surgery in 2007 and hasn't returned to his old form. He had an awful 2009: an ERA over seven. Millwood was one of the Rangers best pitchers in 2009, but he has had a history of injuries. The move serves as a salary dump more than anything. Millwood had a 3.67 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 2009.

The Rangers are done yet. They're also discussing a deal with the Red Sox for Mike Lowell.

Staying in the state of Texas, the Houston Astros acquired Matt Lindstrom from the Florida Marlins. The Marlins will receive Robert Bono and Luis Bryan.

Free Agents Find Homes

Former Phillie Bobby Abreu and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a one year deal. The deal is reportedly worth $5 million, including incentives.

Abreu, who turns 35 in March, earned $16 million with the Yankees last season where he batted .296 with 20 HR and 100 RBI. He also scored 100 runs and stole 22 bases.

The Nationals signed Adam Dunn to a 2 year deal. Terms were not disclosed. Dunn, 28, hit at least 40 HR for five years in a row.

Dunn has a career .247 AVG, striking out 1,256 times in his career, but he also has a career .900 OPS.

The Texas Rangers signed Andruw Jones to a minor league deal. The deal is worth $500,000, but includes bonuses.

Jones, 31, batted .222 in 2007 and in 75 games in 2008, .158. He has 371 career home runs in 13 Major League seasons.

Not only is he trying to revive his career, Jones will be competing for a spot in the outfield with David Murphy, Nelson Cruz, Frank Catalanotto and Marlon Byrd.

7 Down, 1 To Go; Other Updates

The Phillies avoided arbitration with reliever Chad Durbin on Wednesday, signing him to a one year, $1.635 deal.

For Durbin, a little over $1.5 million is reasonable. Durbin made just $900,000 in 2008, but his due to his performance, he deserved a raise. Giving Durbin too much money would not make much sense since 2008 was a career year for Durbin. He still has a high career ERA over 5. In 87.2 IP, Durbin was 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA during the 2008 season. The deal was just right. Not to high, not to low.

Toward the end of the season, Durbin faced a "dead arm" period and started to struggle. He managed to pitch through it.
The Phillies signed all their arbitration eligible players but one: Ryan Howard, who is still pushing for $18 million.

Prince Fielder is a similar player to Howard. Both have extreme power. The Milwaukee Brewers are close to signing the arbitration eligible Fielder to a 2 year deal that would be worth at least $18 million. Hear that Howard? Fielder is getting two years out of $18M.

Cole Hamels threw 3,914 pitches in 2008, leading the Majors. CC Sabathia, who was the 2007 leader (3,892), threw 3,912 pitches, finishing second. Brett Myers (3,718) was third. Joe Blanton (3,547) was 11th. The number of pitches includes the postseason, and for Myers, Minor Leagues.

Throwing as many pitches as these guys, it increases risk of injury. 10 out of 18 pitchers who reached the 3,400 pitch mark in 2007 had a serious injury in 2008.

Remember Freddy Garcia? Remember the hype around him when the Phillies got him?Remember how he made just 7 starts with the Phillies in 2007? Remember his ERA was over 5 in those starts? Remember how the Phillies gave him $10 million for one year?

Well, both New York teams are interested in him. The Mets and Yankees are the top front runners for him.

The Texas Rangers are close to signing Omar Vizquel. He agreed to a Minor League contract with a base salary of $1 million. The 41 year old is an 11 time Gold Glove Winner, and has played the most games at shortstop than anybody in MLB history.

Jeff Kent officially announced his retirement today. In 17 Major League seasons, Kent batted .290 with 377 homeruns. He had a career OPS of .856.

Golson Traded to Rangers

The Philadelphia Phillies traded outfielder and prospect Greg Golson to the Texas Rangers for outfielder John Mayberry Jr.

Ruben Amaro Jr. called it a "speed for power" swap. Mayberry could fill Burrell's shoes whether its 2009 or the near future.

Mayberry was ranked 17th in the Rangers farm system.

In AA, Golson hit .282 with 13 HR. Mayberry hit .264 with 20 HR between AA and AAA.

Golson reminded me of Michael Bourn. He is a good prospect, has amazing speed, and great defense. However, he strikes out a lot, and walks very little. He has some work to do offensively, and I would say that he is not Major League ready at this point.

To me it looks like were pretty much getting the same player, but apparently Mayberry has more power.