More Winter Meeting Tidbits

Texas was popular today, but here is what else happened during day three of the Winter Meetings.

The Phillies signed Ross Gload to a two-year deal. The first baseman and outfielder will likely spend most of the season off the bench. Gload also received offers from the Marlins and Braves.

The Phillies have been equally aggressive on Fernando Rodney as they have been on Brandon Lyon. However, it's unknown if the Phillies would pay Rodney "closer-type money.”

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Bobby Crosby. Crosby never lived up to his expectations. After winning Rookie of the Year and receiving a five-year $12.75 extension from the Oakland A's, Crosby fell off the radar. This deal will be worth approximately $1.5 million.

The Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels are interested in Hideki Matsui. The White Sox may be closing in on a deal with J.J Putz.

Ben Sheets is seeking a contract around $12 million. Talk about ridiculous. The guy's a great pitcher when healthy, but he didn't even throw a pitch in 2009. I'll be completely shocked if he gets anything close.

The Red Sox have interest in Adrian Beltre. They would trade Mike Lowell first. The Giants, however, do not have interest in Beltre.

More MLB News, in bullet point form:

• The Kansas City Royals offer Jason Kendall a two-year deal.


• The Colorado Rockies are closer to a two-year deal with Yorvit Torrealba.


• The New York Yankees re-signed Andy Pettitte. One year, $11.75 million.


• Multiple teams are eyeing Joel Pinero, Nick Johnson, Derek Lowe.


• The Milwaukee Brewers signed LaTroy Hawkins.


• The New York Mets and Washington Nationals are going after Jason Marquis.
• The Mariners sign Corey Patterson.


• The Tampa Bay Rays are front runners for Rafeal Soriano.


• The Padres are discussing trades for Kevin Kouzmanoff.

Breaking News: Some Halladay rumors are coming out.

The Phillies are "joining the fray" for Halladay, as well as the Red Sox and Yankees. But the Angels are pulling trigger. They made the following offer, according to Jon Heyman of SI:

Joe Saunders, Erick Aybar and Peter Bourjos for Halladay. If the Blue Jays accept, the only question is if Halladay would wave his trade clause. Halladay previously said he would acccept a trade to the Angels.

Update (9:41 PM): Not long ago, the Phillies headlines read "Phillies in the mix for Halladay." Now, the Phillies.com homepage reads: "Phillies not likely to land Halladay."

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.

MLB News Bullet Points

The Tigers, D'Backs, and Yankees made a blockbuster deal. Here's some other bullet points of what happened today around MLB.

The St. Louis Cardinals signed Brad Penny to a one-year deal worth $7.5 million, or up to $9 million in incentives. Absolutely ridiculous. Way too much money for a guy who has barely pitched in the last three years, and isn't nearly as good as he was before injuries took a toll.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays are discussing trade options for Ryan Doumit.

The Milwaukee Brewers offered a three-year, $31 million deal to Randy Wolf. It would be smart to accept that puppy, unless he gets offered another deal (the Mets seem to be the only other team with interest). Like the Penny deal, $31 million is a lot of money.

Multiple teams are interested in Kelvim Escobar. The White Sox and Angeles are interested in Hideki Matsui. The Dodgers and Rockies are going after Luis Ayala. The Marlins are hearing offers for Dan Uggla, Matt Lindstrom, and Renyel Pinto. The Giants and Padres are discussing Kevin Kouzmanoff.

The Texas Rangers are hearing offers for Kevin Millwood. The Phillies may also be hearing offers for Joe Blanton. The Phillies may also be interested in Cuban Aroldis Chapman.

The Washington Nationals signed Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez. They are also interested in former Phillie Vicente Padilla.

Speaking of former Phillies, the Chicago Cubs are close to a Milton Bradley- Carlos Silva trade. It's still ideal for the Cubs to trade Bradley to the Tampa Bay Rays for Pat Burrell, who they would flop for prospects or a second baseman.

The Rockies offer backup catcher. Yorvit Torreabla a two-year deal.

Tigers, D'Backs, Yankees Make Blockbuster Deal

It's day two of the Winter Meetings, and we have a blockbuster deal. The New York Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson; the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy; the Detroit Tigers acquired Max Scherzer, Phil Coke, and two other young prospects.

Granderson has a healthy mix of speed and power. He batted just .249 last year, but hit 30 home runs. He has a career .828 OPS. For Granderson, the Yankees surrender Ian Kennedy, one of their top prospects. However, Kennedy has yet to live up to his expectations. A change of scenary may help him; there won't be as much pressure to succeed in Detroit than in New York.

The biggest loss in the trade goes to the Diamondbacks. They get 25-year old Edwin Jackson, who had a 3.62 ERA in 214 innings last year. However, they lose 24-year old Max Scherzer and other young prospects. It's surprising that Scherzer was even in the deal; he's young and has a load of potential, equal or greater than Jackson's. Jackson is a good pickup, but losing Scherzer was a negative.

Deal and No Deal

The New York Mets went from a team with one of the worst back end bullpens to potentially one of the best. The Mets acquired relief pitcher J.J Putz in 12 player, 3 team, blockbuster trade.

Mets receive:

J.J Putz, Jeremy Reed, Sean Green from Seattle Mariners.

Mariners receive:

Franklin Gutierrez (from Cleveland Indians)

Aaron Heilman and Endy Chavez (from Mets)

Minor Leaguers: Mike Carp, Maikel Cleto, Jason Vargas, Ezekiel Carrera

Indians receive:

Joe Smith (From Mets)

Luis Valbuena (From Mariners)

Putz will likely be the setup man for newly signed Francisco Rodriguez. Putz missed much of the 2008 season due to injury. Putz has a career 3.07 ERA and 1.16 WHIP.

While a big blockbuster trade was made, another was called off. The San Diego Padres called off the Jake Peavy to Cubs deal, which invovled the Phillies. The Phillies would have acquired Mark DeRosa, but would of had to give up one of their top prospects.

Therefore, I'm happy this deal didn't fall through. DeRosa would fill in for Chase Utley, who may be out until June at the very latest. When Utley returns, DeRosa could of played some outfield, but otherwise, there isn't much use for him. I'd rather save our few prospects. As for the Putz trade, not so much happy, but that's baseball.

Mets Sign K-Rod; Other Updates

The Winter Meatings have begun and teams have already made significant moves.

The New York Mets are close to finalizing a deal with the single season all time saves leader, Francisco Rodriguez. The deal is reportedly worth $37 million over 3 seasons, much less than what K-Rod was expected to get.


K-Rod completed 62 saves in 2008, passing Bobby Thigpen's record set in 1988 at 59 saves. In his career, K-Rod has a 2.35 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 587 SO in 451.2 IP (an average of 11.70 K/9). Opponents have hit just .186 off the 26 year old.

So, what does this mean for Phillies fans? Obviously, K-Rod is a great closer, but can be overrated due to his saves. Don't fall into the saves stat too much as its more team dependent than originally thought. K-Rod will only help the Met's bullpen, but the Mets still have to get to K-Rod, as they still need to improve their bullpen. As long as the Mets opponent is winning, Franky Rodriguez won't get into the game.

Another Major League closer is close to a deal. Kerry Wood. Wood, former Cub, Rookie of the Year, and starter who once threw 20 strikeouts in one game, is close to a deal with the Cleveland Indians. Wood has been bothered his entire career with injuries, but the Indians are taking a chance with him.

Former Indian, Casey Blake signed a 3 year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 35 year old third basemen is a career .264 hitter.

The Cincinatti Reds traded Ryan Freel, minor leaguers Justin Turner and Brandon Waring for Ramon Hernandez. In 2008, Hernandez batted .257 with15 HR and 65 RBI. Freel missed a lot of time do to injury.

The Red Sox appear to be making a big push toward free agent Mark Teixeira. As for CC Sabathia, the Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants are interested. Count So Taguchi off the Astors list.. They aren't interested.

In Phillies news, the Phillies picked up Charlie Manuel's 2010 option. Manuel will manage the Phillies through 2010. The Phillies, along with the Yankees, appear to be the big suitors for Derek Lowe. Another rumor involves the Phillies getting Mark Derosa in a 3 way trade in which the Cubs would get Jake Peavy. J.A. Happ or Chris Coste would be traded for DeRosa.

That is the latest from the hot stove as it keeps heating up.