The biggest trades and free agent signings of the offseason have already taken place, but if last year is any indication, we're in for a busy February filled with minor league deals and extensions. Here's what happened a year ago:
Signings
The Twins signed Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson; the Rockies signed Melvin Mora; the Orioles signed Mark Hendrickson and Will Ohman; the Padres signed Yorvit Torrealba; the Mariners re-signed Mike Sweeney and Erik Bedard; the Rays signed Joaquin Benoit; the Nationals signed Chien-Ming Wang, Adam Kennedy and Willy Taveras; the Blue Jays signed Jose Molina and Kevin Gregg; the Dodgers signed Eric Gagne, Reed Johnson and Brian Giles; the Tigers signed Johnny Damon; the Reds re-signed Jonny Gomes and signed Orlando Cabrera; the Mets signed Rod Barajas; the Indians signed Russell Branyan; the Cardinals signed Felipe Lopez and the Yankees signed Chan Ho Park and Dustin Moseley after signing Randy Winn and Marcus Thames.
Extensions
The Giants agreed to a two-year deal with Tim Lincecum; the Tigers extended Justin Verlander and the Twins made progress on an extension with Joe Mauer.
Front Office Changes
The Astros extended GM Ed Wade and the Indians announced that Chris Antonetti would replace Mark Shapiro as GM.
Arbitration
Corey Hart won his hearing with the Brewers; the Rays won their hearing with B.J. Upton; Cody Ross won his hearing with the Marlins; the Nationals won their hearings with Sean Burnett and Brian Bruney; the Cubs won their hearing with Ryan Theriot and Jeff Mathis won his hearing with the Angels.
Trades
The Blue Jays acquired Dana Eveland from the A's and the Reds and A's completed a multi-player trade that sent Willy Taveras and Adam Rosales to Oakland for Aaron Miles.
This Year
It's pretty clear that more top free agents remained on the market at this time last year, but some difference makers (Andy Pettitte and Vladimir Guerrero) are currently free agents. And even though there aren't many big-name free agents out there, players could sign this month and emerge as bargains over the course of the season, just as Joaquin Benoit did a year ago.
There are 15 unresolved arbitration cases, all of which will come to some sort of resolution this month. Some of the unsigned arbitration eligible players could agree to multiyear deals, as Lincecum and Verlander did last year. But it's Albert Pujols' possible extension that will dominate headlines in 2011 – at least until his Spring Training deadline for a deal.
We could also see front office changes – Rangers GM Jon Daniels is an extension candidate – and a few waiver claims this month. Just don't expect many trades. If last year is any indication, February is not much of a month for deal-making.
the last line of this post kinda feels like you’re saying, “hey, all you guys who refresh MLBTR every six minutes are going to be wildly dissappointed until spring training.”
T minus 18 days until Pujols goes into orbit. I for one hope he hits free agency, just to see the absolute craziness next offseason.
Me too, kind of. I feel like only the Yankees would be able to afford him because they get +400 million from revenue. No one else is anywhere near that number and Pujols is hands down the best player in baseball. And if the Yankees didn’t make that much, I’d even go as far as saying they couldn’t afford him either.
The question is who would be the most serious players:
-Mets could see him as an instant fan base revitalization especially if they get some new ownership
-Cubs could be players and at first glance they plenty of money coming off the books
-Blue Jays have the capital thanks to the Angels
-Cards will likely be players until the last minute
-If the Angels have a less than stellar season Pujols might be seen as an instant fix
-Of course there’s the unpredictable element
-And I’m sure the Sox and yanks will at least check on the price might even try to up the price every now and then to keep him out of the division.
I cant see him going to the Jays, Mets, Cubs
If he is going to leave its going to be for the combination of money and a chance to win..Him going to worse off teams then the cardinals wouldn’t make much sense
I could see the angels and dodgers as big players
this is wrong the orioles didnt sign will ohman the white sox did
thats last february kiddo
No way Pujols gets it done. Hope the Cards know what’s good for ’em and offer 8/240 now.
“Here’s what happened a year ago:”
its not worth it for them to spend the money. they wont be able to afford anyone good. look at what happened to the rangers when they signed Arod to the giant contract. they were broke and fielded a AAA team around him.
I really don’t understand why so many people think that the Cardinals won’t be able to afford Pujols’ contract extension. I guess they’re using that “new math” I keep hearing about. If he wants $30 million, that’s only $14 million more than he is going to make this season. Granted that’s almost double his current salary, but really, that’s not that much to make up. With 3+ million visitors per year, that’s a $5 per ticket increase on average. I’m sure every Cards fan would be willing to pay that to watch APu stay, I know I would. That’s if they don’t defer some of it either. Defer 5-6 million a year and this is easily accomplished. The Cardinals had a revenue of $195 million in 2010 and an operating cost of just under $13 million. So the money is there. The problem is the years and the actual value during those years compared to his salary. I can see an 8 year $240 million deal with 2-3 club options for a smaller annual salary with performance incentives. Maybe I’m blinded by my allegiance to the Cards, but I see them getting this done.
I see this getting done too, with Puljos staying in St. Louis.
The way I see it, Pujols > A-Rod. A-Rod is making 275, Pujols should make 300 just based on that alone. That may not be how it works, but it’s the way my mind leans for the most part. I have no idea what the market is for guys like this. A-Rod and Pujols type players don’t grow on trees. They’re rare, so it’s hard to say. 240 is a discount to me, a huge one, which is why I have a hard time believing it.
And if we went and asked the Yankees if they regret doing 275 for A-Rod, they just might say yes if they were honest. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still great, but he’s not 33 million per great. I think he’s been declining ever since he signed that deal, which isn’t completely surprising.
A-Rod’s deal just might be the market for Pujols and if it is, 240 ain’t gonna cut it. Then again, the market seems to have gone down for the most part, since A-Rod’s deal. Maybe 240 is accurate. I guess we’ll see what he ends up with. Right now, I still feel like 240 isn’t enough.
You’d think that if the Cardinals were serious about getting it done, it would already be done. Every day that goes by without an agreement, the chances of him resigning goes down significantly.
A deal of this magnitude takes time to work out all of the details. It’s not just a straight up X amount of years for Y amount of dollars and done. There are many facets to a deal like this and they all have to be perfect before either side agrees to it. It will take some time.
How many days has it been since the Giants won the Series? If they couldn’t do it between then and now, do you think they’ll do it between now and Spring Training?
I expect Billy Beane and possibly AA to put together a mindblowing trade. Billy is making it clear he wants to get a better third baseman than Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Jose Bautista is one such potentially available upgrade.
Forgot about Lincecum signing a 2 year deal. Giants’ managemnet has done an exceptional job the past few years.