A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR this past week:
- MLBTR was the first to report the following deals that avoided arbitration: the Tigers and Rick Porcello for one year and $5.1MM, the White Sox and Gordon Beckham for one year and $2.925MM, and the Giants and Jose Mijares for one year and $1.8MM.
- Tim Dierkes broke the story of the Red Sox and Joel Hanrahan avoiding arbitration with a one-year, $7.04MM contract.
- Tim was also the first to learn Neftali Feliz's one-year deal with the Rangers includes incentives worth $50K based on appearances.
- Ben Nicholson-Smith attended the Blue Jays' press conference introducing Jose Reyes and reported GM Alex Anthopoulos made the trade because Reyes "is a rare guy to find" and "one of the great players to play the game."
- In other news from the Reyes press conference, Ben noted the Blue Jays will leave the door open on a possible return of free agent reliever Brandon Lyon, Anthopoulos stressed the importance of starting rotation depth, and the GM tempered raised expectations by saying the entire AL East is outstanding.
- Mark Polishuk participated in the conference call the Mariners held announcing their acquisition of Michael Morse and reported GM Jack Zduriencik felt adding a hitter like Morse was worth the cost of losing John Jaso and Morse welcomed the trade back to the Mariners, as he feels he had some unfinished business in Seattle.
- Ben profiled a pair of extension candidates in the A's starting rotation: Tommy Milone and Jarrod Parker.
- Matt Swartz provided an in-depth breakdown of the arbitration cases for Mat Latos, Matt Wieters, and Jim Johnson.
- Mark examined the managers and GMs entering the final year of their contract.
- Tim explained the file and trial strategy some teams utilize in handling their arbitration cases.
- Ben hosted this week's live chat.
- Mike Axisa assembled the best of the baseball blogosphere for you in Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- There are many ways to enjoy MLB Trade Rumors. Here's a refresher on how to use MLBTR.
