Ramblings

• Angels GM Tony Reagins told the media that there are "some interesting and exciting things have surfaced" with new teams. Hopefully the Angels can go out and acquire a number 4 hitter to bat between Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter.
• The Blue Jays have met with Paul Lo Duca's agent, but have a mere $2.5M to spend on a catcher who made $6.5M last year playing everyday with the New York Mets.
• Info on Jake Peavy's extension: Peavy is set to make $15M in 2010, $16M in 2011, $17M in 2012, and a $22M option for 2013.
• Seems like a swap of Erik Bedard to L.A. for Matt Kemp and Jonathan Broxton is getting close.
  

Angels Sign Hunter

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim continued their very busy offseason, signing center-fielder Torii Hunter to a 5-year contract worth approximately $90M. There was absolutely no speculation that there were even talks between the two parties, but Hunter's agent told the media that the deal was compiled within 24 hours of beginning communication.

At first look, it seems Hunter doesn't fit in with the Angels, playing a position that the Angels shelled out $50M last season to fill. Last year's center-fielder Gary Matthews Jr. didn't have a very good year with the bat, but the power numbers were pretty high. Los Angeles now has 6 outfielders to play 3 spots, most likely guaranteeing that Miguel Cabrera will be wearing red come next year. GM Tony Reagins put the club in a great postion to move 1 or 2 outfielders with Santana or Saunders in return for a big bat, whether it be Miguel Cabrera or even Miguel Tejada.

Ramblings

* ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that before third baseman Mike Lowell agreed on a 3-year/$37.5M deal with the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies offered Lowell a 4-year deal worth $50M. Looks like Lowell really did want to come back to Boston, as he made it clear he wanted 4-years and than turned down Philadelphia’s offer. He also lost a good $12.5M in the process.
* When asked about the 4-year $60M offer the Colorado Rockies reportedly made to soon-to-be National League MVP, Matt Holliday responded by making it clear that he would like a contract much longer than 4-years. He feels that he is worth a long term investment from the Colorado Rockies, and who’s going to argue against it?
* The St. Louis Cardinals have signed veteran catcher Jason LaRue, who spent 2007 with the Kansas City Royals, to a 1-year deal worth $850,000. LaRue really didn’t do too much in Kansas City.
* Free-Agent Torii Hunter is set to dine with the Texas Rangers owner and general manager tonight, possibly talking about a long-term deal in place to fill the Ranger’s CF vacancy. Most believe Texas is the front runner for Hunter.
* Don’t be surprised if new Angel Jon Garland does much better for the Halos, as their ballpark suits his pitching style very nicely. His 4.24 ERA in 2007 wasn’t too impressive, but I would be willing to put a wager on an ERA under 4 for next year. (MVN.com)

Nationals To Attempt To Sign Zimmerman Long Term Once Again

Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post posted a great article on the state of the Washington Nationals. Seems like the owning family, the Lerners, are "committed to raise payroll". Washington's payroll sat at a cool $38M last season.

GM Jim Bowden has already communicated with agents for Aaron Rowand and Torii Hunter, but made it clear that he would much rather aquire young players through trade than signing big name free-agents.

Svrluga also believes that the Nationals are set to once again offer third-baseman Ryan Zimmerman a multi-year contract to remain the face of the franchise. Talks stalled last year, as Bowden believes that "there's no urgency" in signing Ryan. "We don't have interest in doing a long-term deal that is going to cost us more money than going through the [arbitration] process."

All FA Team

So, you wanna see who would be the best bet to sign for your struggling team? Well I've compiled the All FA team to show you exactly where your team should go this offseason. Enjoy

C: Michael Barrett
I've already considered that neither Yorvit Torrealba or Jorge Posada will leave their respective teams. Barrett is a slightly better choice than Lo Duca for the simple fact that he's 5 years younger and considerably better defensively. Michael hit .244 with 9HR's and 41RBI's in 101 games between the Cubs and Padres, but hit considerably better with San Diego and heated up in the last month, hitting .333

1B: Sean Casey
Unlike Barret, Casey is for a fact going into free-agency and will be a great fit for any club. For one, he's a left-handed bat with an amazing eye, collecting an OBP of .353 for the Tigers this year. Hitting .296 with 4HR and 54RBI, Casey is a great number three bat for clubs who need OBP and occasional power.

2B: Tadahito Iguchi
Since Luis Castillo and Kaz Matsui don't look to be moving anywhere, the picking are quite slim at second, but Tadahito is definantly the front-runner. We all know he's a magician with the glove, and hitting .267 with 9HR 43RBI and 14SB with a .347 is pretty good production for a second-baseman. Easy choice here.

SS: David Eckstein
My gut feeling is that Eckstein will not be a Cardinal in '07, so a pesty short-stop who gets on base at a frequent pace is still very valuable. Slimmest position in the market, especially as besides Eckstein there is Cesar Izturis and nothing else.

3B: Alex Rodriguez
The soon to be 2007 American League MVP, A-Rod will easily opt out of his contract and play for the team with the most cash. A 10-year $300M deal is nowhere out of question, and Alex will be the home-run king by the time that deal ends.

OF: Mike Cameron, Torii Hunter, Barry Bonds
On Mike Cameron's side, he's a great player on both sides of the ball but is 35 years old and will lose a step or two in center the next few seasons. Hunter is the best bet in the outfield department, as he's 32 and is capable of hitting .280 with 25-30HR and driving in 85-100 in a year. Bonds is a great choice if you don't care about the excess baggage he brings with him. His OBP will help plenty of teams and I still believe he's capable of hitting 20HR's in a year.

DH: Mike Piazza
Piazza is an absolute professional hitter and will be a great DH for anyteam that will pick him up. He can take walks, hit the long ball, and move runners over. Teams like the Angels and Twins should take a great look at the ex-catcher.

CL: Octavio Dotel
Octavio still throws extremely hard and can easily save 30 games for a team next season. Will be interesting to see how the Braves play Dotel, as they should let him go to save up for the Teixera resigning.

Remember, I've already summed up the FA starting-pitcher batch over here.

Hunter Will Accept 5/$75M

Star Tribune's Sid Hartman believes that if the Twins would offer a 5-year contract to Torii Hunter worth $75M, he would gladly sign. He's already told the media that he would like to play at new Twin's stadium for more than one year. The stadium is set to open in 2010. He also believes that if the Twins will backload Hunter's deal and trade Johan Santana for a stud young 3B, DH, and SP, they will have plenty of money to work with. The backload makes a lot of sense as Carlos Silva's deal would come off the books after next season.

If Hunter hits the open market, you can expect the Twins to have a hard time selling tickets without their fan-favorite center-fielder. Hartman goes on saying that Twins fans would rather sign Hunter and trade Johan than just let Hunter go to sign Johan. Seems like Johan's time in Minnesota might be over.