**BALTIMORE **(B)
WHAT I LIKED: The Orioles have certainly upgraded their offense with Mark Reynolds, JJ Hardy and Derek Lee revamping their infield. I like the Lee signing as he is on a one year deal and should be motivated to play for another contract. All three players should hit well in Camden Yards and Lee is still excellent at first base. I really like the signing of Kevin Gregg as he is a proven closer at a very reasonable salary for them. They know they are not in a position to win now so why go out and pay a Rafael Soriano $12 million a season to close? Gregg is a nice option who should be a bargain and solidify their bullpen by sliding Mike Gonzalez into his more natural set-up role. Finally, if they are able to sign Vlad Guerrero, their offense could be one of the best in the league next year. Regardless, this is the only team besides the Red Sox in this division that has clearly improved.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: The Os let one of their better players walk in Ty Wigginton which I thought was a mistake as they will miss his versatility. Their starting rotation could use a veteran presence with Kevin Millwood departing and the back end is very thin. Now that they have added some offense, it will be interesting to see if they use any of their other pieces (Adam Jones, Matt Wieters or Nick Markakis) to deal for the front line starting pitcher they desperately need.
BOSTON (A-)
WHAT I LIKED: REALLY hard not to like the Sox importing 2 of the best 12-15 position players in the game this offseason. The Sox offseason success has been well documented with the signing of Carl Crawford and the trade and signing (they’re only waiting to make his extension official to avoid more luxury tax) of Adrian Gonzalez. Dan Wheeler is a proven veteran who will take some of the load off of Daniel Bard in the mid to late innings protecting leads. Bard was relied upon much too heavily in 2010 so one of the Sox bullpen acquisitions will need to make an impact.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: I like that the Sox are showing faith in Jarrod Saltalamacchia to catch but I don’t like that the backup plan is Jason Varitek. I wouldn’t have minded a Benji Molina type on a 1 year deal. Bobby Jenks scares me as well. No, they did not have to give up any draft picks for him but he’s the third guy in that bullpen that thinks he should be closing and they’re asking him to be a set up guy when he’s really never been one. Remember Eric Gagne?
NEW YORK (C)
WHAT I LIKED: The Yankees seem resigned to DHing Jorge Posada and the Russell Martin signing helps them to accomplish that while potentially being a good buy low bargain. They were smart to reload their bullpen with the underrated Pedro Feliciano and, even though it raised eyebrows, the Soriano signing will help as well.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: Andruw Jones? Bartolo Colon? Even in the best of scenarios with these 2, the Yankees bench and back end of the starting rotation are looking perilously thin at the moment. Although they had to because of the transition with Posada, losing Lance Berkman’s bat is a significant blow as well. Finally, whiffing on Cliff Lee will be a huge blow for them, especially in the next two seasons as they try and capitalize on the twilights of Posada, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez (and possibly Andy Pettite). The Yankees must be praying for Pettite’s return as, without him, this will be a transition season for them in which they will be lucky to contend.
TAMPA BAY (C+)
WHAT I LIKED: The Damon and Ramirez signings should help Tampa’s offense overcome the losses of Crawford and Carlos Pena. Joel Peralta is a nice under the radar bullpen signing (2.02 ERA and .80 WHIP in 2010) that will be relied upon to replace the departed Joaquin Benoit who was unhittable last season. Making sure that they received draft picks even though they had little chance of signing Crawford, Soriano and Pena was huge for them as they have to draft well to remain competitive in this division.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: Kyle Farnsworth and the bullpen. I’ve always thought he was inconsistent and asking him to close is risky to say the least, especially when they had their closer in waiting in Benoit. Not sure why they let him walk when comparable money to Detroit and the opportunity to close should have at least made him think twice. It’s hard to criticize a team with such payroll restraints in such a high spending division and they were correct to let the aforementioned trio of free agents walk. However, if they are insistent on reloading their roster through the draft, as the Matt Garza trade for prospects demonstrated, it is imperative that they use the picks well.
TORONTO (C+)
WHAT I LIKED: As mentioned in my previous post (Dominoes Fall in AL East), the Vernon Wells trade is huge for the Blue Jays moving forward even if it hurts this season. Turning his contract into Juan Rivera and a borderline closer in Frank Francisco was a score for the Blue Jays, especially by not taking back any lengthy contracts. Acquiring the under rated Raja Davis was a nice pickup as it diversifies their offense by adding his speed (50 steals in 2010) and athleticism at the top of their lineup. He can also play all 3 outfield positions.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: Jeez, if you were a catcher that got traded to Toronto this off season, your stay was short lived. First, they trade for Miguel Olivo and then decline his option freeing him to sign in Seattle. Then they traded Mike Napoli within a week of acquiring him for Francisco which was odd given their catching situation. Francisco is a decent set up man, but Napoli is a power bat that can play multiple positions. I also didn’t like them trading Shawn Marcum, who might have been the most under rated starter in this division last year, (3.64 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 195 innings) for a middle infielder. Like the Orioles, they lack a veteran presence in the starting rotation.