It's going to be a few months before we see baseball players return to the field (and some might be hard to recognize due to the new steroid agreement), but battles are being waged just as fiercely as ever off the field between many playoff contenders.
Let's start with the New York Yankees, who as usual targeted a player (Randy Johnson) and got him no matter what the cost. It's hard to fault the Yankees because if there is one player who can transform a team, especially in the postseason, it's the Big Unit. Despite his advanced age, he's still getting better and he only needs to stay healthy to succeed.
The Bombers also upgraded their pitching by signing Carl Pavano to a four year, $40 million deal. Pavano has a history of injury problems and has had only one sterling season (2004), yet he has shown signs of becoming a very consistent starter recently thanks to improved control. Pavano's strikeout to walk ratio has improved in each of the last three seasons.
The other major move by New York was a head scratcher of sorts. The Yankees signed pitcher Jaret Wright to a three year, $21 million deal. Wright had a great 2004 season, but how many times have we seen other teams overvalue Atlanta Braves starters? Whether it is Bobby Cox, Leo Mazzone, the Braves equipment manager, or something else, Atlanta pitchers always seem to outperform their expectations in Atlanta and flop everywhere else (see Millwood, Kevin and Avery, Steve).
Of course the Boston Red Sox were active as well this offseason. Boston's number one objective was to resign Jason Varitek and that was accomplished when he signed a four year, $40 million contract. The contract might be a tad expensive, but Varitek's intangibles are tough to measure. Pitcher Curt Schilling claimed the club would have had "no chance" of repeating as champions if Varitek was not re-signed.
Another major splash by Boston was the acquisition of shortstop Edgar Renteria, who also agreed to a four year, $40 million contract. Again, it looks like Boston overpaid to a degree, yet the shortstop market was limited and Boston wisely chose to go all out for the most consistent shortstop on the market. Everyone loved Orlando Cabrera and his animated handshakes in the dugout, but considering Ocab got a four year, $32 million deal, Boston looks like it got better value for its money (more on this later).
Boston also bolstered its rotation by adding Matt Clement, David Wells, and Wade Miller. The Miller signing was a stroke of genius, as the 28-year-old has excellent stuff and just needs to stay healthy (which is a big "if" as he is recovering from a labrum injury). The Wells signing also made a lot of sense for Boston. The Sox will finally have a decent lefthander in the rotation and Wells is a strike-throwing machine. Boomer's back could be a problem, but Boston wisely signed him to an incentive-laden deal to compensate for the risk. Clement has had some fine seasons, but if he really starts to put things together, he could be dominant.
The Seattle Mariners made big waves in the free agent market by signing both third baseman Adrian Beltre and first baseman Richie Sexson to long term deals. Yet both players present some considerable risk. Beltre might be a one-hit wonder: his 2004 season was spectacular, but his six other seasons were fairly mediocre. But he's still only 25 and he has developed into a more patient hitter, which should serve him well in the future. Sexson is a question mark because he is coming off serious shoulder surgery. Also, moving to the spacious grounds of Safeco Field won't help the home run hitter either, so this signing looks like a mistake considering it will cost the Mariners $50 million over four seasons.
The Minnesota Twins accomplished their goal of keeping Brad Radke. Radke wins the "We Need More Players Like This in Sports Award" for quickly signing a two-year, $18 million contract when he probably could have gotten more from other teams.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (yes, in case you haven't been paying attention that's the idiotic new name of the team) weren't quite the big players that everyone thought they might be this offseason. Some expected Anaheim to go after Nomar Garciaparra and Carlos Beltran, but the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the Golden State of California decided to go after centerfielder Steve Finley and Orlando Cabrera. Finley represented a more affordable solution at centerfield; despite being 39 he's continuing to put up decent numbers.
Meanwhile, Cabrera is a solid player but the four year, $32 million deal probably has a lot to do with increased World Series exposure (the same goes for Derek Lowe and the Los Angeles Dodgers). Cabrera is an excellent defender and had good 2001 and 2003 seasons, but he's not really a standout hitter and at 30-years-old he's not likely to get much better.
Finally, though the Oakland A's didn't make much of a splash in the free agent market (surprise!) they did make two major trades as they dealt two of their "big three" starters, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson. The two deals are like the opposite of every New York Yankee trade: they should hurt the A's a bit in the short term, but should be a long term improvement because the A's wouldn't have been able to keep Hudson and Mulder anyways.
