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“December 8th- Day 2 From Winter Meetings”

Yankees Steal The Show- For the 2nd straight year at the Winter Meetings the New York Yankees once again make the first blockbuster move by acquiring center fielder Curtis Granderson from the Tigers. Granderson is a former All Star and he will most likely be penciled in as the new leadoff hitter for the World Champion Yankees. Granderson is 28 years old and he currently has 3 years left on his contract which pays him about 6 million dollars per year.

THE 7 PLAYER 3 TEAM TRADE BREAKS DOWN LIKE THIS :  

New York gets Curtis Granderson from the Tigers

Arizona Diamondbacks get starter Edwin Jackson from the Tigers and minor league pitcher Ian Kennedy from the Yankees.

Detroit Tigers get CF prospect Austin Jackson from the Yankees as well as situational left handed reliever Phil Coke, and young pitchers Max Sherzer and Daniel Schlereth.

Overall Outlook- The Yankees have once again put themselves in a position to become a uch better ball club as they add Curtis Granderson who could very well return to his 30 home run prowess by playing 81 games in the new Yankee Stadium. Granderson’s contract is also very cost friendly as he only makes around 6 million dollars per year. Granderson is a 5 tool player and the Yankees will the day to day approach he brings to the game. The Tigers got younger by adding Granderson’s future replacement in Austin Jackson. They also may have improved their pitching staff by getting both Schlereth and Scherzer from the D-Backs. Both of these pitchers have huge upsides in the mere fact that they throw very hard while having command of all 3 of their pitches. The D-Backs get Edwin Jackson who can be a solid compliment to both Brandon Webb and Dan Haren who are the top 2 pitchers in their starting rotation. By adding Jackson to the starting staff Arizona may possess the best rotation in the NL West, even ahead of the Giants who have Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. As far as getting Ian Kennedy I feel he is just another young pitcher that could possibly replace some depth in the D-Backs losing both Schlereth and Scherzer. The Yankees clearly are the most improved team as a result of this trade.

 

“The Pacific Northwest Awaits Him”

 

The New Seattle Speedster- The Mariners have made the biggest signing so far at this year’s Winter Meetings as they inked third baseman Chone Figgins to a 4 year 46 million dollars deal today with an option for a 5th year. Last year Figgins hit .298 with 5 HR’s and 54 RBI’s for the rival Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Figgins was 2nd in the American League with 114 runs scored trailing only Dustin Pedroia. Figgins also stole 42 bases as he will either bat first or second in the new look Mariner lineup. Figgins will most likely replace former Mariner third baseman Adrian Beltre who declined arbitration last night. This is a great move for the Mariners especially because they were able to take him away from the division rival Angels. The Angels have already declined options on Vlad Guerrero and Juan Rivera. With Figgins now leaving for Seattle and ace John Lackey holding free agent status one has to wonder if the Angels have lost too much in their quest for a 4th straight AL West Division Title.

YOUR LATEST ON THE RUMORS OF DAY 2

 

 

Free Agent OF Matt Holliday- The Cardinals met with Scott Boras and the sides appear to be to far apart so it looks like Holliday will most likely be playing elsewhere next season. Possible Destinations- Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers. The Cubs would love to be on this list and if they are able to move Milton Bradley before Holliday signs then they may have a shot. The Yankees just picked up Granderson and they are most likely going to keep World Series MVP Hideki Matsui so they may only be in this to drive up the price. The Mets would love to land Holliday but with all of their bad contracts his price may be way to high. Boston and the Angels may have the best shot at getting Holliday but you have to wonder how negotiations with Scott Boras will go especially after last year’s Mark Teixeira debacle. Texas could be a nice fit as they have a hitter friendly ball park and the Rangers may only be a big bat away from catching the Angels. The Orioles could get into this mix because they do have the money to spend it is just a question of whether or not they want to do it. This deal may not get done for a while as Holliday is just 27 years old seeking a 5 to 6 year deal that most teams may be reluctant to sign. 

 

Free Agent OF Jason Bay- The latest on Bay is that there appears to be 3 teams in the running to land the free agent slugger. The 3 teams are the Red Sox, Angels, and Mariners. Theo Epstein once again mentioned how much he would love to keep Bay in a Sox uniform as well as how much Jason Bay has indicated to him that he wants to stay but both sides are still a ways apart from making a deal. The Angels have a spot open in left field for Bay and they also may now have the funds to land him because they just lost Figgins, Guerrero, Rivera, and will most likely also lose John Lackey. The Red Sox need to be careful because they may not want to get into a bidding war with the Angels for the mere fact that you never know what the player is really receiving from the other side. The Mariners could be a destination because Bay is from Vancouver and Seattle is very close to his home. In all honesty I think the Red Sox will end up keeping Bay by signing him to a 4 year deal when things are all said and done. I think Theo is letting Bay see what is out there because he has certainly earned that right but when things start to go the Sox will end up being Bay’s biggest suitor.

Free Agent SP Roy Halladay- Halladay has set a deadline of January to get a deal done and honestly I feel that he will be playing for a different team next season. The big rumor right now is that if the Sox will be willing to part with Clay buchholz and Casey Kelly then Halladay is as good as theirs. The question is will the Sox be willing to give up those two young prized arms for Halladay? If they can work out a long term deal with Roy similar to what the Mets did with Johan Santana when they were able to acquire him then I think they would definitely part ways with both players. This is the one player that could put the Red Sox over the top in major league baseball because if they add Halladay to a rotation that already features Josh Beckett and Jon Lester the Red Sox would head into next season as the team to beat. This is a wait and see type of situation as I firmly believe that this deal may not be done until after X-Mas.

With 2 Days down there has not been alot of action so far at the Winter Meetings and as we head into the last 2 days don’t expect there to be much of a change.

Matthew Giacoppo-The Brain

Tags: Day 2 From The Winter Meetings- Once Again World Champi, Matthew Giacoppo-The Brain

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 10:00 pm and is filed under Day 2 From The Winter Meetings- Once Again World Champi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.