The baseball off-season hot stove is heating up. A lot of teams are being very active early in free agency.
The Los Angeles Dodgers seem to be the most active so far out of all the teams in baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies have also been making some noise as well, based on the fact that both teams have the money to do so.
I have put together my second hot stove report of the off-season, which includes the hottest headlines in the world of baseball.
Phillies Trade for Michael Young
The Phillies acquired seven-time All-Star infielder Michael Young from the Texas Rangers for two relief pitchers.The Phillies sent right-hander Josh Lindblom and minor league righty Lisalverto Bonilla away to get Young.
Young fills a void at third base that the Phillies have been searching for. He batted .277 with eight homers and 67 RBIs in 2012, which was a down-year for him. In his nine previous seasons, Young hit at least .300 seven times and averaged 17 homers and 90 RBIs.
Dodgers Sign Greinke, Hyun-Jin
The Dodgers reached an agreement in principle to sign free agent right-hander Zack Greinke for $147 million over six years, pending the results of his physical, on Saturday.
The Dodgers alreay acquired nearly $300 million in contracts mid-summer in Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Hanley Ramirez and Josh Beckett, along with extending Andre Ethier’s contract by $85 million. Just over a year ago, they re-upped Matt Kemp for $160 million.
The Dodgers have become one of the best, if not the best team, on paper in baseball. They are now completely stacked and should be the favorite to win it all next season as long as all of the players stay healthy.
There a lot of rumors going around about the Dodgers indicating that they are not done yet acquiring players, including more starting-pitching. So far, they seem to have one of the best overall starting rotations in baseball with Clayton Kershaw, Beckett, Greinke, Ryu Hyun-Jin and Chad Billingsley.
Greinke's stats from last season with the Los Angeles Angels were exceptional. Altogether, he was 15-5 with a 3.48 ERA in 2012. He went 5-0 in eight starts and maintained a 2.04 ERA. He will be coming into this season with a lot of confidence, so the expectations will be high.
The Dodgers followed up their agreement with Greinke by reaching a deal Sunday with the Korean left-hander in Hyun-Jin for for six years and $36 million. According to MLB.com writer Ken Gurnick, between Greinke and Ryu, the Dodgers spent $208.7 million on two pitchers this weekend and will have a 2013 payroll of at least $225 million, which is a Major League record.
Ryu's contract includes a $5 million signing bonus and up to $1 million-a-year in bonuses for innings-pitched, but he does not have a no-trade clause.
It now looks as if some of the pitchers on the current roster such as Ted Lilly, Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang are all on the trading block. More than likely, they will all be moved before Spring Training rolls around.
Mark Reynolds Signs One-Year Deal with Indians
On Sunday evening, the Cleveland Indians agreed to a one-year contract with infielder Mark Reynolds, according to MLB.com.
Reynolds will become the Tribe's first baseman and will earn a base salary of $6 million with another $1.5 million available in incentives. Pending the completion of a physical, an official announcement will likely come within the next few days.
With this signing, the Indians receive a power hitting right hander in the lineup they have been in dire need of. In 2012, Reynolds put up a .211 batting average, 23 home runs and only 69 RBI's in 135 games played. Hopefully, a new system will help Reynolds produce like he is truly capable of.
Royals Trade Top Prospect for James Shields
Sunday night, the Kansas City Royals hauled in No. 1 starter James Shields from the Tampa Bay Rays, in a trade for their No. 1 prospect, outfielder Wil Myers. And that wasn't all that they did, either.
The Royals also obtained another right-handed starting pitcher from the Rays in Wade Davis. Going to Tampa Bay with Myers are pitchers Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery and third baseman Patrick Leonard.
Along with Shields and Davis, Kansas City will receive a player yet to be named or cash. Shields is expected to jump right into the leadership role in the Royals rotation, which was seen as the team's weakest department last season.
As for Myers being dealt, they just didn't see a need for him in their outfield in the near future. Myers will fit in well in Tampa Bay, although much like Kansas City, I don't see where he fits in right now. Either the Rays are not done this off-season, or they want to make Myers B.J. Upton's replacement in that outfield.
This is one of the most interesting moves so far this off-season because it was unprecedented. None of these players have even been in any talks of being moved.
Other Moves
The Seattle Mariners signed Jason Bay to a one-year deal, while the Chicago Cubs signed Japanese phenom pitcher Kyuji Fujikawa to a two-year deal.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the more the off-season progresses, the more moves we see being made.
I like to see that there are more teams getting involved with top-name players because generally the same teams land the top players. However, that is not the case anymore.
I expect to see more trades happening now that most of the big names are off the market, but keep an eye out for more players that can make an impact.
