Trade: Lastings Milledge goes to the Nats

I was thinking that the Kazuo Matsui signing was the worst move of this off-season so far, but you know what they say about never saying never. Omar Minaya has managed to shock and dumbfound us all again by trading outfielder Lastings Milledge to the Washington Nationals for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider. Huh?

That would be trading a 22-year old once top prospect with less than one year of service time for a slightly above-average outfielder and an adequate catcher. I say it again- huh? The best anyone can figure is that in order to complete a rumored deal with Oakland for Joe Blanton, they needed to get one of these guys. But even that seems strange, because Milledge will be a better player than Church in a couple of years, and much cheaper, too.

Free Agents: Rox retain Torrealba, Herges

The Colorado Rockies are set to re-sign catcher Yorvit Torrealba and reliever Matt Herges, according to a MLB.com report.

Torrealba had accepted a contract with the New York Mets, but failed his physical and the deal was nixed. That gave Dan O’Dowd all the bargaining power he needed, and the veteran came back to the team for two years and $7M. His late-season surge helped power Colorado to the NL championship this season, and he is a key player for club chemistry.

The 37-year old Herges earned some offseason interest with his performance for the Rockies in 2007, but will re-up with the squad for one year plus an option year.

Free Agents: Riske to join the Brew Crew

David Riske pitched very well for the Kansas City Royals last year, and now he’s reaping his reward. He is reportedly ready to sign a multi-year contract with Milwaukee. The speculation out there is something like 3 years, $12M. Good for him, but there’s not much fantasy value here.

Free Agents: Percival to sign with the Rays

See, I told you that the Rays are going to try to make their move this year. They are close to signing Troy Percival to be their closer for 2008. They have reportedly offered the 38-year old a two-year deal worth $8M, which could move up to $10M with certain incentive clauses, and he has taken a physical already.

Normally I wouldn’t get too excited about the signing of an over-the-hill reliever, but Percival’s still got something left, and he’s itching to prove it. With the trade for Matt Garza, the Rays pitching staff is suddenly looking almost respectable. One more good arm for the bullpen ought to do the trick. The Orioles might as well just accept the last place trophy right now.

Free Agents: Astros sign Kaz Matsui

The Houston Astros, in need of help at second base, have reportedly signed Kazuo Matsui to a three-year deal worth $15-16M. The 32-year old switch-hitter will take over the job from the retiring Craig Biggio.

This is a really bad signing, I think. While Matsui did make some noise for the Colorado Rockies last season, that was primarily at Invesco Field. His 2007 home/road splits tell the whole story:

Home: .330/.381/.482/.864
Road: .249/.304/.333/.638

Matsui did not suddenly become a good hitter; he learned how to exploit Mile High Stadium. That being said, he’s a pretty good defensive second baseman and can run decently well. But $5M a season? Yikes. They already had a younger, cheaper in-house option in Chris Burke (career .249/.319/.377/.696). Just when I was ready to give Ed Wade some credit after the Lidge deal.

Trade: Minnesota deals Garza for Delmon Young

In a six-player blockbuster yesterday, the Twins sent right-hander Matt Garza, shortstop Jason Bartlett and prospect Eduardo Morlan to Tampa Bay in exchange for Delmon Young, infielder Brendan Harris and outfield prospect Jason Pridie. Rarely do you see this kind of trade happen, where no expensive veteran contracts are involved. None of these players are even arbitration-eligible yet.

Minnesota grabbed a premium power bat in Young, who as a 21-year old rookie drove in 93 runs for Tampa Bay last year. In three minor league seasons, Young hit an eye-popping .362/.518/.880 in 353 games. Though he is not a feared hitter quite yet, he will provide punch in a lineup that just lost Torii Hunter (.287/.334/.505 with 28 HR and 107 RBI in 2007). He should hit fifth in the Twins order, though they may try him higher. Harris is maybe adequate in the field, but is more known for his bat. He hit .310/.365/.463 in the first half last season for the Rays. I’d expect him to slide over to second base if Alexi Casilla isn’t ready yet. Pridie is a borderline prospect who had a great 2007 at double-A and triple-A. The Twins really upgraded their offense overall.

The trade works well for Tampa Bay too, as they now have a young front three of Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Garza. That trio will be very good, and should take this pitching staff to above-average status, someplace it hasn’t been in years. Bartlett becomes their starting shortstop, which is not a bad thing. He is an underrated player who fields well, runs well and has shown flashes of potential at the plate. The Rays need to upgrade their team defense wherever they can. Morlan is a young closer who is putting up gaudy strikeout numbers with good control at single-A and double-A. The Rays sorely need to address their bullpen, and he could be a key contributor by next season.

Free Agents: Doug Brocail to join the Astros

The Houston Astros announced the signing of veteran pitcher Doug Brocail. The tall righty will provide a solid veteran arm for the once-proud Houston bullpen, as mainstays Brad Lidge and Dan Wheeler have been traded away in the last six months. Those are some big shoes for Chad Qualls, Trever Miller and Geoff Geary to fill.

The soon-to-be 40-year old had a great season in 2007 (3.05 ERA), but that was at very pitcher-friendly PETCO Field. His K/9 numbers have also fallen off sharply the past two seasons. He is a prime candidate to blow up in 2008; not a good signing, IMO.

Free Agents: Cubs sign Wood for one year

The Cubs re-signed pitcher Kerry Wood to a one-year deal with a guaranteed $4.2M. Wood can also earn an additional $3.45M in incentives, should he excel in as Chicago’s closer for 2008. As a reliever in 2007, Wood pitched 24 1/3 innings and had a 3.33 ERA, striking out 24 hitters while walking 13. Over the past three years, his numbers in the bullpen look a lot more solid, with a 2.97 ERA and 41 strikeouts in just 36 1/3 innings.

Several clubs had shown in interest in the 31-year old right-hander, who has struggled with injuries the past three and a half seasons. It is rumored that he received several offers for multiple years, but he chose to remain with the Cubs anyway. With his history of injury, it’s likely that most clubs were looking to add him as a setup man, and not in order to give him a chance to close or start.

Free Agents: Reds nab Cordero to close

In another unexpected turn of events, the Cincinnati Reds have announced a deal with free agent closer Francisco Cordero. The contract is reportedly worth $46M over 4 years plus a fifth option year. If finalized, this would represent the most guaranteed money for a closer in Major League history. This is good news for Reds fans, who watched David Weathers and the bullpen post a league-worst collective 5.10 ERA and blow 28 saves in 2007, second-worst in the NL.

Whether or not this is the right time for Cincinnati to invest so much in a free agent closer remains to be seen, but they are seeking to become competitive in manager Dusty Baker’s first year. They have a lot of young talent, and the makings of a good pitching staff, but I’m not sure the 32-year old Cordero is the guy you necessarily want to build your bullpen around.

The Brewers could go with Derrick Turnbow as closer, but they need to acquire someone else for the bullpen (closer or otherwise), as they also lost Scott Linebrink this past week.

Free Agents: Jason Kendall signs with the Brew Crew

In the wake of trading away catcher Johnny Estrada, the Milwaukee Brewers announced a one-year deal with 33-year old Jason Kendall. Kendall should play plenty of games for the Brewers this year, but I don’t consider him as anything but a stopgap player at this point in his career. If you consider that Milwaukee basically added a veteran reliever and swapped out Estrada for Kendall, this isn’t a big impact move.