MLB Free Agency: Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford and The Early Hot Stove
Baseball's offseason hot stove continues to heat up as MLB's annual winter meetings in Orlando, Florida roll right along.
As always, super agent Scott Boras has landed some monstrous deals for his clients, with outfielders Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford each garnering seven-year deals worth well over $100 million.
And with former Cy Young winner Cliff Lee yet to sign on with a club (i.e. the Yankees), Boras' busy winter is far from over.
Of course, Boras isn't the only agent with clients on the move. He just so happens to be the most powerful.
Either way, there's still plenty of action yet to take place and plenty of mega-millions yet to be wasted...errr...spent before the start of spring training. In that spirit, let's have a look at the biggest deals of the offseason so far and the most intriguing ones yet to be made.
Jayson Werth: The Pilot Light of the 2010 Hot Stove
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The hot stove season began in earnest just a day before the winter meetings in Florida, when Jayson Werth signed on the dotted line to become a member of the Washington Nationals.
Why the Nats, you ask?
Werth's got 126 million answers to that question.
The 31-year-old slugger came of age in Philadelphia after suffering from a bevy of injuries while in Los Angeles. Over the last three seasons, Werth has slugged 87 home runs and 251 runs batted in while playing twice in the World Series and winning a ring in 2008.
Then again, there are just as many reasons why this signing is bad for the Nationals.
Namely, Werth will be 32 next season, 39 when the contract ends, and he'll be earning $18 million a year for every year in between.
Clearly, with Stephen Strasburg out after Tommy John's surgery and the fans in Washington evading the turnstiles at Nationals Park, the organization needed to make a big splash in free agency.
On the whole, though, it looks like the Nats' front office made something of an ill-advised cannonball into a shallow kiddie pool.
Carl Crawford: Dashing from Florida to Fenway
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It's only the second week of December, and Scott Boras has already landed two of his clients nine-figure contracts.
Carl Crawford is the latest beneficiary of Boras' negotations and machinations.
Crawford garnered a seven-year, $142-million deal from the Boston Red Sox, who swept in to steal the speedy outfielder from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
In Crawford, the Red Sox now boast the best position player from this season's batch of free agents, a career .296 who boasts a wide variety of career accolades.
Four All-Star appearances, including the 2009 game MVP award.
Four times the American League stolen base champ.
A Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger in 2010.
And, for the Red Sox's sake, he won't be playing for the Yankees.
Though the contract will last well past Crawford's prime, it will still have him playing at his peak for a Boston bunch that looks bound to be the best in 2011.
Adrian Gonzalez: Native Son No More
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That being said, Crawford is far from the only reason Boston looks to be back in the saddle in the AL East.
With Adrian Gonzalez now firmly in the fold following an on-again, off-again trade with San Diego, the Red Sox boast one of the best first basemen in the game, and one who still has a year and a half to go until he hits 30.
Gonzalez has been an absolute star since joining his hometown Padres, hitting 161 home runs and 176 doubles while slugging well over .500 in five seasons.
What's more impressive than just the raw numbers, however, is the context in which he produced them.
As a member of the Pads, A-Gon played half of his games in the spacious and pitcher-friendly confines of Petco Park, amidst a lineup absolutely devoid of any kind of protection for the slugger.
Imagine what he'll do in Boston, at Fenway Park, with the Green Monster in front of him and the likes of David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia behind him.
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Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera: Yankees Stalwarts Stick Around
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To no one's surprise, Derek Jeter and Mariano River re-upped with the Yankees, for whom the pair has poached five World Series titles.
The Yanks and Jeter agreed to a three-year deal worth $51 million, while Rivera garnered two more years at $15 million a piece.
What is surprising, however, is how tenuous the negotiations were between the players and the club.
Both deals took much longer than expected to complete, with both stars—Jeter in particular—feeling that the Yankees were low-balling to an extent.
In New York's defense, while Rivera may still be worth $15 million per year in on-field production, Jeter is still far overpaid for what he actually does, even with a five million dollar pay cut from last year's salary.
Captain or no, Jeter will be 37 midway through next season, putting him at an age at which he is unlikely to improve upon his 2010 numbers–.270 batting average, 10 homers, 67 runs batted in and an on-base percentage of only .340.
Hence, the protraction of the negotiations with these two was more about respect than money, though Jeter and Rivera got plenty of both in the end.
Cliff Lee: Next in Line?
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So why exactly were the Yankees, an organization that spends so frivolously across the board, so hesitant to give sweetheart deals to two of its most widely recognized cornerstones?
Two words: Cliff Lee.
Two years after nabbing CC Sabathia with a seven-year, $161-million contract, the Bronx Bombers are looking to add his former teammate to re-stack an already prolific rotation.
Adding Lee to the front of the staff would give the Yanks arguably one of the best one-two lefty punches in baseball history.
Such would certainly bode well for New York, which would've had a go at its second consecutive World Series Championship had it not been for Lee's piping hot Texas Rangers squad.
That's assuming that Cliff Lee decides to dash for the cash in the Big Apple.
Rumor has it that the Yankees upped their offer to Lee to seven years after previously offering him $140 million over six years.
This rebuff by Lee's camp has many thinking that he just might take an equal or lesser deal to stay in Arlington, where the Rangers are primed to contend for the foreseeable future under the auspices of new owner Nolan Ryan.
Zack Greinke: So Long, Kansas City?
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Should Cliff Lee ditch the pinstripes, Yankees GM Brian Cashman will likely turn his sights to the Royals' Zack Greinke.
The 27-year-old from Orlando was less than stellar this past season, posting an ERA of 4.17 just one year after taking home the AL Cy Young.
Despite those struggles, Greinke still proved to be reliable, posting 220 innings and making all 33 of his starts.
It's just that sort of durability that has teams like the Yankees still clamoring for Greinke's services.
And it certainly doesn't hurt that he's fully capable of dominating the league as he did in 2009, when he posted 242 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.16.
South Siders Stockpile Sluggers
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While the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has taken control of the hot stove headlines once again, the rest of the baseball world is still turning.
Among the most prominent movers and shakers outside of the Northeast are the Chicago White Sox, who have thus far bolstered their chances of contending in the AL Central by retaining Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski and adding Adam Dunn.
The acquisition of Dunn was the team's biggest splash, as GM Kenny Williams doled out $56 million over four years to bring in the man affectionately known as "Donkey."
By comparison, keeping the veteran catcher Pierzynski for $8 million over two years was an absolute bargain.
Konerko didn't expect to stick in Chi-Town after the Pale Hose handed out those contracts, but was pleasantly surprised when management offered the 34-year-old a three-year deal worth $37.5 million.
Konerko's deal was, perhaps, the biggest bargain of all, as the White Sox will be bringing back a guy who just put up a .312 batting average, 39 homers, and 111 RBI, at just over $12 million per year.
Expect the big bopping to continue on the South Side for at least the next three years.
Carlos Pena: Balancing Risk and Reward
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The hot stove has certainly had its flare-ups on the North Side as well.
Most notably, the Cubs brought in former Tampa Bay Ray and Texas Ranger Carlos Pena to fill the void left behind by the trading-away of first base stalwart Derek Lee this past summer.
At $10 million for just one year, Pena and his agent (Scott Boras, of course) are referring to this move as a "pillow contract", as the slugging first baseman is looking for a soft landing spot following a down year.
Pena's numbers this past season were among the worst of his career—a batting average of .196 with 28 home runs, 84 RBI, 158 strikeouts and an OBP of .325—but were still good enough to warrant Cubs GM Jim Hendry offering a high salary, if only for a year.
Hence, if Pena doesn't bounce back, the Cubs will be off the hook after one year.
However, if Pena re-establishes himself as a big bopper at first, the Cubs could very well contend in the NL Central while Pena could put himself in position for a nine-figure contract, courtesy of Scott Boras.
Overall, then, a win-win for Pena and the Cubs.
NL West Rivalry: Dodgers and Giants Go Poaching in the Division
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Out West, the Giants and Dodgers have managed to keep things interesting this fall.
Fresh off its first World Series championship in 56 years, San Francisco is looking to keep its roll going, having already re-signed the productive Aubrey Huff for two years and $22 million while nabbing shortstop Miguel Tejada away from San Diego for one year at $5.6 million.
The Giants brought in Tejada as a replacement for Juan Uribe, who bolted the Bay Area to play for the rival Dodgers for three years and $21 million.
LA also followed SF's example by poaching a Padre, adding Jon Garland to the starting rotation for a mere $5 million while also snagging outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. to serve as a defensive backup.
As if trading away Adrian Gonzalez wasn't painful enough for Pads fans. Now they can do little else than sit and watch the rest of the NL West steal their players.
Detroit Tigers: Rounding Up Indians
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The Dodgers and Giants are far from the only teams in baseball stockpiling players from their rivals.
Case in point: the Detroit Tigers' biggest signings of the 2010 hot stove season are both former Cleveland Indians.
The more important of the two, by far, was the addition of All-Star slugging catcher Victor Martinez, who bolted Boston for the five-year, $50-million deal the Tigers had on the table.
Following V-Mart back to the Motor City is Jhonny Peralta, whom the Tigers added via trade this past season and have brought back the erratic shortstop for two years and $11.25 million.
Whether the Tigers improve upon last season's disappointing .500 finish is still anyone's guess.
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