Holliday, STL -- plausible
Figgins, LAA -- no
Cameron, CHC -- plausible but only if we can trade Bradley
Pettitte, NYY -- sure, doubt he'd sign anywhere else
Scutaro, BOS -- makes sense
Damon, LAA -- definitely not if they sign Figgins and I still guess no. I'd say NYY or Mets are his most likely destinations
Beltre, STL -- that's interesting, I like it
Bay, BOS -- likely
Polanco, WAS -- do we care?
Harden, TEX -- plausible
Winn, ATL -- the Garrett Anderson Memorial signing
Lackey, NYM -- plausible
Byrd, NYM -- who cares?
Pineiro, ARI -- why? really, I can't think of a reason
Tejada, SEA -- who cares?
Marquis, MIL -- did they learn nothing from Suppan?
DeRosa, PHI -- possible but I lean no
F. Lopez, LAD -- I'd guess no
Glaus, BOS -- why? they've already got Lowell
Wolf, WAS -- I doubt it. He can sign with a better team than that. Nats would need to put big money/years on the line
O. Hudson, MIL -- interesting
B. Molina, NYM -- plausible but don't think they can afford it
Garland, BAL -- OK
R. Johnson, retirement -- plausible
D. Davis, MIL -- Where did Milw get all this money? Only if they don't sign Marquis
Delgado, NYM -- Only if he can't get a guaranteed contract elsewhere
H. Matsui, NYY -- no but possible
Giambi, SF -- I'd guess retirement after a bad spring
B. Wagner, BOS -- OK
P. Martinez, PHI -- OK


O. Cabrera, MIN ($3.5M/1 year) -- no way they traded for Hardy

Branyan, TEX ($6.5M/1) -- plausible destination, no way he gets that much money

Adam LaRoche, ATL ($14M/2) -- OK

Nady, KC ($2M/1) -- No way. He can get that money on a good team. Mets are a good bet.

Pavano, MIN ($12M/2) -- OK

Sheffield, PHI ($.6M/1) -- seriously doubt he ends up in the NL ... retirement is probably most likely

Billy Wagner will not be back with Boston.

The idea that the Yankees would sign Matsui but not Damon -- or more specifically, that they won't sign any of Damon/Holliday/Bay -- seems pretty ridiculous.

They would prefer to keep DH open anyway, so Posada and A-Rod can gets days off from the field but still be in the lineup, though it's not implausible that they'll bring back Matsui. The thing is, I don't see any way they leave LF vacant.

I'd be really surprised if the Angels signed both Damon and Figgins. They've already said that they don't have the money for both Figgins and Lackey; if that were the case, I'd spend the offseason heavily courting Lackey. The Angels need him.

if that were the case, I'd spend the offseason heavily courting Lackey. The Angels need him.

Not that I know all that much about the Angels, but they've already got Weaver, Saunders, Santana, and Kazmir under contract for next season, as well as a decent assortment of options for teh 5th spot in the rotation. I can't really see them as "needing" Lackey, especially given what he's likely to cost.

Not that I know all that much about the Angels, but they've already got Weaver, Saunders, Santana, and Kazmir under contract for next season, as well as a decent assortment of options for teh 5th spot in the rotation.

If I'm the Angels, I'm not going to put too much faith and credit in Santana or Kazmir.

If the choice is between bringing back Figgins or bringing back Lackey, Lackey's price would have to be really, really high before I bring back Figgins.

The Damon-to-LAA call - after the Abreu-re-up and the Figgins call - just invites ridicule.

I can't see how LAA is going to make a move that completely buries a cost-effective Brandon Wood - unless they think they have a deal worked out that swaps him for young pitching - and doesn't address their #5 SP needs after Lackey's departure.

A 3B is going to end up in MN, dunno which one yet.

I can't see how LAA is going to make a move that completely buries a cost-effective Brandon Wood
If I were the Phillies I'd offer Kyle Kendrick for Wood
If I were the Angels of Many Places I'd offer Wood for JA Happ

If the Phils had a JA Kendrick or Kyle Happ, maybe something could get done.

Not that it's earth-shattering or anything, but the Vizquel-to-the-White Sox signing was just made official. Is that the first signing of the free agency period?

If the choice is between bringing back Figgins or bringing back Lackey, Lackey's price would have to be really, really high before I bring back Figgins

I'd agree with this unless the Angels have a move for Halliday (or another ace) that costs them at least one of their infielders. The Angels had too many infielders last year and that was before Wood ran out of options, there's no reason to spend big money for one. Figgins, without another move, would be a really bad signing for the Angels. Damon would be a terrible signing without an absolute steal of a trade that predicated the deal.

Likewise, Figgins for 3/21 seems way low. Even the Orioles could justify a move at a slightly better price than that.

That aside- have the Angels actually said they can't sign Figgins and Lackey- I hadn't seen that.

Not that it's earth-shattering or anything, but the Vizquel-to-the-White Sox signing was just made official. Is that the first signing of the free agency period?

Hey now, a little respect for the Grabow signing, eh? The Cubs got out in front of the crowd and snapped up their guy, and they should get every bit of credit for the decision that is their due...

Hey now, a little respect for the Grabow signing, eh?

I mean other than re-signings.

That aside- have the Angels actually said they can't sign Figgins and Lackey- I hadn't seen that.

Moreno made comments to that affect last week.

However, Moreno said he did not anticipate fitting Lackey and Figgins into that $12-million slot alloted for free agents.

"If you look at what they're asking," Moreno said, "you can't bring both of them back."

linky

Of course, Moreno could be lying.

Hey now, a little respect for the Grabow signing, eh?

On Grabow and his slightly ridiculous contract, there's this funny comment by a poster over at Fangraphs:

Maybe it’s all part of the Cubs’ strategy; their now-secure position as the most cursed team in baseball affords them an undervalued boost in popularity due to attractiveness of playing the pitiable “lovable loser” role. Were they to win a World Series, the Cubs would lose what makes them uniquely special and they would simply be, just another franchise.

Perhaps, for a team like the Cubs, the value of each win decreases as they get close to the threshold of making the playoffs, and as such, when they have a decent core group of players as they do right now, it makes financial sense for them to pay a bit extra for mediocrity – they need to add just the right amount of talent to fail as close as they can possibly get. There are only a limited number of guys who can provide such consistent mediocrity, and you don’t want to go with a farm hand who might have a breakout year and tip the scales too far forward. Missing the playoffs by a win or two increases the value of the Cubs brand more than actually winning ever would!

Mike Cameron makes a lot more sense in ATL than he does in Chicago, and he makes a lot more sense for ATL than does Randy Winn.

At this point in his career, does anywhere make sense for Randy Winn?

Well no, he doesn't. Washed up marginal OFs don't really have a huge market anywhere. But it's really odd to have someone suggest him for Atlanta. I'm not sure how "we're looking for right handed power either in the OF or 1B" translates into "Randy Winn!!!" The Braves are in discussions with Florida for Dan Uggla, Washington for Josh Willingham. That's the sort of player they're looking to acquire by trade, to fill the last OF slot until ManChild has killed enough AAA pitchers in Gwinnett. If those trades don't work out a legitimately great defensive OF (still) who pops 20-25 per year (still) is a functional option. Randy Winn is not.

At this point in his career, does anywhere make sense for Randy Winn?

I'd take him as a 4th OF for the Twins....taking over for the 300 ABs that Carlos Gomez would have otherwise gotten. I can't envision a starting job that makes sense for him anywhere.

Can Winn play CF at all? The Twins need someone who can hit off the bench and back up four OF spots. Right now a rookie catcher and Jason Pridie are slated to be those guys today.

EDIT: three OF spots, of course.

Whoa, RC to you.

Is that the first signing of the free agency period?

Let's not forget Dallas McPherson to the A's! Or Jorge Campillo and Brad Thompson to the Royals.

Can Winn play CF at all? The Twins need someone who can hit off the bench and back up four OF spots. Right now a rookie catcher and Jason Pridie are slated to be those guys today.

EDIT: three OF spots, of course.

I have no idea, but hopefully he'll hit well enough when he does play there that it won't kill them. If Span goes down and they need defense in CF, they can bring up Pridie or someone else. I mostly would want Winn to backup Young, give them a decent hitter as depth in the OF for when one of Span/Young/Cuddyer/Morneau/Kubel get injured, and to be a pinch hitter for Punto, etc. If he can play acceptably in CF, its a bonus. I (seemingly perenially) believe the Twins need a backup outfielder/pinch hitter, and they aren't going to find one who can definitely play CF well and hit well, so Winn is about as good as I can imagine....someone who could conceivably do both.

Nady, KC ($2M/1) -- No way. He can get that money on a good team. Mets are a good bet.

Thanks. This made me chuckle.

Beltre, STL -- that's interesting, I like it

Don't see it if Holliday is re-signed. They'd probably go cheap (Freese) at 3B if they have Holliday for the middle of the lineup. Pujols' next contract is close and already casting a shadow over the team payroll.

Thanks. This made me chuckle.

Hater.

Sorry I couldn't help myself.

Where did Milw get all this money?

Going with Gomez instead of Cameron, Escobar instead of Hardy and Lucroy or other cheap C combination instead of Kendall will clear a significant amount of money. Now, some of that is going to Fielder and arby increases, but the Brewers do have some money to spend.

I don't see the rationale for Hudson for the Crew. If they want a good UI, they can bring back Counsell unless he gets a multiyear contract elsewhere.

I don't see the rationale for Hudson for the Crew. If they want a good UI, they can bring back Counsell unless he gets a multiyear contract elsewhere.

I agree. They need pitching more than anything, so dropping a bundle on more MI when Weeks isn't terrible makes no sense.

Atlanta might be tempted to sign Winn just because of how well he's played against them. Good gracious - .379/.442/.559.

I wouldn't advocate signing him, but he's had an OPS+ at 100 or above in every season but two since 2002. Of course, this comes with two caveats - one, one of those two subpar seasons was 2009, and, two, when his OPS+ has been above average, it's usually been from 100 - 110, but his below average seasons have been at 84 (2006) and 75 (last season).

In conclusion, if you're looking for a right-handed power hitter, you should probably try to get someone who can hit more than 2 home runs in 597 PAs.