Baseball News - Free Agency Round-up (12/09)



After a very slow start to the baseball offseason, the free agent signings have picked up, and I might say, it picked up a lot. Since December 6th, there have been 11 signings, as well as 13 re-signings. Here is a roundup of the signings in Major League Baseball made today:

First off, the biggest signing of the day had to be the one made by the Arizona Diamondbacks. 3-time All-Star 3B Troy Glaus was signed for 4 years, for a total of $45 million. Despite an impressive rookie season from Chad Tracy, Glaus was signed to bring some much-needed power to the Diamondbacks infield. He also brings a World Series ring along with him, which he won in 2002. With the expected loss of Richie Sexson, Glaus is a huge acquisition for the D-Backs. In 2004, Glaus hit .251 with 18 HR and 42 RBI with the Anaheim Angels.

Next, the Los Angeles Dodgers made a splash in the free agent waters by adding a man with 7 100+ RBI seasons in 2B Jeff Kent, formerly of the Houston Astros. He will replace Alex Cora at the position, who is expected not to be re-signed. Kent brings a great veteran presence to a relatively young Dodgers team. Last season with Houston, he had a .289 batting average with 27 HR and 107 RBI. The Chicago Cubs were also after Kent, but that all changed when they re-signed Todd Walker to a 1 year deal 2 days earlier. This is LA's biggest free agent signing in quite some time.

Thirdly, we have RF Jermaine Dye, who, after an injury-rittled 2003, has brought himself back to life, after signing a 2-year, $10.5 million dollar deal with the Chicago White Sox. After only playing 65 games in 2003 with the Athletics, Dye has established himself as one of the best power-hitting outfielders once again, as he hit .265 with 30 homers and 80 ribbees last year. Dye will replace long-time Sock Magglio Ordonez in RF, who was lost to free agency, and is expected to sign with the Chicago Cubs. Kenny Williams' South Siders now have one of the best outfielders in the American League, with Carlos Lee, Aaron Rowand, and now, Dye.

Finally, the smallest, but possibly the most underapprieciated free agent signing of the day, was the signing of reliever Matt Mantei, by the Boston Red Sox, whom was locked up for 1 season for $750K. He will bolster the back-end of the Boston bullpen, which can be a huge burden or a huge asset to your team. Either way, he should help the Red Sox's pen. Last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the 31-year old Mantei posted an 0-3 record with an astrocious 11.21 ERA in only 12 games with Arizona. However, in 5 seasons with the Snakes, Mantei has a solid 3.71 ERA with a career ERA of 3.86. He won a World Series championship with Arizona in 2001.

With baseball's winter meetings coming up in Anaheim in just a few days, the amount of free agent signings is expected to increase, and in a big way, with a few surprises in store as well. We'll see how it all unfolds come January.




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