Detroit Tigers got the big bat that they wanted in their lineup. Who knows how many more years Gary Sheffield has, but it looks like a great move for this season as the Tigers will try to get back to the World Series. Sheffield seems to be very happy about the trade. He won't have to play 1st base, he'll be back with a coach he likes, and he's got the money he wants.
The Yankees on the other hand are saying it's a good deal for them as well. They add 3 legitimate arms to their system in to help build a farm system that has been called very weak in terms of pitching.
I don't see the Yankees as a team that likes to build up starting pitchers from early on in their career so I'm think these 3 young kids might be good trade bait for some other deals. On the other hand maybe the Yanks are going to try to develop some of their own arms. They did get rid of Jaret Wright.
Jaret Wright was traded to Orioles for reliever Chris Britton. Hopefully fans in Baltimore don't think Wright is the savior for their team because he's not that good.
It appears as if the Red Sox have made the top bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka of Japan. That could be a huge signing for them and a big steal from the Yankees, whom everyone thought were the frontrunners.
Jeff Bagwell appears to be out of Houston for good. That is ashame that a great player like him can't finish out his career on the team that he has played for for so many years.
Most of the Phillies talk is centered around the Phillies trying to sign Alfonso Soriano.
First up though the Phils have a few soon to be free agents to deal with. They should bring back David Dellucci unless they are 100% sure they are going to get Soriano. They should let Mike Lieberthal go even though I do love him and had a great career for the Phillies. I know the Phils don't exactly have any great catchers to replace him, but Lieberthal should have recognized his downfall and retired before he started sucking it up. Aaron Fultz is a mediocre reliever they should let go. Arthur Rhodes might be worth re-signing if its financially smart. They should keep Randy Wolf at least for another year to see how he does coming off the surgery. Rick White is nothing special in the bullpen. Jose Hernandez is a nice veteran infielder that they should keep unless they have some young guys they want to give a bench spot to.
Bill Conlin has a nice article giving reasons not to sign Soriano. He has some valid reasons, but can he deny that a big bat like Soriano's wouldn't help the Phils. Who else is there to get? Amaris Ramirez is staying in Chicago, he would have been a great pickup.
Most importantly for the Phil's though is that they make some serious moves this offseason. The team for yet another year came up a few games short from making the playoffs. The fans won't to see the management make moves that show they want to make it to the next level.
There a few issues the Phils have to deal with this offseason. I'm not sure about the order, but this is they way I see it now.
1) Pitching - most importantly the bullpen needs some upgrades to be able last the whole season and perform well.
2) Sign Soriano - signing a big name like that would excite the city and get people excited for Phillies baseball instead of everyone just being pessimistic about the team like every other year.
3) Figure out the Burrell situation - he doesn't deserve to be talked about anymore.
4) Sign or trade for another 3rd basemen. Nunez isn't going to cut it.
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