Lots of Movement at the Winter Meetings

Latest from the Winter Meetings:

– The Rangers traded RHP Kevin Millwood to the Orioles for reliever Chris Ray
– LHP Randy Wolf and RHP Latroy Hawkins both signed with the Milwaukee Brewers
– The Atlanta Braves GM officially stated that Rafael Soriano will be traded
– The Cardinals officially signed RHP Brad Penny
– The Marlins sent RHP Matt Lindstrom to the Astros for 2 minor leaguers and a Rule 5 pick
– 2004 Rookie of the Year SS Bobby Crosby signed with the Pirates
– The Phillies signed PH/1B Ross Gload

2010 Roster Preview

Heres my updated 2010 Roster Preview: (/=more than one choice bold=my choice)

C- Jorge Posada, Francisco Cervelli/Jose Molina
1B- Mark Teixeira, Juan Miranda/Shelley Duncan
2B- Robinson Cano
3B- Alex Rodriguez,
SS- Derek Jeter, Ramiro Pena/Jerry Hairston Jr.
LF- Jason Bay
CF- Brett Gardner
RF- Nick Swisher
DH- Johnny Damon

SP- CC Sabathia
SP- A.J. Burnett
SP- Zach Duke
SP- Andy Pettite/Jarrod Washburn/Jason Marquis
SP- Phil Hughes

Long Relief- Alfredo Aceves, Chad Gaudin
Middle Relief- Dave Robertson, Mark Melancon
Lefty Relief- Phil Coke, Damaso Marte
Set-Up- Joba Chamberlain
Closer- Mariano Rivera

CHANGES:

–Jason Bay instead of Melky Cabrera in the Outfield. Bay would be taken away from the Redsox, who choose Matt Holliday over him, after Bay negotiates with the Yankees and other teams.

-Melky Cabrera and an additional prospect traded to the Pirates for Zach Duke. The Pirates can use a 3rd/4th OF and the Yankees can use pitching. It is well documented that the Pirates and Yankees are very amiable trading partners. The Pirates also have former Yankees prospect Daniel McCutchen waiting in the wing to take over a spot in the rotation.

-Johnny Damon over Hideki Matsui at DH. Damon can play the Outfield and has better speed and is less of an injury scare.

-Andy Pettite re-signed, OR Jarrod Washburn signed, OR Jason Marquis signed. If Pettite chooses not to retire it is a definite that it will be with the Yankees. If he doesn’t they will look to either an older player like Washburn or Randy Wolf. I think Wolf goes to the Astros though AND Washburn goes to the Brewers. That leaves me with Jason Marquis. Innings-eater that the Yankees can benefit from.

-Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain switch roles. Simple move to me. Bring any arguments over to the comments.

CONTRACTS:

Jason Bay- 5 Years, $75 Million

Andy Pettite/Jarrod Washburn- 1 Year, $8.5 Million OR Jason Marquis- 4 Years, $40 Million

Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Bring em over to the comments!

*Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

UPDATE: 2:10 PM: Once again excuse me for my bad judgement of prospects. Apparently a Pirates fan feels that the Pirates have enough OF prospects to deal with the 3rd outfield situation. If so, maybe a Reegie Corona or Eduardo Nunez will do.

The Future of Jon Papelbon

With the Yankees win over the Minnesota Twins yesterday, they will go to the ALCS to play the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Once the Angels swept the Redsox, an interesting question came up: Will this be the last game Jon Papelbon pitches in a Redsox uniform? I hope so!

Here are teams that would be good fits for Papelbon:

TAMPA BAY RAYS: Would be a great fit, but would NEVER ever happen.

DETROIT TIGERS: May be the best fit if the Redsox are willing to send him to an AL team.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: Great fit if the Phillies are willing to do it. They would have to get rid of Lidge first.

CHICAGO CUBS: Maybe the Cubs would be a good fit, but they have both Kevin Gregg and Carlos Marmol.

HOUSTON ASTROS: Need a closer with Jose Valverde becoming a free agent.

PREDICTION: The Redsox keep Papelbon and let Billy Wagner go as a free agent.

UPDATE 9:08 PM EST: The reason the Redsox would get rid of Papelbon is because they feel that Daniel Bard is a capable MLB closer.

UPDATE 9:10 PM EST: Check out this prediction in the Miami Herald….bottom of the article…CRAZY!

Russ Ortiz to the Rescue?

WARNING: Another plea to the Yankees to get rid of Sergio Mitre.

Sergio Mitre was not exactly rocked on Monday night, but he still did not get the job done. Mitre was mostly damaged because of his own throwing error.

Still, Mitre has been everything but lights out in the MLB. There is someone in AAA who has been lights out, however: Russ Ortiz. Ortiz has been stellar in 2 starts for Scranton pitching 13 scoreless innings with only 5 hits allowed and 9 k’s.

Ortiz was not great for the Houston Astros this year, but has been good in the past- long long past.

So my idea is for the Yankees to DFA Mitre, call-up Ortiz, put Ortiz in the bullpen, and insert Chad Gaudin into the rotation.

If Ortiz is able to pitch well enough he can keep his job as a long-man and if Gaudin struggles they flip-flop the roles.

If Ortiz struggles, they can just get rid of him, too. No harm no foul.

It really is a win-win situation.

*If you are a Yankees fan that is reading this I am looking for another writer to help me out with this blog. Email me at bco004@yahoo.com if interested. Thank you.