Thursday, November 22, 2012

More Trades, And First Big FA Contracts

Couple more notable trades to report, and of course the Pedro Caballero signing.

The Cardinals made a move to replace the departed Matthew Casey, getting SP Harold Bynum from Arizona for 1B Elijah Perkins.

Bynum is 55-64 with a very respectable 3.91 ERA over 8 seasons with the Dodgers and DiamondbacksPerkins is a .256 career hitter with 79 HR's in 4 seasons in St. Louis.

The Marlins moved to get even younger, shipping talented but so far disappointing OF Dave Diaz to Nashville for 1B prospect Christopher Healy.

Diaz was a highly-touted (3rd overall) pick by Arizona in Season 16.  He made the majors in Season 19, posting .258/25/71 numbers.  He didn't really improve with Florida last year - .252/26/86 - and Marlins management decided to move on.

In Healy, they get Season 19's #19 pick.  He looks like he'll become an excellent on-base guy, with excellent contact ability and plate discipline.  He'll combine that with better-than average power.  Will struggle occasionally with tough righty pitchers, but overall should be an excellent hitter.

In perhaps the day's biggest news, star catcher Pedro Caballero has signed a 4-year, $65MM deal to return to Toronto.

Caballero is a 5-time All-Star (in 9 ML Seasons) and won the AL Silver Slugger in Season 18 (.321/21/73).  He's solid defensively and sports a .398 lifetime OBP.  He'll be a huge addition for the Jays, who won the AL North last year despite scoring only 734 runs.

Finally, in late-breaking news, World Major Leagues Blog has learned that Sterling Adams has just signed with the Mets for 5 years, $75MM.

Adams is just what the doctor ordered for New York, whose 700 runs last year were below the NL average.  The 9-year vet has 3 MVP's, a ROY, and multiple All-Stars and Silver Sluggers.  He'll be the power hitter the Mets have been missing as well as the left-handed balance they've been missing.

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