The Cleveland Indians locked up shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, but only for two more years, signing the shortstop for the 2013 and 2014 seasons today. The deal buys out the first year of Cabrera’s free agent years, and he’ll be paid $16.5 million over those two seasons. Cabrera and the Indians agreed to a $4.55 million […]

From yesterday’s preview of the Giants… Burning Question How much will holding Brandon Belt on the bench or in the minors hurt the Giants offense this season? Last season in 49 games for AAA Fresno, Belt hit .309/.448/.527, walking nearly as often as he struck out. In 63 games in the majors, he hit .225/.306/.412, […]

From my Rangers season preview yesterday… Burning QuestionWill the musical chairs arrangement of Neftali Feliz to the rotation, Alexi Ogando to the bullpen, and Joe Nathan to the closer’s role end up working out better for the Rangers than if they had Ogando in the rotation and Feliz still closing? Last season, after making 29 starts […]

From my Padres season preview on Thursday… Burning Question Who should be the Padres catcher of the future: Nick Hundley, or Yasmani Grandal? San Diego gave Hundley a contract extension last week that will take him through the 2014 season, until he’s 30. The deal is a relative bargain, as Hundley will make just $9 […]

First, it was catcher Nick Hundley. Then, it was center fielder Cameron Maybin. Now, it’s starting pitcher Cory Luebke. The Padres continued their wise trend of locking up young talent by giving the hurler a four year contract extension, going through the 2015 season. The deal also has club option years for 2016 and 2017, […]

The Kansas City Royals took another huge step towards future contention by signing left fielder Alex Gordon to a four year deal worth $37.5 million. The signing runs from 2012 to 2015, and buys out Gordon’s first two years of free agency. The deal also contains a player option for 2016 worth $12.5 million, making […]

From my Mariners season preview yesterday… Burning QuestionCan the Mariners approach .500 in 2012, or will they continue to languish as a 70-win team? The Mariners won 67 games in 2011, and honestly, they weren’t a very good team. Three offensive players were worth more than one win, and two were defensive specialists Brendan Ryan […]

From my Dodgers season preview on Wednesday… Burning QuestionDoes Clayton Kershaw have enough help in the rotation to lead this team to a playoff berth? The Dodgers starting rotation last season amassed 13.8 fWAR, tied for tenth in the league. That’s pretty good. Here’s the problem with that: nearly half of that 13.8 fWAR was accrued by […]

From our Twins season preview last Friday… Burning QuestionIs Francisco Liriano ever going to consistently be an ace pitcher? In his rookie year of 2006, at age 22, Francisco Liriano threw 121 innings for the Twins, striking out 144 with a 2.16 ERA. He was worth 4.1 fWAR. That season remains the second best of […]

Looking to repeat their run to a World Championship, the Giants’ plans hit a snag in late-May, when catcher (and top hitter) Buster Posey broke his ankle in a collision at the plate. Despite a fantastic pitching staff, the Giants couldn’t put it together offensively, and missed the playoffs. With a healthy Posey in 2012, […]

The Texas Rangers had a 2011 season nearly identical to their 2010: winning the AL West, and then winning the AL pennant. Clear as mud. Unfortunately, the seasons ended the same way too: with a World Series loss to an NL club that got into the playoffs on the season’s last day. Texas returns the […]

UPDATE: CBS’s Jon Heyman is reporting that the deal has fallen through between Cleveland and Los Angeles. Poor Angels. It’s been a long time coming.  Tony Reagins’ tenure as GM still stings in the hearts of Angels fans.  But on Thursday evening, it began to hurt a little less as rumors swirled of a possible […]

From yesterday’s A’s season preview… Burning QuestionWho should get most of the playing time at first base and in the outfield for the A’s? In Oakland’s first two games during the season opening series (a week before everyone else) in Japan, they trotted out the same outfield of Crisp-Cespedes-Reddick. At first base, Brandon Allen and […]

From last Thursday’s season preview of the Royals… Burning QuestionAre the Royals going to get enough out of their rotation to contend in 2012? Checking in a week later, the Royals rotation currently consists of Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar, Jonathan Sanchez, Luis Mendoza, and Danny Duffy. One of the more effective Royals starter last season, […]

The Padres went from being eliminated from the playoff race on the final day of the 2010 season to falling to last place in the NL West in 2011. They’ll go into 2012 with their ace Mat Latos now a member of the Reds and their GM Jed Hoyer now holding the same position with […]