AL East

One of the few bright spots of the Red Sox' 2010 season was Adrian Beltre's triumphant return to stardom.

In 154 games with Boston, Beltre hit .321 with 28 homers, 102 RBI and a .919 OPS. He combined his newly rediscovered offensive prowess with his Gold Glove defense for a whopping 7.1 Wins Above Replacement. It's not an exaggeration to say that the Red Sox might have finished below .500 without him.

Ever since Alex Anthopolous has taken over as General Manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, nothing but excitement has surrounded the team.

He has said that he is committed to building a strong franchise that will have the ability to compete for many many years.  He has managed to build a strong farm system that continues to grow, while still managing to field a team that can compete in the toughest division in baseball.

It's official: free agent catcher Victor Martinez has signed a 4 year, $50 million deal with the Detroit Tigers, leaving a noticeable void behind the plate for the Boston Red Sox.

As the MLB rumor mill continues to churn, many fans are beginning to show a disdain towards the carousel-style news surrounding their favorite players.

Just ask Philadelphia Phillies’ fans about Jayson Werth updates.

This week—particularly the past 48 hours—there is even more confusing media frenzied news to keep fans on the edge of their seat, as they wait with baited breath to find out the latest whispers.

Picture a franchise player who was once considered one of the best players in baseball.  Fans watched him grow from an ambitious kid to a superstar, to now what could be the twilight of his career.  This is the case of Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees.

New York Yankee SS Derek Jeter has been reportedly told he will not be offered arbitration by the club.  It has been widely reported that there is a large gap between the Jeter and Yankee camps.  Rumor has it that the Yankees are holding fast at a three-year offer in the neighborhood of $15 million per season.  Meanwhile Jeter’s camp is reportedly looking for more years and a higher annual salary. 

At the end of the 2009 season, Derek Jeter had a lifetime batting average of .317. The only players in New York Yankees' history who did better were Babe Ruth (.349), Lou Gehrig (.340), Earle Combs (.325) and Joe DiMaggio (.325).

In 2010, Jeter batted .270, which lowered his lifetime batting average from .317 to .314 and his on-base average from .388 to .385.

The New York Yankees have officially told Derek Jeter what they think of him at this point in his career. By declining to offer Jeter arbitration, the Yankees have basically said to Jeter, "Go fish."  The Yankees and Jeter are in the middle of the first free-agent period in Jeter's career.

With Victor Martinez headed to the Detroit Tigers, the Red Sox appear set with Jarrod Saltalamacchia as their starting catcher with an intriguing possibility of long-time starting catcher, Jason Varitek, coming back for one more year.

In the beginning of November, the Yankees made getting Cliff Lee to New York a major priority.

First, they contacted his agent Darek Braunecker the very first day possible.

A couple weeks later, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman flew down to Arkansas to meet with Lee, his wife Kristen and Braunecker, mostly as a formal meet and greet.