AL West

The dominoes are starting to fall. Jayson Werth has signed a surprisingly large contract with the Washington Nationals (seven years, $126 million) leaving outfielder Carl Crawford as the number one prize on the free agent market. Crawford and his agent were already looking for a contract in the $100 million dollar range, but if Werth going to average $18 million a season what can Crawford now command?

The 2010 MLB Winter Meetings kicked off with a bang this week when the Washington Nationals signed outfielder Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126-million deal—and ignited the baseball world in the process.

One baseball writer called the signing “irresponsible.” A general manager reportedly nearly fell out of his chair when he heard the terms of the deal.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim enter this holiday season with a rather sizable wish list. Now they might be able to check off three items with one deft move.

On Thursday, left-handed relief pitcher Hisanori Takahashi agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal with the Halos. It was not the high-profile signing many are expecting, and media coverage of the deal is all but non-existent.

As we anxiously await the beginning of the Winter Meeting and the possibility of our favorite Major League Baseball teams adding that one significant piece to take them to the next level, let’s stoke the fantasy hot stove with some prospect talk. This series on prospects will cover a wide range of players as well as positions. We’ll cover sleepers as well as some of the more obvious stars of the future.

Here’s a fact: The 2010 Mariners were pretty miserable. Aside from the expected contributions from Ichiro, Felix and Gutierrez, the rest was hard to watch. I’m an expert on the subject of how sore this made your eyes, having only missed 10 games this past season (and I thank my lovely girlfriend for those 10 blissful days).

So, what might 2011 bring? Could it get better before it gets worse? Could an improving AL West further bury the Mariners?

Well, by golly, pull up a seat and have a listen.

Originally, the Mariners were in the clear. Then, they weren’t.

A few days later, Justin Upton’s agents decided to set the record straight and let everyone know that their client’s contract does not bar a trade to Seattle.

Now the question yielded is should the Mariners make a run at him?

We knew the Cliff Lee sweepstakes were going to heat up as soon as the winter meetings got underway, mostly because Lee made it clear he wasn't going to listen to offers until the aforementioned meetings began.

Well, according to the New York Post, the Texas Rangers could be tipping their hand a little bit early.

Coming off a season in which the Rangers went to the World Series for the first time in franchise history, the team has made a couple of small moves that should improve, if only slightly, the 2011 squad.

Specifically, they signed catcher Yorvit Torrealba for two years for a total of $6.25 million, and they also signed right-hander Japanese reliever Yoshinori Tatekama to an undisclosed one-year deal with club options for 2012 and 2013.

Josh Hamilton won the 2010 American League Most Valuable Player award this week, and it would be difficult to argue against the selection.

Hamilton led the Texas Rangers to an incredibly rare playoff appearance and in the process continued one of the great comeback stories in sports.

He hit 32 home runs with 100 RBI and 95 runs scored in only 133 games and won the batting and OPS titles as he threatened to win the Triple Crown.

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.