Baseball

I’ve already given my early projections on Alcides Escobar (click here to view) and Everth Cabrera (click here to view), so let’s finish off the trifecta of young shortstops by looking at Elvis Andrus.

Of the three, Andrus was the most impressive in 2009, mostly as a 20-year old (he turned 21 in late August), posting the following line:

Most of the articles I've published about the Yankees' offseason plans have been based off newspaper articles and rumors written on baseball Web sites.

This will be my first article making a possible suggestion about a player the Yankees haven't looked into yet.

Before, I had written about the Yankees talking to Nick Johnson about possibly being the team's designated hitter for 2010.

While that is happening, the Yankees are still looking into the possibility of bringing back Johnny Damon for 2010 to play as the left fielder and maybe even a part-time DH.

While things may be quiet in terms of Mets activity, the Orioles are wasting no time in building their club up for the 2010 campaign and beyond.

Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun are reporting that the Orioles have inked former Colorado Rockie, Garrett Atkins , to a one year deal.

Well, it's official.

Roy Halladay has been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.

I feel nauseous seeing "Doc" in a different uniform. But I'm happy for him as well. He finally has the chance to be part of a winning ball club. It's something he absolutely deserves.

We hear the Red Sox need a 1B.  

Well, guess what.  

There are indeed plenty of free agent options out there.  But do we hear Theo Epstein getting involved with them?  

Nope.  

I don't understand this, honestly. Nick Johnson, Russell Branyan, Carlos Delgado, Hank Blalock, Adam LaRoche, Aubrey Huff, and Ryan Garko are some who would fit the bill to name a few.  

Yes, some will come with a price tag.  

Yes, some have injury histories.  

A couple of days ago when the news broke of an imminent Roy Halladay-Cliff Lee-prospects swap within hours of the Red Sox acquiring John Lackey, a lot of Braves fans (including myself) peeked our heads up thinking that these moves signaled Derek Lowe's albatross of a contract finding its way out of time.

And, for me, it still does.

Seeing as how he's the only reliable 200 inning guy left out there, it's safe to assume that pitching hungry teams are eyeing him a bit more than guys like Joel Pineiro that have only seen limited stints of success at the big league level.

The moment we have all been waiting for has finally come; Roy Halladay is no longer a Blue Jay.

But interestingly, Cliff Lee is no longer a part of the Phillies.

It was no surprise that the Phillies would have to give something up to get Halladay but no one really saw this one coming with the success that Lee showed in this past postseason.

Dan Uggla and Johnny Damon .

They do not make sense in Black and Orange, right?

Now that the dust has settled, Roy Halladay is a Philadelphia Phillie. 

For a franchise that has started the likes of Jon Lieber, Kevin Millwood, and Robert Person on Opening Day, that previous sentence is a pleasant sight to the eyes of Phillies fans.

Now that the Cubs' first choice, Mike Cameron, has been signed by the Boston Red Sox, it appears that former Ranger Marlon Byrd is the target of choice for GM Jim Hendry in his ongoing search for a center fielder.

The caveat, of course, is that Hendry has to move Milton Bradley before he can add payroll, so signing Byrd is no sure thing. By the time some team agrees to pay even $2 million of the $21 million owed Bradley, Byrd may be gone.