MLB Rumors

Jack Curry of the YES Network tweeted recently that the Yankees are having internal discussions about picking up free-agent outfielder Manny Ramirez.

What else is new?

For those of you who know anything about baseball, you know that you can always count on the Yankees to make offers to big ticket players every offseason, whether that be through trades or free agency.

Take Mark Teixeira as a great example.

The Boston Red Sox have made the headlines this MLB offseason, signing free agent Carl Crawford and trading for Adrian Gonzalez. 

The New York Yankees struck out on Crawford, and were also turned down by free agent pitcher Cliff Lee, who chose to return to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Yankees have only re-signed major players this winter, most notably future hall of famers and Yankee legends Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. 

According to Newsday's Ken Davidoff, the Yankees are interested in bringing Johnny Damon back to the Bronx. The report states that the Yankees are intending on bringing back Damon to use as a fourth outfielder and occasional DH. 

Dec. 22, 2010

Twins ‘Cold’ During ‘Hot’ Season

by Andy Vanfossan

With 2010 coming to an end, now is a good time to look at the positives and negatives for the last month and a half of the free agent season.

Positives:

The 2010 MLB postseason has hit it's stride and players are being snatched up like sugar-free doughnuts at a weight watchers meeting.

Many teams look to be left in the dust, I'm looking at you New York teams, and have done little this post-season to improve their teams from a year ago.

They have missed the boat, as they say, and are more or less treading water at this point, signing bench guys and stretching for bullpen help, but gaining no greatly effective players in the process.

With the hot stove season already past its boiling point and the beginning of spring training less than eight weeks away, many teams across Major League Baseball continue to dot their I's and cross their T's while preparing for the long season ahead.

Buried deep within the trade rumors and the free-agent market are the teams' farm systems, and for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the next generation of future stars is both extremely talented and very exciting.

Philadelphia has made the biggest move this offseason so far.  With the signing of Cliff Lee, the Phillies have already become the favorite to win the National League pennant in 2011.

So, what about the other 15 teams?  Here are 10 trades that could allow teams to match the strength of Philadelphia this coming season.  

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The Yankees have been doing a lot of waiting this offseason. They waited for Cliff Lee to choose his team. They waited for Derek Jeter to accept their offer. Then they stayed put a while too long and lost out on Zach Greinke. Now they await a decision from Andy Pettitte as to whether or not he will pitch in 2011. 

Next season Pedro Feliciano will be making the short trip to the Yankees from the New York Mets. The 34-year-old lefty relief pitcher will join what is already a star-studded pitching staff.

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Yankees will finalize the contract today that would bring Feliciano to the Yankees for two years with a contract worth $8 million and an option for the 2013 season if the Yankees choose to keep the left-hander.

Coming into the 2011 season, the Twins have a lot of questions marks:

Relief Pitching has been the main concern. After losing Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain out of free agency, only a few bullpen locks remain. Matt Capps was the steady closer for 2010, and Jose Mijares will most likely return with a bigger roll in 2011. Returning All-Star closer Joe Nathan should be ready for spring training, but it doesn't make sense to expect too much from him after so recently undergoing elbow surgery.