MLB

Today it became official: Rookie GM Alex Anthopoulos did what former Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi could not by finding a trade for Roy Halladay that made sense for his club.

I was asked by Will from TheNatsBlog.com to help him with a collaborative article on grading how well each team did in last week's winter meetings. Obviously, for my part I will be covering the Rockies.

The Mets had a dreadful 2009 as a team. Many players got injured and some just didn't perform up to par. The New York Mets' shortstop, Jose Reyes, suffered a hamstring injury 36 games into the season.

It seemed like it was only a minor injury, and that Reyes would be back on the field the next day. That was not the case; Reyes would be sidelined for the rest of the 2009 season. 

He described the injury as extremely painful. When his hamstring started to feel better, he would jog, and just jogging alone would result in a large amount of pain. 

The Red Sox have signed the best free agent pitcher on the market.

Former Angels starter John Lackey agreed to a five-year $82.5 million contract. In 234 career games, Lackey has a record of 102-71 with a 3.81 ERA.

Thank goodness the Washington Nationals are finally acting like a real Major League Baseball team. But with that status come new questions and concerns.

No longer does the team have to shop for players in baseball’s bargain basement.  If they are no longer in need of players like Paul LoDuca and Odalis Perez however, what caliber of players should they be after?

It’s tough to go out on top when you’re a major sports star, whether it be actually winning a championship or choosing to retire when you’re still playing at a high level.

In terms of winning the top prize, just ask the likes of Dan Marino and Karl Malone, both of whom played for many years without reaching the pinnacle of their professions.

The first piece of what has now become a historic four team blockbuster trade between the Mariners, Blue Jays, Phillies, and Athletics has now become official.

The Seattle Mariners have officially acquired Philadelphia Phillies ace and Cy Young winner Cliff Lee in exchange for top pitching prospect Phillipe Aumont, P JC Ramirez, and OF Tyson Gillies.

The San Francisco Giants, like most teams, won't find the answer to all their 2009 problems via the free agent waters. There are no magic bullets available this year—even the biggest catches aren't panaceas.

Matt Holliday and Jason Bay are wonderful Major League Baseball players, but neither is capable of singlehandedly turning around an anemic offense.

Bay was arguably surrounded by more hitting talent during his days in Pittsburgh than would accompany him in 2010 under the fog, and we all saw how ferocious those clubs were.

After a few days of hammering out physicals and filing paperwork, the Phillies announced on Wednesday that they have traded Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners, and will hold a press conference at 5:00 EST to announce that they acquired Roy Halladay from Toronto.

The Phillies also acquire Phillippe Aumont, J.C. Ramirez, and Tyson Gillies from the Mariners along with $6 million from the Blue Jays. Philadelphia sends Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor and Travis d'Arnaud to the Jays, who ship Taylor to Oakland for Brett Wallace.