NL Central

Seven-and-a-half million dollars is a lot of money to pay to a relief pitcher who walked a career-high 4.98 batters per nine innings in the previous season.

That is especially true if the reliever in question also struck out a career-low 7.09 strikeouts per nine innings in that season.

Yet general manager Jim Hendry and the Chicago Cubs made just such an investment this winter when they inked left-handed hurler John Grabow to a two-year pact.

Another summer of the youth movement is upon us in Cincinnati. The Reds' roster is full of players that can be one of two things: deceptively appealing or the next big fantasy dynamo. It is tough to know what to expect from young players with potential, but taking the right chance could punch your ticket to the fantasy baseball winner's circle.  Here is what to expect from some of the Reds' youngsters.

Jay Bruce (OF)

Angel Guzman is a star-crossed young man.

Injuries have hampered the development of this talented right-handed Venezuelan hurler throughout his career.

Finally, in 2009, he overcame them, stepping brilliantly into the setup role in Chicago's bullpen.

He struck out 47 and walked just 23 in 61 innings, and he allowed the ninth-lowest line drive rate among Major League relievers, according to fangraphs.com.

Wandy Rodriguez, no doubt, is in Houston Astros spring training with something to prove.

The 31-year-old, 5'11" left-hander recently lost his arbitration battle with the Astros, receiving $5 million in 2010 when he was asking $7 million.

According to the above linked article, Rodriguez is content about what happened in arbitration and is "...here to work hard and have another good year."

February is almost coming to a close, which means America’s Pastime is beginning to dawn on the hearts and minds of fans, players and coaches alike.

For the Houston Astros, they enter 2010 Spring Training with many questions and a new-look squad; along with a new skipper by the name of Brad Mills.

The Cincinnati Reds, feeling they needed a right-handed power bat, decided to bring back a slugger who had a pretty good year for them in 2009.

According to ESPN.com, the Reds have brought back right-handed-hitting outfielder Jonny Gomes on a one-year contract worth $800,000.

The contract also includes a $1.75 million club option for 2011.

The Reds have a pretty interesting outfield situation heading into 2010. They are set in right and center with two phenomenal young players in Jay Bruce and Drew Stubbs.

Originally published at TwinsTarget.com.

The time has finally come for pitchers and catchers to report. That means baseball is here once again and that lull between football and baseball is almost over. I’m not sure how I made it through, tobe honest.

I thought the Caribbean Series would help, but other than seeing a few at-bats from Juan Francisco, it wasn’t that interesting to me. Actually, the defense was so painful to watch at times, that it really wasn’t that entertaining at all. 

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, things looked pretty good for the St. Louis Cardinals. After all, it looked as if they were about to tie up the division series with the L.A. Dodgers.

If you follow this blog, you know I have a "thing" for concussions. I believe that football teams don't take concussions seriously and put kids back in the game way too fast.