NL East

There has been a lot going on in baseball this winter, so I didn’t get a chance to comment on the Josh Willingham to the Oakland A’s trade. But let me just say this—what on earth are the Washington Nationals doing?

The Washington Nationals have agreed to terms with former Cardinals Starting Pitcher and OF Rick Ankiel, reports Sports Illustrated's John Heyman.  The deal is worth $1.25 million dollars for one year.  He can earn another $1.25MM in performance bonuses.

There sure has been a lot of banter about the Philadelphia Phillies over the past week, and why not?

There are but a few days remaining before 2011 is upon us. With that, there is just a month before players begin to meander into Space Coast Stadium, the spring home of the Washington Nationals.

If history is any indicator, team General Manager Mike Rizzo has a week or so to finalize the majority of his remaining roster moves. Right now, the team still needs an outfielder, first baseman and a starting pitcher. Let's take a peek into my crystal ball and see what moves may be on the horizon.

In a surprise twist worthy of an M. Night Shyamalan film, Cliff Lee passed on both the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers, the two teams thought to be the finalists for his services, to pitch once again for the Philadelphia Phillies.

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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I wrote last week that now that the New York Yankees have moved on from Cliff Lee, they would look to improve their bullpen instead of their starting rotation. True to form, the Yankees found themselves a reliever to help counteract the recent left-handed acquisitions by the Boston Red Sox.

They may not have the best stadium, uniforms, or team on paper, but they are certainly capable of drawing up some serious headlines. 

In the last two years they have drafted two phenoms: Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper.   

Lesser known early round picks like Drew Storen out of Stanford, stepped right in and made quite an impression for a last placed squad; 4-4, 3.58 ERA, 54 games, five saves, and 52 strikeouts in 55 innings. 

The New York Mets have several outfield options right now. Among them, they have Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay and Angel Pagan most likely as the Opening Day starters. Also, they can add Lucas Duda, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and, on occasion, Nick Evans to the outfield mix too. This is another reason they were able to cut Chris Carter earlier this offseason.

I was fairly unimpressed when the Washington Nationals announced the other day that the team had re-signed Chien-Ming Wang to a one-year contract that could pay him as much as $5 million if he successfully returns to the major leagues.