NL West

New Arizona Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers had one goal this offseason. That was to somehow improve the worst bullpen in baseball last season.

After exploding in 2009 with 31 HR and 106 RBI, fantasy owners were clamoring about what Andre Ethier could be in 2010.  Could he emerge as one of the elite outfielders in the game?  Forget about just outfielders, could he emerge as one of the elite hitters in the game?  The fact is that the question owners should have been asking was if he could even repeat that success.  The answer would have been no (though there’s an asterisk), as Ethier posted the following line:

The MLB winter meetings will take place this week in Florida, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have a lot of work to do. Despite a flurry of moves that brought Juan Uribe, Jon Garland and Rod Barajas to LA, the Dodgers have holes to fill in left field and in the bullpen. They also need to address the somewhat unsteady production they got from first baseman James Loney and center fielder Matt Kemp in 2010.

The NL West has been very active in the early stages of the MLB offseason. Juan Uribe is a Dodger, Miguel Tejada is a Giant, Adrian Gonzalez is playing in Boston and Mark Reynolds has left the Diamondbacks for Baltimore.

With all the rumors of which players are being targeted by which teams becoming more clear, it's safe to say that the NL West is far from being solidified.

Let us take a look at trades that are either being conjured, and some that are merely rumors in the swirling MLB offseason.

The winter meetings are here, a time when the hot stove starts heating up. The Rockies offseason, however, is already boiling over.

When Kevin Towers took over the job as general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks he had several items on his to-do list to make this team more competitive. The top of that list included rebuilding the worst bullpen in all of Major League Baseball and cut down the number of strikeouts by the offense.

Both of these items were addressed when Arizona sent starting third baseman Mark Reynolds and either a player to be named later or cash to Baltimore for right-handed pitchers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio.

On the first day of the Winter Meetings, a very interesting rumor is being reported by multiple sources—the Los Angeles Dodgers are discussing a possible trade which would send first baseman James Loney and closer Jonathan Broxton to Milwaukee for first baseman Prince Fielder.

This would be yet another move by a Dodger team that is quickly establishing themselves as a favorite in the NL West.

On the first day of the Winter Meetings, a very interesting rumor is being reported by multiple sources—the Los Angeles Dodgers are discussing a possible trade which would send first baseman James Loney and closer Jonathan Broxton to Milwaukee for first baseman Prince Fielder.

This would be yet another move by a Dodger team that is quickly establishing themselves as a favorite in the NL West.

After a weekend filled with free agent acquisitions and a big trade, the winner at the end of the day is the World Series champion Giants. Even though the Giants lost World Series MVP Juan Uribe, they were able to steal Miguel Tejada away from their division rival Padres.

After several of years of rumor and speculation, Adrian Gonzalez has finally been traded from the San Diego Padres to the Boston Red Sox. It almost goes without saying, but leaving the cavernous Petco Park and anemic Padres lineup will do wonders for Gonzo’s fantasy production. The real impact of the trade is how it affects those left behind in (or sent to) San Diego.