NL West

Over the next couple of days, Jorge Says No! will be highlighting some of the forgotten free agents. You know, the guys that aren't getting much publicity or action on the open market even though they could have a lot to bring to the table.

A few weeks back, I profiled why a swap of Eric Byrnes for Luis Castillo would make sense for both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Mets.

The Aughts began with the San Francisco Giants on top of Major League Baseball, almost literally. They finished with the best record in baseball in 2000, came six agonizing outs away from the World Series in 2002, and made it back to the postseason in 2003.

They were strong contenders in 2001, 2004, and 2005 (although I'm being liberal with "strong" on that last one).

Then came the Darkness. Or maybe it was a Fog.

Los Gigantes slid into baseball obscurity, toiling in the cellar of the Show's weakest division.

The rumors don't seem to stop even when a prominant ESPN writer says not to take any of them seriously.

There was talk of the Boston Red Sox going hard after San Diego Padres' first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, then there were rumors that the Mariners and Orioles could possibly get involved. All three never seemed to get anything accomplished and the rumors died off quietly.

The Mariners busy offseason continued today when they traded up-and-down pitcher Brandon Morrow to the Blue Jays today for relief pitcher Brandon League and prospect Johermyn Chavez.

This seems like a good move, both pitchers have similar production and the move gives the M's a good bullpen arm and one of Toronto's better position prospects in the process.

The next move for pitching will likely be to acquire a No. 3 pitcher after netting Cliff Lee for the No. 2 spot.

  Am I alone in thinking that Jose Valverde, considered to be one of the best closers on the open market, might wind up signing a contract for less than what Brandon Lyon recieved? We'll see. But for now, Ken Rosenthal outlines the problems facing Valverde's free agency:

For the better part of two months, the only thing fans in Boston and San Diego were talking about was whether the two teams were going to work out a deal that would send Padres' first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox.

During that same amount of time, ESPN's Jayson Stark had continued to tell people not to put any stock in the rumors surrounding Gonzalez. Unfortunately for us rumor fans, no one was really listening, because the rumors continued.

That's right. Few will have the courage to agree with me, but I'm sayin' it anyway.

In 2009, the San Francisco Giants' superlative right-hander, Tim Lincecum, won his second consecutive National League Cy Young award.

The East Coast establishment of Major League Baseball watched in horror as the Freak made it two-for-two—two full years in the Show, two Cy Youngs—and did so in dominating fashion:

2009: 15-7, 32 GS, 225.1 IP, 4 CG, 2 SHO, 68 BB, 261 K, 2.48 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 6.7 H/9, 10.4 K/9, .206 BAA, .271 OBPA, .290 SLGA, .561 OPS

As they did throughout last week's winter meetings, rumors continue to swirl today about a potential trade between the Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres.

The proposed swap would send San Diego's two-time All-Star first baseman, Adrian Gonzalez, to Boston in exchange for what would presumably be a package of top prospects.