Fan News

Spring training has officially begun for the New York Yankees.

On Tuesday, pitchers and catchers reported down to Tampa, Fl to get prepared for the 2013 season.

Over the next month and a half, we will see coverage of the Yankees during their time in Tampa on the YES Network, MLB Network and ESPN.

There will be some new names and faces that will be wearing the pinstripes and some will even be looking to make the roster.

I spent two hours on Monday afternoon writing a nice, snarky piece making fun of the signings of Jason Giambi and Daisuke Matsuzaka, making parallels about how these signings are all that Chris Antonetti and the Cleveland Indians can seem to do anymore.

With rumors of a potential injury looming, the Seattle Mariners and Felix Hernandez have agreed to the $175 million, seven-year contract extension that has been reported over the last several days. The deal will make Hernandez the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history.  

The San Diego Padres and GM Josh Byrnes have left much to be desired this offseason.

They have spent most of their assets on keeping their roster from last season and maintaining their farm system. This may be the best strategy for the Padres considering that they finished with a respectable 42-33 record after the All-Star break.

The New York Yankees have chosen to fill their designated hitter slot in the lineup with a combination of several low cost options in 2013, and who gets the bulk of at-bats will likely be decided in spring training.

With Michael Bourn signing with Cleveland, starting pitcher Kyle Lohse is now the biggest name on the free-agent market.

During the 2013 MLB offseason, well over a hundred free agents signed new contracts that equaled a value comparable to that of the gross national product of several countries.

Indeed, overpaying was the theme this offseason.

Each free agent will no doubt work hard to justify the bloated contracts offered to them. Some of them could in fact show that the money rewarded to them was the right decision.

However, there were several contracts offered and accepted that made many fans and experts shake their heads in dismay.

New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson poked fun at his disaster of an outfield during the offseason.

The struggles are well-documented, and the forecast has been rather bleak for the Kansas City Royals recently. With only four winning seasons since 1990, this franchise has been mired in one of the longest funks in professional sports history.

Although spring training is just under way, there are still a number of quality free agents available who could have a big impact with a team.