Only a few franchises in MLB truly understand how to spend money wisely. I would trot out the A's, Twins, Rockies, Mariners, Brewers, Cardinals, Phillies, and the Rays as some of these.

Few do a better job of acquiring the best talent with the least money than the last team in that list: Tampa Bay.

And they've done it again.

Most fans, possibly even many Tampa Bay fans, don't realize that the Rays signed first baseman Ryan Shealy to a minor league deal this week.

As a longtime fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, color me unimpressed with their Hot Stove League activity thus far.

First of all, I really wasn’t all that thrilled that Ned Colletti had his contact extended as General Manager.

The Seattle Mariners have become the team to beat in the American League West with the additions of Chone Figgins and Cliff Lee. They now have a one-two punch in both their lineup and pitching rotation that makes them stronger than any other team in the division.

Newsday's Ken Davidoff is reporting that the Yankees have agreed to a one-year deal with Nick Johnson worth around $5.5 million.

The deal is pending a physical, but is pretty much done.

This is a great move for the Yankees. While Nick Johnson will be limited to a designated hitter role on this Yankees team, I see that as a good thing. There is no doubt that this will increase the odds that he can stay healthy for the entire season.

Sigh. I just finished watching the Red Sox press conference introducing Mike Cameron.

Charming. Charismatic. Humble. Relaxed. You got to see so many of the reasons why managers love Cameron, and what I had been hoping to see over at Clark and Addison sometime this winter.

That said, first off let me say that I was wrong. I didn't think it was possible for the Cubs to let Cameron pass them by. Somewhere, I suspect that Lou Piniella is still muttering things under his breath about it, and perhaps about Jim Hendry as well, but it's done. He ain't coming.

While things may be quiet in terms of Mets activity, the Orioles are wasting no time in building their club up for the 2010 campaign and beyond.

Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun are reporting that the Orioles have inked former Colorado Rockie, Garrett Atkins , to a one year deal.

Well, it's official.

Roy Halladay has been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.

I feel nauseous seeing "Doc" in a different uniform. But I'm happy for him as well. He finally has the chance to be part of a winning ball club. It's something he absolutely deserves.

We hear the Red Sox need a 1B.  

Well, guess what.  

There are indeed plenty of free agent options out there.  But do we hear Theo Epstein getting involved with them?  

Nope.  

I don't understand this, honestly. Nick Johnson, Russell Branyan, Carlos Delgado, Hank Blalock, Adam LaRoche, Aubrey Huff, and Ryan Garko are some who would fit the bill to name a few.  

Yes, some will come with a price tag.  

Yes, some have injury histories.  

A couple of days ago when the news broke of an imminent Roy Halladay-Cliff Lee-prospects swap within hours of the Red Sox acquiring John Lackey, a lot of Braves fans (including myself) peeked our heads up thinking that these moves signaled Derek Lowe's albatross of a contract finding its way out of time.

And, for me, it still does.

Seeing as how he's the only reliable 200 inning guy left out there, it's safe to assume that pitching hungry teams are eyeing him a bit more than guys like Joel Pineiro that have only seen limited stints of success at the big league level.