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Its just a handful of days until the Pitchers and Catchers Report, 2010. Do you know where your pitchers and catchers are? The Toronto Blue Jays recently announced the signing of former Cubs closer Kevin Gregg to a one-year $2.75MM deal that includes club options to potentially allow Gregg to become a free agent, pick up a $4.75MM option for 2011, or pick up an $8.75MM option for 2011-2012. The Blue Jays will have ten days after the 2010 World Series to decide between the three options. While the Rockies, Marlins and Padres all expressed interested in Gregg, the pitcher chose Toronto reportedly because of the opportunity to compete for the closing spot. Gregg will be competing with Scott Downs and Jason Frasor to be Toronto’s closer, in a situation that reflects the club’s current position vis-à-vis pitchers. While savvy online betting fans salivate at the prospect of making their picks for big winnings online, the team itself must whittle down the prospects to pick and fill the five rotation spots. Brandon Morrow, Shaun Marcum, Ricky Romero, Marc Rzepcynski, Dustin McGowan, Merkin Valdez and Sean Henn are all in the mix, but this spring, the situation will become even more unclear. Jeremy Accardo, Casey Janssen, Lance Broadway, and Zach Jackson among others will also join the team as pitchers. While it can be expected that the Jays will probably buy some time by starting some pitchers on the DL, the embarrassment of riches dictates that Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos almost certainly needs to make some trades. Expect the pitchers with highest price tags to be the first to go: Downs, Frasor and Tallet are good bets to hit the auction block in the coming weeks. |
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MLB betting futures will be coming out soon, even though it seems like just yesterday that the New York Yankees were winning their 27th World Series over Philadelphia. Everyone is waiting to see who will get their hands on the Toronto ace, but the Blue Jays may be asking too much to get a deal done during the offseason. New York Yankees The Yankees always have to start the conversation, because like the rest of the teams in this list, they can afford him. Halladay wants a long-term extension when he signs, and given his market share, there aren’t many that can ante up. The Blue Jays want catching prospect Jesus Montero, as well as either Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. Imagine having C.C. Sabathia, Andy Petttite, AJ Burnett (a close friend of Halladay’s from Toronto) and then Halladay in your rotation? Gross. Boston Red Sox The Red Sox moved to the forefront recently, but Toronto’s asking price is Clay Buchholz and Casey Kelly, a hotshot shortstop prospect that was recruited to play quarterback at Tennessee. However, we’ve seen the Red Sox jump in bidding wars before just to keep players from going to New York, so don’t think they won’t try to stop the sight of Halladay in pinstripes. Los Angeles Dodgers This was a hot rumor before the trade deadline, but the Blue Jays wanted Clayton Kershaw, who had a great season as a 21-year-old southpaw for the Dodgers. Halladay would instantly improve their starting pitching, which regressed over the season, especially with the fall of Chad Billingsley to the bullpen. Philadelphia The Phillies were hot on Halladay’s heels before they snagged Cliff Lee from Cleveland, and he led them back to the World Series. However, they could still be chasing Halladay, who you know would have pitched in the Fall Classic on three days rest. Also, Cole Hamels struggled badly last year. |
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Nady looks to stay healthy, make impact in Chicago Injuries will surely affect the Super Bowl line for the game, and they’ll have an impact on the upcoming baseball season. It actually starts before Opening Day, as teams will take risks on free agents with injuries in their past. Take Xavier Nady, who signed with the Chicago Cubs recently. Nady has struggled with injuries throughout his six-year career, and has already had two Tommy John surgeries. When he’s healthy, Nady is a productive outfielder who can give you 20-25 homers and 80-90 RBIs, and they were looking to replace Milton Bradley, the disruptive outfielder who was traded to Seattle. Nady won’t be anything close to the headache that Bradley was on the team, and he’ll just be looking to fit into the squad. With the outfield presumably filled by Kaisuke Fukudome Marlon Byrd and Alfonso Soriano, Nady is great insurance to have on the bunch for the Cubs, and you never know...if any of those outfielders slip up, Nady could take advantage of the chance and snag a spot. The Cubs were looking for an outfielder, and passed on Jermaine Dye and Reed Johnson to get to Nady, who will be a Cub pending a physical. But the Cubs could do a lot worse than Nady, who works very hard, and he could be an x-factor in Chicago’s World Series odds for next season. |
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are clearly the best team in baseball. They have the most wins among any Major League team and they are rolling through the regular season without any problems. But winning a World Series is more than just winning your way through the regular season and a lot of teams find that out the hard way in the playoffs (the Chicago Cubs being an example from last year). The Dodgers have made a complete 180-turnaround from previous years where they were completely pitching oriented and horrible at hitting. Now all of the sudden they have one of the best hitting ball clubs in all of baseball but their pitching is suspect. They have a good enough staff to get through the regular season but their postseason rotation would not be ideal. Ace Chad Billingsley was an All-Star this year but he has really struggled of late. He’s also unproven in the postseason. Clayton Kershaw is having a breakout season but he’s too young to rely upon right now. Randy Wolf and Hiroki Kuroda are reliable veterans but aren’t going to dominate anyone in a postseason series. The Dodgers need another pitcher and they actually need an ace. Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee would make sense and if they acquired either without breaking up their core, it would be a surprise if they didn’t win the World Series at that point. |
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