Best and Worst Move of the Off season ... So Far

This off season has featured many moves including block buster trades and mega signings. Although the team making the moves may think they are making the right decision, some moves just don't make much sense. Here are the top three best and worst moves of the off season ... so far.

Best Moves:

3. Yankees sign Brian McCann to a 5 year $85 Million contract. This is a great deal for the Yankees because in since the days when Posada was the catcher in 2010, the Yankees have gotten very little production from the catchers position. In 2013, Chris Stewart and Austin Romine split the time behind the plate and had about a 55 OPS+. By signing the 4th best catcher in the MLB, McCann brings a significant upgrade at a dire position.

2. Nationals trade Steve Lombardozi, Ian Krol, and Robby Ray to the Tigers for Doug Fister. The Nationals were not going to resign their fourth starter, Dan Haren, so instead of spending big money on the free agent market, they went out and acquired a well respected pitcher. Fister will be 30 in February and will be a free agent in 2016. The Nationals have control of Fister for 2 seasons and he helps make one of the best rotations in baseball. By getting a number four starter who pitches to a 116 ERA+, and eats a lot of innings, the Nationals made a great move.

Fielder and his sons

1. Rangers acquire Prince Fielder and cash from the Tigers for Ian Kinsler. The Rangers needed to trade one of their infielders due a surplus and a desire to have Jurickson Profar start, and they also needed a first baseman. The Rangers accomplished both of those needs in one trade. They get rid of an average overrated second baseman in Kinsler and get one of the most durable, consistent, and powerful first basemen in the MLB. To make the deal even better for the Rangers, they get $30 Million in the trade as well. Fielder has missed just 1 game in the past 5 seasons, and the Tigers will pay $6 Million each year from 2016-2020 to make the Rangers only pay $18 Million those seasons. Fielder is also going to be 30 in May, 2 years younger than Kinsler.

Worst Moves:

3. The Phillies sign Roberto Hernandez to a 1 year $4.5 Million deal. This move is more in the category of highly unnecessary. Roberto Hernandez, formally known as Fausto Carmona, has found only the slightest bit of success at the Major League level in 2006 and 2010 with 3.06 and a 3.77 ERA respectively. Herandez will be 34 in August, pitched just 14 innings in 2012, and pitched to a 4.89 ERA in 2013. The Phillies are trying to get rid of payroll. They have tossed around the idea of trading Papelbon, Cliff Lee, and even Jimmy Rollins, but yet they go out and sign a 34 year old pitcher who is drastically set up to fail for $4.5 Million.

2. The Tigers trade Doug Fister to the Nationals for Steve Lombardozi, Ian Krol, and Robby Ray. Although this was a great trade for the Nationals, it was a horrific trade for the Tigers. Why would they trade a pitcher due to make less than $10 Million, under team control until 2016, and who has been successful the past few seasons? The Tigers traded for Ian Kinsler so they didn't desperately need a second baseman because they weren't going to resign Infante. Ian Krol is a 22 year old left handed relief pitcher, but they have Phil Coke in their bullpen, and Joe Nathan as their closer. The Tigers rotation took a blow because it was deep, but now following  Verlander, Scherzer, and Sanchez is Rick Porcello and Drew Smyly.

Robinson Cano

1. The Mariners sign Robinson Cano to a 10 year $240 Million contract. This is an incredibly stupid
move because the Mariners do not have any other significant players in their lineup. Kyle Seager has found success, but not enough to strike fear into pitchers facing Cano and Seager. Jesus Montero was supposed to come through as big offensive player, but did not and eventually got suspended. The Mariners went off to sign Corey Hart, but he is coming off a significant injury and even if he returns to his All Star form the Seattle Mariners still do not appear as an offensive threat. Cano's contract will carry him through his age 40 season which could mean trouble because Cano is a second baseman, as he gets old he will most likely need to shift position. The Mariners have a great two players to build around now (Cano and Hernandez), but much more will need to be added to compete in the AL West.
       

Tigers and Rangers Trade Fielder for Kinsler

This trade has  been the most surprising move of the off season so far. Two all star caliber players are swapping teams, everyone knew the Rangers wanted to trade Ian Kinsler to accommodate Jurickson Profar, but no one expected the Tigers to trade Prince Fielder.

How does he look in a Rangers jersey?

The trade was made official last night with Prince Fielder going to the Rangers with $30 Million and Ian Kinsler going to the Tigers with a possible pla
yer to be named later. Both Kinsler and Fielder had down years in 2013, but are expected to have bounce back seasons in 2014. Fielder had a .279 avg, .362 OBP, with 25 home runs, and 106 RBIs. While Kinsler had a .277 avg, .344 OBP , with 13 home runs, and 72 RBIs. Kinsler has battled injuries for a few years and is definitely not the player he was when he was in his 20s, and Fielder has been more than healthy his entire career and continues to hit well.

How does he look in a Tigers jersey? 

The Rangers obviously did this deal to add offense to their team and to open a spot for the young Profar who will be playing at league minimum. The Tigers are trying to free up salary to sign Max Scherzer to a long term deal and possibly sign another bat. The move will also allow Miguel Cabrera to move back to first base. The Rangers are expected to use the $30 Million in the deal to try to sign a free agent, perhaps an outfielder such as Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, or Shin-Soo Choo.

These two teams are definitely not done making additions to their teams, but as of now the Tigers' lineup seems a bit more bleak and the Rangers' lineup looks incredible. Observe the effects Prince Fielder had on Miguel Cabrera's stats in 2012 and 2013, you can expect the same thing to happen to Adrian Beltre in 2014 and for as long as Fielder and Beltre will man the 3-4 hole in Texas.

An additional note is Prince Fielder had a limited no trade clause in his contract with the Tigers, and the Rangers were in fact on that list. Fielder waived his no trade clause to complete the trade.

The 1-5 for both teams is pretty much set, but still very much subject to change. As we observed last night. Anything is possible in baseball.

Jackson                                        Andrus
Hunter                                          Profar
Cabrera                                        Fielder
Martinez                                       Beltre
Kinsler                                         Moreland

The Texas Rangers

In 2011 The Rangers finished with a record of 96-66. They are known as one of the most powerful teams in the MLB. In 2012 they will bring more offense and even some pitching.

The big concern for the Rangers in 2012 is pitching. They lost their ace pitcher CJ Wilson to free agency. He signed with The Angels. Wilson had a 2.94 ERA and 223 innings pitched in 2011, which is remarkable for a pitcher who pitches in that home stadium. To counteract the loss of Wilson The Rangers signed Yu Darvish and are moving Neftali Feliz to the starting rotation. Darvish who pitched in Japan for 5 seasons collected a 1.72 ERA, 1083 strikeouts, 76 wins, and 1024 innings pitched. Darvish will be fun to watch in 2012. If he does anything close to what he did in Japan, he will be a major asset to The Rangers. Neftali Feliz on the other hand was the closer for The Rangers in 2011. I am opposed to moving him to the rotation, but this is what they are doing. Feliz had 32 saves in 2011 and 62 innings pitched. He can pitch a lot of innings, because he came up to the big leagues as a starter, but I don't want The Rangers to have a Joba Chamberlain.

We all know how great The Rangers' lineup is, so here are the stats:

Elvis Andrus: .347 OBP, 37 SB
Ian Kinsler: .355 OBP, 30 SB, 32 HR, 77 RBI
Josh Hamilton: .346 OBP, 25 HR, 94 RBI, 128 OPS+, 121 games
Michael Young: .380 OBP, .474 SLG, 106 RBI
Adrian Beltre: .331 OBP, 32 HR, 105 RBI, 129 OPS+, 124 games
Nelson Cruz: .312 OBP, 29 HR, 87 RBI, 124 games
Mike Napoli: .414 OBP, 30 HR, 75 RBI, 171 OPS, 113 games

The above players are 7 players who had great 2011 seasons. They're only weakness is they need to play the whole season. The Rangers lost more games than they should have without having Hamilton, Napoli, and Beltre in their lineup. The numbers they put up in 113-124 games are miraculous, imagine what they could do in 162 games. If I were the Rangers I wouldn't let Napoli touch the catcher's equipment, because he's a not defensive player. Move him to first base and find a young and effective catcher. This way Naploli can get more at bats and not risk injury as much. A possible trade with the Blue Jays or White Sox would be a good idea for Arencibia r Pierzynski

The bullpen for The Rangers also looks nice. They signed Joe Nathan in the 2011-2012 off season and traded for Mike Adams in the 2011 season. Nathan had an elevated ERA in 2011 coming off surgery from the 2010 season. He had a 4.84 ERA, but perhaps that could be lowered in 2012. As for Mike Adams, he pitched to a 1.47 ERA in 2011 over 73 innings pitched for both The Padres and Rangers, Adams is a definite strength for the Rangers.

The Rangers have a nice team. Starting pitching is the only concern for the Rangers. It will be a nice competition for the AL West between the Angels and The Rangers, but The Rangers may come out on top again. It will be close and maybe they won't lose the World Series three times in a row.