Ah, finally ... baseball is back in the news! The Winter Meetings are this week in Dallas - and now is the most fun we're going to have with baseball until mid-February. I've happily muted all my politics on twitter, and started following the big hitters: Keith Law, Buster Olney, Jayson Stark, Ken Rosenthal, Peter Gammons, Jon Heyman, Jon Morosi and Kevin Goldstein. I'm sure I'm missing a few more key reporters, but that's enough to max out my feed. After the week is up I'll unfollow most of them, as they are simply too prolific for my tastes.
So what are the Pirates up to? Well, not much yet. Rumors are flying (well, probably closer to taking the bus) around about such middle-of-the-pack guys like Jeff Francis, Nate McLouth, Mark DeRosa and Ian Stewart. Hardly the most exciting stuff - but what do you expect, we can't all throw money around like we're the Miami Marlins! Probably the best hope for an early Christmas present (aside from a DLee arbitration acceptance) would be a Joel Hanrahan trade. I like the guy, but for a cost controlled elite closer in this market, the Bucs have to be shopping him. It would be irresponsible not to. We could easily net a top prospect, and a starting shortstop. Oh wait, we're giving Clint Barmes $10M, nevermind that. Jayson Stark tweeted earlier today, saying the closer market is down to San Diego, Cincinnati, New York (NL), Anaheim, Boston and perhaps even Tampa Bay and Texas. There are some loaded farms in that list. Let's play highway robbery.
On the free agent front, I've got my eyes on two players.
Michael Cuddyer, 32 years old, plays RF, 1B and 3B. He would instantly become our starting RF, and if utilized correctly could be a great fit for our three most glaring holes off the pitching rubber. If the rumors are true that Minnesota offered him 3/25, I think the Bucs should offer 3/30. He's not really blocking anyone (Starling Marte probably won't be up until 2013 anyway, and Cudd could play 1B also), he's got some much needed righty pop for the lineup. Plus, the guy likes to take some photos, so he might just want to come to the most beautiful park in the land and finally see the National League.
Erik Bedard, 32 years old, starting pitcher. Yes, he's had his share of injuries, but the Bucs need to roll the dice on a reclamation project. Having spent his entire career in the American League, the lefty coming to PNC to replace Paul Maholm could be magical. He strikes out a ton of guys still, and did manage to start 24 games last year. With everyone circling around C.J. Wilson and Mark Buehrle, the Bucs should swoop in and sign Bedard to a two year deal while nobody is looking.
It's time to strike Mr. Huntington.
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