The dust has settled and the Super is over and the NBA season is approaching mid mark. It’s easy to neglect what’s going on in the world of baseball. So far, this off-season there have been some big moves, teams getting new managers or even GMs and adding extra wild card teams to the playoffs.
Let’s start, with the big player movements. Our first move takes us to the World Champion Cardinals, where they signed Carlos Beltran to a 2-year, $26 million deal. They’re betting that Beltran will use his bat to help the Cardinals get to back-to-back World Series; however, Beltran isn’t as young as he used to be so we’ll see if this comes to fruition. He’s expected to play right field.
Next, we’ll take our focus to South Beach and the Miami Marlins. The Marlins have been busy this off-season. First, they got former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen as their new manager as well as former White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle. Joining Guillen and Buehrle in Miami are Carlos Zambrano, the colorful Cubs pitcher; Padres pitcher Heath Bell; and Mets shortstop Jose Reyes.
The Angels in LA also made some waves in the off-season. They got pitcher C.J. Wilson from their division rival Rangers and Albert Pujols from the World Champion Cardinals. In addition to the player moves, there was some movement in the front office as GM Tony Reagins resigned and was replaced by Jerry DiPoto who served in various scouting departments for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Other big moves around the league include Prince Fielder going to the Detroit Tigers for a 9-year $214 million deal, Boston Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon goes to the Phillies. Also leaving Boston is GM Theo Epstein who the Chicago Cubs picked up after his departure and is their current President of Baseball Operations. The Red Sox also got Bobby Valetine as their new manager after Terry Francona was released. The Cubs also hired former Padres GM Jed Hoyer as the Cubs’ new GM and Dale Sveum as their new manager. On the other side of Chicago, the White Sox made former Sox third baseman Robin Ventura, their new manager.
