The Offseason is Abuzz!

After a week or so of just about nothing happening, over the past few days, Major League Baseball has seen a flurry of smaller moves that could have big consequences in-season. Here are my thoughts on some recent offseason deals.

Nationals Trade minor-league pitcher Alex Meyer to Minnesota for CF Denard Span

This is a great trade that both teams won. Washington, coming off a huge, but surprising year in which they won 98 games, proved that their extremely young core is ready to win now. Additionally, this team is one built on pitching, and they have an entire rotation of projectable, under-control arms to hold on to for the next couple of years. With so much pitching, GM Mike Rizzo could afford to trade a minor leaguer, even one as big as Meyer. And by big, I mean he's 6-foot-9, and throws hard, two commodities that project well in MLB. The Twins have had a track record of success with teams based on successful rotations, and accruing good pitching for a largely extraneous player has to be viewed as a win. Span became easily trade-able for the Twins with the emergence of Ben Revere, who possesses almost the exact same skill set as the new Nationals center fielder. Neither of them has enough offensive value to merit a move to a corner spot, so one had to go. Span is a good-to-very-good hitter and plays a premium defensive position well, making him the exact type of player Washington has coveted, and probably the only key piece they missed in 2012. Span fits in perfectly as a leadoff hitter and playing center field allows the team to move phenom and 2012 Rookie of the Year Bryce Harper to a corner spot. They can keep Jason Werth in right field, and move slugger Mike Morse to first base to replace the departed Adam LaRoche, who the team is, curiously, still in negotiations with. Span nets them a leadoff hitter that will make $11.25 million over the next two years, making him something like free agent Michael Bourn at a fraction of the price.

Atlanta Braves trade RHP Tommy Hanson to Los Angeles for RHP Jordan Walden

Interestingly, trades around MLB have become smarter. These two trades both feature win-win situations, with both teams doing something positively productive. The Braves, having just signed B.J Upton to a $75 million deal, needed to cut costs and have had a serious surplus of major-league ready starting pitchers for a while now. Hanson used to be a top prospect, but a couple of factors lead to his Atlanta exit. He is due to make somewhere around $4 million next season after arbitration, and the Braves are more than ready to replace him with Julio Teheran or Randall Delgado. Future ace Brandon Beachy is also expected to return from Tommy John surgery mid-season and join a rotation that already consists of Tim Hudson, Kris Medlen, Mike Minor, and Paul Maholm. Hanson also has a long history of injuries that mostly stem from his unorthodox pitching mechanics, but the Angels receive a guy who, if he can put it together, will easily form a formidable one-two punch with ace Jered Weaver. He can also slot behind C.J Wilson into the third spot in the Angels rotation as a solid starting option. They also give up a pitcher in Jordan Walden who they might miss, depending on their offseason moves. The Angels bullpen was a remarkable disaster last year and was 22nd in the league with a 3.97 ERA. That doesn't exactly scream playoffs, nor does it leave them with a surplus of relievers. However, for a team that just signed closer Ryan Madson and still has last year's closer in Ernesto Frieri, GM Jerry Dipoto may have deemed the oft-injured Walden expendable. For a team that needs starting pitching so badly that they will continue to court top free agent starter Zack Greinke even after this deal, giving up an middle reliever to fill a rotation spot was a real no-brainer. The Braves will receive a great middle relief piece for their bullpen, and Walden seems like a great combination with their bullpen big-three of relievers Eric O'Flaherty and Johnny Venters and closer Craig Kimbrel.

Rivera Returns

The New York Yankees and longtime closing pitcher Mariano have come to terms on a one-year, $10 million deal. Rivera's season ended in early May when he tore his ACL while shagging fly balls in Kansas City. The only concern for the Yankees is Rivera's ability to come back from the only major injury in his career. Rafael Soriano is no longer a member of the team after opting out of his contract, so the on-team heir apparent would appear to be David Robertson. Soriano filled in nicely for Rivera in the wake of his injury after Robertson did not. At all. I don't have much confidence in Robertson as a closer, so look for the Yankees to possibly take the $5 million pay cut Rivera took and invest it in a setup man/fill-in closer. RHP Joakim Soria would be the optimal choice in that regard. However, by no means am I saying that Rivera will not be the incredible pitcher has been for the past two decades. The Yankees paid him $10 million at age 43 because the guy can close like no one else in history, and expect the career saves leader to have a classic Rivera year with an ERA around 2.00 and 35+ saves.