Let's start out in the American League Central, with a player who, in this free agent class, strikes the closest resemblance to Napoli. Ryan Doumit signed a one year deal with the Twins. This appears to be a bargain for the Twins and a great fit. Doumit signed a one year, $3 million deal with the Twins. It seems like a good price for the Twins since Doumit put up a 1.8 WAR in only 77 games last season. At the going rate, they're paying for less than one win from Doumit, as long as they can keep him on the field, he should deliver that. Doumit also has experience at both catcher and first base. While he'll probably be more of an outfield option for the Twins, having insurance for Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau is always a good thing.
The second news item coming out of the A.L. Central is Gerald Laird signing back with the Tigers. Laird was the World Series with the Cardinals this past year, but played in Detroit in 2009 and 2010. Laird only played in 37 games last season, and with the way Jim Leyalnd used Alex Avila last season, Laird should see about six innings of work in 2012. But seriously, the Tigers are familiar with Laird, and I assume they'll get what they were looking for from Laird.
Staying in the division, the Indians are finalizing a one year deal with free agent Grady Sizemore. The Indians declined a $9 million option earlier in the offseason, and I didn't think that they'd being him back at all. While everyone in Cleveland still likes Sizemore as a player, I think the front office has come to terms with the fact that he'll never be what he once was. His defense has fallen off since he started having leg injuries, and I think it' be best for the team if he slid over to left field and let Michael Brantley be the everyday center fielder. The Indians are very familiar with Sizemore's injury history, and I think they're gambling that they can finally keep him healthy. It they do, and he can rekindle some of the magic from his 2005-08 seasons, he could be a great signing, but I think everyone involved just wants to see him get his career back on track. I would have liked to see the Indians go after a right handed bat to play left field, but it's looking like this teams is gonna be extremely left handed at the plate.
One signing that will probably go under the radar is the Pirates signing Clint Barmes. Barmes is a similar player to the Bucs former shortstop, Ronny Cedeno. Barmes is a little better all around but is also four years older than Cedeno. The signing doesn't really make sense to be from Pittsburgh's perspective, and I'm sure it confused other teams as well. I think a lot of other teams were looking at Barmes as a backup plan in case they missed out on Reyes or Rollins, and as a result, we could see the two top tier shortstops price tags go up.
Mark Kotsay will still be employed in 2012. Yeah, it's shocking. Kotsay, at this point, is replacement level at best. He's living on his history of being a above average center fielder who can hit. For a while he was a great player, who put up a string of four win seasons. Since his last season as an above average regular in 2004 though, his cumulative WAR is zero. I don't know what San Diego sees in him, and even for his low price tag, I find it hard to imagine that they couldn't find a kid to take that roster spot.
Fresh off the heals of the Matt Kemp deal, the Dodgers continued to lock up star talent when they got Mark Ellis to sign a two year, nine million dollar deal. The Dodgers don't have much at second base, and Ellis definitely fills a hole. He hasn't been anything special since 2005, but is a nice piece for a team trying to put itself back together. His compensation comes in right between Jamey Carroll and Aaron Hill, and that's probably a perfect spot for Mr. Ellis.
One player who hasn't signed yet, but is getting a lot of attention in C.J. Wilson. Depending on where you look, it seems like Wilson is getting attention from every team in the league. I view Wilson as similar to John Lackey. When Lackey was a free agent, he was the best pitcher not he market, but wasn't an ace. There was no #1 starter on the market that year, so teams instead of being smart, just went after Lackey like he was a #1. We've seen how that worked out, and I think we're going to see a similar thing with Wilson. It only takes one team to pay him like an ace, and I think that we're going to see someone break the bank, only to not get what they paid for.
In dugout news, the Cubs finally found their guy to sit on the bench and direct the troops. Dale Sveum will be sitting on the bench for the Cubbies next season, as they continue to only hire managers with funny last names. Sveum was the third base coach under Epstein in Boston in 2004 and 2005, but spent the the past six seasons with Milwaukee as the hitting coach with a brief stint as interim manager. He must have a good relationship with Theo, and I'm sure that they're on the same page as far as strategy and tactics. We'll see how the team performs under him, but on the surface, this appears to be a god hire for the Cubs.
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