The Brewers upgraded their shortstop position by not resigning Yuniesky Betancourt. Instead, they signed Alex Gonzalez. Gonzalez offers a similar offensive production (72 wRC+ for Betnacourt and 75 wRC+ for Gonzalez this past season), and also offers better defense. Gonzalez used to be one of the better fielding shortstops in the league, and is still above average, even at this point in his career. That's a huge upgrade over what Betancourt offers, who essentially has the same range as a tree. With Fielder coming off of the books, Milwaukee should have money to spend. They still have a few holes, and could address them with that money. Their roster is thin, and their minor league system doesn't offer much reinforcement. They will need to blow their team up soon, but with Pujols leaving the division, they could view themselves as the favorites in the National League Central.
During their run through the American League playoffs, we saw that Tigers' manager Jim Leyland only had confidence in two relief pitchers. Jose Valverde and Joaquin Benoit were the only pitchers that Leyland would use in high leverage situations. The front office came to terms with Octavio Dotel to try and remedy this situation. Dotel is coming off a very good year with the Blue Jays and Cardinals. However, much of Dotel's success came due to his manager using him in situations where he had the best chance to succeed. For Dotel to be successful in Detroit, Leyland will have to use him in situations in which Dotel will be facing right handed hitters only. If Leyland decides that Dotel is going to be his seventh inning guy no matter what, we could see Dotel's overall numbers slip back to mediocrity due to facing left handed batters.
A trade that happened recently, the Rockies sent Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers to the Cubs for Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu. Stewart is probably the best player in the deal, and should open the next season as the Cubs opening day third baseman. Offensively, Stewart has 25 home run power, but also strikes out in about 25% of his plate appearances. Stewart is a plus defender at third base though, and with the Cubs rebuilding, should keep the position warm until Josh Vitters is ready to take it over. Colvin is also a free swinger, but doesn't walk at all, and plays the outfield. Colvin could be above average defensively in a corner outfield spot, but his bat isn't big enough to profile there offensively. His power makes him an interesting bench bat, but he'll probably not be an everyday starter for the Rockies, unless they mike Seth Smith.
DJ LeMahieu is an infielder, who could be a plus defender at third, and possibly second too. He doesn't strikeout or walk very often, doesn't have much power, and relies on a high BABIP for his offensive value. I doubt he'll have much of a career, as he probably won't be a regular, and doesn't have the glove to play shortstop, meaning he can't be a utility infielder. Casey Weathers is a relief pitcher, who spend most of this past year in Class-AA at the age of 26. He's was recovering from Tommy John surgery, and doesn't profile as much more than a replacement level reliever.
The biggest news of the day, though, is the Matt Moore extension. The Rays locked up their young lefty until the age of 30, and will pay him a maximum of $40 million. Moore is only 22, and has only thrown 9.1 innings in the majors, and liked the idea of financial security. The contract is similar to the Evan Longoria, James Shields, and Wade Davis contracts that Tampa has used to lock up their best players on the cheap throughout their prime years. The contract makes Moore one of the most values commodities in the game. It's a huge win for the Rays, but also good for Moore, who was an eighth round draft pick, and didn't have a huge signing bonus or anything. It also ensures that Moore will break camp with the Rays, and not spend the first half of the year in Class-AAA for service time reasons.
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