Transaction of the Day: 11/29/14 - 12/5/14

When MLB Trade Rumors publishes their Week In Review series - a great weekly summary of all the notable transactional news that's going on during the offseason - the site does so on a Saturday to Friday schedule. So that's what I'll do with this new feature that I had been thinking about for a while but never implemented until now. Who knows, this might be the only time it's implemented ever, but you gotta try, right? So what I'm doing is looking back at this past week, looking at every day in that week, and giving my thoughts about a particular transaction or roster move that otherwise stood out above the rest of the moves made that day. And just maybe we'll have some fun along the way.

Saturday 11/29/14
Detroit Tigers sign P Rafael Dolis

By rights, this is not a transaction that should even be noted in the record books, although the player does appear in my 2014 40 Man Roster database. The Capricorn out of the Dominican Republic was invited to Spring Training by the world champion San Francisco Giants in the 2014 Offseason, but was subsequently released before he saw any big league action. It only appears on this list because it was the last official transaction made in the final two days of November. However, going back just one day, as you can see, gives us access to one of the most impactful moves of the 2015 Offseason so far, Billy Beane's trade of Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays. For reasons involving my health, I choose to reserve judgment on this one at this time, so let's press on into the month of December.


Monday 12/1/14
Pittsburgh Pirates acquire 2B Sean Rodriguez from the Rays

Not a lot of movement occurred on this date, and this quick snap trade for a utility player with power was the only transaction involving major league ready talent. The fact that it cost the Pirates only a PTBNL and an underperforming former prospect (first baseman Gaby Sanchez was DFA's to create roster space) makes it a model of efficiency as well. I'm even more excited about Rodriguez, given the 2014 breakout of the other guy on his team with true utility skills: new everyday third baseman Josh Harrison.

Tuesday 12/2/14
List Of Non-Tendered Players, 2015 Offseason

Tuesday was the deadline for teams to offer (tender) a contract to their arbitration eligible players, thus many players were deemed expendable that day. Because I'm a sucker for a good list, I've linked to MLBTR's comprehensive one. But here are a few standouts: Former MVP vote recipient Kris Medlen and fellow Braves pitcher Brandon Beachy. Former 50 game suspension recipient Everth Cabrera and other former starters Justin Smoak, Juan Francisco, and Eric Young. Several of these players were brought back to their old clubs via minor league deals, but those are transactions for another day.


Wednesday 12/3/14
Atlanta Braves sign RF Nick Markakis

As the saying goes, you have to replace Jason Heyward somehow. And the Braves found their replacement in the form of a veteran contact hitting right fielder with a good, if not exactly deserved, defensive reputation. Much and more has been said about the Glen Cove, NY native's perceived and real defensive value, but more importantly, this move says a lot about the Atlanta's plan re: being competitive in the near future. Trading a potential star like Heyward almost always signals a rebuilding effort, and that coupled with trade rumors circling around the wrong Upton to want to get rid of would seem to confirm the thought. But the four year, $44 million deal given to Markakis seems like a win-now move. Maybe they'll make a run at Jon Lester and try to unseat the Nationals in 2015.

Honorable mentions from this day: Torii Hunter for returning to Minnesota to potentially end his career with his original club. And the Braves again for betting on the chance that dethroned closer Jim Johnson's star hasn't completely fallen.

Thursday 12/4/14
Seattle Mariners sign DH Nelson Cruz

After the free agent outfielder market was set with Markakis, the Cancer astrology team's star slugger (and another victim of a 50 game suspension) blew it wide open, signing for the same four years as the former Orioles starter, but for $18 million more total dollars. This move fills a very deep hole in Seattle's lineup with a player who could very well be a late-blooming offensive wizard, or he could be another Baltimore one-season wonder (cf. Chris Davis and his disaster that was 2014). Cruz almost certainly definitely won't be worth the money during the later years of this deal, but at least now Robinson Cano has some right handed protection in the lineup.


Friday 12/5/14
New York Yankees sign RP Andrew Miller

Lots of action took place in New York today, and by lots of action, I mean two actions. The second, chronologically speaking, was the third high profile four year deal announced in three days. This one happened to be the largest ever contract given to a non-closer reliever, and it seems unlikely that Miller, who has exactly one season of at least +1 WAR under his belt, will be asked to be David Robertson's successor for the illustrious Yankees' ninth inning. On the financial side, since Miller was by far the best left handed relief option on the market, it makes sense that he signed his deal before even such established closers as Francisco Rodriguez, Rafael Soriano, and the aforementioned Robertson.

The other action involved trading for Derek Jeter's replacement at shortstop, Didi Gregorius, one of the coolest names in the sport, from the Diamondbacks. This was a good move for Arizona to deal from a position of excess, since they already have Chris Owings and Cliff Pennington capable of manning short. New York gave up a back end of the rotation starting pitcher, which means we can't rule GM Brian Cashman out from making a big splash on the free agent pitching market. Will Max Scherzer be this year's Masahiro Tanaka? Only time will tell!


By next week, we'll see if I'm still up to continuing this feature, but for now, I'd say this was a pretty eventful week in baseball for a week where there were no baseball games. Who knows how the market will develop as the offseason goes on!?