“Obviously we’re thrilled to add Rocco and his experience and what he can bring to our young players,” Vice President Andrew Friedman said. “We think he’ll be a tremendous asset for us. And he looks better in blue.”

While Baldelli is taking a role as an assistant he doesn’t plan on retiring from the game just yet. There was rumored to plenty of interest in the outfielder this offseason but no deal materialized. It’s most likely because of his injury history and his current shoulder issue which he suffered in the second half of the 2009 season. “”I do have a shoulder issue that I’m dealing with right now,” he said. “It’s something … I need to address it, just because I don’t want to walk around in pain any more. It’s something that affects my ability to play, so it’s something that I have to take care.”

It’s really unfortunate that this once promising prospects career has been hampered by injury after injury but at least he’s not running away from the game, as we’ve seen to many players just disappear after injuries shortened their careers. It’s great to see Baldelli want to stay in baseball and give back to the younger players in the organization, while he attempts to work his way back.

“I’m going to have fun with it,” Baldelli said. “I think I’m going to have fun being out on the field again and having the Rays jersey on and going out and trying to do anything I can to help the young players in the organization. I don’t think I’d want to do it in any other organization than this. I feel this is my second home.”

I really hope Baldelli can get his shoulder issue taken care of and make his way back to the bigs once again. He’ll never be the .300 hitter with blazing speed that he once was but he could still be a productive fourth outfielder if he can get healthy.

In the meantime, hopefully the youngsters take his advice as he was once a very productive major league starter.

The signing came easy, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Rays and Soriano have agreed to a one-year deal. The contract would be worth $7 to 8 million, about what the Braves would of had to pay him after arbitration. One important note, the contract is not guaranteed (a rarity in baseball). So that takes care of obstacle one.

This afternoon teams are exchanging medical records on Chavez and Soriano, that’s what worries me a little bit about the deal. With a non-guaranteed contract I wonder if the Rays are worried about Soriano’s health and rightfully so. He had an amazing 2009 season, (2.97 ERA with 102 strikeouts (2nd amongst non-starters) and 27 saves in 77 appearances) but has had injury concerns throughout his career. In 2008, he made only 14 appearances because of right elbow problems something that I guess is inevitable when you throw as hard as he does.

I’m thinking the records will check out and the Rays make the trade official. The non-guaranteed contract will protect them in case he does get injured at some point before camp begins.

This trade does do something very important, it puts the Rays back in the American League Wild Card hunt. The bullpen was an Achilles heal for the Rays last season.

The Troy Percival gamble didn’t pay off for a second year and they could never find someone to be that lock down pitcher in the 9th inning. J.P. Howell (17 saves) did alright but he’s not a closer. By trading for Soriano they get a pitcher who could quickly become an elite closer in the A.L.

One or two more moves and the Rays will be knocking on the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees doors again next season. It looks like management got a taste of winning in 2008 and didn’t appreciate losing again in 2009. So its good to see them making moves to get that taste back. At least one Florida team is doing things to make themselves contenders year in and year out.

In 2009, Sheffield has hit .277 with 10 homers and 43 runs batted in, his on base percentage is still a pretty good .369 as well. All of that in just 97 games and a low 267 at bats.

The one thing that will hold him back for returning next year is health. He’s proven he can produce when healthy but also proven he’s now an injury prone old man. At his age, I’m sure he’d only want to play for a contender and only way a contender would look at him is if he proved he can stay healthy. I’m going to give Sheff credit as he knows that’s the case.

“No. 1 is health — dedication and health,” Sheffield said. “You’re going to get out what you put in.”

Kevin Kernan of the New York Post reports that Sheffield is going to work on his conditioning this off season, “He’s going to train with boxer Winky Wright and get down to about 210 pounds. His goal, he said, is to play 150 games. ”

I think if Sheffield can improve his conditioning and stay healthy, he could have a big 2010. He’s always been the guy that wants to prove others wrong. It’s why he always plays his best against former teams. Look at the New York Yankees, he’s hit 5 homers in 58 at bats against them since he was traded away. He knows he can produce and loves to stick it to the teams who said he couldn’t anymore.

If the Mets let him walk after this season, which is almost a certainty, he’ll have that much more incentive to come back at a high level.

Now that brings up another thing, what teams would be interested in his services?

Kernan lists the Tampa Bay Rays, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers as possibilities if he can’t return to New York. Notice a trend there?

Tampa Bay and Florida are turning into big rivals of the two New York teams. Both teams are also close to his Tampa home. Both teams need a legitimate slugger. Both can use some swagger and Sheffield could definitely bring that.

My money is on Sheffield being a major league outfielder again in 2010, where I’m not sure. But if he’s healthy count on him hitting at least 20 homers again.

One has to wonder to if this is the end of Izzy’s career. It typically takes pitchers one to two years to fully recover from Tommy John, which is quite a while when your career is drawing to a close.

Personally, I think Izzy may try to return from this injury. He’s put up some pretty respectable numbers so far this year, although in a small sample. In 8 innings, he’s 0-1 with a blown save but an era of 2.25 and 6 strikeouts. The problem he’s had was mainly with his control walking 5, which could be the result of not pitching for so long. After his dreadful 2008 it looked like he was on track for a decent comeback.

Does he have another comeback in him? Who knows but if he doesn’t he can at least look back and say he had an outstanding career. During the early portion of the decade he could at least say he was one of the best and most reliable closers in baseball.

If this is the end his career line will read 293 saves, 46 blown with 45-50 record and a 3.60 era. With the bloated era and loss record due to his days as a mediocre starter for the New York Mets.

Hinske had arguably his best season as a pro in 2008 and he wasn’t even an everyday starter. For the season he had only 381 at bats but tallied 20 homeruns and 21 rbis. Not bad numbers at all for a bench player. The real benefit for the Pirates thou isn’t the power its the versatility of Hinske. He can play almost anywhere they want him too. He can play all three outfield positions, first base, third base and pinch hit. And he can even be a solid DH when the Pirates make their annual visits to the American League. So when you consider his power with that versatility you’ve got a very valuable guy, especially in the National League.

For the “small market” Pirates there is something even better thou, he’s affordable! Last season with the Tampa Bay Rays he was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training and wound up earning $800,000 for making the roster. While I think he’ll make more then that this season you can’t expect him to be more then $2 or $3 million, if he even gets that much. So the Pirates will wind up getting a power utility bat at a price even they can afford. That’s a win win in my book.

If this somehow falls through the Pirates may consider bringing in the aging wonder Luis Gonzalez. For Pirates fans, I hope you can land Hinske cause Gonzalez really won’t provide anything of interest.

The most popular name thrown around this winter is Jason Giambi. The Oakland lineup hasn’t been the same since the slugger left for the New York Yankees before the 2002 season. So the A’s are looking to turn back the clock and revisit the years when they had a power bat crushing the ball. That is something that Giambi can still provide, granted his average and on base percentage is down from the past he’ll be hugely beneficial to the Athletics.

So whom else is Beane looking at? The San Francisco Chronicle suggests Bobby Abreu and Garret Anderson.

Oakland has been looking at another former Yankees player in Abreu whom actually looks like the best option for them out of the three players. Abreu doesn’t have the power, never really did but he’s an on base and run producing machine. He’s driven in over 100 runs the past seven seasons and could be a huge bat behind newly acquired Matt Holliday. With the patience of Abreu, a career .405 obp, teams would be required to throw to Holliday. If Oakland is serious about adding Abreu they better act quickly thou, as the Chicago White Sox and AL Champions Tampa Bay Rays are showing interest.

Garret Anderson is a player the A’s have a considerable history with as a lifelong member of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The 36-year old can still produce but might not be someone the A’s should spend considerable money on. At least that’s what I think. If Beane actually did sign him you’d have to wonder if the A’s are changing their organizational philosophy. Over his career Anderson has walked minimally, his career obp is only a .327 not a number that Beane would be a big fan about. In addition, Anderson averages around a 3.4 in pitches per at-bat, definitely not the plate patience Billy typically likes for his hitters.

Regardless of what happens is refreshing to see Billy Beane trying to add players. Watching him constantly trade players as they become expensive has gotten pretty tiring. I’m not an Oakland fan at all, but as a baseball fan I hate seeing teams move players a year or two before their pay day. I hate the small markets excuse about money, keep the guys around try to win some games it will bring the fans in. Regardless seeing Matt Holliday come to town and possibly others is a nice change of pace. Bringing in at least one bat to go with Matt would definitely help Oakland compete with the Angels in the weak American League West.

Going after Bradley only makes sense for the Cubs. The Cubs glaring hole last year was left handed hitting. The team had no real presence at that side of the plate and down the stretch teams took advantage of that. How? There was no need to ever change pitchers based on the match-ups. Ibanez would of been the perfect person to solve their needs, a power lefty. Bradley on the other hand isn’t a bad alternative. He can hit for power, he can fit for average and what’s even better? He’s not just a lefty, he’s a switch hitter who can hit equally from each side.

The Cubs are going to have to work hard at it thou if they want Bradley. One of Milton’s reps told the Sun-Times that his client is interested and that the Cubs are at the top of the list. The question thou is how many years and what kind of salary he wants. The lower the salary burden would bring more players to the table. The American League Champs, the Tampa Bay Rays, are very interested in Bradley but only at the right price. Should it be a lower salary then the Cubbies should be very worried about these other players.

The Rays have a lot more to offer Bradley should he not care about the money. Lessening his monetary demands would let him play in the league he knows best and also play his best position, the designated hitter. The biggest knock on Bradley has always been his health and any team signing him has to be worried about that. Only three times during his nine year career has he played over 100 games, not a good sign. To me thou Milton not caring about the money would be a shock.

Where he winds up should be interesting. Knowing Bradley and his history I’d say he goes for the money and winds up in Chicago.

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First, divisional championship coin flips. These would only occur should there be a tie for the division title. I repeat these will ONLY occur if there is a tie.
Minnesota Twins @ Chicago White Sox
Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox
New York Mets @ Philadelphia Phillies
Chicago Cubs @ Milwaukee Brewers
Arizona Diamondbacks @ Los Angeles Dodgers.

I’d say the three teams here that would benefit the most would be Boston, Philadelphia and Milwaukee. Milwaukee because they get away from those Cubbie faithful. Philly and Boston are winners because they get to play in front of their wild fan bases.

Now the Wild Card Scenarios. Again these would only take place should there be a tie.
Minnesota Twins @ Boston Red Sox
Milwaukee Brewers @ Philadelphia Phillies
Milwaukee Brewers @ Houston Astros
Houston Astros or St. Louis Cardinals @ Philadelphia Phillies
Houston Astros or Milwaukee Brewers @ St. Louis Cardinals

The Phillies are huge winners here as they would host any tie breaking game in front of their rabid fan base.

The Rays already have a pretty good bullpen but Bradford gives them playoff experience. Bradford is a proven winner in the playoffs, appearing in 15 and 1/3 innings over 17 games giving up ZERO runs. No pitcher has logged more innings before giving up his first playoff run. His post season appearances have come with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets. Bradford is by no means a flame thrower and definitely won’t rack up strikeouts but he will be a solid addition. This year he’s sporting a 2.45 era over 40 and 1/3 innings with only 13 strikeouts.

I’m glad to see the Rays making moves like this, it shows this team truly is serious about winning. It only took 11 seasons, but hey greatness takes time. If you live in the Tampa region you should definitely head out to Tropicana Field for a game.