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Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Hot Stove Roundup

Quick recap of some of the major moves made yesterday and today.

Alex Rios to Royals for 1 year, $11 million
Rios fits the Royals mold to a T: .280 hitter with good speed but zero pop. Has declined pretty steadily over the past two years and will be 34 on Opening Day, but I buy him being a league average bat for at least one more year.

Brad Penny to White Sox for minor league deal
I wasn't even aware that Penny (36) was still in the majors (as of last year). Shows how much I know.

Brandon Morrow to Padres for 1 year, $2.5 million (+5 for starting, +1 for relieving)
The once-promising starter is now 30 and has been abysmal the past two years (5.65 ERA), but at that price it's worth seeing if he can recapture his form at PetCo.

Brett Anderson to Dodgers for 1 year, $10 million
Five years ago Anderson was considered one of the most promising young pitchers in baseball, but a slew of injuries have prevented him from pitching 85 innings in each of the past four years. He has pitched well when healthy, though, and should benefit from Dodger Stadium. Plus he's only going to be 27 next year. I like his bounce back chances a lot, but there's a good chance he won't even make double-digit starts.

Chris Capuano to Yankees for 1 year, $5 million
New York re-signed Capuano, who pitched not-terribly out of their rotation last year with Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia out. Is a solid backup option and can come out of the bullpen if needed, but at 36 he may be nearing the end of the line.

Edinson Volquez to Royals for 2 years, $20 million
Enjoyed a nice rebound with the Pirates last year, but I wouldn't bet on it happening again in the American League. Volquez was horrible and often-injured in the five seasons before last, which makes me inclined to think he'll revert to his previous struggles with KC.

Jed Lowrie to Astros for 3 years, $23 million
Lowrie returns to Houston, where he played in 2012 before being traded to Oakland. Similar to J.D. Drew offensively, but his glove isn't nearly as good. A fair price for a solid shortstop.

Mike Morse to Marlins for 2 years, $16 million
Solid move by the Marlins, adding a player who, when healthy, has been one of the best hitters in the game over the past five years. His 125 wRC+ during that time ties him with Nelson Cruz, Carlos Beltran, Justin Upton, and Bryce Harper. Morse is a risk given his age (he'll be 33 next year) and injury history (has averaged just 113 games player per year over the past five), but affordable impact bats are hard to come by these days.

Sergio Romo to Giants for 2 years, $15 million
Classic Giants overpaying to retain one of their own. His FIP and ERA have risen in each of the past three seasons while his ERA+ and BBrate has fallen, a troubling trend for someone who's going to be 32 next year. Don't get me wrong, he's a solid reliever who got a little unlucky last year with his home run/fly ball rate, and he'll be worth the money if he pitches like he did from 2010 to 2013, but I wouldn't pay $15 million to see if last year was really an aberration.

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