COLUMN: Offseason activity provides buzz for 2013 MLB season
April is almost here, yet the cold and windy South Dakota weather won’t go away. What does that mean? Baseball is back!
Spring training has been underway for all 30 Major League Baseball teams for about a month, as we keep getting closer to opening night March 31.
Spring training is a good way for MLB fans everywhere to start getting excited for summer, sunflower seeds, peanuts and most importantly, baseball. With baseball being a topic of discussion for sports fans, spring training reminds us of some of the biggest headlines of the 2013-14 season.
First and foremost, for a second consecutive season we saw players switching teams via free agency to sign lucrative contracts with another team. Last season first baseman Prince Fielder jolted to Detroit for $210 million, while St. Louis Cardinal icon Albert Pujols took $240 million to join the Los Angeles Angels.
Like I said, this offseason was no different. The prize of the offseason was Josh Hamilton. Fresh off a career-high 43 homeruns, Hamilton followed the money, leaving the Texas Rangers to team up with Albert Pujols and the Angels for five years $125 million.
On the other side of town we all saw the Los Angeles Dodgers throw around millions of dollars. They signed former National League Cy Young Award winner, Zack Greinke, to a record contract for a pitcher. The details of the contract amounted to $147 million over six seasons, the most money ever given to a right-handed pitcher.
Some other big name players on the move were outfielders Michael Bourn (to Cleveland), Torii Hunter (to Detroit) and Shane Victorino (to Boston). Like every year, fans will be seeing which team spent their money wisely and who overpaid for the players they added.
Another big story leading up to the season is the outfield in Atlanta. The Braves have been on the cusp of greatness for the past two seasons. Over the offseason they saw all-time great Chipper Jones retire. To make up for the loss (and more) they made two key acquisitions, acquiring two of the most dynamic outfielders in baseball. And get this, they’re brothers! They handed out $80 million over five years for former Rays’ center fielder BJ Upton and a few months later made a trade with the Diamondbacks for his younger brother Justin. Team those two up with phenom Jason Heyward, and in my mind, you have the best outfield in the league.
Spring training should sound like music to Minnesota Twins fans’ ears. Over the past two seasons, the Twins have gone 129-195. All this from a team that had made the playoffs in six of the past nine years. Unfortunately for Twins fans, expect the losing to continue.
Twins general manager made bold moves in the offseason, trading away two of the teams most efficient players in outfielders, Denard Span and Ben Revere. The Twins sent a message, showing they were willing to sacrifice their short-term success for future success. The trades brought in some young talent and Minnesota is now rated the number two farm system in baseball. There may be another couple of rough seasons in store for Twins fans, but these trades should be setting up another great nine-year stretch.
Another thing for baseball fans to keep an eye on again deals with money. Zack Greinke has set the precedent for paying highly-talented arms. With pitchers like Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw and David Price arguably all having better resumes, will baseball be seeing its first $200 million arm? Don’t be shocked to see it happen.
