Welcome back to the Hot Stove League running commentary, where I rate the major (and minor) off-season moves throughout the league. Plenty of hirings, firings, dumpings, and resignings still going on. Track 'em all.

October, November, and January moves.

1. 12/16/04: Braves acquire Tim Hudson from the A's for Dan Meyer, Juan Cruz, and Charles Thomas. Oakland gets some great young depth, and relieve themselves of tense negotiations; Atlanta gets yet another ace and can keep the East at bay.
2. 12/16/04: Pirates pick up Benito Santiago from the Royals for A-baller Leo Nunez. The Pirates get an experienced, capable catcher to replace the traded Jason Kendall. With Lawton at lead-off and Santiago behind the plate, the Pirates have two strong veterans who should help the team make some noise.
3. 12/17/04: Red Sox fill the six-hole with Edgar Renteria for four years, $40 million with a club option for 2009. While Orlando Cabrera took $8 million less from the Angels a week later, Renteria is almost a year younger and has more experience on the field.
4. 12/6/04: Dodgers sign Ricky Ledee to a two-year deal. Ledee will make a great backup for Milton Bradley, and will get plenty of opportunity to play when (not if) Bradley is serving suspensions.
5. 12/7/04: Cubs take care of three positions at once, resigning Nomar Garciaparra and Todd Walker, and adding Henry Blanco. Blanco proved invaluable to the Twins last year; Garciaparra and Walker will play hard for next year's free agent market.
6. 12/18/04: A's lift pitchers Dan Haren and Kiko Calero, and catcher Daric Barton for ace Mark Mulder. Haren showed his potential during the post-season and will pitch well in the Coliseum. Calero will be a strong set-up man. Barton, however, absolutely confuses me as part of this deal. The 19 year-old has looked amazing in rookie (835 OPS) and A-ball (956 OPS). But didn't Billy Beane draft Jeremy Brown and John Baker to be his Moneyball catchers of the future and pass twice on Barton? While Baker should come up in 2005 and Brown in 2006, I think Beane projects Barton as an All-Star in 2007.
   
   I think the Cardinals relied too heavily on the number of wins Mulder had and not his performace. He looked awful after the All-Star break last year, and missed the last 45 days of 2003. While the Cardinals have him for at least two years for $12.75 million, he may have been used too hard in Oakland over the last five seasons (1000 innings in 150 starts by age 27). The A's save a lot of money and a lot of potential disaster here.
7. 12/9/04: Padres add Eric Young cheaply, signing him for $1 million next year.
8. 12/12/04: Brewers trade slumping Scott Podsednik, Luis Vizcaino, and a player to be named to the White Sox for Carlos Lee. Podsednik hit a wall last year, hitting 70 points below his rookie season but stole 70 bases. He may wind up being late-inning replacement in Chicago. Lee adds an up-and-coming star; he's consistent, durable, and will provide a good core in left field.
9. 12/14/04: Indians bring Jose Hernandez into their infield to backup Jhonny Peralta and Brandon Phillips. At $1.8 million, that's a fairly cheap insurance policy. He's also dealable down the stretch if the Indians fall out of contention.
10. 12/15/04: A's pick up Keith Ginter for discards Nelson Cruz and Justin Lehr. Ginter hit 19 dingers last year in 113 games, but had 100 strikeouts with only 37 walks. He'll be a good bench bat, and will learn some discipline. Lehr has a shot to be Milwaukee's closer now that Danny Kolb is in Atlanta, but he's far from ready.
11. 12/14/04: Angels rent Paul Byrd for a year at $4.5 million. While his record doesn't reflect it, he had a decent year, with a 4:1 strikeout to walk ratio. He's had injury trouble, so the one year is a smart option by Bill Stoneman.
12. 12/3/04: Yankees trade the aging Kenny Lofton to the Phillies for Felix Rodriguez. This works out well for both teams. Rodriguez will sop up innings in middle relief; Lofton provides good bench depth for the Phils.
13. 12/6/04: Red Sox claim Tim Bausher from the waiver wire. Bausher needs good coaching; he has a good strikeout to walk ratio, but gives up too many homers.
14. 12/16/04: Mets sign Pedro Martinez for four-years, $53 million. This is good and bad (see below). He'll put fannies in the seats and spike paraphenalia sales, for certain. He can help recruit players from the DR. The 1-2-3 of Glavine, Martinez, and Benson is frightening (and would have been devastating with Kazmir as a 4th). The rotation is set.
15. 12/14/04: Angels dump David Eckstein for smooth fielding Orlando Cabrera for four-years, $32 million. This is a huge upgrade for the Angels at an $8 million savings over Renteria. I'm sure Vlad will be glad to see a familiar face in the lineup, too.
16. 12/11/04: Indians find their set-up man in Arthur Rhodes and erase a bad decision from three years ago by sending Matt Lawton to the Pirates. Neither of these players would benefit by being where they were, so this is good for both the teams and the very overpaid players.
17. 12/13/04: Angels put Estaban Yan in their bullpen for two years and a little over $2 million. He could wind up being their closer by the end of 2005, but will most likely be a strong set-up man. Good, cheap veteran signing.
18. 12/20/04: Reds bring in veteran middle-reliever Kent Mercker for two-years, $2.6 million. Mercker brings consistency to a club with pitching woes. The Reds need to concentrate on patching holes like this while rebuilding from scratch. Ben Weber and Dave Weathers were not the right first steps; Mercker is.
19. 12/29/04: Yankees bring Tino Martinez back in the fold for one-year at $3 million (optional second year makes it $5.75 million total). With Giambi's career in peril, having a good veteran 1B who knows the team, the town, and the ballpark is a good option. Tony Clark, John Olerud, and Travis Lee were not the answers; Yankee 1B hit a collective .229 BA/.739 OPS. Given the other real option for 1B in free agency is Carlos Delgado, this is a wise, economic move.
20. 12/10/04: Rangers bring Richard Hidalgo back to the Lone Star State for one year at a pricey $5 million. But that $5 million could be cheap if he returns to his pre-Met numbers.
21. 12/23/04: Mets make a bunch of minor league deals (with spring training invites), hit and miss. Hits — pitchers Grant Roberts and Scott Strickland, infielder Marlon Anderson, catchers Ramon Castro and Andy Dominique, and outfielder Kerry Robinson. Three of these guys, if not all, will make the 40 man. Miss: Andres Gallaraga, Luis Garcia, and Gerald Williams.
22. 12/23/04: It's still Lima Time! Jose Lima makes a return trip to the Royals, signing a one-year deal. Given his volatility, he's going to be stringing one-year deals the rest of his career. Having a somewhat reliable pitcher in the rotation will help KC get off the mat.
23. 12/17/04: Mariners answer the $64 million question — who do you have hit between Richie Sexson ($50 million) and Ichiro? Answer. Adrian Beltre. The Dodgers gain a draft pick, having offer Beltre arbitration. The Mariners finally get a good 3B. Beltre showed incredible improvement last year, decreasing his strikeouts, increasing his walks, and collecting 200 hits en route to a 1.017 OPS. In combination with Ichiro, you have the table well set for Sexson — if Beltre remains in this form. That's the big question mark that dogs Beltre and Sexson in Seattle — can they live up to the expectations?
24. 12/21/04: Cardinals essentially complete a three-team swap of shortstops by signing David Eckstein for three years, $10.25 million. He's a servicable infielder, and a better choice than Barry Larkin. Don't be surprised, however, if Larkin doesn't wind up here as a second baseman (or Eck flipping to second for Larkin). By the way, Walt Jocketty's minor league cupboard is starting to look bare. With Dan Haren gone, only Yadier Molina has had any significant major league time from the last five drafts
25. 12/23/04: Red Sox sign Wade Miller to a one-year deal. I'd have put this in the bad signings had it been any longer. Miller's arm woes concern me, but a one-year deal works out best for both teams. If he pitches well, the Sox get a big reward, plus first crack at resigning him. If he's still dinged or pitches like Barney Miller, they can part ways easily, no harm, no foul.

1. 12/22/04: Doug Ault dies at the age of 54 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
2. 12/3/04: Denny Neagle blows his career... or at least $19 million to $22.5 million over the next two years. While the Players Union is appealing, they'll probably drop the appeal if he pleads no contest or guilty to the solicitation charge. Colorado has been looking for a way out of his contract since last year, especially after was arrested for drunk driving (he pled guilty to) for drunk driving.
3. 12/9/04: Diamondbacks spend $45 million on Troy Glaus over four years. Joe Garigiola, Jr., should be fired, plain and simple. He has bankrupted this franchise for short-term gain; last season's Richie Sexson debacle proves he should no longer be in charge of decisionmaking. This team's financial condition is worse than the Pittsburgh Penguins (with similar results) and making big moves on broken players such as Glaus will not magically restore the bottom line. Baseball will be forced to contract the D-backs, or bail them out financially.
4. 12/2/04: Blue Jays trade Thomas Mastny (named on Dec 14) to the Indians for utilityman John McDonald. The Indians had designated McDonald for assignment after a lackluster career. Plenty of other decent, younger infielders available, such as Jason Skrehot. Mastny went 10-3 with a 2.17 ERA this past year in Single A, following an 8-1 season the year before. This deal will bite Toronto on the ass in two years, if not sooner.
5. 12/21/04: Reds address their pitching and injury woes by bring in Joe Randa. Randa has never hit more than 16 homers in a season, and hasn't hit over .300 since 2000. He's also missed 70 games over the past two seasons. This is a team that desperately needs Tony Blanco, Bradon Larson, or someone to step up as the next 3B. At least they only got stuck with Randa for one year.
6. 12/10/04: Compounding their blunder with Troy Glaus, the Diamondbacks throw $33 million at Russ Ortiz over four years. That's $78 million in two players over four years. Ortiz may have packed on some wins last year, but his strikeout to walk ratio isn't great. Four straight years of rising ERA is also a red flag. He looked fairly awful the last two months of last season as well.
7. 12/9/04: Dodgers add Jeff Kent for two years at $17 million. Far too much money for a guy I almost guarantee will cause problems with Milton Bradley. That's too much for a 36 year-old infielder. His numbers will decline severely in Chavez Ravine; given his recent decline in a hitters park, he's looking at a .275 season.
8. 12/16/04: Braves trade Eli Marrero to the Royals for Jorge Vazquez. Marrero came over in the trade with JD Drew, and hit .320 while playing in 90 games. His injury-proneness made him expendable (and unwelcome) in Atlanta. Atlanta paid too dearly for him to only get Vazquez. Marrero came over with JD Drew for Jason Marquis (15-7) and Adam Wainright (9.1 K9 in AAA), and reliever Ray King (5 wins, 31 holds). Drew had a monster season (1.005 OPS) but Marquis and King were vital for the Cards. Drew is now a free agent and won't resign with the Braves.
9. 12/19/04: Padres make the oddest trade of the off-season: Jay Payton, Ramon Vazquez, David Pauley and cash for Dave Roberts, a 32-year old journeyman outfielder. Had they gotten Julia Roberts instead, it would have been a decent deal. But Roberts was the odd-man out in Boston. Payton was signed last year for $5.5 million over 2 years, a far cry from his glory days. Vazquez hasn't shown much at the big league level, and will be a bench player at best in Boston. Pauly is only 21, but has lingered in Single-A ball for three years now. But I think the important part of this deal will be the cash. Cash never hurts, and Payton will make a paid-for backup.
10. 12/8/04: Marlins sign aging Al Leiter to a one-year deal. Leiter was fantastic in the booth this off-season — I think he's found his niche. Paying him $8 million for a single season (when they let I-Rod go last year for similar money) is overspending for a 39-year-old lefty.
11. 12/16/04: Mets sign Pedro Martinez for four-years, $53 million (see above as well). He looked human last year. His ERA was 3.90, up from the low 2s. He only completed one game. He fell apart in pressure games. Folks hit .238 against him, up from .199 two years prior. His speed is down. His walks are way up. He's had shoulder issues. Folks hit a lot more fly balls on him than ever before. He pitched poorly with men on base. Let's just say, there's a lot to be nervous about in New York. Then again, the season after he gave up 100 runs in 216 innings (like last year), he earned his first Cy Young award. But I think Pedro may only have two years left in the tank.
12. 12/10/04: Speaking of old, the Angels add 39-year-old Steve Finley to the outfield for two years with a potential third at the price tag of $14 million, minimum. While he's a better fit and more reliable than say Jose Guillen he's also showing some wear around the edges in his numbers.
13. 12/8/04: Phillies spend $21 million over three years on Jon Leiber. Leiber had a good season coming back from surgery, but that's a big investment in a risky player. With Eric Milton and Kevin Millwood in arbitration at the moment, having Randy Wolf, Cory Lidle and Leiber as the 1-2-3 is a scary proposition.
14. 12/27/04: Giants continue to spend on aging veterans by grabbing Moises Alou to the roster with a one-year deal, plus a player option. Sure Moises is manager Felipe's son. But $13 to $14 million for a 38 year-old player-son? While he did have 39 homers last season (4th among all NL outfielders), he had 37 in the two years prior combined, and slumped horribly in June, dropping 47 points in batting average.
15. 12/14/04: Not to be outdone, but the Red Sox bring David Wells to Boston for two years, $8 million. Ten years ago, sure. But Boomer is now 41 years old. Granted, few pitchers are smarter on the mound than Wells. If his body holds out, he'll be quite comfy in Boston.
16. 12/10/04: Marlins bring back Antonio Alfonseca for two years and $4.75 million. Remember the reason you traded him away in the first place? Adding a couple years won't improve his back.
17. 12/29/04: Yankees finalize a three-year, $21 million contract with Jaret Wright. While he finally showed some maturity last year (i.e., not accusing the umpires of calling balls against him in the press), his 3.28 ERA is the first time he's seen the good side of 4.50 since his rookie year 4.38 in 16 games. He gave up 5 homers for the Braves in two appearances in the post-season in 2004, something hungover from his post-season appearances with the Indians. His flashes of brilliance are too few and far between to rate a three-year deal for this level of money, especially since he's had two shoulder surgeries and initially failed the Yankee physical.
18. 12/14/04: Blue Jays attract Corey Koskie with a three-year, $17 million deal. Koskie couldn't get a no-trade clause from the Twins, who couldn't afford his injury risk. While Koskie is a consistent hitter and a fantastic fielder, I wonder what the Blue Jays have planned for Eric Hinske.
19. 12/15/04: Giants show the league how smart Terry Ryan is: they release A J Pierzynski, one season after trading Joe Nathan, Boof Bonser, and Francisco Liriano for him. Nathan was lights out this year, and Bonser should make the bigs in late 2005/early 2006.
20. 12/23/04: Merry Christmas, JD Drew. The Dodgers sign him to a five-year, $55 million deal. He's managed to physically survive his first full season in the bigs, after five previous attempts, and gets a $7 million a year boost from one good season and a ton of hype. His numbers will dampen in Chavez Ravine, especially with Adrian Beltre not in the Dodger blue.
21. 12/9/04: Braves bring back Julio Franco for one year at $1 million. The last time we had a player in the bigs at the age of 47 was Nolan Ryan. Julio Franco is no Nolan Ryan. He's closer to Rosy Ryan... but mostly in age.
22. 12/11/04: Brewers trade Danny Kolb to the Braves for Jose Capellan and a player to be named (Alec Zumwalt). Kolb was a beautiful find by the Brewers, claiming him off of the Rangers' waiver wire. After 60 saves in two seasons, to be dumped two middling prospects is clearly done in the name of payroll savings, not winning.
23. 12/16/04: Mariners overspend for Richie Sexson, securing him for 4 years, $50 million. That's a lot to pay for a guy who missed most of last season with an injury, has never hit above .280 for a season, and has only had one .900+ OPS season.
24. 12/27/04: It's official. Cincinnati is where pitchers go to die. Eric Milton gets sentenced to three years (third year being a player option) for $25.5 million. Outside of near no-no against the Cubs in July (that wound up a no decision) and two strong outings against the Braves back-to-back early on, he showed little that's worth $8 million a season. While his near-5 ERA should improve in the Great American Ballpark, his left knee got him exiled from Minnesota for Carlos Silva. While Milton won 14 in Philly, Silva did so in Minnesota #151; for league minimum.
25. 12/1/04: Angels sign Kendry Morales to a six-year deal. I'm going to assume he got a lot of money in this deal; terms haven't been disclosed yet. If Bill Stoneman got him for a "bargain" this will be a good deal. However, given the absolute flop players like Andy Morales have been, I'd be wary of any long-term, big money deal with a Cuban player.
26. 12/15/04: More bad spending by the Diamondbacks: Craig Counsell is back in an Arizona uniform for two years, $3.1 million. He hit about .241 as a full-timer last year in Milwaukee. He's a backup at best, and there are plenty of others out there who can do more for that price.
27. 12/16/04: Mets use a roster spot on Ron Calloway, grabbing him off the Nationals waiver wire. Calloway has some raw ability, but it hasn't translated into big league success. If someone can turn him around, he'll be a gem. But he's 28... sort of late to figure it out.
28. 12/15/04: The Reds finally address their pitching by bringing in a pair of 35 year-old pitchers, Ben Weber and David Weathers. Weathers was last with the Reds in 1998, as a pitstop on his multiteam tour of the majors. Weber looked good in 2002 and 2003, but fell apart in 2004, stinking up both the bigs and AAA. The Reds need the arms, but they need better arms.
29. 12/8/04: Padres sign Geoff Blum to a one-year deal. Blum should have been signed to a minor league deal. Giving him a spot on the roster hurts this team.
30. 12/3/04: Yankees bring Mike Stanton back to the American League, swapping equally ineffective Felix Heredia with the Mets. If Stanton makes it through spring training, it'd be a wise idea to leave him off the plane to Boston.
31. 12/20/04: Yankees sign Tony Womack for two-years, $4 million. While Womack hit .307 for St. Louis with 26 steals, he'll revert to a .275 hitter in New York if a starter (if his back holds up). The Yanks need a young 2b who could hit... oh they had one... never mind. At least this is a fairly cheap contract.
32. 12/9/04: White Sox bring Jermaine Dye to the Windy City to replace Magglio Ordonez at $10+ million for two years, with an option for 2007. That's sort of like replacing real coffee with Folgers Crystals. He'll do fine, but won't provide the leadership or spark necessary to get the Sox out of their morass. This deal could turn out well if Kenny Williams can manage to deal a young outfielder for catching and pitching.
33. 12/16/04: Twins bring Terry Mulholland back for one more year, signing him to a minor-league deal. While he started 15 games down the stretch last season, he won zero games against opponents with a .500 or better record. If he's still able to stand, he'll probably make the squad.