The Atlanta Braves have acquired center fielder Mark Kotsay from the Oakland A’s for right-handers Joey Devine and Jamie Richmond. The good news is that Atlanta is on the hook for just $2 million of Kotsay’s $7.325 salary in ‘08. The bad news is that Kotsay hasn’t been even marginally productive since 2005.
Kotsay is 32 years old and has battled numerous injuries over the years, primarily back problems. Kotsay, of course, says he feels great, but it’s easy to feel great in January, when you’re not playing actual games.
Personally I have a soft spot for Kotsay, who did a nice …read more

I’m slow on this because I wanted to make sure the deal didn’t get Yorvitized. Yep, it’s a verb now. Why? Hey, why not.
Yorvitize – v. To publicly announce a contract signing as done and then go back on the announcement.
Here it is in a sentence:
Man, I’ll bet Phillies fans are bummed that their deal with J.C. Romero didn’t get Yorvitized.
Anyway.
The Brewers have inked Mike Cameron to a 1-year, $7 million deal that was finalized Monday. The 35-year-old center fielder, who spent the past two seasons with the San Diego Padres, will miss the first 25 games of 2008 while …read more

The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed center fielder Andruw Jones to a 2-year deal worth a reported $36 million. That’s a little pricey for my taste, but not outrageous, and it’s only two years. The problem is, this signing leaves me with more questions than answers:

What happens to Juan Pierre? If he slides over to left, as some have speculated, he becomes even more worthless than he already is. Don’t get me wrong, as a Padres fan, I’d love nothing more than to see the Dodgers run Pierre out to a corner spot every day, but I can’t bring myself …read more

Serious catch-up mode here. Free agent center fielder Torii Hunter has signed with the Angels. The deal is 5 years, $90 million, which is just nuts for a 32-year-old with a career OBP of .324. Hey, at least it’s not my money.
(Guest blogger TD — thanks, bud! — covered this transaction while I cavorted about the Pacific and was similarly unimpressed.)
I don’t really see how the Angels were even players here given that they threw $50 million at Gary Matthews Jr. last winter to play Hunter’s position. Matthews had a nice little Damion Easley type season, which isn’t bad, but …read more