Just hours after reports that free agent Carl Crawford was most likely going to sign with the Los Angeles Angels, the Boston Red Sox swooped in and snatched him up tight, for 7 years and a whopping $142 million. Just days after acquiring first baseman Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Padres, this is another Boston move that seems almost overly aggressive. After missing the playoffs entirely following 2 World Series titles in the past decade, ending their 86-year drought, it seems like GM Theo Epstein is so embarrassed about their near-miss last season that he's leaving no stone unturned in this year's Winter Madness. The new boys in town certainly make a lineup that's extremely potent, both in the field and at the plate: Crawford's speed on the basepath and Gonzalez's predisposal to hit hotly will make a very nice 1-2 punch either atop the lineup or snugly in the middle. Hopefully, they'll regain some important pieces of the puzzle that led to them falling short of October: Dustin Pedroia should be healthy from his foot injury; Jason Varitek, although he'll have to split time behind the plate with recently-acquired Jarrod Saltalamacchia (say that 5 times fast), will hopefully have a healthier season than his 39 games in '10; and Mike Cameron will find himself in a bit of a predicament with this situation, as he'll most likely be coming off the bench in favor of Crawdaddy...although, for Terry Francona, this isn't a terrible problem to have. Some analysts were already projecting Boston to be the "Team to Beat" in 2011; with these recent developments, even this hardcore Yankees fan is feeling uneasy about the BoSox.
Also making news today was Crawford's ex-teammate, fellow free agent Carlos Pena. He signed a 1 year deal with the Cubs for $10 million. Quite an awful lot of money for such an underperforming player: 28 homers are nice, but 158 strikeouts contributing to a .196 batting average is pretty unacceptable. You have to truly work to strike out as often as he did in 2010. At least in an American League team, he would have had a chance to be a full-time designated hitter, but his defensive prowess seems to outweigh his offensive woes: he's committed only 55 errors in his 10 years in the majors, nearly half of them coming in his 4 years in Tampa. Considering the lack of depth the Cubbies have not only at first base but nearly everywhere in the infield, this move is a lot better than it seems. Aside from upstart shortstop Starlin Castro, the Cubs' infield seems to be inexperienced and weak, so maybe Pena can liven things up a little bit. However, I'm still concerned with that batting average: that's coming in a league where once you get past Sabathia and Greinke, you won't have much trouble hitting off of anyone else. Now, Pena's in a league where he'll have to face Roy Halladay, Ubaldo Jimenez, Adam Wainwright, Tim Lincecum, and so on. Who's to say those whiffs will go down? Here's hoping.
Speaking of Chicago and first basemen, the White Sox made what will probably be their best move this offseason and resigned Paul Konerko to a 3 year/$37.5 million deal. This deal makes the possibility of having freshly attained Adam Dunn handle designated hitter responsibilities all but a certainty. Of course, it also means that Dunn can take care of business on the field should Konerko be incapacitated for any amount of time. The White Sox are certainly determined to end Minnesota's recent fortunes after capturing 3 division titles from underneath old Ozzie Guillen's nose since their World Series win in 2005. With these two in the lineup and the added defensive depth they now have, putting them together with young infielders such as Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez (both of whom have shown tremendous potential), a limitless amount of depth at catcher with A.J. Pierzynski (spelled without looking, thank you) and Ramon Castro, and the seemingly unflappable Mark Buehrle pitching every 5 days, they can certainly give Manager of the Year Ron Gardenhire and unstoppable Joey Mauer a run for their money in the AL Central.
Finally, things are heating up this offseason. Stay tuned for more updates as they happen.
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