A Brief Exposition Of Random Musings Regarding The 2012-2013 Offseason (Part 1).

The Hot Stove is upon us, and it is already living up to its name. In the first installment of A Brief Exposition: Offseason Edition, we'll take a look at the first moves made this winter.

THINGS ARE LOOKING UPTON IN ATLANTA: The Braves pulled off a bit of a stunner this past Wednesday, signing free agent centerfielder B.J. Upton to a 5-year deal worth $75 million. Upton, who has played for the Rays for the first 6 years of his major league career, brings his lifetime stats of .255/118/447 to Turner Field, as the Braves look to sate a fanbase that's looking for some good news after the retirement of legendary third baseman Chipper Jones. He will join Jason Heyward in the outfield, and there is a slim possibility that the Bravos can pull off a stunner and resign Michael Bourn, which would allow them to move Martin Prado to third base full time now that Jones is gone. While Upton may not end up being the super impactful player the Braves are looking for, at the least he'll bring a good bit of power to a lineup that is desperate for some. While Dan Uggla and Brian McCann have the potential to hit 30 home runs in any given year, they're often injured and are streaky when healthy. Freddie Freeman and Heyward are already All-Stars, but they still can't lead a team like the Bravos need them to. And players like Prado and the young platoon of Tyler Pastornicky and Andrelton Simmons at shortstop don't  have the power or skill to be the face of a team at this point. So, more than anything, this was a move of necessity for the Braves, and it appears that Upton will add a lot to an already strong team.

A RAY GETS A RAISE: While the Rays may not have been willing to give Upton the money he was looking for, they decided that third baseman Evan Longoria was worth holding on to, and signed him to a 6 year, $100 million extension that starts at the end of his current deal, which runs through 2016, and will keep him in St. Petersburg until 2023, when Longoria will be almost 38. Although he is often injured as of recently, he is one of the top third basemen in today's game when healthy. The former Rookie of the Year consistently ranks near the top of the league in WAR and other sabermetrics, even if his basic stats leave a little to be desired. He cemented his place in Rays history with his energetic walk-off home run against the Yankees on the last day of the 2011 regular season to leapfrog the Red Sox and get into the playoffs, and if he can bring the Commissioner's Trophy to Tampa just once in the next decade, he'll be a beloved hero there for the remainder of that team's future (which, admittedly, may not be too long). All that's left for the Rays to decide on is whether to shell out the same kind of money Longoria received to hurlers like newly crowned Cy Young winner David Price and James Shields.

SPANNING ACROSS THE NATION'S CAPITAL: With the signing of Upton in Atlanta, it seemed extremely likely that the Nationals would sign Michael Bourn to man centerfield, as has been long speculated. However, in a bit of a shocker, the Nats acquired Denard Span from the Twins in exchange for minor league pitcher Alex Meyer. The move works out pretty well for both sides: the Nationals finally gained a full-time centerfielder without having to rotate Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth and Michael Morse every other game, and the Twins get a highly-touted pitching prospect that makes their bleak present somewhat more bearable when considering the future. This supposedly takes the Nats out of the running for outfielders like Bourn or Shane Victorino, two players that they were seriously considering to fill their revolving door in the middle of the outfield. Span will also bring a bit more pop and speed to a Washington lineup that's starting to fully grow into their power potential, and his career UZR of 24.9 will do wonders for the defense as well. The Nats fell short of making a deep playoff run this past season, but Span may be the first step in getting towards the Fall Classic.

ONCE MORE, FROM THE BEGINNING: Two parts of the already-revered Core Four will be rejoining the Yanks again in 2013, as Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera both signed 1-year deals to pitch for the Bronx in one more attempt to win their 6th World Series title in the past 20 years. After coming out of retirement which caused him to miss the entire 2011 season, Pettitte, 40, posted an impressive 2.87 ERA in the 12 starts he made, the second lowest of his career. However, he only notched 69 strikeouts in 75.1 innings, a career low, and missed significant time on both ends of the season, due to spending time on the disabled list near the end of the season. Rivera, 43, pitched in 9 games in 2012 and recorded 5 saves, but missed nearly the entire season after tearing his ACL shagging a ball hit in the outfield by Alex Rodriguez during batting practice in early May. The all-time leader in saves, Rivera has not posted an ERA higher than 2.20 since 2007, and is expected to bounce back nicely. While the Yankees desperately needed to get younger this offseason, their signings so far have been to bring back the older guys. Whether this will work better in 2013 than it did in 2012 remains to be seen.