Bean Town Blockbusters

Sending ripples in this years MLB offseason and the baseball universe, is the ongoing deals that have transpired in the early weeks of Baseball's Winter Meetings. Though the list of Free Agents isn't as appealing as it has been in years past outside of Cliff Lee of coarse and a few others, we've already seen a handful of blockbuster deals being made. While the overspending of the Nationals to get Jayson Werth garnered much attention, fitting that blockbuster category, another big move being made this time by way of the trade, was the dealing of Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to Boston. In exchange, San Diego received a number of Minor League prospects.

Upon being introduced in a press-conference in Massachusetts, A-Gone took little to no time to catch the support of Red Sox Nation by describing his desire to win and his readiness to, "Beat the Yanks." Gonzalez, a 3-time All-Star and 2-time Gold Glove Award winner, will service the final year of a four-year deal in 2011, worth $6.3 Million dollars. While a contract extension is in the works, what the change of scenery does for Gonzalez who has developed a reputation for his raw ability to hit the long ball to the opposite field despite hitting in the pitcher friendly Petco Park for the past five seasons, will only help his cause now that he'll be playing in the friendly confines of Fenway. Just two seasons removed from a disappointing offseason in which Red Sox GM Theo Epstein failed to sign Mark Texeira, it seems the acquisition of Gonzalez just might have made up for it, not to mention for a fraction of the price.



As if it wasn't apparent enough that the Red Sox were ready to put last season behind them, a season in which they failed to make it to the Postseason for the first time in four years, they go out and make yet another blockbuster deal. After the addition of the slugging/defensive-wiz Gonzalez, the Red Sox made an aggressive effort to bring in the speedy Carl Crawford. Helping reshape Boston's line-up as one of the more devastating groups from top to bottom, Crawford agreed to a 7-year, $142 Million dollar contract, giving the Red Sox one of the better 1-2 punches that we've seen in years past. The Crawford signing has its own domino effect, as teams like the Angels will have to do without the player they based their entire offseason plan on, and will be forced to resort to plan B.

After offering a 6-year, $108 Million dollar contract that ended up not being enough for the biggest marquee position player of this offseason, the Angels will have to shop the market in hopes of landing an All-Star player that can help L.A. regain supremacy in the AL West. One possibility is signing Adrian Beltre who revitalized his career last year with Boston, hitting .321 to go along with 28 home runs and 102 RBI's, all career highs since his MVP-like season in '04 with the Dodgers. As for the aftermath of a Tampa Bay Rays team, 2-years removed from a World Series appearance and the best record in the American League last season, the ball club has seen a number of key players that contributed to their success sign elsewhere.

Those players include reliever Joaquin Benoit, first baseman Carlos Pena, the aforementioned Carl Crawford, and closer Rafael Soriano who remains to be unsigned at this point. Adding insult to injury, shortstop Jason Bartlett was recently traded to San Diego, and rumor has it, starting pitcher Matt Garza is being linked to a possible trade. Hoping to rise from the ashes like the Rays have in recent years, the Baltimore Orioles who have been cellar dwellers in the AL East for the past several years, hope to put an end to that by acquiring All-Star slugging third baseman Mark Reynolds from Arizona. Although the Red Sox and Yankees remain to be the clear cut favorites in the powerhouse division, it'll be interesting to see how the 2011 season pans out.