[08/07/12] SHOELESS JOE WORLD ..... S17 WILL BEGIN SHORTLY .....

Thursday, September 1, 2011

TOP 5 OFFSEASON FA SIGNINGS

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Lots of teams gear up for free agency. Whether you're a team looking to add a key piece for your squad.. or if you're looking forward to receiving compensation draft picks for players you've lost.. the FA period is widely regarded as one of the most exciting times in the offseason. Many teams have loaded up and improved their teams, just by getting a player to sign on the dotted line. Here are my top 5 signings (in no particular order) from the offseason:



HEINIE ROBERTS


You can't deny a man with talents like Heinie Roberts, and Jackson made sure they were the first in line to acquire his services. Jackson and Roberts agreed to a 4yr/29.6M deal with a player option in S16. He's clearly not the player he once was, but he's pretty damn close. He could be the missing piece for Jackson to make some serious noise come playoff time.


LAZY SMITH


He's not a big name by any stretch, but Lazy Smith can flat out pitch. He's in his prime right now at age 33, and he'll be counted on to anchor the Syracuse rotation. Best part of this sign, it was a modest 3yr/11M deal. Not too shabby.


DAVE HAYNES


The goal for Philadelphia in S13 was simple: get young talent, and keep payroll low. With all their trades so far, they've been getting the young talent. Now, if they keep signing players like Dave Haynes for small cash, then they've succeeded there as well. Haynes signed a 2yr/6.2M in the offseason, and he'll provide veteran leadership to a team loaded with youth.


VIC GONZALES


Rochester made two huge moves this season: trading for Paul LeCroy, and signing Vic Gonzales to a big deal. Rochester got Vic to sign a 5yr/59.9M deal, and he'll be bringing his durability and talented bat with him. You can pencil him in for 160+ games, .280 BA, and 20+ HR. On second thought, go ahead and use a pen.


HANK HALL


I couldn't believe that Hank Hall was still available for sign after the initial FA period ended. However, Trenton jumped quickly to get Hall, and signed him to a modest 2yr/4.6M deal. Hall is still in his prime and can definitely help any team that wanted to throw him some cash. Yes, Hall has struggled somewhat lately, but let's not forget the back-to-back 20 win seasons he had in S5 and S6, respectively. If Trenton gets a little more than half of that result, then they'll be quite happy.

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