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Week In Review: 12/27/09 - 1/2/10

By Steve Adams [January 3, 2010 at 4:01pm CST]

Happy 2010 to everyone! I hope the rest of your holidays were great as well, and you're off to a good start in the new year. Let's take a look back at the past week here around MLBTR:

One of the biggest names in free agency found a home this week, as Jason Bay agreed to terms with the Mets on a four-year, $66MM deal with a vesting option for a fifth year. While it's probably not what Bay had envisioned going into the offseason, he still managed to secure himself at least four years that average out to more than double his 2009 salary. Here's some initial reactions to the deal (I'm with Keith Law on this one, for the record).
The Cubs dished out the next-biggest contract of the week, when they signed Marlon Byrd to a three-year, $15MM contract. Byrd had a career year in 2009, though his home/road splits and inconsistent defense in center field would've been enough to deter me. Still, it's not an outrageous price to pay, and he'll likely perform well enough to justify the contract in end.
The Giants added some offense to their lineup as well, signing Mark DeRosa to a two-year deal worth $12MM. DeRosa predictably fell far short of his initial three-year, $27MM asking price, and the Giants got him on a much more reasonable deal. He'll be joined in San Francisco by Juan Uribe, who agreed to return to the Giants this week after a great 2009 season.
The Giants weren't the only NL West team to ink two players. The Diamondbacks added both Bob Howry and Kelly Johnson on one-year deals. Howry will earn $2MM in 2010 with a $3MM option for 2011. Johnson will earn $2.35MM with the D'Backs. Both low-cost signings make sense for the Diamondbacks, and Johnson still has some upside.
Sticking in the NL West for one more bullet point, the Rockies are nearing a deal with Miguel Olivo. After spending weeks trying to work things out with Yorvit Torrealba, the Rox seem to have moved on. Olivo is likely to receive a one-year deal with a club option for 2011.
The A's made their signing of Justin Duchscherer official this week. Duchscherer will receive just $2MM guaranteed, with another $3.5MM in incentives. Based on his tremendous 2008 campaign, the A's are getting a fantastic value on this deal.
The Phillies agreed to a two-year deal with Danys Baez this week. Coming off a mediocre season, I wasn't expecting Baez to fetch multiple years. However, in a world where Brandon Lyon gets three years, I suppose anything's possible.
The Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes may be heating up. The Blue Jays hosted a private workout for the phenom this week, while the Angels appear to be gearing up for an offer.
Tim offers up his take on the best and worst signings of this offseason so far, while Ben and Mike compiled all of the multi-year deals and trades so far, respectively.