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Week In Review: 4/18/10 - 4/24/10

Let's take a look back at the past week on what's looking like a slow Sunday...

• The week's top story is the extension signed by Rays' swiss army knife Ben Zobrist. The versatile 28-year-old inked a three-year extension that guarantees him roughly $17.5MM with two club options that could bring the deal to nearly $30MM total. The question here is if Zobrist's MVP-esque 2009 season is capable of being repeated; was it a fluke or is he merely a late bloomer? Clearly, we know what the Rays' take on that issue is.
• It's not the $3.1MM that Wagner Mateo thought he had secured last summer, but he managed to finally get a contract signed. The Dominican outfielder signed with Arizona for $512K. Concerns over his vision have reduced the 17-year-old's stock over the past several months.
• The Royals swallowed $3.25MM this week when they released Juan Cruz. Clearly, they haven't gotten the big-time strikeouts and dominant eighth inning presence they were looking for when they signed the veteran to a two-year deal.
• We're a ways from the trade deadline, but it's fun to speculate. This week we heard the possibility of Atlanta joining the Adrian Gonzalez sweepstakes. Then again, with the Padres playing as well as they are, who says there will be a sweepstakes at all?
• More trade talks surfaced in light of the Cubs' recent decision to move Carlos Zambrano (and his $18MM salary) to the bullpen; could Tom Gorzelanny be moved to acquire a setup man?
• A.J. Pierzynski discussed his future with the White Sox this week, which is in question due to his impending free agency and the presence of top prospect Tyler Flowers. We also heard that the White Sox are trying to determine Pierzynski's potential trade value, but don't like what they hear. It's worth noting that he'll receive 10-and-5 rights in June.
• Ike Davis made his MLB debut this week, thanks to the Mets designating Mike Jacobs for assignment. Ike's provided an offensive upgrade in his small sample size so far, while Jacobs has cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to AAA.
• Still looking for work, Braden Looper threw for the Cubs this week. Unfortunately for Looper though, the Cubs aren't likely to sign him.
• With their outfield hurting, the Red Sox acquired Jonathan Van Every from the Pirates this week for a PTBNL. Van Every spent the last two seasons with the Boston organization.
• Some notable minor league transactions this week: Corey Patterson and the Orioles agreed to terms, Ramon Vazquez signed on with the Mariners, and the Marlins signed Jorge Sosa. For additional transaction news, check out our transactions section.
• Updates in the 2011 Contract Issues series this week included: Cleveland, Seattle, Florida, the Mets, Nationals, and Orioles.

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