Pitchers and position players have poured into camps spread across Florida and Arizona this week, officially bringing an end to the 2010-2011 offseason. We saw several monster free agent contracts handed out this winter and quite a few blockbuster trades, perhaps more than we’re accustomed too. Multiyear contracts buying out arbitration and free agent years also increased in popularity.
Our Transaction Tracker shows every move completed this offseason, whether it be a trade, free agent signing, contract extension, or even a waiver claim. Some clubs improved by leaps and bounds, others made small, incremental steps. Everyone is in first place today, and we’re still about five weeks from seeing these moves actually impact the standings. That’s never stopped us from judging them though…
What was the best move of the offseason?
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Phillies sign Cliff Lee 26% (6,131)
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Red Sox acquire Adrian Gonzalez 20% (4,615)
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Blue Jays trade Vernon Wells 18% (4,218)
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Brewers acquire Zack Greinke 11% (2,489)
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Braves acquire Dan Uggla 7% (1,596)
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Red Sox sign Carl Crawford 6% (1,440)
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Another move not listed 4% (861)
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White Sox sign Adam Dunn 3% (734)
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Tigers sign Victor Martinez 2% (393)
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Rockies extend Troy Tulowitzki 1% (273)
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Rays sign Manny Ramirez 1% (257)
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Rangers sign Adrian Beltre 1% (224)
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Nationals sign Jayson Werth 1% (218)
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Rockies extend Carlos Gonzalez 1% (213)
Total votes: 23,662
the Blue Jays dumping Vernon Wells AND getting value for him has gotta be head and shoulders the best move.
haha. ok im gonna be pessimistic and call that move “Blue Jays replace Vernon Wells with Jose Bautista.” I’m not arguing that it will happen but will anybody be totally shocked if Bautista is more of a dud than Wells?
yeah I think just by salary alone it’s a win for blue jays (rather pay $13 million dud than 20 mil dud), but the risk didn’t warrant the extension. If he gets another monster year, and becomes too pricey collect the picks for him, which 2 years ago no one would think he’d be a Type A. His past doesn’t give enough evidence that this isn’t an aberration in his career.
The Bautista contract should still be movable in a year, as long as he doesn’t completely and totally tank. Even a 25 HR season, from a guy who can play 3B- that’s an okay contract.
The Wells contract was completely, totally, no one in their right mind would ever take back, bad.
I like the Jeff Francis signing as one of the top moves. I’d have the Wells, Manny, Francis, Royals acquisitions for Greinke, and the Cliff Lee signings as best moves.
The Wells move is nice, but while it may help them in the long term, it certainly doesn’t help them for next season. The best move this offseason was the Red Sox getting Adrian Gonzalez (I am an Orioles fan, so even saying that hurts). Look at his numbers in freaking Petco. I am scared to think what he can do outside of that park.
I have to think Greinke trade has to be the best move for sole fact that, yeah it was good, but addressed an area of need greater than lets say phillies acquiring Lee. Lee upgrades philly, but not as much as greinke changes the brewer staff. That being said ,if cost were the same, I’d rather have Lee than Greinke
Best upgrade: Grienke to the Brewers
Most surprising: Wells to the Angels (Great move for the Jays)
You mean Wells to the Angels. I still think Werth was the most suprising. The Nats weren’t even rumored to be looking at him
Thanks
anyone can sign a free agent for the right (read: way too much) money.
can anybody dump 80 million and still get something of positive value back?
I read “(read: way too much)” way too much.
that means you’re under my mind control. NOW CONVINCE DOMBROWSKI TO TRADE VERLANDER TO US FOR JUAN RIVERA.
Sorry, the mind control wore off about 10 minutes ago. Better luck next time!
My mind control is telling you that. You will subconsciously fulfill my every order
As much fun as that sounds… and it does sound fun, I don’t think I’ll be doing that. So… ya.
Still, who can have even imagined the Jays being able to dupe someone into taking all of Wells’ contracts?
If you voted for anything besides the Vernon Wells salary dump you simply are not being objective.
Why I voted for Greinke trade and I’m a Yankees fan. But yeah I totally “heart” the brewers.
Hands down, the best off-season move. Period. Look back on almost any big free-agent signing and usually they end up ugly. But shedding that monster was a miracle. That just doesn’t happen. It’s only the middle of February and Tony Reagins already owns the Chump of the Year award.
Well, I’ll agree that the Wells trade was the best trade, but I don’t think it’s the best move of the offseason. Consider FA signings, claims, front office changes, too.
I’ll still say Pat Burrell’s contract was the best move by all teams this offseason. When considering his talent, he’s worth about 7 million. For the Giants to get Burrell at just 1 million is simply outstanding.
net value gained on burrell signing: 6 million
net value gained on wells trade: over 80 million
That’s probably a bit of hyperbole. Wells is $10m/year type player. The Jays gained $40m for Wells + Napoli – a million or two for Rivera. Still the best move of the off-season … assuming that the Jays do something with the money.
How are defining “best”? The team that got the best player-I’d say Gonzalez. The team that got the best deal- getting rid of Vernon Wells, clearly, but I would have like to have seen K Wood going to Cubs on the list, I know it wasn’t a huge move, but given the deals that other non-closer relievers got this offseason, that was certainly a steal
I think it was a steal. Burrell and Wood represent the best bargain signings. Lee to the Phillies for the best FA signing. And A-Gon to the Red Sox (assuming an extension is signed) and Grienke to the Brewers round out the best trade acquisitions. Best move the off-season was the Jays dumping Wells on the Halos.
Burrell wasn’t huge news, but that’s the best move of the offseason to me. Very low risk with potentially high reward.
Still say Manny turns out to be the better bargain. He’ll probably earn his paycheck with just his OBP alone, plus he’s not gonna hurt his team in the field like Burrell likely will.
The BIGGEST move is the Yankees signing Bartolo Colon!
But that was negated by Cap’n Crunch rediscovering his pirate roots, and hijacked 25 pounds of CC for ransom. CC was unwilling to negotiate with pirates, and told him to keep it.
That’s as random as me asking you if you were evicted by a moose.
it’s a respoinse to a fat colon joke saying their weights balanced out, but roomwithamoose is a reference to Invader Zim, the worst fate imaginable.
So I am eating some of that delicious cereal right now.. It doesn’t destroy the roof of my mouth anymore.. Greatest move of the offseason by far.
maybe the best move yet will be when the Yankees and all their money invent a time machine so they can go back to when Colon and Prior were good.
Has to be Lee to Phillies. Anything that creates THAT rotation just has to be #1 imo.
A close second is the Jays dumping Wells. The only explanation for that deal is a horse’s head in Reagins’ bed.
I think the best move has to be the Jays trading Wells, because I don’t think anybody ever thought that was possible. pretty much everything else was realistically possible. not only trading Wells, but the entire contract AND got value for him. THAT was incredible!
I really like the Uggla deal. A great hitter, tons of powerl
I really like the Uggla deal. Good hitter with tons of power. They got him for a super utility player and a hard throwing lefty, which is not much. And they extended him. Great deal.
Tough call….
The Dan Uggla trade was a cool one. The Braves have needed a right-handed power threat in the middle of the order since Andruw Jones departed and they basically gave up peanuts for Uggla.
Then again, the Blue Jays did what many said was impossible…….trading Vernon Wells and his entire salary and somehow getting a useful piece in return.
I’ll go with the Wells trade.
Actually got 2 useful pieces in return. Fransisco is a decent reliever, and Rivera can possibly put up the same OPS as Wells.
Was thinking about Lee sticking it to the Yankees and creating that beastly rotation, but c’mon. $86mil completely immovable.
Even though Wells getting moved was the best move, my fave was Manny for $2MM. He’s going to OPS about 950 people, no care ever what he does.
I didn’t take the time to check, but I think Adam Dunn was a B-Type Free-Agent, so I went with him signing with Chicago. It may be a boring pick because their was no trade involved, but when you get a big-time impact bat and don’t have to give up anything or break the bank, that’s a pretty good deal in my book. If Dunn was a Type-A, then I will go with the Wells salary dump if we can also take Bautista’s extension into account.
He was Type A (by a lot, really). No guy that averaged 38 HR’s in the two years they use to determine that will be a Type B. I mean now that the Steroid Era is over…
I thought he was on the verge? There is no way he ever shouldn’t have been… but he’s been underrated for years.
Dunn was a type A by a longshot. And many teams interest had waned on him, due to his complaints about becoming a DH. He does fit well for them, but I’m not so sure he isn’t overpaid at 12,14,15, and 15 mill over the next 4 years. All that for a DH who has great power and Walk rates but poor RISP numbers and provides no defense whatsoever. Can’t see that as better than the V-Dub Dump
Wells and Rios’ contracts worked out so well… why not Bautista?
Because a different GM structured Bautista’s.
its essentially the same deal as rios’
less years no??
but bautista is older
As an A’s fan, Vernon Wells far and away, but I’d say in general Zack Greinke because it made the Brewers pitching staff just THAT much stronger after getting Marcum and made them contenders for the central and made the crazy strong KC system even stronger.
You could say the Gonzalez trade has the same kinda characteristics, but I chose the Greinke trade because the Red Sox are contenders to begin with
If the Brewers fail to make the playoffs this year and they can’t extend Greinke, then the Brewers are in real trouble. The move did turn them into contenders on paper for THIS year, but I just can’t see how anyone doesn’t count the Wells trade as the best move. Going back over all of this, it’s a complete no-brainer for me.
Vernon Wells is by FAR the best in terms of one sided trades, and I think Greinke is the best in terms of both sides getting value, and Manny Ramirez was the best deal in terms of free agency
They’ll be contenders in 2012 too. The only significant player the Brewers lose after the 2011 season is Fielder, and they’ll also get rid of Yuni, which is a plus. Fielder and Yuni alone is 20mm off the books to buy FA replacements.
On the topic, though, I think the Wells trade is by far the best move. Dumping all that salary and getting value back in return is obscene.
Didn’t even read the other choices after I saw V-Wells at the top…
There’s no point, it’s clearly the best overall move of the offseason. The question wasn’t “Which move will have the greatest impact to a team in 2011?”
The Blue Jays got rid of their biggest roadblock(and easily one of the worst contracts in the game) without eating a cent and even acquired one or two solid pieces in the process.
And I wish people would stop freaking out over Bautista’s extension. It’s technically for only 4 years, as the 2011 season is his last arbitration season for him. And it’s not completely ridiculous either. No, it’s extremely unlikely that he tops 50 HR again, but he doesn’t have to do that in order to justify that extension. I think he’s fully capable of at least a few years with 25+ HR, .350 OBP. And as long as he can keep playing good defense in LF/RF, while also having the ability to play 3B….I say he lives up to it. It’s not like they just handed a 7 year, $126 million contract to Jayson Werth(who I think is and will continue being a better play between the two). If the Jays waited to see if he can repeat and he actually does, he instantly becomes at least a $15-17 million per year guy on the market. The Jays know a lot more than any of us do about the possibility of him repeating, and they must feel that he can at least put up the numbers I listed above.
Their GM has done well for himself in his short stint. Sold high on Alex Gonzalez and acquired a very talented young SS in Yunel Escobar. I still say it was the right move on the Braves part as Escobar was one distraction after another with his sometimes lazy play and his unbelievable arrogance. I know he didn’t hit much even after the trade, but he’s at least a top 3 SS in terms of defense already. And I think the power will return, but if it doesn’t he’ll still provide plenty of value from his defense and his ability to get on base at a good clip.
yeah, i felt a lot better about the bautista signing when i realized it’s really only a 4 year extension.
I feel like I’m shocked to see Cliff currently leading, what!? how was that the best move? are we loaded with Phillies fans tonight? even without Lee the Phillies still had Halladay/Oswalt(full season)/Hamels/Blanton/plus. adding in Lee sure helps, but it wasn’t like he put them over the top when they would have been great even without him.
First off, I am a Phillies fan. Why I think the Lee signing was the best move is simple. The Phillies would have been favorites to win the East and NL, but not by a lot (Braves got better this off season). Signing Lee takes the Phillies from a favorite to win the NL to Absolutely Winning the NL. Now we all know injuries can destroy a team, but on paper the Phillies are insane. Bringing Lee back has energized this city like I have never seen. Just when I thought it couldn’t be my hyped here, BOOM, Lee is a Philly again.
The Lee signing also takes a lot of stress off of the bullpen, our weakness. Lee pitching also keeps Kyle Kendrick out of the picture. That boy scares the crap out of me. Plus you never know if one of the aces we had would go down. Starter depth wasn’t a strong point. Vance Worley looked great in a limited roll, but he is really young. This gives the Phils 6 decent starters with a kid as a backup.
So wait, is Kendrick a “decent starter” or does he “scare the crap” out of you? Sounds like the Phillies really only have 5 good options for SP.
Lets put this in perspective here, Vernon Wells will be the second highest paid position player next year. Stop and think about that.
I…I’m trying!… but I can’t!!! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!!!!
Meh.. it’s like how Rashard Lewis is the 2nd highest paid player in basketball. And even he was traded this year.
I honestly think that the best move of the offseason was Pat Burrell signing for only 1 million.
I say Manny will be the bigger bargain between the two. His power may have taken a hit, but he’ll be limited to DH duty, so the risk of injury goes down a tick. As long as he can get on base at his usual clip(the one thing I am confident about him doing) and post a SLG of around .430-.450……chances are he’ll have earned his paycheck by the break.
Manny also isn’t going to hurt his team defensively, but Burrell definitely will. And no, I could care less what his dWAR was last year with the Giants. There’s no way in hell he’s a plus defender.
I disagreed with Cliff Lee because the Phillies already had a good rotation. I disagreed with Agon because of shoulder and extension issues. I disagreed with Crawford because of they didn’t absolutely need him. I almost chose Greinke because it put the Brewers into contention, but I had to go with the most outstanding move…
Another move not listed
Not even close. Alright this seemed funnier in my head. I went with Wells. duh
I can make an argument for every single move on here…. except for the Rays signing Manny. Did people actually vote for that? Really?
.900 OPS for 2 million? hell yes.
It was a good minor move, but it was no where near the other moves.
I think it deserves to be included. Manny can still hit and him at DH will limit the risk of a ton of nagging injuries. He’ll definitely produce if he can stay healthy for 130-135 games. Well, he’ll produce over any stretch really.
Did we forget that Mannys biggest health issue is mental? His body will likely hold up well as a DH, but who knows what craziness he can come up with this time around
I could care less. If an .870 OPS is the worst he can do, it’s a very logical signing. Mental problems or not, it’s just $2 million and Manny can realistically earn that in a couple of months.
You don’t give shed $80 million+ and not get the “best offseason move” award. Wells by a mile. Greinke, Lee, and Gonzalez are all nice addition, but seriously, that gives the Jays so much financial flexibility…it’s impressive.
Flyers signing Sergei Bobrovsky.
The best move of the offseason was the Brewers signing of Ron Roenicke.
the best move of the offseason was the Mets signing of JP Ricciardi
The best move of the offseason was Tigers signing Albert Pujols….. on MLB The Show.
how could you do that when my Jays already signed him?
The best offseason move would be which has the biggest inpact on a team. Adding Gonzales would be #1 and adding Lee would be #2. If you had the choice of adding those players or shedding a bad contract, which would you do? Adding those players make the Red Sox and the Phillies the favorites to go to the World Serries.
You can’t get those players without shedding a bad contrat though (;
my favorite move of the off season was when AA “purchased” a draft pick with the miguel olivo deal.
i realize it’s not as an emotional or big headline move event as the wells, lee, or a-gone deal/signing. but the man figured out how to “buy” a draft pick when your not allowed to under current mlb rules.
by far the most impressive move off the off season.
How come “Mets fire Omar Minaya” wasn’t on the list?
As a Phillies fan I was really sorry to see him go. Mets were never going to win with him there.
Brewers getting Greinke. Like someone else said, that move makes the Brewers contenders in my book. The Phillies were fine without Lee, the Red Sox were fine without A-Gon, and I choose to interpret this poll as “which move improved a team the most for this season” so I’m not voting for Wells. By trading for Greinke the Brewers now have a great 1-2-3, a decent 4, and probably someone at least league average as a 5. With a line-up held up by Braun, Fielder, Hart, and Weeks, this team has the potential to do some damage in the playoffs whereas I wouldn’t have even had them with a half-decent shot at a playoff spot in the last few weeks if they didn’t get Greinke.
Why are massive overpays Werth and Crawford even on this list? We know Boston paid 34 mil more than the next suitor, and I’m sure the Nats did something close to the same. Those shouldn’t be considered good signings by any stretch of the imagination.
Thank you. It’s likely in a few years that those contracts will seem impossible.
“Blue Jays trade Vernon Wells” sounds a lot worse when you say it, “Angels acquire Vernon Wells”
sorry L.A.
White Sox sign Adam Dunn
Why? I get the feeling that you are a biast White Sox fan.
I think the best move was a Brewers move, but not the Grienke deal. It was acquiring Shawn Marcum from the Jays for a prospect. Marcum pitched well in the AL East and should do even better in the NL Central. The reason it was such a good deal is that it set up the Grienke deal. Without Marcum, the Grienke deal does not make sense since adding just Grienke does not help the Brewers enough to win. Now, with Gallardo, Grienke, and and Marcum, they have a top three that can win.
Best move/moves has to be the Rockies extending Tulo and Cargo, they are allready amazing young players who have not yet hit there peak and got them at bargins of what they would be in FA. The Cliff Lee move was also really great. All of the moves on there except for the Werth and Wells deals were good deals.
i’d have to say the read sox getting gonzalez. If the blue jays spend the money they saved wells on another big player then the was a good move, but they probly wont, so i say players are more important than saving money. I know i would have liked to see my team trade for wells. Lee and Crawford deals were also good, and posibly the grenkie deal. But Gonzalez gets the crowm.
“I know i would have liked to see my team trade for wells”
this blew my mind
“I know i would have liked to see my team trade for wells”
this blew my mind
wow disqus. Just wow.