Week in Review: 1/18 – 1/24

It’s been a bit of a slow week in terms of Hot Stove news, but we saw several extensions for players, as expected after the reports from the previous week. Let’s take a look at the past seven days:

• Couple of notable moves for the Orioles. Firstly, they traded lefty Garrett Olson to the Cubs for Felix Pie. Pie’s stock may have fallen, but I still like this move for the Orioles. Pie can provide a great glove in left field, and has considerably more upside than Olson. I find it strange how quickly the Cubs shipped off Pie and Jose Ceda, after the two were such sticking points in the previous offseason.
• The bigger move for the Orioles is that they finalized a six-year, $66MM extension for Nick Markakis this week. Markakis has proven himself to be a legitimate five-tool player, and should serve as a great cornerstone for this franchise as they work to rebuild. Between Markakis, Pie, and Adam Jones, the O’s have a shot at having one of the best young outfields we’ve seen in quite some time.
• Brewers’ GM Doug Melvin gave a very simple one-word answer of "Yeah," when asked if Prince Fielder would stay put for the 2009 season. A few days later, we learned he’d be staying put for the 2010 season as well, it seems, as he signed a two-year, $18MM extension. Prince will get $6.5MM this season and $11.5MM in 2010. While that’s a great value for an offensive threat of his caliber, I imagine that Brewers fans would’ve liked to see him locked up for longer than two years.
• The Phillies locked up a couple of their important pieces this week as well. Ryan Madson agreed to a three-year, $12MM extension. Madson was terrific – particularly in the postseason – in bridging the gap to Brad Lidge. The Phillies were untouchable when leading going into the late innings in 2008, and Madson was a big part of that. Nice signing by Philadelphia.
• The Phils also signed Jayson Werth to a two-year, $10MM extension. Werth will receive $3MM in 2009 and $7MM in 2010. Nice value here; Werth was an underrated part of the Phils success if you ask me.
• Another Jason received a two-year extension this week as well, when the Twins bought out Jason Kubel’s last two arbitration years. No details yet, but this should be a good move for the Twins. Kubel can be a solid source of power as he continues to improve, and quietly posted a nice 2008 campaign. Kubel’s deal has an option for a third year.
• We heard the Twins linked to Eric Gagne and Joe Crede all week, but now it appears talks have stalled with both Boras clients. I imagine they’re waiting to see Crede work out in Arizona this week. The Giants will be in on that too, but I’d personally expect Crede to end up in Minnesota.
• One person the Twins won’t be signing is Brandon Lyon; he signed with the Tigers this week for one year, $4.25MM. Not the initial two years, $9MM he was seeking, but that seems like a good deal for Lyon to me.
• The Mets made some progress on the starting pitching front, as they offered a revised contract to Oliver Perez and are set to sign Freddy Garcia. The Mets apparently improved upon their three-year, $30MM offer to Perez, which I think is a mistake. Perez is as inconsistent as they come on the mound – is investing four years there particularly wise?
• Could Adam Dunn’s price really end up as low as one-year, $5MM? I sure don’t think so, but if it’s even a figure close to that, every GM should be lining up to get him.
• We saw two players retire this week: Jeff Kent and Sean Casey. Kent will go down as one of the best offensive second basemen ever, and should be in the Hall of Fame if you ask me. Casey is surprising, he can still be a productive hitter, but wasn’t drawing interest as an everday option at first. He’ll be an analyst for the MLB Network. Should be great to listen to. Best wishes to both of them in life after baseball.