On a slow news day, I thought it might be interesting to look through the MLBTR archives to see what was cooking on the hot stove a year ago.
- A.J. Burnett's agent Darek Braunecker said there would be no contract discussions with the Blue Jays until his client decided whether to opt out. The Jays were said to be preparing a four-year, $54MM offer. Even then it was obvious Burnett would opt out and get significantly more money. He signed in December with the Yankees for five years and $82.5MM.
- The Giants cut ties with Tyler Walker, Brad Hennessey, and Kevin Correia. Several commenters believed they should've retained Correia, who went on to post a 3.91 ERA in 198 innings for the Padres for a mere $1.1MM.
- Jerry DiPoto was said to be among the front-runners for the Mariners GM job. Instead, the Ms chose Jack Zduriencik a few weeks later. Zduriencik acquired Franklin Gutierrez, Russell Branyan, and David Aardsma, among others. DiPoto still works for the Diamondbacks, but Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says not to rule him out for the open Padres GM job.
- Asked about signing with the Mets, free agent Manny Ramirez talked repeatedly about how the ball doesn't carry well at Shea, despite being reminded the Mets were moving into a new stadium in 2009. At that point we were still talking about a four or five-year deal for Manny worth $17-25MM per season. Manny ultimately re-signed with the Dodgers in March for two years and $45MM. His fine season was interrupted by a 50-game PED suspension. Manny must decide next month on his $20MM player option for 2010.
- The Padres still had Kevin Towers and Jake Peavy a year ago. At that time we were trying to decipher which teams Peavy was reportedly willing to play for. After a winter of endless Cubs rumors, Towers struck a deal with the White Sox in May. Peavy vetoed the trade, tore a tendon in his ankle, and later accepted another trade to the Sox at the July trade deadline.
