The first week of November brought us the early stages of the Hot Stove season. Let's take a look at the week that was…
- Minnesota acquired shortstop J.J. Hardy from the Brewers for center fielder Carlos Gomez. There were other suitors for Hardy, including the Cincinnati Reds.
- The Rays traded second baseman Akinori Iwamura to the Pirates for reliever Jesse Chavez. The 26-year-old Chavez is coming off of his rookie season in which his fastball had an average velocity of 94.5 MPH. With this deal, Tampa Bay saved themselves some money and added a promising young arm.
- The Red Sox acquired Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins for two minor league left-handed pitchers. To date, the production of the 25-year-old has been disappointing, considering that he was once Baseball America's fourth best prospect in baseball. Theo Epstein says that he bought low on the young slugger.
- The Angels re-signed Bobby Abreu to a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $19MM. There is a option in place for a third year that could vest depending on his number of plate appearances. The man responsible for the move, GM Tony Reagins, received a new contract of his own.
- Talk of an American League team being interested in Manny Ramirez was shot down rather quickly. Later on in the week, Ramirez exercised his $20MM option for 2010.
- The Royals shipped Mark Teahen and $1MM to the White Sox for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. White Sox GM Ken Williams says that Teahen will play third base and Scott Podsednik is unlikely to return.
- Tim Hudson has yet to ink a highly discussed extension with the Braves. Meanwhile, they signed Joe Torre's favorite reliever, Scott Proctor. The soon-to-be 33-year-old is an insurance policy in the event that the club loses both Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano in free agency.
- Tim's Offseason Outlook series rolled on with glances at the Minnesota Twins and Florida Marlins.
- Ben Nicholson-Smith highlighted the A.J. Pierzynski deal as one of his Trades of the Decade.
- There are plenty more trades to come this winter and Ben will be keeping track of all of them in one handy post.