Some Saturday afternoon links..
- The Dodgers should have offered salary arbitration to Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudsonto allow themselves the opportunity to receive draft picks, writes Jon Weisman of the Los Angeles Times. Weisman argues that the worst case scenario of being stuck with one or both players at a slightly inflated price for one season wouldn't have been so bad. It's hard to dispute this point as we have yet to see the Dodgers do much of anything this winter.
- Not only are the Athletics talking to free agent Adrian Beltre, they may be the only serious bidder at the moment, according to an item on ESPN's MLB rumor page. The piece also notes that if Beltre's asking price - believed to be north of $10MM per season – drops into Oakland's price range, the Giants, Cardinals, and Tigers could get in the mix.
- Seattle's poor decisions stunted the development of Brandon Morrow, writes Ryan Divish of The News Tribune. While he never had the same ceiling as Tim Lincecum, who was drafted five spots later in the 2006 draft, things could have worked out differently for Morrow if he were given adequate time to develop in the minors.
- Shi Davidi of the Associated Presspraises new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and his plan to rebuild the franchise. Davidi writes that Anthopoulos has the support of ownership in a way that J.P. Ricciardi never did.
- A few free agents left on the market might want to consider lowering their asking price, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Adam LaRoche seeking $30MM over three years might be the most wishful of the bunch.
