Here's your weekly recap of the past seven days here at MLBTR:
- The Diamondbacks locked up one of the game's most promising young players to a six-year deal worth $51.25MM this week when they agreed to an extension with Justin Upton. Upton, still just 22, should be a tremendous value at that price tag, but that's no guarantee. One point of interest: Upton's stellar line of .300/.366/.532 (with 26 HR and 20 SB) is frighteningly similar to his brother B.J. Upton's line of .300/.386/.508 (with 24 HR and 22 SB) from his breakout in 2007. I'm guessing the D'Backs are hoping Justin can maintain more consistency than his older brother has shown thus far.
- Arizona also has an offer to Mark Reynolds on the table for two years and $13.5MM, but it looks like that situation may take longer to play out. Reynolds reportedly would like $18MM for those two seasons.
- The Adrian Gonzalez rumors never cease. This week, after hearing that Jake Peavy has been campaigning to bring his former teammate to the White Sox, we learned that Gonzalez will ask for a mammoth contract when he hits free agency. The White Sox trade seems like a long shot, as Ozzie Guillen says the club won't be moving Gordon Beckham anytime soon. Still, it's tough to see Adrian in San Diego long-term; Ken Rosenthal shared his thoughts on why that is.
- Another story that keeps coming up is the Joe Mauer saga. This week, we learned that the reigning AL MVP's agent, Ron Shapiro, arrived in Fort Myers, FL where the Twins make their home for Spring Training. It's believed that Shapiro and the Twins' front office will hold face-to-face discussions about an extension for the superstar catcher.
- Another franchise cornerstone discussing an extension is Prince Fielder. We learned this week that Scott Boras met with Brewers' GM Doug Melvin to discuss an extension for the king-sized slugger. Prince is under team control for two more seasons, but Brewers fans would like to see him with the Crew long beyond that mark, I'm sure.
- Is a Hank Blalock signing on the horizon? He's reportedly deciding between the Rays and the Marlins, though it looks right now like the Rays are the frontrunners.
- The Cubs signed 22-year-old Cuban pitcher Juan Yasser Serrano for $250K. Yasser defected in 2009 and will begin the season with the Cubs' Single-A affiliate in Dayton, most likely.
- Some notable minor league signings this week, including Garret Anderson agreeing to terms with the Dodgers, and the Athletics signing both Jason Jennings and Brett Tomko. For more minor league deals, check out the Transactions section.
- Updates to the Offseason In Review series this week included the Royals, Twins, Rangers, Angels, and Mariners.
Talent for talent…5 years of talent for 2 years. Yea, if Kenny gives up Beckham for Adrian, he should be fired. Beckham posted a .808 OPS at a premium position as a 22 year old in his first year in the bigs, and they have him under control for 5 years. No reason whatsoever to give him up for someone they could very well lose after the next two seasons. Beckham will be a superstar.
I agree. Kenny may find a way to get this done but if SD insists on Beckham, he should back out of the deal. He can still try to put something together with Flowers, Hudson and possibly Mitchell but I’m not sure that will be enough. Personally, I’m not sold on Hudson yet. Then again, he got Peavy for an overrated Poreda, a 4th starter in Richard and a couple of so-so prospects, so I’m not going to count him out.
Beckham is promising but anything can happen in the future. Adrian Gonzalez is a proven elite player. Trading Beckham for Gonzalez would look like the smartest decision if Beckham declines, but agreed if the White Sox get Gonzalez they need to extend him. They don’t have that elite bat that the Tigers (Cabrera) and Twins (Mauer) have.