MLBTR Originals: 12/19/10 – 12/26/10

People all around baseball took it easy during the holidays this week, but we here at MLBTR pumped out plenty of original content. Let's recap…

• Tim Dierkes tried to determine if closers fetch more in a midseason trade as opposed to during the offseason. He also listed average free agent prices and named some teams that offer a chance for saves.
• Tim also noted that the ACES agency is leading in multiyear deals, then he looked at potential free agent starters for the 2012-2013 offseason.
• Ben Nicholson-Smith built a 25-man roster out of unsigned free agents. He also listed offseason spending details by team, noting that the AL West lags while the NL East leads, and then he analyzed the offseason's biggest contracts.
• I took a look at how the Padres have been trading from a position of strength this winter, and also listed the remaining important offseason dates.
• Luke Adams examined contract extension candidate Andrew McCutchen.
• This week's poll questions asked if you think the Red Sox should trade Jonathan Papelbon, where Jeff Francis will sign, if Grant Balfour will get a multiyear deal, where Joe Blanton will end up, what Trevor Hoffman will do, who will get the next $100MM contract, who will sign Brandon Webb, and what Joakim Soria's future holds.
• We also discussed the Phillies' search for a lefty reliever, the Orioles' first base vacancy, and Billy Butler's future in Kansas City.
• Howard Megdal's latest Jack Of All Trades post looked at Manny Trillo.
• Mark Polishuk recapped some of the notable transactions that took place on December 23rd.
• I rounded up the best blog posts of the week in Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
• Here is Tim's chat transcript.
• In case you missed it, we recently unveiled the MLBTR Transaction Tracker. Don't miss out on our iPhone app or our team and transaction-only feeds either.