Week In Review: 1/16/11 – 1/22/11

Another Sunday closer to Spring Training and Opening Day 2011. Let's recap the last week:

• In an astonishing move, Toronto was able to unload Vernon Wells and his entire contract in a trade with the Angels. Toronto will receive Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera in return for the 32-year-old Wells, who many had deemed one of the most untradeable players in the game. Here's some reactions and details on the trade.
• The Yankees may have missed Cliff Lee, but they managed to land a top free agent when they signed Rafael Soriano for three years and $35MM. Soriano's deal has two opt-out clauses, giving him tremendous leverage. New York also signed Andruw Jones for one year and $2MM.
• The reigning NL MVP agreed to a three-year extension with the Reds. Joey Votto will earn $38MM for his arbitration years, in a move that's drawn some criticism as it doesn't seem to save the Reds much money.
• The Reds also extended Johnny Cueto on a four-year, $27MM deal and are talking about a long-term deal for Edinson Volquez.
• Billy Butler signed an extension of his own with the Royals — for four years and $30MM.
• It's not often you see an injured player leave millions on the table, but Gil Meche walked away from $12MM when he retired a year before his contract ended. A classy move in my opinion. Best of luck in life after baseball, Gil.
• The Twins finally came to terms with Carl Pavano after weeks of being close. The veteran right-hander will earn $16.5MM over the next two seasons in Minneapolis.
• Busy week out in our nation's capital — the Nats acquired Tom Gorzelanny from the Cubs, signed Jerry Hairston Jr. for $2MM on a one-year deal, and inked Todd Coffey as well.
• The Athletics made some big moves to fortify their bullpen, hammering out a two-year deal worth $8.1MM for Grant Balfour and a two-year, $10MM deal with Brian Fuentes.
• Another significant bullpen signing saw Jon Rauch sign with the Blue Jays for one year and $3.5MM, with a $3.75MM club option ($250K buyout).
• The Rays signed both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon to one-year deals, with Damon earning $5.25MM and Manny signing for a $2MM base.
• The Mets signed Chris Young to a one-year deal that guarantees the righty just $1.1MM, a nice bargain. Some more low-cost signings included Chad Qualls in San Diego ($2.55MM guaranteed), Marcus Thames with the Dodgers ($1MM), Nick Punto in St. Louis ($700K), and Aaron Heilman in Arizona ($2MM).
• Several two-year deals were ironed out to avoid arbitration: Jason Hammel with the Rockies, Stephen Drew in Arizona, Rajai Davis with the Jays, Sean Marshall with the Cubs, and Matt Lindstrom with the Rockies as well.
• Some more notable arbitration figures included Jonathan Papelbon signing for $12MM, Prince Fielder for $15.5MM, and Heath Bell for $7.5MM. For more arbitration news, be sure to keep up to date with our arb tracker.
• Some of the many minor league signings this week included Jeff Suppan with the Giants, Jody Gerut and Nate Robertson with the Mariners, and Joe Crede with the Rockies. Be sure to check out our Transactions section for all of the week's minor moves.