MLBTR Originals

Here's look back at the original pieces we published here at MLBTR this week..

• This week we completed our analysis of the arbitration eligible players for all 30 teams, over 200 players in total.  You can check out the complete series right here.  Some of the biggest names in the series include Tim Lincecum, Matt Kemp, Cole Hamels, Hunter Pence, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, and Jacoby Ellsbury.  
• We’ve been bringing you closer to the those who were identified by their peers as potential Major League GMs with a series of interviews.  Recently, Tim Dierkes caught up with A.J. Preller, the Rangers' senior director of player personnel.
• The upcoming class of free agents figures to present an interesting study in the way teams are evaluating relievers these days, writes Dan Mennella.  Mennella looks at this winter's available closers and how they were used in 2011.
• Ben Nicholson-Smith brought us the service time breakdown for the Angels' Mike Trout.  If the Angels want to keep Trout under their control for an extra year, they could option him to the minor leagues for the season's first three months.  In doing so, they'd ensure that Trout doesn't pick up more than 88 days of service in 2011.
• Non-tender candidate Hong-Chih Kuo went from being one of the most dominant bullpen arms in the game last September to taking about retirement this September, writes Mike Axisa.
• Tim Dierkes examined the free agent and trade market for catchers this winter.  The Rays, Angels, Pirates, and Twins may seek help at catcher this winter, and none of the available players should be expensive to acquire.
• Do you prefer your MLBTR fix to be limited to only your favorite team?  Don't worry, we've got you covered.  Check out the links to our team Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds.
• Mike Axisa rounded up the best baseball talk from around the web in this week's installment of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
• Diamondbacks lefty Joe Saunders sounds like a non-tender candidate, based on comments GM Kevin Towers made this week.  We asked you to weigh in on whether or not Saunders would be offered a contract in 2012 and votes were split right down the middle.
• The Rays have plenty of pitching depth to work with this winter and may use that to upgrade their offense.  We also gave our Offseason Outlook on the Pirates, White Sox, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, and Rockies.
• Finally, if you missed out on our Wednesday chat, you can check out the transcript right here.