MLBTR Originals

A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR this past week:

• AL CY Young Award winner Corey Kluber was Jeff Todd’s guest on the latest episode of MLB Trade Rumors Podcast. Also joining Jeff was MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko to discuss the Orioles’ offseason. A new edition of MLB Trade Rumors Podcast drops every Thursday and can be accessed on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
• Steve Adams spoke with agents Josh Kusnick and Rafael Godoy about the intricaces of negotiating minor league contracts. “Minor league deals are a lot of work,“ Kusnick told Steve. “They’re not always easy to do. Some come together more quickly than others. There have been times in my career where a ball club will call me the minute free agency starts…They’ll make their offer, it’ll make sense, and then it’s done. But there are other situations where it’s dragged on for an entire year.“
• Jeff opines there will be few MLB pacts available to the free agents who are still unsigned.
• One of those MLB deals will be given to James Shields, but it may not be as lucrative as he hopes. Jeff writes there are few precedents for a free agent landing a nine-figure contract in February.
• Steve listed the hardest throwing relievers remaining on the free agent market, two of whom (John Axford and Chris Perez) signed within 48 hours of the post being published.
• Steve pegs another of those relievers, Joba Chamberlain, as being a relatively low-cost, high-upside addition to a contender’s bullpen.
• Steve names four free agents who can be controlled beyond 2015 because they have less than five years of service time.
• Charlie Wilmoth revisited the notable transactions from last February.
• Brad Johnson asked MLBTR readers where Dayan Viciedo will sign. Nearly one-fifth of you see the Tigers adding Viciedo.
• Steve hosted this week’s chat.
• Zach Links compiled the latest edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.