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March trading typically involves out of options players, former top prospects, and spare parts, but these players can have a major impact.  Here's a look at the players acquired via trade during this month over the last few years, with the help of MLBTR's Transaction Tracker.

2010

• Edwar Ramirez (Rangers and Athletics), Omar Aguilar (Indians), Ray Olmedo (Brewers), Matt Treanor (Rangers), Kevin Frandsen (Red Sox), Steve Lerud (Orioles), Andres Blanco (Rangers), Nate Robertson (Marlins)
• Treanor, Blanco, and Robertson spent significant time in the Majors last year for the acquiring team.

2009

• Sergio Santos (Giants), Chris Stewart (Yankees), Luke Gregerson (Padres), Eulogio de la Cruz (Padres), Curtis Thigpen (Athletics), Ronny Paulino (Giants and Marlins), Hector Correa (Giants), Jack Taschner (Phillies), Chris Burke (Mariners), Rudy Darrow (Braves), Josh Anderson (Tigers), Jeff Keppinger (Astros)
• The Giants' 2009 acquisition of Santos is an interesting story.  According to Yahoo's Jeff Passan, he was dealt to San Francisco with the caveat that if the Giants couldn't play Santos every day as a shortstop, they'd send him back to Chicago to start a conversion to pitching.  He was indeed traded back to the Sox on April 1st and made the team out of Spring Training the following year, tossing 51 2/3 innings of 2.96 ball with 56 strikeouts in 2010.
• Gregerson was sent to the Padres to complete the December '08 Khalil Greene deal with the Cardinals.  Clearly that pickup was a big win for Kevin Towers.  Paulino, Taschner, Anderson, and Keppinger also spent significant time in the bigs in '09.

2008

• Henry Arias (Reds), Brad Salmon (Royals), Mike McCoy (Orioles), Justin Huber (Padres), Todd Redmond (Braves), Tyler Yates (Pirates), Ramon Ramirez (Royals), Jose Marte (Diamondbacks), Dustin Nippert (Rangers), Jair Fernandez (Twins), R.A. Dickey (Mariners), Matt Kata (Pirates)
• Yates, Nippert, and Dickey spent significant time in the Majors in '08.  Dickey landed with the Mets as a free agent in December of '09 after a stint with the Twins, and took off with a 2.84 ERA in 174 1/3 innings.
• The Royals acquired Ramirez from the Rockies in March of '08, sending Jorge de la Rosa to the Rockies a month later to complete the deal.  De La Rosa's career took off with the Rockies, culminating in a $32.5MM deal in November of last year.  The Royals sent Ramirez to the Red Sox in November of '08 for Coco Crisp.  Crisp might have been a solid acquisition for Kansas City, but shoulder surgery interrupted his season.

Kevin Brown signed the first nine-figure deal in baseball history after the 1998 season. 33 at the time, Brown had just logged 257 innings for the NL Champion Padres, striking out 257 and posting a 2.38 ERA (164 ERA+). Brown provided the Dodgers with some elite seasons before moving to New York, where he disappointed in pinstripes.

In the decade-plus since Brown finalized his record deal, all 25 players to sign for $100MM or more have been younger than he was. Here's the complete list of $100MM players sorted by age, courtesy of MLBTR's Transaction Tracker:

• Kevin Brown, 33, signed a seven-year, $105MM deal on 12/12/1998.
• Alex Rodriguez, 32, signed a ten-year, $275MM deal on 12/13/2007.
• Cliff Lee, 32, signed a five-year, $120MM deal on 12/13/2010.
• Jayson Werth, 31, signed a seven-year, $126MM deal on 12/05/2010.
• Ken Griffey Jr., 30, signed a nine-year, $116.5MM deal on 2/11/2000.
• Jason Giambi, 30, signed a seven-year, $120MM deal on 12/18/2001.
• Alfonso Soriano, 30, signed an eight-year, $136MM deal on 11/20/2006.
• Carlos Lee, 30, signed a six-year, $100MM deal on 11/24/2006.
• Ryan Howard, 30, signed a five-year, $125MM extension on 4/26/2010.
• Matt Holliday, 29, signed a seven-year, $120MM deal on 1/7/2010.
• Carl Crawford, 29, signed a seven-year, $142MM deal on 12/8/2010.
• Mike Hampton, 28, signed an eight-year, $121MM deal on 12/12/2000.
• Manny Ramirez, 28, signed an eight-year, $160MM deal on 12/19/2000.
• Vernon Wells, 28, signed a seven-year, $126MM deal on 12/20/2006.
• Barry Zito, 28, signed a seven-year, $126MM deal on 12/29/2006.
• Johan Santana, 28, signed a six-year, $137.5MM deal on 2/2/2008.
• C.C. Sabathia, 28, signed a seven-year, $161MM deal on 12/20/2008.
• Mark Teixeira, 28, signed an eight-year, $180MM deal on 1/6/2009.
• Todd Helton, 27, signed a nine-year, $141.5MM deal on 3/1/2001.
• Carlos Beltran, 27, signed a seven-year, $119MM deal on 1/13/2005.
• Derek Jeter, 26, signed a ten-year, $189MM deal on 2/1/2001.
• Joe Mauer, 26, signed an eight-year, $184MM deal on 3/21/2010.
• Troy Tulowitzki, 26, signed a six-year, $119MM deal on 11/30/2010. For more on Tulo's deal click here.
• Alex Rodriguez, 25, signed a ten-year, $252MM deal on 12/1/2000.
• Albert Pujols, 24, signed a seven-year, $100MM deal on 2/19/2004.
• Miguel Cabrera, 24, signed an eight-year, $152.3MM deal on 3/24/2008.

One year ago, MLBTR's Mike Axisa asked whether mutual options were baseball's new fad, after at least a dozen were included in contracts during the 2009-10 offseason.  As Mike explained, mutual options are almost never picked up by both sides.  Instead, they're one way of pushing dollars onto next year's payroll, a more basic version of deferred money.  The team can also avoid the buyout altogether when the player declines, in many cases.  Here's a look at the eleven contracts from this offseason that included mutual options:

• Diamondbacks: Stephen Drew, Henry Blanco, Willie Bloomquist 
• Nationals: Adam LaRoche, Sean Burnett
• Padres: Aaron Harang, Brad Hawpe
• Cardinals: Jake Westbrook.
• Astros: Bill Hall
• Rockies: Rafael Betancourt
• Royals: Jeff Francoeur

Francoeur's buyout is unknown, but otherwise overall the buyouts accounted for 8.7% of the total guaranteed money.  At most, a mutual option is a way of pushing a million bucks onto next year's payroll to create flexibility this year.

It's no secret that baseball player salaries have exploded over the last two decades, but just how much? With some help from the USA Today Salary Database, let's look at the game's highest paid players from last season, ten seasons ago, and twenty seasons ago…

2010

1. Alex Rodriguez– $32MM
2. CC Sabathia - $23MM
3. Derek Jeter - $22.6MM
4. Mark Teixeira - $20.625MM
5. Johan Santana - $20.145MM
6. Miguel Cabrera - $20MM
7. Carlos Beltran - $19.402MM
8. Ryan Howard, Carlos Lee & Alfonso Soriano - $19MM
9. Carlos Zambrano - $18.875MM
10. John Lackey - $18.7MM

Four Yankees occupy the top spots, and six New York players are in the top seven. Ichiro Suzuki, Barry Zito, Torii Hunter, and Manny Ramirez were the only other players to pull down more than $18MM last season.

2000

1. Kevin Brown – $15.714MM
2. Randy Johnson – $13.6MM
3. Albert Belle – $13MM
4. Bernie Williams – $12.357MM
5. Larry Walker – $12.143MM
6. Mike Piazza – $12.071MM
7. David Cone – $12MM
8. Pedro Martinez – $11.5MM
9. Mo Vaughn – $11.167MM
10. Sammy Sosa – $11MM

Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux, Raul Mondesi, and Jeter make up the rest of the eight-figure club.

1990

1. Robin Yount – $3.2MM
2. Kirby Puckett – $2.817MM
3. Roger Clemens & Paul Molitor – $2.6MM
4. Eddie Murray – $2.514MM
5. Don Mattingly – $2.5MM
6. Will Clark & Rickey Henderson – $2.25MM
7. Tom Browning, Mark Davis & Teddy Higuera – $2.125MM
8. Eric Davis, Andre Dawson, Kent Hrbek & Jack Morris – $2.1MM
9. Pedro Guerrero & Kevin Mitchell – $2.083MM
10. Mark Gubicza – $2.066MM

Tim Raines wasn't far off the list at $2.055MM, and at least six other players earned no less than $2MM that season. 

The top ten salaries in the game have nearly doubled over the last ten years, and they've increased ten-fold over the last 20 years. Albert Pujols could very well land the first contract with a $30MM average annual value next winter; how long will it be before we see a $40MM a year player, maybe ten years? Based on the recent inflation, it could be sooner.

Every year we see teams sign their star players to long-term contract extensions, often buying out arbitration and/or free agent years. But every so often a team will acquire a player in a trade and then sign him to an extension before they ever play a game in their uniform. Many times an extension will be a condition of a trade, other times it can be unexpected.

Here's a few extensions that were signed before the player ever played a game for the team, sorted by guaranteed money…

• Miguel Cabrera, Tigers – A little more than three months after the trade that brought him to Detroit, the Tigers gave Cabrera an eight-year, $152.3MM contract. Off-the-field transgressions aside, he's been worth every penny: .314/.388/.567 with 109 homers in three years in MoTown.
• Johan Santana, Mets – The trade was contingent on Santana agreeing to a new deal, which he did when the team offered six years and $137.5MM. Although he's battled injuries with the Mets, Santana's pitched to a 2.85 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in the three years since the trade.
• Ken Griffey Jr., Reds – The Kid signed what was then the largest contract in baseball history the day he was traded to Cincinnati, a nine-year, $112.5MM pact. He hit .270/.362/.514 with 210 homers in parts of nine seasons with the Reds, battling numerous injuries.
• Roy Halladay, Phillies – Philadelphia wasted no time getting Halladay under contract, giving him a three-year, $60MM deal the day he was acquired from the Blue Jays. The extension doesn't kick in until this year, but Doc was as good as advertised in his first season with the Phillies, winning the Cy Young Award to go with a regular season perfect game and a playoff no-hitter.
• Javier Vazquez, Yankees – After acquiring Vazquez from the Expos, the Yankees locked him into a four-year, $45MM pact. It didn't work out in New York; he pitched to a 4.91 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 2004 before being traded to Arizona as part of the package for Randy Johnson the following offseason.
• Dontrelle Willis, Tigers – The Tigers locked up Willis before they locked up Cabrera. He signed a three-year, $29MM contract about two weeks after the trade, and you can bet the team wishes it could have pushed the reset button on this one. Willis pitched to a 6.86 ERA in just 101 innings in a Tigers' uniform.

Dan Uggla joined this group earlier this winter, and it's very possible Adrian Gonzalez will before the end of the month as well. Other players like Josh Beckett and Scott Rolen (with the Cardinals) signed extensions within a few months of being acquired, playing just a handful of games with their new teams beforehand.

They've had a winning season more recently than the Pirates, but the last quarter century has not been kind to the Royals. The only Royals team to finish at or above .500 since 1994 was the 2003 club that finished 83-79. And it's been so long since Kansas City made the playoffs that 16 players on the Royals' 40-man roster weren't even alive to see George Brett, Bret Saberhagen & Co. win the I-70 series in 1985.

But Dayton Moore has improved the team's farm system since taking over as GM early in the 2006 season and the Royals now boast the best group of prospects in baseball. So although Billy Butler, Alcides Escobar and Joakim Soria aren't expected to lead the Royals to a winning record this year, it won't be a surprise if the Royals are winners again before long. They were once one of baseball's model franchises – when will they become winners again? 

Now that March has arrived, few free agents remain and the offseason is essentially over. But if last year is any indication, we have more to look forward to in March than the occasional waiver claim or release. Teams take advantage of March and April to keep players off of the free agent market with extensions. 

Joe Mauer ($184MM) and Ryan Howard ($125MM) headlined last year's crop of early-spring deals and 14 other players also inked extensions. Josh Beckett ($68MM), Justin Upton ($51.25MM), Yovani Gallardo ($30.1MM) and Matt Cain ($27.25MM) all signed deals worth $25MM-plus. Ben Zobrist ($18MM), Adam Lind ($18MM), Denard Span ($16.5MM), Brian Wilson ($15MM), Mark Reynolds ($14.5MM), Nick Blackburn ($14MM), Brett Anderson ($12.5MM), Scott Feldman ($11.5MM), Todd Helton ($9.9MM) and Jeremy Affeldt ($9.5MM) all signed extensions, too, as MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows.

In 2009, Ryan Zimmerman, Chipper Jones, Jon Lester, Gavin Floyd, Scott Baker signed extensions in April and May so while 2010 was extension-heavy it wasn't a complete aberration. Once the calendar turns to May, however, extension season slows down; there were no extensions in May or June of last year or in 2009.

With young players becoming more and more prominent throughout the game, teams have begun seeking cost certainty in the form of contract extensions that buy out arbitration and (in some cases) free agent years. Everyone knows about Evan Longoria's sweetheart deal and the tens of millions of dollars the Cardinals saved with Albert Pujols and Boston's bargain contract with Jon Lester, but these contracts don't always work out.

Whether it be injuries, poor performance, or a combination of both, every once in a while one of these deals will turn into a dud. Using our Transactions Tracker, let's look back at some extensions that didn't go as planned…

• Fernando Tatis (four years, $14MM) – The Cardinals signed Tatis to said deal after his breakout .298/.404/.553, 34 HR, 21 SB season in 1999. It bought out his last pre-arb year and all three arb years, but he hit just .234/.330/.399 in close to 1,200 PA during the life of the deal. St. Louis traded him to Montreal after the 2000 season.
• Randy Wolf (four years, $22.25MM) – The Phillies bought out all of Wolf's arb years and one year of free agency before the 2003 season, but he gave them just 473 1/3 innings with a 4.43 ERA. He battled elbow trouble and eventually had Tommy John surgery during the contract.
• Kerry Wood (three years, $32.5MM) – Wood surrendered his last arb year and two free agent years in this contract, but triceps, shoulder, and knee injuries limited him to just 226 innings (3.90 ERA) during the life of the deal, and most of those innings came in 2004.
• Travis Hafner (four years, $57MM) – Signed the year after his .308/.439/.659, 42 HR season in 2006, Pronk gave up his last year of arb-eligibility and three free agent years. He's battled shoulder issues and hit just .259/.353/.430 since signing. 
• Jay Gibbons (four years, $21.1MM) – The Orioles bought out Gibbons' last two years of arb and two free agents years after he hit .277/.317/.516 with 26 homers in 2005. He hit just .256/.311/.409 in 179 games during the life of the contract, dealing with knee, groin, and shoulder issues. Baltimore released him just two years into the deal.
• Jeremy Bonderman (four years, $38MM) – Coming off a strong 2006 season (214 IP, 4.08 ERA), Bonderman signed away his last two arb years and two free agent years. Shoulder injuries hit the next year, and Bonderman pitched to a 5.19 ERA in just 427 IP during the contract.
• Ian Snell (three years, $8.6MM) – The Pirates secured Snell's three arb years after he posted a 3.76 ERA in 208 IP in 2007, though he's yet to repeat that performance. Snell pitched to a 5.31 ERA in 355 2/3 innings since, and was traded to the Mariners a year after signing the contract.

These are just a select few, but the list goes on and on. The players are trading a shot at a bigger payday for financial security while the team trades risk for cost certainty, but in the end the players are still getting their millions while the clubs could be left with nothing to show for their investment.

Every offseason, high draft picks change hands as players move between teams as free agents. Players such as Adam Wainwright, David Wright, Nick Swisher, Joe Blanton, Adam Jones, Gio Gonzalez, and Huston Street were drafted with picks originally acquired through free agent compensation.

Let's look through Baseball America's recently released list of the top 100 prospects in baseball and see which of the game's top young players were drafted with picks acquired for losing a free agent…

• Mike Trout, Angels (#2) – Yankees first round pick (2009) for Mark Teixeira
• Mike Montgomery, Royals (#19) – supplemental first round pick (2008) for David Riske
• Kyle Drabek, Blue Jays (#29) – Mets first round pick (2006) for Billy Wagner (originally drafted by the Phillies, part of the Roy Halladay trade)
• Travis d'Arnaud, Blue Jays (#36) – supplemental first round pick (2007) for David Dellucci (originally drafted by the Phillies, part of Halladay trade)
• Jordan Lyles, Astros (#42) – supplemental first round pick (2008) for Trever Miller
• Nick Franklin, Mariners (#53) – Phillies first round pick (2009) for Raul Ibanez
• Anthony Ranaudo, Red Sox (#67) – supplemental first round pick (2010) for Jason Bay
• Jake Odorizzi, Royals (#69) – supplemental first round pick (2008) for Francisco Cordero (originally drafted by the Brewers, part of the Zack Greinke trade)
• Tyler Skaggs, D'backs (#82) – supplemental first round pick (2009) for Teixeira (originally drafted by the Angels, part of the Dan Haren trade)
• Tanner Scheppers, Rangers (#94) – supplemental first round pick (2009) for Milton Bradley
• Matt Davidson, D'Backs (#99) – supplemental first round pick (2009) for Orlando Hudson

That's 11 of the game's 100 best prospects coming from compensation picks, including two of the top 20. A total of nine first and second round picks changed hands this year, and 26 supplmental first round picks were created. It's very possible the free agent compensation will be overhauled (or scrapped all together) when the next Collective Bargain Agreement is put into action, and although the players will get drafted anyway, the clubs losing top players could end up empty handed in the future. 

Baseball-Reference.com's draft tool was used in for this post.

Michael Weiner, head of the player's union, spoke to reporters about the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement while at Yankees camp this morning. Let's recap…

• Weiner is cautiously optimistic about getting a new CBA in place the end of the calendar year, says Mark Feinsand of The New York Daily News (on Twitter). 
• As Sam Borden of The Journal News reports, the union head is ready for anything though: "Just this week I've seen a general manager talking about a salary cap and I've seen a national baseball writer talking about rumblings of contraction," said Weiner. "Are we optimistic in a sense? Yes. But do we take anything for granted? Absolutely not."
• Weiner also said he believes there won't be one hot-button topic that dominates negotiations, tweets Feinsand. A salary cap (1994) and PED testing (2002) were two hot-button issues in years passed.

The draft figures to be a popular topic this time around, with trading picks, hard slotting, and even a worldwide draft being speculated on over the last few months. The current CBA expires on December 11th of this year, and it's worth noting that the two sides agreed to that deal more than a month before the previous one was set to expire.