Since Neal Huntington became general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates in September of 2007, the organization has undergone wholesale changes in player evaluation and resource allocation. Gone are the mind-bending days of passing up B.J. Upton and Matt Wieters to save a quick buck, forfeiting staggering amounts of surplus value in those zero-to-six years of […]

Few prospects posses the enormous raw power that Mike Stanton has. The Florida Marlins outfielder has hit a grand total of 67 home runs in his first two full minor league seasons before the age of 20. He was recently rated the number three prospect in all of baseball by MLB Network. The 6’5 righty […]

The Minnesota Twins, on death’s doorstop just a few years ago, will spend more on player salaries this upcoming season than the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball’s attendance leader in 2009. After signing Orlando Hudson, the Twins’ payroll projects to be $96 million on opening day, and that number doesn’t account for whatever amount will be […]

Over at Circling the Bases, Craig Calcaterra speculates on negotiations between Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals. I just don’t understand why. I suppose negotiating an extension this offseason makes some sense; it would probably be Albert’s last giant contract, and getting it inked soon mitigates the risk of catastrophic injury. Also, it gives […]

The Associated Press is reporting that right-handed starter Justin Verlander has agreed to a five-year, $80 million deal with the Tigers. The deal buys out Verlander’s final two years of arbitration and three years of free agency. It’s a similar deal to Felix Hernandez’s extension, which was five years and $78 million. The 26-year old […]

The Toronto Blue Jays’ closer’s job at the moment seems to be between Scott Downs and Jason Frasor, although other candidates may have a say in the battle. For instance, Kevin Gregg may ink shortly with the Blue Jays, which would throw him into the discussion for the closing job. For the purposes of this […]

It would be a massive upset if Joe Mauer and the Twins can’t reach an agreement that keeps him in Minnesota for years to come. It would be a blow to the team as it opens a publicly-funded stadium built with Mauer in mind. It would be a blow to a sports community fraught with […]

Earlier this year, it seemed like every other week FanGraphs was improving its stats section. So I’m anxious to see what David Appelman has in store for the new season comes, as I’m sure his projects have been building up. But first, I had some thoughts on the already-existing WAR. My main philosophical problem with […]

Selected with the 19th overall pick in the 1999 draft, outfielder Alex Rios emerged as an all-around threat for the Toronto Blue Jays. The gangly 6-5 righty batter combined power, speed and range, garnering a six-year, $64 million contract extension in April of 2008, with a $13.5 million club option for the 2015 season. Rios’ […]

The Oakland Athletics had a busy day today, shaking up their 40-man roster. For starters, the team traded Aaron Miles and a player to be named later to the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Willy Taveras and infielder Adam Rosales. Miles is due for a $4.9 million salary in 2010, although the Cubs sent along $1 […]