The White Sox fired up the Hot Stove signing SS Omar Vizquel & Andruw Jones. Vizquel has been the best defensive shortstop of his time and will tutor Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez. Omar might be headed for Cooperstown when he finally hangs them up, his numbers stack up with Ozzie Smith, and nobody flashed a better glove at short. Speaking of excellent fielders, nobody did it better than Andruw Jones, but that was in his day. Andruw isn’t all that old, but he got old in a hurry, with very old knees. Jones will not embarrass himself in the outfield with the glove, although he won’t add to the team speed, but he was brought in here for his bat and to provide some outfield depth.
After a career year with the Blue Jays, Marco Scutaro cashed in with Boston, where he’ll be the Red Sox everyday shortstop. Outfielder Mike Cameron’s new home will be Fenway Park, playing leftfield for the Bosox, which would mean Jason Bay will not be retained. The Redbirds made a wise investment bringing Brad Penny on board. Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan has to be licking his chops, adding Penny to a staff that already has Adam Wainwright & Chris Carpenter. The Atlanta Braves bolstered their bullpen by adding lefty Billy Wagner and righthander Takashi Saito. By signing with the Nationals, Ivan Rodriguez will serve as a backup catcher & mentor to Jesus Flores.
I’m sure there’s alot more to come, I’m especially looking forward to the Rule V Draft, which takes place on the 10th.